This morning I listened to the dramatized ESV (Mat. 16-28) as part of a “Gospel Experiment” group I’m involved in. The text in Mat. 18 where Jesus is instructing us on how to approach a brother who has sinned against us really stood out to me when I heard it afresh today. Jesus said… Go […]
Religious people love formulas. We love creeds, propositions, systems, and theological conclusions that help us to make sense of the bible, the world, God, life, good, evil, right and wrong. When we make conclusions based on everything we know about biblical teaching, we tend to gather those conclusions into some kind of pile, and then […]
I once heard a conference speaker suggest that 85% of pastors think that church exists to “train disciples to evangelize”, while 85% of the congregation thinks that church exists to “meet my needs”. (Can you say: “cross-purposes”?) When it comes to the weekly worship service at the average church, I believe a similar dynamic is often […]
Am I a hypocrite if I dislike social media, yet use Twitter to promote my writing? It sure feels like it… Part of me wants to rid myself of social media – to leave it all behind. I hate what it often does to my soul. If the heart is an idol factory, then social […]
Last week I published my first review of Ken Wilson’s A Letter to My Congregation (ALTMC). I wanted to start the review by offering my initial thoughts and a few observations that I appreciated about Ken’s book, along with a few of the issues I found/find most problematic. It’s a tricky thing writing a series of […]
Have you heard this before? “Honey, I know it hurts — but just remember — all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purposes. It’s all gonna turn out right in the end. The Bible promises us that!” If you have a friend at Church […]
For many, Calvinism is dangerous ground. It can be offensive, frustrating, and irritating. When I was a “young” Calvinist, there were not a few conversations I now wish I could take back. And, although Calvinists can be off-putting, equally so are the caricatures painted by non-Calvinists. Benjamin Corey recently wrote about the 5 Reasons Why Calvinism […]
The Book of Job and the Bankruptcy of Misapplied Orthodoxy
Religious people love formulas. We love creeds, propositions, systems, and theological conclusions that help us to make sense of the bible, the world, God, life, good, evil, right and wrong. When we make conclusions based on everything we know about biblical teaching, we tend to gather those conclusions into some kind of pile, and then […]
Thinking theologically about Old Testament prophecy
I have had the honor of journeying through the Old Testament with Elmer Martens in my final semester at the Biblical seminary I attend. At this point in our course on Old Testament Theology, we’re looking at the prophetic writings and prophetic patterns in the Old Testament. Today, Dr. Martens said… “People think of prophets […]
I recently shared with some friends that you can tell what you think the Bible is for by examining your own primary use of the Bible. Consider four typical ways people use (or think about) the Bible, and then consider a fifth important addition to all of these. #1 – The Soterian Approach – The […]
I once heard a conference speaker suggest that 85% of pastors think that church exists to “train disciples to evangelize”, while 85% of the congregation thinks that church exists to “meet my needs”. (Can you say: “cross-purposes”?) When it comes to the weekly worship service at the average church, I believe a similar dynamic is often […]
Are you Pentecostal or (p)entecostal?
Dr. Allan Anderson writes, “Pentecostalism is above all else a missionary movement— this premise enables us to understand the primary motivation for its global expansion throughout the twentieth century. Global Pentecostalism began as a restorationist or revitalization movement among radical evangelicals who were expecting a worldwide, Holy Spirit revival before the imminent coming of Christ… […]
Have you heard this before? “Honey, I know it hurts — but just remember — all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purposes. It’s all gonna turn out right in the end. The Bible promises us that!” If you have a friend at Church […]
3 things Jesus Would Have Probably Recognized In the Movie Noah.
I truly enjoyed the movie Noah by Darren Aronofsky. In light of some of the controversy or frustration regarding the movie I wanted to quickly share three things that I think Jesus would have probably recognized. Jesus probably would have recognized references to the early Jewish writings. Many important ancient second temple Jewish writings […]
A Biblical, Theological, & Practical Response: Why I think Ken Wilson is wrong (part 2)
Last week I published my first review of Ken Wilson’s A Letter to My Congregation (ALTMC). I wanted to start the review by offering my initial thoughts and a few observations that I appreciated about Ken’s book, along with a few of the issues I found/find most problematic. It’s a tricky thing writing a series of […]
A Little Exercise for Young Theologians – by Helmut Thielike
I just finished zipping through Helmut Thielicke’s (pronounced tea-LICK-eee) great little book entitled, A Little Exercise for Young Theologians. I hadn’t even heard of this book until I read a quote from it in another book last week. The title (and the idea behind it) intrigued me, and I bought the Kindle version the same […]
How To Treat Sinners the “Jesus Way”
This morning I listened to the dramatized ESV (Mat. 16-28) as part of a “Gospel Experiment” group I’m involved in. The text in Mat. 18 where Jesus is instructing us on how to approach a brother who has sinned against us really stood out to me when I heard it afresh today. Jesus said… Go […]
Small Town Missiological Contextualization…
For those of you interested in small town missional theology, I’ve written a piece for Multiply Vineyard called “Small Town Missiology: Contextualization & Outreach.” Feel free to head over there and read it. I’m convinced that we need to spend a lot more time thinking about church planting in a rural context, so I’d love your […]
Finding my Identity in Retweets (or, I’m an Idiot)
Am I a hypocrite if I dislike social media, yet use Twitter to promote my writing? It sure feels like it… Part of me wants to rid myself of social media – to leave it all behind. I hate what it often does to my soul. If the heart is an idol factory, then social […]
Sunday Lectionary Gospel Homily – Matthew 21:1-11
“Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says […]
Sunday Lectionary Gospel Homily – John 11:1-45
I was on the phone earlier this week with my pastor, and I mentioned that I was writing a homily on John 11: the raising of Lazarus. “Piece o’ cake,” he commented. “Everybody knows that story!” Exactly. Everybody knows the story. We know the ending even before we begin to read the chapter. We can […]
Live Blogging #SVS2014 (day 3)
Had a late night, so running a little late today. Make sure to follow the twitter hashtag #SVS2014 to stay up on people’s thoughts ****************** 10:03am… the infamous young Thomas Creedy is presenting a paper on theological anthropology. Yes, Thomas is building on the massively important texts found in Genesis. Such a bright young British […]
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