Caution in the face of “The Quiet Revival”

My friend, Stephen Watkinson, offers a word of caution when looking at the statistics on the so-called quiet revival. I think what he says is fundamentally right, though I think there is a little more cause for rejoicing than he might allow himself given that conservative evangelical churches are also seeing much interest from ethnic minorities and Gen Z. Caution is, I think, appropriate but it needn’t be utter pessimism.

Doug Wilson Is Not a Prophet

I think there is a useful discussion we can have about language. But scripture is unequivocal about the use of demeaning or dehumanising words intended to denigrate rather than build up. It is also clear that ‘by their fruits you shall know them’ and so this one is surely right: ‘If Wilson positioned himself simply as a cultural commentator, the problems would persist, and whatever good he offers could be found elsewhere without the accompanying liabilities, but at least the genre would be clear. The difficulty is that he holds the office of pastor in a church and denomination unwilling to discipline him for his excesses, however outrageous they become, leaving his rhetorical showmanship to be mistaken for faithful ministry. Worse still, he claims biblical warrant for language that Scripture itself calls ungodly.’

10 Mistakes I Made Navigating Theological Differences

This one looks at a number of very common mistakes when it comes to discussing and working through theological disagreement.

“All Things New,” not “All New Things”

This is a useful and important little distinction to note when thinking about the New Creation.

The Frequency of the Lord’s Supper

This one stakes a claim for weekly communion services. I have made a similar case before (see here) but would not quite go as far as saying it is a matter of biblical mandate.

A brief defence of a self-authenticating canon (video)

It is commonly assumed that appeal to a self-authenticating canon is circular reasoning and fundamentally flawed. Michael Kruger addresses this one. 

From the archive: We need more than words to see churches planted, established and supported

‘When we say that we want to see the nation reached for Christ, do we really mean it? When we say we want to see churches planted, established and supported, what evidence is there that this is true? We need to put out money where our mouths are. All our talk might be cheap for us, but it carries a massive cost for others.’