Does the Word “Evangelical” Mean Anything Anymore?

I’m writing this while returning from ICRS, the annual Christian book convention. I’m sitting in the Atlanta airport, reflecting on some of my conversations the past four days. I did many interviews about recent and forthcoming books, and talked with lots of evangelical booksellers, publishers, and authors.

The Evidence Doesn’t Lie: The Unborn are Children (this post includes a special note to pastors and church leaders)

Last year I did a phone interview for a film called The Life Project, produced by Verite Studios. Our office recently got an email from Timothy Eaton, the director, in which he wrote:

Pastors know that roughly one out of five women in their congregations have had an abortion.  Many pastors have had abortions in their families.  Many pastors may not have counseled unwed pregnant women strongly enough against aborting their babies.  It is a subject fraught with pain for any congregation.

Charles Spurgeon Praising the Divine Architect

Charles Spurgeon preached to something like ten million people in his lifetime, sometimes speaking ten times a week at various locations. His sermons were transcribed as he spoke. In those days of telegraph, his messages became available across the Atlantic, in America, within days, and around the world within a week. Besides his amazing quantity of sermons, he wrote an autobiography, the massive The Treasury of David, 3 Volumes  on the psalms, books on prayer, the classic devotional Morning and Evening, and produced a magazine, The Sword and the Trowel. Some argue that no author in history has more material in print than Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

With Greg Laurie and Harvest Fellowship, on Heaven and Suffering

Sunday morning, March 7, I was with Greg Laurie and Harvest Fellowship in Riverside, California. Greg interviewed me about Heaven, and evil and suffering, and we opened the Word together. We did something similar last Thursday night in Orange County. (And in the meantime Nanci and I got to go to Disneyland, a nice little bonus!) To facilitate the interview, someone at the church built a Larry King-style interview desk. They did a beautiful job.

As background, Greg called me last year to tell me that my book Heaven had been a real encouragement to him in the wake of ...

Encouraging responses to Randy’s book If God is Good

by Kathy Norquist, Randy Alcorn’s assistant

I never realized how difficult and time-consuming it is to write a book until I started working for Randy many years ago. Observing the numerous stages of a book before it goes to print has given me a new appreciation for the work of an author. And what fun for Randy when he receives the first copy of his latest book in the mail—before it ever hits the bookshelves. It’s somewhat like the anticipation of the birth of a child and the day finally arrives!

Randy loves the fact that he ...

Spurgeon's Worst Sermon

It is often difficult to confirm the accuracy of a story, including this one printed in the Christian Digest and cited in a collection of stories assembled by Paul Tan. It wouldn’t surprise me to find it is accurate, but in any case the point of the story is a valid one, and I have seen it illustrated in less dramatic ways in my own life and in the speaking ministries of others. I think it also applies to our attempts to share Christ with others. Sometimes we say just the wrong words and Christ uses them, other times ...

Recommended books for a pastor in his 20's

Recently I was asked to recommend some books for a pastor in his twenties to read. Most of these books can be purchased from a Christian bookstore or ordered from www.christianbook.com.

Resting and Wrestling

I was listening to a John Piper message on Hebrews 12, titled "The Painful Discipline of Our Heavenly Father," and appreciated this introduction, so I’m sharing it with you. I really enjoy John’s messages, and highly recommend that you download them, and put on an iPod or listen to in the car and on planes, or as you do housework or tinker in the garage. John’s life and ministry, and his insights and passion for God, have been a gift to me and many others. Download any of John’s hundreds of messages from www.desiringgod.org ...

Question and Answer of the Week: How do you enjoy your family and the ministry?

Question from a reader:

I’m a full-time youth pastor with four beautiful kids and an incredibly supportive wife. It is so hard to juggle ministry and family and do it well. As someone who has reached the other side, and now with grandkids, does it get easier? How did you find the energy and time to really enjoy the kids AND the ministry?

Answer from Randy Alcorn:

I received this letter and this was my response, in case it might be helpful for others:

It did get easier as the kids got older, and more when they launched out ...

Counting the Cost of Sexual Immorality

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has joined a long line of leaders, both secular and Christian, who have committed adultery.

Someone suggested, in light of this, that I post about fleeing and resisting sexual temptation. First, consider this from God's Word:

Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes, for the prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread, and the adulteress preys upon your very life. Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned? Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet ...