Brian Collins reviews two biographies of James Boyce, a theological educator who founded a Baptist seminary in the most adverse of circumstances.

It’s 7:55 AM when I flip on the light in my office. I know it’s going to be a busy day with meetings, a missions project to complete, a sermon to prepare, and a youth activity to plan. But instead of plunging into these tasks, I begin what has recently become an early-morning addiction—reading a sermon by G. Campbell Morgan.

I’ll never forget that phone call. Life had been wonderful. We’d just moved into our home, spring was mercifully springing, and my wife was two months along with our second child. We awoke that morning to an ominous sign.

Beginning with a monthly Bible study in the home of ministry partner Drew Bedics, Heston Blake started Centerpointe Baptist Church in Huntersville, NC on November 6th, 2011. Over the past two and a half years, the Lord has faithfully blessed Pastor Heston’s efforts. We want to share with you Heston’s story and burden for church planting, with the hopes and prayers that many other young men would catch the vision for establishing Christ-honoring, Bible-preaching local churches.

It’s tempting for us to think that, if only we could sit at the feet of David Platt or John Piper or Chuck Swindoll, we would be more spiritual. But the Bible tells us that God’s Word yields fruit, not when it pours through the lips of a renowned expositor or a dynamic Christian leader, but when it takes root in the fertile soil of an obedient heart (Matthew 13:18). In order to produce a bumper crop, great preaching needs great listening.

We can stress out about how to “find God’s will”or believe that God has already given His will. He wrote an entire Book full of it. Sometimes we ignore the truth that couldn’t be clearer (His Word) while searching for personalized revelation.

Any masterpiece painting can suffer from damage or decay over the years. God’s master portrait of marriage is no exception. Just as museums dedicate themselves to carefully restoring a masterwork, the church is now facing a time when it must carefully restore a Biblical view of marriage. As that restoration process begins, the church should take these five essential steps.

I sat down with a simple enough task–to answer the question, “Should Christian parents force their teens to attend church?” It would have been easy to assume “yes” and equip parents with 1000 words of bullet-pointed ammunition. So I started churning out the text, but then something unexpected happened.

I still remember where I was sitting when the phone rang. It was the director of my mission board. We were only three months into deputation to join a missions team in Zambia, Africa. My heart had been set on that plan for four years. Everything fell into place. But in one phone call it was all demolished. Our coworkers were moving. Their new location didn’t need another family. All of our plans were off.

A phone has enormous possibilities for both convenience and catastrophe. Before parents entrust their child with such a powerful tool, they should carefully consider whether their child is mature enough to handle it–and carefully coach the child to use it properly.