holiness

Can Women Teach?

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Introduction I’m having this conversation more and more. DTS Houston held a special panel entitled “Rediscovering God’s Vision for Male/Female Partnerships in Ministry.” It was Moderated by Dr. Sandra Glahn, and filled with various people, half DTS profs, and half friends of the seminary. Since that panel happened I’ve had the conversation about the question of “women pastors” about 20 times, and I think the time has come for a blog post about it. It’s a big one in conservative Christian culture. It’s coming to a head, and the times, they are a changing. I will address it this way: … [Read more]

Kick Him Out of Church!

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Two Introductory Stories My mom and dad fondly tell the story of one of the first times my dad visited my great-grandmother’s old, back-country Oklahoma, Pentecostal church. My mom and dad were dating at the time, and my dad was not familiar with Pentecostal churches at all, so this event really stuck out to him. After the speaking in tongues and whooping had subsided, and the preacher had gotten into his groove, he was passionately talking about “…a man who comes to church on Sundays and greets people at the door and shakes hands, but on Saturday night he was … [Read more]

Reflections on Harvey

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What I Saw in Harvey I was safe and dry for all of Harvey. I moved into a third story apartment two days before Harvey hit, and was literally moving furniture in the Friday morning that it started. I was well-stocked with food, and spent most of the weekend watching Netflix, waiting for it to be over. The only pain Harvey caused me was in watching people who were stranded via social media and wishing I could help, but being unable to do so. I heard many people echo this same sentiment. They were safe and dry and felt bad … [Read more]

Christians and Contraception

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This topic is one that can get into the weeds and can get confusing, so I’m going to try to address it with my usual logical clarity and I might end up offending someone in the process. Please know upfront that I don’t intend to offend, all I intend to do is try to present the truth from the Bible as clearly as I can. You might go listen to the lesson “A Biblical View of Abortion, Contraception, and In-Vitro Fertilization” in conjunction with this post for some good resources or clarification. The question to be addressed is this: Should … [Read more]

I Want a Wife

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“God’s got the perfect person in mind for you.” I’ve heard this advice more than once in the last week. Here’s the thing: I desire marriage and family. Those are undeniably things I want. Lately I’ve been having a lot of talks with friends about marriage, and singleness. I’ve been thinking a lot about it for myself. I’ve been considering the pros and cons of each possibility, considering the scriptures (particularly 1 Corinthians 7) and considering what it would be like to be a single pastor some time in the future. I know what I want in a wife (kindhearted, … [Read more]