theology

  Have you heard the ballad of the hoped-for hero? Ancient prophecies foretell his coming. Not altogether clear, shrouded in mystery, but enough to kindle hopes and keep the flickering flame alive. Everything depends on his coming. In fact, if these prophecies aren’t realized, there is no final defense against evil. No ultimate hope. No…

Many dying churches refuse to see the diminishing influence of their churches for the good of the Kingdom and do nothing about it. Denial means more and more churches will be closing their doors.

Members of the Southern Seminary faculty are at the forefront of contemporary discussions of biblical theology, both within academia and the local church. Since 2010, faculty members have published three works of full-Bible biblical theology, and at least three more books within the discipline. In what follows, those members, each of whom publish, teach and…

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,…

  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,…

  All this assumes, of course, that the pastoral ministry is first rooted in the pastor’s own confession of faith — the pastor’s personal theological convictions. The faithful pastor does not teach merely that which has historically been believed by the church and is even now believed by faithful Christians — he teaches out of…

  Why do you want people to stop asking Jesus into their hearts? For many evangelicals, “asking Jesus into their hearts” has become something like a Protestant ritual or sacrament, which if you do correctly punches your ticket for heaven. God never promises to give salvation to someone because they pray a magical prayer or…

  *Editors note: Read also Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this series.  As a theologian, the pastor must be known for what he teaches, as well as for what he knows, affirms and believes. The health of the church depends upon pastors who infuse their congregations with deep biblical and theological conviction. The means of…

  We leaned against the pickup-truck fender out in the front yard. One of my laymen, Rick, was inside, talking with the woman of the house while her kids swirled about. I was taking the man through the Continuing Witness Training presentation of the gospel, leading up to willingness and commitment questions. He’d been tracking…

  *Editors note: Read also Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.  The pastor’s stewardship of the theological task requires a clear sense of pastoral priority, a keen pastoral ear and careful attention to the theological dimensions of church life and Christian discipleship. This must be foundational to the ministry of the local church,…

  Christian theology is about cleaning up after a suicide. What I mean by that is that biblical doctrine exists not simply as a set of abstract, propositional truths, but as a war plan. What we learn from Scripture is that the entire created order exists in the midst of a vast conspiracy – one…

*Editors note: Part I of this series can be viewed here. The pastoral calling is inherently theological. Given the fact that the pastor is to be the teacher of the Word of God and the teacher of the Gospel, it cannot be otherwise. The idea of the pastorate as a non-theological office is inconceivable in…

  The transformation of theology into an academic discipline more associated with the university than the church has been one of the most lamentable developments of the last several centuries. In the earliest eras of the church, and through the annals of Christian history, the central theologians of the church were its pastors. This was…

  I saw something beautiful one day while walking down Breckenridge Lane. In a front yard not far from my home, a young mother was removing a layer of leftover leaves from the fall in preparation for planting spring flowers — an ordinary activity in the middle of an ordinary day. What was extraordinary about…

I think most of us with any sense of awareness can recognize that we are living in one of those great transitional moments in human history. But there is one thing that must not change: the Christian task of bearing faithful witness to the glory of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some would disagree…

 In his newest book, Risky Gospel, Owen Strachan includes a chapter about “building a public witness.” In it, he demonstrates from the life of Jesus how Christians should live their faith in the culture surrounding them. He proposes “three major elements” of the Christian public witness, which he states as imperatives. The first two, respectively,…