One of the areas of disagreement in the in-person and online wider Christian world (often a very scary and even unChristian place), is what is actually “gospel work.” Are effects of the gospel part of the gospel? Are things Christians work towards and cultivate in their church, community, and family connected to the gospel, or is “the gospel” only the message of how sinners become right with God? It’s a good question, when really asked rather than thrown out as a smoke-screen to avoid allowing the gospel to do its deep work in our lives.
Category: Uncategorized
A Case for Female Deacons
(Below is a summary of the key issues involved in the debate about whether the Bible supports female deacons or not, as well as a few key arguments for why I think it does. You can read a PDF version of this blog here.)
Complementarians[1] (those who affirm distinct but complementary roles for men and women) can disagree on the question of whether or not the Bible supports female deacons, or deaconesses. Neither side believes the Bible is explicit in its clarity, nor that it is an issue worth splitting or dividing over. While both interpretations seek to do justice to Scripture and can put forward a reasonable defense of their position, I (and the majority of complementarian theologians and commentators today) find the evidence more compelling for a biblical case leaving the office/role of deacon open to both men and women.
The Power of Words
I recently wrote a post on the lasting value of our words at The Gospel Coalition. Wendell Berry’s short novel, Remembering, portrays this beautifully throughout the book.
I’ve written before on the gift of remembrance from this story. It’s a quick read bursting with truth, emotion, and lessons.
Prioritizing Reflection in an Age of Distraction
“Men talk to me about their mental and emotional exhaustion, and all through the conversations, their phones are lighting up with a distracting blizzard of sounds and images. And they wonder why their brains feel fried! They’re giving themselves continual mental whiplash as they pour stimuli and data into their brains from every direction.” David Murray, Reset
We are busy. Our schedules fill up with many things—often good things—leaving us little down time. Many view margin as either an act of unfaithfulness and waste or proof of a less than fulfilling life.
Busyness leads to a hurried, rushed, and frantic lifestyle. We rush from place to place, event to event, and rarely enjoy what we’re doing because we’re thinking about where we came from and where we’re headed. What feels urgent and pressing leaves us stressed, but also guilty because of how many other balls in our life get dropped.
Continue reading Prioritizing Reflection in an Age of Distraction
Favorite Books Read in 2019
“I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” Jane Austen
“Reading is a gift, but only if the words are taken into the soul—eaten, chewed, gnawed, received in unhurried delight.” Eugene Peterson
I love books. Give me a good library or an hour at your used book store and I’m a happy man. There are a lot of things that make a book good, let alone enjoyable, so my list is admittedly subjective. But to add to the chorus of top books read in 2019, here’s my top-ten list. My criteria was reading them in 2019, not publication date, though most were printed in 2019. In no particular order…
HOW IS JESUS OUR IMMANUEL (GOD WITH US)?
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).” (Matthew 1:21-23)
Each Christmas, or Advent season, we sing about Jesus our Immanuel. God with us. We find comfort in the incarnation behind Christmas. God’s stepping down to Earth to be with us by becoming one of us in Jesus. But how is Jesus really God with us?
A Theology of Feasting
In our kitchen, we have this framed chalk art in the image to the left. “You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart” (Psalm 104:14-15). It’s a reminder food and drink are both God’s provision to care for us but also an evidence of His goodness in giving us food to add to our happiness. God wants us to enjoy our food, our drinks, and our feasts.
The Bible describes feasting in very positive terms—although there are obviously times where it’s corrupted or misused, like all of creation. It seems God created us to thoroughly enjoy food as a gift but also to prepare our hearts and minds for something even more satisfying.
A Theology of Thanksgiving
“It is good to give thanks to the Lord.” (Psalm 92:1)
In our day and age of more-more-more where “Thanksgiving” is the waiting season between Halloween and Christmas, gratitude often takes a back seat. It’s no surprise thankfulness struggles to compete for attention with a holiday where I get to make a list of things people will buy me.
One Thing We Can Learn from ‘Frozen’
Movies show us glimmers of truth, sometimes in beautiful and powerful ways. Frozen conveys a lot of really good things, and some things I”m cautious of, but you can read this recent post of mine at The Gospel Coalition to learn one theme I love.
Family Activities for Practicing Thanksgiving
(This guest post was written by Heidi Sweet, the Director of Children’s Ministry at Pennington Park Church. I get the privilege to serve on staff with her and learn from her.)
Continue reading Family Activities for Practicing Thanksgiving
indycrowe 