Over the past few years I have been honored to participate in the GAMA conference hosted by Hope Bible Church in Columbia, Maryland. And it is by far my favorite conference, sure Shepherd’s conference is great, and I have been blessed every time I have been to Together for the Gospel, But for my money GAMA is my favorite, and the reason is that there is no one famous. And that is a great encouragement, because the great teaching and preaching is coming from men who pastor small churches in our part of the world; God is at work building and equipping His church, even when you don’t hear about it.… Continue reading

This should be a golden era for the church. Never before in church history has there been such unfettered access to the word of God, especially here in the West. Not to mention all of the great theological content that is available for free online, like many puritan writings, much from Charles Spurgeon, S. Lewis Johnson and so much more. But we are not in a golden era, and I am convinced that a large part of problem is a lack of qualified leadership in the church. To be clear when I say leadership, I mean pastoral leadership (eldership), and when I say qualified, I don’t mean talented or full of ability, I mean meeting the biblical character qualifications spelled out in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9.… Continue reading

(This is the third time I’ve shared this post. And it is not that I am lazy or out of ideas, it is that I am truly heartbroken over the way some professing Christians act online.  Most of the social media vitriol, right now, seems to be around the issue of social justice, but it seems that the more the issue of the day changes the more the sin stays the same. And if you angrily used “social justice warrior” or “racist” as a pejorative defeater  this post is especially for you.)

As a Christian, and as a pastor, one of the things that frustrates, and quite frankly saddens, me the most is how some who claim the name of Christ behave on social media. … Continue reading