current events

Brown Journalism

September 27, 2019 by Tim Bates

This past week we witnessed one of the ugliest instances of “journalism” I have ever seen. A young man from Iowa stumbled into raising over a million dollars for a children’s hospital in his home state. It’s the same hospital that overlooks the University of Iowa’s football stadium. The same hospital that gets waved to […]

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).

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.

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.

Chuck Ivey

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...

Allen Nelson IV

Allen S. Nelson IV is the pastor of Perryville Second Baptist Church in Perryville, Arkansas. He and his wife Stephanie have been married since 2006 and have 5 children. Besides enjoying time with his family, Allen loves teaching the Bible, reading good books, and time outdoors. He is the author of From Death to Life: How Salvation Works and Before The Throne: Reflections on God’s Holiness He is an avid Dallas Cowboys and Arkansas Razorbacks fan, which means he's always excited about 'next year.' You can follow him on twitter @cuatronelson.

Justification, Mercy, and Propitiation

I should probably get back to working on the book manuscript I wrote. Back in May, I posted an excerpt called “The Need for Justification.” This is the portion that follows. Just and Merciful But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God (being testified by the Law and the Prophets) has been made […]

Meeting Jesus, Missing Heaven

Is there a more alarming passage in the Scriptures than Matthew 7:21-23? As He is concluding the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many […]

Book Review — Reformed Systematic Theology Vol. 1: Revelation and God

The Doctrine on Which the Church Stands or Falls takes its title from the Reformation era conviction that justification by faith is the dividing line between the biblical gospel and man-centered efforts to earn favor with God. Matthew Barrett serves as editor and co-author with several significant theologians. In the forward, D.A. Carson writes that nothing is more important than the subject of this massive volume (15). The book is organized into four parts, grouping the chapters by looking at justification according to what the Bible itself teaches, theological perspectives on the doctrine, church history, and pastoral practice.

Total Depravity – Misapplied

The photo to the right made its way around the internet and into my email. The gist is clear — it’s designed to exhibit that everyone suffers from “Total Depravity.” Haha. I get it. The idea is that the image is fixed and not actually testing anyone for any of the mentioned issues, but that […]

Religion or Relationship?

Is Christianity about religion or a relationship? I understand what folks mean when they try to say Christianity is about a relationship, not religion, to a point. We need to understand, though, two things: first, that Christianity is a religion. Even in the early church false teachers were creeping in and trying to teach an […]

Don’t Mention the Tension: STTA!

Somewhere along the way, Denny, we have to reckon with the fact that we – myself included – went too far. We put limitations on women that exceeded what Christ demonstrated. We did it instead of wrestling with the tension between the Gospels & epistles. We’re watching a backlash. — Beth Moore (@BethMooreLPM) March 4, […]