We live in a day of offense and outrage. People are cautious knowing that the slightest misuse of a word could trigger an unwelcome internet controversy. This creates a big. . . Continue reading
AGR Live Archive
The Idolatry of Fear: Another Look at David and Goliath
As David looked out to the battlefield, there stood Goliath of Gath, the Philistine giant, defying Israel’s God. In David’s hands were a few small stones. Did anyone believe this. . . Continue reading
The Isolation of Evangelical Elites
About a year ago, Carl Trueman wrote a piece titled ‘Evangelical Elites Are Out of Touch” and made this crucial point: “Evangelical elites are clearly as out of touch with. . . Continue reading
The Perils of Pastoral Burnout
It is an open secret: Christian pastors struggle. Many are worn out and frequently fatigued. Many suffer from discouragement. Many desire more constructive feedback to help them channel their energies. . . Continue reading
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of 2020
The other day I walked out of my home and I heard children chanting throughout the neighborhood: “2020 sucks.” I initially chuckled but then began to think about the ominous. . . Continue reading
The Successful Ministry of a Dead Pastor
Consider Wendell Berry’s complaint of the modern educator in his essay, “A Continuous Harmony: Essays Cultural and Agricultural.” Berry writes, Because of the obsession with short-term results that may be. . . Continue reading
The Perils of ‘Wannabe Tough Guy’ Outlaw Christianity
Driving to my hometown through Bakersfield on CA 99, there’s an overpass that inspires the bad-boy in me to grab the country station dial. Every time I see “Merle Haggard. . . Continue reading
Discern Regeneration
Read this quote carefully: We believe that all men everywhere are lost and face the judgment of God, that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, and that for. . . Continue reading
Discern Justification
Justification is rightly said to be “the doctrine by which the church stands or falls.” It’s a central facet of the biblical good news. If you mess up on justification,. . . Continue reading
Discern God’s Justice
“A God without wrath brought men without sin into a world without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross” — that’s how H. Richard Niebuhr described the. . . Continue reading