Insufficient: Book Review

Insufficient: Pursuing Grace-Based Pastoral Competence by Randy Nabors My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book was gifted to me by kind Church members, and they were interested in hearing my thoughts about it. I have great respect for Randy Nabors, and so whatever I have to say about this book should be taken in…

Christian Liberty, Christian Conscience

last edit: Aug. 23rd, added footnote. Recent events have forced many Christians to re-consider the nature of their Spiritual liberty in Jesus Christ, as well as how their conscience functions. This is the case explicitly in regards to the various governmental mandates to either close services of worship, or regulate them in some regards, on…

A Devotional Response to False Accusations

I have been angry, shocked, and grieving in the light of what I consider grievous violations of the ninth commandment, committed by professing Christians via social media. As I have pondered this situation, and wondered what to say, I have generally considered it best to keep quiet. “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he…

Alternate Explanations for the Resurrection of Jesus

Guess what: they don’t make sense. The resurrection of Jesus is the profoundest, and most vital element of Christianity. If Jesus is not physically raised from the dead, then Christianity is a false religion, a false hope, pitiable, and worthless. If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith…

Is Livestream Preaching, Preaching?

This question has been generated by the influx of COVID-19 related ministerial issues. A number of ministers have discussed the nature of our ministry now. Is it really “preaching” to “preach” livestream? Is it “preaching” to “preach” through recorded audio? And in addition, if it is not preaching, then what purpose does it serve in…

Wilhemus à Brakel on the Image

Current theological discussion about the image of God is centered around a rather pragmatic view. “Ancient interpreters foolishly assigned the place of the image to the soul,” say contemporary scholars, “while we realize that man has no soul. Since man has no soul, the image was imbued purely to the work that God created man…

Poem: How few are they that love the news

My minor in College was creative writing with a poetry emphasis. I still write poems on occasion. This one is taken from my journal, after I meditated on a verse from Deuteronomy 4, “From there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart…

Eternal Functional Subordination…Continued

Debates in the Reformed circles of the Church range from petty to vicious to important, and I have no interest in jumping into unnecessary argumentation. But, I think the debate over whether Jesus is eternally, but functionally, subordinate to the Father in the Triune Godhead is an important one. The debate itself is basically over,…