Hometown Hope Ministries

In today’s social media-driven world, holiness is increasingly reduced to slogans: “Bible-believing Christians don’t…” These short, absolute declarations may seem bold and clear, but they blur the line between Scripture, personal interpretation, and cultural preference. When disagreement is treated as disbelief, and reaction is treated as proof of guilt, the Church risks replacing biblical discipleship with legalism and social media performance. This article explores why slog

God still calls men to preach, but calling is not confirmed in a moment. This article explores why the church must slow down discernment to help young preachers endure and finish well.

Paterson, New Jersey, provides a striking case study of urban ministry challenges. Once home to a strong Christian presence, the city has experienced decades of church decline, demographic shifts, and growing religious diversity. This study examines the patterns of spiritual retreat, the factors contributing to waning gospel influence, and the lessons churches can learn for revitalization and faithful witness in challenging urban environments.

The crisis of young pastors leaving the ministry is not inevitable. History and experience show that churches, mentors, families, and academic institutions can cultivate enduring shepherds. This article examines why many young pastors struggle to remain in ministry and provides practical advice for cultivating the next generation of faithful leaders.

Many pastors sense that something is deeply wrong but struggle to name it or know what to do next. Recent national data confirms this unease is not imagined. This is not a call to panic, but a call to clarity.

Many churches are not declining because of unfaithfulness, but because they cannot find a shepherd. A sober look at pastoral preparation, endurance, and the growing gap between churches and long-term pastors.

Every so often, the news confronts us with stories that feel almost unreal. Crimes so shocking that our first reaction is disbelief. That has happened this week. Headlines have told of parents killed by their own children—acts that defy our most basic understanding of love, family, and human instinct. We are left asking, "How could this happen?" And perhaps more quietly, "What is going wrong in our world?"

In recent months, we have been witnessing a growing number of articles, podcasts, and conference conversations suggesting that the United States may be experiencing a form of spiritual renewal. Reports of increased openness to faith, modest stabilization in religious affiliation, and renewed interest among some younger adults have fueled cautious optimism (sometimes fanatical optimism) across parts of the spiritual landscape.

In his autobiography, Cartwright often mentioned the “Cumberland country”—an expansive region shaped by the Cumberland River, stretching through what is now Kentucky and Tennessee. His journeys weren’t just about large camp meetings; they were also about humble visits to farmhouses, preaching in the “river bottoms,” and bringing faith to settlers living on the frontier.

There is a kind of suffering that rarely gets spoken of in Independent Baptist circles. It is not the suffering of persecution from the world. It is not the suffering that comes from doctrinal compromise or moral collapse. It is the quiet suffering inflicted by the brethren from within — This is not "friendly fire" done by accident. It is intentional! What we shall discuss today is the suffering of being: marginalized, blacklisted, rejected, ignored, talked about instead

Antisemitism is increasing—even among professing Christians Some online voices weaponize Scripture to deny Israel's ongoing place in God's plan. A recent example labeled Christian support for Israel as "satanic," citing Matthew 21:43; Romans 9:6; and Galatians 3:29. Such language reveals not only a misunderstanding of Scripture, but a heart posture Scripture itself rebukes. Sadly, these sentiments are becoming more common as antisemitism resurges and replacement theology s

Every generation of pastors faces a unique temptation. In ours, the danger is not persecution, doctrinal confusion, or governmental pressure—though each exists. Our greatest threat may well be the quiet seduction of Franchise Faith: a ministry philosophy that treats the local church less like a flock under the care of a shepherd, and more like a brand to expand, a movement to promote, or a product to replicate.

Few debates in modern Christianity have generated as much confusion—or as many labels—as the one surrounding the King James Bible. Terms like KJV-Only, KJV-Exclusivist, and KJV-Preferred are used interchangeably, sometimes carelessly, and often with strong emotion. In the process, genuine faith in the providential preservation of Scripture is sometimes misrepresented as fanaticism, while rationalistic skepticism toward the Bible is disguised as scholarship.

Churches vary greatly in size, influence, and resources, yet many pastors—particularly of smaller congregations—experience discouragement when comparing their ministries to larger, high-profile churches. I recall personally asking my pastor, as a young believer, why a certain church was able to grow so large while most others remained small. His answer was simple yet profound: much of their growth stemmed from their educational ministries.

Many people casually say, “Jesus was a Jew who started a religion; Muhammad was an Arab who started a religion. Big deal.” But this is far too superficial. The difference between these two men, and the two systems of belief they represent, touches the very nature of God, the way of salvation, and ultimate reality.

Every pastor knows what it feels like when a church’s pulse begins to weaken. Attendance slips, morale fades, giving drops, and the spiritual energy that once filled the congregation seems to have drained away. The question many shepherds quietly ask is, “Can this church live again?” In recent years, several studies have explored that very question.

In recent years, a troubling trend has surfaced: some claim that “the woman” in Revelation 17–18 is Israel, using that as a pretext for antisemitic rhetoric. This is not only theologically unsound, but dangerously misleading.

very pastor knows what it feels like to carry the weight of the ministry alone. The phone rings late at night, the burdens never quite lift, and Sunday seems to arrive faster every week. Many shepherds quietly struggle, not from lack of calling, but from a lack of encouragement. And sometimes the circumstances and lack of connections drive pastors further into loneliness and isolation. In Acts 4:36, we meet a man named Barnabas, which is, being interpreted, the son of consola

However, pride does not always appear in its traditional forms. The Pharisee who thanked God that he was “not as other men are” (Luke 18:11) has many descendants, but not all of them wear phylacteries or stand in the temple. Today, we meet a subtler kind of self-righteousness—a reverse form of Pharisaism that glories in being unlike the proud, condemns the judgmental, and congratulates itself for being humble.

Over the course of four plus decades of ministry, I have occasionally been confronted with the subject of textual variability among the various families of manuscripts. Manuscript evidence, although it escapes the notice of most Christians, has been of great interest to me. Few subjects in biblical studies are as vital—and as misunderstood—as the question of textual stability. For generations, scholars and believers alike have asked whether the New Testament text has been fai