Feb 11, 2022Two Ways to Fail as a PastorWe cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. (1 Thessalonians 2:8) How can a pastor fail? Let me, with fear and trembling, count the ways. When…Bible4 min readBible4 min read
Jan 6, 2022A Pastor’s Heart in Heart-wrenching TimesWith you, I watched a mob breach the most cherished of our national monuments on January 6, sparked and spurred, and by some accounts, enjoyed by the sitting President of the United States. I have been mourning and angry beyond what I would have expected. I’m sadder and angrier than…Culture3 min readCulture3 min read
Aug 21, 2021The Uneasy Conscience of Modern EvangelicalismNearly 75 years ago, Carl F.H. Henry published The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism, a book which addressed the ways in which fundamentalists had withdrawn from social engagement. In their desire to avoid the pitfalls of the social gospel and liberal Christianity, those who believed the right doctrines had abandoned…Christianity7 min readChristianity7 min read
Aug 19, 2021Voddie Baucham’s Faulty Fault LinesIntroduction — I first heard, and heard of, Voddie Baucham in the Fall of 2005. He ascended the platform of the chapel at Southern Seminary early in my first semester. He thundered the gospel from Jude, saying he would have loved merely to delight in our common salvation. But, he said, too…Religion14 min readReligion14 min read
Jun 17, 202110 Takeaways From #SBC21On Tuesday and Wednesday, June 15–16, 2021, the Southern Baptist Convention (Great Commission Baptists) convened its an annual gathering. Two years between meetings (the 2020 meeting was cancelled due to COVID) and some tension around issues of racial justice (and “Critical Race Theory”), failures to deal with instances of sexual…Religion5 min readReligion5 min read
Jun 9, 2021A Summary and Analysis of Key Themes in Critical Race TheoryIntroduction — Despite about a decade as a student of racial issues and a practitioner of multiethnic ministry, I had not heard about Critical Race Theory (CRT) or Intersectionality (I) until a few years ago. And I have had no desire to read or write about CRT, saying off-hand a number of…Bible22 min readBible22 min read
Mar 9, 2021An Infected Splinter? A Brief Response to Kevin DeYoungKevin DeYoung has developed a taxonomy for addressing the splintering of the “Young, Restless, and Reformed” (YRR), “New Calvinist” movement, the quasi-cohesive group of young Christians subscribing to generally reformed theology for the last decade and a half. He explains this movement has been splintering recently, which anyone who is…Christianity5 min readChristianity5 min read
Dec 7, 2020Top 10 (+1) Books of 2020Despite all of its bitterness, 2020 also shared its slice of sweetnesses. For me, I thank the Lord for concentrated time with our little family and extra bandwidth for reading and reflection. I enjoyed, learned, and grew through reading a number of books this year, and here are my top…20205 min read20205 min read
Nov 20, 2020Two theological dangers: saying two much and saying too littleIn my paper for this year’s annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, I argue that a Protestant principle of sola Scriptura can provide a methodological guardrail against tendencies toward what I’m calling either cataphatic “indulgence” or apophatic “indigence” in constructive theological labor. Here I draw from Kevin Vanhoozer’s essay…Theology3 min readTheology3 min read
Nov 11, 2020The Southern Baptist Convention Should Be Led by Godly LeadersIn a recent article, Florida pastor Tom Ascol argues that the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) should elect a local church pastor for its next President. Ascol pushes back against the selection of a denominationally employed “bureaucrat.” The article implies or asserts a number of problems with a denominationally employed leader. …Christianity3 min readChristianity3 min read
