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5 moves to integrate theology into your ministry

If you want a church to be saturated with truth, then stay there and walk through life with them.

‘A flame of pure and holy fire’: The life and ministry of George Whitefield

In 1835, two prominent English Baptists traveled to Newburyport, Massachusetts, to view the tomb of George Whitefield. The “grand itinerant” had died on Sept. 30, 1770, at the home of Jonathan Parsons, pastor of the town’s First Presbyterian Church. Whitefield had been interred two days later in a vault below what is now the center…

The gospel is better than amnesty

Good paintings tell stories. Think of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. It tells the story of Jesus and his disciples sitting down for the final meal before the crucifixion. Jesus would drink the Passover cup before being sacrificed as the Passover lamb. The good news of Jesus is more than a story. But…

A letter to young women interested in going overseas

So you’re interested in overseas missions? You aren’t sure, but have a sneaking suspicion that God has called you to a life of serving him overseas? Do you have a strong desire to live outside of America? Would you like to spend your short days living in light of eternity? If any of these admirable…

How repentance leads to Christ-centered joy

It is not enough to go to God with broad generalizations about our sin. Our repentance should be specific, biblically named, and personally owned.

Shepherding your children through media choices

Christian parents must take special care in making wise decisions for their families. Whether we like it or not, our children are targeted as prime consumers in the media market. Without parental guidance, they are especially vulnerable, not only because they generally lack discernment but also because they are being exposed to media more than…

Is this the end?: The quest for a global Islam and the hope of Christian eschatology

Led along the edge of a Libyan beach by Islamic State militants, 21 Egyptian Christians wearing the orange jumpsuits of prisoners received the white robes of martyrs. A gruesome video released in mid-February depicted their captors forcing the men to the ground and beheading them with swift, simultaneous strokes of the blade. The mass execution…

Help! I’m not the Christian woman I want to be

Ladies, how did you learn to ride a bike? Brush your teeth? Tie your shoes? Shave your legs? Apply make-up? Drive a car? Your answer to most of these questions, if not all, is someone taught you. From potty training, to writing papers, to planning for a wedding, we learn important lessons from someone else.…

Willing incompatible worlds

To find the words that describe with accuracy the media hysterics involved with Indiana’s passing of a Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) may be impossible. The sanctimonious moral preening offered via social media from such figures as Apple’s Tim Cook and the historically amnesiatic Hillary Clinton are both laughable and inexcusable for their dedication to spreading flavor-of-the-moment…

Three Christian misconceptions about Muslims

We must view Muslims with charity, refusing to pigeonhole them. We live in a world of stereotypes, but love can overcome what political correctness can’t.

Three Muslim misconceptions about Christians

Many obstacles stand in the way of Muslims coming to faith in Jesus—theological confusion and the cost of conversion being two of the most daunting.

Eight signs of fearful leadership

8 signs of fearful leadership | Thom Rainer

A gospel-focused reenergizing of politics

American evangelicals are, sometimes frantically, trying to adjust to an increasingly post-Christian America. We can no longer pretend that we are a “moral majority,” sharing “values” with the American mainstream. In a quest to differentiate themselves from the activism of previous generations, some younger evangelicals wish to retreat into a libertarian cultural isolationism, and some…

The office of deacon: Character

It’s often said that one of the most important aspects of leadership is simply showing up. Just be there, and people will follow. People like their leaders to be visible. This attests to the truism that leadership begins and ends with example. It would be difficult to imagine a leadership role where this is more…

From the classroom to the mission field

Two and a half years ago, nearly halfway through the completion of my degree, my family was called to go and serve with the International Mission Board in Madagascar. It was an incredibly exciting time of looking ahead, filled with plans of executing what I had learned in the halls of The Southern Baptist Theological…

Guilty as charged

Biblical Womanhood is one of those topics that more often than not makes women squirm, cringe or maybe even gasp when they consider what women like me embrace as God’s good gift to us. I enjoy co-teaching a Seminary Wives Institute elective with Jodi Ware here at Southern Seminary. I was a bit surprised to…

Why you’re not too busy to lead family worship

Charles Spurgeon proves that you aren’t too busy to make disciples in the home.

Parenting: It’s Never an Interruption

Parenting is all about living by the principle of prepared spontaneity. You don’t really know what’s going to happen next. You don’t really know when you’ll have to enforce a command, intervene in an argument, confront a wrong, hold out for a better way, remind someone of a truth, call for forgiveness, lead someone to confession, point…