Pastor You Must Be A Theologian – Part 4

Scripture and compass

In this series of posts I’ve been discussing the great need of the Church today that it’s shepherds be theologians in the highest sense of the word. I share with you a quote by CH Spurgeon who was speaking about the importance of pastors preaching the full counsel of God’s Word. He stated:

“The glory of God being our chief object, we aim at it by seeking the edification of saints and the salvation of sinners. It is a noble work to instruct the people of God, and to build them up in their most holy faith: we may by no means neglect this duty. To this end we must give clear statements of gospel doctrine, of vital experience, and of Christian duty, and never shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God. In too many cases sublime truths are held in abeyance under the pretense that they are not practical; whereas the very fact that they are revealed proves that the Lord thinks them to be of value, and woe unto us if we pretend to be wiser than He. We may say of any and every doctrine of Scripture—to give it then a tongue is wise in man. If any one note is dropped from the divine harmony of truth the music may be sadly marred. Your people may fall into grave spiritual diseases through the lack of a certain form of spiritual nutriment, which can only be supplied by the doctrines which you withhold. In the food which we eat there are ingredients which do not at first appear to be necessary to life; but experience shows that they are requisite to health and strength. Phosphorus will not make flesh, but it is wanted for bone; many earths and salts come under the same description— they are necessary in due proportion to the human economy. Even thus certain truths which appear to be little adapted for spiritual nutriment are, nevertheless, very beneficial in furnishing believers with backbone and muscle, and in repairing the varied organs of Christian manhood. We must preach “the whole truth,” that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

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Kingdom Intelligence Briefing 53 – A Pastoral View of the Need to Teaching End-Time Prophecy

Kingdom Intelligence Briefing

In this episode, Dr. Mike Lake interviews me. In this heart-felt discussion, Mike and I examine the need for local congregations to address end-time prophecy, how to approach the subject and maintain balance, and encourage pastors to become true theologians for the sake of the flock. This episode is a timely word for both pastors and congregates.

Listen here.

Four Reasons Every Believer Should Study Apologetics

apologetics

The number of Christians who know virtually nothing about apologetics still amazes me. When discussing this topic even with pastors I often receive a blank stare that suggests they’ve never considered apologetics to be of much importance. Clearly this needs to change. Here are four reasons why.

Reason #1 – Skepticism is at an all-time high and that breeds confusion. In fact you could say that there is also an inverse relationship between confusion and skepticism. Skepticism in the culture breeds confusion in the church but it is also true that skepticism about the adequacy of the Christian faith within the church breeds confusion in the culture. If Christians won’t affirm what it is they believe why should the culture listen to anything they say.

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Book Review – “God’s Crime Scene,” by J. Warner Wallace

GCS - Wallace

In Jim Wallace’s latest effort – God’s Crime Scene – we find the case for God’s existence being built upon the available evidence. Using the same techniques of crime scene investigation learned over a life time of police work, Jim expands upon his earlier work, Cold Case Christianity by turning his attention to the timeless questions of life, origins, morals, and why it matters that we have intellectually satisfying answers to these questions and more.

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Soaring Eagle Radio Episode 7 – J.Warner Wallace – The Evidence For Jesus Christ is Beyond Reasonable Doubt

JWarnerWallace

Hasn’t science already proven that the idea of a creator God is wishful thinking? After over 2,000 years what evidence can possibly be marshaled to make the case that the gospel writer’s accounts are trustworthy? Doesn’t atheism provide the best explanation for what we understand about life today?

For the first 35 years of his life Jim Wallace was a devout atheist. He found the claims of Jesus Christ and those of the gospel writers to be somewhat spurious. How could something that happened 2,000 years ago have any verifiable proof? Christianity in Jim’s mind was very much like his cold cases, puzzling and mostly dead ends.

But then one day Jim’s perspective was challenged and he began to consider the claims of Jesus Christ and the gospel writers in a different light.

In this episode of SER Jim Wallace discusses his faith journey, his realization that the evidence for the claims of Jesus Christ contained in the gospels is well beyond a reasonable doubt, and his new book, “God’s Crime Scene.”

Listen to this episode by clicking here.