Dr. Greg Beale (Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary) explains the discipline of biblical theology and why a preacher might want to make use of it.
You can find the study notes here. Thank you to Charles Simeon Trust for making this resource available.
This past Wednesday The Gospel Project released a free eBook on Christ-centered preaching and teaching. We have been blown away by the initial response – thousands of people have already downloaded this free eBook. One thing is for certain, Christ-centered hermeneutics is a much debated issue in some theological circles. As Ed Stetzer noticed:
Interestingly enough, I have found that while many pastors argue for the importance of Christ-centeredness, there is disagreement on what it should look like. For this reason I recently asked several leading pastors and theologians to examine and discuss Christ-Centered preaching at my blog.
The pastors and theologians who discussed this issue in the eBook include:
Read and enjoy!
Chuck Lawless recently wrote ten reasons why leaders should continue their education at Between The Times. Lawless serves as Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Evangelism and Missions at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
1. The Christian life is about growth. We are babies in Christ at new birth, yet called to continual growth and maturity (Heb. 5:12-14). Always, we are to be in the process of God’s conforming us to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29). If we reach the point of assuming we’ve “arrived” and need no further training, we are instead neglecting our Christian responsibility.
2. A willingness to learn is a sign of humility. Education is seldom easy. An openness to become a student again, to be held accountable for assignments, and to be evaluated by others is a sign of the kind of humility all leaders should exhibit. We need no more arrogant leaders, and the education process can sift out our pride.
3. We always face theological issues. The authority of the Word of God, especially when evaluated against sacred documents of other world faiths, continues to be an issue. We must increasingly defend the truth that a personal relationship with Jesus is the only way to God. The doctrine of the Trinity is at times an issue when evangelizing around the world. Continued education can help us be better prepared to respond to these types of significant issues.
4. We continue to confront new ethical and moral issues. When I started in ministry over thirty years ago, I did not imagine ministering in a culture that affirms same-sex marriage. Internet pornography was not even an option. Never did I envision ministering to Sally, who actually began life as Sam. Issues like these are not, of course, separated from our theology, and further education equips us to minister in this changing culture.
5. The people we lead are frequently still learning. At least in North America, we often minister to educated parishioners. They are teachers, engineers, physicians, and accountants. Many of our congregations include professionals for whom continued education is assumed, if not required. Thus, they recognize the value that continued training offers for their spiritual leaders.
6. Distance learning options allow us to continue education without leaving our ministry. Gone are the days when education required students to move to a campus. Today, the Internet offers unprecedented opportunities for continued training without evacuating significant ministries. Southeastern Seminary now offers masters and doctoral degrees – including the PhD – that do not require full-time residence in North Carolina. The relocation obstacle to continued education simply doesn’t exist anymore.
7. Learning within a group of peers is important. Many opportunities for advanced training include small group, peer-to-peer learning that focuses on particular aspects of leadership. Few educational options are as valuable as these. Each student brings his/her own knowledge to the classroom, helping to build a community of scholars. Peers become not only classmates, but also prayer partners. Education thus becomes not only content-based, but also life-on-life.
8. We often learn better after leadership experience. Learning apart from practical experience is not insignificant, but it risks becoming only theory rather than life application. Frankly, it’s easy to decide how to be a leader until you actually have to be one. The best students I know are those who leadership experience gives them a grid through which to evaluate concepts and programs. These students are those who choose to continue their education throughout their ministry.
9. The discipline of learning is important. Let’s be honest: even leaders sometimes get lazy. We rely solely on yesterday’s learning to face today’s issues. We talk more about what we have read than about what we are reading. Personal preparation for daily ministry becomes more surface review than intense study. Continued education, on the other hand, challenges us to return to rigor and discipline.
10. Continued education stretches our faith. The obstacles to further training are real. Too little time. Too few dollars. Too many years out of school. Too many other responsibilities. Too much risk of failure. Here’s the bottom line, though: sometimes we just have to trust God to help us do what He expects us to do.
A recent interview with Eugene Peterson by Religion News Service’s Jonathan Merritt was a refreshing view into the iconic pastor’s life. Here is a great quote by Peterson on the pastoral vocation:
“… Pastoring is not a very glamorous job. It’s a very taking-out-the-laundry and changing-the-diapers kind of job. And I think I would try to disabuse them of any romantic ideas of what it is. As a pastor, you’ve got to be willing to take people as they are. And live with them where they are. And not impose your will on them. Because God has different ways of being with people, and you don’t always know what they are.
The one thing I think is at the root of a lot of pastors’ restlessness and dissatisfaction is impatience. They think if they get the right system, the right programs, the right place, the right location, the right demographics, it’ll be a snap. And for some people it is: if you’re a good actor, if you have a big smile, if you are an extrovert. In some ways, a religious crowd is the easiest crowd to gather in the world. Our country’s full of examples of that. But for most, pastoring is a very ordinary way to live. And it is difficult in many ways because your time is not your own, for the most part, and the whole culture is against you. This consumer culture, people grow up determining what they want to do by what they can consume. And the Christian gospel is just quite the opposite of that. And people don’t know that. And pastors don’t know that when they start out. We’ve got a whole culture that is programmed to please people, telling them what they want. And if you do that, you might end up with a big church, but you won’t be a pastor.”
In a recent post titled “Reflections on Nearly 40 Years of Pastoral Ministry“, Sam Storms digs deep on the destructive effects of insecurity in pastoral ministry. While the post is focused primarily on pastoral ministry, there are general principles here for all Christians.
Why is insecurity so damaging?
- Insecurity makes it difficult to acknowledge and appreciate the accomplishments of others on staff (or in the congregation). In other words, the personally insecure pastor is often incapable of providing genuine encouragement to others. Their success becomes a threat to him, his authority, and his status in the eyes of the people. Thus if you are insecure you will likely not pray for others to flourish.
- Insecurity will lead a pastor to encourage and support and praise another pastor only insofar as the latter serves the former’s agenda and does not detract from his image.
- An insecure pastor will likely resent the praise or affirmation that other staff members receive from the people at large.
- For the insecure pastor, constructive criticism is not received well, but is rather perceived as a threat or outright rejection.
- Because the insecure pastor is incapable of acknowledging personal failure or lack of knowledge, he is often unteachable. He will always be resistant to those who genuinely seek to help him or bring him information or insights that he lacks. His spiritual growth is therefore stunted.
- The insecure pastor is typically heavy-handed in his dealings with others.
- The insecure pastor is often controlling and given to micro-management.
- The insecure pastor will rarely empower others or authorize them to undertake tasks for which they are especially qualified and gifted. He will not release others but rather restrict them.
- The insecure pastor is often given to outbursts of anger.
At its core, insecurity is the fruit of pride. In summary, and at its core, insecurity is the result of not believing the gospel! Thus the antidote to feelings of insecurity is the rock-solid realization that one’s value and worth are in the hands of God, not other people, and that our identity is an expression of who we are in Christ. Only as we deepen in our grasp of his love for us and sacrifice on our behalf will we find the freedom and confidence to affirm and support others while never fearing either their success or threats.
This is an unbelievably moving story testifying to the power of the gospel.
“Erik is a youth pastor. Matthew is a firefighter/EMT. They meet together every month to discuss what God is doing in their lives. But Erik wishes he’d met Matthew under different circumstances. You see, a few years ago after a long shift, Matthew fell asleep at the wheel and crashed head-on into a car carrying Erik’s pregnant wife and daughter. His wife and unborn son didn’t survive.”
Desiring God has posted the audio and video files from this years national conference on imagination in the work of C.S. Lewis. Enjoy!
I was with Trevin Wax the other night at a training session for bible teachers in Memphis, Tennessee. During Trevin’s session he used this story to illustrate why it is important not to jump right to application before leading people to awe at the power of Jesus Christ.
Mark Galli, in his book, Jesus Mean and Wild, illustrates this point wonderfully when telling about the time a group of Laotian refugees started attending the church he led in Sacramento.
After the service one Sunday, they approached him and asked to become members. They had only a rudimentary understanding of the Christian faith, so Pastor Mark suggested they study the Gospel of Mark together for a few weeks to make sure they knew what a commitment to Christ and his church entailed. They happily agreed.
Mark says, “Those Bible studies were some of the most interesting he has ever led.” After they read the passage in which Jesus calms the storm, Mark began as he usually did with more theologically sophisticated groups: he asked them about the storms in their lives.
There was a puzzled look among his Laotian friends, so he elaborated: “We all have storms—problems, worries, troubles, crises—and this story teaches that Jesus can give us peace in the midst of those storms. So what are your storms?” he asked.
Again, more puzzled silence. Finally, one of the men hesitantly asked, “Do you mean that Jesus actually calmed the wind and sea in the middle of a storm?”
Mark thought the man was finding the story incredulous, and Mark didn’t want to get distracted with the problem of miracles. So he replied: “Yes, but we should not get hung up on the details of the miracle. We should remember that Jesus can calm the storms in our lives.”
There was another stretch of awkward silence until another replied, “Well, if Jesus calmed the wind and the waves, he must be a powerful man!” At this, they all nodded vigorously and chattered excitedly to one another in Lao.
Mark says, “Except for me, the room was full of wonder. I suddenly realized that they grasped the story better than I did.”
(Mark Galli, Jesus Mean and Wild, Baker, 2006, p. 112)
My friend and co-worker (and fellow fruit flavored candy lover) Michael Kelley has written an extremely helpful book titled Boring. Not only is Michael a good writer, he is also a good thinker. He applies these two God given gifts to challenge our perceptions of everyday average life.
“What if we are looking so hard for these grandiose experiences of significance that we are missing the opportunities for significance right in front of us,” he writes. “What if there is no such thing as ordinary when you follow an extraordinary God?” (8)
In Boring, Michael seeks to reorient the reader to this important and often neglected truth. Too many of us fear that our lives will be ordinary. However, for the Christian, an ordinary life is a paralyzing myth. If you are a follower of Christ – you are the child of a God that is anything but ordinary. The God of the Bible is the God who created, sustains, and providentially directs all things – including the seemingly mundane details of your life. This is not an abstract theological truth that has no impact on your daily activities, but should shape every aspect of your life.
The problem is that too many of us miss what God is doing in the valley, because we are longing for the mountain top experience. However, all of us know that the majority of the Christian life is lived in the valley. According to Kelley, “…The truth is that we will all spend 90 percent of our time here on earth just doing life. Just being ordinary.” So, the heart of the problem is not with the routines of life, but with our understanding and expectations of them. Kelley argues that we should reorient our thinking to see the profound nature of our extraordinary God, and how that impacts the activities of daily life.
“What if God actually doesn’t want you to escape from the ordinary, but to find significance and meaning inside of it?”
The question isn’t whether or not God is present and active; the question is just how aware we are of that presence and activity.
“This greater reality is happening right in the middle of the ordinary people, singing in their off-key kind of way, trying to wrangle their ornery children. In the middle of the mundane there is something of cosmic significance going on…A regular life isn’t just a series of physical times and moment strung together; it’s a progression of being formed into the image of Jesus…Because an extraordinary and active God is there, constantly working, there is no such thing as ordinary anymore.”
Pick up this book and read. Prayerfully, Michael will show you how to see every relationship, every act of kindness, and every moment for what it is: a part of God’s exciting plan for your life.
The Ministry of Together for Adoption
Laura and I are so grateful for the ministry of Together for Adoption. Several years ago we attended the national conference in Franklin, TN, while waiting to adopt our son Solomon. If you have adopted, are in the process of adopting, or praying about adopting I would encourage you to attend the Together for Adoption National Conference on October 4-5 at Southern Seminary. If you do attend, prepare to be inspired and equipped for adoption, foster care and global orphan ministry. Here are the details.
Six rich general sessions. Sixty tool-gathering workshops. One breathtaking Story.
In the Bible, Adoption is a story-word. God’s work of adoption within the world is a story that encompasses all of human history, from its pre-temporal beginnings when God predestined us to “adoption as sons through Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:3-6) to the eventual renewal of all creation (Romans 8:23)—the Day when everything sad comes untrue. From the Apostle Paul’s perspective, Adoption is the redemptive Story that changes everything for us and the fatherless.
Alongside the six rich plenary sessions, our national conference will provide more than sixty tool-gathering workshops led by Dr. Timothy Paul Jones, Dr. Randy Stinson, Johnny Carr, Dr. Jon Bergeron, Gerrit Dawson, Susan Hillis, Elizabeth Styffe, and many other global leaders.
Together for Adoption National Conference Details
Download the PDF version of the Breakout Sessions listed according to their Story-Tracks.
Matt Capps 