Articles by Bruce Baugus

The need for church development, so acute in China, exists wherever the gospel is bearing fruit. Indeed, the proper goal of the church's mission is not just to announce the good news to those who have not heard or to call unbelievers to faith and repentance; the church's mission has always included establishing a well-ordered church in every land for the welfare of Godís people and perpetuation of the ministry. continue

From the Christian point of view, the true center of world history is not money or political power but Jesus Christ, and the totalizing narrative of world history is the glory of God through the salvation of his people. In other words, under Christ, the church has the lead role in this drama, with city, state, and market playing supporting roles. As Scripture insists throughout, and Augustine reminds us in The City of God, the rise and fall of nations, global empires, and economic regimes serve, above all else, this singular redemptive and theological end realized in and through Jesus Christ, for whom the whole creation exists. So, from the biblical point of view, the most important news coming out of China is not the transformation of China's political economy or the shifting balance of global poweróitís not even how Christianity is impacting these developmentsóbut rather how Christ is building his church in China in our generation. And this, above all else, is the truly remarkable change occurring in China today and, given the scale of this change, the world order. continue

"[M]ore people go to church on Sunday in China than in the whole of Europe." China is now home to more evangelical believers than any other nation, and the church continues to grow and make inroads in every level of Chinese society. Today, tens of millions of Chinese profess faith in Jesus Christ. Such dramatic growth, against the backdrop of modern China, has produced profound and urgent church development needs. As faithful Chinese ministers strive to meet these needs, an increasing number are discovering the rich biblical and theological resources of the Reformed tradition and Presbyterian polity. continue

James D. Bratt and Ronald A. Wells, eds., The Best of the Reformed Journal (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011), 343 pages.A Spirited DiscussionOn the surface, this volume is an oddly delightful anthology of pithy readings culled from the four-decade run of... continue