In roughly two weeks, Catherine Rybicki and I will have a public dialogue on the complementarianism vs. egalitarianism controversy. It will be livestreamed on the Advent Christian Voices Facebook page as a special episode of Bible & Banter before the end of July. Below is my presentation of the positive Biblical case for complementarianism, specifically in regards to positions of spiritual authority in the Church.
Read MoreA Case for Biblical Egalitarianism: Part Two
Read MoreEgalitarianism. Otherwise known as - being in support of women in ministry and women holding positions of spiritual authority.
Read MoreIn “Daniel’s BAR ENASH in the New Testament” Jefferson Vann explains how the vision recorded in Daniel 7:13-14 is alluded to over 80 times in the New Testament.
Read MoreIn Matthew 12, Mark 2, and Luke 6, we have an event recorded of Jesus’ disciples rubbing wheat grains in their hands and eating them. The Pharisees who were with them at the time accused them of performing work on the sabbath, as it seems was their custom. In response, Jesus recounts the time in David’s life when he and his men were fleeing from king Saul and came to the high priest who gave them the bread of the presence and you can read the rest if you so desire, but the focus of this article is what some skeptics take to be a contradiction regarding the high priest in particular…
Read MoreIt was legendary. When I think about dramatic conversions, the story of Saul of Tarsus tops the list. No one expected it or saw it coming. Saul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus radically changed his life. A primary persecutor of Christians becomes “The Way's” most proficient proclaimer! I've always thought it would be amazing to have a conversion story like that. (I often forget how everyone who turns towards Christ is an incredible, miraculous conversion.) But the more I think about it; I'm not sure if I would want that to happen to me - and how often I fight it when it does.
Read MoreThe more I consider the political and cultural landscape of our country the more concerned I become that many professing Christians are confusing the fight for moral or traditional values with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Read MoreI believe that questions are important. Incredibly important.
I’ve said it before – I am a question asker. I like questions. I like to ask questions. I like being asked questions. I like thinking about questions that come up in my mind throughout the day. I like contemplating the hard questions in life.
Perhaps the reason I love questions is because I love research. And questions are certainly the foundation of research.
But, I like questions primarily because they are relational in so many ways.
For Christians in particular, questions can sometimes be or provide an open door for us to share the love of Christ in unique ways.
Read MoreThere’s an ideology sweeping our society that is a major obstacle to the gospel and to the witness of Christ’s bride. It has infiltrated how we educate our children and poses a significant issue for people of faith. If we don’t present a united front against it, it has the potential to damage our nation in ways that will affect generations to come. We’ve already been experiencing its effect. You might have heard of it, it’s known as CRT.
Read MoreSome people have American flag pajamas. You know it’s true. Red, white, and blue attire knows no bounds. When you see such garb, do you think it’s a bit much? Maybe too patriotic? Perhaps you do; that tends to be my opinion.
Read MoreIt is the month of June! And in our day and age, that means that the corporations and politicians of our culture are promoting what has been dubbed “pride month.” I was debating whether to write on this topic, given the sensitive nature of it, but after seeing not just the culture generally going extra hard for pride month this year, but professing Christians also cudgeling the church into submission with the cultural norms of the day, I felt it necessary to address what I believe to be key notions believed by pro-gay Christians, helping biblical Christians to handle this behavior biblically.
Read MoreThere are three categories that I want to consider that could benefit from the ingenuity spurred on by rising secularism: (1) missions, (2) doctrine, and (3) education. Each of these has influenced the Advent Christian church immensely over the years. The doctrines of conditional immortality saw the formation of our denomination. Advent Christians have most often been united in their shared efforts in foreign missions. The denomination’s institutions of higher learning continue to be a source of pride and unity.
Read MoreIn an earlier article, I laid out the basics of the Moral Argument for the existence of God. The most common objection brought by skeptics to the Moral Argument is called the Euthyphro Dilemma. Let’s begin by winding the clock back to the event that is credited with its origin.
Read MoreI believe there is hope because we do have pockets of unity. These strongholds of unity can be found in three areas, which Larkin focuses on and, in my estimation, provides hope for the future.
Read MoreSo I attended a house church.
This was brought about by what had become the routine invitation by an acquaintance. My excuses for not attending finally felt uncomfortable enough that I accepted. I had no real experience with the conduct of house churches, and at the time my life had generally improved having worked towards a habit of not having an opinion, the labor of which being most directed towards events like church. By the time I had found a use for thinking charitably.
Read MoreEarlier today, my friends and colleagues at Gordon-Conwell hosted a retirement luncheon in my honor. It is hard to believe that this was the culmination of 15 years as editor of the Advent Christian Witness followed by 24 years as the Library Director at Gordon-Conwell. Below, I want to share my own reflections which I shared with those assembled at the close of the event. I share them in gratefulness to the Triune God for his providence and care for me over these past many years. I’m not done yet. There is more to do. But this represents the transition to the next stage in my journey of faith. Many of you have shared this with me and I am grateful to you.
Read MoreIn John chapter six we find the record of Jesus miraculously feeding over five thousand people. This, along with his miracles of healing, John calls, "signs." They were signs of the presence of God's Kingdom coming into the world in the person of the Jesus Christ. As such they were pointers to his deity and to his work as God's appointed Messiah.
Read MoreIn “εὐαγγέλιον in Matthew” Jefferson Vann investigates how Matthew uses the word we usually translate “gospel.” In his translation, Jeff substitutes the word “excellent message” for εὐαγγέλιον. Jeff explains why Matthew thought the message was so excellent.
Read MoreOver the past couple of months I have been preaching through Paul’s letter to the Philippians. If you have read this letter yourself, you will likely remember Paul’s repeated theme: rejoice always. Each Sunday we have been in Philippians I have asked the congregation to repeat those words in order that we might firmly cement this basic instruction into our minds. This is incredibly valuable for us since we live in a broken world, surrounded by, and experiencing ourselves, sin, suffering, pain, sorrow, and hardship, among the many other trials of this world. The joy Paul talks about, of course, is not a denial of these things. It is a joy that transcends the sufferings of this world, that enables us to embrace our suffering and say, “Yes, I suffer now, but Christ will carry me through, and one day all will be made right.”
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