The Texas Christian massacre and the man who committed it
David Robertson offer his take on the horrific events in Sutherland Springs, Texas. He notes an interesting double-standard in the reporting of the atrocity compared with other similar events.
You can’t reform what you won’t touch
‘Individual, congregational, or cultural reform does not occur simply by lobbing doctrinal cannonballs from the pulpit to the pews or, worse yet, from one computer screen across cyberspace toward the screen of an intended target. Rather, you have to get messy and touch what you desire to see changed.’
Refuting five false theories about Jesus
‘If we study Jesus within his historical context and in light of the facts even non-Christian scholars generally accept to be true, we can arrive at certain conclusions about what he must have been like.’
Don’t wait until your church is mature to raise up leaders (video)
How do you raise up leaders in your church? Here is a useful way to go about it. You certainly don’t have to wait for a mature church before you begin raising up leaders.
How important is preaching in the local church? (video)
I think you probably know already, but always good to be reminded.
The men who make Tetzel look tame
‘Clearly the Tetzel blueprint has been replicated and exponentially abused through modern media platforms: target the poor and most vulnerable; make grandiose promises that aren’t yours to make; squeeze every last drop of revenue out of the victims; use the proceeds for your own extravagance. It’s like Robin Hood in reverse! But it doesn’t end there.’
From the archive: Four reasons we should seriously consider open air work
‘At their best, open airs are simply public forums, not at all different to a hustings. Whilst a gospel presentation is given, we are looking to engage with people and want to discuss ideas with them. We should certainly be gentle in our approach, careful about what we say and how we say it, and – as Dick Lucas so rightly pointed out – not ‘be weirder than you have to be’. But when those things have been considered, open airs are a great means of taking the gospel to the lost.’