Reformed Fringe

In this series, we are diving into Doug’s books, explaining why I wrote them, why you should read them, and going through what they are about. In this episode, we look at Doug’s very first book: Waters of Creation. Doug unpacks the heart and soul of the book and reveals baptism as an ancient temple rite. From the glassy sea in Revelation to the Tabernacle laver, from creation’s waters to Jesus’ own baptism at age 30, discover how Jesus fulfilled the Levitical ordination ceremony (Exodus 29) and how every believer is now commissioned as a priest in God’s living temple. This is not another debate about mode or recipients. It’s a fresh, biblical-theological vision of baptism that makes sense of the whole Bible — and changes how you live every day. If you’re looking for depth, beauty, and ancient truth for a new generation, this episode is for you.

For over twenty years, I have avoided preaching 1 Corinthians—its conundrums, factionalism, and bizarre debates made it feel inexplicable. Then a single verse in Acts (18:18) began to change all that: Paul cuts his hair right after leaving Corinth, where he had worn it long during his entire ministry there. This glaring contradiction with 1 Cor 11:14 (“long hair… a disgrace”) cracked open the passage.In Razing Hair, I argues that Paul is not delivering transcendent rules about head coverings, hair length, or gender hierarchy. Those are issues of "disputable matters" and Christian liberty. He is being sarcastic—mocking the Corinthians’ obsession with outward appearances, cultural propriety, and contentious debates while their church is imploding morally. Only the core theological affirmations (Christ as head, mutual interdependence, God as ultimate covering) are spoken straight-faced; the rest skewers the vanity of these Christians with biting irony.