fisher of men

For over a decade I’ve been calling for churches to add a statement about marriage to their official documents. It was evident many years ago that the day would come when gay marriage would be widely accepted in our culture. I should note in passing that yesterday President Obama promised that he would not force churches to perform gay weddings. Well, that’s a relief. Or maybe not. After reading the president’s full statement regarding the Supreme Court decisions, Christians should wonder how long the government will respect our convictions regarding marriage. The tone of the statement suggests that we will feel increasing pressure to give way on the issue of marriage.  Either cave in or keep quiet.  For those who prefer neither option, let me recommend that every evangelica...

In her book, “The Envy of Eve,” Author Melissa Kruger helps us understand how seemingly harmless desires and questions like this grow into the sin of covetousness. Envying the relationships, circumstances, possessions, and abilities of others chokes out the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives, allowing discontentment to bloom. The key to overcoming is to get to the root of our problem: unbelief—mistrusting God’s sovereignty and goodness. (“The Envy of Eve,” Christian Focus 2013) Originally published June 27, 2013.

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down two decisions on gay marriage: one dealing with California’s ban on gay marriage (a.k.a. Proposition 8) and the other with the federal Defense of Marriage Act (a.k.a. DOMA). In neither case did the Court do anything to slow down the advance of gay marriage in the United States. In the Prop 8 case, the majority decided that the plaintiffs did not have standing to argue this case before the Supreme Court. It remains to be seen what the exact implications of this will be, but for the time being it looks like gay marriage will resume in California. The Court also decided that section 3 of DOMA—the part defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman—is unconstitutional. It left in place section 2 of DOMA which says that states do not have to...

Christians often measure the significance of a job by its perceived value from the eternal perspective. Will the work last; will it “really count” for eternity? The implication is that God approves of work for eternity, but places little value on work for the here and now. By this measure, the work of ministers and missionaries has eternal value because it deals with people’s spiritual, eternal needs. By contrast, the work of a salesman, teller, or typist has only limited value, because it meets only earthly needs. In other words, this kind of work doesn’t really “count” in God’s eyes. But this way of thinking overlooks several important truths: (1) God himself has created a world that is time-bound and temporary (2 Peter 3:10,11). Yet he values his work, declaring it to be “very good,” by...

One of our most exciting research projects at the Fuller Youth Institute is our College Transition Project, a culmination of 5 years of study of 500 youth group kids as they transition to college.  The goals of this research are to study youth group graduates as they leave youth ministry and to offer help to parents, leaders and churches in building a faith that lasts, or “Sticky Faith”.  In the midst of a host of factors that help develop Sticky Faith, some of our most intriguing findings point to the role of parents and family conversations about faith. Reason #1:  Parents are usually the most important spiritual influence in their kids’ lives.  While we believe in the power of adult mentoring (we are both youth ministry volunteers at our respective churches), it’s ch...

The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act serves as a boost to ongoing efforts to legalize same-sex marriage across the nation. Christians believe marriage is defined by God and recognized by government. But many today believe marriage is defined by government and must be recognized by all. For this reason, I’m not optimistic about the trends concerning marriage and family in the United States. Neither am I sure of what all this means for those who, in good conscience, stand against the tide. But I am optimistic about the church of Jesus Christ. We’ve been through societal transformations before, and we’re sure to go through them again. For example, the conversion of Constantine to Christianity in 313 A. D. was certainly good for the church. (We didn...

Rachel Held Evans concludes her blog post If my son or daughter were gay with this paragraph: If God blesses Dan and me with a child who is gay, I would want that child to know without a doubt that he or she is loved unconditionally. I would want her to know nothing could separate her from the love of God in Christ. I would want her to know that she isn’t broken, she isn’t an embarrassment, she isn’t a disappointment.  May I be part of creating a world in which I will not have to protect her from the bullies. I believe Rachel’s motivation is to create a more welcoming and loving environment in the church for those who identify themselves as homosexuals, or who struggle with homosexual desire. I admire and agree with her motive, and must say that I’ve learned from her in this area of b...

Whenever the 4th of July weekend rolls around, I’m reminded of times I’ve traveled in countries where freedom is severely curtailed.  Or they were freshly freed from the chains of injustice, and the joy of their release was palpable. I was in Johannesburg on the tenth anniversary of the end of apartheid. I was in Korea when the border between North and South was electric with tension. My most powerful memory came from Moscow, where I was teaching shortly after the fall of communism. One night a group of us went to the famed Bolshoi Ballet.  It was a long, wonderful evening, but after we took the subway back to where we were staying, the students said, “Come and let us celebrate.”  The other two professors with me were as tired as I was, but they ...

Christianity.com: What is the rapture and why do Christians seem to talk about that so much?-Russell Moore from christianitydotcom2 on GodTube. What is the Rapture? The Rapture is not a word that’s found in scripture. But it’s a Biblical idea and a Biblical concept, which is that at the end of the age, Jesus returns and calls His people to Him in the air. So as Paul talks about in 1 Thessalonians, chapter four, those who are dead are raised first and then those who are still alive are caught up with the Lord Jesus in the air. Where Christians disagree is not over whether or not there is a Rapture. All Christians of every stripe believes there is a Rapture. The questions is when and so most Christians in the history of the church have believed in one singular coming of the Lord ...

As you drive home from church on Sunday afternoon, how do you evaluate your sermon? Do you aim for less droopy eyes than last week? Do you base it on positive comments from your congregation as they shuffle out of the sanctuary? When God judges the ministry of those who teach his word, God will not ask around to see how much people enjoyed your preaching. He is going to use two measurements. Titus 1:9 boils good preaching down to two things In Titus chapter one, Paul lists the qualifications for an elder. He itemizes several character qualities, and then ends with this: “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Titus 1:9). We learn the two things that the pastor must do in ...

A cartoon shows a sign in front of a café: “Specializing in meals that leave you bloated and lethargic, followed by self-loathing.”  A man says to his wife, “I liked it better when they called it comfort food.” I know the feeling, friend. A while back, I was in another state speaking for two nights. The first morning after I had arrived, I had gotten up early and found a downtown diner that catered to the locals. I met a lot of people and put away a big breakfast. A few hours later, my host and another pastor took me for lunch in a buffet restaurant. That evening, I spoke at a banquet where the food was plentiful, delicious, and memorable. Late that night, back in the hotel, I turned on the computer, read my email, and in answer to a question agreed that, yes, I would write an ar...

“I love my wife!” “I love hamburgers!” “I love my husband!” “I love the movie Nacho Libre!” Strange, how in our popular culture this word “love” can be used in such a trivial way, but then also be used to refer to the deepest of relationships. No wonder it’s so easy for us to miss the type of love God calls us to express toward, not just our favorite people, but toward all people. So radical is the love that God commands us to have for others, it includes loving our enemies and persecutors (Matthew 5: 43-48) and loving without expectation of receiving love in return (Luke 6: 27-36). But the most challenging call to love is the great commandment love God with all of our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22: 34-40). Love God, Love Others To truly love, we must first know God....