Giving Thought to Giving Birth
As I near the third trimester of my second pregnancy, I find myself immersed in the world of maternity care once again. Pregnancy is a very tangible way to meditate on the already/not yet paradox of the Kingdom of God: I have a baby, and also I have yet to have my baby. In all the dreaming and planning for the baby itself, it can be easy to overlook that pivotal transition: the having of the baby—labor and delivery (in Spanish, “the...
Recommended Books (Winter 2021)
What societies read, or do not read, has a significant effect on the nature of political discourse in modern democratic countries. Historian Paul Johnson argues that the press, as we now know it, first set “the pace of political change in all the advanced societies” during the 1820s with the invention of the steam press.[1] In the intervening two centuries, the printing industry has gone through massive changes that have surely...
Deep Work and the Life of the Pastor
When I first started graduate school, I read a book by Cal Newport titled Deep Work. The main idea of this book is that quality, uninterrupted time-blocks for work are far more effective than longer hours of distracted work. He argues that this approach to work results in a better quality production. When I read this, I couldn’t help but to think about how important this idea is for pastoral ministry. There’s much about a pastor’s...
What Was Early Church Worship Music Like?
by Daniel Webster The question prompted by this article’s title is an important one because many earnest believers desire to worship on the Lord’s Day in form and content the same way that Christ and the apostles worshiped. The New Testament is very clear about the purpose of music for the church, but it does not give explicit indication as to what the form of church music was like. This observation may lead some to conclude that...
In Honor of F. Leroy Forlines: Man of God and Integrity
Today marks the day of the funeral of Mr. F. Leroy Forlines (1926–2020). Like so many across the Free Will Baptist and Arminian landscape, we lament his passing. To say that he influenced generations of people through his writings is an understatement. Many of our members contributed to a festschrift in his honor, The Promise of Arminian Theology, published in 2016; that same year the Free Will Baptist Commission for Theological...
Political Ethics from 1 Timothy 2:1–8
We have recently experienced another tumultuous election season. “Don’t remind me,” you’re thinking. Now I recognize that talking politics is risky business. And yet I also recognize that the Scriptures are sufficient for life and godliness. This principle means that God’s Word has a word for all Christians at all times. It does not necessarily mean that the Scriptures address every contingency specifically. But it does mean that...
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