While away on vacation I visited a handful of churches. I always enjoy being the anonymous guest of a church. I watch the pastor very closely. I also pay great attention to the people. In doing so, I try to learn from their unique perspective. This year, my visits included some resort churches and a …

So you are looking for a church. Not just any church. You want a good church, one that will meet your needs. One that makes you feel good. Besides, you are tired of your old church. Your pastor has lost his passion. He is no longer delivering the goods. And the music, well the music …

While in Costa Rica I was pleasantly surprised by the way our college students ministered as true servants.  I was also surprised by their ability to serve. For example, when asked how many of them knew how to tie rebar so we could pour a concrete slab, everyone in the group raised their hands.  Later …

Let’s see if I can try to conclude our discussion on regenerate church membership today. For the last three days we have discussed a small part of the theological framework for regenerate church membership.  Today I want to spend our time discussing the emotional or personal framework for church membership. For those of you who …

So, what is the problem? So where did we go wrong?  How have we maligned the meaning of regenerate church membership? Freeman said in his address at the inaugural Baptist World Conference, “The principle of regenerate Church membership more than anything else, marks our distinctiveness in the world today.” We have lost our distinctiveness because …

An early statement about regenerate church membership came from J.D. Freeman, pastor of Bloor Street Baptist Church in Toronto, Canada.  In his address at the inaugural the Baptist World Congress in London in 1905, Freeman delivered the following keynote statement: The principle of regenerate Church membership more than anything else, marks our distinctiveness in the …

I am teaching two seminary classes for the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary Extension Center in Birmingham this semester.  The first class is Spiritual Formation, while the other class is Supervised Ministry. Many of you are familiar with the text I am using in the Spiritual Formation class.  The book is Donald Whitney’s Spiritual Disciplines …

I know many of you are familiar with Luther’s work in the Reformation.  His translation of the Latin Bible into the German language made God’s Word available for the common man.  Luther’s commentary on Romans helped the church to understand that salvation was entirely by faith.  And, his many hymns like “A Mighty Fortress Is …

I originally planned to save today’s quote for a future blog.  However, since your response to yesterday’s blog about the church was so strong, I decided to post it today: “God is the highest good of the reasonable creature, and the enjoyment of him is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.  …

My concept of the church is limited, severely limited.  Much of what I know about the church is based on tradition.  Thankfully, the Lord has invested years of biblical study about the church to radically change some of my misconceptions.  Unfortunately, there other false impressions that still reign. What about you?  Do you rely on …