Author: Administrador

Protestants too often have neglected Mary in reaction to what they have seen as excessive devotion of the mother of Jesus by Catholics. In a book called The Real Mary (Paraclete Press), New Testament scholar Scot McKnight urges evangelicals to give serious attention to Mary as an example of courage and commitment. In his book—which will … Continue reading “Can We Reclaim Mary?”

In a recent post at his blog, Thom Rainer asserts there’s a trend toward smaller worship facilities for churches. Among the reasons—only two of which deal with declining attendance—he cites these factors: “The growth of the multi-site and multi-venue church. This movement is large and growing. Church leaders are strategically starting different sites and venues … Continue reading “Growing Smaller?”

As a speaker, there are days when you feel as if you just hit a game-winning shot in overtime. There might be 100 people in attendance, but more than 200 receive salvation. After one of these slam-dunk messages, I stepped off the stage to shake some hands and kiss a few babies before I was … Continue reading “Six Ways to Include Apologetics in Your Weekly Messages”

“In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. The light shines … Continue reading “The Incarnation and Preaching”

Likely, those familiar with the realm of apologetics within the Christian worldview have anticipated the general thrust of what will follow here. Those unfamiliar with the term may be assured from the start that this is not a summons to say sorry from the pulpit; they have confused apologetics with apologizing. In actuality, some dictionaries … Continue reading “Ideas Ought to Be Defended: An Apologetic for Apologetic Preaching”

“Now, I’m no Greek scholar,” said the preacher, and it was at that point when I wanted to suggest he not go any further. Yet, further he went. He built a significant part of his sermon on what the passage said “in the original Greek.” Nevertheless, when he finished his explanation and subsequent application, he had … Continue reading “I’m No Expert”

In an essay in the recent book Preach the Word (Crossway), edited by Leland Ryken and Todd Wilson, Bruce Winter argues, “Preaching that ‘simply exegetes’ the biblical text is not sufficient to secure God’s intention of personal transformation through the Word of God. Evangelists, pastors and teachers need to be able to understand how the secular … Continue reading “Preaching and Worldview”

In 1916, Wallace Stevens moved to Hartford, Conn., where he worked as an executive in the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company for the remainder of his career. While serving as vice president, Stevens wrote much of his poetry, verse that not only would win critical acclaim and prizes, but also recognition as “poet in residence.” The residence, however, … Continue reading “The Pastor as Poet in Residence”

Some years ago, while my family and I were vacationing in another city, we stopped along our route to worship with another congregation. Naturally, because pastors are curious sorts who like to compare attendance numbers, budgets and ministries, I spent several minutes during the sermon attending to the long list of staff names and descriptions … Continue reading “The Pastor as Resident Sage”

Mike Lopez has been around the block…on the other side of the world, that is. He’s logged decades of missionary work in just about every area of the globe with his family, other adults, university students and high school teenagers. As the director of the Student Mobilization Department of the International Missionary Board, he also … Continue reading “OneLife: Cultivating Harvesters for the Kingdom of God”