Dear brothers and sisters of Sola 5,
The past year has been a difficult one for churches across the globe. Brackenhurst Baptist Church (BBC) is no exception. While we are thankful to God for...
Author: Doug Van Meter
Ministry Update: Brackenhurst Baptist Church (February 2020)
I was recently assigned the responsibility of delivering the pastors’ report at Brackenhurst Baptist Church’s (BBC) 41st annual general meeting, held on Wednesday, 12 February 2020. The goal...
Sphere Sovereignty and Parental Responsibility (Part 2)
In my previous article, I argued that spanking our children is a legitimate means of parental discipline, yet parents must be careful that they spank biblically. Parents must be self-controlled...
Sphere Sovereignty and Parental Responsibility
On 19 October 2017, the High Court in Johannesburg judged that the defence of “reasonable chastisement” no longer applies to the corporal punishment of children by parents. In other words,...
An MRI and the Mercy of God
This past week I had my first (and, I hope, my last) MRI. It wasn’t quite as bad as I had anticipated, but close enough that I am committed to taking better care of my health!
The radiologist...
Dr Death and the Promise of Life
While driving to my office recently, I noticed a leaflet attached to the middle of a stop sign. It read, “Same Day Abortions” and included a phone number along with the name of the...
The Need for Nerds
The title of this article might lead you to think that I am about to provide some autobiographical insights. In a sense, I hope that is true. If I am correct that the world needs a certain kind of...
Good News!
What a week it’s been! Since last Thursday’s “night of the long knives,” South Africa has been battered on the financial markets, downgraded to junk status by one financial institution,...
Tight-Lipped
I have at times been chided for being tight-lipped about my family. That is, since I am careful to prudently guard my family’s privacy, I have historically been cautious about what I share with...
Pastoring, Not Pestering
There is perhaps a fine line between pastoring and pestering. If so, I want to work hard on staying on the correct side of that line. But it is not always easy. One man’s concern is another...