WASHINGTON — Mark Dever arrived on Capitol Hill in 1994 to pastor a church of primarily 70- to 90-year-old people that was weary after nearly a half century of decline and weighed down with pouring its limited funds into the maintenance of a block of real estate. It also had a deeper problem. Members of…
Preaching — the practice of expositing God’s Word to God’s people — has fallen on hard times. On the one hand, the large number of evangelical pastors I know who remain committed to faithful biblical exposition greatly encourages me. These men know the purpose and the power of preaching God’s Word. On the other hand,…
The idea of fathers as the pastors of their homes is not one constructed artificially; it arises from the testimony of Scripture. The word “pastor” comes from the Latin word for “shepherd”—and every father is called to serve as a shepherd in his home (5).
When studying in seminary or serving in a church, students and pastors often find little time for topics such as economics. And yet economics, as a reality, is all around. Towers editor Aaron Cline Hanbury asks Barry Asmus, speaker, writer and consultant on political and business issues and a senior economist with the National Center for…
When God speaks, creation obeys. When he spoke the universe into existence, it happened (Gen 1:3-26). When he speaks into the cold, dead hearts of sinners, a new creation appears (2 Cor 5:17). When preachers exposit the Word of God and announce that Jesus is the Christ, the church is built (Matt 16:16-18). Whenever…
Higher-ed institutions across the country are filled with exhausted, irritable and weary students searching for light at the end of the academic tunnel. Southern’s master of divinity degree is a behemoth 88-credit hour program, no small feat for anyone. Academic exhaustion and burnt-out enthusiasm aren’t reflective of a lazy spirit, but if not properly…
A couple weeks ago, four pastors from the Louisville, Ky., area held a public conversation about seminary students and church membership. Sitting on the panel were Timothy J. Beougher, senior pastor of West Broadway Baptist Church and Billy Graham Professor of Evangelism and Church Growth; Ryan Fullerton, the lead pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church;…
[tweetable]Authentic Christian ministry often comes in a context of danger and risk.[/tweetable] We want to be a generation ready to live dangerously for the gospel: ready to go, ready to witness, ready to serve, ready to live and ready to die. We are geographical people. We know the apostle Paul largely through letters with…
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Latino population in the United States was 53 million in 2012, making up 17 percent of the overall population — the largest minority group in the nation. So, whether you are Hispanic like me or you are from a different culture, eager to share the gospel with…
How should Christians prioritize personal holiness in their engagement of the art and entertainment of an unbelieving culture? Christians often think we can avoid being “conformed to the world” (Rom 12:2) by avoiding worldly ideas. But as G. K. Chesterton said, ideas are more dangerous to the person who has not studied them. He…
If seminarians will learn the habit of thinking about God’s truth as a means of enjoying him, then they will not waste their theological education, said John Piper during a special, pre-convocation chapel service, Jan. 23, at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. “[tweetable]God gave you doctrine for delight[/tweetable],” he said in the beginning of…
[tweetable]Effective evangelism is measured not by individual responses, but by the clarity and accuracy of the message proclaimed.[/tweetable] Whether in a large gathering or from one soul to another, a church functioning at maximum evangelistic capacity will saturate its areas of influence with the gospel of Jesus Christ. If your church ceased to exist,…
EDITOR’S NOTE: Below, R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Joseph Emerson Brown Professor of Christian Theology, discusses the new book, Five Views on Biblical Inerrancy, to which he contributed, with Towers book review editor Matt Damico. MD: Why is this book necessary? RAM: Well, on the one hand,…
Recently I was asked how I was doing as a “creator.” I’ve been asked similar questions before, but this time it startled me because it was tethered to Genesis 1:26 and what it means to be made in the image of God. As spiritual beings, our creativity comes from being fashioned in the image…
Christian pastors find themselves in an odd position today. There isn’t really a clear model of how to engage the broader public conversation about morals, laws, cultural developments and the spirit of the age. Not many of the young and restless crowd aspire to be culture warriors, and the Moral Majority looms large in…
Writing to Timothy, the apostle Paul looks back on his ministry and declares satisfaction that he had finished his course. Paul would be the first to insist that his entire ministry was evidence of the grace and mercy of God, but he was assured that, by grace, he had finished his race. Paul’s statement…
As the victorious and triumphant Lord, Christ sends his people out into the world. It is under the marching orders of King Jesus that we, as his ambassadors, take the gospel to the nations.
We need to stop pretending that Jesus does not call his churches to act on behalf of the poor, the sojourner, the fatherless, the vulnerable, the hungry, the sex-trafficked, the unborn.
