My wife miscarried in early 2013, which led us to wrestle with the question, “Where is God in the midst of suffering?” It is not easy. If anything else, however, Christianity is a religion which causes you to wrestle through such questions because at the center of the faith is the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.…
A Shot of Faith to the Head: A (Kind of) Review
A (kind of) review of A Shot of Faith to the Head by Mitch Stokes. This book unnerved me. In a good way. But it still unnerved me. Because it challenged much of what I believed about we as humans know stuff. One challenge to belief in God is “show me.” As in, show me the evidence…
A Slap to Our (Individualistic) Faces
The prevailing view of life today is that of an individual standing on his or her own, heroically juggling various responsibilities—family, friendships, career, leisure, chores, and money…From time to time the pressures overwhelm us and we drop one or more of the balls. All too often church becomes one of those balls…An alternative model is…
Grow Your Community Group: 15 Ideas for “Off” Weeks
The Community Groups at Lincroft Bible Church meet twice per month. As groups pastor, I believe that every model and method has its pros and cons. For our busy Northeastern culture, having groups twice a month has some distinct advantages. One of those is that it gives great flexibility and freedom to the group leaders. They can…
What Does it Mean to be “Biblical”?
In order to be biblical in our theology we must take seriously what Scripture claims to be. What, then, does Scripture claim for itself?...We affirm that Scripture is God's Word written, the product of God's mighty action through the Word and by the Holy Spirit whereby human authors freely wrote exactly what God intended to…
Jesus Is the Temple (and so much more)
Old Testament “Shadow” Fulfillment in Christ The Priesthood Christ is the True, Eternal Priest “The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently” (Hebrews 7:23-24) The Sacrifices Christ brought in…
When Theology is Not Theology
Some claim we need those who are intentionally 'on a par' with academic theologians in our universities to engage with contemporary theological issues. To a large extent, however, contemporary theology is pursued by people who make no pretense of being 'Christian,' working in non-confessional institutions. If true theology is the fruit of engagement with the…
Tips for Reading Bible Prophecy
This summer at Lincroft Bible Church, we’re walking through the book of Daniel chapter-by-chapter in a series called “Exiled: Faith in a Faithless World.” Like Daniel, God’s church is living within a foreign culture as an ambassador to His kingdom. The book of Daniel teaches us how to live faithfully amidst the temptations, pressures, and…
What does Laziness Look Like?
Laziness is hard to see in ourselves, because--like greed and envy--it really begins as an inner disposition. For example, the difference between a lazy person laying on the couch, and someone simply resting on the couch is probably two-fold: inner motivation and the context of someone's overall life. Why are you sitting on the couch?…
80-For-80 Initiative: 7/2-7/6
The 80-For-80 Initiative is 80 days of prayer for 80% of the church in Community Groups WEDNESDAY, 7/2 Who to Pray for: CG Leaders, Mike & Melissa Tomasulo Pray that they would grow in their love for God's people Pray for wisdom as the disciple their children Pray for spiritual insight into their CG members' lives…
Raising Lazarus 