A new cohort for the DMin in New Testament Context is taking shape, and I could not be more excited about who is enrolling. There is no DMin degree quite like this one and we are learning that pastors want this kind of contextual shaping kind of study of the New Testament. Think about joining us… we begin July 10-14, 2017. This will be our second iteration of a new and innovative Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program at Northern Seminary.... Read more

By John Frye “Not one of the disciples dared ask Jesus, ‘Who are you?’ because they knew—‘It’s the Lord.’” I am intrigued by the ambiguity the disciples felt on the shore of Galilee around a breakfast meal cooking on a fire Jesus built (John 21). What’s going on in their heads? They are confident that it was Jesus the Lord, but although they wanted to, they didn’t ask. He is Jesus, for sure. He’s not the Jesus they knew. Amazement... Read more

https://soundcloud.com/user-212639123/salvation-by-allegiance-alone-conversation-with-dr-matthew-bates-kr-51 Read more

Register for the Webinar at http://www.seminary.edu/sheleadswebinar/ Description: Why have women been silenced & not allowed to lead in the Church? I’ve dedicated part of my life’s work to advocating for empowering women to be part of every sphere of church leadership and work.  This controversial topic always has the potential to be divisive and unproductive.   In order for the Church to be all it can be we need to be more informed and thoughtful when it comes to the conversation about... Read more

Consider the opening chapter of Genesis. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there... Read more

Years ago a Beginning Greek student of mine bumped into me in the hallway. I asked him how Greek Exegesis I was going and he said this: “After studying beginning Greek and working hard on the Greek verb luo I expected to find the verb on every page of the Greek New Testament. It hardly ever occurs. Why did we focus on a verb that is rare in the NT for learning Greek?” The answer was because it was simple and... Read more

By Jonathan Storment “You never feel completely sad or completely happy. You just feel kinda satisfied with your products. And then you die.” –Louis C.K. It takes seven minutes before a conversation, almost any conversation, gets real. Up until then we are able to talk about sports -“How bout them Cowboys?!!” the weather -“If you don’t like the weather around here just wait ‘til the next day” or a variety of superficial things in our day -“Did you catch last... Read more

I took a break from Matthew Bates’ exceptional new book, Salvation by Allegiance Alone, because I wanted to follow some other discussions. But I want to post today about his last chapter: Justification and Allegiance Alone. First, Bates anchors justification in union with Christ. For many justification brings us into union with Christ but he shows that union with Christ is prior. He’s right. I take it as axiomatic that we cannot treat justification as an abstract, isolated transaction carried out between... Read more

How should we think about divine action? As Christians we believe in a personal God who acts in relationship with his creatures and to his creation. Christianity is theistic not deistic. But the question of divine action – how God can (or cannot) interact with his creation has become a significant question. We wonder if God’s action should be scientifically testable or discernible. Is God a cause from within creation or outside of creation? Chapter 10 of J. B. Stump’s... Read more

By Tim Suttle, reposted with Tim’s permission. Tim is author of the excellent book Shrink. We may be living through a period in history that is every bit as revolutionary as the revolutions of 1848 that swept through Sicily, France, Germany, Italy, and Austria.  In trying to understand this confusing moment in our history I can’t help wondering if this is what revolution actually looks like? As a pastor, I get to visit with people who are all over the political spectrum. I have... Read more