My pastor, Dr. Brian Kennedy, devoted his Mother’s Day message to a stirring challenge to contemporary definitions of marriage, the significance of mothering, and the value of women. He also called men to fulfill their biblical responsibilities as husbands, fathers, and sons—part of which is honoring women and celebrating their significance.

To rousing applause from both men and women, Dr. Kennedy called women and girls to “immerse yourself in what God says about you being female. You are not second class, you are not a random unintended accident, you are not a sex object, you are not a punching bag, you are not a commodity for sale, you are not an unidentifiable cultural label, and you are not a bundle of confusion. You are a like-minded image bearer of the living God. Yes, life happens and causes pain, constant questioning, and confusion. Yes, you are pressured to conform to unbiblical cultural norms. Yes, the pressure is audacious and will punch you in the face, and rock your world. But immerse yourself in what God says about you being female. Live out God’s purpose, so you have peace in your life.”

This crescendo of accolades stood in stark contrast to a Wall Street Journal article that provided my pre-service, breakfast reading. This week, over 100 Catholic priests in Germany plan to bless the unions of hundreds of same-sex couples, in defiance of the Word of God, Catholic dogma, and Papal directive. These priests, representing more than 700 German Catholic churches which recently began flying the rainbow flag are defying the Church and dishonoring their vows. They believe their actions are part of reforming the Church by forcing it to adjust to contemporary definitions of marriage.

Reading this article reminded me of another German priest who confronted the Catholic Church about 500 years ago. There is an obvious and fundamental difference, however, in these two re-formations. The first attempted to call the Church back to the Bible. The current version rejects the clear teaching of Scripture in the name of cultural relevance. Martin Luther called the Church to repentance and obedience to the Word of God. Today’s German re-formers are instead calling the Church to relevance and conciliation.

Biblical standards about gender, sexuality, and marriage are all connected. Rejecting any portion of them ultimately leads to rejecting all of them. Sadly, church leaders—Catholic priests in Germany and mainline denominational leaders in the US—are helping lead this debacle. Some of us refuse to capitulate and will pay a high price for our convictions. The value of humankind is made in God’s image with genders he designed for marriage as he mandated demands nothing less from us.


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Perspective: SBC 2023

Dr. Iorg discusses what unites the SBC in light of next week’s annual convention.

Jeff Iorg
President
Dr. Jeff Iorg is the president of Gateway Seminary. Prior to his service at the Seminary, Dr. Iorg was the Executive Director of the Northwest Baptist Convention for almost ten years. He was also the founding pastor of Greater Gresham Baptist Church in Gresham, Oregon, and has served as a pastor in Missouri and a staff pastor in Texas.

Intentionality

 The greatest problem in our world is lostness. The only solution to lostness is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jeff Iorg
President
Dr. Jeff Iorg is the president of Gateway Seminary. Prior to his service at the Seminary, Dr. Iorg was the Executive Director of the Northwest Baptist Convention for almost ten years. He was also the founding pastor of Greater Gresham Baptist Church in Gresham, Oregon, and has served as a pastor in Missouri and a staff pastor in Texas.

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Lead On Podcast
June 4, 2023

“Life is Curriculum”: How Leaders Grow after Seminary

Dr. Iorg encourages leaders to continue growing after Seminary. He identifies seven ways to cultivate and work towards spiritual maturity. 

Lead On Podcast
May 28, 2023

Dealing with Angry People

There is a lot of anger in the world right now and a lot of that anger is spilling over into the church. This week Dr. Iorg discusses different ways to engage with and disciple angry people in your ministry.


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Spirituality of Jonathan Edwards | JEC at Gateway Seminary

Dr. Chris Chun hosted a digital symposium with Dr. Michael Haykin and Dr. Robert Caldwell to discuss Edwards’ spirituality, devotional life and theological impact in American Christianity.

Chris Chun
Professor of Church History | Director, Jonathan Edwards Center
Dr. Chris Chun is the professor of Church History and the director of Jonathan Edwards Center at Gateway Seminary. Chris’ doctoral research at St. Andrews University was focused on the eighteenth-century Edwardsean Baptists in Britain. He also has served as president of The Evangelical Theological Society (Far West Region).

Faculty Dialogues: Dispensationalism or Not

In this episode of Faculty Dialogues, Dr. David Rathel and Dr. Paul Wegner held a live discussion on their views on dispensationalism.

David Rathel
Associate Professor of Christian Theology
Dr. Rathel is the associate professor of Chrisitian Theology at Gateway Seminary. Prior to Gateway, Dr. Rathel supplied pastoral care to churches in the United States and Scotland, served as an Adjunct Professor of Theology and Philosophy for the Baptist College of Florida, and provided teaching assistance for the University of St Andrews.

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