born again

Born of Mercy

September 22, 2021 by Allen Nelson IV

In 1 Peter 1:3, Peter gives glory to God highlighting His blessedness and His great mercy for His causing sinners to be born again. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection […]

A Change of Heart — Chapter 2: Mere Christianity (Part 1)

July 19, 2021 by Allen Nelson IV

For the last year+ I’ve been working on a new book, A Change of Heart: Understanding Regeneration and Why it Matters. Now that I’ve finally completed my M.Div, I’ve taken this project back up again. I thought I would share the first two chapters in a series of blog posts with our readers. I hope you’re edified […]

You Must be Born Again: Make Regeneration Great Again

March 16, 2020 by Allen Nelson IV

In God’s kind providence, it was a biblical understanding of the great doctrine of regeneration that birthed (I’m not sure if I’m intending the pun or not) the evangelical movement of the 18th century. Sadly, it is also a misunderstanding and underemphasis of this doctrine that has contributed to the unraveling of evangelicalism in the […]

Brittany the Broccoli Hater

July 16, 2018 by Allen Nelson IV

It was funny at first. Little two-year-old Brittany’s parents thought it was so cute as she’d spit out the green vegetable and then viciously rub her hands on her tongue as though attempting to erase every shred of taste completely out of her mouth. Well, it was sort of cute actually. The way she’d furrow […]

Michael Coughlin

Michael Coughlin lives near Columbus, OH, and leads local outreaches to glorify our Lord and reach the lost with the gospel. Michael’s joys are spending time with his dear wife and children, programming computers, and studying and discussing God’s Word. He is a member of Covenant Bible Church.

Garrett O’Hara

Garrett appears to have originated the term, but not the theology, "dispybapticalvinistic-expialidocious." He is a husband, a father of four children, a U.S. Navy veteran, and a semi-truck driver. He also holds a Th.M. in New Testament paid for mostly by the Post-9/11 GI Bill (don't tell Mikey Weinstein).

By God’s grace, Chuck Ivey grew up in a Christian home and came to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior at a young age. He has been married to his wife Ashley for 20 years. They have seven high energy children by adoption (yes seven), also by God’s grace. Chuck works full time in local law enforcement as an investigator and chaplain. He serves as a deacon and teacher at Beech Haven Baptist Church in Athens, GA. Chuck is a graduate of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where he earned a Masters of Theological Studies. Coffee and books are involved. You can follow hi...

George Alvarado

George Alvarado is an almost retired member of our Armed Forces (yes, he's older than he looks). He has a beautiful wife, a very tall son, and currently teaches at Pilgrim Bible Church in Washington. He is also an author, blogger, apologist, evangelist, and podcaster. He loves spending time with his family and friends, traveling, photography, and continuing his studies in linguistics and theology.

5 Reasons Baptist Churches Should Associate

I may write a follow-up post on the nature of associations, but in today’s post, I just want to lay out 5 reasons that churches ought to cooperate. Dr. Gregg Allison says this: [C]hurches are to establish and promote strong associations with other churches for the sake of mutual accountability, sharing of resources, cooperative high-impact […]

Preachertainment

Yeah I know, I made up the word “preachertainment.” Currently, I am the only Southerner on the ThingsAbove.Us writing team. So, sometimes I offer things from my experience that might not be the shared experience of everyone else, or even from our readership. I share my geography so that you have a little context in […]

Rules for Worship

It may be surprising to many but God is not only concerned that we seek Him, but also how we seek Him. You are probably familiar with the story of Uzzah from the Old Testament but just in case you’re not, let’s do a quick review: After David became king, he desired to move the Ark of the Lord […]

The Future of Every Local Church Depends On These Two Leadership Qualities

Year after year, as I read through the Bible, I’m floored by how much Scripture has to say about the subject of leadership. All throughout biblical history, God chose spiritual leaders who were to learn from Him, walk with Him, and then turn and teach His people. God puts a premium on true, biblical leadership. […]

Should Small Churches Unite?

I’m working on my master’s thesis with Grace Bible Theological Seminary and came across some things I thought our readers might find interesting. In 1689 the General Assembly of Particular Baptist Churches convened. One of the things the General Assembly did was give practical suggestions for cooperation among churches. Consider, for example, this question asked […]

Are You Reaching Out To Your Neighbors?

Last week, new neighbors moved into the house across the street from us. I wrote them a note and I thought other people may benefit from it. If you are not actively trying to reach your neighbors with the gospel, why not? What is holding you back? Here is the letter. Feel free to copy […]