The church does not need another debate about who is allowed to preach. It does, however, desperately need to recover what preaching actually is according to Scripture. Somewhere along the way, we reimagined the pulpit. The sermon became an inspirational talk, a leadership lecture, or a religious TED Talk with a few Greek words sprinkled in for flavor. In short, just another didactic expression. We evaluate preachers the way we evaluate conference speakers. Was he engaging? F

Why Healthy Churches Need both Doctrinal Clarity and Missional Passion “Doctrine divides, love unites.” I’m sure most of us have heard a variation of this sentiment. I once heard a person say, “There’s that dreaded D word again…” The word doctrine has acquired a bad reputation in many Christian circles. Is it fair? To some, it conjures images of endless debates, theological pride, or churches more interested in winning arguments than reaching people. Yet the word i

Last week social media buzzed about the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) vote on women serving as pastors. Specifically, the SBC voted to “not affirm, appoint, or endorse a woman serving in the office or function of a pastor/elder/overseer, such as preaching to the assembled congregation.” The amendment passed with nearly 75% support. Under the denomination’s rules, any constitutional change requires a two-thirds majority in two consecutive years, so a similar vote will be n

Who Gets to Tell You Who You Are? A few years ago, I met with a counselor who works almost exclusively with pastors. I saw him eight times, and honestly, it was one of the healthiest things I’ve ever done. No matter who we are or how long we’ve been faithful, it’s good to have someone objective listen to us and take a peek at how we think about life and doctrine. One day, after listening to me describe myself, my struggles, my insecurities, and the way I tended to measur

Christians have faith that the Bible is inspired by God. With deep humility, we trust that God has revealed himself through Christ, and that the testimony of the early Christians is trustworthy and true. The Bible’s contents have been put to the test for two thousand years and still survive, indeed they thrive. No other piece of writing in all of history has endured the scrutiny applied to the Bible. But how do we know it’s inspired by God? Not every reason persuasive to Chri

By Guest writer Amy Davison, from Mama Bear Apologetics... I’ll never forget the first time my husband and I read Scripture together. Our...