Unregrettable, Hard Words by Burk Parsons

2 Corinthians 7:8–9 “For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it …Read More

Too Good to Be True? by Robert Strimple

FROM TABLETALK | April 2010

In 1935 I was baptized and then raised in one of the largest “mainline” Protestant denominations. But by age twelve I was so disappointed with the pastors sent to us, all preaching the old liberalism so popular in those years …Read More

The Missing Motive by Eric Alexander

FROM TABLETALK | February 2010

I am notoriously bad at remembering anniversaries, and last year it was quite a surprise to discover that 2008 marked the fiftieth anniversary of my ordination to the Christian ministry. Not that the occasion was other than memorable. Indeed it …Read More

Anti-Shepherds by George Grant

FROM TABLETALK | February 2011

Our Dear Asag, Remember: our abysmal sublimity does not so much want to tear down “godly” ways as to build up his own. From the apex of temptation in the garden to the present, his conspiratorial plot has always been …Read More

Self-Centered Sermons by Sean Michael Lucas

FROM TABLETALK | February 2011

Our Son in the Unfaith, We see that you are making progress with your charge. We applaud you for that. The enemy has enough minions preaching His infernal Word faithfully; to see this one begin to totter and swerve from …Read More

Ministering by the Life-Giving Spirit by David Hall

FROM TABLETALK | March 2011

Following a 1970s Jesus Movement conversion, I served in youth ministry, where I subjected poor students to nearly every fad imaginable — all, I told myself, to have young people come to Christ. I then served as a pastor, an office …Read More

An Outpost of Jesus’ Kingdom: An Interview with Mark Driscoll by Mark Driscoll

FROM TABLETALK | May 2011

Tabletalk: What do you believe is the ultimate purpose of the church? Mark Driscoll: The biblical marks of the church universally and its expressions locally are many (for example, the Word, sacraments, discipline, discipleship, mission/evangelism, love), but their overarching …Read More

Apostolic Anxiety by Kevin DeYoung

FROM TABLETALK | August 2011

Second Corinthians 11:28 always seemed like a strange verse to me — until I became a pastor. Here’s Paul, rattling off all the ways he’s been beat up for Jesus — imprisonments, lashes, rods, stonings, shipwrecks, drifting at sea …Read More

Happy Pastors by C.J. Mahaney

FROM TABLETALK | September 2011

As the star of the television series Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe suits up and labors in some of the most dirty and dangerous work environments possible. To date, he hasn’t tried pastoring. But pastoring qualifies as a dirty job …Read More

The Pastor and the Funeral by Harry Reeder

FROM TABLETALK | October 2011

The subject I have been asked to write about was one of my greatest fears upon entrance into pastoral ministry. But today I consider it one of my greatest privileges. Why? Because of the historicity and glorious message of the …Read More

From Pastor to President: An Interview with Philip Graham Ryken by Philip Ryken

FROM TABLETALK | November 2011

Tabletalk: How did you make the difficult decision to leave the pastorate and enter the academy as president of Wheaton College? Philip Graham Ryken: When the time finally came, making the decision was unexpectedly easy. Eventually God’s will became …Read More

It’s Not About You by Eric Landry

FROM TABLETALK | March 2012

After a particularly difficult marriage counseling session early in my first year of ministry, I called a mentor to debrief and decompress. He patiently heard me out and then offered a convicting assessment: “It sounds as if you’re more …Read More

The Coming of the Kingdom by R.C. Sproul

FROM TABLETALK | March 2012

The gospel of Mark is notable for its lack of extended accounts of Jesus’ teaching. Furthermore, Mark gives us noticeably fewer parables than do Matthew and Luke. However, in chapter 4 of his gospel, Mark records four parables. He begins …Read More

The Heresy of Self-Centeredness by John MacArthur

FROM TABLETALK | March 2012

Self-centeredness has no place in the church. That ought to go without saying. But from the dawn of the Apostolic era until today, self-love in all its forms has plagued the fellowship of the saints. A classic early example of …Read More

The Pastor – His Identity and Authority by John White

We have ceased to think theologically about the ministry. Instead, we characterize it almost exclusively in functional or institutional terms. There are at least two reasons for this shift in emphasis. On the one hand there are the new developments …Read More