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Writing

Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.

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Pastoral Ministry

Rural Church Growth

I've pastored a very rural church for well over a decade. Our town has about 1,000 people and will never grow until Jesus returns. 38 people attend our worship on Sundays. Here's a quick list of what we’ve done to grow our church, and what I’ve done to survive pastorally.…

by TheopolisAugust 10, 2017
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Art

Letter to a Young Artist

Thanks for sharing so honestly about your current crisis of creativity. I totally understand and relate to that; it’s happened many times in my musical life thus far, and I’ve begun to accept it as a normal rhythm of the creative process. I actually went through a serious dry spell…

by Joel ClarksonAugust 8, 2017
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Biblical Theology

Stones and Fruit: Divination and Procreation – (Part 3)

The Broken Stones of Israel At Sinai, the tablets of the Law of Moses were broken and restored. The Old Testament is a history of “new covenants,” including that promised in Jeremiah and fulfilled in Zechariah. Ultimately, the vertical Oath and the horizontal Sanctions met in the death of Jesus…

by Mike BullAugust 3, 2017
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Isaiah

God's Market, the Church

Woe to the sinful nation. Woe to those who enlarge their estates and build their portfolios. Woe to the drunks. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil. Woe to the proud who are wise in their own eyes. Woe to Congressmen who pass unjust laws and to…

by Peter LeithartAugust 1, 2017
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Romans

In the Flesh: Then and Now

The interpretation of Romans 7:7-25 is notoriously difficult. Good scholars disagree on many aspects of the passage, but the central interpretative difficulty concerns the identity of the “I.” Is Paul referring to himself? Is Paul referring to himself pre- or post-conversion? Does the “I” refer to Adam? Is the “I”…

by Bill SmithJuly 27, 2017
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How to Worship

The Minister's Uniform

You board the Metra train at Arlington Heights station one afternoon, heading to downtown Chicago for some sight-seeing. As the train departs from the station, a man in jeans, a striped t-shirt, and a Kansas City Royals baseball cap enters your train car, and begins asking to see each passenger’s…

by Jon HerrJuly 25, 2017

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Philosophy

Robert Solomon on Love

Robert C. Solomon’s About Love (1988) is a wise and important book. I have some reservations about some themes: that love must be defined as the redefinition of the self in terms of another; his acceptance of a largely discredited opposition of eros and agape ; his non-Christian sexual morality;…

June 2, 2004
Theology

Of Preaching and Newspapers

Sermons are rarely more tiresome than when they strive for relevance. Drawing from the latest headlines transforms the preacher into a one-man MacLaughlin Group, a Crossfire without the cross though perhaps with some of the fire, and leaves the congregation thinking, ?If I wanted Meet the Press , I could…

June 2, 2004
Theology

Death of Liberalism?

Among theologians, it has become de rigeur to attack liberalism. Several decades ago, George Lindbeck and Hans Frei formulated the foundations of what has come to be called ?postliberal?Etheology, and John Milbank and his Radical Orthodoxy colleagues attack liberal theology across the board. But I have my doubts. Bruce Marshall…

June 1, 2004

A Cheer for Denominations

Here is an article that was published elsewhere, but is offered here for those who don’t have access to the original publication. Denominationalism gets much bad press these days, for a variety of very good reasons. John Frame, professor at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida, has argued that denominations…

June 1, 2004
Philosophy

Art of Living

The phrase “art of living” can have an aestheticist ring to it. Life becomes a “work of art,” a self-conscious dramatization. Someone concerned about the “art of living” may well forget to be concerned with living itself. Of course, self-forgetfulness is part of the art, but that’s another story. In…

May 28, 2004

Jesus and Postmodernism

Jesus predicted the rise of postmodernism. In Luke 21:27, He says that after the tribulation there will be “distress of nations, with APORIA.” Derrida didn’t catch Jesus by surprise. Nossir. But this does put dispensational premils at a disadvantage, since it implies that Derrida’s parousia (or, better, non-parousia) is a…

May 28, 2004

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