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Category Archives: Pastoral Theology
Is Baptism a Converting Ordinance?
From A Speech that was to have been delivered to the members of the Warfield List March 10, 2004 In a letter to Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great 19th century Scottish Presbyterian Pastor and Theologian John “Rabbi” Duncan wrote, regarding … Continue reading
Posted in Baptism, Children, Ecclesiology, Pastoral Theology, Sacraments, The Means of Grace, The Puritans
Tagged Baptism, Doug Wilson, Federal Vision, Infant Baptism, Means of Grace, Old School Presbyterianism, Ordinances, Presbyterian, Presbyterianism, Puritans, Sacerdotalism, Sacramentalism, Sacraments, Westminster Standards
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True Shepherds in a Time of Plague
In 1665 Bubonic Plague, the “Black Death” as it was called at the time, broke out in the city of London, and thousands died. Almost immediately, the royalty left the city, followed quickly by the rich, and then as one … Continue reading
Posted in Charity, Encouragement, History, Pastoral Theology, The Puritans
Tagged 1665, black death, Bubonic Plague, Church Services, compassion, Corona Virus, Covid-19, Death, London, plague, Puritans, sickness, sympathy
3 Comments
An Open Reply to Jemar Tisby and “The Downside of Integration for Black Christians”
Dear Jemar, I recently read your article entitled, “The Downside of Integration for Black Christians” which was posted on the RAAN Network on August 21, 2017 and I’d really like to engage you more on this particular subject. All too … Continue reading
Teaching Children About Perversion from the Pulpit
The other day after watching the news, my nine year old daughter asked me what “pre-operative transgender children” were. I seriously doubt that the conversation that resulted would have been necessary twenty years ago, but how many of us, 20 … Continue reading
7 Reasons Christians Should STAY On Facebook
I read a lot of messages encouraging people to leave Facebook (and other social networks) these days and in partial answer to those calls, I wanted to outline 7 Reasons I believe Christians should STAY on Facebook. I hope this … Continue reading
Why Do Pastors Get Depressed?
The faithful preacher lives a life filled with melancholy – one cannot read the writings of Jeremiah or Paul, or the biographies of men like Luther and Calvin and Edwards and not recognize that they were often struggling with Depression. … Continue reading
Samuel Miller’s Pastoral Theology
My own first contact with Samuel Miller, Old Princeton’s Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Church Government, came many years ago when I read an essay that had a quote from his “Presbyterianism The Truly Primitive and Apostolical Constitution of the … Continue reading
Posted in Church Planting, Ecclesiology, History, Officer Training, Old School Presbyterian Churches, Ordination, Pastoral Theology, Pastoral Visitation, Seminary Education, Spiritual Declension, Spiritual Gifts, Worship
Tagged Ministerial Training, Old Princeton, Old School Presbyterians, preaching, Samuel Miller, Seminary, The Ruling Elder
2 Comments
Charles Haddon Spurgeon on How Ministers Should Dress
The question is often raised about how Reformed ministers should dress in the pulpit. We have “Missional” pastors who will spend a fortune to affect a carefully arranged “grunge preacher” look, and then we have “high-church” reverends who prefer to look … Continue reading
Common Problems In Modern Preaching
Since my conversion in 1993, I’ve listened to a lot of sermons, ancient and modern, reformed and non-reformed, and I’ve noticed that every age in the church has had its own persistent problems in preaching – for instance ancient sermons … Continue reading
The Deceiver’s Top Ten Tips For Making Sure You and Your Family Have a Miserable And Fruitless Experience in Church this Sunday
If you’ve been a Christian for any period of time at all, you may have noticed that the more time you spend in church, the harder it is to fit in and feel comfortable with non-believers or to really enjoy … Continue reading
Posted in Apostasy, Compromise, Old School Presbyterian Churches, Pastoral Theology, Piety, Sanctification, Spiritual Declension, The Means of Grace, The Sabbath, Virtual Church, Worship
Tagged Apostasy, Backsliding, Deceiver, Devil, Going to Church, Hypocrisy, Lack of Growth, Lord's Day, Means of Grace, Sabbath, Satan, Spiritual Immaturity, Sunday
8 Comments
A Reflection on the Superbowl…
“The attachment many Americans now have to sports teams far exceeds attachment to religious faith—any religious faith.” – Al Mohler Driving home from church on Sunday Night was eerie, it was a huge contrast to the heavy traffic we normally … Continue reading
Posted in Compromise, Pastoral Theology, Sports, The Sabbath, Theological Declension
Tagged America, Church, Football, Hoiliday, Lord's Day, Sabbath, Sports, Sunday, Superbowl, Theology
1 Comment
The Self Promoting Pastor – “If Angels Could Weep, It Would Be At Folly Like This”
John Brown of Edinburgh (1784-1853) offers the following sound advice to pastors in his commentary on Galatians. It seems particularly apt in our age of celebrity pastors and evangelists: “Egotism, or a disposition to bring forward a person’s self, is … Continue reading
Posted in Pastoral Theology, Preaching
Tagged Celebrity Pastors, Cult of Personality, Egotism, Narcissism
2 Comments
A Tip For Pastors – Sometimes Your Best Resource is a Motel Owner
If you’re like me, you get many calls from people seeking assistance. Sometimes they are looking for food, money, rides, or help paying for rent and electricity. The hardest part of this process is is figuring out if you are … Continue reading
Posted in Charity, Deacons, Pastoral Theology
Tagged advice, charity, con-artists, deacons, grifters, hacks, pastor, scammers, tips
2 Comments
8 Pieces of Advice for Christians Who are Considering Moving
1) Have an eternal perspective when it comes to moving. Follow the example of the Apostolic church and put prayer, preaching, and the fellowship of the saints ahead of career and possessions. That means always being part of a church … Continue reading
Posted in Children, Marriage, Pastoral Theology, Piety, The Means of Grace
Tagged career choices, Christians, church hopping, finding a church, following Christ, moving, sacrifice
5 Comments
The Problem with Problems
I wrote the following 11 points a while back as reminders to myself. I meant them to be applied to my own pastoral ministry, but they strike me as equally applicable to everyone: When your ministry (or life) is full … Continue reading
Posted in Encouragement, Pastoral Theology, Piety, Reflections
Tagged Blessings, Challenges, Courage, Depression, Difficulties, Faith, Gospel, Help, Hope, Life, Ministry, Prayer, Problems, Reminders, Self-Pity
1 Comment
Can Reformed Baptists Join Old School Presbyterian Churches?
It is almost inevitable that Old School Presbyterian (OSP) church planters will have people from differing theological backgrounds visiting their congregations, and some of the most common visitors will be Reformed Baptists. Obviously having Reformed Baptists (RBs) visit your congregation … Continue reading
“Building an Old School Church” Conference (10/17/09)
On Saturday, October 17th Providence PCA in Fayetteville, NC will be hosting a one day conference entitled “Building an Old School Church”. In an age when many churches seek to mimic the culture as closely as possible, Old School Presbyterian … Continue reading
Recommended Reading “What is Biblical Preaching?” by Eric Alexander
Pastors are sometimes more reticent than reporters when it comes to revealing their sources. But I’ll go ahead and and let you know that I first encountered EM Bound’s advice regarding the link between the pastor’s piety and the power … Continue reading
E.M. Bounds on the Kind of Man Preachers Need to Be
It was Robert Murray M’Cheyne who penned the immortal lines “It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.” That sentiment remains just … Continue reading
Advice to Old School Teachers and Pastors – Be Clear!
Should the teaching of a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ be clear and easy to understand or difficult and inscrutable to fathom? Should understanding his teaching require that one have at the very least a post-graduate degree and copious … Continue reading
Coming Next Year: BOSC Church Planting Conference!
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, For some time now, I’ve wanted to put together a conference specifically aimed at planting and building Old School Presbyterian Churches and it looks like we will finally be able to host such a … Continue reading
J.I. Packer on Puritan Preaching
Over the next few months it’s my intention (D.V.) to post links to helpful audio resources on the subject of Pastoral ministry. I’d like to start by posting a link to an amazingly helpful lecture by J.I. Packer on preaching … Continue reading
The Loneliness of the Old School Pastor
Those of you who are pastors or elders of old school conviction may already be very familiar with the experience of ministerial loneliness. This is not a loneliness that comes because of a lack of friends or family, but rather … Continue reading
“Thoughts on Ministerial Education and Preparation” by Dr. C.N. Willborn
Intro: A little while ago, I asked Dr. Nick Willborn of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (GPTS) if he would mind writing something for the Building Old School Churches Blog on the critical subject of Theological education. He graciously consented to … Continue reading
On Deciding Whether A Child is Ready to Receive the Lord’s Supper
One of the responsibilities of sessions is determining whether a non-communing child is now ready to receive the Lord’s Supper. Over the years, it has become the custom in many Reformed churches, even Old School Presbyterian (OSP) ones, to assume … Continue reading
Posted in Children, Ecclesiology, Pastoral Theology, Sacraments, The Means of Grace
8 Comments
Mark Dever Asks a Good Question
If you aren’t familiar with Pastor Mark Dever’s “Nine Marks” organization, you should be. Nine Marks exists to: “cultivate and encourage churches characterized by these nine marks: Expositional Preaching, Biblical Theology, Biblical Understanding of the Good News, Biblical Understanding of … Continue reading
Posted in Ecclesiology, Pastoral Theology
2 Comments
Westminster Shorter Catechism Audio Online
I want to recommend a wonderful resource being made available by Immanuel Presbyterian Church, an Old School Presbyterian congregation in Norfolk, VA. Immanuel is making the entire Westminster Shorter Catechism available for download in high quality MP3 format. While this … Continue reading
Ancient Answers to Modern Church Problems
In First Corinthians the apostle Paul wrote what was probably one of the most difficult letters of his life, he was writing to a church that was in crisis, in every sense. There was no unity and mutual love in … Continue reading
What Makes a Good Elder
If you aren’t familiar with John Piper, you really should be. Piper is a Baptist Pastor, and Reformed, and he has written some amazingly insightful books. He has quite an ability to draw out and write on the experiential or … Continue reading
A Word of Encouragement for Dejected Pastors
In 1660 Charles the Second was restored to the throne of England, and the Puritan revolution in England came to a decisive end. Two years later in 1662 the act of uniformity was passed requiring that all the ministers of … Continue reading
Building Old School Churches 