Gerald Bandonill

Just here for the tweets

[Gretchen Ronnevik @garonnevik]

I think the root problem with the manosphere is that they have been taught that their value is through their utility, and not their value is found in Christ. They are desperate for power, for accolades, for money, for status. They have this desperation to prove themselves as worthy. It's so heartbreaking and devaluing of men. It's the root reason why they turn to women, and address them only by their utility, and don't see their value outside of their utility. It almost has this "payback" feel to the way they were made to feel. That's the framework they view themselves first, and women second. The jolting way they treat women is just a reflection of the structure by which some evil person taught them to see themselves.

And I get it. When we are struggling, in pain, and dismissed, we want something to DO to make it go away, and the manosphere gives them a goal, and something to do, and they don't question whether or not that is even a worthy goal. It has the illusion of hope, and the relief of pleasure. It's outright decieving them, because the Devil tempts with wealth, and fame, and lust, like he has no other tricks up his sleeve. "You can be like God" instead of humbling worshipping God. They just want their pain gone, and to feel strong, and valuable, and worthy.

I want them so badly to know God accepts them on account of Christ alone. I want so badly for them to find rest. And God has prepared for all of us good works to do. But we aren't accepted by our utility. There's a death to self before there's a resurrection.

[Dane Ortlund @daneortlund]

Ten basics for skilled conversation--easily learned, easily forgotten. (I'm envisioning the hallway at church as I jot these down but they're broadly transposable).

1. Eye contact, including when speaking (it's harder to maintain eye contact when speaking than listening).
2. Listen with a view to what is being said (rather than formulating your own next comment).
3. Smile/gentle countenance as much as possible (90% of people are more discouraged than they're letting on).
4. Ask questions (everyone is more interesting than they realize).
5. Remember that this person, as the image of God, is a king or queen, worthy of accordant dignifying.
6. Be slow to pivot someone's joys or sorrows to your own similar experiences.
7. Adjust to the person--if they are painfully shy, be willing to carry more of the conversation load; if they are talkative, be willing to throttle back accordingly.
8. As appropriate be eager to move to deeper/spiritual things, taking the lead to do so rather than trying to prompt the other person to go deep first.
9. But: nothing wrong with small talk! Talking about the weather and sports and flowers greases the gears for deeper conversation. Christians who only ever talk at a spiritual level are exhausting.
10. It is not rude to smile, shake hands, and swiftly end the conversation (usually the other person wanted it to end too but didn't know how).

As a pastor I've been learning that the art of a skilled conversation is vital, though one that is not taught in seminary. I'm trying to grow in these ways, glad I had parents who modeled this well for me.

What would you add or change?

[Jeff Taylor @JeffTaylorLR]

Klinean Counter to the Accusation of “Replacement Theology” (Romans 11)

The charge of “replacement theology” collapses Paul’s entire covenant architecture.

In Romans 11, Paul isn’t describing one people replacing another. He’s describing one Abrahamic tree, grounded in the promissory, heavenly root. The Mosaic covenant was a temporary, typal overlay—its sanctions explain why some branches are broken off.

Gentiles don’t form a new tree. They’re grafted into the same Abrahamic root because the eschatological Seed has come.

That’s not replacement. That’s typology giving way to reality, the earthly kingdom giving way to the heavenly, and the Mosaic order giving way to the New‑Covenant fulfillment.

Romans 11 is not supersessionism. It’s Klinean federal continuity with eschatological transformation.
#Romans11 #KlineanTheology #CovenantalArchitecture #BiblicalTheology #NewCovenant #AbrahamicPromise #Eschatology

[Jeff Taylor @JeffTaylorLR]

In Kline’s architecture, the question for elders and pastors is never
“Does this man experience temptation?”
Every man does.

The question is judicial:

Does any desire—of any kind—exercise a dominion that compromises his ability to represent Christ’s authority?

Temptation isn’t disqualifying.
Indwelling sin isn’t disqualifying.
But unmortified, identity‑shaping, or office‑compromising desire is.

Office is representational, not therapeutic.
If a pattern of desire undermines credibility, judgment, or pastoral oversight,
it crosses from temptation into disqualification.

The issue isn’t the category of attraction.
The issue is whether sin rules the man who is called to rule the church.

#KlineanArchitecture #CovenantClarity #OfficeAndOrder

[Jeffrey Perry® @JeffreyPerry09]

“There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood” was written by William Cowper in 1771.

As a child, William lost his mother at a young age. Because of this, he was sent away to school, where he endured bullying and isolation. As he grew older, he was trained in law, but he struggled to function in his work, weighed down by crippling self-doubt.

Eventually, the pressure became too much.

When he was appointed to a position that required a public examination, he broke under the weight of it. He suffered a mental breakdown, made multiple attempts on his own life, and was eventually committed to an asylum, where he remained for over a year.

It was there, in that place, that something changed.

While in the asylum, Cowper began reading the Scriptures, and that is where the Lord met him. The story is told that he came to Romans 3:25, where Christ is set forth as a propitiation through faith in His blood, and in that moment, the truth of the gospel broke through the darkness.

He later described it as seeing, all at once, the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement, the fullness of his pardon, and the completeness of his justification.

The imagery for the song comes from Zechariah 13:1, where a fountain is opened for sin and uncleanness, but Cowper saw clearly what that fountain pointed to. It pointed to Christ, to His blood shed for sinners, and to the promise that even the most stained conscience could be made clean.

There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.

Cowper’s life would continue to be marked by struggle, depression, and attempts on His life. He wrestled for years with doubt and despair, but there was something that remained objectively true,

There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.

https://t.co/n4WWU6Qw1M

#TheologyYouCanSing

[Jeffrey Perry® @JeffreyPerry09]

There was a version of Christianity that many of us inherited that spoke frequently and urgently about sexual purity, yet did not always give us the theological categories necessary to process failure when it came.

I remember the talks. There were often metaphors about damaged goods and lost gifts. The illustrations stretched from chewed gum to used flowers. And while I am sure that much of it was well-intentioned, as a call to young people to holiness in a culture that trivializes sex, in practice, it was crushing.

In practice, the message became that your purity equals your value.

Admittedly, it may not have been phrased that starkly, but that is how many of us heard it.

This is the reason that many of us heard it that way, because when sexual ethics are emphasized without a robust doctrine of union with Christ and justification by grace alone, purity quietly becomes a measure of worth.

Sexual sin is no longer treated as one expression of the broader human condition of fallenness; it becomes a kind of identity marker. And when that happens, failure does not simply produce repentance. It produces shame.

I can speak personally here. When I sinned in this area, my instinct was not to run toward Christ but to withdraw, at least until I proved I was serious again.

I did not consciously deny the gospel, but functionally, I believed that sexual sin had placed me in a different category, one that required more than ordinary forgiveness.

The good news is that the gospel speaks differently.

Union with Christ means that your standing before the Father is determined by the obedience of the Son, not by consistency. Justification means that the verdict over you has already been rendered in Christ and does not fluctuate.

To be clear, none of this minimizes the seriousness of sexual sin. Scripture treats it soberly because it matters. It affects bodies, relationships, and consciences, but seriousness is not the same as utter ruin. Sexual sin is not uniquely capable of undoing what Christ has accomplished.

It does not create a second-tier category of Christians whose identity is permanently marked by failure.

If you are in Christ, your identity is not your sexual history. Your identity is that you are a sinner justified by grace and united to a living Savior whose righteousness is counted as yours.

Many of us were taught to prize virginity or purity as the most precious possession we had to offer God. The New Testament says something far better. Christ is your righteousness, and He is not fragile.

If you learned to associate your body with shame and your sexuality with irreversible damage, that reflex will not disappear overnight. It takes time for the gospel to retrain our minds.

But hear clearly the words of the apostle Paul:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”

[Plumbline Faith @PlumblineFaith]

In the New Testament, elders emerged within a local assembly based on proven character …

As they served God’s people through relationships, plurality, example, persuasion and earned respect.

Today, we instead hire a “Senior Pastor” from the outside based on external institutional credentials …

To rule over an organization called a “church” through appointment, position, hierarchy, titles, command and control.

Big difference.

[Jeff Wiesner @JeffreyPWiesner]

The First London Baptist Confession (1644) speaks of church membership as baptized believers placing themselves under Christ’s “heavenly conduct and government, to lead their lives in his walled sheepfold, and watered garden” (Art. 34).

Beautiful! In local churches, the Lord Jesus…

Protects (“walled sheepfold”) and nourishes (“watered garden”) his flock.

[Adriel Sanchez @AdrielTweets]

If you're interested in pursuing a call to ministry, the first and most important thing to do isn't to apply for seminary but to sign up for the nursery at church. A call to ministry is a call to share Christ's affection for his bride. A love for doctrine that isn't coupled with a love for the local church body won't sustain faithful, long-term ministry.

One passage I like to share with young men considering ministry is Philippians 2:19ff. There, Paul tells the church at Philippi that he hopes to send Timothy to them soon. Why Timothy? Paul explains in vss. 20-21, "For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ."

It strikes me on the one hand that Paul could say he didn't have many co-laborers who he felt like would share his level of care for the Philippians. It seems that many were just looking to see what they could get out of the church rather than serving her. On the other hand, in a roundabout way Paul tells us what Jesus is interested in. The interest of Christ is the genuine welfare of the church. Earlier Paul told the Philippians that he yearned for them with "the affection of Christ Jesus" (1:8). If you're called to the ministry, you'll be interested in the things Jesus is interested in and share Christ's affection for the peace and purity of the local church. Love for the church in real, tangible ways. The result will be that the internal call will be reinforced by the voices of those you've ministered to in the church.

So, if you're interested in ministry, first learn to love the church. Then go to seminary.

[Ryan Denton @TexasPreacher]

I am disturbed when I am often told by members of churches that many of the younger reformed men are very good men, who have no doubt read a great deal, and are very leaned men, but that they are very dull and boring preachers. -MLJ

[The Biblical Man @Biblicalman]

Today, I was visiting with a brother. This friend calls himself a Christian, but doesn't always act like it. Some days he’s on fire for the Lord, and other days life's struggles seem to get the best of him. So, as our eyes met, I really wanted to say something about it to him, but decided to just let the Lord speak to his heart, knowing nothing I could say would ever have the impact that the Lord making Himself real in his heart would make.
So I prayed with him. And after some time passed, I winked at him...
and walked away from the mirror…

[Mike Winger @MikeWingerii]

The vast majority of pastors I have known were NOT financially well off.

When we are at that pivotal time of life where we are deciding to pursue pastoral ministry or some other kind of career, most of us have a very serious assessment of the idea that this means we will never be financially well off.

Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely for churches paying pastors a good salary (not an obnoxious one) but most pastors know that they step into this role in a way that results in them having less money and less capacity for financially providing.

When I first pursued my wife I felt it was important we had a serious talk about money. I let her know that their was a high likelihood (because I would pursue ministry) that we would never have a nice home or nice stuff. She needed to know that this was not something I would likely be able to provide. That's the reality that most pastors seem to face, at least most of the ones I have known on the small scale.

Yet they are commonly treated as if they did it for the money. Nope. That's the exception to the rule, not the rule. That's Benny Hinn. That's Creflo Dollar. That's not your local pastor.

[Gerald Bandonill @GPBBand]

@trip_to_valkiri From the uniform, he looks like a Philippine Marine.

[Gerald Bandonill @GPBBand]

@MtZionAD33 Far removed from this discussion in my part of the world. But it appears you guys in the west have a lot of double standards. It's a shame since we look to you for guidance. Yet, from all of this we are also learning what to do and what not to do as Christians and as the church.

[All Commies Must Go! @jasider1956]

This is the source of much pastoral burnout—and indeed in the legal and other professions.

Lawyers, you can make the best arguments the best way possible but you cannot control the outcome.

[𝙱.𝙰. 𝙿𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚕𝚎 @B_A_Purtle]

In these days of reckoning in the American religious world, God is not merely judging the sins of leaders in terms of immorality, greed, power-abuse, etc.

He’s doing that, of course.

But He’s also judging false, Gospel-light, unbiblical ways of doing church, ministry, and leadership.

He’s judging our elevation of:

• gifting over character
• titles over integrity
• pragmatism over sound orthopraxy
• movements over the local church
• platforms over shepherding
• subjective intuition over the Bible
• chasing limelight over walking in Light
• networking over fellowship
• influencers over fathers
• man-centered ministry fantasies over steady-state obedience and faith
• our personalities over the Person of Christ
• our works over the work of Christ
• making a following over making disciples
• endless tertiary arguments concerning politics over the cultivation of sound theology and worship
• online chatter over evangelism
• organizing and mobilizing over prayer
• the dictates of our spirits over the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit
• seeking to be great among men rather than rightly stewarding our families
• flattery over honesty
• cleverness over holiness
• veneered envy over brotherly love
• charisma over humility
• fear of insignificance over the fear of God
• our names over His Name.

The Lord wants His house built in His way, according to His Word. Period.

Repentance will be necessary for this, saints.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

[Gerald Bandonill @GPBBand]

@JustinRaeC @Bongtothemax Wow. Naka ayos pa para sa market. Haha

[Expositors Collective @expositcllctv]

"There is no such thing as a great man of God, only weak, pitiful, faithless men of a great and merciful God."

-Paul Washer

[Andy Naselli @AndyNaselli]

“I would rather die than end up unfaithful to my wife;

I would rather die than deny by a profligate life what I have taught in my books;

I would rather die than deny or disown the gospel.”

[James R. Wood @jamesrwoodtheo]

Sinclair Ferguson: “You will only ever encounter two basic pastoral problems: 1) persuading those that are under the dominion of sin that they are -- evangelism; 2) persuading those that are no longer under the dominion of sin that they are no longer under it -- sanctification.”