February, 2006
Reformed Evangelists
Thanks Mark, for the excellent questions and sorry for my slow reply. Let me give some quick answers and then I’ll come back and elaborate later. First, some Calvinists are considered poor evangelists because they are. We could both give examples. This is a point I’ll take up later. Second, Calvinists are often considered poor [...]
Pretty Preachers
Lig, Mark and Al have served us big time with their personal examples and excellent posts on the importance of reading and study for pastors. It should be obvious to all of us by now that consistent, substantive, strategic reading is simply not optional for a pastor. I have yet to meet a pastor who [...]
The Source of the Packer Quote
Gobs of you have been asking for the source of the Packer quote. Thanks for your interest. It can be found in his famous introduction to John Owen’s The Death of Death in the Death of Christ. Probably on the first page or two, if you have the Banner of Truth edition of that book. [...]
Packer on the recovery of the Gospel
J.I. Packer is surely right when he says that "one of the most urgent tasks facing evangelical Christendom today" is "the recovery of the gospel." "Why so?," you ask. Here’s his answer. "There is no doubt that evangelicalism today is in a state of perplexity on and unsettlement. In such matters as the practice of [...]
Who are better Evangelists?
Dear Lig, great post! I love that excerpt of Packer, but that leaves me with a question. So why are Calvinists considered such poor evangelists? Do the statistics of the PCA’s growth that I have read suggest that Reformed types are better evangelists? In the Southern Baptist Convention, we’re always having to defend the idea [...]
And it's not just Lloyd-Jones
"Members of our church are expected to abide by the lifestyle guidelines of our membership covenant. Those who engage in immoral activities are subject to church discipline." –Rick Warren, Purpose-Driven Church (page 217). I should also note that Saddleback so separates baptism and church membership that they will baptize someone they know to be in [...]
To my non-Donatist Baptist Friend, Mark
Thanks for the kind comment about the posts on reading, Mark. And thanks for your questions. Sadly, the answer is that sometimes Presbyterians are lax in our attitudes towards church membership, though when we are it is a betrayal of our historic understanding of biblical polity rather than a consistent working out of it. I [...]
Lax Presbyterians?
Lig, thank you for your thoughtful posts on reading. You are an example here to us, as you are in so many other ways. Now, a question: because you guys "baptize" babies, does that mean that you have lax attitudes toward church membership, "lax" in the sense of not trying to have a regenerate church [...]
Membership, Glorious Membership
I was talking to a friend recently who mentioned that someone "loved the gospel." We were talking about a church with a pastor in which the Gospel is not consistently preached and the authority of Scripture not upheld. The current pastor won’t mind anyone thinking whatever they want religiously so long as they don’t think [...]
Pastors – Studying and Reading (7)
As we bring this consideration of the importance and conduct of pastoral reading and study to a close, I want to ask you a question. Do you pray as you study? Do you pause to praise God for a glorious truth about himself that you learn along the way in your reading? Do you stop [...]
