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Articles by David Qaoud
3 Common Misconceptions of Calvinism
Calvinism. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear that term? If you’re not Reformed, you probably think of predestination or John Calvin. Or maybe you think of close-minded Christians or a cruel God or whatever. As a Reformed Christian myself, I’m always up for hearing what those outside the tribe think of Calvinism. Some things said are true. A lot of them are not. What are the misconceptions?
Economics for Church Leaders: Understanding the Time Value of Money
Editors’ note: For church leaders to be more effective in seeking the “welfare of the city” (Jer. 29:7), we should know what economic concepts mean, how they should be applied, and how they affect the local church. The purpose of the Economics for Church Leaders series is not to present a theology of economics, but rather to provide a basic level of understanding that will help church leaders think more clearly about how to apply their faith commitments to economics and public policy.
4 Traits to Seek in a Spouse
My wife and I recently celebrated another wedding anniversary. We exchanged gifts, watched our wedding video, and enjoyed a romantic dinner together. We spent time in prayer, thanking God for our marriage and asking for many more decades together. We reflected on the good and bad of our wedding day—and the funny, like how the pastor teased me for quoting Charles Spurgeon in my wedding vows. Our anniversary is a day of rejoicing in God’s goodness.
‘Final Account’ Shows Beauty of Repentance, Ugliness of Excuses
Luke Holland’s Final Account is an important documentary about the final surviving participants in the Nazi regime. The film is based on over 300 interviews—compiled over 10 years starting in 2008—with German and Austrian men and women who had varying degrees of involvement in the machinery of Hitler’s Third Reich.
4 Ways Pastors Can Motivate the Apathetic
Pastors face a huge number of leadership challenges at the moment. You may be shepherding people through health concerns, clarifying important doctrinal truths, helping people think biblically about the controversies in the public square, mediating conflicts, and giving care to people dealing with depression and anxiety. But from what I’m hearing from pastors, another less-often-mentioned challenge is on the rise: motivating the apathetic. Beware, O Sluggard Apathy is not a new spiritual problem.
How to Tell the Difference Between Presbyterian Denominations
The Presbyterian Church of North America was founded in Philadelphia 85 years ago this week. The creation of the new denomination was primarily due to the efforts of J. Gresham Machen, one of the most important conservative Protestant thinkers of the first half of the 20th century.
Christians Should Celebrate Shows Like ‘Waffles + Mochi’
By fifth grade I was allergic to wheat, peanuts, corn, and soy, the ingredients found in 99.9 percent of anything a growing boy would want to eat. This diagnosis reshaped my culinary reality. I thought that avoiding these allergens meant I had to give up the joy of eating. I began to approach eating not to delight in God’s creation, but to simply survive. Years later, a teacher recommended The Supper of the Lamb by Robert Farrar Capon.
How Can Pastors Become Trusted Again?
The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy. Sam Allberry: A few years ago, I was invited to a fancy dress party, and lacking imagination and resourcefulness, but being an ordained Anglican clergyman, I decided to take my Anglican robes and to use those as a costume.
Developing a Culture of Grace (Part 1) | Gospel Shaped Worship | Talk 6.1
Jared C. Wilson explains grace intersects with worship and how to build a culture of grace and worship in your church in this second of three videos.
It’s Just Not the Same
Sometimes, just knowing people are going to be there for you is enough. I’ll leave it to you and your church to decide if permanent live streaming is a viable option for your church. Whether we agree or disagree on the uses of technology going forward in our churches, I hope we can all agree that nothing will ever replace the importance of the physical gathering of God’s people on Sunday mornings. Our church is back to having Sunday worship services in person.
I’m a New Pastor. What Should I Do During My First Year?
I’d been a part-time church staff member before. I’d also done informal ministry in numerous ways for nearly a decade. But I’d never been a full-time pastor until this past year. Being an associate pastor is an entirely different animal. How’d it go? By God’s grace, as best I can tell, it went well. But I had a lot of help. One major lesson I’ve learned so far is this: every new pastor needs a lot of help, especially during his first year in pastoral ministry.
The Blessing of Criticism
We sometimes have our hearts set on the wrong thing, and God lovingly brings people into our lives to help us stay the course. We are all prone to an incredible amount of selfishness and self-centeredness. The reason why we call it “blind spots” is because they’re blind. We literally cannot see them. We need the help of other godly, trusted Christian friends to point them out. Criticism is an unavoidable part of being a leader.
The Most Popular Bible Verse Among Unbelievers
Exegetical errors will abound if you isolate this text and try to give meaning to it; you have to read the text in its context and understand the verses before and after the text you are studying in order to come to a proper conclusion. For years, John 3:16 was the most popular Bible verse in the world.
Why We Shouldn’t Speak Flippantly or Joke About Hell
We have seen the word “hell” used flippantly and jokingly. But the reason why we shouldn’t speak flippantly or joke about hell is because the biblical authors never do. The biblical authors are crystal clear about hell. It is a real place, where all unbelievers suffer consciously under the wrath of God as a just penalty for sin, and it never ends. I like to joke around. I grew up with brothers, and we said and did all kinds of dumb stuff.
Defining Heresy as “Damnable Error”
This definition is helpful. It provides a framework to help you evaluate whether the teaching you don’t like is from a sheep that you disagree with or a wolf who needs to be ignored or rebuked or both. Let’s break down the definition a little more.
The Exchange of Pleasures
These days I’m working on my pastor and dad bod which is notoriously not much to look at. My physique now isn’t what it was back in my early twenties and that’s okay. But back when I was a Certified Personal Trainer and Sports Nutrition Specialist, I learned many lessons that are transferrable to the Christian life. Many moons ago I was into dieting and supplements and lifting-weights. I still am today, although to a much lesser degree. I try to eat healthy most days of the week.
The Omniscience of God is for Your Comfort
We read: “for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything” (1 John 3:20). This is an incredibly encouraging verse for those of you feeling bogged down with guilt and shame. Your heart might condemn you but God is greater than your heart. The last three words are particularly encouraging: “God knows everything.” What a staggering thought.
What Does the Holy Spirit Do?
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26-27). The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He is fully God, distinct from God the Father and God the Son.
5 Questions Your Listeners Will Have When They Hear You Preach
Preachers tend to think about exegesis, appropriately relating the text to Christ, contextualization, and so on. This is all so very important. But most of your listeners don’t look for these elements; instead, they have much more simple and practical things on their minds. As a preacher, your aim is to please God and God alone. But that doesn’t mean it is entirely unhelpful to consider what questions your audience may have when they listen to you preach.
The Deficient Great Commission
“We exist to make disciples of Jesus,” a church’s mission statement might say. You’ve probably seen that on a website or a church sign before. There are some in the evangelical world — especially some in the non-denominational church-planting networks — that place a heavy emphasis on making disciples. As I was reading the book I could tell the author was driven by the prospect of making disciples. Every other word was “mission” “culture” “multiplication” “evangelism” “outreach” and so forth.
The Chief Distinguishing Mark of a False Prophet
Jesus says the gate is narrow. The word narrow here is often used with a family of words to characterize suffering and opposition. Jesus is giving a realistic understanding of Christian discipleship; the way is grueling. Indeed, he says the way is hard. What is hard, exactly? How would you describe a false prophet? There are plenty of right responses to this question. Usually, what people think of are people who distort the Christian message for personal gain.
The Lord is My Shepherd: What Does this Mean?
The Israelites to whom this was written often feared not having water and food provided for them, but for you, that may not be your struggle. For some, you might be struggling with the Lord’s provision and care in other areas. This Psalm is a reminder that the Lord will lead and guide and protect and provide for his people in every situation. “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” This Bible verse from Psalm 23:1 is one of the most famous Bible verses in all of Scripture.
Christian Reflections on Anger
When we think of angry people, we think of people who get drunk and verbally or physically abuse others. True. But this is only one form of anger. Anger is a multi-headed monster that shows many disgusting facial expressions. Someone who is passive-aggressive, for example, is an angry person. Instead of having the boldness to take the situation head-on, they go behind your back to diminish your life in some way.
The Blessing of the Gift of Prayer
We must recognize that while prayer does not always change your circumstances, prayer often changes you. The Lord meets with you when you pray. He sanctifies you. He changes your character and provides what you need to get through your situation, even if he does not give you exactly what you want. Lately, I’ve been thinking about the benefits of being a Christian. There are so many that I hardly know where to start.
The Ten Commandments: What They Forbid and Promote
There’s more to the 10 commandments than we usually think. Yes, all 10 commandments still matter today. We should take them seriously and seek to study and appropriately apply them to our lives. You might be able to list the ten commandments in order, but do you know what they forbid and promote? I used to think I knew the ten commandments pretty well. “Thou shall not steal.” Got it. Won’t steal anyone’s stuff. As long as I do that I’m good, right? Not necessarily.
The Best Book of the Bible for New Believers
I know, I know. The whole Bible is about Jesus. Read from a redemptive-historical perspective, you can find Jesus in the books of James and Jude and Jeremiah. He is the point of every page. And yet, the Gospels are just different. They are different because they give you the words, actions, and deeds of Jesus up close and personal. You are a new Christian. Or someone that you know is a new Christian. You (or they) want to start reading the Bible. Where should you begin?
Your Tears Are Not in Vain
When my little man cries I have a deep affection and longing for him to get better. And that’s coming from me, a sinner. The perfect Father’s love is flawless and beyond measure. Often in those painful moments of life, God is sanctifying us. He cares too much for us to remain like we are so he works on our character. Refinement comes through pain. Last week, I wrote about how I became a daddy. I have a son now and I’m in full swing on the dad life. I love it and I love to see him happy.
End of Year Check-Up Questions For Christians
Some of these will apply to you; some of them won’t. For example, you may already have had a spiritual mentor or perhaps because of this season of life, you may not have the capacity or energy to disciple anyone. That’s fine. These questions are provided not to make you feel guilty, but to provide some guidance to help you check your soul for spiritual health. Kevin DeYoung writes, “I should hasten to add that measuring your progress in the pursuit of holiness is easier said than done.
4 Lessons I Learned About Pastoral Ministry from Francis Schaeffer
I was struck by how often Schaeffer responded to people. He was somewhat of a Christian household name at this time in his ministry (although I doubt he would have liked for me to call him that) and still took the time to write thoughtful letters to hard questions often to people he barely even knew. It’s important to be accessible. Not in person, of course. It would have been an absolute pleasure to meet and do ministry with Schaeffer, but I wasn’t around back then.
John Calvin: Who He Is, What He Did, and Why He Matters
“When I was as yet a very little boy, my father had destined me for the study of theology. But afterwards, when he considered that the legal profession commonly raised those who followed it to wealth, this prospect induced him suddenly to change his purpose . . . but God, by the sweet guidance of his providence, at length gave a different direction to my course . . . God by a sudden conversion subdued and brought my mind to a teachable frame . . .” John Calvin is associated with someone’s death.
Evangelism Starts With God
One of the biggest mistakes I’ve made in evangelism is telling people the good news without telling them the bad news. No wonder I’m met with blank stares or “That’s nice for you, but not for me.” When we don’t tell unbelievers about sin and wrath, they often think grace is irrelevant. They don’t see their need for a Savior. I know I’m not alone. Myself, I suspect I don’t like sharing the bad news because of fear of man.
The False Gospel of Expressive Individualism
Borrowing from the work of Charles Taylor, James K.A. Smith speaks about expressive individualism when he writes, “Emerging from the Romantic expressionism of the late eighteenth century, it is an understanding ‘that each one of us has his/her own way of realizing our humanity,’ and that we are called to live that out (‘express’ it) rather than conform to modes imposed by others (especially institutions).” There’s a newish gospel in town. Or at least some make it out to be. Have you heard of it?
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