I had a great time this past weekend speaking at the “Gospel Centered Life” Conference, hosted by Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and their pastor, Tullian Tchividjian. Tullian spoke on the Gospel and how it changes the individual. Michael Horton spoke on the Gospel and the Church. My assignment was to speak about the Gospel going out to culture.
I learned as much from this conference as any other I’d ever been to, and I would highly … [Read More]
J. D. Greear
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| Email: | pastor@summitchurch.cc |
Recent Posts
The Gospel-Centered Life
Jan 26th, 2011 by J. D. Greear
The Triumph of John and Betty Stam
Nov 12th, 2010 by J. D. Greear
Recently I read the biography of John and Betty Stam. It was a short, powerful work.
John and Betty Stam were missionaries to the villages of an Asian country in the early 20th century during a Communist takeover of that country. They had a 7 month old daughter, Helen, and a fruitful work there in Asia.
The Communists had begun their “glorious revolution.” One of their first tactics was to eliminate those who opposed them. On December … [Read More]
More excited about the theory of Gospel-centeredness than the God of the Gospel?
Nov 10th, 2010 by J. D. Greear
Our flesh and our enemy takes even the very best things in our lives and uses them against us. Doctrinal knowledge, for example, is a very good thing. Knowledge is how we grow in our understanding of who God is and what His plan is. We should study diligently to show ourselves approved in it. But Paul warns that our enemy takes that very knowledge and uses it to puff up our pride.
I’ve noticed recently … [Read More]
What is the ‘need of the hour’ in the SBC? pt 1
Sep 21st, 2010 by J. D. Greear
The Southern Baptist Convention, through whom our church does a lot of our church planting, has been undergoing some changes in the last few years. Many have called it the “Great Commission Resurgence.” Others have criticized it as a departure from institutional principles that have led to Southern Baptist successes in the past. Some have thought it is a desperate attempt to save a sinking ship.
I’d say it has been characterized … [Read More]
Why I think Younger Southern Baptists who Care about Reaching the World but are Not so Sure About the Convention should be Very Attentive the Next Two Weeks
May 31st, 2010 by J. D. Greear
I want to address those of you who, like me, have a Baptist past but have often found yourself wondering, regarding the Southern Baptist Convention, “What is the point? Aren’t denominations a thing of the past?” I want to try and persuade you that this movement, the Great Commission Resurgence, is something of God, is valuable for the Kingdom, and worth the investment of your time. I do so simply as a pastor of a young Southern Baptist … [Read More]
Why the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force (GCR) recommendations are good for small churches
May 3rd, 2010 by J. D. Greear
Click here to find out!
Is ‘license’ really the opposite of ‘legalism’?
Apr 29th, 2010 by J. D. Greear
I’m working something out theologically… will you help me?
Quite often I will hear legalism and license presented as two ditches on either side of the Gospel that we must avoid. By “legalism” I mean the idea that Christianity is a set of commands which, if you obey them, will improve your standing in the eyes of God and make you a “faithful Christian.” By “license” I mean the idea that because Christ has redeemed us … [Read More]
Deep Church // A Review
Mar 17th, 2010 by J. D. Greear
I wanted to commend to you a new book I just finished reading over the weekend, Jim Belcher’s Deep Church. The book is a good one… somewhere between good and great… on the great side of good though not necessarily on the awesome side of great… (Blogs are great because you can write ‘stream of consciousness…’)
The phrase “Deep Church” comes from an offhand reference by C. S. Lewis to describe the kind of church that … [Read More]
Tullian Tchividjian on Contextualization Without Compromise
Mar 15th, 2010 by J. D. Greear
Thought this was a great paragraph in an article by our friend Tullian Tchividjian on “Contextualization w/o Compromise.” Tullian, who is named for Tertullian, is speaking at our Advance The Church 2010 conference in April. Have you seen the list of speakers for this thing? I can’t think of a better group (present company excluded) to discuss “Contextualizing the Gospel in the New South!” It should be a great mix between the practical and the … [Read More]
Why did Jesus have to die?… and what liberal and some emerging theologians and Muslims have in common
Mar 4th, 2010 by J. D. Greear
There are multiple things that Christ accomplished for us when he died on the cross. He “paid” our sin debt (Romans 3:25-26), “cleansed us” from defilement (1 John 1:9), defeated the powers of darkness (Colossians 2:15), reversed the curse of death (Galatians 3:13), gave us a model for how to love others and overcome injustice (1 Peter 2:21), and demonstrated to us how much God loves us (Romans 5:8), just to name a few. Theologians … [Read More]
