Overcoming Narcigesis: A Preaching Matrix to Help Pastors in Sermon Preparation

Last updated on: March 13, 2016 at 4:07 pm By Bob Robinson

Introducing the (re)integrate preaching application matrix. Chris Rosebrough (the “Captain” of Pirate Christian Media) recently wrote a scathing post at “Letter Of Marque.” He wrote, “There is an epidemic of Narcissistic Eisegesis a.k.a. Narcigesis, infecting the churches in America today. Pastors and Bible teachers have mastered the art of allegorizing all of the characters and details of every Bible story in order to make the stories about YOU.” When I first read this, I couldn’t help but bust out... Read more

As Image-Bearers, We’ve Got Work to Do

Last updated on: February 12, 2016 at 4:50 pm By Bob Robinson

In Genesis chapter 1, we read of God creating the world in six days. In the first three days, God created light, sky and seas, and land. Then in the next three days he fills these with their respective inhabitants, sun, moon and stars, then flying creatures and swimming creatures and finally land creatures. In the latter half of the sixth day, God created humanity. In Genesis 1:27-28, we read that humanity was created in the image and likeness of... Read more

“Time, Talents, & Treasure” – Overcoming False Dualism

Last updated on: April 30, 2021 at 1:38 pm By Bob Robinson

We need to be very careful in how we articulate things. I’ve been teaching stewardship in church ministry for over two decades now. I don’t know who came up with it, but perhaps the best way I’ve experienced helping people assess their stewardship has been by articulating it in three areas: Time, Talents, and Treasure. Church leaders have come to realize that what people have been placed in charge of in their personal lives includes not only their money but also their... Read more

Your Calling and the Holy Spirit

Last updated on: February 8, 2016 at 6:48 pm By Bob Robinson

A major problem with our modern conception of vocation is that we preceive our “spiritual” life as disconnected from the actual work that we do as participation in the mission of God. In his excellent book that explores theology of vocation, Miroslav Volf contends, “The sphere of the new creation cannot be tied to the ‘inner man.’ Because the whole creation is the Spirit’s sphere of operation, the Spirit is not only the Spirit of religious experience but also the... Read more

You Backsliders! You Chose a Career in Politics?! And You Chose a Career in Business?!

Last updated on: February 8, 2016 at 6:50 pm By Bob Robinson

So, you are in a career other than pastor or missionary. How does your church make you feel about that? John Stott wrote, “We often give the impression that if a young Christian man is really keen for Christ he will undoubtedly become a foreign missionary, that if he is not quite as keen as that he will stay at home and become a pastor, that if he lacks the dedication to be a pastor, he will no doubt serve... Read more

2015 top 10 posts to (re)integrate faith, life, and vocations

Last updated on: January 13, 2016 at 1:50 pm By Bob Robinson

It’s been a busy year for me writing about how to reintegrate faith, life, and vocations. God has blessed me to be able to write about the subject in a dissertation for my doctoral program at Covenant Theological Seminary. It has been a fun and fruitful year writing here at the (re)integrate blog, which was originally a part of re-integrate.org and was migrated over to Patheos.com in September as part of the Patheos Faith and Work Channel. And for the... Read more

The Holy Spirit and Vocation: Spiritual Gifts for Work

Last updated on: December 17, 2015 at 9:06 pm By Bob Robinson

The role of God’s Spirit cannot be ignored in the concept of calling. For if there is a calling, then there is a caller. The problem with false dualism is that what is perceived as the “spiritual” life is disconnected to the actual work humans do as participation in the mission of God. Miroslav Volf contends, “The sphere of the new creation cannot be tied to the ‘inner man.’ Because the whole creation is the Spirit’s sphere of operation, the... Read more

What is Vocation?

Last updated on: December 8, 2015 at 5:30 pm By Bob Robinson

Stephen J. Nichols offers a concise (31 pages) and lucid biblical explanation of vocation in the “Basics of the Faith” booklet, What is Vocation? (2010, P&R Publishing). Nichols briefly explains the history of the notion of vocation (from the Latin word vocare, “calling”). In the Middle Ages, the idea of “calling” moved away from how God calls each person made in His image to participate in work for His glory and toward a very particular thing: exclusively church work. “Priests, nuns, monks—they each... Read more

Quotable Saturdays: Garber Defines “Vocation”

Last updated on: November 30, 2015 at 7:22 pm By Bob Robinson

“The word vocation is a rich one, having to address the wholeness of life, the range of relationships and responsibilities. Work, yes, but also families, and neighbors, and citizenship, locally and globally—all of this and more is seen as vocation, that to which I am called as a human being, living my life before the face of God. It is never the same word as occupation, just as calling is never the same word as career. Sometimes, by grace, the... Read more

I Don’t Believe in Being Platonic

Last updated on: December 4, 2015 at 5:11 pm By Bob Robinson

The Greek philosopher Plato can be blamed for a lot of our misperceptions about the Christian life. It seems that, from very early on, Christians couldn’t take the teachings of Jesus, Paul, the other apostles, or even the Hebrew Torah, poets and prophets at face-value. They had to add the pagan teachings of Plato on top of it all. Brian Walsh and J. Richard Middleton write, “Foundational to all Platonic thought is its dualism, the distinction…between unchanging ideals (‘forms’) and... Read more