Posts by Don Johnson
Bible Reading Challenges from Local Church Pastors
My tradition as a local church pastor is to emphasize Bible Reading as a Christian discipline. Each year around the New Year, I preach on the topic and hand out various Bible reading schedules. Lately, I’ve provided these schedules here on P&D as well. You will find links for our schedules at the end of…
Read MoreGod’s Good Pleasure at Christmas
Every year I select a theme for a series of messages in December, centered in some way around the Incarnation of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Over the years, these messages served to deepen my love for our Saviour. Someone (who unfortunately came to hold that we shouldn’t celebrate Christmas) once charged me with…
Read MoreHugh Hewitt: Christianity Today took aim at Trump, but it only hurt itself
After more than a quarter-century of occasionally attempting to help direct traffic at the intersection of faith and politics – on radio, on PBS and in books – I am bewildered by Christianity Today editor Mark Galli’s column on Thursday, which has attracted so much love from the secular left. In condemning President Donald Trump…
Read MoreManhattan Declaration – more necessary than ever?
Nathan Finn, in an editorial piece published Nov 20, 2019, by Baptist Press, argues that the 2009 Manhattan Declaration is “even more important in 2019” than it was on the day of publication. Is Finn right to make this conclusion? Finn offers a summary of the Declaration this way: The Manhattan Declaration outlined three issues…
Read MoreSBC Pres. JD Greear says he’ll refer to trans individuals by their preferred pronouns – The Christian Post
Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear said he would use a trans-identified individual’s preferred pronoun and name as a show of “pronoun hospitality,” but would also be clear on biblical truth. … When it comes to “generosity of spirit” in the transgender context, Greear said he’s heard it called “pronoun hospitality.” “That is the way…
Read MoreAre We Evangelicals?
Almost a month ago, I posted a piece on defining evangelicalism. (What Is Evangelicalism?) That article summed up the thesis of Roger Olson in his book, Pocket History of Evangelical Theology (Intervarsity Press). I hope to write more on the subject, based on the rest of Olson’s book, but this time I would like to…
Read MoreThe rise of fundamentalist Catholicism – Religion News Service
(RNS) — It is normal and customary to identify Pope Francis’ conservative critics as “traditionalists.” But much of what they say is a far cry from Catholic tradition — not least their criticism of the pope itself. We need a new way to identify them. … Like their Protestant predecessors, today’s fundamentalist Catholics find themselves…
Read MoreKanye West and Choir Will Appear at Joel Osteen’s Sunday Service
Kanye West is scheduled to attend Joel Osteen’s church service on Sunday. Source: Kanye West and Choir Will Appear at Joel Osteen’s Sunday Service
Read MoreFrom Christians Who Formerly Identified as LGBTQ: A “Thank You” to Our Allies – Public Discourse
I have written several times about homosexuality and my experiences identifying as a lesbian when I was a young woman. I know firsthand that dealing with same-sex attraction used to carry a huge stigma. If people knew, it was a mark of disgrace. Most of us dealing with it felt ashamed and suffered the pain…
Read MoreWhat Is Worldliness?
A new look at 1 Jn 2.15-17 What is worldliness? The term is among many that seemingly defy precise definition. Many Christians know the “love not the world…” passage in 1 John very well. Many sermons address this passage; it’s a “go-to” passage for Bible-believers. Are we any further along in understanding worldliness today? Could…
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