Driscoll. Tchividjian. Harris. Falwell Jr. Zacharias. Just a few of the famous and now disgraced names within the larger Christian universe. As more cases keep popping up, it might do us well to examine what might be contributing to the number of high-profile failures without simply indicting the figures themselves. A good starting point: the […]
Wednesday, 17 March, 2021 by Stephen Roberts
John C. (Jack) Miller may be the most important Reformed evangelical that you haven’t heard of, and that’s a shame. On the cover of Cheer Up! The Life and Ministry of Jack Miller, you will find a quote by Tim Keller: “Jack Miller…taught me how to preach grace.” In this short work, you will learn […]
Wednesday, 24 February, 2021 by Stephen Roberts
A few days after George Floyd’s tragic death in Minneapolis, I gathered with some of my soldiers for our weekly Chappy Hour discussion at a nearby pub. It turned out that I was the only white person there. Naturally, we decided to discuss race. Some of what these friends told me surprised me—both their experiences […]
Wednesday, 03 February, 2021 by Stephen Roberts
In the early-twentieth century, Europe underwent massive sociological and philosophical changes that drew the gaze of vast multitudes from the heavens into the heart, and—in a sense—from philosophy to psychology. Herman Bavinck thought this transition so significant that he considered engaging psychology part-and-parcel of engaging people. As a result, he wrote an entire book on […]
Wednesday, 20 January, 2021 by Stephen Roberts
Perhaps some of you have noticed a growing cleavage in the church between the young and the old. It’s not the “worship wars” this time, but the legacy of the “culture wars.” The young will accuse the old of focusing too much on morally-reforming society, while the old will accuse the young of focusing too […]
Tuesday, 03 November, 2020 by Stephen Roberts
Perhaps no timelier book has appeared this year than Bavinck: A Critical Biography by James Eglinton. Eglinton’s biography caps a year of newly-translated works by the great 20th century theologian, who may be the most consequential theologian for our era—ironically, a century after his death. To ask why this biography is important is also to […]
Thursday, 29 October, 2020 by Stephen Roberts
There is no question that our culture has changed and is changing rapidly. Many of us have been tracking it on the theoretical level for years. But with the onset (onslaught?) of COVID-19 followed almost immediately by the crippling of the American economy and social strife, the deeper philosophical, psychological, and spiritual shifts in our […]
Friday, 23 October, 2020 by Stephen Roberts
With his high volume of writing in recent years, it is easy to wonder when Tim Keller will become trite and repetitious. That time has not yet come. As long as there remains a pronounced gap in understanding between Christians and the culture around them, Keller will help remedy the need. In Walking with God […]
Thursday, 08 October, 2020 by Stephen Roberts
The Soul of an American President: The Untold Story of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Faith by Alan Sears and Craig Osten with Ryan Cole Baker Books, 2019 240 pages (hardcover), $22.99 As a US Army chaplain, I have incredible opportunities to engage a broad cross-section of American society with the gospel, while facing the legal restraints […]
Sunday, 01 March, 2020 by Stephen Roberts
At first, I didn’t believe there would be much appeal to a book of this sort. As Christians navigate the churning waters of our culture, it is all too easy to drift toward a cold rationalism on the one side or the bland mysticism on the other. What space is there for a book on […]
Wednesday, 12 February, 2020 by Stephen Roberts
In 2015, a Pew survey on religion was released that confirmed the greatest hopes of some and the greatest fears of others—Christianity is in decline in America.1 Or is it? After digging through the data, Ed Stetzer pointed out that “convictional Christianity” is actually holding steady but “nominal Christianity” is hemorrhaging. The real story, Stetzer […]
Wednesday, 01 January, 2020 by Stephen Roberts
Like me, you are probably disoriented by how quickly culture is changing. Just over a decade ago, there was no such thing as ‘gay marriage.’ Now it is a legal right. When the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court got the ball rolling on the establishment in 2004, most college students were hauling desktop computers to college. […]
Saturday, 30 April, 2016 by Stephen Roberts