Recently I’ve been asking myself a simple question: What am I reaching for? My phone the moment I wake up. An energy drink before I’ve even fully opened my eyes. My wallet when I think buying one more thing might make life just a little better. These things aren’t inherently bad. They may not even […]

When Conviction Is Communicated Without Care Dear brothers, honor your sisters. In recent years, many pastors have found themselves in difficult positions and conversations as they seek to defend conservative biblical doctrine. In defending and holding to such doctrines, these shepherds are doing what they are called to do: Protect the sheep of God’s flock. […]

Vs. 3: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.” Luke’s first beatitude is “blessed are the poor” (Luke 6:20). Some have argued that Luke and Matthew are at odds because, in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus adds the words “in spirit.” In the Old Testament, there is a frequent connection between […]

I used to be a church planter. Maybe I still am. I don’t know. All I know is that the church I planted more than a decade ago is no longer a church “plant.” It is an established church with elders, staff, property, and long-term plans for disciple-making. I am also no longer there. A […]

Every Christian eventually experiences seasons they would never choose. Some walk through chronic illness. Others bury loved ones, endure loneliness, face disappointment, or wait for answers that seem slow in coming. There are moments when life seems to stand still and prayers appear to go unanswered. During these difficult seasons, believers often ask a similar […]

Two major storylines have dominated news coverage of American religion in recent years. One is the decline of Christianity. Writers have often based this theme on Pew Research Center reports about the rise of the “Nones,” or people who say they adhere to no religion in particular. One Pew headline, for example, declared, “In U.S., […]

I was discipled into what I call the “radical movement.” The year I went to college for a year-long missions program was the same year David Platt’s Radical was published. What had been building up in my heart—a desire to serve “the least of these” and go to the mission field—was fueled by not only […]

There are many ways theology can be misused and abused.[1] Given this book aims to see doctrine as an avenue for delight, articulating ways theology and doctrine may be used for ill may prove helpful and can give us a diagnostic for the way theology moves us in our own time spent contemplating the Lord. […]

Little River I grew up in eastern North Carolina, “in the sticks.” As a teenager, my folks built a house in the middle of nowhere, and my stepdad set out to “tame” the land—chasing critters, chopping down trees, and cleaning up the river. Sometimes beavers dammed the river, flooding the woods and trapping trash. One […]

Are creeds and confessions still useful today? The idea of such things leaves many Baptists with hesitation and suspicion. Today, creeds, confessions, and liturgies are often viewed as restrictive forms of formal religion and tradition—perhaps too Catholic or Eastern Orthodox. But throughout Christian history, these practices have served as longstanding means of protecting orthodoxy and […]