Conversion

What the Doctrine of Regeneration Means for Church Membership Interviews
By Sam Emadi | 9Marks Journal: Sound Doctrine: The Foundation for Faithful Ministry | 11.16.2021Conversion is supernatural, and its implications for how you conduct your next church membership interviews are enormous.

10 Flavors of Works-Based Salvation
By Ed Moore | 02.10.2020And any work which you try to contribute to your salvation, your justification before God, annuls the grace of God and insults the God of grace.

Nominal Christianity—Not Complementarianism—Leads to Abuse
By Caleb Morell | 9Marks Journal: Complementarianism: A Moment of Reckoning | 11.22.2019Conservative views on marriage and family are not sufficient in and of themselves to create healthy families and marriages. Church participation and membership make a huge difference.

What’s the Biblical Understanding of Conversion?
By Nathan Malpass | 10.23.2019It’s one thing to *say* that God is totally sovereign in salvation. But it’s another thing entirely to let that conviction shape and constrain how your church actually does ministry.

5 Reasons Pastors Ought to Pray for Slow Growth
By Aaron Menikoff | 05.06.2019Smaller churches are not godlier than larger churches. I’m not calling for no growth. I’m simply going to suggest both you and your congregation will be well-served by slow and steady growth.

We Need to Help New Converts from Non-Christian Backgrounds Honor Their Families
By Ajith Fernando | 03.28.2019It’s vital for older Christians to talk often with new Christians, making sure that in following Christ, they haven’t unduly harmed their relationship with their family.

Reformation Doctrine Fuels Reformation Ecclesiology: A Brief History
By Owen Strachan | 9Marks Journal: Ecclesiology for Calvinists | 02.05.2019The Reformation fire has not gone out, nor has the evangelistic zeal of the modern American church died. The Word still speaks—and the gospel still is mighty to save.

Still Young, Restless, and Reformed? The New Calvinists at 10
By Collin Hansen | 9Marks Journal: Ecclesiology for Calvinists | 02.05.2019In another 10 years, it’s probable no one will talk again of the YRR.

Dilapidated Buildings, Small Budgets, and Struggling Congregations: How Irresistible Grace Creates Steadfastness in Ministry
By Jonathan Worsley | 9Marks Journal: Ecclesiology for Calvinists | 02.05.2019The doctrine of God’s irresistible grace is for you, right now, right here, on Tuesday morning.

The Five Points of Calvinism and Your Church’s Sunday Meeting
By Matt Merker | 9Marks Journal: Ecclesiology for Calvinists | 02.05.2019It’s vital for those of us who hold to a reformed or “Calvinistic” doctrine of salvation to consider if our corporate worship reflects our professed soteriology.

7 Ministry Consequences of Calvinism
By Jonathan Leeman | 9Marks Journal: Ecclesiology for Calvinists | 02.05.2019The goal of this piece is not to argue with or even to address the non-Calvinist pastor. It is to say to the Calvinist, “If you believe this, your ministry should look like that.”
Book Review: Humble Calvinism, by J. A. Medders
Review by Jeff Mooney | 9Marks Journal: Ecclesiology for Calvinists | 02.05.2019This book is a simple, straightforward, and humble correction and encouragement to follow the Savior from the Reformed ranks.

Book Review: Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, by J. I. Packer
Review by Mark Carrington | 9Marks Journal: Ecclesiology for Calvinists | 02.05.2019Packer’s book offers a concise and compelling argument unpacking how evangelism and the sovereignty of God co-exist, and if properly understood, enhance one another.

Hey Calvinist, Enough of Your Revivalism
By Michael Lawrence | 9Marks Journal: Ecclesiology for Calvinists | 02.04.2019How do you grow your church? It’s a question every pastor or church leader asks, a question in which almost every Christian is interested.

Don’t Ignore the “Speed Limit”: How the Sufficiency of Scripture Should Make Us Patient
By Dave Comeau | 01.28.2019The Bible’s speed limit signs are posted everywhere, but our focus on numbers and fast growth causes us to speed right by them.