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The Pastor as Theologian, 2: The Modern Division of Pastors and Theologians
The idea that depth of learning and theological concern should be relegated to the classroom while the "practical" aspects of Christianity should be reserved for the church is deadly. It was perverse when liberals espoused it in the first half of the twentieth century...
The Pastor as Theologian, 1: The Crisis
Preaching has fallen on hard times. I don't mean in liberal churches. I mean in conservative, Bible-believing churches. With godly pastors. Who have seminary education. Who have simply stopped studying. Because it's easier to coast. This trend is not destroying...
What Happens When Pastors Stop Seeing Themselves as Theologians
Inasmuch as the pastoral vocation is no longer seen as a theological vocation, pastors no longer bring a strong theological presence to their local parishes. The net effect (particularly in the evangelical tradition in which I reside) is a truncated understanding of...
Is God Responsible for the Trouble in Your Life?, Part 3: He’d Better Be!
The third and final answer to the question of whether God is responsible for my troubles is one many believers don’t like to consider—that God providentially ordains trials, troubles, suffering, sickness, and even death according to his divine decrees for my life. In...
Is God Responsible for the Trouble in Your Life?, Part 2: What are the Options?
Once we have acknowledged and become thankful worshipers of God for every good thing we experience, we are ready to ask the question of whether God ordains trouble in our lives or not. There are only three possible answers to this question. First, we might say, as...
Is God Responsible for the Trouble in Your Life?, Part 1: What We Deserve
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Steve Johnson made headlines on November 28, 2010, not for his receiving skill on the field, but for his Tweets off the field. After dropping what would have been the game winning touchdown catch against the Steelers, Johnson got on his...
The Death of the Grown-Up
Before the 1940’s, the term teenager was unknown; before this period humans tended to fall intoonly two groups—children and adults. Exactly when a child transitioned to adult could vary, but what was clear was that there was no intermediate period. Furthermore,...
10 Mistakes Churches Make in Choosing a Pastor
1. Not choosing the right people for the pastoral search committee 2. Prayerlessness 3. Being people-centered rather than Word-centered 4. Lack of follow-through and due-diligence by the pastoral search committee 5. Impatience that leads to the wrong decision 6....
Helping Post-Christmas Melancholy
Each year Christmas night finds members of my family feeling some melancholy. After weeks of anticipation, the Christmas celebrations have flashed by us and are suddenly gone. And we’re left standing, watching the Christmas taillights and music fade into the night....
A Christmas Poem
In this smelly place he lay, Smelly like the swine, Smelly like the rotting hay, Like your sin, and mine. Do you see how low he lay? Do you see how low? There is lower yet to go. Lower yet to go. He is lying where they eat, Lying where the swine— Lying like a piece of...
Pastor, the Next Time You’re Tempted to Complain About Your Salary…
East Hampton was originally settled by the best sort of men, and had never been divided in religion. There was only one church in place, over which three successive pastors had been settled during a period of a century and a half. The first was Rev. Mr. James, the...
The Danger of Wanting to Be Important
Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm, but the harm does not interest them … or they do not see it, or they justify it … because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of...
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