Category Archives: Institutional Church

Evangelical lostness at Wheaton

Posted on April 27, 2018 by PaulVK

Evangelicalism is a sort of thing that isn’t supposed to have a center, a hierarchy or an authority structure but yet we are supposed to act like it does. It’s the large projection of classic pastoral availability. You can have … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture commentary, Institutional Church, Saved CRCVoices Posts | Leave a comment

Helping Sensible People Believe the Crazy Stuff Christians Profess

Posted on December 28, 2016 by PaulVK

Tim Keller and Pete Enns Any reader of my blog has a clue of how much I owe to Tim Keller, but only a clue. I follow his sermons, lectures, and books very closely. I’ve gained immensely from him. My … Continue reading →

Posted in Daily Links and Notes, Institutional Church, Missional, theological | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Why Equality and Authority have become such enemies and which one must finally lose

Posted on October 29, 2016 by PaulVK

Equality, Law, Authority, Shalom Part of the matrix of our current conflicts is the relationship between equality, law, authority and shalom. One of the implicit questions we bring to the Bible in this age of changing standards is “can we … Continue reading →

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The CRC can’t answer the identity question until it addresses the discipleship question

Posted on August 31, 2016 by PaulVK

5 Steps to Denominational Renewal My friend Pete posted this piece by Sam Hamstra on CRC Voices for discussion. Since putting over 1000 words in a comment section isn’t polite I thought I’d engage the piece here on my blog. … Continue reading →

Posted in CRC, Institutional Church | 5 Comments

New study on “born that way”

Posted on August 25, 2016 by PaulVK

The New Atlantis Executive summary sexual orientation fixed by innate biology not supported by science While there are biological factors no compelling biological explanation longitudinal studies suggest that 80% of male adolescents who experience same sex attraction will no longer … Continue reading →

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The Lightening Rod Moves Past the Storm Front

Posted on December 18, 2015 by PaulVK

Watching the Herd I started reading Rachel’s blog years ago. The comment section was more fun before it got so big. Bigness in comments sections tend to be their death. Increasingly I went from reading to skimming to scanning the … Continue reading →

Posted in Institutional Church | 2 Comments

Happy (Christian Liturgical) New Year!

Posted on November 29, 2015 by PaulVK

Ahhh, now we can all breath a sigh of relief. The priests of modern knowledge have established a narrative through which we can view the Planned Parenthood shooter. Finding the narrative, usually disguised as a “motive” is the first quest … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture commentary, Devotional Reflection, Institutional Church | Leave a comment

The Pope and I

Posted on September 30, 2015 by PaulVK

Cynical A good friend had a response to my post yesterday about Pope Francis that stewed in me overnight, cynical. While I confess that cynicism is a problem for me and that yesterday’s post could well be seen as an … Continue reading →

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So you want to start a revolution. What Do You Want the New Standard for the Church to Be Regarding Sex and Marriage?

Posted on July 18, 2015 by PaulVK

Call for the Church to Change My blog is filled with links passionate calls for the church (or rather conservative churches) to change their formal and informal positions on sexuality. The most recent, earnest effort is for churches to practice … Continue reading →

Posted in CRC, Culture commentary, Institutional Church | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Can we imagine an “affirming” church tradition flourish and grow or has “providential deism” made divine irrational demands nonsensical?

Posted on July 4, 2015 by PaulVK

Can An “Affirming” Church Tradition Be a Flourishing Church Tradition? Many questions swirl around the debate over the church’s acceptance/celebration of sexual minority’s non-traditional relationships. Does it honor God? Is non-affirming unjust? What’s the harm? Does it violate God’s will … Continue reading →

Posted in Institutional Church | Tagged , | 3 Comments