This past week I had the chance to give a lecture on leadership in the NT here at Southwest Baptist University. Of particular intrigue to me (and many) is why a plurality of elders fell out of favor among Baptists in the 20th century. Thankfully, Baptists today often have a plurality of elders leading their…
One of the things preachers must aim to do is move the hearts of their hearers. That is, the sermon is not a lecture that seeks to merely inform the mind, though that’s necessary. The sermon aims to engage both the mind and the heart. Tim Keller writes, “A sermon that just informs the mind…
Tim Keller offers insight into how preachers can effectively engage the modern mind in Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism. To do this, he offers five cultural narratives that mark our modern society. Understanding these narratives is the first step towards challenging the modern mind with biblical truth. What are these five narratives?…
I’ve always found Wayne Grudem to write on any subject in an orderly fashion, soaked in the Bible, and (often) persuasively presented. In preparation to teach through an introduction to Christian ethics, I’m surveying several works. Here is the list so far: Ethics for a Brave New World, John S. Feinberg and Paul D. Feinberg…
In what follows, I want to (a) offer some reflections on what I believe is the New Testament (NT) pattern of believer’s baptism and (b) ask questions in light of the NT pattern that emerges. Of course, there are theological arguments for believer’s baptism (see Thomas R. Schreiner, ed., Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New…
I’ve recently finished reading Jonathan Leeman’s defense of congregationalism. I believe it is the single best resource on the issue today. I highly recommend the work. Jonathan Leeman, Don’t Fire Your Church Members: The Case for Congregationalism. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2016. ISBN: 978-1433686238 $19.36 208 pages Introduction Not Just Decision Making, But Work Who…
In this post I’m building on Part 1. I want to focus on this: when the church gathers for corporate worship, and both men and women are given opportunities to speak, what are appropriate acts of speech for men and women? More specifically, if we say it is appropriate for a woman to prophesy when the…
This weekend marked the end of the season for my beloved Kentucky Wildcats. I love watching UK basketball and it was sad to see them lose to the Auburn Tigers. The loss, however, was much easier to take when I heard Duke also lost. A bit of balance was restored to the universe. When I…
In 1557 John Calvin wrote his preface to the commentary he had produced on the Psalms. In the preface, Calvin gives an important perspective on this particular OT book. I offer it here for your reading pleasure. I have been accustomed to call this book, I think not inappropriately, An Anatomy of the Soul; for…
*This article originally appeared at For the Church (ftc.co). When someone like Rachel Held Evans responds to something Tim Keller tweets, especially when she responds negatively, social media heats up a few degrees. Last December, Tim Keller tweeted: “Evangelicals have generally believed in the authority of the whole Bible, in contrast to mainline Protestants, who…
Theology Along the Way 