August, 2006
A Good Offense
I’m in the midst of finishing writing a little book on evangelism. In one chapter, I’m making some specific suggestions about how to evangelize, and one piece of counsel I give is to "Be Clear." Here’s some of what I’m hoping to say about being clear: When you share the Gospel, think carefully about the [...]
Man-less Christianity?
The future of the church lies in reaching young men. I think it was Mark Driscoll who recently said or wrote something like that. And he is not alone in making such observations. Given the way that God has made us, men do have a leadership role to fulfill in the church, and our not [...]
I Got an Idea!
Hey, Al, Lig & CJ! I got an idea. Why don’t we write the introduction for the T4G volume here on this blog?! I’ve got an idea for the structure. It would require each one of us to write 3 times, rotating through from me to AL to Lig to CJ, covering a different topic [...]
A Painful Picture
Mark, that picture from your previous post (This One’s for You, CJ) added more pain to my already burdened soul. It’s bad enough that the Yankees just swept the Red Sox, but to make matters worse, I have to root for a United States basketball team led by Coach K in the FIBA World Championship! [...]
Again, for now
Sometimes I notice what I keep doing. I’ll be speaking (as I did this past weekend) on elders, congregationalism, membership, the Gospel, and I’ll think "I’m saying this again. I’ve said this many times before. Now I’m saying this again." I stop and talk to an older saint, and hear how much she is called [...]
Southern Baptist Mistake
After 2 months reflection by many pastors, it is increasingly clear that the Southern Baptist Convention has made a serious mistake at its convention in Greensboro. This has nothing to do with elections of officers, mission board controversy or alcohol. This has to do with what it means to be a church, what it means [...]
Where is Membership in the Bible?
Your members are those for whom you regularly take responsibility for admitting them to the Lord’s Table. Pure and simple, that’s what it boils down to. Marcus Loane described the members of Richard Baxter’s church like this: “They thronged the Church [St. Mary's Kidderminster] and sat spellbound as he [Baxter] declared the Word of Truth [...]
What is CJ?
It’s the depths of summer. None of you other guys are posting here much. So I’ll take this opportunity to post the question for Al & Lig, "What is CJ?" CJ, for you, the question is "What are you?" By that, I mean, since you’re no longer a pastor, are you an elder at your [...]
David Wells Introduces 9 Marks
Well, not exactly. But in the last chapter of his book Above All Earthly Pow’rs, David finishes by calling for reform in our churches as a necessary component in reaching our postmodern culture. When I read it I felt that he had written a perfect introduction for what we’re trying to do at 9marks.org. What [...]
