Reexamining the Pastoral Shortage Problem
W. Jackson Watts In recent years Free Will Baptist leaders on the state and national levels have highlighted the need for more pastors. Their urgency is understandable. According to one article by Executive Secretary Eddie Moody, 124 Free Will Baptist churches presently need pastors. [1] That number is…
On C.S. Lewis and Denominational Survival
Matthew Pinson (This post originally appeared at matthewpinson.com) I recently read an address C. S. Lewis gave to a group of Anglican priests and youth leaders in 1945. It reminded me of what many of us in the Free Will Baptist Church have been thinking lately: Falling all…
Why It’s Not the Same
W. Jackson Watts “It’s just not the same.” Most people have heard this phrase and uttered it countless times since March. It’s how Christians have expressed the sentiment of trying to worship together while not actually being together. After the suspension of worship services in March, the vast…
Theology in a Time of Pandemic
W. Jackson Watts Theology never arises in a vacuum. It always has a context, a set of circumstances shaping its development and reception. Augustine’s City of God was a response to pagan claims that the barbarian incursions into Rome were a consequence of Christian emperors abolishing pagan worship.…
The Church and the Coronavirus Challenge
The Commission for Theological Integrity By now it’s fair to say that not a single church has escaped the impact of concerns over the Coronavirus. Churches have been urged to consider measures to ensure people’s safety, along with schools, businesses, and virtually every other assembled group of people.…