Reformation21

Single believers are caught in the middle of a game of tug of war. On one side, Team Culture pulls and yells, “Forget marriage, at least for a little while! You do not need a spouse; go pursue your dreams and be your best self!” The opposing Team Church yanks back, “No, getting married should be...

In recent years I have heard and read various criticisms of the Puritans and (rather surprisingly) Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress . Bunyan’s “dream” is certainly not a perfect system of theology by any stretch of the imagination, but if it leaves you cold then I would be very interested in what makes...

It seems like everywhere you turn there are discussions being had about bad pastors. Indeed, multiplied books, podcasts, articles, and documentaries airing on such streaming services as Netflix and Hulu seem to pop up every week or so. And, of course, there are bad pastors, and they should be...

Church plants and revitalization is a unique and difficult ministry. Unlike many ministers who serve in an established ministry context, church planters and revitalizers often encounter situations and problems that is distinctive to their contexts. Problems such as facing financial difficulty with...

Expository Outlines & Observations on Romans: Hints and Helps for Preachers and Teachers. Ross-shire: Mentor, 2023 Rob Ventura If you walked into any pastor’s study and started looking through his library, you would find that his section on Paul’s letter to the Romans takes up more bookshelf...

Are you a cheap pastor on social media? There is a phenomenon on social media where someone will offer a command, framed as helpful advice, to an audience who are not likely to be people with whom they have any meaningful relationship. But the nature of their advice is such that a meaningful...

Recently, while I was helping one of my younger sons “do his business” in the men’s YMCA locker room after swimming and before taking a shower, I was reminded that God makes a basic gender distinction in the Bible by referring to the specific stance men assume while peeing: [1] 1 Samuel 25:22: So...

The Lord is lord of all truth. God is always truthful. He never deceives. The Lord’s yes is always yes, and his no is always no. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are united in the triune God of truth. How does man access that truth? Is God simply aloof to his creation and his truth inaccessible? Is...

On a recent visit to a bookstore in Gothenburg, I came across an early edition of Bonaventure’s commentary on Lombard’s Sentences . The following week in Copenhagen I bought a 1586 edition of Thomas’s Summa . Re-visiting those works caused me to ask myself, “Where have all the theologians gone...

Male humans do not lactate. I know that this may come as a surprise to you, especially since we are now being told that males just might be able to lactate and so breast feed their young. This information comes from such trusted sources as the Scientific American, after all, how could a magazine...