For well over a decade I have expressed concerns that many conservative, Bible believing churches have in important ways lost the gospel. This concern has been met with varying degrees of incredulity by certain sectors of the evangelical world, most notably, some of the very ones that provoked my evaluation. Though things have improved from…
Responding to Opposition and Persecution
,It is impossible to live a faithful Christian life without experiencing opposition and persecution. Jesus promises his disciples that in this world we “will have tribulation” (John 16:33) and Paul warns Timothy that “all who desire to live a godly live in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). Given this inevitable reality, how…
Santa Claus, the Gospel and the Church
,It happened again last week. On Thanksgiving morning I received an email from a friend of a friend. The first line read, “It appears I am being forced out of my pastorate.” The story that unfolded in the rest of that email and upon further inquiry is filled with themes that are tragically too common….