As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. And it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with perfume, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. So the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick” (John 11:1–3, LSB).
The promotion of John MacArthur to glory is, in many ways, a particularly loud call to ponder to the future of the conservative evangelical movement, especially in the realm of leadership. We have lost leaders in a variety of realms, like James Dobson, Warren Wiersbe, and a host of other notables with significant influence. While we still have a good number of influential big names (Franklin Graham, Erwin Lutzer, Chuck Swindoll, D.A. Carson, Ken Ham, John Piper) in both popular and academic realms, they are up there in the years.
“Since most rural communities are not growing, it’s harder for churches there to increase attendance. Yet 3 in 4 pastors still aim for attendance growth….Even more rural pastors aim for success in the spiritual growth of their congregations evidenced by their focus on salvations, care, forgiveness and serving.” - Baptist Press
“Decline will happen in the future, but my best guess is that the rate of decline is slowing.” - MinistryWatch
“It struck me then that I was not only being homiletically imbalanced but pastorally irresponsible. My people do need my pen-work, my careful explanation. But they also need me to ‘paint,’ to illustrate.” - Word by Word
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he brings all his own out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they will never follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers” (John 10:1–5, LSB).
“Clashes over biblical interpretation and an austere individualism that sat well with the cultural direction of Western society in the past four centuries led to a fissiparousness among many Baptist groups.” - Word by Word
“American churchgoers are becoming less sure about what the Bible says regarding abortion, human sexuality, and gender, according to a study conducted by Family Research Council’s Center for Biblical Worldview.” - C.Leaders
“The majority of the Anglican Communion still believes that the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy. Therefore, her appointment will make it impossible for the archbishop of Canterbury to serve as a focus of unity within the Communion.” - RNS
Also…
“Thomas Schirrmacher, president of the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR), said at a press conference announcing the release of the ISHR 2025… that the situation of Christians in many regions has deteriorated significantly across the globe.” - CPost
Discussion