Sign of Life

It’s hard to believe that five years have passed since I last blogged. I suppose there are many possible reasons. 1. My blog was not that popular, 2. I no longer had time or interest, or both, 3. I didn’t have anything to say. Whatever the case, I thought I would at least give a Read more

The Hubris of Faux Fundamentalists

One of my alma maters recently announced it will be closing after 38 years of training men and women for ministry.  Personally I am saddened by its impending closure yet rejoice in how God used and blessed the school. I have not been associated with the seminary for several years and have no special insight Read more

A Compelling Case for Amillennialism

Sam Storms’ new book “Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative” presents a compelling case for amillenialism. Notice I said compelling, not conclusive. Whatever position you hold, think you hold, or have to hold because of where you serve, you should wrestle with Storms’ presentation.  He is one of many former dispensational premillennialists who have surrendered their Read more

Urban Grace – Church Planting Internships and Partnerships

Have you been praying about urban church planting? This week, March 5-8, Calvary Baptist Seminary is hosting Advancing the Church, a biennial conference which this year features D. A. Carson as keynote speaker. Grace Church of Philly will be among the exhibitors to speak with prospective church planters interested in doing internships in Philadelphia and to meet pastors Read more

Helping “Issue Christians” Move On

Ed Stetzer has a good article on helping "issue Christians" move on. The particular issue in this case was prophecy details. We see this problem not only in churches but on scandal blogs which exist solely to attack other Christians (under the guise of defending the faith of course). The issues and terms (Lordship Salvation, Read more

How Much Can We Disagree on Eschatology?

Recently I was briefly involved in an online discussion regarding Sam Storms’ change in his millennial view from premillennial to amillennial. There have also been recent videos discussing the importance of eschatology in the life of believers and church life.  Several years ago Thomas Schreiner changed his view from amillennial to premillennial in his study Read more

Sandy Hook and Human Evil

When we look at the Sandy Hook tragedy, the question we should be asking is "‘what is wrong with humanity’ that we can commit such atrocities?" If the discussion does not go beyond ‘gun control’ or ‘mental health’ then our solutions will be superficial. People murder other people because they choose to unleash their hate, Read more

Grace Church of Philly – University City Update

We continue to experience God's blessing at Grace Church. Next March will be the 3rd anniversary of Grace Church – University City site in West Philly. We have pretty much outgrown the hall we are renting. We use the same space for our worship services and our fellowship meal each week (see photos). So after the service Read more

Mission Tourism Season Begins

Mission tourism continues to boom even in times of economic crisis. Almost daily I receive emails or hear appeals from individuals, churches, and schools that are preparing for summer “missions trips” to send summer “missionaries” to far flung places to minister to those to whom they cannot speak without an interpreter, to build relationships with Read more

Leakey will be history first

Paleoanthropologist Richard Leakey has predicted the end of skepticism regarding evolution. According to news articles his “family claims to have unearthed ‘much of the existing fossil evidence for human evolution.’" The account of Mark Twain's premature obituary comes to mind. He allegedly commented – "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." Since we’re doing Read more

« Previous Entries Next Entries »