Tag: faith
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Politics and Pastoring After Charlie Kirk: Some Reflections on the Memorial Service
A few random observations after the Charlie Kirk memorial service: I wish I was about 30 years younger so I could live for several more decades in the America we are on the cusp of creating. Obviously, things could get derailed. Nothing is guaranteed. But the trajectory we are on is encouraging. The future is…
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Union with Christ: The Heart of Everything
The church lives by the gospel. The gospel is the heart of the Christian’s life. The gospel is all about who Jesus is and what Jesus has done (and continues to do and will do in the future). The gospel is the declaration that the crucified one is now king of kings and lord of…
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TPC Hymn Sing Manifesto: Worship is Warfare, Music is Militant
Deacon/Pastoral Intern Brian Moats wrote this manifesto for TPC hymn sings: When TPC gathers for psalm and hymn sing, we assemble as the army of the risen King. Our psalms, hymns, spiritual songs are not private expressions of piety but public acts of battle. In Scripture, Israel’s victories are tied to music: Jehoshaphat’s choir leads…
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The Vibe Keeps Shifting: Charlie Kirk’s Martyrdom, Fighting to Win, and What Comes Next
[A version of this article will appear in The Federalist soon.] Can you feel it? The winds have shifted. The vibe has shifted. Suddenly all the cultural momentum is on the right. That doesn’t mean it will stay shifted; culture is fickle, and it could shift back leftward at some point. The vibe shift does…
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Martin Luther Was Not a Groyper
[A version of this essay is slated to be published in Flight, Laugh, Feast magazine soon.] For many, Martin Luther’s name is not synonymous with justification by faith as much as it is tainted with anti-Semitism. Obviously, modern opponents of Luther are glad to dismiss him as a proto-Nazi; his anti-Jewish writings later in life…
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So You Want to be a Pastor?
[This is from October 2024.] A young man the other day told me he wanted to be a pastor and asked me what advice I had for him. Here’s a condensed version of what I passed along:
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Made for Glory: Understanding Your Life’s Quest (Romans 2:1-16) – Sermon Transcript from September 14, 2025
Made for Glory: Understanding Your Life’s Quest (Romans 2:1-16) September 14, 2025 What is life all about?What is the meaning of life—especially for us as Christians? What is the purpose of life? What are we supposed to be doing and giving ourselves to in the time we have here on earth?The purpose of life is…
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Interview with 1819 News: Pastoral Courage
[This is a transcript of an interview I did with 1819News on courage in early August of 2025. I have highlighted the most important parts. It’s a rough transcription, only lightly edited, but still pretty readable.] Interviewer: What was your church’s COVID response like? How did your church display courage in that period? As soon…
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The Double Archetype of True Masculinity: Every Christian Man a Monk and a Knight
Medieval Christianity was defined by two types of characters, the knight and the monk. We need both types of men – in fact, every Christian man needs to balance monkery and knighthood in his own life. Monks were men of self-denial and sacrifice. They focused on developing the inner world of personal spirituality and self-discipline.…
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Servant-Leadership or Mission-Service? Why the Servant-Leadership Concept Needs to Die
Jesus was not a servant-leader. He certainly served others, but he did not take orders from those under his command. His course of action was not determined by other people, but by dogged fidelity to his assigned mission. He did not run around trying to make everyone happy; sometimes he even made them angry. He…
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