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Christian education

What about a Christian university? My experience at Dordt University

I love learning. Whether that love is innate or whether it was instilled in me as I grew up, I don’t know. I’ve always loved learning about pretty much anything. The biological intricacies of life, the vastness of space, the stories of history, the nuances of political philosophy, or the mysteries of the end times have all taken their turns at seizing my imagination.

And that learning didn’t stop at head knowledge. I remember a specific story from Ralph Moody’s Little Britches, a novel that my dad once read aloud to me and my younger siblings. I’ve forgotten most of the plotline, aside from the fact that the homesteading setting reminded me of the Ingalls in The Little House on the Prairie, but I remember the analogy that the father  relayed to his younger sons. “Your character is like a house,” Pa said, “You can either add boards to build it up, or you can tear boards off.” Ever since, that idea that your character requires constant building and maintenance has been etched into my mind.

And so, when I was in my final year of high school, I naturally looked for places to pursue this love of knowledge and continue to build my character as a young Christian man.

I didn’t even bother applying to secular institutions. I knew that I might glean some knowledge there, but that they certainly wouldn’t form me into a godlier Christian. To borrow from some of the parables of Jesus and the analogies of James, why would I expect a bad tree to produce good fruit or a salty spring fresh water? No, if I truly wanted to mature in my faith, I felt that an education in an institution that is antithetical to God simply wasn’t a wise option. I had spent twelve years being homeschooled, studying at a Christian school, and attending a Reformed church. My parents, my teachers, and my pastors all emphasized the importance of Christian education. Why would I forsake that lynch pin in my Christian formation after graduating high school?

And so I applied to the Christian institution I was most familiar with: Dordt University. My parents had both attended the rural university in northwest Iowa. I had just stayed on campus for a week during a family reunion the previous summer. I had extended family in the area. I got a decent scholarship and was lured by the opportunity to play on a university hockey team. And so, two months after graduating from high school, I packed my bags and made the twenty-five-hour road trip stateside.

Now, I have no idea what God has in store for me over the remaining years of my life, but my four years at Dordt have been the best four of my life. And I count myself a wiser, godlier, and more successful person for them.

The benefits

The formal academics were part of it. Dordt is a liberal arts university, meaning that every student has to take a wide range of courses in addition to required courses in their field to graduate. All of these courses were based in a Reformed Christian worldview, focusing on the religious orientation, creational structure, and creational development of all the subject matter and contemporary responses of Christians in these fields. In my experience, this Reformed worldview was applied just as consistently – if not more consistently – than the Reformed high school that I had attended.

The relationships that I formed, though, were even more impactful. In university, you might be shaped by professors in the classroom 15-20 hours a week, but I interacted with other students almost every waking hour. Over 90% of Dordt’s student body lives on campus in dormitories or apartment buildings, so you are with fellow Christian students virtually all of the time. Because of this continual contact, I formed more and deeper friendships with fellow students at Dordt than at any other time of my life. I developed deep friendships with roommates, hockey teammates, and members of my “Dordt family.” These friendships even extended to the professors. I visited the homes of three or four professors over the years, attended church with some of them, and even exchanged Christmas cards with one over the years. Some of the godliest role models that I have met were fellow students from Dordt’s hockey team and from student Bible studies.

Dordt is also where I met my wife, Jillian. Now, both Jillian and I very intentionally went to Dordt not to find a future spouse. We were there to study and learn, particularly in our first couple years of study. But God, in His providence, had other plans for us. He brought us together in our first year of university. We dated and were engaged most of our university life and got married a few months after we graduated. One of the most important decisions of your life is finding a spouse. I’d hazard a guess that most members of the Reformed community have found a godly spouse from their local church or local Christian high school, though some may have gone further afield to a regional youth retreat in search of marriage partners. One of the advantages of a Christian post-secondary institution is that it brings young Christian men and women from across the country – and, in my case, across the world – to the same spot.

And while I firmly believe that the primary reason for education is for personal formation – formation of character as well as knowledge and skills – getting a post-secondary degree is certainly an ancillary bonus. With so many professional jobs today requiring or giving preference to applicants with a post-secondary degree, getting a degree opened up a whole new world of employment opportunities and has made me better at the job that I have now. There would be no way that I could write in this magazine as well, or analyze policies for ARPA as astutely, without having attended a Christian post-secondary institution.

And finally, attending a Christian post-secondary institution was just plain fun. I stayed up well past midnight almost every night for four years laughing with friends and engaging in deep conversations with roommates. I hit the ice four times a week for hockey practice and traveled the central states playing back-to-back hockey games Friday and Saturday evenings. I started a Sunday afternoon board games club to challenge friends to friendly games of Settlers of Catan, Seven Wonders, or Tammany Hall. I traveled to Washington, DC, to attend a national conservative political action conference and volunteered at a presidential debate with the College Republican Club. I volunteered to visit a fundamentalist Mormon community in Arizona, a Navajo reserve in New Mexico, and hurricane-battered New Orleans for short-term missions trips on three of my spring breaks. I won a campus air band competition, participated in the campus choir, and jammed with talented student vocalists and musicians.

A growing number of people point out that a university education might not have a positive return on investment. In other words, it might end up costing more to attend in tuition payments and lost years of income than would be made up in higher salaries over the rest of your working life. And, depending on your field of study, that can be true. But, in my opinion, that is a pretty bare, narrow calculation. If it is just about the money and just about the degree, don’t bother with Christian post-secondary. You can definitely find cheaper alternatives to get a university degree. But Christian post-secondary is more than just about dollars and cents. If you prioritize deepening your spiritual walk with the LORD, developing a godlier character, making lifelong friends, and cultivating a more consistent Reformed Christian worldview, then Christian post-secondary, especially when it has a solid Reformed base, has a lot more plusses in its column.

The dangers

Of course, that doesn’t mean that there are no minuses to Christian post-secondary. No institution this side of glory is perfect. Even the best Christian post-secondary institution has its faults. The temptations common to young people in every other sphere of life don’t simply disappear because they are on a Christian campus. Discerning parents and prospective students should certainly be aware of the imperfections of Christian post-secondary institutions.

I saw students kicked out because of substance abuse and disciplined because of sexual sins. Some students seemed to be more interested in partying and troublemaking than studying. A saddeningly high number of students didn’t attend church on a regular basis, much less twice a Sunday. Most students thought that it was perfectly acceptable to study on Sundays. Some professors were fired for bad theology or inappropriate conduct.

And some unorthodox views will certainly be present on any Christian post-secondary campus, either among the student body or among the faculty. I encountered a belief in theistic evolution, the embrace of LGBTQ identities, and an egalitarian view of gender. Many Christian universities certainly leave something to be desired on these topics.

The bottom line

In my experience, the perceived and real dangers and costs of Christian post-secondary have led many in the North American Presbyterian and Reformed churches (NAPARC) orbit not to even seriously consider a Christian post-secondary education, much less actually pursue one.

At the end of the day, I’m sharing my positive experience with a Christian university. And I’m not necessarily arguing for a specific Christian institution. There are lots of Christian universities, colleges, institutes, and Bible colleges in North America that are faithful to God’s Word to varying degrees, and I think that there is a strong case to be made that new orthodox institutions need to spring up to train the next generation to participate in all areas of society with a Christian worldview. But I certainly am arguing for the concept of Christian post-secondary education.

I’ll wrap up with an application of the familiar parable of the talents. In this parable, a master gives each of his servants different amounts of money to steward while he is away. When he returns, he rewards the fruitful servants who grew that money and rebukes the fearful servant who simply hid his talent in the ground. Sandwiched as it is between other accounts of the final judgement in Matthew 25, the central message of this parable is clear. God expects us to develop the gifts that He has given us to their fullest extent. Burying those gifts is not only a waste. It is condemned.

Not every high school graduate has the academic aptitude, moral character, or the financial means to attend a Christian university. But to those who do, I encourage you to at least seriously consider one Christian post-secondary institution. It can be an excellent way to cultivate the gifts that God has given you and to grow in your development as a follower of Christ.

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Book Reviews, Teen non-fiction

Finding My Vocation

by William Boekestein 2024 / 154 pages William Boekestein wants to help young readers figure out how they can pick the right job, and like the good Reformed pastor that he is, he offers up three points.... or, rather, parts. In Part 1, “Pondering Vocation,” he covers what work is, and the different reasons that Christians have to want to work, like providing for our family, serving others, and as a means of expressing our gratitude to God. Part 2 gives us biblically-grounded tips on how we can start “Preparing for Your Vocation.” We need to make ourself valuable to an employer by fostering key character traits – honesty and respect for authority might seem bare minimums, but they can really set a Christian apart – and by developing specific marketable skills, like welding, framing, accounting, etc. The author encourages readers to be ambitious to make the most of the skills God has given you. And he reminds us also of the other vocations God has called us to, like parent, elder, friend, and more. Then in Part 3, “Practicing Vocation,” we’re challenged to work hard, and reminded that God does give us a weekly Sabbath rest. This is a solid primer, and could be a great tool for high schoolers, Grade 9 or 10, as they start planning for their post-school years. It'd be best used with a parent or teacher along for the ride. If I were to pick a nit, it would be with a couple of the appendices – “Is my vocation compromised by sin?” and “Is Military a Good Option for Me?” – that raise important topics, but in what struck me as too cursory a manner. The military question, for example, raised some cautions about women in the armed forces, but didn’t even touch on the issue of women in combat roles. It's one thing for women to serve in the armed forces when male and female differences are understood and appreciated, and another thing for women to serve in the military when the higher ups have started to pretend that men and women are interchangeable and want to have women leading the charge. But this critique – not for what Rev. Boekestein said, but for what more I wish he had addressed – is indeed a nitpick, faulting his 154-page book for not being a dictionary-sized tome instead. And he offers us some of that more I was after in his great conversation with Lucas Holtvlüwer in the Real Talk episode below, so be sure to check it out. ...

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News

Saturday Selections – Nov. 16, 2024

Click on the titles to head to the linked articles... How knock-knock jokes are a problem for evolution (14 min) If you found a knock-knock joke carved on a rock in the forest, you'd know that it wasn't the result of natural forces randomly acting over time. And the origin of life is way more complicated than that! This winsome Intelligent Design presentation also highlights 5 problems the evolutionary account can't surmount. (This is worth watching twice!) The porn talk – 9 ways parents can lead children The first might be the biggest: cultivate the conversation – don't avoid it, seek it out. What two unbelievers got right about morality (10-minute read) Tim Keller on how two unbelievers – philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) and historian Tom Holland (1968- ) – still recognize that without God there is no basis for right and wrong. The two-book fallacy... again (15-min read) God revealed Himself to us in one book, the Bible, and in a second volume too, which we could call the "book" of creation (Romans 1:19-20, Ps. 19:1-4). But some Christians buy into evolution because they think that this second book is every bit as clear and authoritative as Scripture. Practically speaking, that has them reinterpreting the Bible in light of what evolutionary scientists say they've discovered in Creation. But in this article, Dr. Lisle rebuts this belief and a particular gentleman who holds to it. He writes “If Shane disagrees with my conclusion that words are far superior in communicating truth than rocks and fossils are, then I would ask him to reply using only rocks and fossils – no words please.” Why do even kids' movies take God's Name in vain? Otherwise-family-friendly fare will routinely throw out an abuse of God's Name. Nobody blurts out Mohammad or Allah. No one drops an f-bomb. So why God's Name, so often? The folks at the Christian film review site MovieGuide.org offer their best explanation. The bee-apocalypse: there's always another scare Environmental groups have their apocalyptic bent, and reporters have their own "if it bleeds it leads" motivations, so when they pitch doom and gloom, we shouldn't just swallow their warnings. John Stossel is, of course, not free of his own biases, so caution is needed in ingesting his conclusions here too. But what he highlights that you probably didn't hear about before, is the human cost that comes with the pesticide bans that were pushed. In our fallen world, there is no perfect, negative-free solution – there are always tradeoffs – so we need to hear about the other side, which is on offer here (Prov. 18:17). ...

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Amazing stories from times past

His eyes are darker than wine, and his TEETH WHITER THAN MILK – Gen. 49:12

There are a number of references in the Bible to teeth. The word “teeth” is used on a number of occasions: to indicate blessing, as in Genesis 49:12: …teeth whiter than milk; to present power, as in Job 4:10: …the teeth of the young lions are broken; to signal vexation and pain, as in Psalm 112:10: The wicked man… will gnash his teeth and waste away; to betoken physical beauty, as in Song of Solomon 4:2: Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing; and to suggest punishment, as in Jeremiah 31:29-30: In those days they shall say no more, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.’ But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge. Teeth are an important part of our life. When a tooth aches, we often become dysfunctional. C.S. Lewis once said: "If only this toothache would go away, I could write another chapter on the problem of pain." And the Puritan, Richard Baxter, was quoted as saying: "An aching tooth is better out than in. To lose a rotting member is a gain." More dysfunctional still, a 1970s newspaper reported a man taken to court because he had jumped out of the dentist chair in which he was sitting, and bit his dentist in the hand before slashing him with a can opener which he had in his pocket. There is no doubt that toothache is painful and is an ache common to all of mankind. This is attested to rather vividly by a monument put up in the garden of a twentieth-century Japanese dentist. This particular monument, shaped like a tooth, is dedicated to the 105,000 teeth this man extracted during the course of his rather successful profession in Tokyo and Yokohama. You might say this doctor had influence on his surroundings. That is to say, he had a bit of pull. A toothache is never to be desired and is a brokenness in one's body. Anyone who has suffered from a toothache will, no doubt, agree. There is no pain like a toothache, be it a cavity or an abscess. Origins of dentistry Dentistry was not always a profession. In early times, potions and herbs were concocted for sore mouths. The ancient Chinese recommended a dental powder whose ingredients included the mashed bones of mice. Another remedy for a sore tooth was a powder which had to be snuffed up the left nostril if you were male and up the right nostril if you were female. It would, very likely, not be popular for that reason, today. An eleventh-century copyist of Arabian medical practices, one Abulcasis, wrote that a throbbing tooth could be rocked loose with a pair of forceps. When the tooth was fairly mobile, the patient would be required to place his head between the doctor's knees and a stronger forceps would be used for a final yank. (A rather painful form of headship principle!) Barber-surgeon-dentists? By the end of the twelfth century, Europe had cultivated a profession called barber-surgeon. Men in this profession could cut hair, shave beards, and pull teeth – all this for a nominal fee. They were often skilled in these particular tasks and if you had a toothache, you could count yourself fortunate if one of these barber-surgeons was passing through your village. The surgeon aspect of such a man related more to infected limbs. Infected limbs were cut off with knives, and patients, more often than not, bled to death. To this day, the symbol of a barber is a pole striped with red (for blood), and white (for bandages). Less skillful than barber-surgeons in pulling teeth, were twelfth century tooth-drawers. These men were charlatans who sported pointed caps and wore necklaces made up of black and rotten molars. They boldly advertised on street corners, shamelessly misleading passers-by about how painless the extraction would be. It is chronicled that one patient, very upset with his barber-surgeon, exclaimed: "That was not the tooth I wanted pulled." The man unconcernedly replied: "Steady there. I'm coming to it." Perhaps the patient would have preferred to have been treated during the early fourteenth century during which one John Gaddesden wrote a medical manual with advice for extracting teeth. In it, Gaddesden advocated applying powdered cow's dung or frog's fat to the tooth to make it fall out instantly. In this same manual, he advised that teeth could be made to regrow by rubbing gums with a hare's brains. If, at this point, the twenty-first-century dentist is not rising in your estimation, read on. Can we stop with the bleedings? In the sixteenth century, a Belgian named Andreas Vesalius studied a sufficient number of corpses dug up in cemeteries to conclude that teeth had nerves. Although Vesalius was the most celebrated anatomist and physician in Europe, strange things continued to occur in the treatment of teeth for the next one hundred years. If you were to complain of toothache, your treatment might begin with an “arm-bleeding,” followed by an administration of a laxative. If you somehow still insisted your mouth ached, you were bled in the spine, blisters were raised in the nape of your neck or behind your ears, and plasters applied to your temples. It can be imagined that all this distracted from the pain in the tooth, and that thus, in small measure, an alleviation of sorts was effected. Lead fillings? Hmmm… In the eighteenth century, lead, tin and gold fillings began to be used and in the nineteenth century, artificial teeth were devised, as in: "She has an upper plate." "How do you know that?" "Well, it just came out in the conversation." George Washington, who suffered from bad teeth, had a man by the name of John Greenwood as dentist. This New York practitioner claimed the false teeth he manufactured could not be distinguished from real teeth. President Washington once received this note from him. "I send you enclosed two sets of teeth, one fixed to the old bars in part and the set you sent back from Philadelphia, which when I received was very black, occasioned by your soaking them in port wine or drinking it. Port being sour, takes off all the polish. I advise you to either take them out after drinks and put them in clean water and put in the other set, or to clean them with a brush and some chalk finely scraped." Dentures, in the eighteen hundreds, were also fashioned from natural teeth plundered from cemeteries and battle fields. Everyone seemed to have a new handle on how to make false teeth. Apprentices working for dentists were bound to secrecy. They were forbidden to marry, play cards or dice, and kept from visiting bars or theaters – all of these could lead to loose lips and a selling of information. These apprentices also spent time doing fine work at jewelers and practiced what they had learned on poor clients as early morning duties. Anesthesia, the game-changer In the mid-eighteen hundreds, a dentist by the name of William Morton, became one of the first dental surgeons to use anesthesia. He was a successful practitioner, and a man anxious to help his suffering clientele in a painless way. Giving up part of his large dental practice, he enrolled in the Harvard Medical School, only servicing those with a toothache when he had time. There were students at Harvard in those days who had “ether” parties. They inhaled ether for fun, became very happy and apparently didn't feel pain during this time. Dr. Morton began to experiment and had a patient, one Ebenezer Frost, inhale ether during an extraction. Ebenezer was amazed, upon awakening, to see a huge molar on the table. William Morton proved that ether could be used satisfactorily in dentistry. Reading about this in the newspaper a month after Morton's ether extraction, Boston surgeon Henry Bigelow arranged for a demonstration of ether in an operation at a Massachusetts hospital. At this demonstration, a large tumor was painlessly removed from the neck of a man by the name of Gilbert Abbott. God has surely blessed us in that He has allowed us to invent tools to alleviate suffering. Let us use them wisely and let us be properly thankful. And let us philosophize just a bit. Augustus Toplady (1740-1778), Anglican cleric, hymn writer, and major Calvinist opponent of John Wesley, said: "A man's free will cannot cure him even of the toothache, or a sore finger; and yet he madly thinks it is in its power to cure his soul." Top picture is adapted from a photo by “BakedintheHole,” and used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license....

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News

Alberta to ban men from women’s sports

The Alberta provincial government has proposed legislation to prohibit male athletes who claim to be females from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. Their “Fairness and Safety in Sport Act” (Bill 29) would apply to most amateur competitive sports organizations in the province, including public and private school leagues, as well as college and university athletics. While about half of all U.S. states have similar laws, this would be the first time that a Canadian province would issue a clear delineation against such unfair and potentially dangerous competition. God made men and women vastly different from each other, and part of this difference is that men are typically bigger, stronger and faster than women of the same age. When males compete against girls and women, the competition is often one-sided, with predictable results. Average male athletes become champions and record-setters when they stop competing with boys and instead race, box and wrestle against girls. In addition to the lack of fairness, such competitions can be dangerous, especially in sports that encourage physical contact between participants, or where a ball or puck is involved. In one high-profile case in North Carolina, high school volleyball player Payton McNabb was badly injured when a male opponent spiked the ball at her head, resulting in a concussion and neck injury, and long-term memory problems and headaches. McNabb has become an outspoken advocate to keep women’s sports for female participants only. Anyone who has witnessed male swimmers dressed as women competing against females can attest to how unfair the competition is, and how clear it is that these men have an enormous physical advantage. Sports leagues for youth are often divided by age categories: we would not expect a 17-year-old to compete against 12-year-olds! Common sense dictates that males should not be permitted to perpetuate the fantasy that they are females, by acting in a way contrary to how the Lord made them. That's all the more obvious when their act hurts not just themselves, but others too. In Romans 1, Paul reminds us that those who rejected the Lord “became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools.” Citizens of Alberta may be thankful that some of this foolish thinking may be discouraged by this legislation....

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News

Saturday Selections – Nov 2, 2024

The robot repairman inside you (12 min) In the latest must-see episode of Dr. Michael Behe's "Secrets of the Cell" series, we look at some of the amazing repair mechanisms inside the cell. That our cells have so many different ways of breaking down, and need so much upkeep, creates another “chicken and egg” problem for evolutionists. As Dr. Behe explains: “You can’t have one without the other. The first life necessarily had a complete maintenance system. And just like so much else we’ve seen about the cell, its remarkable repair machines, which sustain you every moment of your life, are products of forethought and purposeful planning. That is, they are products of intelligent design.” Behe's "Secrets of the Cell" series should be required viewing in our Christian schools. For more, check out Season 1 and Season 2. YOLO and FOMO forget you don't only live once (5-min read) This is a bit of a philosophical read, but one worth considering for our own sake, and to help out our kids. When they are battling FOMO because they have to choose to do one thing or the other, or we're contemplating that we not likely to ever go on an African Safari, it's worth remembering that this life is not all we have – God has given us eternity! Euthanasia for homelessness? When you can call murder "medicine" what reason could you give not to extend the metaphor and see it as a medicine for other societal "ills" like homelessness or loneliness? And as this AP News report details, it is happening in Canada. What they don't offer is the only firm line that can be drawn to prevent such abuses - the biblical understanding that life is a gift from God, and therefore not ours to dispose of as we will. "The committee noted that legally mandated safeguards likely were not met in nearly 2% of cases. Despite that, experts say, no doctors or nurses have ever been prosecuted." The state of Christian persecution God has no interest in hypocrisy (Isa. 29:13, Amos 5:21-27), which is one of the Christian basis's for religious freedom – God doesn't want us forcing anyone to go to church, or compeling them to say what they do not believe because He isn't interested in fakery. That's not true of many other religions, including our culture's secular religion, which demands we use "preferred pronouns" no matter that we all know better. Just do it anyway! That's why, then "...over 365 million Christians, or about one in seven globally, face high levels of persecution today, including one in five Christians in Africa and two in five in Asia. And it’s getting worse. In 2023, 4,998 Christians were martyred, an average of over 13 per day." The pot experiment has been a disaster "Legalizing pot correlates with a rise in auto crashes, as well as property and violent crimes. Also, despite the fact that this is now a multibillion-dollar industry, legalizing pot has grown rather than reduced the black market. Promises of health benefits have also proven to be more smoke than substance. Pot’s most devastating impact has been in the arena of mental health, which has declined to epidemic levels in the U.S. This is largely due to the increased potency of pot that is sold today..." Fade to black One that'll grow on you. ...

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News

John Rustad, latest conservative leader to promote IVF

During the last month’s provincial election campaign, BC Conservative leader John Rustad promised that, were he elected, he would expand access to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) by funding a second round of treatments. The NDP government had previously pledged to fund one round of IVF, starting in 2025. Rustad’s pledge made him the latest conservative politician to promote IVF. South of the border, less than two months earlier, Republican presidential contender Donald Trump promised to get IVF treatments covered by insurance companies or by the government. Then, in September, US senator, and fellow Republican, Ted Cruz put forward a bill that would penalize any state governments that banned IVF. Why has the political right come out for IVF now? The impetus might be an Alabama Supreme Court decision back in February that initially looked like it might stop IVF. The decision allowed couples to sue an IVF clinic for the “wrongful death” of their frozen embryos who had died in a storage accident. The ruling wasn’t a full acknowledgement of the personhood of these preborn children, because the parents could have killed these same children without consequence. But for the IVF industry, it meant that if they killed these children against parents’ wishes, they could be sued for a wrongful death. And when these frozen children are protected and treated even a little bit like the children that they are, then the IVF industry can't function because killing these children is a standard part of IVF "treatments," with far more embryos killed or frozen than are ever born. So three of the state’s IVF clinics put themselves on pause as they sorted things out. Sadly, “conservative” politicians were among those who came to their rescue, the previously pro-life Ted Cruz among them, proposing legislation that would shield the clinics. With IVF in the news, the formerly pro-life Donald Trump promised to make IVF free. Rustad took the trend north of the border with his own “pro-family” pledge to double the current government’s IVF pledge. If there is a silver lining to the NDP getting back into power in BC, it would be that Rustad won’t be able to implement his pledge, and perhaps Christians can get him to reconsider before he makes it again. As even the Alabama courts’ partial protection of the frozen preborn shows, the IVF industry can only operate when we ignore the humanity of the embryos being created. What's also evident is how badly the Church needs to speak out about the horrors of IVF, if even “pro-lifers” and conservatives don’t understand it is not pro-family to freeze and murder preborn babies. We have reason to hope they might even listen....

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Christian education

Gillespie Academy: a one-year Reformed bootcamp

Whether you’re graduating high school, college, or trade school, the most common question is “What’s next?” For those who are uncertain, let me recommend Gillespie Academy, a one-year, two-semester program in Woodstock, Ontario, as an option to consider. Founded in 2010 by Rev. Brian Murray, Gillespie Academy is named after Presbyterian theologian George Gillespie. It aims to prepare young Christians for future careers, further education, and building homes grounded in God’s Word. While many Christian students have experienced 12 years of biblically-sound schooling, Gillespie builds on these previous teachings and also challenges young Christians to really explore the implications of their faith. Danae Gritter, an alumna from the 2024-2025 class, shares, “Gillespie wasn’t just something I did for a year and moved on; it was a foundation for the way that I think about what I’m learning now in my further post-secondary education.” Running from September to April, the Academy is housed within Grace Presbyterian Church (a congregation of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Canada) in Woodstock, Ontario. Gillespie students attend a four-day week of classes, Tuesday to Friday. Some subjects are in place to help build a strong theological foundation like: ● Old and New Testament Studies ● Introduction to Systematic Theology I & II ● History of Western Thought I & II ● Apologetics ● Christianity in the Modern World Courses in Practical Ethics, Academic Strategies, Oral Communication, and Logic help refine communication skills – essential tools for both professional success and navigating complex worldviews. Students typically handle around 15 hours of homework weekly, balancing rigorous study with practical application. While the program is demanding, it is rewarding. And while Gillespie does not formally organize social activities, it fosters a close-knit student community, with friendships that often extend beyond the classroom. Students are also encouraged to participate in the life of Grace Church, with various opportunities to join church-led activities. The Academy’s success rests on two key pillars. As Rev. Murray emphasizes, the first is "the Lord's blessing," and the second is Gillespie’s commitment to rigorous classroom learning, where students build a strong theological understanding and develop critical thinking skills. With tuition around $4,000 per year, Gillespie offers an affordable Christian education compared to many other institutions, though costs may rise depending on the housing options offered by the Academy. Gillespie decided not to be accredited in order to maintain its commitment to Reformed Christian principles and create its curriculum independently of the government. Traditional accredited schools often focus on preparation for the workforce, but Gillespie stresses a greater goal: knowledge of God. It sees education as an instrument for students to understand God's creation, preparing them to meet the philosophical and practical problems of life, and shaping how they view their responsibility as young Christians. With more than 100 students from three different countries – ranging from ages 17 to 24 – having successfully completed the program, Gillespie’s impact is felt far beyond its doors. Rev. Murray sums up the Academy’s mission: "If we believe that there is a God who made everything and hasn’t left us on our own, but has revealed Himself in His Word and through His Son, the Lord Jesus, then that truth impacts every area of life." To learn more about Gillespie Academy, go to GillespieAcademy.ca. The author is a graduate of the Gillespie Academy....

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Politics

A nation needs a conscience too… but does Canada have one?

When we hear the word “conscience,” we typically think of it in relation to an individual’s sense of ethics – the little voice in the back of our head that tells us when we are doing something wrong. We don’t usually think about a “national conscience.” But doesn’t a nation need to have a sense of right and wrong too? Yes, of course! So Canada, as a nation, needs a conscience… but does it have one? It does have Christian citizens who know the truth about the world, and about right and wrong, through Scripture. And God’s people are called to bear witness to His Truth. Christians then, have a calling to be the voice – the conscience – that holds our nation to account. Seeking well-being Of course, when Christians bear witness to the truth, there will be strong reactions to at least some Christian principles. Think of the preamble to the 2021 Canadian law which banned conversion therapy (helping homosexuals convert to heterosexuality), which referred to the “myth” that heterosexuality or one’s biological gender should be preferred to other expressions of gender or sexuality. Or think about reactions to speech that opposes abortion or homosexuality. Increasingly, such speech is limited because some are deeply disturbed by it. This evidences the need for the conscience to be speaking up. We have a much better idea of what would be good for our society and we seek to promote these ideas despite opposition from some. We read in 1 Timothy 2:1-2: “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” As we do so, we seek the well-being of the church, but also of those outside the church. Despite opposition at times, an important way of doing this is by being the conscience of the government. The “conscience of the government” Abraham Kuyper explains that God’s Word directly impacts the conscience of the government for those in government who study the Word and learn from it. But it also impacts the conscience of the government indirectly through four areas of society. These are the Church, the press, public opinion, and world opinion.  The Church cares for its members, who are also citizens of a political community, and encourages them not to ignore civil society. The press either reminds king and country of their duty toward God and His will, or it dulls the conscience by suggesting that you can engage in politics apart from Christ. Public opinion and... …world opinion likewise affect what the government and its people think. In his Christian political manifesto, Our Program, Kuyper writes, “Public opinion exerts influence on the conscience of those in government. If a people is serious, its government cannot be light-hearted. A people that seeks after God cannot be governed unless the sovereign allows himself to be governed by God’s Word. The spirit of a nation and the spirit of its government may be distinct, but they are not hermetically sealed from one another. They interpenetrate.” A government cannot act conscientiously if the people within the nation are not doing so. People influence government. Building on this idea, Kuyper explains, “If a government knows that enacting laws according to the demands of God’s Word will meet with reluctance and resistance, it will be tempted to go astray itself and burn incense before the idols of the day. Conversely, if folk songs and folk sayings, days of prayer and national holidays, petitions and elections encourage a people to raise the level of seriousness, ennoble national life, and praise the Almighty – then it will automatically motivate government, if only to satisfy the nation, to inquire again after the ordinances of God.” Bad government policies do not simply come from the government but are pushed by the people as well. Although law and politics can shape people, they also reflect the prevailing beliefs and attitudes of the people. But this also points to the ways that people influence each other. What individuals and communities do can, as Kuyper puts it, is to “encourage a people to raise the level of seriousness” and motivate government to do the same. In Kuyper’s address at the opening of the Free University of Amsterdam, he explains that when the state limits freedom, it is only an accomplice. The main culprits are the citizens who neglect their duty to use and defend their freedoms. So we have to remember that it’s not just the government’s fault when they overstep their authority or when they enact bad policies. It’s the fault of other “spheres of society” as well who fail to act as the government’s conscience. When the conscience is dulled God often gives people what they want in response to sinful requests and attitudes. Samuel told Israel why they would regret asking for a king like other nations, but the Israelites insisted. And God told Samuel (1 Sam 8:7): “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.” Today, God also often gives people what they want. Canadians ask for abortion, euthanasia, gender ideology, and so much more, and suffer the consequences. The government receives its authority from God, and it is thus bound to His ordinances. The truth of the gospel operates as the conscience of the government. While God’s Word does not speak directly and explicitly about many issues that governments face, the government should be working from principles that stem from God’s Word. Where the government’s conscience is dulled, other segments of society must continue to hold the government and the nation to account. A national conscience William Wilberforce is an example we can be inspired by – this Christian’s persistent advocacy for what was right caused him to be known as the conscience of his nation. Wilberforce is known for his work on the abolition of the slave trade and the “reformation of manners,” referring to his efforts to bring the country back to biblical principles as he combatted some of the particularly immoral social issues in his day. Eric Metaxas, in Amazing Grace, writes: “Wilberforce years later came to be thought of as the ‘conscience’ of the nation. A conscience reminds us of what we already know to be right. Wilberforce realized that Britain was a nation that had effectively lost its conscience or grown deaf to it, that claimed in every outward way to be a Christian nation, but that acted upon principles fundamentally at odds with the Christian view of human beings as immortal creatures, creatures created in the image of God.” Does this sound like Canada? Are we not a nation that has lost its conscience or grown deaf to it? We might appear in some ways to honor God as a nation – think of the acknowledgement of the supremacy of God in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, or the fact that over half of Canadians identify as Christian. But we are a nation that acts on principles at odds with Scripture and devalues creatures created in the image of God. God can work miracles However, change is possible. Metaxas notes that when Wilberforce first became an MP, there were only three devout Christian MPs. Fifty years later, there were nearly two hundred. Wilberforce exemplified what it means to be the conscience of the nation. He spoke up for the vulnerable in his society and called for change, not just in government, but in the hearts of the people of the nation. That speaks to how we too can be the conscience of the nation in Canada today. We begin with prayer, knowing that it is God Who changes our own sinful hearts and the hearts of our neighbors and government. We look to God and seek to be faithful where He has placed us. But we don’t just wait for God to act; we also work. We pray that God will be glorified and that His people will be faithful. And we work for His glory and the good of those around us. We seek to influence government by getting involved, by communicating with our elected representatives, and by voting. We influence our neighbors by living faithfully, sharing the gospel, and informing others about the ways Canada’s conscience has become dull. We do this also within our families, our churches, our workplaces, and any other spheres God has placed us in. Christians are called to be the moral compass of the nation. We have the truth, and we proclaim it to our neighbors and to our governments. That means speaking up for over one hundred thousand children who are aborted every year, for over fifteen thousand Canadians who will be euthanized this year, and for the children who are pressured to change their gender rather than receiving the help they need, among others. Let us pray that the conscience of the nation will be revived and let us continue to seek the peace of the nation where God has placed us. As we pray, let us continue to make every effort to be a faithful conscience of the government. Daniel Zekveld is a Policy Analyst with the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA) Canada (ARPACanada.ca)....

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News

Saturday Selection – Oct 19, 2024

4 minutes of penguins being brave and cool In this clip, penguin chicks jump off a 50-foot cliff for their very first swimming experience. And while, admittedly, some are only doing so because of those jerks in the back pushing, most are up for taking that very brave first step. One of the most remarkable features of early Christian manuscripts The earliest documents show Christian scribes were already showing reverence, in their copying, to the name of Jesus Christ. Is in vitro fertilization (IVF) pro-life? Do you really believe that what you believe is really real? Say that out loud and it is quite the mouthful to consider, but it is an important question for Christians to ask when it comes to the unborn. And that's especially true now, in light of the recent political popularity of IVF, with both Donald Trump, and BC Conservative Party leader John Rustad pledging to make it affordable. The Christian pro-life position is that the unborn's worth – and everyone else's worth too – comes from being made in God's Image (Gen. 1:26-27). This isn't something we grow into, or increase in, but is simply an attribute given by God. That we are all made in God's Image is why the just-conceived embryo is as valuable as the fetus, newborn, toddler, teen, and adult. It is also the only basis for equality. This Christian pro-life position stands in sharp contrast to the world's evaluation of human worth, which bases it on what we can do. They might differ on what exactly we need to be able to do to be worthy of life – some insisting it is consciousness, others saying it is viability, brainwaves, a heartbeat, or being able to feel pain – but in some form or fashion the world says human worth is based on being able to do something and if you can't do it, then you aren't deemed fully human yet. The linked article is an op-ed from a conservative but not Christian publication. What's worth noting is how this "pro-life" piece leaves it as an open question of if we believe that an embryo is a person. I'm not trying to throw this writer under the bus – they are raising an issue that few are willing to even discuss – but read through this asking yourself if, at the end of it, you are left thinking the "discarding" of 1.7 million embryos from 1991-2012 is anywhere near as horrible as the murder of 1.7 million newborn, or elementary-aged, children would be. If you don't – and I'll admit to that feeling too – it is only because you and I don't really believe that what we say we believe about the unborn's worth is really real. But it is real. So we need to stop being doubleminded (1 Kings 18:21, James 4:7-9). There is a pressing need for the Church to speak with clarity against the horrors caused by IVF – especially because conservative leaders might actually listen to us – but God's people will only be able to do so if we're willing to submit our own feelings and thinking to the Lordship of Christ. How the Internet made vibes more important than arguments (10-min read) For Christians, truth must matter. But in our culture, it's all about impressions now: "The vibe world is Memes over messages. Aesthetics over arguments. Relatability over rightness. Feelings over facts. Mood over meaning...If I care about issue X and can find evidence a certain candidate somewhere, at some point, said he shared my view on issue X, I can permit myself to support that candidate (even if elsewhere he said he doesn’t support issue X, or said he supports issue Y that contradicts issue X). Incoherence is an electoral asset in the internet age. What matters more than coherent views is a compelling vibe. Politicians know this...." The seat of scoffers There is a lot of scoffing online because it is easier to tear down than it is to build up. So in your intake of social media, what is your diet of scoffing compared to wisdom? Your sense of hearing is a masterpiece of engineering (6 min) There's nothing to indicate this was made by a Christian, but if evidence alone could change a man's heart, then this video (and the accompanying article – click the title above) most certainly would! This looks at our hearing, and any time we dig down into the workings of our body, God's genius becomes all the more evident the further we explore. Some technical terminology means the video requires a little effort to stick with, but it rewards the investment! ...

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Education

Podcasts to get you educated, not schooled

Only universities give degrees, but you can get an education even while you’re driving, jogging, or mowing the lawn ***** About forty years ago, when I was taking my Bachelor of Education degree at the University of Alberta, I got schooled, but not all that educated. I was schooled in both senses of the word – both getting some training in how to teach, and just plain made to feel like a fool. GETTING SCHOOLED AT A SECULAR U My “Educational Foundations” professor was, I found out, a lapsed Catholic, and proselytizing atheist. I’d met atheists before – kids in my neighborhood as I grew up – but never one who was educated and articulate and eager to use class time to pitch his anti-Christian worldview. My instructor seemed pretty confident about his atheism, and that left me shook. And it got me studying how to better understand the Christian worldview and be able to defend it. This self-study is really where my education started. My actual education degree never did set me up well to make year plans (the first thing a teacher needs to start organizing the courses they teach), but the very secular university’s library thankfully included several books on worldview and apologetics. I started my defense of my faith in two different libraries – the university’s, and also my dad’s much better stocked basement bookshelves (better in quality, if not in quantity). In short, while university did not educate me well, it did provoke me (and even equip me, to some degree) to educate myself. Could that happen now? It seems doubtful. I wonder whether the university library would still stock books as useful as the ones I took out to learn more about the Christian worldview. As well, how many (even lapsed) Catholics or Christians of any kind are still teaching in secular universities? Even if you wanted to build up your faith in university, you would still face the monumental challenge of trying to absorb solid Christian teaching while (as I had to do at some points) reading (and taking notes on!?) fifty pages a night from the secular textbooks mandated for the courses you were taking. GETTING AN AUDIO EDUCATION So, how now shall we learn? If you don’t need or want post-secondary education, or you’re finished yours, and (like all of us), your time is limited, and (like many of us), you’re “not a reader” (!?) then what? How can you get not schooled, but educated? One answer has been promoted by Jordan Peterson, who believes that this generation could be the best educated in history, because we have access to the internet, and through it, to podcasts and videos from the best thinkers of our day. One way to see the potential advantages of Peterson’s suggestion is to compare this method of self-education with one from a hundred years ago. The Everyman’s Library book collection started in 1906 to promote the reading of classic literature. One obvious advantage of internet education over Everyman’s Library is cost. The cheapest volume I could find from Everyman’s had a price of £10.99 or roughly $20 Canadian. Meanwhile podcasts and YouTube videos are free (although there is always more material behind a subscription paywall!). The second advantage of education online is the time involved. Although I can always find time to read a book (brushing your teeth, during breakfast…), reading generally demands exclusive attention, while “talking head” videos and podcasts can be heard while you are otherwise active (of course, not while juggling or other involved activities). It is worth noting that audio books have the same advantage. The final advantage of internet learning over the Everyman’s Library is the sheer volume of material on the internet. Of course, that can be pretty overwhelming; hence the list of great places to listen below. DISTRACTION VS. EDUCATION A couple words of caution are warranted. First, the internet can be a dangerous place to spend your time, even when you are getting educated. It’s easy to go down rabbit trails, because everything connects to everything else. The very fact that book learning involves more commitment in time and money tends to promote greater care in the selection of authors and their work. As we often hear about grocery shopping, stick to your list. Browsing the internet may not be as expensive as browsing the supermarket, but it is potentially at least as great a waste of time. Secondly, let me offer a word about “outrage porn.” Podcasts and video creators make money on getting more clicks and longer time on their platforms from their audience, and one sure way to do that is to stoke our anger…. but God warns us against both anger and worry about things that we have no power to change. James exhorts us to be “slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:19-20), while Christ, who is Himself “gentle and lowly” (unlike many podcasters), asks, “which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Matt. 11:29, 6:27). A good rule of thumb is to focus on podcasts or YouTube channels that bring an appreciation of God’s glory in creation and redemption into your life, that make you more effective in your service to God and your neighbor, or that equip you to be salt and light in a society that desperately needs both, and needs even more the Christ that they deny. 6 TO START WITH With all that said, here are half a dozen great bets for your internet time. Click on the headings below for links to their respective websites. 1. Real Talk Let’s begin with what might already be near and dear to RP readers: Real Talk, which you can also find on our own Reformed Perspective app. The two hosts have settled into a great rhythm, with over 100 episodes behind them. When the podcast started in July 2020, both Lucas Holtvlüwer and Tyler Vanderwoude appeared together to interview guests with extensive practical experience in such areas as Christian education and the missional church, with feedback every second episode. As time went on, each became more confident to host certain episodes solo, and the feedback episodes are now called “Real Talk Roundup” and feature other RP personalities, best book lists, and other highlights, with recent topics of real relevance, like “Death and Dying” and “Parenting and Pornography.” You can find them on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Amazon, Spotify, and www.RealTalkPodcast.ca. 2. Two Stewards For more Canadian content, check out the Two Stewards. As the homepage says, they explore “money, economics, real estate investing and more from a Christian worldview.” Although the podcast opens with the warning that Mark Krikke and Brent Vanderwoude are not giving professional financial advice, the listening enjoyment they do provide is packed with plenty of insight. For example, they rightly saw the latest hostility to giving your children an inheritance as motivated by covetousness, and contradicting the Biblical commendation for “ good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children” (Prov. 13:22). Wisdom backed up by God’s Word combined with good-natured banter between the two stewards (and with their guests) makes this podcast both entertaining and thought-provoking. Find them on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. 3. The Briefing… and more While Albert Mohler, a Southern Baptist, has experienced his share of controversy, his website has a wealth of listenable resources: •    The Briefing – Mohler’s take on the day •    Thinking in Public – roughly hour-long interviews with noted Christian and/or conservative writers •    Speaking and Teaching – shorter takes on a variety of Christian and current topics •    and clips from his “Ask Anything” tours. These can all be found on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, and AlbertMohler.com. 4. Ligonier From a solidly Reformed (and generally paedobaptist) perspective, Ligonier Ministries has even more resources than Mohler, some of them current, and many more in archives: seven different podcasts of varying frequencies, at least 545 sermons from the late R.C. Sproul, daily videos on doctrinal issues, and more than 100 teaching series from multiple teachers (with multiple videos in each series) all of which are available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Ligonier Ministries also has a YouTube channel that includes enlightening and sometimes entertaining clips of question-and-answer sessions from Ligonier Ministries conferences, with answers from such well-known writers and speakers as Stephen Nichols and Sinclair Ferguson. 5. Breakpoint this Week Another solidly Christian organization, Breakpoint Ministries gives you several ways to get educated while listening, including the daily Breakpoint Podcast and a podcast called Breakpoint This Week – with a focus on applying Christian worldview to current events and trends. A recent daily podcast applied the Biblical command to “bear one another’s burdens” to the stress of intensive parenting, while the September 13 weekly podcast discussed, among other topics, abortion distortions in the presidential debate and the younger generation’s view of 9/11. Breakpoint This Week can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. 6. Created to Reign The Cornwall Alliance has a solidly Christian perspective on economic and environmental stewardship, as is evidenced in their multitude of current articles. That worldview is evident in their podcast too, hosted by Dr. E. Calvin Beisner and Dr. David Legates, and titled Created to Reign. Two recent episodes of Created to Reign explained why free markets are generally not only more effective in helping the poor, but more just. Find it on Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Podcasts....

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Internet

Stop swiping, start serving

Romans 13:13 in the age of online escapism ***** I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that in the past few weeks, you have probably not gotten rip-roaring drunk nor participated in a debauched drinking party. You have probably not given yourself over to rampant sexual immorality or a life obsessed with sensuality. At least, I hope not. I raise these particular issues because Paul raises them in his letter to the Romans. As he helps the Christians in Rome understand how the gospel is meant to work itself out in life, he lists three pairs of sins that are unfitting for Christians. “Let us walk properly as in the daytime,” he says, “not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy” (Rom. 13:13). It seems to me that if he went to the trouble of listing such sins, we should go to the trouble of considering them – and not only as vague representative sins that other people may be tempted to commit, but as actual sins that may be present in your life and mine, whether subtly or explicitly. Using rather than loving It is my understanding that what binds these sins together is that they are a failure to love. After all, Paul makes clear that the great implication of the gospel he has outlined in the opening chapters of Romans is love! Your duty, your calling, your responsibility, your privilege is to love others as a display of God’s love for you. And each of these sins represents a failure to do so. And so you can’t love others when your life is marked by drunkenness or partying. And what stands behind these sins is a desire for escapism. It could be bingeing on alcohol or on Netflix, on video games, or on social media – whatever causes you to lose control of your time and devote too much of it to pursuits that are ultimately vain and distracting. If you are utterly devoted to addictive substances or addictive entertainment, that will necessarily diminish your willingness and ability to love others. You also can’t love others when you’re given over to sexual immorality and sensuality. By definition, when you commit sexual immorality you are using other people instead of loving them. You become captivated by that sin so that your focus in life becomes satisfying yourself instead of blessing others. Quarrelsome much? And then you can’t love others when you are quarrelsome or jealous. That’s because you are failing to love others with your words and attitude. I think I’ve met more quarrelsome people in Reformed churches than anywhere else in the world. Quarrelsome people usually think they are wise or discerning or otherwise gifted by God, but more often they are prideful and rebellious. They get pleasure from an argument, they gain satisfaction from playing devil’s advocate. And often at the root of it is jealousy – they are jealous of what other people are or what other people have. If that’s you, you need to consider that being quarrelsome is not some minor peccadillo, but a major transgression that is listed alongside drunkenness and adultery. You need to put such sins to death and direct your passion, your time, and your intensity to loving other people and devoting yourself to their good. Wasted potential I recently found myself pondering this: How many men could be serving as elders in any given church, except that they have sold themselves out to sexual immorality? Or how many men and women could be serving as deacons in any given church (if that church opens the office of deacon to women), except that they’ve devoted vast amounts of time to hobbies or games that just don’t matter that much? Or how many church members could be leading important ministries, except that they spend hours on social media thinking that some daft controversy on Twitter in any way impacts the real world? And all the while there are people right before them who need to be loved and cared for and shepherded. The local church desperately needs qualified elders, committed deacons, and faithful ministry leaders, but so many have disqualified themselves. What does it say about you if you know more about the controversies in the wider church than the needs in your local church? Hear it from me: the real troubles of the real people in your real church have nothing to do with what happens on Twitter or YouTube. The more time you spend clicking and scrolling and swiping, the less you’ve got to give to the people you have covenanted with, the people you can actually impact, the people who need to be loved. Your church needs people who are experts in love, not experts in controversy and celebrity. Put away whatever is captivating you when you should be captivated by Christ. Stop swiping and start serving! Indulgent sins, sexual sins, social sins – all these are a failure to love. If you’re in bondage to any of these sins, plead with God for his help in putting it to death. But don’t stop there. Consider how as you labor to diminish the power of that sin in your life, you will at the same time increase love in your life. Consider how you can replace self-indulgence with expressing love to others, self-centeredness with a life of blessing and serving others. For this is why God made you, why he called you, and why he saved you – so you could live a life of doing good to others for the glory of his name. This first appeared on Challies.com and is reprinted here with the author’s permission....

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