A New Show with Logos: What in the Word?

Kirk E. Miller

I’m excited to share I’ll be launching a brand new YouTube and podcast show with Logos called What in the Word?

Coming soon

Ever read the Bible and thought, “What in the world does this mean?” From puzzling passages like the Nephilim in Genesis 6 to Paul’s cryptic reference to baptism for the dead in 1 Corinthians 15, scripture can leave even the most seasoned reader scratching their head. That’s where What in the Word? comes in.

Check it out! 👇🏻

Introduction

Whether you’re a pastor, a Bible teacher, or simply a curious Christian, join us as we explore these challenging passages, hear from expert guests, and grow in our understanding of God’s Word.

Learn more about the show by watching the full introduction below!

Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

Ecclesial Crossbreeding: When Elders Answer to No One

Kirk E. Miller

Exegetical and theological differences aside:

Elder (presbuteros)-rule church government (polity) historically developed within an ecclesial ecosystem of broader presbyterian accountability structures. In other words, when the elders of a particular church (its “session”) functioned as its utmost governing body—as opposed to the congregation—those elders (session) were nonetheless governed by and accountable to its broader ecclesial system of accountability (e.g., its local presbytery, consisting of elders from other local congregations). Thus, although elder-rule existed, those elders’ authority in their church was not unchecked or absolute.

On the other side, congregational (e.g., Baptist) churches are autonomous, meaning each local church completely governs itself. It may affiliate with other churches (associations, conventions, etc.). But the church remains self-governing; there is no ecclesial authority that exists over it and governs it.

These churches have historically been congregationally governed, i.e., the members of the church (congregation) serve as the utmost governing body of the church. Certainly its congregationally appointed elders exercise a measure of delegated authority, but they remain accountable, in this case to the congregation.

In short, historically speaking both forms of elder-rule and congregational polity maintained mechanisms of accountability for its elders. Elders were never a pure, independent, unaccountable governing body in either system. In elder-rule, they had outside accountability from the elders of other churches in their denomination (known as presbyterianism). The accountability came from “above.” In congregational churches, the church (the congregation, the members) itself held them accountable. The accountability came from “below.”1

A dangerous—and from what I understand, historically aberrant and novel—iteration then are those churches that borrow from both these worlds, but thereby isolate pieces of these polities that were never meant to exist independent of their larger ecclesial commitments. Thus you get churches today that are autonomous but elder-rule. In short, the elders are not accountable to anyone, neither the congregation or an overseeing presbytery.

It’s dangerous and ripe for abuse.

Notes

  1. I mean “below” or “above” in terms of hierarchy, not value. ↩︎

Honoring God with Our Complaints (Laments)

Kirk E. Miller

Honoring God with Our Complaints: A Case for Laments
Faith Community Church
January 5th, 2025

Podcast link.

Do You Reach Out When Church Members Leave?

Kirk E. Miller

Church member, when someone resigns their membership and leaves your church, do you take the time to reach out to them?

If someone leaves your church due to a life transition, such as moving away for work or school, I hope you connect with them, say goodbye, and pray for them as they go. But I also have in view those who leave for other, often unannounced, reasons. What about those who leave? Do you also reach out to them to care for them as they go?

What if you made it a point to never let a fellow member leave without reaching out to them?

If we take church membership seriously—as a covenant to the church and to one another—then our commitment to fellow members certainly includes caring for and looking out for each other while we are members of the same church. Being a part of a church involves promises and obligations to every member.

But it would also seem that part of honoring that covenant means caring about members as they leave and caring enough about the circumstances that led to their exit. Or do you simply cut ties, as if their departure doesn’t matter?

Consider what it communicates when someone leaves a church only to have zero—or very few—show even the most minimal amount of care so as to reach out. Departing from a church is often a difficult decision, at times occurring under already painful circumstances. For no one to reach out likely adds to that pain, making such people feel forgotten, neglected, like they apparently must not have mattered much to those who were once their fellow members, of no consequence to the very church they once called “family.”

Perhaps you’re thinking, “But that’s uncomfortable.” When, though, was church membership ever about your own personal comfort? Christlike community (see Phil 2:4b) involves caring enough about others to endure any personal discomfort for the good and care of others. It requires de-centering ourselves: our comfort and interests are not the priority (Phil 2:4a).

2:4a Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 2:4b Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.—Philippians 2:4

How I Use Logos Bible Software (with Jason Stone)

Kirk E. Miller

Jason Stone recently invited me on to talk about how I use Logos Bible Software. (We barely scratched the surface!)

    Some follow up clarifications and answers to questions that were raised:

    1. The reason I couldn’t find any good examples of notes in the NET is that I had closed the NET and was accidentally looking at notes in the ESV notes—whoops!
    2. I’ve made my Custom Guide public, which can now be accessed here.
    3. Regarding the Information Tool, this page states, “You can change the settings so that the Information tool updates when you click a word instead of hover over it by clicking the panel menu icon  and selecting Click instead of Hover in the Update on: section. To freeze the Information tool: highlight a word or phrase and hold down the Cmd key (Mac) or Ctrl key (Windows) when moving the mouse.” In other words, use Cmd, not Shift, to lock a selection when set to hover.
    4. I confirmed, I have HALOT prioritized over NIDOTTE. However, it seems that the Information Tool provides a prioritized dictionary resource before one’s prioritized lexical resource. So that’s why NIDOTTE appeared on top in that instance.
    5. For those looking to subscribe to the Notes on ESV translation updates, you can find out how to do that here. I learned this from Mark Ward.