The Cancellation of God’s Word by the Exaltation of Vision in the Megachurch Era

Posted on April 14, 2021April 14, 2021 by markwchristy

By Mark W. Christy, PhD In the Church Growth era, which started gathering steam in the 80s and early 90s, much ado was made about the importance of a vision statement and vision casting. To add weight to supposed biblical importance of visioneering, the church growth material from that period until now has frequently looked to the first part of Proverbs 29:18 KJV which reads, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” This article will demonstrate the use of this verse in a few more prom...

Should Churches Have More Than One Elder

Posted on February 18, 2021February 18, 2021 by markwchristy

By Mark W. Christy, PhD Many churches, especially among Baptists, have traditionally operated under a sole elder. Under this system, the sole minister often finds himself isolated and alone in the all-to-frequent, not to mention unfortunate and un-Christlike, struggles for power that occur between himself and the congregation and/or himself and the deacons. While it is uncommon, about seven percent of Baptist churches seek to resolve this ongoing power struggle by maintaining a permanent cla...

The Church Membership’s Role in Admonishing the Unruly

Posted on February 6, 2021November 28, 2023 by markwchristy

By Mark W. Christy In 1 Thessalonians 5:14, Paul says to the church, “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly.”[i] This directive is given not just to the leadership but to the church as a whole. The Greek word translated as “urge” demonstrates that this was of paramount importance to Paul. This is hardly surprising given Paul’s frequent overtures to churches concerning their unity and spiritual health. In this portion of the verse, he specifically addresses the unruly or wayward and c...

Standing for Christ When Authentic Christianity is in Short Supply

Posted on February 4, 2021February 4, 2021 by markwchristy

By Mark W. Christy, PhD Christianity, for far too many people, has been reduced to little more than keeping a pew warm on just enough Sundays to keep up appearances. This cold indifference by these pretenders is only being magnified by the faithful who do attend regularly only to be inundated with theologically light and emotionally appeasing sermons and worship services where pleasing people is the primary motivator and the preaching of the cross (suffering in the name of Christ) and self-d...

Magnifying the Cross in the Worship Service

Posted on February 3, 2021February 3, 2021 by markwchristy

By Mark W. Christy, PhD In 1 Corinthians 2:2, Paul declares, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”[i] Commenting on this verse and noting the centrality of the cross throughout Paul’s ministry, D. A. Carson writes, “If [Paul] really holds that God has supremely disclosed himself in the cross and that to follow the crucified and risen Savior means dying daily, then it is preposterous to adopt a style of ministry that is triumphalistic, designed t...

Paul, the Skilled or Unskilled Proclaimer

Posted on February 2, 2021February 2, 2021 by markwchristy

By Mark W. Christy, PhD At times in Paul’s writings, he seems to suggest that he lacked any real skill in oral delivery. At one point, he says, “And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God” (1 Cor 2:1).[i] In this text, Paul is clearly denigrating the form of his speech. Given the prevailing culture which all but worshiped those considered to be masters in rhetoric, Paul certainly wanted to distance himself...

When Should the Pastor Play the Fool?

Posted on February 2, 2021February 2, 2021 by markwchristy

By Mark W. Christy, PhD In this contemporary setting, many pastors have clearly sold-out in favor of the world’s trappings of success. As they abandon sound doctrine and focus more on a people pleasing and people exalting style of exposition, real men of God are left in the wake and often find themselves judged by the presumably faithful who choose to remain in a biblically faithful ministry. Even so, many of their parishioners struggle as they see examples everywhere where these compromisin...

A Biblical Argument for a Female Deacon

Posted on January 29, 2021March 8, 2022 by markwchristy

Traditionally, many Baptist churches have spurned the idea of female deacons. Their position on this subject is due, at least in part, to their ecclesiology. In a typical Baptist congregation, the pastor serves as sole elder and the deacons share spiritual authority with him.[i] When this is the case, the deacons must be only men because the Bible clearly teaches that women are not to have spiritual authority over men: “I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man” (1 Tim 2:...

Critical Response to The Traditionalist Statement: Part 11 (Article 10)

Posted on January 29, 2021January 29, 2021 by markwchristy

By Mark W. Christy, PhD This article is the eleventh in a series designed to carefully consider the theological position against Calvinism taken by those who have signed what is called A Statement of the Traditional Southern Baptist Understanding of God’s Plan of Salvation (released in 2012). In short form, this document is commonly known as the Traditionalist Statement (TS) among Southern Baptists. Presently, comments will be made in response to Article 10 of the TS: Article Ten: The Gre...

Critical Response to The Traditionalist Statement: Part 10 (Article 9)