On my top menu bar, over on the far right — and some would charge that if I were in full control of my layout, everything would be on the far right — you can see the discrete little word shop. In that little shop, an experiment in publishing is going on, and I invite …
False Witness
Introduction: For Christians who want to be biblically grounded, the sin and crime of bearing false witness is a very big deal. It is serious for two great reasons. The first is that it is a violation of God’s holy law, which reflects His character. It was by means of this particular evil; technique that …
Real Offense and Not So Much
Introduction: I write as one who has given a lot of offense in my time, and I think it could be profitable to discuss this for a little bit. Obviously I believe that it is high time for us to address an aspect of this that is too often neglected. We really have to come …
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 …
Bully Pulpit or Pulpit Bully?
So once again it is time to discuss pastoral combativeness as a virtue. This is not to say that pastors have some sort of a double-00 rating allowing them to be pugnacious or difficult to get along with. On the contrary, Scripture plainly teaches that one of the qualifications for ministry is that a man …
No Shantytown Kingdom
The entire world of unbelief lies under the sway of the wicked one. Given how the god of unbelief operates — which is through accusation — it should not be surprising what kind of energy makes the system go. That energy lies in the strength of accusation. The devil is an accuser, accusing the saints …
The Judicious Review
Boz Tchividjian wrote a pretty good article about internal investigations that are configured to look like independent investigations. Because some folks out there were making application to the review that Christ Church has requested from the CREC, I thought I should say just a quick something. There are two basic responses. One has to do …
A Different Kind of Deplorable Word
There are a number of ways in which all the important subjects in the world are actually all about the same thing — God and man, sin and salvation. That being the case, there should be a number of ways in which the subjects that have occupied a good deal of space on this blog …
This Ramshackle Heart
In the recent spate of controversies, one of the things I have mentioned trying to do, and which has caused some consternation and disbelief in some quarters, is that which Jesus says to do when we are slandered. He says to rejoice and be exceeding glad (Matt. 5:12). His followers, the Lord says, should receive …
A Sewer Ditch in Calcutta
I want to begin with a brief logic lesson, and then move to develop an important point about the biblical view of scandals. One popular logical fallacy is called affirming the consequent. It runs thusly: If P, then Q. Q is the case, and so therefore P. Ta da! If it is a cow, then …