Month: November 2017

Why Seminary? Exhibit A: Joel Osteen …formal theological training at seminary level is not a biblical prerequisite for being a preacher of God’s word. The Apostle Peter, for instance, had no MDiv degree hanging on his office wall. But I’m sure we all agree that his 24/7 intensive, three year internship with Jesus was, um …adequate preparation. But if an excellent theological education is available to you, there is wisdom in being a good steward of that opportunity. Loving Better by Typing Less The thing about sinful, broken people is that there is never a shortage of sin and brokenness. However, it rarely (if ever) does anyone any good to be publicly thrown under the bus for wrong thoughts, wrong actions, and wrong words. I’m an…

You Are Not Your Personality Profile I see the value in understanding that I’m an ESTJ. At the time that I filled out the test, I paid extra to receive the extended personality profile results so that I could dig deeper into the quirks of why I am this way (because, for the most part, I fit the categories almost perfectly) and so I understand myself—particularly my flaws—better. However, Aaron is also dead right when he says here that we can take it too far. 2017 Winter Book List It’s always helpful when someone else puts these lists together, particularly when broken down into categories that are helpful for parents with children of different ages and interests. Not to mention more than a few award-winning…

Looking Like Monastics I heartily agree with the sentiment in this article. Too often Christian women are encouraged to ‘feel all the feels’ when it comes to their faith; seeking the Spirit but discouraged from engaging the intellect. I’ve been very glad to see so many excellent women bible teachers and theologians recently, and pray this continues to increase. Hillsong Pastor Carl Lenz in the Spotlight Pastors can’t dodge hard questions. Pastors are appointed by God to answer hard questions. They are the figures in the cosmos who must speak the truth. How to Revive Lifeless Prayer Of all the spiritual disciplines, surely the most essential are bible reading and prayer. But these can be difficult, and often we go through seasons of dryness. Here are 10…

The Proven Path to Mental Health Christianity turns out to be the greatest, most beautiful story of redemption ever told. It addresses all our greatest and deepest needs and longings. It offers all of us the most hope, no matter who we are and how horrible we’ve been. When holistically believed and consistently lived, Christianity produces the most mentally healthy people history has ever known. The Reformation and Doxology A Reformed pastor from Tasmania who makes his opening argument by quoting a Christian hip-hop artist? I’m gonna read that. Responding to CT’s Editorial Against the Nashville Statement Denny Burk responds to the recent CT editorial in which the Nashville Statement was critiqued (which is welcome) yet Burk points out that CT utterly missed the mark…