My wife and I were grateful to be able to get together with some of our young adult ministry students for an online video chat last night. As part of the discussion, we asked everyone what they all thought was… Read More ›
Contemporary Issues/Ethics
Five Crucial Implications of the Church’s Mission
Working off of my definition of the church’s mission as participating in the mission of Christ to proclaim the gospel in word and deed by making disciples who make disciples, teaching and obeying God’s word, and loving and serving others… Read More ›
Some Thought-Provoking Quotes on the Mission of the Church
After sharing about my understanding of the Christian church’s mission yesterday, here are four great quotes I’m chewing on about the subject. The first three are quoted in the introduction to Michael Gorman’s book, Becoming the Gospel: Paul, Participation, and… Read More ›
What is the Mission of the Church?
It’s awfully hard to hit a target if you don’t even know what the target is. Successful organizations know this — it’s why they have “mission statements.” Having a clear definition of your mission is the first step to achieving… Read More ›
Was Jesus a Bigot? A Response to Sarah Bessey on Affirming Homosexuality
Out of the blue, my sister recently sent me an email asking for my thoughts on an article she had read. It was a popular post by author Sarah Bessey called “Penny in the Air: My Story of Becoming Affirming.”… Read More ›
Women in Ministry: Parting Thoughts & Recommended Reading
In last month’s posts I sought to explain why my views on women in ministry have shifted from being more restrictive and hierarchical to more inclusive. This was not a hasty change, nor was it motivated by any agenda other… Read More ›
Why Have Women Traditionally Been Excluded from Ministry? And Other Objections to Women in Ministry Answered (Pt. 4)
So far in this series on women in ministry we’ve talked about my journey with the subject and why I interpret 1 Timothy 2:11-15 as not forbidding female pastors. In the last post I addressed some potential objections to women… Read More ›
Women in Ministry, Pt. 3: Addressing Some Biblical Questions
In my previous post I argued that 1 Timothy 2:11-15 (often viewed as the strongest biblical passage against female pastors) is not a universal, absolute prohibition against women having authority in the church. Rather, it was addressing a particular, local situation in Ephesus… Read More ›
First Timothy 2:11-15 and the Question of Women in Ministry
In my last post I shared two reasons why I began reexamining my initial complementarian position on women in ministry — first, the ways female Bible teachers helped me grow spiritually, and second, the challenging points raised by my seminary… Read More ›
Women in Ministry: Some Preliminary Remarks
I recently had the opportunity to speak at a Bible study where the passage under consideration was 1 Timothy 2. If you’re familiar with that chapter, you know that it is particularly important — central, really — to conversations about whether… Read More ›
