In this fifth excerpt from Pastor Derek Buikema’s interview with Dr. Carl Trueman for Illinois Family Institute, Dr. Trueman touches on a serious problem with contemporary preaching that reflects both a “consumerist” mindset and the ideology of “expressive individualism.”

Recent assessments declare or imply that the church in America is dying. One headline described it this way: “Axios begins countdown to death of Christianity.”

Christians must keep in mind that God is sovereign. The destiny of our nation is not ultimately in our power to control. That said, we live in a country that we the people govern, and so we have the privilege, right, and obligation to govern wisely.

In his interview with Dr. Carl Trueman for Illinois Family Institute, Pastor Derek Buikema asked how Christians may be inadvertently capitulating to “expressive individualism.”

The light of our lives and the light of our message should illuminate our surroundings. Our good deeds and our biblically based values should disseminate love and truth. At the same time, we are not called to take over society and impose our faith on the nation.

It has been interesting to read what Christians would like God to do for America. I have read repeated prayer requests for God to spare the Country, and I heartily agree with the sentiment. But I am also aware, as I hope most Christians are, that God operates sovereignly and wisely to achieve His own eternal purposes. His plans may or may not coincide with ours.

Sometimes the smallest gesture can make a huge difference in a person’s life. A welcoming smile, a phone call, or an encouraging note received at an opportune moment has the power to turn despair into hope. This fall, just one hour of prayer could make a life-changing, life-saving difference in not one but two lives.

We’ve heard that the SCOTUS is threatening democracy. For example, the recent Dobbs decision broke democracy – or affirmed it, depending on your point of view. It turns out that the Court can easily break American democracy, if it’s inclined to. All that need happen is for some justices to stop acting like jurists, and start acting like they took bribes. This article explores:

What do you expect from your church? Biblical preaching? A community where biblical values are exemplified by clergy and laity alike? A recent poll from George Barna’s Cultural Research Center (CRC) indicates that these are no longer reasonable expectations in American churches.

While their sanctimonious and empty proclamations of fealty to inclusivity, love, tolerance, unity, autonomy, freedom, and diversity echo systemically throughout American institutions, leftists reveal their inky underbellies rotted with hypocrisy and depravity when they screech hater and hurl death wishes at Christians who dare to disagree boldly with critical race theory or evil ideas related to sexuality.

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It has been interesting to read what Christians would like God to do for America.  I have read repeated prayer requests for God to spare the Country, and I heartily agree with the sentiment.  But I am also aware, as I hope most Christians are, that God operates sovereignly and wisely to achieve His own eternal purposes.  His plans may or may not coincide with ours.

Labor Day is approaching, and summer will soon give way to autumn. Many of us look forward to the change of seasons, watching the leaves change color, breathing in the crisp morning air, and picking apples with our kids or grandkids. We surmise too that many, like the IFI staff, look forward to a strong pendulum swing in the election on November 8th. In this season and every day the Good Lord grants us breath, Christians should be praying fervently for God's mercy on our state and nation. We urge prayers especially for God-fearing, pro-life candidates to prevail in this election cycle.

May I be blunt?  The heart of man is just as Scripture says it is, “deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.”  You may not want to hear that, and maybe you don’t believe it. But there Jeremiah 17:9 plainly...

Derek Buikema, lead pastor of Orland Park Christian Reformed Church in Orland Park, Illinois interviewed one of the most influential Christian thinkers in America today, Grove City College Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies Carl Trueman, for Illinois Family Institute.... In this second part of Pastor Buikema’s interview, Dr. Trueman confirms the sense many people have that we truly are living in “unprecedented times,” and explores the reasons why this historical moment is unprecedented.