Joe Carter: 'Since it isn't an inherently unorthodox view, many who claim to be Baptists are eager to give the Christianization of civil government another try. However, before doing so, they need to drop the Baptist label. If you want to be a theonomist or fusionist Christian nationalist, you have to stop being a Baptist. You can choose to be one or the other, but you can't (consistently) be both.'
Stephen Watkinson: 'As the next General Synod of the Church of England approaches, it seems worth considering how to relate to those purportedly orthodox churches that remain on the inside of a denomination that has re-written the gospel. From what I can see about the current debates and campaigns, this is actually going to be a pretty complex question.'
I don't agree with all of these, but they are all worth thinking about.
Though this one concerns churches in the Northern Beaches of Sydney, the steps outlined in this one - and the warning it raises - are almost certainly applicable to most Christians and churches in Western contexts.
I absolutely agree with this one. There is nothing in the biblical text that would push us to this view and various things that would lead us away from it. It is entirely in line with what I wrote here on this too.
Tim Challies: 'When the sermon falls flat, I suppose we all tend to place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the preacher... But who's to say that, in the mind of God, the power of the preaching is entirely in the hands of the preacher? Who's to say that the pastor's task is to prepare the sermon while the congregation's task is merely to prepare their own hearts to hear it? What if preaching is powerless not because of the pastor's lack of preparation but because of the church's lack of prayer? What if poor preaching is not the consequence of any failure on the pastor's part but on the congregation's?'
'It is becoming sadly common to hear of churches and church leaders falling into error. Many times, the aftermath of such things leads to the entire church ceasing to exist or a small husk being left behind like a wreckage. We need to stop the increasingly common pattern and must be on guard for the things that are likely to lead to such problems. To that end, here are four ways you can successfully blow up your church over the long term.'
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