Christward Collective

I was a theological polyglot before my arrival at seminary. It took three years to sort through the junk drawer of Evangelical aphorisms that filled my head. But seminary did its good work, a part of which was forcing me to memorize the Westminster Shorter Catechism . It was a blessed suffering. I...

Many years ago I was involved with an evangelistic ministry in New Jersey. A group of us would go out on the Boardwalk ask people if we could talk with them about the Gospel. In the course of our conversations, I would sometimes ask if they knew why they wore clothing. The humorous responses that...

In his important book, Outgrowing the Ingrown Church , Jack Miller recounted an experience he had at a church in which he had been invited to speak. As he and his wife walked around and met people in the church, they continually heard the members saying things like, "We're one of the...

1. “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding” (Proverbs 17:27-28). Restraint in speech, both in content and manner, is a mark of a Christian. How we say something can be as beneficial or harmful as what we say. The unrestrained...

By God’s grace, I’ve been a Christian since I was 4 years old. Over the years my family has gone through many trying situations--my parents’ divorce, mom's remarriage and dad's developing dementia. Like you, I am very familiar with the fact that suffering comes on in full...

Good Assistant Pastors are hard to find. I don't say this, because I am one. I say this merely from observation and as the recipient of too many horror stories. A good Assistant Pastor must be marked by the same things as any other pastor. He must possess a love for God, His Word, and His...

Do I have what it takes? It’s a question that all of us have asked ourselves. Some of you ask it every day. Do I have what it takes to succeed in this life? What if I don’t? What would they say about me? The pressure of the question can be so great that some of us are tempted to fail...

In a sermon entitled “ The Pleasantness of Religion ,” Jonathan Edwards draws the following doctrine from Proverbs 24:13-14: “It would be worth the while to be religious if it were only for the pleasantness of it.” Although we might expect him to go straight to spiritual...

Dane C. Ortlund. Edwards on the Christian Life: Alive to the Beauty of God . Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014. 207 pp. There have been moments when my faith, my understanding of Christianity (the paradigm out of which I operated) changed fundamentally. One of those moments occurred in my second year in...

This past weekend in Chicago and the surrounding area we were blessed with almost 2 feet of snow. A number of churches suspended worship gatherings on Sunday due to the dangerous roads. Sometimes God's providence makes it difficult, and even impossible to gather for worship. But every year, on...