The Christian Influence behind the Declaration of Independence
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Twenty Contrasts between the Box Church and the Kingdom-Centered Church
Ever since the fourth century, when the Roman Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal, the church progressively went from a decentralized “saints” movement to a temple-centered “clergy-dependent” movement. We went from focusing on marketplace presence to building elaborate cathedrals with clergy-led rituals. We went from people “being the church” to people “going to church”. I call the latter mentality “the box church”.
Biblical Standards for Leadership in an Age of Scandal
In an age of evangelicalism that is fraught with scandals we must continually remind and ground ourselves in the biblical criteria for leadership. Otherwise, we will lose all of our credibility within our churches and before the world. In addition, every church’s board of trustees should insist their pastor be accountable to a higher body of leadership or presbytery. This can aid in steering clear of unnecessary challenges related to ministerial integrity.
The Grave Consequences of Being Unthankful
Recently I read about how 25% of all U.S. women suffer from some form of depression, and that more than 12 million women will suffer some form of clinical depression in their lifetime.
There is an epidemic of pessimism, anxiety and hopelessness that has erupted in the United States and beyond. This is par for the course for any sociological system that is not built upon being thankful to our Creator. Romans 1:21 teaches that being unthankful is the cornerstone sin of all other sins, with a trajectory that leads to covetousness, worshipping creatures more than God, all sexual sins including homosexuality, and pride, gossip and all kinds of malice that eventually lead to full-scale rebellion against God (Romans 1:21-33)!
Seven Reasons the Prophetic Voice of American Pastors Has Been Silent
As a pastor I have been involved in political, economic and social issues in order to be holistic in ministering to the needs of our community, as well as functioning prophetically to influential elected officials. In this context, I have observed how many leaders also involved in holistic ministry have “behaved themselves” in regards to speaking out prophetically on major biblical issues. My opinion is that we are all called to be prophetic—especially preachers of the gospel (1 Peter 4:11)!
Why Political Activism in the Pulpit is Part of the Gospel of the Kingdom
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The Present Seismic Shift of the Evangelical Church
The Evangelical church has been in flux the past several decades—going from one extreme to the next—and in many respects losing its center. Thus it is really hard to define what an Evangelical is today except for the very ambiguous definition of a person who believes the Bible is the word of God (there are even varying degrees of this within Evangelicalism) and in salvation through the vicarious death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Six Reasons Why Senior Executive Leaders are Targets
I. Senior executive leaders see the whole picture; Secondary leaders and staff see the picture in fragments
Often people don’t understand why executive leaders make certain decisions, because they are viewing the situation from their own narrow perspective and realm of influence while the senior leader sees everything from “30.000 feet.” Often, people are looking out only for their department or ministry (Sunday school, youth ministry, family ministry, or the workers in the assembly line in a factory, etc.) because doing so protects their interests. Meanwhile, the senior leader has to exercise leadership based on the whole picture of the puzzle, not just the individual pieces.
Why Politics Crucified Jesus
During this election season, most have bought into the erroneous idea that society should be run purely from a secular mindset. This is a far cry from before 1954 when federal laws were changed by the Johnson amendment, which essentially made it illegal for churches to endorse political candidates under the threat of losing their 501(c)3 tax-exempt status (although the U.S. Constitution already guarantees tax-exempt status for churches, with or without the 501(c)3).
Was Jesus A Fundamentalist Preacher?
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