Articles

Browse select Tabletalk articles and columns exploring themes and topics across a spectrum of relevant issues.

Topics

  • What Is the Church? by R.C. Sproul

    Paul gives great attention to ecclesiology, the doctrine of the church, in his letter to the Ephesians. In fact, we could say Ephesians answers this question: What is the church? In Ephesians 2:19–22, the chief metaphor Paul uses is that …Read More

  • The Need for Rural Ministry by Kyle Borg

    In the evening glow of the setting sun, I can stand on my front step and gaze down the street, taking in the full length and width of the community I am glad to call home. Fading letters that almost …Read More

  • The Members of the Church by Julius J. Kim

    According to one dictionary, an oxymoron is defined as “a combination of contradictory or incongruous words,” such as “cruel kindness” or “sweet sorrow.” Is “churchless Christian” an oxymoron? Though the Bible does not have one specific verse that states unequivocally …Read More

  • Christ Will Build His Church by David Stoddard

    Europe is the new “dark continent.” Africa now sends more missionaries to Europe than Europe sends to Africa. The health reports of the European church aren’t terribly encouraging. Churches are closing and are being converted into mosques, museums, bars, and …Read More

  • Keys of the Kingdom by Guy Waters

    For many Christians, mentioning the “keys of the kingdom” calls to mind the extravagant claims of the Roman Catholic Church for the papacy. Protestants justifiably shrink from such claims. In Matthew 16:19, Jesus is addressing Peter, but He is not …Read More

  • Ministry in the Capital: An Interview with Mark Dever by Mark Dever

    Tabletalk: How did Capitol Hill Baptist Church begin, and how were you called to minister there? Mark Dever: In 1867, Celestia Ferris, chief washer-woman at the Bureau of Engraving, started a prayer meeting on Capitol Hill. By 1876, this prayer …Read More

  • The Centrality of the Church by Sean Michael Lucas

    “For those to whom [God] is Father the church may also be Mother,” John Calvin observed in his Institutes (4.1.1). A few paragraphs later, he teases out what this metaphor means. God uses the church to bring us into spiritual …Read More

  • Good News for the Poor: An Interview with Mez McConnell by Mez McConnell

    Tabletalk: How did you become a Christian? How are you serving God in Scotland? Mez McConnell: I grew up in Ireland in the foster care system for most of my early life. In my teens, one of my friends died …Read More

  • Historical and Theological Foundations by Keith Mathison

    According to some estimates, there are more than one hundred thousand distinct parachurch organizations in the United States alone. Parachurch organizations are typically defined as Christian organizations that exist alongside (para) the local church without being under the oversight of …Read More

  • “All Nations” and Church Planting by Ed Stetzer

    The Great Commission. Neither the words “great” nor “commission” are in the text, but the descriptor fits. This “authoritative order, charge, or direction” is “unusually large, extreme, and notable” (borrowing phrases from textbook definitions of both words). But why? The …Read More

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