I read a blog by Brian Croft the other day who asked some questions concerning our assumptions on decline that got me thinking. Like him the more I hear the push “to overcome” the “plateau or decline” the more I pause and think of scenarios where a church’s decline in numbers is not necessarily a… Read More Decline and…
2013 is the year the Episcopal Church, well, The Diocese of New Jersey anyway, has discovered reading the Bible. I was thrilled to hear the presentation in our minister’s meeting of last September because the reading and particularly the hearing of the Bible preached is God’s primary means of grace. The cycle of local ministry… Read More Robert M. McCheyne and The B-I-B, L-E
The third phase in the renewal of my prayer life was how the past met the present. It was the way in which all I had been taught yet never valued in bible college and Westminster Seminary, I suddenly understood. I understood the “why” of the gospel. I understood grace. It all became real to… Read More This Praying Life, Phase 3
My return to a life of prayer started slowly in the beginnings of my conviction of sin and culminating in my conversion in 2007-08. When I say, “I started slowly,” I mean my understanding of what prayer truly is. What is prayer? Prayer is the act of forging a connection between two specific points: our… Read More This Praying Life, Phase 1
This past week George Conger wrote in The Church of England Newspaper on the recent report by the statisticians of The Episcopal Church to our Executive Council. You can read the article here. The report catalogues a 10 year decline in all quantifiable areas. I want you to take note of how “These speak to… Read More “The Doctor” is in
If you’ve read any of my posts you will know a bit about the influence of the Church of England’s evangelicalism has had in shaping my way of theology and ministry. When I use the rather long term, “39-article-evangelical-anglican”, to describe myself I like to think that I am standing within the tent occupied by… Read More Godly Ambition
One of my vacation authors is Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. He was called “The Doctor” by those who knew him. You can find out more about him at the Martyn Lloyd-Jones Trust. Many of his sermons are gathered in collections by topic or theme. One of these, published by Crossway, is Revival. The sermons were preached… Read More Lord, Do it Again!
Like all dutiful pastors, I am sworn in my ordination and installation vows to keep a Daily Office and to pray for my people that God has called me to serve. And like all dutiful pastors, I’ve created ways to keep track of who they are and what their needs are in logs and lists,… Read More Letter to Henry: Chiefly on Prayer
I enjoy reading theology that is not for preparation. That is, the reading that I enjoy that is not for teaching or sermon preparation. I would like to call it a hobby, but I don’t think it would do it justice. I don’t know if you do this, when I visit a fellow pastor/teacher I… Read More Wow! He knows Outer Mongolian!
The Vicar's Garden 