Americans aren't drinking less because they have become teetotalers; it's because of a malaise of culture that prevents them from seeing Jesus as the center of human festivity—not drunkenness nor abstinence, but the feast.

When people look at Brazil, they see a country overrun by the basic rules of corruption; when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn (Prov. 29:2). But the reality is that such moral failure didn't occur overnight. It was the byproduct of an apathetic electorate, including many evangelicals, that overlooked Lula's socialist disposition and acted like the cultural milieu was simply ready to change after 40+ years of incivility. But this is a long-term battle. We cannot allow that apathy to form our evangelical culture here. I have already been encouraged to hear pastors with remarkable platforms speak clearly on our responsibility as citizens. But the U.S. cannot begin to set the stage for a 40-year Democrat reign. We need to entrust the reins of power to those who will exercise authority justly for the good of the city and the blessings of the church.

Hearty congratulations, Pastor!

I don't think people understand what a "miracle" has occurred in Samba-town... in two weeks, the defeated Lula gained approximately 10.38 million additional votes between the first and second rounds. Lula became the first presidential candidate in Brazil's modern democratic era to overcome a first-round deficit and win the runoff. Even the New York Times is adding question marks to what's happening here.

America, take note: Brazil's political experience should be a cautionary tale. Elections have consequences. Vote with your eyes wide open. Do not give an inch to Democrats! We cannot afford a blue wave, no matter the size.

The American evangelical fascination with Roman Catholicism is nothing more than a romance with a Protestantized version of it. I once visited a Roman Catholic morning prayer for a worship project. At the end, the priest closed their Matins with "A Mighty Fortress." We have come a long liturgical way since 1517. One needs only visit a local Catholic parish in the south to see that prayers, songs, and posture have been heavily influenced by evangelical dispositions (and not the good kind). Evangelicals flirting with Catholicism are fascinated by it because it sounds foreign while offering glimpses of familiar tendencies. For instance, Catholic charismatics are the fastest-growing movement within Catholicism today, and for good reason. Look at their music rotation, and it sounds like a Hillsong top-10. In fact, Hillsong provided musical support at a World Youth Day event where a Catholic Mass was held. That combination, while bizarre, is becoming more common. If you want a taste of authentic Catholicism, visit South America to see its theology deeply rooted in mysticism and its politics steeped in liberationism. The Pre-Vatican II world is long gone! What most evangelicals seek in tradition, liturgy, and life is available in a Protestant Church near you.

The Protestant tradition, especially the Calvinist wing, is the only one to integrate pneumatology into its sacramentology.

Listening to Orthodox and Roman Catholics attempting to exegete Scripture is a clear sign that they don't spend sufficient time in the text to make sense of basic hermeneutical principles. I am speaking of scholarly voices, not the laity for whom Bible reading is virtually non-existent in those traditions, except for fragmentary readings of lessons in the liturgy. When you reject Sola Scriptura you also lose the practice of learning and interpreting Scriptura.

We delight in leaving an inheritance for our children, but a greater inheritance than money exists. It is the inheritance of a faith-culture. A son may inherit your land and still lose his way. A daughter may inherit your savings and never learn to give thanks. But when children inherit the habits of prayer, hospitality, fidelity, and worship, they receive a way of living that can bless generations beyond your own. Yes, help and build wealth, but if the sun is your limit, your money has no ultimate purpose. If you live for the sun, heaven will always remain far away.

Our Canadian CREC churches are healthy because they know the times and how to respond. May the God of all peace prepare them for such a time as this.

Nothing is more important to our political and cultural future than the health of the church. And nothing is more important to the church’s future than deep, patient, submissive study of the word of God, in communion with other Christians. ~Peter Leithart

The CREC reported nearly 4,000 baptisms over the past three years. That's about eight baptisms per church per year, on average. Considering that our average congregation has around 85 worshipers on Sunday, the number is remarkable. That means nearly a tenth of the average congregation comes to the font each year. Some larger congregations report over 30 baptisms annually. It's not hard to see why this number is so high: the CREC cultivates a culture of covenantal continuity where children are raised in the faith of their fathers. Further, many Baptist families who come in gladly and gradually embrace this covenantal understanding, and in time, bring their children to the font. While we continue to see young people and adults coming to baptism, the vast majority of our baptisms are infants. This reflects something fundamental about how we view the Church. Our congregations believe God's covenant promises belong to believers and their children, and that these children should be nurtured from their earliest days in the faith and obedience of Jesus Christ. The font, therefore, is not an occasional feature of congregational life but a visible testimony to God's faithfulness from one generation to the next. And the font leads naturally to the table. These are two central pieces of furniture in the household of faith. The child who is welcomed into the covenant through baptism is also welcomed to the covenant meal, where the same Lord who receives our children nourishes them throughout their lives. One of our favorite hymns sung during baptisms is the traditional Lutheran piece "God's Own Child I Gladly Say It." It encapsulates who we are as a people and how we view the status of our little ones: There is nothing worth comparing to this lifelong comfort sure! Open-eyed my grave is staring: Even there I’ll sleep secure. Though my flesh awaits its raising, still my soul continues praising: I am baptized into Christ; I’m a child of paradise! #CRECstats

Reading the room is crucial to maintaining decency and order. I suspect many of our difficulties come from not paying enough attention to the people and circumstances before us. In ordinary conversation, we may find a subject endlessly fascinating and keep going, unaware that we have monopolized the discussion or that our words no longer help anyone. Something similar happens in church life when we become so absorbed in one particular concern that we lose sight of a congregation's broader history. We may have legitimate concerns, but if we fail to understand the direction a church is moving in, or why certain decisions were made, we can easily become obstacles to the very progress we claim to desire. Parents can fall into the same trap. We settle on a particular understanding of a child's personality and begin interpreting everything through that lens. Before long, we stop paying attention to what is actually motivating the child. We forget that our children are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that shepherding them requires more than applying the same assumptions to every child. Reading the room is ultimately an exercise in humility. It requires us to consider whether we understand the situation before insisting everyone else understand us.

Our average CREC congregation has a median Lord's Day attendance of 86. In 2023, our average was around 65. This offers a statistical sense of our growth in local bodies. Granted, many of these are newborns, which testify to the denomination's growth through the dominion mandate, but we are also seeing the grandparents of those newborns move to CREC congregations. As I traveled from 2023-2026 around the U.S. and the world, it became clear that many of the grandparents were moving to be near children and grandchildren; they were coming mostly from non-Reformed backgrounds, but quickly adapting to the culture and liturgy of our churches. It was always encouraging to hear them talk about the joy of sharing hymns and festivities with their family. I believe our denomination's culture has a bonding power among the young and old, and this environment has played a large part in our growth over the last 36 months. #CRECstats

Yes, and in reality, you will know them by their disciples, and the disciples of such men have largely produced leftist politics at the presbyterial level (Keller). For instance, see what kinds of overtures are coming out of the Metropolitan New York Presbytery (hint: Overture 46 in May 2021, "Seek Asian American Flourishing ") and, at the standard evangelical level, cultural surrender (Platt)—think BLM, CRT, Political neutrality, etc.

See you soon, O Canada!