Revelation is a book that is troubling to many people. It’s filled with images and language that seems very much out of this world. Many people wonder if there is any thing profitable in a book that by all outward appearances has only indecipherably cryptic references to seals, bowels, trumpets, whores, beasts, plagues, sores, and countless other strange things. I would like to argue that Revelation is more then just profitable, it offers the very paradigm that guides the Christian... Read more

New Testament and Mission: Historical and Hermeneutical was written by Associate Professor of New Testament Exegesis at the Department of Biblical Studies, University of Aarhus, Denmark, Johannes Nissen. Nissen believes that the New Testament’s theology of mission is multidimensional, each author and genre emphasis a different perspective, which should be viewed in harmony rather then homogenized together. To show this Nisssen parses the New Testament canon up into different sections and addresses them individually, rather then presenting an overall theology and... Read more

I am in the midst of prepairing for the end of all my classes here at seminary, which is why I havn’t been posting nearly as much as I normally do. Please keep me and all the other students here in your prayers. Here is a traditional Coptic prayer I ran into. I have found it to be beneficial to me. Take a look:  Most blessed Lord, send the grace of Your Holy Spirit on me to strengthen me that... Read more

Today is the first day of Advent! This time of year is my favorite church season I think. In it we relive the waiting of God’s elect for the coming of Christ, by remembering the story of God’s salvation throughout the Old Testament. We also remember God’s promise to return and make all things new. So during this season we also watch and pray for the eschatological reality of the Kingdom of God to be fulfilled. This year it is... Read more

I read through Ephesians today, and I was struck by it in a new way. It seems to be that Ephesians in many ways is laying out what it means to participate in the Divine nature, a idea explicitly mentioned in 1 Peter 1:4. It seems the author wishes to convey that God invites us to participate in the trinitarian life of unity, by living in the same unity of love that God has in the trinitarian economy. In other... Read more

Most people know about St. Francis of Assisi, the man who started the Franciscans and devoted himself to a life of poverty to rebuild the church, and many people know about St. Clare of Assisi, who followed his example and founded the her own monastic community based on Francis’ own. However not too many people talk about Agnes of Assisi. This week the Church remembers Agnes, who followed her sister into the monastic life. After loosing two daughters to this... Read more

   An Apostolic Arrangement One of the things I have found amazing about Jesus’ ministry is the calling of the 12 disciples. If Jesus was God then why would he need a group of guys to help him do his ministry. One would think Jesus could do it on His own. The fact that Jesus didn’t just do it on his own reveals one of the most amazing things about the way God initiates his mission in the world today.... Read more

For those of us who follow the Sunday lectionary cycle Year C is quickly coming to a close. Year C is a time where the church has paid a special attention to the evangelist Luke. When Advent begins on November 28th the lectionary will move on to Year A and to a focus on Matthew. Before we move on though, I thought it might be a good idea to look at one of the major themes that have been highlighted by this... Read more

I thought I would let you know that there is a new CD out that features some of the live worship I led in Bush Alaska over the summer. It also features my friends Tom Mute, and Phil Cannon . Check out the CD: Read more

Today the church in the west celebrates the life of an incredible man, Martin of Tours. Born into an era where Christianity was recently legalized, he converted to Christianity against the wishes of his parents at the age of ten. As a teen he was required to join the calvary in the Roman empire. As a soldier in the military he once came across a naked beggar, and cut his coat in half, giving the begar the other half of... Read more