Ministry

Confession and Pastoral Theology: An Extraordinary Means of Constant Conversion

Grant Van Leuven
Jun 10, 2016
Several people have told me they were first truly converted Christians upon becoming Calvinists. Finally, the Bible made sense when the Spirit enlightened them to see, caress, and smell TULIP’s five lovely petals of God’s sovereign embrace from regeneration to glorification. [1] Thus, as the...

Confession and Pastoral Theology: The Usefulness of Confessional Orthodoxy

Michael Roberts
Jun 3, 2016
Whether formally acknowledged or not, confessional orthodoxy is a matter of importance to every genuine Christian. This is true even for Christians who might tend to be put off or dismissive of the term "confessional" or "confession" on the grounds that it either smacks of a mainline flavor, or,...

Lessons from a Letter of Call to John Owen

May 23, 2016
At some point in every local pastor's ministry he is going to experience an inquiry and even a call to serve in another congregation or area of service. I know for me, the first time this happened I had no idea what to do. I certainly was not prepared in seminary for this! Thankfully I like old...

Church is Not a Volunteer Organization

David Garner
May 7, 2016
Several months ago, I wrote an article entitled “ Jesus is Head of the Churches ,” in which I sought to describe the practical implications of Christ’s headship in our churches. Over the course of this last year, worship in various places and conversations with pastors and congregants have...

Moving Prayer to the Center of Ministry

Jay Harvey
May 2, 2016
God's people need to be prayed for. They need to led in prayer. They need to be taught how to pray. We all believe that prayer is important. Nevertheless, working our convictions about prayer into our practice of ministry is challenging. The Apostles declared "But we will devote ourselves to prayer...

Confession and Orthodoxy: Confessional Identity

Steven McCarthy
Apr 25, 2016
Ministering in a small, rural town with over ten churches, all with relatively low attendance, I have often heard the question, “What makes your church different?” I have found this question difficult to answer, not because I couldn’t rattle off positions and practices that other churches in town...

James Durham on Ministerial Qualifications (4)

Donald John Maclean
Apr 14, 2016
Discerning readers of this short series on "Concerning Ministerial Qualifications" may be wondering whether James Durham missed the foundational qualification the New Testament outlines for ministry. After all where does Paul begin in outlining the qualifications for elders? He begins with...

James Durham on Ministerial Qualifications (3)

Donald John Maclean
Mar 24, 2016
In our first and second posts on James Durham’s essay, "Concerning Ministerial Qualifications," we saw that the prerequisites “for the complete qualifying of a Minster” were “Gifts, Learning, and Grace.” And we spent some time looking at Durham’s understanding of ministerial gifts. This short...

Old Princeton: Benjamin B. Warfield and Seminary Education Today

Steven McCarthy
Mar 18, 2016
During my first year of seminary, I took a required course titled “Spiritual Development”. Some question the inclusion of such a course in a program of formal theological study. After all, an academic course can not make someone spiritual by itself. What’s more, seminary is best suited to impart...

Old Princeton: B. B. Warfield, Minister to Children

John Hartley
Mar 16, 2016
A minister of the gospel in service to Jesus Christ will necessarily have an interest in children. All servants who hear their Master say, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God,” will share his great interest in the spiritual needs of little ones...