Ian Paul over at Psephizo has done a great job of dismantling the progressive attacks on Biblical teaching about sex and marriage. He makes two important points. First, according to the vast majority of scholars, the biblical witness is clear. Where the Bible mentions homosexual behavior at all, it clearly condemns it. Renowned scholars Walter Brueggemann, Timothy Luke Johnson and Walter Wink support same-sex marriage but agree the Bible condemns homosexual activity. These three at least have the intellectual honesty to accurately interpret Scripture rather than twist Scripture to bolster the ..read more

image I don’t need to tell you that there is a massive shift taking place in the western world regarding human identity, sexual morality and marriage. That shift is sending shock waves through western Christianity. Bishops in England are lining up to embrace same-sex marriage and gender ideology. They sense they may be winning a battle that has raged for decades. Meanwhile, the archbishop is silent and refuses to discipline those who reject the church’s teaching. In Australia, the Baptists of NSW decided to disaffiliate churches and pastors that embrace same-sex marriage. The head of Baptist ..read more

JT Timblin and Ben Long talk about developing shepherds/elders/overseers in a movement of disciples and churches. If you would like to get in touch with JT and Ben you can email them ..read more

In Wright On Mission I wrote about the emerging consensus on the nature of the church’s mission in the world. That consensus has been building for over a century and it’s wrong. Like a plastic pot plant, it won’t grow and it won’t multiply. We’ve seen it all before. The nineteenth century gave birth to a student missionary movement on both sides of the Atlantic that resulted in thousands taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. Their motto was, “The evangelisation of the world in this generation.” These pioneers paved the way for Christianity to become a truly world faith in the twentieth ..read more

source And the Church must be forever building, and always decaying, and always being restored. —T. S. Eliot The Anglican Church of Canada is an example of a church in Decay. It’s a sad reality that churches, ministries, mission agencies can drift from and ultimately repudiate their Identity in Christ then go on living off the assets of past generations. The Scriptures repeatedly warn God’s people to return to their first love expressed in obedience to God’s living Word, dependence on the Holy Spirit and faithfulness to the Mission God has given them. There are dire consequences for driftin ..read more

Anglican Primate of Canada: Linda Nicholls In 1962 the Anglican Church of Canada enjoyed a membership of 1.3 million, 8% of the nation’s population. By 2017 it had 357,123 members, less than 1% of the population. According to a recently released report: The average Sunday attendance has dropped to 97,421. A previous report published in 2006 predicted the last Anglican would leave the church in 2061. Based on current trends, that date has been brought forward to 2040. The rate of decline is increasing. New programs adopted by the church have done nothing to reverse the decline. The A ..read more

Steve Chalke Movements move into Decline when they drift from their Identity in Christ — Word, Spirit and Mission. Declining institutions move into Decay when they repudiate their Identity. Steve Chalke’s latest book is a case study on Decay. Here’s a review from David Robertson: In 2004, Steve Chalke discovered 'The Lost Message of Jesus' and published his book with that name. Fifteen years later he has discovered 'The Lost Message of Paul', and this month publishes a book with that title. This is an easy to read, and well-written book – much better stylistically than the earlier work. As al ..read more

Michael McClymond Christianity Today interviewed Michael McClymond about the rising popularity of an idea Christians have rejected for most of church history. Universalism is the doctrine that all human beings will come to final salvation and spend an eternity in heaven with God. About twelve years ago McClymond had “an unnerving encounter in which I saw God’s coming judgment arriving in the form of an overpowering storm; people in the path of the storm were pleasantly chit-chatting when they ought to have been seeking cover. The dream left a lasting impression. It suggested to me that w ..read more

Mark Tooley challenges the conventional wisdom that evangelicalism should become more progressive to prevent its decline. The popular conventional narrative asserts that young people in droves are quitting evangelical Christianity because it’s too socially and politically conservative. Of course, the implication is that if only Evangelicalism would liberalize, especially on sexuality, then it might become more appealing. But all the available evidence as to what happens to liberalizing churches strongly indicates the opposite. Mainline Protestantism is in many ways what critics of Evangelical ..read more

NAMB Pastor Recently I compared the demise of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) with the continued vitality of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Demographics play their part, but in the end, movements make their history depending on their core identity. The PCUSA has chosen decline and decay, the Southern Baptists have chosen differently. Here are five elements I can observe (from a distance) that characterize the SBC:  1. The authority of Scripture If there’s one thing that distinguishes Southern Baptists from the Protestant mainline, it’s their belief in the authority of the Bible ..read more