(By Emmett Gienapp, Times Free Press, TN). Recent attacks across the country have local faith leaders taking a hard look at security measures at their places of worship here in Chattanooga. For some, the issue came into focus after the Sept. 24 church shooting in Antioch, Tenn., near Nashville that left one woman dead and seven…
(By Tamara Wolk, The Walker County Messenger, GA). The story of First Presbyterian Church of Fort Oglethorpe comes in two parts. There’s the building itself and there’s the congregation that now owns it. Perhaps the best person to share the stories is Herman McConathy, one of the early elders of the congregation and a collector…
(By Steve Salyards, The GA Junkie). As the catastrophe of Hurricane, now Tropical Storm, Harvey continues to develop, American Presbyterian branches are responding with aid and prayers. Here are links to the latest information I am aware as well as a brief summary from each branch that I have found has posted online: Associate Reformed…
(By Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra, The Gospel Coalition). When Joel Kim’s father told his five children that they would be moving from South Korea to the United States, Kim thought hard. Then he had a question. “Do they have milk in America?” the 9-year-old asked. Assured by his father that they had both his favorite foods—milk and bananas—…
A third Presbyterian denomination experienced growth during the past year. Along with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) grew in almost all categories during 2016. In total membership, the PCA increased by 3,829 people, from 370,332 in 2015 to 374,161 in 2016. It…
(By Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra, The Gospel Coalition). Elbert McGowan grew up five minutes from Trinity Presbyterian Church on the north side of Jackson, Mississippi. He passed by it daily. Never once did it cross his mind that one day he’d end up the pastor in that building. In fact, he never even considered entering the door….
(By Dale M. Coulter, First Things). The last time we saw such a massive shift in Protestantism was in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when the Holiness and Pentecostal movements spawned over ten major denominations. When one adds to this the formation of the Wesleyan Church (1843), the Free Methodist Church (1860), and the…
(By Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra, The Gospel Coalition). The church members gathered for coffee hour at Redeemer Presbyterian Church knew something was wrong when the polite man quickly shouldering his way through the crowd—“Excuse me, excuse me”—was followed seconds later by uniformed police. The man had robbed an adjacent parking garage and then raced into an…
By Richard Burnett, Executive Director and Managing Editor, Theology Matters Princeton Theological Seminary recently rescinded its decision to award Dr. Timothy Keller the Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Witness. The Board of Directors of Theology Matters respectfully asks Princeton Seminary and the Kuyper Center to reconsider their decision. This decision calls into…
(By Leonard Blair, Christian Post). Tim Keller, founding pastor of the multi-campus Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, is set to receive the 2017 Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Witness at Princeton Theological Seminary next month but some alumni are disgruntled because of his church’s position on women and LGBT individuals in ministry. The…