Pastor Helps

The Church Membership’s Role in Admonishing the Unruly

Posted on 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...
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Standing for Christ When Authentic Christianity is in Short Supply

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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...
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Magnifying the Cross in the Worship Service

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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...
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Paul, the Skilled or Unskilled Proclaimer

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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...
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When Should the Pastor Play the Fool?

Posted on 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...
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A Biblical Argument for a Female Deacon

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

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

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy, PhD This article is the tenth 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 9 of the TS: Article Nine: The Securi...
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Critical Response to The Traditionalist Statement: Part 9 (Article 8)

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy, PhD This article is the ninth 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 8 of the TS: Article Eight: The Free ...
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Critical Response to The Traditionalist Statement: Part 8 (Article 7)

Posted on by markwchristy
By Mark W. Christy, PhD This article is the eighth 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 7 of the TS: “Article Seven: The Sov...
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