A Reformed Farewell to Benedict XVI

(Michael Horton) Taken from the highest ranks of the clergy, popes should be among the best living pastors, biblical scholars, and theologians. That this has often not been the case is obvious enough throughout history, as any well-informed Roman Catholic will concede. (More than a few instances of corruption and heresy may be found on the Protestant side as well.)

However, Benedict XVI has regularly been impressive on these counts. Living alongside Protestants in Germany, he often engages Reformation views with more sympathy and knowledge than most—especially more than many Protestants who convert to Rome and trade on caricatures of the evangelical faith based on the worst of evangelicalism. MORE

Truth

( Douglas Groothuis) About ten years ago, a prospective student recently wrote to Denver Seminary. He was alarmed by our vision statement, which speaks of defending “absolute truth” in our postmodern world. Being favorable to postmodernism (through reading Brian McClaren’s book, A New Kind of Christian), he was wary of believing in absolute truth. This view would stifle our witness to non-Christians and hinder Christian growth, since those who believe in absolute truth think they have it all figured out. MORE

The Introverted Evangelist

(Seth McBee)
In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ² “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord;

make his paths straight.’ ”

Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. - Matthew 3:1–6

For most of us this is what we think of when we think of an evangelist: the semi-crazy person that we admire for their zeal. We are impressed with their courage, but we know that if that is what we are called to do, we could never pull it off.
When we train in evangelism, this is the picture most either point to or think of. Which is one of the major reasons evangelism and evangelist have such a negative connotation for both the believer and non-believer. Essentially, we train folks to fit into a specific personality type and call it evangelism training. We are training people to be extrovert evangelists.  (MORE)

The Church is Christ’s Bride, Not His Baby Mama

(the gospel side) In case you are not up to speed on the last decade’s slang, a baby mama is someone with whom you made a baby, but have no commitment to and little contact with. In other words, someone objectified, used, abandoned, and now mocked for being dumb enough to think the guy would actually be faithful to her.
If you are a Christian does that remind you of anything?
I hear similar attitudes towards the church expressed in Starbucks every week. People waxing eloquent about how into ‘Jesus’ and ‘spirituality’ they are, but not so much ‘religion’ or the ‘Church.’ It is why 24 million people watched Jefferson Bethke’s spoken word video “Why I hate religion but love Jesus” last year.
I am most amazed when I see Christian leaders encouraging people to use the church as their ‘baby mama’ – for their own desires and preferences, and when she no longer ‘does it for me’ to ditch her for a younger, sexier model. What I am whining about exactly? Here are a few examples:...MORE

When it Comes to Planning, Learn from the Ants

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (BP) -- Ants aren't known for having big brains and yet sometimes they act smarter than people. The Bible actually calls ants "wise" because they store up food for the winter.

"Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest" (Proverbs 6:7-8).

So what is it that ants have figured out -- that some people just don't get?

It's called short-term planning. True, ants operate more out of instinct than intellect, but they still manage to put food aside during good times. Too often, people fail to take the same precaution. (MORE)

Scriptural Lessons for Apologetics

(Mike Riccardi) When Christians think and speak about apologetics—about defending the Christian faith against the attacks of unbelievers—it can sometimes be the case that Scripture itself is one of the furthest things from their minds. When endeavoring to defend the faith, many of us think immediately of archaeology, of philosophical arguments, of scientific proofs and rebuttals, of canonicity and textual criticism, and of refutations of classic atheistic arguments. While all those things have their place in a well-rounded, robustly prepared defender of the faith, it’s unfortunate that Scripture can be one of the last places we think to inform our apologetic methodology. But in point of fact, there are many passages in the Bible that teach us much regarding issues of defending the faith and reasoning with unbelievers. I’d like to explore some of those lessons today.

A God-Dependent Epistemology.... MORE

Why Should Evangelicals Care About the Contraceptive-Abortifacient Mandate?

(Joe Carter) Currently, there are 42 lawsuits across the country that are challenging the Obama administration's contraceptive-abortifacient mandate as a violation of Christian conscience, making 2013 a particularly important year for religious liberty. For good or for ill, these cases will play an unusually important role in defining our national commitment to religious liberty

To better understand the implications of the mandate, TGC interviewed Daniel Blomberg, the legal counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Blomberg, the son of an ordained evangelical minister, earned a degree in Bible from Columbia International University before graduating magna cum laude from the University of South Carolina School of Law. Before joining Becket, he clerked for Chief Judge Alice M. Batchelder of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and, before that, served as litigation counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom.

What is the mission and purpose of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty?  MORE

Why Doesn't Your Church Get with the Program

(Trevin Wax) Here’s an opportunity for the Church to revise its teaching and increase its reach among young people.

If the Church doesn’t change, it will get left behind.

Peppered throughout the news coverage of Pope Benedict’s resignation announcement are comments like these from “practicing Catholics” who are politicians or common Catholics interviewed on the street.

The subtext behind these statements is this: The Church needs to get with the program.

Now, as a Baptist, I have more than a few disagreements with the teaching of the Church of Rome - sola scriptura being the watershed issue from which flows a whole host of other doctrines and practices. Despite overtures from Pope Benedict on the doctrine of justification, Trent still stands (unfortunately).

But let’s go back to this notion of the Church “getting with the program.” First off, the idea that the global Church should cater to the whims of a shrinking number of North American Catholics betrays a stunning ethnocentrism and an imperialistic mindset among elites who, ironically, would consider themselves “multi-cultural.”

Beyond that, however, I find it interesting that evangelicals are facing the same kind of cultural pressures.  MORE

Why Are Christians Such Bad Tippers?

(Her-menuitics by Karen Swallow Prior) If you are a Christian and want to serve Christendom well, you can start by not going out to eat—unless you're willing to love your neighbor the restaurant server as yourself.

Last week's story of pastor who instead of a tip left a snarky note for her waitress—"I give God 10 percent why do you get 18?"—made news because of what followed the otherwise commonplace event: a photo of the receipt was posted online and went viral, the server was then fired, and finally, after her stinginess found her out, the pastor issued a public apology.  MORE

Life, Liberty, and HHS

(Breakpoint - John Stonestreet) It’s a venerable Washington tradition to save controversial and/or embarrassing announcements for Friday afternoons, hoping that when Monday rolls around, people’s attention will be elsewhere.

And what better time to try and slip one past the American people than the Friday before the Super Bowl? Thus, last Friday, the Obama administration announced some further modifications to the HHS mandate. This is version 3.0 of that part of Obamacare that requires employers to pay for contraception, sterilization and abortifacients, irrespective of their religious convictions.
What was announced on Friday was an attempt to mollify critics while remaining true to the worldview that— pun fully intended — gave birth to these new regulations in the first place.  MORE

Scouts, Delaying Votes

(Michael Foust - Baptist Press)

IRVING, Texas (BP) -- Facing pressure from its supporters and members, the Boy Scouts executive board announced Wednesday it is delaying a decision on lifting its prohibition of gay Scout leaders and members until May, when it will put the matter before its 1,400 voting members.

Meeting in Irving, Texas, the board was considering a proposal that would have replaced the national ban with a "local option" for local councils to determine the policy, potentially leaving a patchwork of different policies within the same city. Outside groups on both sides had criticized the proposal.

In a statement, the Scouts announced that "after careful consideration and extensive dialogue within the Scouting family, along with comments from those outside the organization," the board concluded that "due to the complexity of this issue, the organization needs time for a more deliberate review of its membership policy."  MORE

Morally Straight? The Transformation of the Boy Scouts of America

(Albert Mohler) The comprehensive scope of the moral revolution America is currently experiencing is likely to surprise many Americans when they realize that the Boy Scouts are now swept up in the revolutionary tide.
Word came yesterday that the Boy Scouts of America is poised to change its policy preventing the participation of openly homosexual scouts and leaders. According to a spokesman for the Boy Scouts, the group may make the formal decision to end the policy as early as next week.
This announcement comes just six months.... MORE

Four Parts of Faith

By: Sarah Bowler
Making Visitors Feel Welcome (Pt. 1): The Greeters

It was a rather awkward moment. “Is this your first time here?” asked the greeter. “Um… no. We’ve been coming for about a year, “ I muttered. A few steps later another greeter smiled and handed me a bulletin. “Well at least he smiled,” I thought, “Even though he still doesn’t know my name.”
I’ve visited more than my fair share of churches, and truthfully I admit that sometimes the most awkward parts of a visit are with the greeters. It’s unfortunate; yet, for some reason we who long to relate to others are often at a loss when it comes to doing so.

Pray for the Johns Day

(Breakpoint)
Quick: What’s the big event that’s happening this Sunday?
Chances are extremely good that the answer that popped into your head, without even having to think about it, was “the Super Bowl.” Whether you watch football or not, you probably know that America’s biggest and best-loved game takes place this weekend. There’s always so much hype surrounding the Super Bowl, it’s almost impossible not to know about it.
But here’s something that you might not know: Major sporting events like the Super Bowl tend to cause an increase in sex trafficking. It’s tragic, but true. As WANE.com in Indiana reported last year, “Girls as young as 12 to 14 are being shipped to Super Bowl host cities and sold as prostitutes to meet the demand for sex at the event. And it’s getting worse.”  MORE