Union with Christ is one of the most essential theological categories in the New Testament. And it may be one of the most overlooked.

Sensing a need, over the last 12 months a flurry of books on union have been sent to press and the latest is by Australian theologian Constantine Campbell. His new 480-page book, Paul and Union with Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study, was released last week by Zondervan. Dr. Campbell’s book is thorough in its exegesis of biblical texts, meticulous in its organization and structure, and encyclopedic in its scope. Paul and Union with Christ is certain to become a standard work.

We recently put Dr. Campbell on the line from his office in Sydney, Au…

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Men in the church don't read well.

I don’t have statistics or studies to prove this. My conclusion draws from my experience, and from educated intuition. I recently discussed this conclusion with Albert Mohler, and he agreed, "It's a very correct and perceptive intuition." So that's something.

Of course, not all Christian men struggle with reading. Many men in the pews are very competent readers, and the church is stronger for it.

But many Christian men do struggle with reading. Here are four reasons why:

1. Men don’t read books because they don’t know where to begin. We live in a golden age of book publishing, which is great for the avid reader — but is overwhelming for many men.
2. Men…

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If you could step back from the noise and busyness — if you could, even for just a moment, get a panoramic snapshot of the Christian life — it would look like 2 Thessalonians 1:11–12.

John Piper explains the picture,

Everything [in the Christian life] flows from the free grace of God in Christ. And everything is moving toward the fullest glory of God in us and through us. And between the foundation of grace and the goal of glory there is the power of grace daily arriving in our lives through faith, turning daily resolves and plans and purposes into deeds of faith, fitting us for glory.

Having preached this passage first in 1985, Piper freshly engages these truths again and des…

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It’s been ten years since the publication of the book Brothers, We Are Not Professionals. Nothing has happened in the last ten years to make me think this book is less needed. In fact, instead of going away, the pressure to “professionalize” the pastorate has morphed and strengthened.

Among younger pastors, the talk is less about therapeutic and managerial professionalization, and more about communication or contextualization. The language of “professionalization” is seldom used in these regards, but there is quiet pressure felt by many pastors: Be as good as the professional media folks, especially the cool anti-heroes and the most subtle comedians.

The New Professionalism

This is not…

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One of the high points of the recent "Works of God" conference was Krista Horning's testimony. She began with the question, "How do I live with disability?" Then in eight minutes straight she exults in what God says to her in his word.

Stream or download "Krista Horning's Testimony."

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Check out Krista's book, Just the Way I Am. The remaining audio and video from the conference will be posted shortly.

On January 4, 2011, on Twitter, Pastor John wrote:

Marriage. The roots are deep. The covenant is solid. The love is sweet. Life is hard. And God is good.

The quote is a rewrite of what Pastor John wrote in 2003 to Noël in the preface to his book Desiring God.

But when the quote appeared on Twitter in 2011, a woman named Patty Hurtarte copied it into her journal with no immediate purpose for it. But almost two years later she returned to the quote, used her artistic skill to turn it into a design, framed it and gifted her illustration to her pastor and his wife, Joshua and Shannon Harris.

Here's Patty’s design:

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See the previous image quotes —

• Holy Women Who Hope in God (Je…

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The Church is Jesus's bride — a fascinating subject of study, and angle from which to learn more about our glorious Groom. She is also "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession" (1 Peter 2:9), "the household of God," and "a pillar and buttress" of his gospel (1 Timothy 3:15).

In this new episode of Theology Refresh (recorded at the Evangelical Theological Society meetings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin), Gregg Allison provides a substantive summary about this vital doctrine.

Allison is professor of Christian theology at The Southern Baptist Theology Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and an elder at Sojourn Community Church. He is author of a new and sign…

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Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:16)

Do you have a communication gifting? Have others commented on how well you speak or write? Do you find yourself dreaming about using your gifts in ministry? Wonderful! We are praying for more herald-labors in the gospel harvest (Matthew 9:38). Consider it strongly.

But as you consider, consider this:

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. (James 3:1)

When it comes to people being saved, it all hangs on what they believe. So when it comes to teaching, hea…

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America is the most affluent nation in the history of the world. And affluence is at once wonderful and perilous in its potential. Listen to what Michael Ramsden has to say:

Our affluent culture looks for ease in everything. Comfort is prized more than anything else. In his book, The Challenge of Affluence, Professor Avner Offer makes the observation that moral prudence is required in order to build up affluence and wealth. However, affluence gives rise to temptation. Temptation, if not morally recognized and resisted, gives rise to indulgence. Indulgence eats up wealth. Hence, the “rewards of affluence produce the disorders of affluence.” (Finish the Mission, 79)

The rewards of affl…

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Ever consider how you might improve your baptism?

Baptism is not something we typically think about as “improvable.” It’s a one-time, means-of-grace event, administered to a new professing believer entering into the visible covenant community of the local church. The waters don’t create a new spiritual life, but signify the regenerating and renewing work Jesus has already done in the baptized.

No, we can’t go back and improve the quality (or quantity) of our faith when we were baptized. We can’t improve the character of the baptizer, or change who was in attendance, or how clean the water was, or anything like that. None of these can be improved upon —and don’t need to be.

So, at first…

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