Disobeying Pastors
The question came up recently, “If the Bible says to obey church leaders, is it ever okay to go against your pastor?”
Should Women be Ordained as Elders and Deacons?
A church member asked me this past week about what the Bible teaches about women in leadership in the church. There are two ways to answer that question.
On Women in Church Leadership
A position paper from the session of Christ Church Bellingham on ordained & commissioned officeholders, representative participation in worship & women exercising teaching authority.
On Church Offices and Officeholders
A position paper from the session of Christ Church Bellingham on God-given roles in the Bible & the church.
Six Reasons Why Ministerial Uniforms are Helpful and Wise
A paper from the leadership of Trinity Church Seattle explaining their decision to have ministerial staff wear pastoral uniforms.
The Sudden Death of the Evening Service
Surely we should have a very good reason why we should abandon the practice of the Christian centuries to be in God’s house, to sing his praise and hear his Word, twice on the Lord’s holy Day.
Biblical Literacy: Its Urgency and Decline
If there is a great error being made by today’s Christian ministry, it is the reluctance to insist that Christians learn the Bible.
The Socio-Political Pulpit: What Are Christians Really About?
We forget that most of this clatter will be forgotten tomorrow or the next day or week or month. It will, by then, be replaced by another set of urgent communications to command our attention.
The Ecumenical Imperative: Celebrating the Church Catholic
If we are to adorn our place within the one, holy, catholic Church, we cannot give way to tribalism in thought, speech, or behavior.
The Loss of Divine Transcendence
Part one of a series of challenges and encouragements from Rev. Dr. Rayburn to the church’s next generation.
Why Do Churches Need Good Administration?
Nobody becomes a pastor in order to do administration. It isn’t inspiring. It isn’t flashy. It isn't fun. And yet, whether they realize it or not, everyone appreciates it. Good administration keeps the church moving.
A Defense of Bibliolatry, or Something like it...
It has become common for people to criticize conservative Christians for "bibliolatry"—that is, worship of the Bible. Has our esteem for the Bible turned a book, a created thing, into the object of our worship? Are we idolaters?
The Massive Need for Church Plants
Church planting is difficult, demands exorbitant amounts of resources, and is often unsuccessful. And yet we need to plant way more churches.
Three Tips for Planning Your Sabbatical
“I am not the Head of the church. Jesus is.” As a pastor, I had not only heard that many times, I had said it many times myself. And I really did believe it. But it left a major question unanswered for me: If I am not the Head, what part of the body of Christ am I?
Five Rules of Thumb for Church Reconnection in Light of COVID
As we continue to take steps toward normalcy as church communities, we will face the challenge of people who haven't worshiped together reconnecting.
Not What I Intended in that Sermon...
My seminary professors drilled into me that the meaning of any Bible text should be anchored in the original author's intent in writing it.
The Antidote to a Legalistic Church Culture
What does it mean to have a grace-centered church?