Lessons from a Pastoral Succession
by Josh Baer Pastoral transitions are inevitable. All pastors leave at some point, whether through resignation, retirement, or even death. While this has always been the case, we are facing a potential crisis. Our churches will likely undergo a massive transfer of pastoral leadership in the next decade as more pastors than ever reach retirement age.[1] This potential crisis is too important to ignore or avoid. The transfer of...
Assimilating People into an Effective Discipleship Process
by Tommy Swindol Among the many elements of a healthy church, three are particularly important concerning the assimilation of newcomers: maintaining an effective discipleship process, ensuring the right people are leading each ministry, and creating the right church culture. By effective discipleship process, I mean that we want to create a scope of spiritual development into which we can assimilate people. Once we align our...
Book Review: Remodeling Youth Ministry
by Ben Campbell “For too long, YFM (Youth and Family Ministry) has suffered from pragmatic solutions to eternal problems,” concludes Talbot.[1] For the past forty years, the goal of youth ministry has been to gain students through entertainment. The time has come for a reformation and a remodeling of youth ministry. In Remodeling Youth Ministry, Christopher Talbot does an exceptional job of communicating the need to return to a...
Sola Fide (Faith Alone): The Past, Present, and Future Hope of the Gospel (Part II/II)
by Kevin L. Hester This is part two of two. See part one here. Implications of Sola Fide The distinct understanding of salvation embodied in Sola fide continues today in those committed to their reformation heritage. The history of this thought is an interesting story surrounding a particular reading of Scripture which led to an event that would usher in the modern world. But that was 500 years ago. What relevance does it have for...
Sola Fide (Faith Alone): The Past, Present, and Future Hope of the Gospel (Part I/II)
by Kevin L. Hester Outside of sola scriptura, the reformation principle of sola fide stands as the most central and divisive doctrinal distinction between Protestants and Roman Catholics today. In addition, the development of the Protestant doctrine of justification by faith alone impacted soteriology and pushed Christian doctrine forward in ways not seen in the Church since the great ecumenical councils.[1] Luther’s ressourcement of...
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