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Evan Lenow was unanimously confirmed as the new president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission at a special-called trustees meeting Monday, April 13. Lenow, 47, has served as the director of the Institute for Christian Leadership, director of... Continue Reading »
The New Testament frequently speaks of the reward that awaits followers of Jesus Christ. In the fullest sense, heaven itself is the believer’s great reward (Col. 1:12, 3:24). Yet heaven is not wages earned for good works; it is... Continue Reading »
Evangelical giving has stabilized after several years of significant decline, but almost no one gives a biblical tithe to the church, a new study from Grey Matter Research and Infinity Concepts found. Ron Sellers, Grey Matter Research president, said... Continue Reading »
Editor’s note: Several years ago, Founders Ministries published Dear Timothy, an excellent multi-author work (see New & Noteworthy Books in this issue) that quickly rose to the top of my list among books on pastoral/local church ministry. That work... Continue Reading »
How does your church measure success? For many churches, the ABCs of success are attendance, buildings and cash. While these are the easiest things to measure, pastors know they aren’t the best. There has to be a better way... Continue Reading »
Empty – it’s not one of our favorite terms. It’s not one of our preferred greetings. When someone asks you, “How are you doing?” you probably don’t respond by saying, “Empty, thanks for asking!” Many popular songs through the... Continue Reading »
When facing difficult circumstances, most churchgoers still trust in God’s love and provision. Some, however, begin to question God’s character and involvement in their lives, and their number has grown in recent years. Lifeway Research’s State of Discipleship revealed... Continue Reading »
When I was training for ministry in college, while I would never have said it like this, the thought was there, buried deep within, surrounded by good motives: I’ll be a successful pastor if I’m a famous pastor. And... Continue Reading »
My feet plod along with growing unease And a sense that something is wrong. A feeling that lurks though never quite placed – My companion as day’s shadows grow long. Something amiss but more than amiss – That must... Continue Reading »
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission’s presidential search team has announced Mississippi College academic administrator and longtime ERLC research fellow Evan Lenow as its candidate to lead the entity. The announcement follows a seven-month search. Search team chair Mitch... Continue Reading »
You have probably heard some of the troubling statistics about teens and young adults. The data points are piling up like symptoms for a very ill patient. Since 2010: Anxiety is up 139 percent among 18-25-year-olds. Depression is up... Continue Reading »
The greatest danger facing today’s church is not persecution, political pressure or cultural hostility. It is something far more subtle — and far more familiar. The greatest danger is apathy. Jesus warned the church in Laodicea about this condition... Continue Reading »
As Southern Baptists look toward Baptism Sunday on April 12, the last few years have been a cause for celebration. Baptisms increased four straight years from 2021 through 2024. “While a couple of those years were obviously rebound from... Continue Reading »
War of Words: Getting to the Heart of Your Communication Struggles (P&R, updated edition 2025) by Paul David Tripp The war we wage with our words is most fundamentally a war for our hearts. As Jesus put it so... Continue Reading »
America’s favorite Bible verse seems to be Matthew 7:1, where our Lord says, “Judge not that you be not judged.” Yet Jesus also said in John 7:24, “Judge with a righteous judgment.” Are Christians called to judge? It may... Continue Reading »
Charles Spurgeon, one of my favorite writers, spoke often about the minister’s responsibility to guard himself, to “take heed, therefore, to yourselves first, that you be that which you persuade others to be.” He pushed church leaders to be... Continue Reading »
God’s book of wisdom contrasts the life of the foolish man with the life of the wise man. It shows us how life works best in a fallen world. And talk is deeply important in recognizing which of those... Continue Reading »
Words. We think words, hear words, speak words, sing words, write words, and read words. All the time. Every day. What do words have to do with Christianity? Almost everything. At every stage in redemptive history — from the... Continue Reading »
I’m a mom and a wife (a pastor’s wife at that). But I’m also a women’s ministry leader, Bible teacher, and writer. Luke 14:26 tells me that following Jesus requires me to forsake my family. However, Titus 2:4–5, tells... Continue Reading »
A record 1,379 South Carolina Baptist pastors and leaders converged at Shandon Baptist Church in Columbia under the theme “Called Out,” marking the beginning of a multi-year emphasis to raise up the next generation of pastors and church leaders.... Continue Reading »
Around a quarter of Americans don’t identify with any religion, but many still hold some religious perspectives. Lifeway Research surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. adults who are atheist, agnostic or have no stated religious preference to discover their perspective... Continue Reading »
Christ’s atoning work is rich in its dimensions. It encompasses justification (God declares sinners righteous in Christ), reconciliation (God restores the relationship that sin has broken), and adoption (God brings His people into His family as sons and daughters).... Continue Reading »
Reading Scripture and telling others about it is “bigger than football,” New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye told reporters. Leaning on the Lord “is a constant” in his life, Maye said. “It’s such a thing for me to lean... Continue Reading »
Most churchgoers place a high value on the Bible, but only about a third commit to reading it every day. The Lifeway Research State of Discipleship study found Bible engagement to be one among eight signposts measuring distinct characteristics... Continue Reading »
While the world whirls around us in chaos and confusion, we need a safe, peaceful place. We, a people bought by the blood of Christ, have that place: the local church. It is a retreat from the world, and... Continue Reading »
Too often, our approach to the Bible is problematic because we want to be instant experts. We have very little tolerance for unanswered questions, forgetting that answers come as we keep visiting the text. God’s Word is meant to... Continue Reading »
I pastor a church that was founded in 1832. Our church records show church discipline was a regular practice for our congregation well into the 19th century. Church discipline was a regular practice for most Baptist churches of that... Continue Reading »
How should a church practice church discipline? Jesus provides the basic outline in Matthew 18:15–17. He says to His disciples: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he... Continue Reading »
What would you think of a coach who instructs his players but never drills them? Or a math teacher who explains the lesson but never corrects her students’ mistakes? Or a doctor who talks about health but ignores cancer?... Continue Reading »
There was a time among Deep South Baptist churches when church discipline was no big deal — it was simply assumed to be a biblically appointed means of church purity and church health. There was no need to call... Continue Reading »
The choir was singing while we were in the middle of serving the Lord’s Supper one Sunday morning. The ushers were halfway down the middle aisle when the sanctuary’s rear doors flew open and a young man stepped in... Continue Reading »
If discipleship were a test, the average churchgoer would pass — but not by much. In the second half of the State of Discipleship study, Lifeway Research studied churchgoers’ levels of discipleship by asking dozens of questions related to... Continue Reading »
In Western Civilization, people generally have two names — a first name and a middle name — in addition to their last name. However, they are usually only known by their first name. My first name is Jonathan. Others... Continue Reading »
Invitations matter more than we often realize. Most people who visit a church do not come because of a clever slogan, a polished website, or even a well-timed social media post. They come because someone they know invited them.... Continue Reading »
Editor’s note: Sanctity of Life Sunday is Jan. 18. As King David wrote in praise to God, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and... Continue Reading »
Repentance is a central theme in biblical theology, as evidenced by the many references to it throughout both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, repentance was required for restoration to God. A key example is 2... Continue Reading »
Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure (Zondervan, 2016) by Martyn Lloyd-Jones Spiritual Depression is one of the great classics of the modern church, diagnosing the causes of the unhappiness that many Christians experience and prescribing the practical care to... Continue Reading »
Anxiety is all around us. There are always reasons to be anxious, from a young child up through someone in the senior years of life. The forms anxiety takes may differ based on age and stage, but the underlying... Continue Reading »
This daily Bible reading plan is provided courtesy of Crossway. July to December will be found in our July 2026 issue. (Note: Bible reading plan goes through the New Testament twice.) Jan-June 2026 Bible study2
“I have never felt the flames melting the skin off my veins, but I’ve been through hell in my mind. I’ve had the long sleepless nights, felt the breathless despair in the fight. I’ve laid on the ground crying... Continue Reading »
Lately, I’ve noticed a quiet anxiety settling over so many believers I know. It feels as if the world is coming undone, truth from Scripture is dismissed as outdated, and convictions that once brought respect now draw ridicule. I... Continue Reading »
Many years ago in the technological dark ages of the 1990s, America Online (AOL) became the most popular internet/email/instant messaging platform. When setting up an AOL account, the user had to choose a screen name. My friends chose names... Continue Reading »
With a crowd on a Galilean hillside, Jesus shared a message of hope: the way to find true happiness in life. To those searching for an abundant, joyful life, He offers … the “Be-happy-tudes.” I imagine a crowd gathering... Continue Reading »
When I was a much younger man, I didn’t believe anxiety was a real thing. I would hear people talk about being anxious and think perhaps they weren’t sturdy enough to break the full court press of everyday life.... Continue Reading »
It was perhaps the most famous sermon in U.S. history, a sermon God used to bring many sinners to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ: “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” preached in 1741 by the great... Continue Reading »
An angel accented the top of our family’s Christmas tree each year when I was growing up. This regal figure featured a golden gown, wings and a halo. Angels have become a common part of Christmas décor, but they... Continue Reading »
I was on campus one afternoon last spring when I ran into Elizabeth. She grew up in church, but sadly no longer considers herself a Christian. When I asked her why the change of mind, she was quite open... Continue Reading »
The biblical counseling ministry at Church at The Mill in Moore has officially been recognized by the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors as an ACBC Certified Training Center. The certification affirms that the church has completed the six-phase certification... Continue Reading »
The Sing! Hymnal (Crossway, 2025) edited by Keith and Kristyn Getty Blending music and poetry, hymns beautifully bring Christian theology to life. With each verse, rich lyrics echo the timeless truths of Scripture and proclaim the unchanging message of... Continue Reading »
In AD 112, a governor named Pliny wrote to the Roman emperor about pesky Christians worshipping without permit and refusing to cooperate with the imperial cult. Writing to request guidance on overseeing a Christian trial, Pliny described these Christians’... Continue Reading »
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