Wednesday's Catch: "The Benevolent Tradition: The Charity of Women" and More

The Benevolent Tradition: The Charity of Women

Through sacrifice, mercy, and charity, women down through church history may have given us our greatest examples of love demonstrated and proven through selfless giving and service to others. Read More

The Centerpiece of God’s Saving Purpose in the Universe

The doctrines of grace are a cohesive system of theology in which the sovereignty of God is clearly displayed in the salvation of elect sinners. Not only is God acknowledged to reign over all of human history, both micro and macro, but He is also seen to be sovereign in the dispensing of His saving grace. From Genesis to Revelation, God is emphatically represented in Scripture as being absolutely determinative in bestowing His mercy. He is shown as choosing before the foundation of the world those whom He will save and then, within time, bringing it to pass. Read More

Justification by Works or by Faith Alone? James or Paul?

Perhaps the most famous catch-cry of the Reformation is ‘faith alone’! We are justified not by what we do but by faith alone. The cry is taken from Romans 3:28 where Paul states that ‘we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law’ (ESV). Luther famously added the words ‘faith alone’ to his translation of this verse. To those who pointed out that the words were not in the Greek, he responded.... Read More

6 Reasons a Leader Never Says "At Least Someone Is Doing Something!"

It doesn’t matter how much activity you’re generating if you’re not solving the problem. Read More

11 Pains of Being a Pastor

Thirty-six years ago at this time of year, I was talking with a search committee as I considered my first local church pastorate. I was so pumped that I’m sure I was obnoxious around my family and friends. Nobody except a pastor can fully understand the excitement that comes with a first pastorate. What I didn’t know then, though, was that the pastorate often brings its own types of pain.... Read More

Seven Reasons the Pastor's Honeymoon Ends

Enjoy the honeymoon while it lasts. It will end for most of you.I love hearing from pastors and other church staff about their honeymoons and the reasons they ended. Here are the top seven reasons I compiled from those conversations. Read More


How to Preach with Biblical Fullness

My brother pastor, to preach with biblical fullness, rising above ourselves and our biases, our best course is to preach through the Bible, passage by passage, letting each passage make its unique contribution, confident that over time the fullness of it all will serve people well with a clear vision of the Triune God. But let us never force a passage to say what we think it ought to have said and thus complicate the work of God. Read More

(Im)Possible: One-on-One with Lon Allison about His New Book on Evangelism

Chicagoland pastor encourages believers to Prayer-Care-Share. Read More