Not Every Thing is as Important as the Next Thing: John Calvin on Theological Triage

Our generation is bad at disagreeing. It seems, at least from certain perspectives, that if two people or groups disagree on an issue, they must be enemies. At least we too often act as if this is the case. Sadly, disagreement too often leads to open warfare. This is true whether we are talking about…

Welcoming and Affirming the Same Thing? Confusion in our Culture

Recently, a few guys in my community group had a great discussion about how we can love people who believe differently than us while also upholding the truths of the Bible. That is, we believe that the twin ideas of loving people and standing for truth are not antithetical to one another. Indeed, faithful Christianity…

Appropriate Speech-Acts: Thinking Carefully about Who Says What When the Church is Gathered (Part 2)

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…

Appropriate Speech-Acts: Thinking Carefully about Who Says What When the Church is Gathered (Part 1)

*This article has two parts: see Part 2. A generation ago, debates among egalitarians and complementarians were significant. Eventually, the camps settled into their own (two organizations emerged that generally represent the two sides: Council of Biblical Manhood & Womanhood and Christians for Biblical Equality). Today, however, within the settled camp of complementarianism, there are…

Are You Improving? Thoughts on Getting Better, Particularly at Preaching

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…

Pastor, Let’s Think This Year: John Calvin as Model of Thoughtfulness

By all accounts, John Calvin, the great Genevan reformer and systematician of the Reformation age, was an educated man. His early educational endeavors help set a trajectory toward a rigorous pattern of intellectual engagement that will mark his ministry. If pastors would cultivate a robust life of the mind (and they should), then paying attention…