Five Central Teachings of the Protestant Reformation

What does it mean to be a Protestant? These are five of the major teachings of the reformers by which they distinguished their beliefs from those of the Roman Catholic church of their day.

The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy

Biblical illiteracy among Christians is arguably at an all time high, with chilling implications that can hardly be overstated. I know that various things in the church will inevitably change, such as songs and hymns taking on new forms, and that's fine. What isn't fine is for God's people to neglect His Word.

The Church as a Body

I recently read an interesting book by Philip D. Kenneson: Life on the Vine: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit in Christian Community (Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999).
Here is an excerpt:

This [the church as a body] is only one important lesson that reflecting on the metaphor of the church as the body of Christ might teach us. Given the rampant individualism that pervades much congregational life, the contemporary church in this country would do well to reflect seriously on this metaphor. For example:

• Bodies are wrongly understood if their parts are considered to be in some ...

The Manhattan Declaration

Today marks the public release of the Manhattan Declaration, which Chuck Colson invited me to sign several weeks ago. After reading it, I gladly agreed to do so.

I am posting only the Preamble below, as well as a part of the Declaration about life, in the hopes that it will interest you in reading the full statement, posted at www.manhattandeclaration.org. If you read and agree with it, you may sign on with us if you so choose.

I do not participate in many things like this, but both the content and the tone of this statement is ...

Who we WERE, who we ARE now in Christ

A blog reader posted a link to this video (thanks), which I found powerful. I think it’s worth every second of its 8 minutes. And it also may be a great idea for your church.

Before you watch, consider these verses from 1 Corinthians 6:9-11:

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what ...

The Leader's Character; Leadership is a privilege, not an entitlement

The following are my answers to some questions on leadership I gave to Crawford Loritts for his new book called Leadership as an Identity: The Four Traits of Those Who Wield Lasting Influence. The book includes contributions from various Christian leaders, including Bill Bright, D. A. Carson, Clyde Cook, Steve Douglass, Robert Lewis, Bill McCartney, Robertson McQuilken, Gary Rosberg and Joseph Stowell.

A number of my answers are in Crawford's book, some are abridged, but I thought I'd share my full original answers with you here.

Who Are You Roped To For The Climb?

This is Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal, the first two men to climb to the peak of Mount Everest.

Disputable Matters in Romans 14: What They Are and What They Aren't

This weekend at my home church, Good Shepherd Community, three good friends and I brought a group message from Romans 14. As you can see, we were having a good time. And hopefully we helped open up the passage. Different people bring different insights to a passage, and this passage is about differentness.

The Church: Don't Give Up on God's Plan

I tire of the incessant church-bashing and endless tales of people disillusioned with their churches. Yes, Christians can be jerks, and we’ve all had rough times in churches, largely because they consist of people too much like us: sinner-jerks in need of grace and truth and growth.

The problem is, Jesus calls the church his bride. He died for her, and says that ultimately the gates of hell won’t prevail against her. So if you give up on the church, you give up on God’s plan.

More on Robertson versus Robertson and Why We Should Speak Up

In last Friday's post, I contrasted Robertson McQuilkin’s dedication to care for his wife Muriel, stricken with Alzheimer’s, to Pat Robertson’s cruel answer to a question regarding a man having an affair that if he’s going to do anything, he should divorce his wife who has Alzheimer’s.