Last week Peter Leithart and I sat down to discuss some of the implications of his recent book, The End of Protestantism. If you are interested, the audio from that discussion can be found here. The question we were pursuing was this one: “Does the gospel require us to pursue and promote unity among Protestants, …
9 Theses on Pastoral Confidentiality and Child Abuse
Introduction: We unfortunately live in a time when child abuse is common, and given the way things are going, tragic instances of it are likely to increase. This means that those pastors who are involved in genuine pastoral ministry are going to encounter this particular kind of evil at some point, and ought not to …
The Peril of Zero Sum Counseling
Introduction: Given the times we live in, and that fact that it is an evil day, I believe it is necessary to explain and defend a particular assumption that should under-gird all pastoral counseling, particularly marriage counseling. I first learned this assumption from my father decades ago, and it has been an integral part of …
Is Church to be a Safe Space?
In answering the question posed by the title, let me begin by saying yes and no. The contingent response depends on a number of factors. Safe from what? How safe? What tools may we use to establish that safety? Yes, of course, we should take every lawful precaution to keep the church safe — safe …
Recoil
Scripture speaks about our going out and our coming in, and experienced pastors have seen a great deal of it. There is, of course, the ordinary going out and coming in, but we also have to take account of the traffic patterns established by those who come in enthusiastic and leave disgruntled. There are of …
Waifs With Manga Eyes
A few weeks ago Jen Wilkin wrote a piece for The Gospel Coalition that got some significant circulation, and I wanted to make a few comments about it. The post was entitled “3 Female Ghosts That Haunt the Church,” and in the course of what she wrote, she made a number of observations that, in …
But Blood Is Still Pretty Thick
We must begin with the foundational Christian axiom that water is thicker than blood. The call of baptism outranks every demand that might come from any other source. “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy …
The Difference Between Pastors and Teachers
I was talking recently with a friend about the difference between pastors and teachers, and it got my thoughts churning. You know what Wodehouse said about some minds being like the soup in a bad restaurant — better left unstirred. But that’s too bad, too late now, etc. Considered from one angle, this topic might …
Don’t Waste Your Shake Up
If we adopt the policy I am suggesting in the larger church — that of asking elders and ministers to step down if their children are excommunicate (or the moral equivalent) — this solves some problems, but not all of them. It actually creates a few interesting problems. One interesting problem it could create is …
Parents Playing God
Not surprisingly, there are objections to this position I have been urging about the minister’s qualification in his family. One of the more potent arguments is that this position presupposes that the father somehow has salvific powers, which runs counter to what we know the Bible teaches about the sovereignty of grace. Only God can …