We are presently teaching through the Minor Prophets at church. I had the joy of tackling the book of Amos over a couple Sundays in February鈥攏ot exactly a seeker-sensitive text.
This post is for people who are praying seriously about the possibility of serving overseas in long-term cross-cultural missions. It may help you assess where you presently stand in terms of 鈥渞eadiness鈥 for such a ministry assignment.
Jesus prayed for His church to form a kind of angled mirror, bonded together with the kind of love that directs the world鈥檚 gaze upward to behold the Triune God of love (Jn. 17:11-24). Are we reflecting the Triune God clearly, or do our churches often form more of a cracked mirror, fragmented shards with animosities and apathies caked like mud, refracting little light from above? Dr. Williams explores one reason we may often fail to reflect the Trinity, namely, the lack of a robust doctrine of "the anti-Trinity."
There is poignant scene in the movie 鈥淎mazing Grace鈥 that pans onto a country field in which William Wilberforce is lying on the wet grass contemplating the magnificence of God. He is mesmerized by the dew on a spider web as evidence of God鈥檚 handiwork. In this instant he feels the inner tension between staying in the moment, meditating on God and returning to ongoing struggle in politics. He cannot discern which is better: to sit in solitude with God or enter the realm of politics where he is seeking to bring God鈥檚 justice? It is only later that some abolitionist ministers suggest that he could do both: seek to be with God and serve God 鈥 at the same time. It is this special combination that I believe is the key to living for God鈥檚 Kingdom - not at a glorious future in heaven above, but now in this broken world in need of God鈥檚 redeeming justice and hope!
As we near the outset of a new academic semester, I thought this comment from John Frame was a fitting word of encouragement for Talbot faculty and students alike concerning the nature of our engagement with God鈥檚 word.
I am very excited to announce that Talbot School of Theology will be launching a new Doctor of Ministry track in Asian-American Ministry in June of 2013. This is a 2-week residency that will run from June 3rd to the 14th, 2013. This track will be taught and guided by some of the most experienced leaders, instructors, and practitioners in Asian-American ministry. The track is geared towards anyone who pastors or leads Asian-Americans in a church or parachurch.
I recently discovered something about Nehemiah that I had never noticed before. There are lots of hints in the biblical book that bears his name that Nehemiah was a person who lived with an ongoing awareness of the presence of the Lord, and who highly valued the importance of communion with God.
The Christmas story is about Jesus being born into the family of Mary and Joseph. Have you ever considered what other options there were for which type of family Jesus could have been born into? We could explore these possibilities by asking, 鈥淲hat early life experiences do we think could best prepare Jesus for his later public ministry?鈥 Let me suggest a context for this kind of musing. Imagine you were invited to observe that special planning session in eternity past when the Godhead considered creating this world and mapping out a plan for our redemption. Of course this couldn鈥檛 happen, but pretend this divine session was like one of our committee meetings. The topic on 鈥渢oday鈥檚鈥 agenda is 鈥淲hat is the best early life experience preparation for Jesus to be formed for his distinctive divine-human role as Messiah and Savior of the world?鈥
鈥淎l mundo paz naci贸 Jes煤s鈥 es el inicio de un popular villancico navide帽o que resume magistralmente esta temporada de fiesta por la llegada del Hijo de Dios entre nosotros. La navidad celebra el cumplimiento de la promesa de la venida del Pr铆ncipe de paz (Is. 9:6). La segunda persona de la trinidad se hizo hombre y habit贸 entre nosotros para despu茅s darnos vida a trav茅s de su sacrificio expiatorio en la cruz. Por lo tanto, la navidad es un acontecimiento digno de celebrarse.
Con Campbell鈥檚 new book, Paul and Union with Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012, 479 pages, $34.99 softcover) is one of the most important books I鈥檝e read in a long time. I predict that scholars and serious students of the Bible will be referring to this book for years to come. The reason is simple: Campbell has meticulously and even-handedly taken one of the Apostle Paul鈥檚 central themes, union with Christ, and has painstakingly examined it both through an exegetical and a theological lens.
鈥淏ueno, pero Dios sigue estando en su trono鈥 es una frase que he escuchado bastante veces en los 煤ltimos d铆as. Los que la pronuncian generalmente lo hacen con un tono de resignaci贸n al ver que las cosas no se han dado como inicialmente esperaban. Me da la impresi贸n que recuerdan que Dios est谩 en control de las circunstancias solamente como un premio de consolaci贸n al ver que su candidato perdi贸 las elecciones o enfrentan otras decepciones en la vida. Tristemente en estos casos, estas personas se olvidan que nuestro Dios siempre es victorioso, siempre est谩 en control y que nada ni nadie obstruye su soberan铆a sobre todo. Dios no deber铆a ser el premio de consolaci贸n de los perdedores sino el premio mayor de todos los d铆as sin importar lo que est茅 sucediendo a nuestro alrededor.
Life can be busy. This just seems to be a reality of life. And especially within the Christian world, busyness sometimes seems to translate into godliness. I have known this to be true in my own life. I have the privilege to teach each week at the seminary and interact with students and colleagues regarding very important eternal matters. I also served as the lead pastor of a church on a 鈥減art-time鈥 basis. I鈥檓 married with two little boys who were always wanting daddy鈥檚 time. And I was finishing my dissertation for my doctorate. Just a little busy!
Every now and then It is good to be surrounded by people who cause us to consider the stewardship of our life. Being at the global summit, Transform World 2012, has caused me to do just that. Perhaps this can be of encouragement to you.
The recent statistics released by The Pew Forum on Religious & Public Life showing a decline among Americans who consider themselves religious are sure to alarm many concerned about the spiritual state of the nation. For evangelicals, the most potentially jarring of these statistics shows that for the first time in its history the United States does not have a Protestant majority. The study found that about 20% of Americans say they have no religious affiliation, an increase from 15% in the last five years. The sobering reality in all this for evangelicals is that, although our churches continue to grow, our evangelistic effectiveness has significantly lagged behind the US population growth. This study is a clear challenge to evangelicals to live up to our name and proclaim the good news in a culture where we can no longer assume common theological foundations. Evangelical Christians have to learn to preach the gospel in a culture where we are no longer part of the Protestant majority. This is not necessarily a bad thing though. A few observations about the data shows that the picture is not as bleak as it may seem.
How would you like to be going into exile? Leaving all you have known鈥攜our home, your beautiful yard and fields, your places of repose and safety, your income earning ability? Two of my friends are going into exile this fall. One, the pastor of a church, is being exiled by leaders who had a different 鈥榲ision鈥 for the church than he had. Never mind that he had served there faithfully for over a dozen years鈥攜es, he had preached the Word, and yes, he had visited the sick鈥攂ut, well, it wasn鈥檛 enough. He is facing the exile of not having a job, not knowing the future and not being able to see what God has ahead for him.
El Esp铆ritu Santo es esencial para la vida y ense帽anza cristiana. De hecho, no creo exagerar al afirmar que sin la ayuda y poder del Esp铆ritu Santo todos nuestros esfuerzos tanto para agradar a Dios como para ense帽ar a otros a hacerlo carecen de sentido y, por lo tanto, los resultados son insignificantes. Desgraciadamente, en muchas ocasiones el Esp铆ritu Santo es olvidado, minimizado o incluso relevado a solamente una teor铆a teol贸gica que creemos porque se encuentra en la Biblia, pero que no tiene ninguna relevancia en nuestra vida diaria. De hecho, llegu茅 a escuchar a un profesor de un seminario afirmar que muchos cristianos de forma pr谩ctica creen que la santa trinidad est谩 compuesta por el Padre, el Hijo y las Santas Escrituras. De esta manera, la presencia del Esp铆ritu Santo es totalmente olvidada.
Mentoring may be a 鈥渂uzz-word鈥 in the business world, but the practice of developing another person for specific purposes of skill or leadership development has been around since the beginning of civilization. It is evident throughout Scripture 鈥 especially in the ministries of Jesus and Paul. However, the integration of mentoring for ministry preparation within academic settings has built in problems. SO WHY BOTHER? For many reasons...
While reaching the whole world with the gospel is the mission of the Christian faith, lifegiving churches recognize that the world is made up of many different audiences. Since different groups of people have quite different cultures, needs, and methods of communication, a church that intentionally tries to reach a specific group with the message of Christ, will normally be much more effective than one that tries to reach everyone with a general attempt. Every church should have a sign that says, "Everyone Welcome," but a deliberate strategy must be in place or they will only see accidental growth.
After a Talbot chapel some time ago, in which we struggled with three or four 'glitches' in the program, my dear colleague Dennis Gaines leaned over and said to me, "I call these things weeds". Yes, weeds...those little irritations that prevent our best efforts from being the gems of perfection we designed them to be.
He tenido el privilegio de ser profesor por m谩s de veinte a帽os. A los diecinueve a帽os empec茅 a ense帽ar espa帽ol y otras materias en una secundaria publica en Guadalajara, M茅xico. Esta aventura que empez贸 como un simple trabajo se ha convertido en mi vocaci贸n y he tenido la oportunidad de ense帽ar en varios pa铆ses, instituciones y niveles acad茅micos que van de la secundaria hasta el doctorado. La tarea de un profesor es ardua y siempre hay muchas cosas que aprender. De hecho, actualmente ense帽o en un programa doctoral que se enfoca principalmente en la tarea educativa y en los procesos de ense帽anza-aprendizaje en diferentes contextos cristianos.
Jesus often created controversy, particularly when he associated with sinners. He made it a practice of eating in the company of acknowledged sinners, a practice that was in direct contrast to that of the Pharisees. Why did He practice such an unusual form of hospitality for his day?
John 7:53-8:11, often described as 鈥淭he Passage of the Woman Caught in Adultery鈥 (passage de adultera), is famous for several reasons. The pleasant reason is that it is one of the most dramatic displays of the grace of God in the Bible. But there is also a more difficult reason that needs to be addressed: this passage was likely not in the original version of the Gospel of John, but was added later at an undeterminable time and for an unknown reason. How should the church treat this passage?
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