From the forthcoming participatory study guide to Philippians, by Bruce Epperly: The way of Christ differs markedly from the way of Caesar, who was also worshipped as a deity. Christ’s peace is based on non-violence and inclusion, while Caesar’s peace is based on the sword and subjugation. (Used by permission.)
The Christian Post has an article on depression amongst pastors and ministry leaders, which, in turn, links to an article at The Gospel Coalition. Now the Gospel Coalition article is part one of a five part series, so I’m not going to comment on how far they will go before they are done, but I…
From David Hayward: (License: Creative Commons 3.0)
I note quite a debate around the blogs I read regarding just what is a biblioblog. For a long time, this blog was listed as a “related” blog, then a few months ago was “upgraded” to a biblioblog, and I’ve been in the top 50 ever since, and even made the top 10 a time…
I once met a woman who claimed that Jesus had come to her in her kitchen and spoken to her. The reaction of friends, neighbors, and even family to this story was fairly negative. She was regarded as a bit odd, and finally quit talking about it. It was only with some hesitation that she…
Dowd, Michael. Thank God for Evolution. New York: Plume, 2007. 380 pages + front and back matter. ISBN: 978-0-452-29534-6. (All numbers in parentheses are page numbers from this edition of the book.) I was interested in this book from the moment I saw the title, not because I immediately expected to agree, but because it,…
The following is another extract from the forthcoming study guide on Philippians in the Participatory Study Series, by Dr. Bruce Epperly: For Paul the issue is two-fold: 1) the status of Gentiles as members of the Christian community and 2) the relationship of grace, faith, and works. As apostle to the Gentiles, Paul affirms that…
Peter Kirk links to Roger Olson on why he defends Love Wins. Now I haven’t read Love Wins and it isn’t on my reading list. The reason for this post is to comment on this (Peter quoting Roger Olson): I think that is what offends critics of Love Wins–the suggestion that God doesn’t get what…
From Dave Black Online: The task faced by the solitary pastor today in so many of our churches is overwhelming; but it is a task to which the Savior called no one. Quoted in full by Brian Fulthorp and at jesusparadigm.com.
There are many days when the United Methodist Church discourages me, and I wrote a post yesterday with that sort of feeling. But there are two things that regularly encourage me: Encountering vital small congregations, and meeting some of our young pastors. Via another young pastor, Geoffrey Lentz, who is doing wonderful things at First…