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Doodle: Why Wasn't Isaiah's Ministry More Successful?
A few years before the cataclysmic end of Mars Hill, I can remember Mark Driscoll exhorting pastors to preach like Arminians but sleep like Calvinists....
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Church Size: Six Theses
A friend once left a note on my desk, in jest, saying: “Get over your big church issues.” While my critics might have phrased it...
The Celebration of Tyranny in Pastoral Ministry
A few years back I attended a seminar on church growth. During one of the sessions, a church growth guru shared an anecdote from his...
Recent Posts
Between Death, Distraction and Existential Dread
None of us can put off death forever. To quote the opening line from Markus Zusak’s Book Thief, “You are going to die”; or Indiana Jones, “We are going to...
We Must Anticipate the Real Dangers of Assisted Suicide
Earlier this week a friend shared an article with me titled We Can’t Afford a Taboo on Assisted Dying. What gave rise to its publication is the Scottish parliament’s present...
Good Friday with Fred: The Cross of Jesus
Friedrich Nietzsche wasn’t coy about his loathing for Christians and the Church; read this, for example. Thus it might come as a surprise to readers that he largely esteemed Jesus...
Fridays with Fred: Like Friendships in the Night
Last year had an opportunity to speak on a topic close to my heart: friendship. It wasn’t recorded but you can listen to a discussion of it, here;you can also...
You'll Never Live a Life Worthy of the Gospel
In Philippians 1:27 Paul exhorts Christians to live in a manner worthy of the gospel. Following that he fills out the picture of such a life. It is marked by...
Is Your Theology Pastoral or Pilpul?
When you walk through the front door of our home you’ll be confronted by my theological library. There you’ll find—if I do say so myself—some outstanding works: Herman Bavinck’s Reformed...
How Knowing Greek Guards Against Prejudice and Partiality
Starting last year—off the back of beginning to lecture at a theological college—I wrote a series of articles exploring the value of studying New Testament Greek. In them I argued...
Doodle: Was J. R. R. Tolkien an Anti-Semite?
Towards the close of The Watchmen, a newspaper editor suggests to his senior that they should run a story about Ronald Reagan running for president in ‘88. The senior replies,...
