Reflections on Twenty Years of Ministry: Church

This is the third of a series of reflections of gratitude on 20 years of ministry at GBC. I am thankful for the church. But it wasn’t always that way. When I started seminary, I wanted to teach. Somewhere along the way that changed, though I would be hard-pressed to identify when and where. But […]

Grab Bag

Learn to “Read better with [puritan Richard] Baxter” Pastor Tim Keller tells us how to “How to Love One Another: Affirm, Share, and Serve” The Trellis and the Vine — one of my new favorite books on how to minister and serve in the church body — is now in paperback, and on sale for […]

Impoverished believers

Mark Dever and Paul Alexander identify one of the things that makes a believer impoverished and weak in his spiritual life — and their assertion is in contradiction to the call of our day and culture: While our individual walks are crucial, we are impoverished in our pursuit of God if we do not avail […]

An effective church

In my lifetime, I have moved more than 1000 miles seven times, and numerous more times locally. There are many benefits as well as detractions to such a nomadic existence. When we moved prior to my sophomore year in High School, I became aware of a new difficulty — how do you choose a new […]

Book Review: The Trellis and the Vine

Title: The Trellis and the Vine Authors: Colin Marshall and Tony Payne Publisher: Matthias Media, 2009; 196 pp. $19.99 Recommendation (4-star scale): Several years ago a friend of mine told me about his “rule of three” regarding the purchase of books. No matter how much someone would praise and affirm the qualities of a given […]

Sunday Leftovers (3/14/10)

We live in an entertainment culture. We go to the gym to exercise, step onto a treadmill and have a TV screen facing us to watch. But most don’t watch – they have their own private entertainment in their own headphones. Or perhaps you prefer an aerobics class — so you exercise there to the […]

Book Review: Why We Love the Church

Title: Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion Authors: Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck Publisher: Moody Publishers, 2009; 234 pp. $14.99 Recommendation (4-star scale): Well-written books are becoming a trend for Kevin DeYoung. Just three years ago, he published his first book, and just 18 months ago he published […]

Book Review: The Disappearance of God

Title: The Disappearance of God: Dangerous Beliefs in the New Spiritual Openness Author: R. Albert Mohler, Jr. Publisher: Multnomah Books, 2009; 194 pp. $14.99 Recommendation (4-star scale): A number of years ago while attending a conference where Al Mohler was preaching, reference was made to the fact that while Mohler is obviously articulate, well-read, and […]

Sunday Leftovers (9/20/09)

As we think about the early church, even though reading the epistles, it is still sometimes tempting to be idealistic about the world in which those believers lived and the manner in which those churches functioned. “If only our church could be like those early New Testament churches…,” we suggest. Yet in such longings we […]

Today’s Quote – One Another (Harris)

Josh Harris, Stop Dating the Church: The longer I’m a Christian, the more aware I become that I cannot live the Christian life on my own. My individual and direct relationship with God through Jesus is the greatest privilege and He is truly all I need — and yet God in His wisdom has created […]

Today’s Quote – Faithfulness (DeYoung)

Kevin DeYoung, Why We Love the Church: Our part is to do our part.…God will not reward churchgoers, or His churches for that matter, for being big and influential, or hip and culturally with-it, but for being good and faithful (Mt. 25:23). That’s all God asks of us — be good and faithful, which is […]

Today’s Quote – Christianity (Guinness)

Os Guinness, The Dust of Death: Modern Christianity is crucially weak at three vital points. The first is its compromised, deficient understanding of revelation. Without Biblical historicity and veracity behind the Word of God, theology can only grow closer to Hinduism. Second, the modern Christian is drastically weak in an unmediated, personal, experiential knowledge of […]

They believe in the church

As I said recently, I love the church. In my journey of increasing passion for Christ’s bride, I have been helped by numerous writers who have stimulated my thinking towards godly and biblical thoughts about the church. We need preeminently the Word of God to shape our think on all things; but we are wise […]

Today’s Quote – Church (Guinness)

Os Guinness, No God But God: The overwhelming majority of Americans, more than 85%, identify themselves as Christians. But if the statistical indicators of faith are up, the social influence is down, and the reasons are becoming plain. There has been a carelessness about Christian orthodoxy, a corruption of Christian obedience, a vacuum of Christian […]

Sunday Leftovers (9/13/09)

I fell in love while I was in seminary. Twice. It was while I was matriculating in preparation for ministry that I met Raye Jeanne, fell in love and we married. And during those same years of study, I fell in love with another woman — the bride of Christ — the church. I hadn’t […]