We had an interesting discussion today in Sunday School. We were discussing the 3rd chapter of my book When People Speak for God, titled Messengers – God and Prophet. The questions at hand were just what is prophecy, who are God’s messengers (with a side-order of how can you tell) and how does getting a…
I’ve had some interesting conversations about God’s grace recently, and especially about its limits. Most people these days seem to firmly resist the idea that we need works in order to earn God’s favor, but many seem to think that we need to have correct beliefs. If we don’t believe the right things about the…
The word “tithing” has undergone quite a substantial change in meaning over the course of my life. Growing up as a Seventh-day Adventist, it meant giving precisely 10% of one’s income to the church. This money had a special use in the SDA church, supporting pastors. For my parents, the tithe was just the starting…
From Seven Marks of a New Testament Church by David Alan Black, p. 6: In the fourth place, evangelism in the New Testament was always characterized by genuine concern for the social needs of the lost. When I was in seminary, a good deal of distrust existed between those who emphasized personal salvation in evangelism…
It hit me on Sunday as I was listening to a fine sermon for Pentecost at my home church, First United Methodist Church of Pensacola. Rev. Bob Sweet was enumerating a number of things the Holy Spirit might do for us, changes we should all make. A number of his points elicited laughter, because we…
This is my mother, who will be 96 at the end of May. She’s looking over a book titled Seeing the Psalter. She spent a good hour with it, commenting on methodology and various translations. How can she do this? Well, after years as a missionary nurse, she decided to take Hebrew and completed two…
… according to me, of course! I’m sitting here doing page layout on My Life Story by Becky Lynn Black. As I was doing that, I read small portions. I don’t read much while I’m doing page layout. What the text says is less important than how it will look, so my brain is in…
This is another quote from my editing work: James is a theologian, but his theology moves from the classroom and the study to the street corner and the soup kitchen. James is a “practical theologian,” whose beliefs motivate his actions and whose actions transform his beliefs. Theological reflection and worship find their fulfillment in faithful…
I learned from my wife, a 12 year veteran as a hospice nurse, that it’s important to think and talk about end of life care and dying. We tend to avoid it, especially when we’re younger. First, it’s because death seems so far away. Surely we have 50, 60, or 70 years, at least, to…
I am frequently amazed by our authors at Energion Publications. I suppose that other editors and owners are likewise amazed, but I think we have a very special group. Just the other day I received notice from an author that he had signed his contract, but that he wanted to donate his royalties to our…