FRONTLINE Volume 35 • Number 5

How we speak matters. It matters when words sound from our mouths. It matters when words flow from our keyboards. It matters for preachers, and it matters for ordinary church members. In this issue of FrontLine, we want to ask how God wants us to speak.

The first essay is by Ryan Martin, who makes an extended case for why our words matter. In “Every Idle Word,” he warns us against taking any of our speech casually. God will someday demand that we account for everything we say.

In the next essay, Steve Thomas addresses pastors. He insists that preaching should be characterized by biblical accuracy, attractiveness, and authenticity. His long experience as a pastor lends weight to the encouragement he offers in “Teaching the Word with Words.”

Michael Riley wrestles with an apparent contradiction in Scripture. Paul disavows the use of “lofty words,” yet he and the other biblical authors constantly frame their writings in rhetorically magnificent ways. So should we speak plainly, or should we speak eloquently? Pastor Riley argues in “Lofty Words Versus Rhetorical Excellence” that this may be a false dilemma.

Greg Stiekes takes up the problem of bearing false witness, but he does it in a unique way. He presents God as the teller of the great Story. We, too, tell stories. But the truth of our stories must be judged by how well they match the indisputable truth of God’s own story. Not surprisingly, his essay is entitled, “God’s Story and Our Stories.”

Gossip is not just a problem for unsaved people. We can find plenty of it in our own churches and often in our own lives. Preston Mayes examines and applies biblical teaching about gossip in “Let the Fire Die.”

As the divisions within our culture widen, more and more people are resorting to sarcasm as their main form of argumentation. Their goal is to “own” an opponent. Is this always the best strategy? Is it ever? Kevin Bauder tries to answer these questions in “Stinging Rebukes and Sarcastic Retorts.”

We Christians have a responsibility to speak rightly. The authors of this issue of FrontLine hope that we are providing you with genuine help in understanding what biblical, godly speech sounds like. We do not claim to be without fault in this area. But we do hope to encourage you—and ourselves— toward a more biblical pattern of speaking the truth in love.

Kevin Bauder, Associate Editor

Features:

EVERY IDLE WORD
Ryan Martin

Our words have the potential for much good or much evil.

TEACHING THE WORD WITH WORDS
Steve Thomas

Society tends to minimize or dismiss the importance of words, but God does not.

LOFTY WORDS VERSUS RHETORICAL EXCELLENCE
Michael Riley

Should we aspire to employ lofty language? Or should we aim to avoid it altogether?

GOD’S STORY AND OUR STORIES
Greg Stiekes

We live in a climate of competing narratives. Truth is now judged by whether it is the best way to twist a story.

LET THE FIRE DIE
Preston L. Mayes

Deciding when to speak about other people requires care, lest we gossip. But sometimes the risk of not talking is too great.

STINGING REBUKES AND SARCASTIC RETORTS
Kevin T. Bauder

Sarcasm may be the easiest response, but it is seldom the best.

Sound Words

I: First Partaker
Our Praying Can Be in the Spirit, Consciously
Mark Minnick

V: Bring . . . the Books
More Books for a Deserted Island
Timothy Berrey

VI: Straight Cuts
Was Josiah’s Death a Failed Prophecy?
Layton Talbert

VII: Windows
Salt and Light
Ron Ehmann

Departments

NEWS FROM ALL OVER

ON THE HOME FRONT

BEST OF PROCLAIM & DEFEND

REGIONAL REPORTS

HEART TO HEART: Hidden in My Heart
Rachel Mayes Allen

AT A GLANCE: The Church’s View of Israel — Part 2
Layton Talbert

Podcast: Interview 90: The Church’s View of Israel: A Historical-Theological Overview

WITH THE WORD TO THE WORLD: A Praying Church and a Changed Youth Group
Jim Tillotson

STEWARDSHIP MATTERS: Financial Stewardship by the Christian Family: Thou Shalt Not Steal
Corey Pfaffe

CHAPLAIN’S REPORT: Meet the Newest FBFI Chaplains
Joe Willis

FrontLine • September/October 2025. Click here to subscribe to the magazine.