Ministry

The Biblical Way to Confront Your Pastor If You Believe Him to be Teaching God’s Word Incorrectly

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy, PhD Recently, the charge of being a heretic was placed upon me by what I hope to be a well-meaning brother in Christ. Unfortunately, he openly charged me on the internet, labelled me a heretic, and called upon my church to fire me immediately. Not once did he ever contact me to make sure that he perfectly understood my theology regarding his areas of concern. Instead of questioning his knowledge of what he thought to be my position and questioning his own position as true...
Read More

Proclaiming Truth in a Time When Only Hope is Wanted

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy, PhD Jer 26: 11 – “Then the priests and the prophets spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, “A death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied against this city as you have heard in your hearing.”[i] Today, many people want words of hope and positivity. When they come to church, they want their batteries recharged. They want to depart from their time of worship with an emotional high and heart filled with an upbeat word. In this context, preachers, who...
Read More

Preaching: The Call to Excellence Rather Than Success

Posted on by markwchristy
2 Timothy, written around A.D. 66, was Paul’s last epistle (cf. 4:6). At that time, Paul was imprisoned and treated like a criminal (2 Tim 1:16; 2:9). He was abandoned by all except one of the Christian brothers, Onesiphorus.[1] In this letter, he addresses Timothy who was serving in Ephesus. From both epistles to Timothy, it is clear that the Ephesians were still struggling with doctrinal issues which is somewhat surprising since Paul had ministered there for three years in the past. Sadly,...
Read More

The Different Gospel in Some Presumably Conservative Evangelical Churches

Posted on by markwchristy
“I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel, 7 which is not just another account; but there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ” (Gal 1:6-7 NASB). From these words of Paul to the Galatians, the reader is made aware of the potential for true Christians (cf. 1:2, 11; 3:3, 5, 15; 4:6, 12, 31; 5:13; 8-9) to become sidetracked by “different gospel[s]” that are not founded on the “grace of Chr...
Read More

Billy Graham, God’s Ambassador or Not: Have the Ears of Southern Baptists Been Tickled?

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark Christy, PhD Recently, I ran across a book entitled Billy Graham, God’s Ambassador by Russ Busby as it was being donated to a ministry (owned by an SBC church) for the purpose of reselling. Given that Graham was ordained by an SBC church, this donation at first glance seemed entirely in order. As I reflected on its title, I checked Lifeway.com (owned by SBC) and noted that many books by and about Billy Graham are available. Then, I suddenly remembered that the Southern Baptist Theolo...
Read More

Loving One Another Biblically Requires Some Confrontation

Posted on by markwchristy
Have you ever heard someone give the following advice when some sort of relational conflict has arisen and tempers begin to flare: ‘Why can’t we just love everybody’ or ‘Let’s just love everybody.’ On the surface, this advice seems biblical because “love never fails” (1 Cor 13:8 NASB), and it “covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pet 4:8 NASB). While affirming the aspects of love mentioned in the previous verses, biblical love has to also be understood in how it is to be displayed within relationship...
Read More

The Great Commission Does Not End with Evangelism

Posted on by markwchristy
Matthew 28:19-20 NASB – “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” As careful reading of v.20 will show, the Great Commission does not end with evangelism. Unfortunately, many seem to focus exclusively on this part of it. Sure, it is awesome to see people coming to Christ and seeing the Church of G...
Read More

A Biblical Response to Accusations of Being Too Direct, Lacking Polish, and Hurting Feelings When Communicating Biblical Truth

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy, PhD In a culture where self is king and every conversation is gauged by how it serves one’s emotions, many who choose to boldly declare truth will face a plethora of accusations concerning their directness and insensitivity. In response to these concerns, the one declaring truth should most certainly manifest a humble and loving spirit in their relations to others. That being said, the possession of such a spirit may be somewhat difficult to perceive by those receiving a ...
Read More

Some Reasons Why Churchgoers Disdain Expositional Preaching

Posted on by markwchristy
The seeker sensitive (driven) movement has reprogrammed many to reconsider church based on how it meets their needs. While I do think that the best of the seeker sensitive movement helped us realize some of the changes in culture, I also think the worst of it has done far more damage. For years, popular culture has been on a headlong march toward emotional, experiential, and self-affirming arguments becoming the foundation of one's learning and assessment of the world.For the most part, factual...
Read More

The American Approach to Shooting God’s Messenger

Posted on by markwchristy
Speaking to His Jewish audience, Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!” (Luke 13:34 NASB; cf. 1 Thess 2:14-16). Throughout God’s dealings with His people in the Old Testament, they repeatedly chose to attack His messenger and disavow His message. In the time that Jesus walked the earth, King Herod chose ...
Read More