Upcoming Course: The Theology of the Heidelberg Catechism
Join me 2-hours a week for 10-weeks (April 12–June 18) as we make our way through The Theology of the Heidelberg Catechism. Registration ends March 29th. For more details see here. The Heidelberg Catechism (1563) has been called “the church’s book of comfort” (Het troostboek van de kerk). Originally written in German for the preachers, […]
Principles for Paying a Pastor
In my past two articles I’ve dealt with aspects of pastoral theology and preaching doctrine. To close out this week, I’d like to develop into something we don’t teach in our seminaries to prospective pastors nor think about much as congregations: pastoral pay. So I’d like to offer some preliminary principles for paying a pastor. These […]
A Catechism on Catechetical Preaching
Following up on my catechism on pastoral theology, I’d like to present this catechism on catechetical preaching. This forms the outline of a course I instruction I give my pastoral interns and one day I hope to teach more formally. As with my last post, this reflects on my understanding and application of the age-old practice of […]
A Catechism on Pastoral Theology
A catechism on pastoral theology. What follows is a brief catechism, or, instruction using questions and answers. This catechism reflects on my understanding and application of the Word of God over twenty years in pastoral ministry. No doubt there are many topics I need to add, but it’s a start! Introduction What is pastoral theology? […]
God’s Visible Media: The Sacraments in a Digital Age
“Give us 90 minutes and we’ll change your life.” So said the slogan of a church in Orange County. Churches adopt such slogans and methods because, they reason, we live in a fast-paced, visual society. To communicate the gospel, these churches too have become fast-paced with drive-up worship or streaming services. They too have become […]
Life in a Decaying and Dark World
If you’ve traveled to a foreign country you’ve experienced the difficulty of not belonging. The language, the culture, the food, and the expectations are different. It’s actually a great illustration of the difficulty of being Jesus’ disciples in the world. We’re in the world yet do not belong to it. Instead, we belong to the […]
The Kind of People God Uses
God saves sinners. That’s the message of the Bible. Amen? This reality must never grow old and dull to us. it must lead us to vitality in the Christian life! God possesses aseity as self-sufficient and self-satisfied as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Yet to think he deigns and delights to save sinners is a thought that […]
Was the Prophet Amos a Dispensationalist?
Many evangelical Christians have embraced Reformed doctrine and moved into historic Reformed congregations.[1] I’m one of them! Collin Hansen’s, Young, Restless, Reformed, chronicled a part of this movement.[2] There’s one themes Hansen doesn’t touch on enough, though. Here in Southern California, the evangelicals turning Reformed come from churches deep into Dispensationalism. One of the hardest things for these young […]
Why Sing Hymns?
In Why Sing Psalms? I cited this phrase: “The 150 Psalms shall have the principal place in the singing of the churches.” This comes from article 39 of the Church Order of the United Reformed Churches in North America to which I belong. The article goes on: “Hymns which faithfully and fully reflect the teaching of the […]
Why Sing Psalms?
“The 150 Psalms shall have the principal place in the singing of the churches.” This is how the Church Order of the federation to which my congregation belongs opens its article on what is to be sung in its churches (art. 39). Although we’re not exclusive Psalm singers, we’re committed to the inclusive principle that […]