Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09078 The role of a pastor is one of the most misunderstood callings in the modern church. Contemporary culture has turned the pastor into a CEO, a life coach, a brand manager, or an entertainer, depending on the context. The New Testament has a different picture entirely. The pastor is a shepherd, and the…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 09076 Not every gathering that calls itself a church is one in the biblical sense. The word ekklesia in the New Testament refers to an assembly of called-out ones, those who belong to Christ and are gathered in His name under His authority. But what makes such a gathering genuinely biblical rather than simply…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09085 The question of flag-waving in church touches on deeper issues than aesthetics or personal taste. It raises questions about what the gathered church is for, what symbols belong in corporate worship, and where the line falls between legitimate national gratitude and an unhealthy fusion of faith and patriotism. The answer requires careful thought…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 60112 When someone we love suffers, the instinct to help is immediate and strong — but so is the sense of helplessness. What do you say to the person whose child has died, whose diagnosis is terminal, whose marriage has collapsed, whose life has been shattered by tragedy? The temptation is either to say…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 60028 This question moves from the theological framework of Q60027 to the practical: should individual Christians be actively involved in the political process? Should they vote, campaign, stand for office, lobby, and seek to influence public policy? The answer is yes, with significant qualifications that protect the integrity of the gospel and the witness…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 60061 This is a question that deserves to be answered with honesty rather than defensiveness. The record of institutional abuse within churches, from the Roman Catholic scandals involving thousands of clergy, to cases within Protestant denominations, independent churches, and parachurch organisations, is genuinely appalling. Victims have been betrayed by the very people who were…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 60046 To observers outside the United States, and to many American believers themselves, a particular strain of American evangelicalism has become closely identified with political positions on firearms and immigration that appear to be held with the same intensity as core doctrinal convictions. The phenomenon raises a legitimate question: when Christians invest as much…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 60040 The word “deconstruction” has become one of the defining terms of the contemporary church conversation. Testimonies of people “deconstructing their faith” fill social media, podcasts, and bestseller lists, and the movement has touched every denomination and tradition. But Christianity already has a word for the process of examining inherited beliefs, stripping away what…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 60041 Theological progressivism is not a new phenomenon, but its current form has gained significant cultural momentum and now exercises considerable influence across denominations, seminaries, and publishing. The word “progressive” carries positive connotations in ordinary language, suggesting forward movement and improvement. Applied to theology, however, it describes something quite specific: the systematic revision of…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 08100 If marriage and family are high-value targets for the enemy, the local church is the highest-value target of all. The church is the body of Christ on earth (1 Corinthians 12:27), the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16), and the pillar and buttress of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). A healthy,…