016 - Too Conservative or Not Conservative Enough?

In this episode, Mark and Cameron tackle the question of whether a church like Grace is too conservative, or not conservative enough. Do political labels like this translate well to theology, or is there a better way of understanding who we are? In an age where “everything is political,” are there still some things — the gospel, for example — which transcend politics? In addition, following up on last week’s episode, we will suggest more resources to help cultivate a life of prayer. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Practical Religion, by J. C. Ryle
https://banneroftruth.org/us/store/christian-living/practical-religion-2/

A Guide to Prayer, by Issac Watts
https://banneroftruth.org/us/store/christian-living/a-guide-to-prayer/

A Way to Pray: A Biblical Method for Enriching Your Prayer Life, by Matthew Henry and O. Palmer Robertson
https://banneroftruth.org/us/store/christian-living/way-to-pray/

Prayers on the Psalms: From the Scottish Psalter of 1595
https://banneroftruth.org/us/store/devotional-books/prayers-on-the-psalms/

The Piety of John Calvin: A Collection of His Spiritual Prose, Poems, and Hymns, edited by Ford Lewis Battles
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0875520596

A Christian Directory, by Richard Baxter (Online Edition)
http://digitalpuritan.net/richard-baxter/

THE COMMENTARY is a weekly conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church.

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J. MARK BERTRAND

J. Mark Bertrand is a novelist and pastor whose writing on Bible design has helped spark a publishing revolution. Mark is the author of Rethinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World (Crossway, 2007), as well as the novels Back on Murder, Pattern of Wounds, and Nothing to Hide—described as a “series worth getting attached to” (Christianity Today) by “a major crime fiction talent” (Weekly Standard) in the vein of Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, and Henning Mankell.

Mark has a BA in English Literature from Union University, an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston, and an M.Div. from Heidelberg Theological Seminary. Through his influential Bible Design Blog, Mark has championed a new generation of readable Bibles. He is a founding member of the steering committee of the Society of Bible Craftsmanship, and chairs the Society’s Award Committee. His work was featured in the November 2021 issue of FaithLife’s Bible Study Magazine.

Mark also serves on the board of Worldview Academy, where he has been a member of the faculty of theology since 2003. Since 2017, he has been an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. He and his wife Laurie life in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.