This is a bit of a book notice. IVP sent me an advanced photocopy of James Payton, Jr.’s, book, Getting the Reformation Wrong: Correcting Some Misunderstandings , and I want to urge it upon readers who have any interest in the signficance of the Reformation for the contemporary Church — and the Reformation reshaped the Church in both good and bad ways. How is the Reformation talked about in your circles? How do you perceive it? What are the biggest... Read more

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Read more

Mere Churchianity: Finding Your Way Back to Jesus-Shaped Spirituality by Michael Spencer Reviewed by Matt Edwards   In Mere Churchianity, Michael Spencer (aka The Internet Monk) urges those wounded by the church to return to a Jesus-shaped spirituality. Writing primarily to those who have left or are leaving the church, Spencer urges his readers to forget the idols of megachurches, superpastors, prosperity preaching, culture wars, patriotism, moralism, and conformity, and look for the God who is Jesus. For those familiar with... Read more

My mind is really churning now as a result of RJS’s “Houston, we still have a problem” posts, and the comments and the linked conversations and speeches, and I imagine I’m not alone.  The issues that are sticking in my mind stem from the argument that Mohler and others have made, namely this: that the credibility of Christianity, or more specifically, of Christian theism, rises and falls on the credibility of Gen. 1-3, or, more importantly, on the credibility of... Read more

Overall, I’m against it. Yes, there are probably situations where virtual sermons are needed. Yes, I’ve actually participated in this sort of thing… but…  What do you think? What does this say about pastoral theology? About ecclesiology? About what a Sunday morning service is? What would happen if the congregants decided they, too, wanted to be virtually present? (CNN) — The Sunday morning service at Fellowship Church in Dallas, Texas, was humming along with hymns and prayers when something unusual happened.... Read more

At the Washington Post there’s a good discussion set up by the introduction (indented lines below). The issue is do we link “terrorist” with one’s religion? That is, do we call someone an “Islamic” terrorist or does that impugn and malign all within that faith? Do we call the KKK “Christian” terrorists?  I’ve thought about this one some myself but wonder what you think. Terrorists are zealots and they are inspired by mistaken beliefs, but we would do well to... Read more