Perhaps this has been done and I have not seen it, but there is a need for a study of the praxis of early Christian visitation. Check the word books on episcopos/episkep– and you will see the issue quickly become “how much authority is in this office?” and very little attention to the concrete reality of visitation — which also went on aplenty. But, maybe I’ve just not come across such a study and it is there. Read more
Yesterday I was invited to speak at an all-day Faculty Retreat for Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis. The school has about 1200 students (K-12), and the Faculty represent a wide spectrum of the Church — many, of course, from the Evangelical Covenant Church. Over the years at North Park I’ve had many students who went to school there; some of our students are now teachers there. (more…) Read more
The following is a lecture I gave at North Park, and at a few other places and in a few different forms. It studies “liberal arts” and then encourages writing. I shared some of these in a previous blog, enough wrote to me for a copy of the whole thing, so here it is. I have a friend at a major research university who teaches on Thursday afternoons, 3-5, and when he learned my hours of teaching he asked with... Read more
This week ends officially the summer break, and we head back to North Park University. Tuesday is our traditional Gathering Day — we have breakfast and then the President (which is now “three” as we continue our search for a new one) gives a “state of the union” address. But, I will miss Gathering Day as I will be doing the Faculty Retreat for Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis. But, in thinking about going back to school, my mind is drawn... Read more
The following is a chunk of an address I gave to our Faculty. The address was called “The Professor as Scholar,” and some of it was devoted to some ideas about writing. Here are some of those suggestions. Exiled to Eden First, writing is not about technique or method but about identity. We write because of who we are: scholars need to get it down and need to express themselves. F.F. Bruce liked to call this need scribbler’s itch (Latin:... Read more
My son is a fiction reader, and here are his Top Ten Books: Novels. Thanks Luke. Did he miss some good ones? Top Ten (Semi)-Recent Novels 1. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway- saddest bookI can ever imagine, and classic Hemingway dealing withwounds and scars and wars and failed love. 2. Native Son, Richard Wright- moving book about thestruggles of African-Americans. 3. Cien Anos de Soledad (One Hundred Years ofSolitude), Gabriel Garcia Marquez- a sad and hilariousbook all at the... Read more
Every writer likes to talk about writing, the way golfers want to talk about golfing and parents want to talk about kids, and travellers talk about where they’ve been. I’ve been asked by some e-mailers and bloggers to talk about writing and what I do. (more…) Read more
A list of my top ten biographies is likely to connect with nobody completely, but that is because biographies are enjoyed because they connect with us for a variety of reasons. I’ve listed those that I’ve enjoyed the most and some of them because the biographer himself was such a good writer. I could easily have limited this to major Christian figures or to other categories. Feel free to comment on your one or two favorite biographies. 1. G. Sayer,... Read more
3.0 General Discussion At this point another gap occurs in the notes. Theophilus has only a few notes but it appears that there was considerable discussion on where to shelve the Gospels. Simon and Eleazar seem to have been in the middle of it, and it concerned what it meant to be a true Jew and to live according to the covenant with Abraham. Theophilus wrote down syntheke (mutual covenant) and then scratched it out and wrote down diatheke (the... Read more
Covenant Companion, at this place, has an interview with Brian McLaren by Stan Friedman, and will soon be doing a piece I’ve written on the Emerging movement. Read more
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