Sola Scriptura?
Sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”) is one of what have become known as the “five solas” of the Protestant Reformation. The meaning of sola Scriptura is essentially that Scripture alone is our supreme guide for Christian faith and practice. Put another way, the church’s doctrine should be in accordance with Scripture and founded upon Scripture rather than on any mere human tradition. Now this is not to say that tradition has no bearing...
What I’ve Learned from Practical Church Planting Books
While I was in college, I began to think that God was calling me to the ministry of church planting. I considered opportunities in southern California and the Midwest. Ultimately, God opened the door for me to plant a church in Gallatin, Tennessee. When I began considering all that planting a church would involve, I quickly noticed two common approaches in church planting books. The first approach was more theoretical in nature,...
The Beginnings of Baptist Ecclesiology: A Review
When people think of Thomas Helwys, they often think of religious liberty, and rightfully so. Yet Helwys’s writings address far more than religious liberty. Marvin Jones seeks to demonstrate this in his recent monograph The Beginnings of Baptist Ecclesiology: The Foundational Contributions of Thomas Helwys.[1] Jones contends that while many scholars have considered Helwys’s Mystery of Iniquity to be a work focused primarily on...
The Any-benefit Mentality
I regularly find myself looking for tools to help increase my productivity. Whether they are productivity books, blogs, or apps, I’m always intrigued by the possibility of doing things more efficiently. That’s why when my friend and fellow Forum contributor Matthew Bracey recommended Cal Newport’s book Deep Work, I immediately ordered it and started to read it as soon as it arrived. The book has been extremely helpful for me in many...
The Perfect Plan and Timing of Christmas: An Exposition of Galatians 4:4-6
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”” (Galatians 4:4–6 ESV) Your opinion of time and punctuality says a lot about your personality or temperament. There are those who’d rather not show up at...
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