Pursuing Veritas

Reflections by Jacob J. Prahlow
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  • Rules and Roles for Women

    I’m excited to share that my article, “Rules and Roles for Women: Vocation and Order in the Apostolic Fathers,” was recently published in the Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. This research was originally undertaken as part of a doctoral seminar at St. Louis University led by Dr. Carolyn Osiek, and I presented my findings at…

  • The Challenge of Church Planting

    This post is part of an ongoing series looking at church planting. Obviously, church planting is not all fun-and-games. There are plenty of challenges inherent in starting a new church, including those of:

  • Does Church Planting Overly Innovate?

    This post is part of an ongoing series looking at church planting. As commonly framed, Christianity often has problems with new things. Whether it’s new ways of thinking about Jesus (as during those pesky Christological controversies in the early Church), framing theology (like during the Reformation), using academic scholarship to inform faith (as in the…

  • How Does Church Planting Help?

    This post is part of an ongoing series looking at church planting. There are numerous benefits to planting churches. Church plants advance the Kingdom of God.9 When more and more believers gather together, proclaiming the gospel, preaching the Scriptures, celebrating the sacraments, and living in community, the Kingdom of God tangibly advances in our world.

  • Why Plant a Church?

    This post is part of an ongoing series looking at church planting. Of course, there are already a lot of established churches. So why do people plant new churches? First, church planting represents a tangible way for Christians to fulfill the Great Commission, to “make disciples of every nation” (Matthew 28:19-20). No place on earth…

  • What Is Church Planting?

    You’ve seen them in your community. They’re popping up in old buildings, fields, and other empty spaces. They show up with catchy names and make lots of loud noise, often attracting quite a crowd in the process. But what are they? Where do they come from? And why are they here? I’m talking, of course,…

  • Book Review: Irresistible (Stanley)

    Once upon a time, there existed a version of Christianity that was irresistible. Over the years, however, errors and accretions have piled up, reducing to a shadow what was once a robust proclamation of the Good News of Jesus. But now, there’s a way that the Church can return to its roots and make the…

  • Visiting with Jesus

    I first caught a glimpse of him through the doorbell camera at church. He looked cold and a little scraggly, and when I went to open the door, he was shorter than I expected. But there he was: the Son of God in human flesh. We talked for a while, as anyone might when they…

  • A Protestant Thinks About the Blessed Virgin Mary

    Talking about Mary can feel dangerous, especially if you are a Protestant who adheres to Protestant orthodoxy. Sure, we sing about Mary at Christmas, feel her pain on Good Friday, and maybe even read a little about her in the gospels. But for most American Protestants, almost any other interaction with Mary is borderline Catholic.…

  • Some Brief Reflections on Christian Leadership

    In many circles, leadership is a common buzzword. Politicians, company executives, social scientists, pastors, teachers, professionals, generals, people who give TED talks, and seemingly everyone else is talking about leadership—what it means and how it works. I must confess that I too am interested in leadership; from my desk, I count no fewer than seven…