Sound Thinking about Church Planting

Ed Stetzer asserts that missiological cooperation is often the doorway to theological compromise and explains the tensions between cooperation and theological vigilance, as well as how the level of necessary theological agreement goes up depending upon what local congregations are attempting to accomplish together. Here's the link. I'm thankful to Ed for his insightful and thought-provoking answer to this question.

Andy Johnson, a pastor with Mark Dever at Capitol Hill Baptist Church, hits the ball out of the park dealing with the idolatry of pragmatism in church planting and missiology (here's the link). He specifically mentions Garrison's Church Planting Movements and indirectly refers to Greeson's The Camel. Johnson is a trustee for the International Mission Board.

Chris Poe on Mark Dever and Baptism

I think one of the brightest new stars in the blogging firmament is Chris Poe. I really like his stuff. It may be unfair to brand him as "new" to blogging, since One Pilgrim's Progress has been around from as early as 2006. Nevertheless, his monthly average number of posts for the first three years of blogging might easily be counted on one hand of a farsighted carpenter, whereas since February he has been posting something substantive at least every other day.

His most recent post caught my attention because I can really relate. I tried to defend Mark Dever the last time he publicly owned his sincere convictions about credobaptism, and some folks tried to slap me around about it online. Now, Dr. Dever has rightfully broached the subject again and Chris has written a cogent defense of Mark's statement. My favorite section reads:

May we assume by these responses that these leading lights among the Reformed disagree with the following from Chapter 28 of the Westminster Confession of Faith?

4. Not only those that do actually profess faith in and obedience unto Christ, but also the infants of one, or both, believing parents, are to be baptized.

5. Although it be a great sin to contemn or neglect this ordinance, yet grace and salvation are not so inseparably annexed unto it, as that no person can be regenerated, or saved, without it; or, that all that are baptized are undoubtedly regenerated.

Chris's entire article is excellent. I highly recommend it.