The Dangers of Church Discipline

One of my readers, commenting on a post I wrote about grace and nonjudmentalism, wrote, “How about writing a little about the difference between forgiveness and indulgence. What does biblical discipline, rebuke and reproof look like for believers in the church?” It’s a legitimate issue. I’ve said many times...

Racism and the Lord’s Supper

In his book, Chase the Lion, Mark Batterson writes, Shortly after being installed as the twentieth pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a sermon in November of 1954 titled “Transformed Nonconformist.” “The Christian is called upon not to be like...

Living Together: Racial Reconciliation is a Christian Imperative

In my last post I wanted to point out that either elation or despair by Christians over the election of Donald Trump indicated that a person had probably put their hope for the future of our country—and perhaps the world—in someone other than Jesus. That is not to say that the election doesn’t have...

The Only Thing That Matters

1st in the series, “ChurchWorks.” Delivered May 22, 2016, First Baptist Church of Frederick, Maryland  A Wedding Homily I’m going to let you in on a little trade secret: very few pastors write new messages for every wedding they do. They just reuse basically the same one over and over again. You’ve probably...

Discipleship and Religious Bullies

Note: This is a repost (with slight revisions) of a blog from January 2014 that has proven to be one of my most popular articles. It is the second in a series of blogs on discipleship in the church.  Click here for part 1. So many of the discipleship programs I have been through have focused on teaching me...

« Older Entries