The board of Southwestern Baptistic Theological Seminary's volte face is stunning: After midnight in Germany, while Patterson was sleeping, the chairman of the board of trustees, Kevin Ueckert, ordered Scott Colter to wake Patterson for a phone call. On the call, Ueckert told Patterson he was fired effective immediately, with no salary, no health insurance …
Bill Gothard’s Poison Pill for Southern Baptists
This is Memorial Day weekend, when we as Americans remember those who gave their lives for our country. For me that turns back to my uncle, Don Gaston Shofner, and his sacrifice even before he could get to enemy skies. But that brings up another point: Gaston (as he was called in good Southern tradition) …
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Why I’m in a Pentecostal Church and Not an Episcopal One
All of the blather we've been hearing about Presiding Bishop (not Archbishop) Michael Curry's sermon at the royal wedding last weekend obviously focuses attention not only on Curry and the duplicitous Justin Welby but on the Episcopal Church in general. I don't doubt that same church, faced with years of declining membership and self-inflicted litigation …
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What We Really Need to Do is to Unhitch @AndyStanley
Atlanta's Christian management guru is at it again, this time with the Old Testament: North Point Community Church Senior Pastor Andy Stanley has stated that Christians need to "unhitch" the Old Testament from their faith. In the final part of a recent sermon series, Stanley explained that while he believes that the Old Testament is "divinely …
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The Only Real Alternative to “Two Kingdoms” Theology is Islam
Some people will complain about anything: Recently some critics of prominent Trump-supporting Dallas Baptist pastor Robert Jeffress have disapprovingly identified him as a supporter of “Two Kingdoms” theology, an historic Protestant belief about the division of duties between spiritual & earthly rule. Jeffress in public pronouncements has stressed that civil government is called to provide …
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If You’re Not Doing It for Jesus, You Shouldn’t Be Doing It
Rachael Denhollander, one of Larry Nassar's sexual abuse victims at Michigan State University, makes it plain: Bethany Jenkins, vice president of forums at the Veritas Forum, which helped to organize the event, reported that Denhollander was asked about her view of the church responding to the issue of sexual abuse. When asked "how do you …
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The Alternative to Easter Sunrise Service…At Sunrise
It's an old Evangelical tradition: the "Easter Sunrise Service," when people get out of bed early to go to church (or somewhere) and celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. For some people--especially musicians--rising from the dead is an easier task than getting up in the morning. Celebrating anything before noon is …
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Scourged and Crucified: A Good Friday Reflection
In all of their glorification of the "giants of the faith," evangelicals either overlook or ignore the fact that same giants were usually far better versed in the classics of antiquity than is common today. To some extent this is understandable: study of these works has taken a beating the last fifty years, and we …
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Just Because Your Alma Mater is “Christian” Doesn’t Mean You’ll Be
Higher education is a competitive business. One of the things that educational institutions that are affiliated with a church or profess or call themselves Christian use to attract students is "your faith will be enhanced by coming here." Christian parents and students find that attractive, which is why many pay the premium to go to …
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Is Going to a Canadian Style Immigration System That Bad?
While most Americans were bracing themselves for Donald Trump's first State of the Union Address (which turned out reasonably,) I got myself into a Facebook argument with the most bilious person I know about immigration policy. During that dialogue I stated my preference for a Canadian (the Aussies use a similar system) immigration system which …
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