It is important to pause and observe that nowhere in the New Testament are Christians ever described as disciples of a fellow believer. Throughout the Gospels and Acts, ‘disciple’ is used as a term for believers exclusively with relation to Jesus.
Reformed evangelicals are known as being devoted to Scripture: teaching it, preaching it ... but what about the public reading of it?
What is heaven? Or should we also ask: Where is heaven?; When is heaven?; and - better - Who is heaven?
It is important to pause and observe that nowhere in the New Testament are Christians ever described as disciples of a fellow believer. Throughout the Gospels and Acts, ‘disciple’ is used as a term for believers exclusively with relation to Jesus.
“The evangelical vision for good works is that they are essentially anonymous." - Robert Doyle
The reformed church is always reforming. We don’t stand on giants’ shoulders so we can stomp on them; we stand on their shoulders because they put us there. The effect is to have been given a better view—a view that we ought not be silent about.
It can be very tempting as an elder to just do things yourself; you’re more experienced, more capable, and can get things done quicker. But what happens as time goes on? What are the long-term consequences of this habit, especially when we depart?
There is a model of ‘intergenerational theological decline’, and perhaps you may have heard it: the first generation wins or establishes the gospel in their context, the next generation assumes the gospel, and the third generation loses the gospel.
Reformed evangelicals are known as being devoted to Scripture: teaching it, preaching it ... but what about the public reading of it?
What is heaven? Or should we also ask: Where is heaven?; When is heaven?; and - better - Who is heaven?
This apologetic book by Keller was a phenomenon. Its wisdom for thinking about apologetics, doubt, and evidence for the Christian faith make it a 'must-read' for the Christian. But it does have some weaknesses, which we also outline here.
Anyone who knows me knows that, in God’s manifold grace, I’m very much on the ‘church waterer’ end of things, rather than on the church planter end! So please forgive me for dipping a toe into something I don’t know too much about.
I’ve noticed in recent years that, although we can make good and well-intentioned ministry decisions, when combined with other good ministry decisions, these decisions produce a poisonous gas that threatens the wellbeing of our churches.
‘The secret things belong to the Lord’: what would you do if you knew the future? If it were bad, would we submit to it? What if we discover that it fits our own desires? Would we take it into our own hands, and view ourselves as makers of our own destiny?
A review of two books on a Christian approach to 'culture', the first by Moore, and the second by D A Carson. In different ways both books take their starting-point from Niebhur's 'Christ and Culture', which has shaped conversation for over half a century.
