Many conservative Christians know that the culture war we are fighting is a desperate battle for our children. Now fighting for your children and grandchildren is a noble enterprise. It is what we are called to do. When such fighting is necessary, as in a fallen world it … [Read more...]
I Shot the Sheriff . . .
"Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s" (Dt. 1:17) In an earlier post, on injustice and empathy, a point rose deep in the comments which needs to be bumped … [Read more...]
Some Kind of Zen Presbyterianism . . .
I received a good question from a friend about yesterday's post concerning Rachel Held Evans and communion, a question that had to do with how we fence the Table. In order to be able to get at the issues involved, let me remove it entirely from this dispute about RHE so we can … [Read more...]
Injustice and Empathy
Don Carson, Kevin DeYoung, and Justin Taylor have posted a very good statement about the Sovereign Grace lawsuit here. I appreciated it very much. The issue -- among thoughtful Christians -- should never be whether or not justice should be done. That should be a given. What … [Read more...]
Leaving the 99
Over the years I have written a good deal about one of the great neglected qualifications for the ministry, which is the spiritual state of the minister's family and home. Paul tells us plainly that a man whose house is not in order is not qualified to be a steward in the … [Read more...]
Feeling Like a Confrontation
One of the ways we have allowed egalitarianism to flatten everything can be seen in how we apply trial procedures to everything (to everything that is, except those situations when actual trial procedures would actually be called for). Determining that somebody is a security … [Read more...]
Child Communion
At the very center of the strong family emphasis that you will find in our churches, you will also find our practice of communing our children at the Lord’s Table. This is unusual in Protestant churches, and in some places it is even controversial. A few words of explanation here … [Read more...]
Optimism About the Future of the Church
A doctrinal emphasis that you are very likely to find in CREC churches is, oddly enough, a doctrinal point that is not actually required by any of our approved doctrinal statements. When it comes to the question of eschatology (what will happen at the end of the world), the only … [Read more...]
Expositional Sermons
There is an old joke among preachers that sermonettes are for Christianettes. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. The Scriptures are our life. Believing what we do about the absolute authority of the Bible, it only makes sense … [Read more...]
The Public Reading of Scripture
Another practice that is common in CREC churches is that of listening to Scriptures read aloud. This is distinct from the reading of the text for the sermon—it is simply a time in the service where the Word of God is recognized as central and foundational to our lives. We usually … [Read more...]
Singing in Parts
Another notable thing about our worship services in the CREC is that we are interested in learning how to sing “in parts.” It is a testimony to the damage that has been done in the realm of church music over the last few decades that many young Christians don’t even know what … [Read more...]
Musical Style in Worship
Apart from offering praise to God, the music of a worship service also has the important role of setting the tone of the service. Scripture teaches that music sets the mood. A particular kind of music is for mourning, and another is for dancing (Luke 7:32). When the prodigal son … [Read more...]
Wine in Communion
Most people come to our churches from the broader evangelical world. If you grew up Roman Catholic or Lutheran, you are accustomed to the use of wine in communion. But if you come to one of our services from an evangelical background, the use of wine can be quite a surprise. And … [Read more...]
A Corporate Amen
Another thing that is common in CREC churches is the corporate amen. There are other verbal responses that our congregations give, but amen is the most common. For other examples, after the Scripture reading, the reader says something like “The Word of the Lord,” and the … [Read more...]
Baptism and Christian Education
CREC churches share a deep commitment to the pursuit of Christian education. We are convinced that the world must be understood in a distinctively Christian way, and young saints are to be trained up into that way of thinking about it. The reason the world must be understood in a … [Read more...]
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