Reforming Youth Ministry
A LifeWay study recorded that 70% of young adults stop attending church after graduating from high school [1]. Another study in TIME said that 61% of churched teenagers leave church to never return [2]. Whatever one’s theological leanings, these statistics are sobering for any Christian to hear. They beg the question, “Why the mass exodus from the Church?” Books and speakers of decades past heralded entertainment-driven pragmatism as...
Remembering the Heidelberg Catechism
Four hundred and fifty years ago on January 19th, the Heidelberg Catechism was finished. What is the Heidelberg Catechism? And what does it have to do with Free Will Baptists, you might ask? What Is the Heidelberg Catechism? Due to the introduction of Protestantism in the 15th century, strong tensions developed between the Lutherans and Calvinists. To end the religious disputes in his region, Frederick III of Simmern (Elector...
Mere Christmas
“‘The White Witch? Who is she?’, ‘Why, it is she that has got all Narnia under her thumb. It’s she that makes it always winter and never Christmas; think of that!’ ‘How awful!’ said Lucy” [1]. One of the greatest dystopias that C. S. Lewis could imagine under an evil tyrant was an eternal winter—with no Christmas. The very thought of it brings us back to childhood threats of receiving coal rather than candy. Narnia’s bitter,...
Arminius and Calvin: Partners in Reform
It does not take long to sense the palpable tension between Calvinism and Arminianism. A brief overview of seminaries, blogs, and ministerial organizations shows that countless people divide along the lines drawn by these two theologies. Followers of both Calvin and Arminius have applauded them as heroes of biblical orthodoxy—and rightfully so. Unfortunately, adherents of each school constantly construct straw-men of the other. Among...
Intentional Integrity: Ten Life Strategies for Wholeness from the Book of Job (Dr. Garnett Reid)
“‘Don’t the Bible say we must love everybody?’ ’O, the Bible! To be sure, it says a great many things; but, then, nobody thinks of doing them,’” responds Henrique to young Eva in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s highly influential novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin [1]. Unfortunately in contemporary times, an ambiguous dichotomy has been drawn between theology and practical Christian living. Though there is obvious knowledge of theological issues...
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