total depravity

Four Things We Must Consistently Believe About Original Sin

March 20, 2020 by George Alvarado

I praise God that many are aware that man is born sinful. But the sad part is that we don’t really believe it. What I mean is, we don’t understand two main things: 1) The depth of the implications and 2) The doctrines we must affirm to consistently believe this essential truth. For many, we […]

Free Will, God’s Grace, and a Carrot on a Stick

January 21, 2019 by Allen Nelson IV

For a long time, Christians have been debating the nature of man’s will (is it free?), the totality of depravity, whether or not man is “able” to come to Christ on his own, and the extent and function of God’s grace. For many, God’s grace is like a carrot on a stick that He dangles […]

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.

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...

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).

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.

8 Marriage Principles from Ruth 3:10-18 – Part 1

Not sure why the number 8 has been so special recently. I wrote a post last week about 8 Practical thoughts on Corporate Singing, and now it’s 8 Marriage Principles. Nothing magical about the number 8! It’s just how it all shook out. Our church has been going through the book of Ruth in 2018 […]

What Will it Cost You: STTA!

Something To Think About! Being a TAU writer has offered me a view of a process with which I have no personal experience: the sale of a Christian book. Allen Nelson’s From Death to Life is available on ThingsAbove.Us, and it was always my impression that when a man sold a book, “he basically got […]

How to Know the Holy Spirit is at Work — Part 3

In 1741 Jonathan Edwards preached his sermon, The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God, from 1 John 4 for the commencement ceremony at Yale. We’ve seen two of these distinguishing marks so far: esteeming Jesus and opposing Satan. In this blog post, we look at the third and fourth marks. Below […]

Good Reputations

This past Sunday two men were up to be affirmed as new elders of our church. As our senior pastor read through the qualifications listed in 1 Timothy 3 I was struck by the last trait listed in the first paragraph: 1 Timothy 3:7 (NASB) And he must have a good reputation with those outside […]

A(nother) Surprising Work of God

I was actually beginning to be a little depressed near the end of the morning of November 2nd. Only 3 people had committed to meeting me at Ohio State for evangelism the next day. Please don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful for all those who accompany me and labor with me in the gospel. But there’s […]

Don’t Get Woke. Get to Know Your Local Church Brethren.

Nestled within 1 Corinthians 11, we find a likely familiar passage concerning the Lord’s Table which pertains to the current social media conversation on racism and socioeconomic class. Critical race theory is probably the last topic I want to write about at the moment, but it certainly is the topic du jour, so let’s take it on […]