As part of my research for the chapter on baptism in a book written by the faculty of Southern Seminary, one of the questions I wanted to answer was, “When did churches leave behind the New Testament practice of immersion?” The answer is, “Far later than you probably think.” Most of the students I teach […]
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Family Ministry: The Simplicity of Family Discipleship
How does family discipleship happen? The same way that we “disciple” our children in certain sports and certain teams. Read this brief post to find out how to form your children’s souls in the same way you form their preferences in sports.
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Leadership: Why I Had to Rewrite My Book on Leadership
An earlier version of this post was published on The Gospel Coalition website. “‘Touch not mine anointed.’ That’s what this book says!” the preacher stormed, flapping his Bible above his head. “There are people in this church right now who are trying to touch God’s anointed—but I won’t let them stretch their hands against me!” […]
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Leadership: What’s the Point of Priesthood in the Church Today?
This post on prophet, priest, and king as leadership typology is excerpted from my book The God Who Goes Before You. You can purchase the book here. Over the past century, several Reformed scholars and church leaders have presented the threefold office of Christ—the munus triplex of prophet, priest, and king—as a typology for church […]
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Leadership: A Disposition toward Submission
This post on suffering and submission in leadership was written with Michael Wilder and is excerpted from our book The God Who Goes Before You: Pastoral Leadership as Christ-Centered Followership. You can order the book here. After a meal with his disciples in the upper room, Jesus made his way to a familiar place (John 18:2) […]
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Leadership: Prophets, Priests, and Kings in the Church Today?
This post on prophets, priests, and kings as leadership typology is excerpted from my book The God Who Goes Before You. You can purchase the book here. Does my personality as a leader land me in the category of prophet, priest, or king? And, if it does, what does that mean for my leadership in the […]
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Leadership: Priestly Leadership in the New Covenant
What does priesthood in the Old Testament have to do with church leadership today? Quite a lot, as it turns out—though perhaps not in the way you would assume! Priestly leadership isn’t about becoming a priest; it isn’t even about becoming a caregiver or counselor for the people of God. To understand the implications of […]
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Leadership: Kingly Leadership in the New Covenant
This post is excerpted from my book The God Who Goes Before You: Pastoral Leadership as Christ-Centered Followership.You can order the book here. What does kingship in the Old Testament have to do with church leadership today? Quite a lot, as it turns out—though perhaps not in the way you would assume.
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Leadership: Leadership as Followership in the Life of Moses
This post was written with Michael Wilder and is excerpted from our book The God Who Goes Before You. You can order the book here. Incompetent Leaders, Omnicompetent God The opening verses of Exodus invite readers into a story that stretches backward through Abraham to the very beginning of time. Moses wrote that “the Israelites were […]
[Read More...]Leadership: Leadership as Followership in the Life of Moses
This post was written with Michael Wilder and is excerpted from our book The God Who Goes Before You. You can order the book here. Incompetent Leaders, Omnicompetent God The opening verses of Exodus invite readers into a story that stretches backward through Abraham to the very beginning of time. Moses wrote that “the Israelites were […]
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Leadership: Shepherd Leadership as God-Centered Followership
This post on shepherd leadership is excerpted from my book The God Who Goes Before You. You can order the book here. The Failure of Israel’s Shepherds Have you ever faced a situation where someone did such a poor job on a project that you declared, “I’ll just do it myself”? That’s not too different from […]
[Read More...]Leadership: Priestly Leadership in the New Covenant
What does priesthood in the Old Testament have to do with church leadership today? Quite a lot, as it turns out—though perhaps not in the way you would assume! Priestly leadership isn’t about becoming a priest; it isn’t even about becoming a caregiver or counselor for the people of God. To understand the implications of […]
[Read More...]
Apologetics: How Aristides Spoke Truth to Power in the Second Century
Imagine yourself as a follower of Jesus in the opening decades of the second century. Nearly a century has passed since the first followers of Jesus claimed they saw their leader alive three days after they watched him die. Now, the Christian faith has reached nearly every urban center in the Roman Empire. And yet, […]
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Sermon: The Wisdom that Comes from Peace
“Peace be with you.” Christians all around the world repeat these words every week—but what would our lives look like if peace really was woven into every part of our lives? The book of James provides us with a clue: “The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace,” James writes, “by those who cultivate peace” […]
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Sermon: The King Who Died with an Open Hand
In 2007, a movie starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman wove a new phrase into the vocabulary of Western culture. This new phrase also happened to be the name of the movie: The Bucket List. A bucket list is a series of experiences that you want to have before you “kick the bucket.” Near the end […]
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Writing: If You Want to Remember It, Write It By Hand
Words and writing matter. In the opening chapter of the Scriptures, God speaks, and a cosmos bursts into being (Genesis 1:3). When he constitutes Israel as his people, God speaks and writes, and a covenant is born (Exodus 31:18). John described the incarnation of God in Christ by declaring, “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14).
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Meditation: Worship as Remembering Our Place
“The captain has turned off the seat belt sign.” My wife and children are at home, but I am not. The conference has been long, the flight has been delayed, it is late, and I am longing to see the lights of Louisville. Sparkling crystals of light unfurl beneath me, not evenly scattered across the […]
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Family Ministry: When and Why Did Weekly Children’s Classes Begin in Churches? (Part One)
When did age-organized ministries for children begin? If you thought children’s classes didn’t begin until the introduction of Sunday School, you have a lot to learn!
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Church History: Macrina and the Supreme Authority of Scripture
Two years after the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, Macrina the Younger was born. She—as Coleman Michael Ford has pointed out— lived between two worlds. One world was the age of Christian persecution by the likes of emperor Diocletian and others. For many Christians in the three centuries before Macrina’s birth, persecution leading to […]
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Apologetics: How the Obscenity of the Crucifixion Supports the Truth of the Gospel
With few exceptions, even the most skeptical scholars admit that Jesus was crucified—and with good reason. Not only the authors of the New Testament but also later Christian writers, the Roman historian Tacitus, and quite likely the Jewish historian Josephus mention the crucifixion of Jesus. And it’s highly unlikely that first-century Christians would have fabricated […]
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