Well, so am I. As Christians we don’t often forget the problem of sin, we are usually very keen at pointing out sin and sinners around us. Like the Corinthians, our problem is not that we forget we are surrounded by sinners, but that we forget we ourselves are sinners. However, this necessary bad news [...]
Abraham Kuyper had a remarkable vision for mission in the public square in Western life. Let’s review the vision. The key to understanding this whole vision is to understand western culture from the standpoint of the gospel rather than the gospel from within the presuppositions of modernity. In other words, the worldview baggage that we [...]
Continuing a series about Abraham Kuyper and his influence. Missionary theologian Lesslie Newbigin commented in 1996 that the “Reformational, Kuyperian tradition has obviously been at work long ago spelling out concretely in the various spheres of society what it means to say, ‘Jesus is Lord.’” So what is the Reformational Kuyperian tradition? Some today have [...]
I was a 23 year old seminary student when I first read about Abraham Kuyper. After I heard about the man, I began reading his works. It was an intellectual spring time. Kuyper was a man in love with Jesus and the Gospel yet he was also a preacher, politician, journalist, statesman, and theologian. Kuyper’s [...]
When you are satisfied with God’s presence and approval in your life, you will no longer obsess about what everyone else thinks about you. You can quit hiding your faults and start living with authenticity, letting people see the real you — the ‘you’ with all the faults and warts — because you [...]
As I think about the self-humiliation of Christ this week and while I take a few days off to rest in the midst of an incredibly busy season, I’m reminded that even my resting is possible and truly free from guilt and shame because I was fully represented by he who came to give rest [...]
Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture is a great gift for the church. Many I’ve shared it with have been freed from the shame that has often been placed upon them by overzealous extroverted leaders. Introversion is not a disease, it is a gift to the church and for the [...]
Paul to a church drifting away from first importance, “I’d rather speak 5 words with my mind to instruct others than 10,000 words in a spectacle.” Could you imagine Paul in the American church?
If you love a person whose life is all put together and has no major needs, it costs you nothing. It’s delightful. There are probably four or five people like that where you live. You ought to find them and become their friend. But if you ever try to love somebody who has needs, someone [...]
What can we learn from a Roman Catholic saint who actively sought to convert Protestants back into Catholicism? When it comes to true devotion one would be hard pressed to find error and would be nourished to listen.