John R. Rice was, arguably, the leading voice of Fundamentalism in the 20th century. At its peak in the early 1970’s, his weekly paper, The Sword of the Lord, boasted a circulation of over 130,000. Back in those days, as a young Southern Baptist disturbed by the direction of the Convention, I read the Sword faithfully. Articles such as “Southern Baptists–Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing,” “Death in the Pot at Furman University,” and “Liberalism at Southern Seminary … [Read More]
The Christian Scriptures make clear that God is a missionary God. In the immediate aftermath of Adam and Eve’s rebellion, God responded by promising a Seed who would defeat sin and Satan and death. Throughout the pages of the Scriptures, we see the triumphant march of God to bring forth the Messiah who would redeem God’s image-bearers and restore God’s good creation. In the New Testament, we learn that the Messiah is Jesus of Nazareth, … [Read More]
Yesterday, John Stott died at the age of ninety. Stott was one of a handful of men who helped bring about an evangelical renaissance in North America and the British Isles during the middle years of the twentieth century. Of that generation of giants, Billy Graham and J. I. Packer are the only two who haven’t yet departed to be with their Lord.
Numerous tributes have already been written about Stott; no doubt many more will … [Read More]
[Note: The Greenhouse Series promotes church planting and church renewal in the United States. Each installment spotlights a specific church that has recently been planted or is in the process of revitalization, as a means of encouraging our readership in the victories of the gospel and allowing them the opportunity to support these churches.]
Here is a painful truth: the American South is full of cultural Christians who are in fact non-disciples. In recognition of that … [Read More]
It would be difficult to overstate the significance of the New Testament for the Christian faith, non? The New Testament continues the narrative begun in the Old Testament with the fourfold record of the birth, death, resurrection, and ascension of the promised and long-awaited Messiah of Israel, and so the world, Jesus. His message–that the kingdom of God is at hand, so all should repent and believe the gospel–was proclaimed by John the Baptist (see … [Read More]
In recent years, I’ve personally interacted with hundreds of current and recently graduated seminary students, and not just at Southeastern Seminary. These brothers and sisters in Christ are committed to serving God in all kinds of ministry contexts. In the five years I’ve been teaching, I’ve observed an interesting trend, especially among students in their twenties and thirties. Simply put, it’s increasingly rare for me to hear a student say he feels called to be … [Read More]
[Note: The Greenhouse Series promotes church planting and church renewal in the United States. Each installment spotlights a specific church that has recently been planted or is in the process of revitalization, as a means of encouraging our readership in the victories of the gospel and allowing them the opportunity to support these churches.]
SEBTS alum Jan Vezikov and his family are working hard by God’s grace to reach the city of Boston for his glory. … [Read More]
One of the greatest 20th century triumphs of The Bible Obfuscation Department has been the sometime relegation of the Old Testament to the sidelines in biblical studies, theology, and preaching. The problem with such relegation is that the only “Scriptures” that Jesus, the apostles, and the New Testament authors had were the Old Testament scriptures, which they which they referred to as being divinely inspired, authoritative, and sufficient (see 2 Tim 3:16). Moreover, Jesus referenced … [Read More]
Leaders of the church in any era have the responsibility of identifying the idols of our time and confronting them with the gospel. David Platt has done this with the idol of the American Dream and it’s materialism, for instance. We have a variety of idols in our time, from rampant sensuality, to prolonged adolescence (especially in young men) to the new atheism, and the historically ubiquitous idol of worshiping self. But there is another … [Read More]
Many years ago I began speaking at youth camps. I enjoyed the challenge, the zeal of youth, and the potential of so many students gathered for a week to learn and to be pushed toward Christ.
A combination of breaking my hip (the biggest factor), a “worship guy” leading a song about maggots, and a sense that what really mattered at many camps was numbers (and would allow just about anything from “preachers” to get the … [Read More]
