disciple, husband, father, college minister
An excellent story from one of the Ph.D. candidates in my ministry.
The very first hike i went on as a Boy Scout was to Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky. We had scheduled a 12 mile course to take 5–6 hours. It was a beautiful April day, cool and bright, a gr…
This is a good explanation. If you are a Christian considering ministry, this is worth reflecting upon.
A seminary’s most important task is to pass on sound doctrine to the next generation of pastors for the benefit of the churches. A seminary’s most important task is to pass on sound doctrine to the ne…
This is a very disturbing post. I knew in vague terms that there were disincentives for the poor to earn more money, but this is astonishing. Color me depressed.
The whole tax debate is supremely frustrating to anyone who survived econ 1. The ill effects of taxation — the “distortions” — depend on the total, marginal rate including transfers. If I earn an ex…
This could substitute for RA training on a lot of campuses…
Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis, November 27, 2012 Via @GoComics
At its heart, Pearls Before Swine is the comic strip tale of two friends: an arrogant Rat who thinks he knows it all and a slow-witted Pig who doesn’t know any better. Together, this pair offers caust…
I sometimes teach as an adjunct for the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, and I must confess that I hate assigning grades. This essay is a helpful reflection on the noble task of evaluation.
Grading as Truth-Telling | John G. Stackhouse, Jr.
A false balance is an abomination to Yhwh, but an accurate weight is his delight. (Proverbs 11:1). Grading papers is among the most difficult parts, and is certainly the least pleasurable part, of my …
Some news stories catch you off-guard. This one definitely surprised me.
Defining depravity downwards in Deutschland
YouTube Preview Image. Der Spiegel’s English-language bulletin reports that conservative deputies on the Agricultural Affairs committee of the Bundestag have introduced legislation banning sex with an…
My question is the first one. That’s right — I’m an internet big shot now. Feel free to tell people you knew me when.
Freakonomics » How to Get the Best out of College? Your Questions Answered
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This is really quite startling to think about.
All in One Little Lifetime: All Gone with the Wind
A reflection by a great 20th century journalist on the various empires and rulers he has seen rise and fall in his lifetime—and who remains standing at the end.A reflection by a great 20th century j…
I just added an article about baptism to my repository of essays and Bible studies. It’s a pdf called What The Bible Teaches About Baptism.
Here’s an excerpt:
Why Should I Be Baptized?
“Why should I be baptized?” is a reasonable question, but I prefer the question asked by the Ethiopian eunuch: “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?’” (Acts 8:36). Getting baptized is something that Christians do – it should be your default decision for the following reasons:
1) I Should Be Baptized To Obey Jesus
Jesus commanded his apostles to baptize people as they proclaimed the gospel (Matthew 28:18–20), and so we see that he expects new believers to be baptized as part of the process of becoming his disciples.
2) I Should Be Baptized To Identify With Jesus
Being baptized is a proclamation of our spiritual union with Christ. Colossians 2:12 says that Christians are “buried with [Jesus] in baptism” and that we are then “raised with him through our faith in the working of God, who raised [Jesus] from the dead.” Another way to approach this point is to recognize that Jesus, though without sin, was baptized and thereby identified with us, and we complete the cycle when we are baptized and likewise identify with him.
3) I Should Be Baptized To Proclaim My Devotion To Jesus
In 1 Peter 3:21, baptism is described as “the pledge of a clear conscience toward God” (that’s the NIV: some other translations phrase it as “an appeal to God for a good conscience”). Whichever is the better rendering in English, it is clear that baptism is an act of formally giving ourselves to God.
And so if you name Christ as your Lord and have not been baptized, then seize this opportunity and be baptized.
Read the rest of the pdf.
I was chatting with a new worship leader recently who didn’t know any hymns, so I decided to make a quick list of some of my favorites (in alphabetical order, not order of favoriteness). There are multiple versions of each hymn on youtube; I picked the particular videos I linked to somewhat at random.
If you’re a worship leader and don’t know any of these, you should add them to your repertoire. You’ll be amazed at how useful they can be. And if you search for “contemporary arrangement of [name of hymn]” you’ll find good resources for making them sound fresh.
You can find chord charts for most of these at Indelible Grace Music’s online hymn book.
For an interesting list of the most popular hymns of all time, check out The Hymns That Keep On Going.