I began reading the Bible for myself as a 12-year-old. I had read parts of the Bible before as a younger child and had even memorized Romans 12 as a 9-year-old boy for camp, but I had never attempted to read through the whole Bible before the summer…
In the last decade or so it has become increasingly common for younger pastors to start off as church planters or revitalizers. Whatever wisdom and benefit there may be in this development, it does come at a particular cost. Many pastors today have…
There are a number of words and expressions used within the wider Christian world that need to be explained to the modern-day inquirer. Near the head of that list would be the expression “the fear of the Lord”. Whatever that means, it is clearly…
God’s command to utterly and entirely destroy the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15 has been a cause of stumbling for many Bible readers over the years. The command itself leaves little room for compassion or mercy:
After the service on Sunday a lady from our church asked me a very interesting question. She had heard me say two things that can be difficult to reconcile in our minds. I had said:
“It is sin that ultimately blocks us from receiving the blessings…
The Apostle John is the only New Testament author to use the term “antichrist” or any derivative thereof. John uses the terms “antichrist”, “antichrists” and “the spirit of antichrist” for a total of 5 references in his epistles.
In 2011, when our journey of reform began, I (Paul) was 37 and Marc was 36. We were both young senior pastors, and for better or worse, we grew up in an atmosphere of conflict. I think Marc was better at it than I was. I was the writer and he was the…
In 2013 Marc Bertrand and I (Paul Carter) co-founded a renewal movement called CLRA (pronounced like the lady’s name “Clara”) within the CBOQ (Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec). Our goal was to call our association back to its historical…
I have long been an admirer of the Independent (Baptist?) author John Bunyan. His Pilgrim’s Progress, Grace Abounding and Holy War have been frequent companions. However, I only recently had occasion to read Of Antichrist And His Ruin. The following…
As a 48-year-old man, I’ve reached that stage of my life where I spend a fair bit of time looking backward, attempting to discern the movement and patterns of God’s providence. I now see several key influences and a handful of critical turning points…
