The Church and Her Role in the World The Church is the “community of all true believers for all time” (Grudem). It is the people of God, formed by God for the purposes of God for the glory of God. The origin of the church lies within the redemptive and creative purposes of God. In […]
A Plea to Millennial Christians: Commit Yourselves to a Church Community (Reject Selfish Love of Autonomy) Over the years, I’ve seen a tension in myself and other millennial Christians (those born between 1981-200): we want to be known and part of a church community, but we also want freedom to leave and go elsewhere. This […]
How Do You Know You’ve Received the Holy Spirit–Not Necessarily Tongues How do you know if you’ve really received the Holy Spirit? Some in the more charismatic movement claim that the only way to know that you’ve actually truly received the Holy Spirit is if you speak in tongues (language that you do not know). […]
Idols in the Heart I like how Tim Keller describes idolatry as “turning a good thing into an ultimate thing.” Rather than bowing down to metal or wooden statues, we in the West usually commit idolatry when we take something good and make it into something that we can’t live without. This might happen with […]
NAMB Church Planting Apprentice
NAMB CHURCH PLANTING APPRENTICE If you are considering church planting, I recommend that you explore NAMB (North American Mission Board)’s church planting apprentice program. This is the option I have taken and am thankful for it. This program allows for individuals to spend one year getting trained and mentored in church planting through an approved […]
How Reading the Bible Impacts My Life The Bible is where I hear God’s voice. God truly exists and He truly speaks to His creation. As Francis Schaeffer titled one of his books, ‘He is There and He is Not Silent.’ Reading the Bible allows me to hear from God and learn about who He […]
How To View the Bible: Part 1 (Theological Understanding) The Bible is God’s inspired revelation of Himself. This special revelation of God to the world is distinct from what we can learn about God through creation (general revelation). General revelation gives us enough information to know about God’s power, wisdom, righteousness, goodness, and justice, as […]
My friend Dan has written a Bible study that helps us deal with lust and temptation. Here it is: Dealing with Lust and Temptation 1. Our first step is to desire holiness and purity in the area of sexual lust and temptation. If we don’t truly desire this, then we won’t experience true victory over […]
Journey into Church Planting
[tab] [tab_item title=”Introduction”] Introduction On September 1st 2013, I began a year-long church-planting apprenticeship at my church, Redeemer Fellowship. This program will equip and train me to lead a new church plant and then serve as its senior pastor. While the notion of leading and pastoring a church plant is daunting, my wife Rachel and I sense God […]
Here’s the theological influences and teachers who have had the biggest impact on me (after God and the Bible!): 1. Tim Keller (gospel centrality and preaching) 2. John Piper (reformed theology and Christian hedonism) 3. D.A. Carson (exegesis and biblical theology) 4. Mark Driscoll (reformed theology, cultural engagement, and ministry practice) 5. Joe Thorn/Martyn Lloyd […]