Small groups in churches throughout the United States are using the new book In Church as It Is in Heaven: Cultivating a Multiethnic Kingdom Culture. In case your church is considering using this book, I wanted to make certain that you’re aware of the free six-week curriculum that we’ve produced in partnership with InterVarsity Press. […]
[Read More...]Michael Kruger: What If Our Bibles Don’t Have the Right Words?
Michael Kruger, president of the Charlotte campus of the Reformed Theological Seminary and preeminent scholar of early Christianity, joins us to talk about the reliability of the copies and the canon of the New Testament.
[Read More...]Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones: Did the Council of Nicaea Choose the Books in My Bible?
The books of the Bible were selected in the year 325 at the Council of Nicaea, right? That’s what a lot of Christians seem to think. But is this story true? And, if it isn’t true, how did the tale of a council that created the canon begin in the first place?
[Read More...]Jarvis Williams: Redemptive Kingdom Diversity and Apologetics
For the first time ever, Three Chords and the Truth: The Apologetics Podcast reveals the future! It’s the last episode of season 2, and it’s quite possible that your mind won’t be able to handle everything that takes place in this thrilling season finale. Your intrepid cohosts turn out to be not only pastors and […]
[Read More...]Garrick Bailey and Timothy Paul Jones: Good Times with the End Times (Part 2) + “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” (R.E.M.)
Welcome to the stunning conclusion of this two-part series about the end of time! This episode focuses on four truths about the end times that matter far more than any particular perspective on how God will fulfill his eschatological promises. In the process of exploring these four truths, the dynamic duo considers how different views […]
[Read More...]J. Warner Wallace: A Cold-Case Detective Looks at the Gospels + “Another Brick in the Wall” (Pink Floyd)
What happens when a cold-case detective applies his investigative skills to the New Testament Gospels? Find out as Timothy meets up with award-winning detective and bestselling apologetics author J. Warner Wallace. In addition to being a detective and apologist, Wallace is also a guitarist, bassist, and—Timothy is thrilled beyond words to discover—a fan of Steve […]
[Read More...]Apologetics: Free Apologetics Curriculum and a Book about Why the Bible Can Be Trusted
Have you ever been asked why you believe the Bible is true? It might be that you’ve even asked yourself that question at some point. It’s a question that I’ve asked too! And it’s the question that I set out to answer in Why Should I Trust the Bible? The purpose of this book is simple: […]
[Read More...]Timothy Paul Jones and Garrick Bailey: Are the Stories of Jesus Borrowed from Pagan Parallels to Christianity? + “We Didn’t Start the Fire” (Billy Joel)
This week’s podcast includes pagan parallels to Christianity, the Piano Man, and the most daring giveaway ever attempted on any human podcast. Paganism and plagiarism provide the theme for the first half. Even in ancient times, Roman philosophers claimed that Christians had “used pagan myths in fabricating the story of a virgin conception.” So is […]
[Read More...]Urban Ministry Podcast: Developing Deep Community in Urban Contexts
Suppose God has called you to plant a church in the city, and you’re struggling simply to gather an initial core group to launch the new congregation. When someone asks you about small groups, you might wonder, “Do I really need to think about small groups? Why isn’t enough simply to have an outstanding Sunday morning worship experience and deal with groups later, after the church is growing?” If you think that gathering in small groups is optional, you need to listen to this episode of Urban Ministry Podcast. Today, my guest on the Urban Ministry Podcast is Brad House, the author of Community: Taking Your Small Group Off Life Support and the coauthor with Gregg Allison of the book Multichurch. The focus of our discussion is the unique dynamics of small groups in urban contexts and the need for small groups even in the early stages of church planting.
[Read More...]Leadership: Followership and the Privilege of Pastoral Leadership
All of us are called to follow someone’s instructions. Effective leadership is not forging a solo path ahead of others; it’s learning to follow the right instructions from the right leader at the right time. Dysfunctions in Christian leadership were typically dysfunctions in followership long before they became dysfunctions in leadership.
[Read More...]Leadership: What’s the Point of Priesthood in the Church Today?
This post on prophet, priest, and king as leadership typology is excerpted from my book The God Who Goes Before You. You can purchase the book here. Over the past century, several Reformed scholars and church leaders have presented the threefold office of Christ—the munus triplex of prophet, priest, and king—as a typology for church […]
[Read More...]Leadership: A Disposition toward Submission
This post on suffering and submission in leadership was written with Michael Wilder and is excerpted from our book The God Who Goes Before You: Pastoral Leadership as Christ-Centered Followership. You can order the book here. After a meal with his disciples in the upper room, Jesus made his way to a familiar place (John 18:2) […]
[Read More...]Leadership: Priestly Leadership in the New Covenant
What does priesthood in the Old Testament have to do with church leadership today? Quite a lot, as it turns out—though perhaps not in the way you would assume! Priestly leadership isn’t about becoming a priest; it isn’t even about becoming a caregiver or counselor for the people of God. To understand the implications of […]
[Read More...]Leadership: The God Who Goes Before You
Today, The God Who Goes Before You is finally available in bookstores! This book on leadership develops a fresh definition of pastoral leadership that is thoroughly grounded in the storyline and canon of Scripture. As the book unfolds, what Michael Wilder and I have developed together is a vision for the leadership of God’s people […]
[Read More...]Leadership: Kingly Leadership in the New Covenant
This post is excerpted from my book The God Who Goes Before You: Pastoral Leadership as Christ-Centered Followership.You can order the book here. What does kingship in the Old Testament have to do with church leadership today? Quite a lot, as it turns out—though perhaps not in the way you would assume.
[Read More...]Leadership: Leadership as Followership in the Life of Moses
This post was written with Michael Wilder and is excerpted from our book The God Who Goes Before You. You can order the book here. Incompetent Leaders, Omnicompetent God The opening verses of Exodus invite readers into a story that stretches backward through Abraham to the very beginning of time. Moses wrote that “the Israelites were […]
[Read More...]Leadership: Leadership as Followership in the Life of Moses
This post was written with Michael Wilder and is excerpted from our book The God Who Goes Before You. You can order the book here. Incompetent Leaders, Omnicompetent God The opening verses of Exodus invite readers into a story that stretches backward through Abraham to the very beginning of time. Moses wrote that “the Israelites were […]
[Read More...]Leadership: Shepherd Leadership as God-Centered Followership
This post on shepherd leadership is excerpted from my book The God Who Goes Before You. You can order the book here. The Failure of Israel’s Shepherds Have you ever faced a situation where someone did such a poor job on a project that you declared, “I’ll just do it myself”? That’s not too different from […]
[Read More...]Leadership: Priestly Leadership in the New Covenant
What does priesthood in the Old Testament have to do with church leadership today? Quite a lot, as it turns out—though perhaps not in the way you would assume! Priestly leadership isn’t about becoming a priest; it isn’t even about becoming a caregiver or counselor for the people of God. To understand the implications of […]
[Read More...]Leadership: “No, You Idiot, Your Team at Home …”
Dayton Moore, general manager of the Kansas City Royals, had a friend who asked him from time to time how his team was doing. Moore would begin talking about his baseball team and the friend would respond, “No, you idiot, … your team at home”—reminding Moore that his faithfulness as a husband and father mattered […]
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