It’s worth turning your attention to (Northern Seminary’s) Tara Beth Leach’s new book, Emboldened. Why? Some women in your church are called and need to be emboldened; those who are called and recognized will need to be emboldened. Tara Beth brings her story and her pastoral calling at Pasadena Nazarene into each of these chapters. I urge you to purchase and read this book, and I urge you especially to have a copy ready to give away to women who... Read more

A reduced story of Luther looks like this: Luther was miserable and suffering under the law’s condemnation but in reading Romans and Galatians he discovered grace, justification by faith alone and imputation of Christ’s righteousness. Hence, from misery to joy. Not so fast says Richard Rex in his fine (and very readable book), The Making of Martin Luther. Luther’s story was more gradual. A few observations: First, prior to Luther’s “conversion” he was reading and studying and commenting on and teaching... Read more

Don’t millennials hate the Bible? Read more

In his thought-provoking book Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution Denis Lamoureux begins the discussion with an analogy. The world of ideas is similar to the world of color. We appreciate that many topics are not simple black-and-white issues and that many shades of opinion and understanding exist. Yet in contrast to the world of color, the ability to discern the spectrum of ideas is based more on our education and life experience than on genetic predispositions. Categories are... Read more

Sometimes we are careless; sometimes we fall for shrunken stories. But the Story of the gospel — kingdom, Jesus, Christianity, our faith — is beautiful, good and true and as such it is magnificent. James Bryan Smith, in his wonderful new The Magnificent Story: Uncovering a Gospel of Beauty, Goodness and Truth, contends the Story is magnificent, and only a magnificent story can summon us to give our all to God. It begins with God, the God who is One, the... Read more

From CBE by Andrea Ackermann, Andrea serves as a pastoral associate and administrator at Christ City Church in Washington DC and is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity at Fuller Seminary. She has a passion to see the church truly live into its calling, including empowering women to reach their potential. She lives in the H Street neighborhood with her husband and two daughters. I was thirty years old when I first met a female pastor. At the time, I was... Read more

One of the implications of the way many of us -- I include myself -- talk about evangelicalism suggests or claims that it is largely an 18th or 19th Century movement. Read more

Or just turn their teams into minor league professionals? Read this: The 2017-18 college basketball season officially got underway on Friday. Time for preseason narratives to play out, go wild with overreactions and … well, a lot of guys didn’t play. Over the past six weeks, the biggest story in college basketball has been the federal investigation into corruption and bribery in the sport. Despite games getting underway, Friday was no different — and it wasn’t just because of the... Read more

God, whose blessed Son came into the world that he might destroy the works of the devil and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life: Grant that, having this hope, we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that, when he comes again with power and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.... Read more

Dave Mahan is the Executive Director of the Rivendell Institute. He also teaches religion and literature as adjunct faculty at the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale Divinity School. His book, An Unexpected Light: Theology and Witness in the Poetry and Thought of Charles Williams, Micheal O’Siadhail, and Geoffrey Hill https://www.amazon.com/Unexpected-Light-OSiadhail-Princeton-Theological/dp/1556355076 frames this conversation. David Moore conducted this interview. Dave’s videos can be found at www.mooreengaging.com. Moore: You dedicate this book to your wife and a second grade teacher. We... Read more