I don’t think I’ve discussed divorce on this blog, and it is a topic I believe is important for a blog like this, and I was just waiting for something to spark interest … and it arrived in the mail the other day: William F. Luck’s Divorce and Re-Marriage: Recovering the Biblical View . I’d like to do a series on this topic, and the series is shaped for churches and pastors who are forming “statements” and “policies” for their... Read more
So, what is the cultural world of the emerging adult? Today I want to post a fulsome list of what Smith and Snell discovered in their fantastic new book: Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults . We’re talking about 46 million emerging adults… so generalizations need careful backing of evidence and all kinds of nuance. What do you think of this listing of characteristics of emerging adults? Do you think emerging adults are consumerists? Transitions... Read more
It is impossible to replace a classic, in part because classics are what they are because they are timeless and at the forefront of wisdom. Phillp G. Camp’s new book, Finding Your Way: A Guide to Seminary Life and Beyond , does not even try to replace Helmut Thielicke’s slender collection of unsurpassable wisdom (A Little Exercise for Young Theologians ), but Camp’s book offers 24 bits of wisdom that every theological student, whether undergraduate or graduate (seminary), will find... Read more
Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. Read more
This is the first installment of what we hope will become a feature of this blog: a solid book review on Saturday afternoon. This review, by Marius Nel (pastor in the Dutch Reformed Church and a Research Associate in the New Testament department at the University of Pretoria in South Africa), is on Everett Ferguson’s big book on baptism: Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries . Baptism in the Early Church –... Read more
Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. Read more
It’s been a cold week in Chicago, our home town. But that doesn’t mean Chicagoans can’t have some fun sledding . Avoid these words! But think about the RAP with JR Briggs. Or of this Retreat for pastors. And this reminder for church staffs. And this one for race classifications. Just in case you haven’t seen Michael Spencer’s (iMonk’s) news. A story of courageous professors. And a story about teachers mentoring young women into engineering. The why of writing. Another... Read more
I saw this today in the WSJournal … (HT: RM) … anyone studied this? By MARTIN VAUGHAN WASHINGTON — Some married couples would pay thousands of dollars more for the same health insurance coverage as unmarried people living together, under the health insurance overhaul plan pending in Congress. The built-in “marriage penalty” in both House and Senate healthcare bills has received scant attention. But for scores of low-income and middle-income couples, it could mean a hike of $2,000 or more in annual... Read more
We are privileged people. Many children in the world are not, like this little orphaned child in Swaziland. Would you think of sponsoring this little child? At the Jesus Creed blog, we are asking you to consider joining Kris and me in supporting a CarePoint in Swaziland that could make a life-saving and spiritual difference in the lives of hundreds of underfed and orphaned children. Here is our little Swazi child to the right; you can help a child like this... Read more
Today I received a broadcast email from the Family Research Council, a prominent conservative Christian group, urging me to “Stop Obama’s Crossdresser Protection Bill.” The email referred to the “Employment Non-Discrimination Act” (ENDA), which would prohibit employment discrimination against homosexual and “transgendered” people. According to the email, “[a]ll American employers including Christian owned business and potentially Christian ministries would be affected.” According to the email, President Obama recently appointed a transgendered person, Mitchell (Amanda) Simpson, to a post in the Commerce Department. “The... Read more
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