Preposterous
One of the cultural conflicts taking place in multiple school boards across Southern California – and likely in many other places across the country – is a debate about whether school personnel should disclose gender-related conversations initiated by students with parents. Many education leaders – including teachers’ unions – are adamant school personnel must not […]
The World Discovers Tithing
Many American Christians are rich. You may not feel rich or think of yourself as well-off given recent economic challenges, but you are. When you consider the global economy, not how you stack up with the people in your community – it changes your perspective. A recent news article on philanthropy, coupled with a new calculator […]
Baptisms are the Best
The cure for whatever ails a Baptist church is more baptisms. Since we only practice believer’s baptism (meaning an individual must personally profess faith in Jesus prior to their baptism), baptisms are a sign that conversions are happening in the context of a church’s outreach ministry. Since baptisms symbolize the death, burial, and resurrection of […]
Flip the Script
My first ministry position was serving as a Minister to Children. My wife has led children’s ministries for more than forty years. When we were young parents, our children were a significant priority. And now, we have five grandchildren who are the joy of our lives. For all these reasons, effective children’s ministry (meaning all […]
Spanning the Globe
We often trumpet the global impact of Gateway Seminary. We have been producing graduates for almost 80 years that have served in every part of the world. We have trustees, faculty, staff, donors, friends, and current students in multiple states and countries. Gateway is a global movement for the gospel. Over the next few months, […]
The Integrity Challenge
A few days ago, a prominent Southern Baptist leader resigned after it was discovered his academic credentials were fraudulent. He had lied about schools he had supposedly attended and degrees he had supposedly earned. This was not an unfortunate error, but a fraud perpetrated and sustained for years. As an academic leader, these actions create […]
Trad Wives
Over the past few days, headlines about something called trad wives have caught my attention. Trad wives is social media shorthand for traditional wives, women who have chosen to be homemakers in lieu of pursuing careers outside their home. A sample of those headlines include: “Trad wives promote unrealistic stereotypes; not practical in today’s economy” – USA […]
The Toxic War on Masculinity
Men and manhood are under attack in our culture. The phrase “toxic masculinity” is tossed around indiscriminately to describe any negative behavior associated with men and often used to define manhood and denigrate men. Dr. Nancy Pearcey, noted apologist on the faculty of Houston Christian University, has written an important new book challenging these assertions. […]
Taking Jesus to People
Jesus went out of his way to meet an unnamed woman, commonly known as the woman at the well or the Samaritan woman. When telling the story, John wrote, “(Jesus) had to travel through Samaria” (Jn. 4:4). Except, in one sense, he didn’t. To take the route he chose, Jesus went out of his way […]
Bringing People to Jesus
In the Bible, there are many examples of anonymous believers bringing people to Jesus. One of the most dramatic stories involved four unnamed men who helped an invalid friend drop in on Jesus. The Lord was teaching in Capernaum when “so many people gathered together that there was no more room, not even in the […]