Was the Reformation a Success?

October 14, 2019

This talk was given at Hinson Baptist Church in Portland, OR on Oct. 29, 2017, in celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

Was the Reformation a success?

That probably seems like a strange question for us to think about. Here on this historic Reformation Sunday, this is a question worth considering. How do we know the Reformation was a success? Megachurches? Political church alliances? Rapid church multiplication? New York Times bestsellers? What could we point to?

Why the Church Still Needs Malachi (and not just for the tithing verse)

September 4, 2019

Malachi is a book about corruption and justice. Corruption still lives today as we find ourselves standing on the brink of forgetting the final covenant between God and mankind. We must learn from the last precipice as the prophet of a dying age leaned over his own Nebo to glimpse the coming Messiah. Today’s church still needs Malachi. Your church still needs Malachi.

John Calvin, Teething Children, and Serving Christ in the Busyness of Life

March 26, 2019

Though I shared in this mental concept of Calvin, one line from a biography changed it forever. T.H.L Parker said that Calvin’s numerous writings, counted among the most important in Christian history, were “not written in an ivory tower, but against the background of teething troubles.”

John Calvin on God's Spirit and God's Word

November 28, 2017

The relationship between Word and Spirit is foundational for understanding Calvin’s theology. He maintained an inherent and necessary relationship between the Word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit to teach, illumine, and reveal the Word. Never in Calvin’s theology are the two pitted against one another, but rather Calvin consistently maintained a mutual dependence.

The Time Calvin Was Fired and the Need for Pastoral Mentoring

November 20, 2017

The story is familiar: A bright young theologian agrees to pastor a church torn by factions and needing reform. Before long, he is plunged into controversy and conflict as he seeks to implement change. The congregation appreciates his preaching at times, but his call to discipleship seems too zealous, even extreme. His attempts to re-organize the church for better pastoral care are met with opposition. Theological controversy arises as he responds to false teaching harshly, raising concern from the other leaders. In the second year, the young pastor pushes for the right to practice church discipline and this proves to be too much for the church. The young pastor is fired, and the church is left worse off than before.

Is this the story of some young, restless, and reformed pastor? Perhaps a fresh seminary graduate who came across some 9Marks materials and sought to implement them in his church?

Actually, this is the story of John Calvin.

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