The Plodding Preacher

Man needs woman.  This intriguing article articulates some very important truths. Anthropologists have long recognized that the most fundamental social problem every community must solve is the unattached male. If his sexual, physical, and emotional energies are not governed and directed in a pro-social, domesticated manner, he will become the village’s most malignant cancer. Wives and children, in that order, are the only successful remedy ever found. Military service is a   very   distant second. Nobel Prize winning economist George Akerlof   explains   that “men settle down when they get married; if they fail to marry, they fail to settle down,” because “with marriage, men take on new identities that change their behavior.” This   does not   seem to work with same-sex male couples in long-term   relationships . Husbands and fathers become better, safer, more responsible and productive citizens, unrivaled by their peers in any other relatio...

It is a reading age, a preaching age, a working age, but it is not a praying age. C. H. Spurgeon

Starting this week, I am hoping to include something for family support each Friday.  Today - an excellent help from Michelle Brock . Rearing Children Who Love the Local Church One of my long-term prayer requests is for my children to grow to love the local church and  experience the precious community that we see in the Bible. However, as children, they are limited in ways that they can be involved. How can I encourage them to be a part when people aren’t beating down my doors for their contribution? I’ve learned a few things. First, small churches are fantastic places for children to feel valued and important. Parents may be drawn to the opportunities large churches provide serving our children, but small churches are pretty special for the opportunities they bring even our young children to serve others. It’s not that children can’t serve in big churches; they can and they should! However, they’re not exactly needed in large churches like they can be in a small ch...

Top 10 Things I Love That Worship Leaders Do Aug 19, 2016 | Jared C. Wilson I wasn’t surprised by the big reaction to my recent post “Top 10 Things I Wish Worship Leaders Would Stop Saying”   because I know that the subject is a particular hot button for evangelicals. And while I think too often we inappropriately insulate our preferences/traditions from criticism, I am of course sensitive to the request for a more positive, proactive help. I’ve actually written quite a bit on worship, both online and in print— The Prodigal Church and my Gospel Coalition church resource   Gospel Shaped Worship   are the most notable examples—but new readers triggered by yesterday’s blog post are not likely to be familiar with that work. I was already planning on writing the list below but decided to hasten its appearing. Here’s to hoping this list reaches the same audience as   the last . I love it when worship leaders . . . 10. Lead more than perform. I am grateful for t...

A former pastoral colleague planted a church under our denominational banner.  During the process he received support from the denomination as did his church.  By most standards the plant was a success and the pastor became the toast of our fellowship, even being asked to speak at our national conference.  I have just learned that for the flimsiest reasons he is now leaving our denomination and taking his congregation to join the Harvest churches. A former president of our Seminary sits on the board of a conservative mission agency.  During his term as president the seminary strayed from Biblical teaching in several key areas.  Each of these areas significantly contradicted the doctrinal statement of the mission agency.  Yet, he still continues to sit on the mission agency board. Both of these case studies have something in common.  They reveal the significant lack of integrity among so-called Christian leaders.  There is an ethical callo...

The belief that sexual orientation is an innate, biologically fixed human property—that people are ‘born that way’—is   not supported by scientific evidence . Likewise, the belief that gender identity is an innate, fixed human property independent of biological sex—so that a person might be a ‘man trapped in a woman’s body’ or ‘a woman trapped in a man’s body’—is   not supported by scientific evidence . Only a minority of children who express gender-atypical thoughts or behavior will continue to do so into adolescence or adulthood. There is   no evidence   that all such children should be encouraged to become transgender, much less subjected to hormone treatments or surgery. Non-heterosexual and transgender people have higher rates of mental health problems (anxiety, depression, suicide), as well as behavioral and social problems (substance abuse, intimate partner violence), than the general population. Discrimination alone   does not account for t...

Am I putting in conscious effort (work) into learning something new from God, whether in the scripture I read or the sermon I hear? Do I carefully examine the text of each song I sing in church or just blindly get caught up in the catchy melody or ongoing repetition? Does my hunger for the food of God’s word match my hunger for physical food? Are they fed even   close   to equally? (Jeremiah 15:16) Do I know where in my church I can be taught from God’s word,   besides   Sunday morning service? Where are my time and money being spent   most ? Am I too busy for regular corporate   and   personal study of God’s word because of other things? Is the pursuit of spiritual knowledge and growth an invested priority in my life? (Matt. 6:21) These excellent questions appeared in an article by David Bordy.  Link