Maybe it’s just me but does it seem as if many are saying that no one has been “sensitive” to “seekers” until the end of the twentieth century? One gets the feeling from such writers that until recently most Christian evangelism was overly aggressive, mean-spirited, and did everything possible to turn sinners off to the […]
You are browsing archives for
Author: Rick Shrader
The Thesis or Antithesis? (part 3)
This is the third article in a series having to do with a comparison between conservative and contemporary churches. Labels are often unfortunate because contemporary churches may also call themselves fundamental or conservative in certain ways. They usually mean that they are conservative in their list of “doctrinal” beliefs although other beliefs about biblical practices […]
The Thesis or Antithesis? (part 2)
I began last month pointing out the increasing differences between the conservative and contemporary churches. I have tried to spend more time describing the conservative resurgence rather than the contemporary departure (but it has been difficult). This will be a continuation of those descriptions. I have titled these things with the words “Thesis” and “Antithesis” […]
The Thesis or Antithesis? (part 1)
The difference between the conservative and contemporary churches are becoming more evident. A recent pamphlet titled, “Is Your Church Going Purpose Driven?”1 lists 24 visible “signs” that begin to happen when a ministry is in the process of moving from traditional to contemporary. Many people I know who have experienced this kind of change readily […]
For Children and Students and Other Wear...
“There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We would be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering, through meditation on His Word, spiritual strength for labor in His service.”1 Charles Spurgeon A father finds many occasions to give advice to his […]
Can God Stop Evil?
Can God Stop Evil? By Rick Shrader rhaps the most frequently asked question by skeptics today is why God allows evil to exist. From the holocaust to Columbine to 9-11, it has become more common and even acceptable to question why a good God allows human beings to suffer. In 1965 Stewart Zabriskie wrote, […]
Worshippers Who Also Come To Church
I have often said to the people I pastor, “We do not come together to worship; we are worshipers who come together.” Though we use the vernacular “coming to worship” to mean “coming to church,” we must have a better understanding of where and how the real worship is taking place. We know these things, […]
Your Body: the temple of the Holy Spiri...
What! Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and ye are not your own? (1 Cor. 6:19). The Apostle’s question is as relevant today as ever, perhaps more so. Most of us can remember seeing pictures of the “heathen” in […]
The Nicolaitans Today
The job of doing Bible exposition not only involves interpretation (finding what the passage means) and illustration (highlighting the meaning with real life situations) but also application (exhortations to action based on the truths found in the text). The application of a text can easily be ignored because this is the harder thing to do. […]
The Disinterested and Complacent Love of...
The older writers often used terminology in a way that sounds odd to us. Two common theological descriptions of God’s love include “disinterested benevolence” and “complacent love.” They sound odd to us only because we tend to think of both of these terms in a negative way. To be “disinterested” to us would be to […]