So let us begin by defining terms. Financial support of the Lord’s work can be divided into two categories–tithes and offerings. With the tithe, the amount is specified by the Lord (10% of the increase, by definition), and then three broad categories are authorized as proper recipients of this tithe. Those three categories are the …
It’s Not the Restaurants, Champ
The apostle Paul had a terrible time maintaining relationships. And we, in our therapeutic age, would tend to think it was his problem, saying that he must have been what is called a “strong colleague.” “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica”(2 Tim. 4:10). “But Paul thought …
You Know You Are on the Wrong Side of a Church Split If . . .
Here are just a few observations I have gathered from over the years. I used the phrase church split in the title, but the principles also apply to solo departures from a church, as well as to those controlled crashes that are a combination of church split and church plant — what the professionals call …
The Atlantic Is Not a Theological Point
I would like to take a moment to tie up the various concerns expressed about my two recent MTW/PCA posts, and deal with them in a bundle. Some of them came up in the comments, and one set came in a very gracious letter of concern from a PCA friend. Here are some thoughts, in …
More on Women Ministers in the PCA
I have received further information about the situation in the MTW with women’s ordination. First, the church in question has in fact called a husband and wife team to the pastorate. But the church is not in fact a PCA church. The PCA has a cooperative agreement with a local denomination there, a denomination which …
Wise Women Then Do Not Authorize Silly Women Now
Preaching today continues one aspect of the prophetic office, but it does so by continuing the work of weighing, discerning, evaluating, exegeting, and declaring. Preachers today are not inspired in the same way that Isaiah, Jeremiah, Agabus, or Philip’s daughters were. Because the grace of direct inspiration or utterance has been discontinued, what we now …
First Woman Pastor in the PCA?
Just to keep you posted, I have written an inquiry to a gentleman associated with MTW, the PCA’s mission arm. I wrote to ask him if there was any truth to an apparently credible report that I had heard, to the effect that an MTW church plant overseas had called a woman to be their …
Accountability in Church Government
“I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who love to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us” (John the Apostle) Because the world is a fallen place, it is not surprising that what we call “accountability” is necessary. Because of the scriptural teaching about the fallen nature of man, even when such a …
The Four-Office View
The local church is where most Christians come into contact with the government of the church, and, not surprisingly, there is considerable debate about the government of the local church. The purpose here is to sketch some the various positions that have been taken, and give a few scriptural indications of what I believe to …
Yay for Having Them
As we continue to consider the government of the church, we come to the matter of personal integrity in the men who lead the church. It doesn’t matter how good the recipe is, you can’t make a good omelet with rotten eggs. We have already considered the need for doctrinal integrity; here we must consider …