Orthodoxy + Orthopraxy
Articles from Covenant Seminary faculty, alumni, and friends about biblical doctrine and the Christian life.
Twenty Ways to Plant Churches in north America – Part 1
In the first of a two-part series on models of church planting, Dr. Phil Douglass shares from his extensive experience as a church planter and mentor of church planters, retired professor of applied theology at Covenant Seminary, and overseer of church planting efforts for the Missouri Presbytery of the PCA.
Responding to a Holy God: How Understanding God’s Holiness Leads to Our Godliness
What does it mean that God is holy? And how should our lives look different because of it? With a focus on the Torah, this seminar from The Gospel Coalition’s 2025 National Conference explains how God’s holiness is central to who he is, how it refers to much more than moral purity, and how it calls us to respond with love, fear, and worship.
Church Planting: A Reformed View
We continue our year-long special focus on church planting with this reflection on that topic from a Reformed perspective by Dr. Philip Douglass, Professor Emeritus of Applied Theology and mentor to generations of church planters, along with some additional comments by his successor at Covenant, Dr. Robert Kim, who holds the Philip and Rebecca Douglass Chair of Church Planting and Christian Formation.
Church Planting in Our Cultural Moment: Challenge and Response
As we begin a year-long special focus on church planting, this post by Dr. Murray Lee, MNA Executive Coordinator, and the MNA Executive Team offer a reflection on the challenges of our cultural moment and how MNA and its partners are working to address them.
Thinking About Trauma
Trauma is a word that has many aspects and many implications. Is it really the best word to use? Maybe it’s time to start thinking about trauma in another way.
The Waiting: An Advent Reflection on Jeremiah 33:14–16
Waiting is hard. Nobody likes to wait. Yet, when we are confident of our destination, we can somehow press through the pain of what can feel like endless waiting. This is the message Jeremiah has for us in this passage, which is particularly apt for the season of Advent.
Cultural Identity Development: A Necessary Component of Professional Identity Development
Professional identity development is often an overlooked aspect of growing as a licensed counselor. But it's important for us as counselors to be aware of the personal and cultural factors that influence our lives and our decision to become counselors.
Kingdom Something: Thoughts About Calling
Choosing a career path can be a daunting task, but prioritizing biblical principles can help.
Navigating a Quarter-or Mid-Life Crisis
When it comes to calling, who we are becoming is far more important than what we are doing.
Grace for Leaders from Numbers 20:1-13
We are not the first generation among God’s people who have found the task of ministry leadership challenging, both for leaders and for their followers. Indeed, it has always been hard. But God's grace enables flawed leaders to keep leading and flawed followers to keep following.
A Road Paved With Books
When I started down this road of working with people, I figured what I learned in school would carry me along. Now I know you must keep up on the advancements in our understanding of people, their problems, and how to help. Keeping up takes books, lots of them.
Why the Cross?
Have you ever wondered why our Triune God chose a cross for the Messiah’s sacrificial death? Among the myriad of ways one can die, why crucifixion? In a Lenten reflection on this challenging topic, Dr. David Chapman helps us draw out some key biblical strands concerning the significance of Jesus’s cross.
Grace and Conviction in the Next Few
We have begun a period of transition and discernment within the Counseling Department at Covenant Seminary, and we’re inviting you—our students, alumni, and the wider church—to help us think through what it might look like to face the kinds of questions we all ask when we are in the midst of change and transition.
Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Dr. David C. Jones
As we prepare for this year’s David C. Jones Theology Lectures, we offer here a celebration of the life and legacy of the beloved Covenant professor whose name adorns the lectures and whose influence continues to shape the tenor of theological training for our students.
African American Preaching: A Gift to the Whole Church
Just as the study and theologizing of our Reformed forefathers has been a blessing not only to the Reformed or Presbyterian church but to the whole church, so also the unique contributions of African American preaching can benefit not only the black church but the church at large in our world.
Jones Theology Lectures: A Heritage of Theological Reflection for Building Up Christ’s Church
The 2025 edition of Covenant Seminary’s David C. Jones Theology Lectures will take place March 6 and 7 on campus. We offer here some helpful thoughts on the need for a series of academic lectures on theology and why such theological reflection is important for the training of future pastors and other ministry leaders for the church.
Pastors and Counselors in Tandem
Though pastors and counselors have the same ultimate goal in mind, they often approach the process of helping hurting people in different ways and from different perspectives. Dr. Paul Loosemore offers some thoughts on how they can work in tandem to usher people toward God and his designs for life, which will result in changed hearts and experiences.
Jackson Browne, Suffering, and Awareness
Suffering is a gentle teacher. You learn from suffering what you cannot learn any other way. For nearly fifty years, the songs of Jackson Browne have been a key voice for me during times of suffering and deep loss, reminding me in those moments I was not alone even though alone was the only thing I knew.
Is It Really Depression?
When our friends, family, or spouse seem really “down” or apathetic for a while, it isn’t long until we start wondering about the “D word.” Maybe it’s a whispered suggestion: “Do you think they might be depressed?” But are they really?
2023 President’s Report to the PCA 50th General Assembly
Rev. Dr. Tom Gibbs presented this state-of-the-Seminary report at the PCA’s 50th General Assembly, held in Memphis, Tennessee, in June 2023.