“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Ephesians 4:14).

We certainly have had strange weather lately where I live in northeastern Pennsylvania. Due to a strong November windstorm last night, most of the leaves have now fallen off the trees in my yard. This morning I noticed the results of another strong storm we had this past spring, almost seven months ago. You see, one day last March, a spring storm carried my family’s garbage cans down the block with the contents spilling out and blowing all over our neighborhood. Now that the leaves are down, I realized again that there are still plastic bags higher than I can reach in the trees in front of our house.

God’s Word uses the vivid illustration of being “carried about with every wind of doctrine” as an apt depiction of the importance of teaching doctrine and theology in our churches. The Biblical objective of local church ministry is to produce people with the spiritual maturity for a life of service for Christ. (more…)