The idea of separation of Church and State has been important to Baptists as long as there have been Baptists. As a group that did not conform to the Catholic establishment or the Reformers during the Reformation, separatist groups such as the Baptists often suffered persecution at the hands of both sides. As a result,…
This part 4 of a 5-part series. For previous posts, click the following: part 1; part 2; part 3. I find myself being one of the few middle-aged persons I know who looks back with fondness on his junior high years. Most people say that they would never want to repeat junior high again. But it’s…
God intends for His people to enjoy the assurance and joy of their salvation. The ministry of the Spirit (cf. Rom 8:15-17) and promises of the gospel were provided so that believers can know beyond any doubt that they are fully and forever “accepted in the Beloved” (Eph 1:6). Assurance of salvation is “the birthright…
Artificial Intelligence content creators such as ChatGPT will certainly revolutionize almost every kind of work that relies on writing of some sort. But how will it change Christian ministry: particularly sermon creation, essays, articles and even books? We have already said it will tempt some to cheat, and to do a more sophisticated form of…
We often urge others to be evangelists, get out the gospel, be a witness, and so on. Most Christians would agree that our business is the Great Commission, but we often struggle with how to put it into practice. There are various barriers naturally in place that may seem insurmountable. For example, as an employee,…
That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. (Titus 2:4-5) I know that this verse is obnoxious to many. They are certainly free to…
What do we do when we receive the phone call about cancer or health problems—problems of your own or that of a friend or family member? What about when your life is thrown upside down because of unexpected events? Or when you hear heartbreaking news about someone? Or when your day or week doesn’t go…
Throughout the history of the church there have been godly men who have differed with one another, sometimes even to the point of parting ways with one another in ministry. Often, the question that arises is, “Should this happen?” When this kind of rift occurs, we immediately want to label one person as being “right”…
AI will transform how many jobs are done, and will completely replace many others. Tools like ChatGPT will reduce the task of writing to command-line prompts for professions ranging from medicine to law to office administration. The heavy lifting of writing will be done by an increasingly smart machine. How will this affect ministry: those…
Our January/February 2023 issue of FrontLine, Biblical Counsel for Medical Choices, includes the article “Should We Heal or Pray? A Defense of Modern Medicine” by Brett Williams. Brett has been a pastor and is the provost of Central Baptist Seminary. We had an interesting conversation about his article which surveyed the history of Christian attitudes…