“The size of the church determines the urgency of the revitalization, not necessarily the need…. Churches usually feel urgency before recognizing what is needed to fix the problem.” - Sam Rainer

A recent forum discussion raised the question of what role the narrative portions of Scripture have for establishing Christian doctrine. The question had two parts: “What is sound doctrine concerning the doctrinal importance of narratives in Scripture? Who decides what is the correct view and what is not?”

I remember hearing a lot of bad preaching from narrative, growing up. I also heard a lot of good preaching from narrative. One lesson learned: If we don’t respect what narrative is, we can easily miss what God intended and even abuse the Scriptures.

“A slight majority of Protestant pastors say the position of senior pastor is open to women, but broader consensus exists for other roles.” - Lifeway

Related: Most Evangelical Pastors Say Women Can Lead Bible Studies, Ministries - CToday

“Olson’s thesis is ‘that liberal Christianity has cut the cord of continuity with the Christian past, orthodoxy, so thoroughly that it ought to be considered a different religion.’” - CToday

“Ferguson in late July confirmed his office was investigating the university for potential illegal discrimination against LGBTQ people due to the school’s employment policies. His announcement came after SPU sued Ferguson, claiming his probe aims to influence the university ‘in its application and understanding of church teaching.’” - RNS

“On the same weekend that former Hillsong Church global senior pastor Brian Houston preached his first sermon since his resignation, Hillsong’s interim pastor Phil Dooley publicly responded to a lawsuit against the global megachurch, which was filed by a former employee who alleged that Hillsong misled donors and evaded taxes.” - C.Leaders

“GOD TV expressed that DeSantis’ quote is ‘exactly the opposite of what Paul is communicating in Ephesians 6.’” - C.Leaders

Harmonizing Matthew 18:15–17, 1 Corinthians 5:1–13, and 2 Thessalonians 3:6–15

From Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal (DBSJ), Volume 20: 2015. Used with permission. Read the series so far.

1 Corinthians 5:1–13

“Although elders are recognized by the congregation through a vote, they do not derive their authority to teach and oversee from the congregation but from God.” - 9 Marks

“To understand what I mean, let’s refer back to one of my favorite passages in scripture—Micah 6:8…. simple to understand yet tough to execute: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”” (So why is our political culture so toxic?) - David French

“According to their model, RNA molecules would have assembled on early Earth when ocean water replete with ribonucleotides washed over pieces of glass located on volcanic islands. But a careful assessment of their work shatters this illusion.” - Reasons.org

“On Monday (August 22), Desiring God published an article titled ‘O Beard Where Art Thou,’ wherein Greg Morse argued that growing a beard is a matter of theological significance.” - C.Leaders

“Why is this singing so heartfelt, even though the accompaniment is so simple? How did they get so many men to sing their lungs out?” - TGC

“This new policy is ripe for abuse. Twitter has proven time and again it cannot be trusted to serve as a neutral judge of what is or isn’t misinformation.” - CPost

“In the past I interviewed Mark Driscoll to help pastors learn from his mistakes…. I regret the pain, confusion & distraction this caused. I humbly apologize for my mistake and error.” - C.Leaders

“One of the mysteries here is why the DOJ is looking into this at all. Abuse is always reported to local law enforcement and abuse investigations are in the purview of local and state authorities.” - P&D

“ ‘If we break our attendance record, I’ll shave my head.’ ‘The person who brings the most friends to Bible study will win an Xbox.’ I’ve even seen youth ministers offer new iPhones to a lucky guest.” - TGC

Read the series.

Looking Deeper into the Problems with Covenant Theology (2)

1. CT is a mainly deductive approach to reading the Bible.

“In 2018, American Atheists… sued Rapert, a Republican, arguing he violated its members’ freedom of speech by blocking them from expressing their viewpoints on his official Facebook and Twitter accounts.” - RNS

“The launch of the Diocese of the Southern Cross prompted the head of the Anglican Church of Australia, Primate Geoffrey Smith, to issue a statement Thursday (Aug. 18) characterizing it as a ‘new denomination.’” - RNS

“A three-judge panel on California’s 6th District Court of Appeal ruled in favor of Calvary Chapel San Jose on Monday, reversing lower court decisions against the church for holding large, in-person worship services in violation of restrictions” - CPost

“Below, I will attempt to summarize the arguments of the opposing views as charitably as I can.” - Kainos

“…natural law does not hold that all moral evil can or should be prohibited by the state. The free choice to lie, for example, is always wrong because such acts always damage the good of truth. Yet we don’t legally prohibit and punish all acts of lying.” - Samuel Gregg

Read the series.

Are you and your ministry prepared for the next crisis that will inevitably flow from these “perilous times” in which we live, “in the last days” (2 Tim. 3:1)?

SermonAudio is preparing—which will allow all of its broadcasters to be better suited for the next cultural calamity, whatever that may be.

The company is building The Vault—a secure space on the second floor of the Mack Library, on the campus of Bob Jones University, which will house new technological infrastructure, providing security and independence for “the largest and most trusted library of audio sermons,” upon which so many churches have come to rely.

“Problems occur when sociologists begin to go beyond empirical and scientific studies of Christianity and draw theological conclusions using a sociological approach.” - C.Today

“One of the most defining attributes of U.S. adults’ giving, it seems, is that it is local—indeed, nearly half (48%) say this true, while just 17 percent share that their giving is global. They lean toward describing their giving as proactive (47%) and private (42%), but are largely neutral (45%) on whether their giving could be called sacrificial or convenient. ” - Barna

“…total depravity does not mean utter depravity…. So the idea of total in total depravity doesn’t mean that all human beings are as wicked as they can possibly be. It means that the fall was so serious that it affects the whole person.” - Ligonier

“…1 Samuel 28 where a medium from Endor sets up a conversation between living Saul and dead Samuel. We will begin by exploring what the text says, making special note of what the author communicates in the immediate context.” - DBTS Blog

“Though we tend to think that Europe is less “Christian” than the United States, in some ways, that’s not true…. on at least two major social issues, America has, for a while now, been more extreme than Europe.” - Breakpoint

What is the church’s mission? How does the mission of the church relate to the mission of God? Are they the same, or different?