Instead of immediately jumping on one side, John Frame encourages us to think carefully about the following options when we come upon a controversy between two people. “1.) That the two parties may be looking at the same issue from different perspectives, so they don’t really contradict. 2.) That both parties are overlooking something that could have brought them together. 3.) That they are talking past one another because they use terms in different ways. 4.) That there is a third alternative that is better than either of the opposing views and that might bring them together. 5.) That their … Continue reading Think it Through!

As followers, we are responsible for the way we respond to the people in authority over us. No question. At the same time, Paul’s words to fathers in Ephesians 6 and Colossians 3 indicate that those in authority also share in this responsibility as well. By misusing their authority, leaders can make it much easier for those following to sin. Because we are fallen and we don’t like to submit to others, it is sometimes difficult to tell when someone is abusing their authority. As followers, we often like to blame others and leaders in particular for our own sinfulness. … Continue reading Here is your sign…

“The aim of leadership is not to demonstrate the superiority of the leader, but to bring out all the strengths of people that will move them forward to the desired goal.” John Piper, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, 39. To be a leader requires drive. Unfortunately what drives many leaders is a passion for self. One of the ways this shows up even among Christians is when leaders use their position as a means to celebrate themselves. Sometimes they have so identified themselves with the cause of Christ that it is hard for them not to think of themselves as … Continue reading The aim of leadership

Scripture Reading: Jude 5-7 How many times have you been tempted to think is this whole knowing, studying, and standing up for truth thing really such a big deal? I’m not talking about being opinionated all the time or contentious, fighting for your view of how the locusts in Revelation should be interpreted, I’m talking about knowing the basics of the Christian faith and refusing to waver on them. We face an enormous pressure to stop standing up for not just on minor secondary issues, but core ones – like, is Jesus really the only way of salvation? And the … Continue reading Contending for the Faith part 3

Why do Christians stop working hard at contending for the truth? When a person isn’t making an effort at knowing the essentials of the Christian faith and isn’t concerned enough about those essentials to defend them when they are attacked, it’s true enough he’s being spiritually lazy. But the fact of the matter is an unwillingness to make an effort at knowing the essentials of the Christian faith and an unwillingness to stand up and defend those essentials when they are attacked exhibits a much more serious problem than mere spiritual laziness. Spiritual laziness is a symptom. I don’t care … Continue reading There are some things worth fighting for…Part 2