T4G Comp Tied To Gospel

The 2010 Together for the Gospel conference is on right now as I write this article. The conference this year is called The Unadjusted Gospel and according to J

Recovering From Spiritual Abuse

Recently I was contacted by Dr. Barb Orlowski who has compiled her research on spiritual abuse into a manuscript that will form the basis of a yet unpublished book called “Ministering Restoration: Recovering Spiritual Harmony”

Is Complementarianism Merely Personal Conviction

This post is a response to Randy Stinson’s article titled “ Is Complementarianism a Merely Personal Conviction. “

@dalepartridge Many pastors like yourself have prioritized the disapproval of wo

@dalepartridge Many pastors like yourself have prioritized the disapproval of women over the discipleship of women.

“I refuse to rob the women of our church of the discipleship they need to grow o

“I refuse to rob the women of our church of the discipleship they need to grow out of fear” [6:31]. This is great! More preachers should speak what they believe is true instead of caving because of f

Reading Paul Dirks’ book “Deep Discipleship for Dark Days.” Paul you referenced Luke 22:36 as if to suggest Jesus was making a symbolic call to arm ourselves with *words.* Having the right words—especially how we speak—is a good thing. I’m sensing ...

Reading Paul Dirks’ book “Deep Discipleship for Dark Days.” Paul you referenced Luke 22:36 as if to suggest Jesus was making a symbolic call to arm ourselves with *words.* Having the right words—esp

Matthew 28:5-10

Sections: debate_points, exegesis, greek_analysis

Beth Allison Barr's 'The Making of Biblical Womanhood' as a prime example of story-driven theology — the book frames the entire discussion through personal pain and church hurt.

Mistake #5: Critique of Beth Allison Barr's book

A third option Wright did not consider: learning theology deeply without becoming a rabbi

Mike rejects Wright's binary (learning for information vs. becoming a rabbi) and proposes a middle option.

Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38) — Jesus affirms theological learning over traditional hosting

Mike uses Mary and Martha as a key example for women's theological education.

Mike's overall assessment of Todd White: likely sincere, likely a genuine believer, but raised under teachers who are 'off' — inheriting theological distortions from his spiritual mentors.

Personal evaluation of Todd White's character and spiritual state.

Tip 2: Evaluate your responsibilities — write them down as a concrete exercise

Second of seven tips. Mike turns the video interactive by asking viewers to write down their main life responsibilities.

Thought experiment: imagine a Christlike observer watching your life for a week — what would they say?

Practical exercise for Tip 3 self-examination.

Tip 5: Make goals instead of resolutions — goals survive failure; resolutions don't

Fifth of seven tips. Mike argues against the traditional resolution framework.

Tip 7: Take practical steps — lofty goals require specific, actionable commitments

Seventh and final tip. Mike insists that all the prior steps require concrete behavioral change to produce results.

James 1:22-27 read in context — James's 'works' are being a doer of the word, controlling the tongue, and helping orphans and widows

Reading James 1 to establish the meaning of 'works' before analyzing James 2

The foundation metaphor: Jesus Christ is the foundation; building on it = post-salvation ministry to believers

Exegesis of 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 and the nature of building on the foundation

Mark 13:9-13 — the disciples' calling is faithful witness unto death, not watching for signs

Mike reads the persecution section of Mark 13 and draws out its theological implication for the disciples' posture.

Winger warns against approaching Scripture selectively — taking what fits existing preferences and discarding the rest. Authentic Christian discipleship requires approaching the Bible as authoritative, remaining willing to change beliefs and behavior when the text challenges them, rather than making oneself the final arbiter.

In response to a Q&A question about calling to ministry, Winger teaches that a sense of unworthiness is right and proper — waiting for perfection would be an excuse never to serve. What matters is faithfulness and heart orientation. He cites 1 Timothy 3 on the qualifications for eldership as a practical starting point.

Winger declines to condemn parents who choose public school but insists they must actively address secular content at home — particularly in California. Opting for public school without engaging the ideas children are taught is 'dropping the ball' as a Christian parent.

Is homosexuality genetic? Even if it were, it wouldn't change the Christian call to self-denial

Q&A question about whether homosexuality has a genetic component and what its presence in the animal kingdom implies.

Baptism is required for obedience but not for salvation

Viewer recently baptized asking whether baptism is essential to becoming a disciple

John 13:36-38 — Jesus tells Peter he cannot follow now but will follow later; Peter's boast and denial as literary and historical backdrop for his ultimate martyrdom

John 13 passage linking Peter's discipleship trajectory to eventual death

Introduction: topic framing — youth are both uniquely different from and fundamentally similar to previous generations

Mike opens the livestream and introduces the session topic with Dr. Sean McDowell

Book: "The Next Generation Will Know" co-authored with J. Warner Wallace

McDowell introduces his new book releasing May 1

The book is motivated by McDowell's own children and 20 years of ministry focus on the next generation

McDowell explains the need driving the book project

Holistic discipleship: the false dichotomy between relationships and truth must be rejected

McDowell and Mike discuss the thesis of the book

Practical parenting principle: integrate discipleship into activities you are already doing rather than adding new programs

McDowell addresses practical application for parents

J. Warner Wallace's youth ministry lesson: teaching content vs. training for engagement — and the failure of candles-and-experience ministry

McDowell recounts how J. Warner Wallace transformed his youth ministry approach

Apologetic mission trips: exposing youth to real intellectual and religious conflict as a discipleship strategy

McDowell describes the mission trip model developed with Brett Kunkle and J. Warner Wallace

Strategy for LGBTQ conversations with Christians: still lead with questions, then move to Scripture on God's design for marriage and sexuality

McDowell addresses the same topic from the angle of a Christian asking

Practical idea: worldview movie nights — watch culturally relevant films with kids and discuss them

McDowell shares a practical tip while waiting for Q&A questions to come in

Q&A: Rooting youth in the person and work of Christ — requires both good theology (who Jesus is) and practical application (how to live it out)

Audience question about how churches can help youth be rooted in Christ

Closing summary: discipleship principles are timeless, but avoid jaded views toward youth and remain aware of how their lives differ from previous generations

Mike's closing remarks

Q&A: Tips for young first-time pastor doing outreach to youth/college-age in a congregation of older saints

Pastoral question from a viewer.

The church must maintain evangelism as its primary posture toward unbelievers; community service without gospel proclamation is insufficient

Response to question about churches focusing solely on community service vs. discipleship and evangelism

Barnabas and Saul spend a full year discipling the Antioch church; disciples are first called Christians there. This extended discipleship with no mention of Torah observance is a key data point.

Survey of Acts 11:22-26, Antioch discipleship

Paul appoints elders from Gentile churches (Acts 14:21-23) with no mention of Torah. These are advanced disciples who had Paul with them multiple times and a full year of discipleship.

Survey of Acts 14:21-23, appointment of elders

Three arguments that Acts 15 addresses sanctification, not just salvation: (1) text never limits it to salvation; (2) if future Torah teaching was expected, why not clarify here; (3) they gave four specific sanctification commands, not the whole law

Winger's three-part argument that Acts 15 covers sanctification as well

Hebrew Roots response to Acts 15: it was only temporary, with full Torah teaching coming later. Winger demolishes this by pointing to the years of prior discipleship at Antioch.

Response to the Hebrew Roots 'temporary decree' argument for Acts 15

Q&A: strategy for reaching those deeply in Hebrew Roots movement -- speak truth in love, handle one issue at a time, use Acts 13-15 in Bible study format

Q&A response about evangelizing Hebrew Roots adherents

Four target audiences for BibleThinker ministry

Winger articulates the specific audiences he aims to reach through his online ministry.

Ministry impact testimonies: Global reach and unexpected pastor influence

Winger shares concrete examples of ministry impact by late 2017 when he had ~9,000 subscribers.

Burnout and shedding responsibilities: Transitioning out of youth ministry

The combination of youth pastoring, online ministry, and other church roles became physically unsustainable.

Q&A: Jesus likely carried only the crossbeam (patibulum) to Golgotha, not the whole cross

A viewer raises the historical practice: condemned men typically carried only the crossbeam (patibulum) up to the place of execution, where a vertical post was already fixed.

Matthew 28:18-20 — baptism follows discipleship/belief, not precedes it

Winger examines the Great Commission to establish the pattern for baptism in the NT.

Q&A: Women receiving Communion — implied by context of 1 Corinthians and the general gathered assembly

A viewer attempts a parallel argument: women are not explicitly shown receiving Communion in Scripture yet no one denies it.

The Great Commission applies to all Christians at some level; discipleship includes both evangelism (initiation) and ongoing teaching

Question from Cass Magnuson about how Matthew 28:18-20 applies to individual Christians and what making a disciple involves.

Mike declines to share his full personal testimony out of love for family members whose failures would be exposed publicly

Question from ZZ asking Mike to share his testimony and struggles as a new believer.