Gabriel Render

The Experience of the Average Churchman You get an email from your elder with a polite reminder that an account will be required for “every idle word,” and that “maybe you should tone down your online rhetoric” because the older ladies do see those posts (which surprises you, because you know the elders agree with […]

I found myself this past summer sitting with extended family on the Lord’s Day at church while vacationing out of state. First, I should point out that it is a unique blessing to visit family and have the majority not only be believers but also wishing to attend church while on vacation (or at all […]

Rightly Ordered Affection and Hatred This year the term ordo amoris made its way into the public’s common vernacular, thanks to the Vice President of the United States. The concept of rightly ordered loves is attributed to Augustine of Hippo: St Augustine defines virtue as ordo amoris, the ordinate condition of the affections in which […]

With all of the incessant winning right now, this isn’t intended to throw cold water on anything but to hopefully steel the collective resolve of the Church against squandering the opportunity before us. Indeed, the tide is turning at a satisfyingly savage pace. But this ought to caution us that, in fact, the tide has […]

Is That Even Milk? It’s easy to pick on the obvious charlatans and the deceived masses with regard to spiritual maturity and doctrinal robustness. One needn’t look far to see clips of various abominations being played off as Lord’s Day worship. Zip-lining pastors and circus performance theatrics in black-walled and black-lit worship centers are more […]