Pastors carry an impossible responsibility. Having been in ministry for about a decade, I’ve come to learn this reality firsthand. Feeding God’s sheep, protecting the flock from wolves, and not letting yourself fail in the process is an utterly unattainable assignment for feeble men. Praise God there’s more to the story.
It's becoming increasingly common for some theologians to mock individual Bible study. Picking up the word of God, reading it for yourself, and heeding what the Lord has said can be couched in language that makes the process sound like a fool's errand. These theologians will claim that without the help of historical secondary sources, it's nigh impossible for an individual to understand the biblical text in accordance with historic Christian orthodoxy.
Aside from essentially rejecting the perspicuity of Scripture, this understanding of the Christian faith generates more questions than answers. How do we know what heresy is? How are we to determine the fitness of those teachers who seek to influence our understanding of the Bible? What theology does God want us to presuppose in our Bible study, in contrast with the theology that is derived from Bible study?
Hello there.
You may have noticed that I haven't published an article this year. Soon, I will! There are 2-3 articles that are in development right now. However, due to a variety of factors I haven't been able to sit down and write in a focused manner as much as I like. I anticipate having that time soon, though...So keep an eye out!
One of the additional projects I've been working on this year is a weekly podcast series that follows The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' (Mormon) Sunday School curriculum. They're going through the Old Testament church-wide this year and I'm coming alongside the study to offer a Bible Church pastor's perspective. I encourage you to check that out even if you aren't particularly interested in Mormon teachings. You can check out that series on Facebook, YouTube, and Soundcloud.
Of course I still host the Do Theology Podcast, too. We always have lots of fun and exciting things going on over there. The episode coming out this coming Tuesday should stir the pot a little. :)
On Sundays, I'm co-teaching Sunday School and finishing up preaching through 1 Corinthians. You can find all of that on our church's YouTube and Soundcloud pages.
This is a lot of content. May the Lord use it to grow us all for His honor and glory.
Thanks for the support and God bless.
Our church didn't meet in person for about six weeks at the start of the...you know...the thing. When we started meeting in person again in April 2020, we agreed to a basic two-step plan:
1. We will study the issues and think for ourselves in order to form our own personal convictions.2. We will show grace and kindness toward others, whether or not they agreed with our personal convictions.
Latter-day Quagmire
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the "Mormon Church") is going to change. They've done it in the past and it will happen again soon. Their path, however, is uncertain.
Patrick Q. Mason, chair of Mormon history and culture at Utah State University, recently said to the Washington Post, "I can see multiple futures for Mormonism. I honestly don’t know which way it’s going to go."
The Church has to change because they have to survive. Jesus is not building that institution; therefore, they're subject to being overtaken by a variety of forces. Currently, many of their members are dabbling with secular humanism. Covid has given many of the members a break from their regular religious routines and many of them aren't coming back. Others have met the one, true God of the universe and are involved in real churches that preach real grace. They're not coming back, either.
Earlier this year I debated Will Duffy, an open theist, on The Gospel Truth YouTube channel. You can watch the full debate with opening statements and cross-examinations on that channel.
Open theists believe that the future is absolutely open; thus, God does not exist outside of time. (He can't exist in what is "future" to us because the future doesn't truly exist.) They believe humans are absolutely free; therefore, God can't know future events. (If He has certain and exhaustive knowledge of future events, the future must be set.)
This is my opening statement from the debate, which has been mildly edited.
Introduction
As long as there have been Christians, there have been apostates. However, there has never been an age like the present, where both faithful Christians and apostates have had essentially equal access and influence over the church. The internet has made it possible for anyone to be influenced by anyone at any time, with no responsible gatekeeper necessarily standing in the way to impose wisdom and discernment on the sources of information rushing over the people. There are websites like this one, of course, that attempt to help people pause and think through certain things. But by and large, we're all like tree mice with small voices in a big forest, limited to influencing the creeping things that happen to pass through our tiny spot of land. There's just no way we can compete with those loud, cackling toucans and bellbirds in the trees above.
Sorry for calling you a creeping thing.
Introduction and Disclaimers
Recently, a large gaggle of Southern Baptists got together in Nashville, Tennessee. Although I'm sure there were many great conversations that took place and lots of edification had by all, the general characterization of the gathering has been one of bickering and backbiting. From discussions about critical race theory and abortion to electing a new president to discovering heresy on said president's church's website, the convention did not disappoint in the excitement department. Yet, as I observed it all as an outsider, I couldn't help but reflect upon how glad I am that I do not belong to a denomination.
Before I get into all that, let me clarify some things that you're probably already thinking about.
