I’ve always been fond of the doctrine of irresistible grace, also sometimes referred to as efficacious grace. The case for this belief or understanding within Christianity is usually connected to John 6:65 when Jesus has just told the disciples some of them didn’t truly believe. He follows that statement by saying, “This is why I…
All posts in theology
Different Than We Imagined
Recently I’ve been studying books on the subject of heaven. Books such as Heaven by Randy Alcorn, Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright, and Heaven is a Place on Earth by Michael Wittmer. One of the overwhelming themes from all of these works is that heaven is not some immaterial place in the sky where the souls of Christians float…
Teaching Isn’t About Giving Answers
I hate the idea of becoming Mr. Pastor Answer Man. A guy approached me recently after I gave a sermon: “I’m struggling with what you shared. I don’t understand what I’m supposed to do now.” Inside I’m screaming, “It’s not my job to give you the answer.” But thankfully I’ve developed a filter that didn’t…
Yes, We’re Talking About Selfies
When the Oxford Dictionaries named “selfie” as the word of the year for 2013 they were not providing commentary as to whether it was a good or a bad thing for our culture. Instead, they presented the word as one that had grown in popularity to the point where its use was now ingrained in…
My One Word For 2014
Last year at this time I wrote out a whole post explaining why foundation would be my one word area of focus for 2013. I was anticipating becoming a dad, and becoming further entrenched into my pastoral ministry vocation, so focusing on a foundation that could be built upon in the coming years seemed wise.…
A Call to Complementarians
Some reflections for my complementarian brothers and sisters- Are complementarians doing enough to provide space for underprivileged people to have equal value within the church? That is the question I’ve had running in my head the past few weeks, following lots of discussion on the complementarian and feminist perspectives. If you’ve missed the discussions I…