Distorted faces. Gnarled fingers. Thick leathery skin. No fingers. No eyes. A thick smell of urine wafting through the air as heavy as the smog in the air. Not the sort of images that come to mind when you think of beauty. But when it comes to humanity, God breaks all the rules. These people, though rejected by the world, are beautiful to God. I’m part of a ministry called Touch Nepal, which supports indigenous Christian leaders in this Hindu... Read more
The following blog is written by my friend, former student, and Eternity Bible College alumnus, Lance Hancock. Lance currently serves as the assistant to the Vice President (i.e. Me) for Eternity’s Boise extension. In the previous blog, I talked about how every church is liturgical and how the biblical narrative about God’s redeemed people should shape our liturgies. Let’s explore how narrative and liturgy go together. A good liturgy draws upon the elements of the story of God’s people and... Read more
The following blog is written by my friend, former student, and Eternity Bible College alumnus, Lance Hancock. Lance currently serves as the assistant to the Vice President (i.e. Me) for Eternity’s Boise extension. That’s right. Every church has a liturgy. The Anglican church downtown, the Pentecostal church across the tracks, the Baptist church around the corner; Presbyterians, Methodists, Reformed, non-denominational, even the home church on the next street over—each one has its own liturgy. Liturgy means “work of the people.”... Read more
There are a ton of books on LTBTQ related issues and many more coming out. I wanted to highlight a few recent ones that I’ve found helpful. Tim Otto, Oriented to Faith: Transforming the Conflict over Gay Relationships (Cascade Books, 2014) This book is outstanding. Like Ken Wilson and Andrew Marin, he doesn’t argue for or against gay relations, so this may make some people mad (on both sides of the debate). But what he does is introduce several other... Read more
As you may gather from my blog, I have an eclectic cloud of influences in my thought and writing. I can think of at least a dozen thinkers who have shaped my own heart and mind. But in my 20 years as a Christian, there have been four that stand out the most. I’ll begin with the one who was my primary influence when I first became a Christian: John MacArthur. The name shouldn’t need an introduction, but if you need... Read more
Something is wrong when I can sing a worship song to God and then turn to my wife with the same lyrics. Because, when I look at you, babe, “my heart turns violently inside of my chest,” and I feel like… “I’m madly in love with you” “You are more beautiful than anyone ever” “There has never ever been anyone like you” “I want to hear your voice, I want to know you more” “I want to touch you, I... Read more
A few years ago, a bunch of my friends and I went out to the movies and saw an outstanding film: Gran Torino with Clint Eastwood. All of us walked out of the theater and thought, “man, that movie showcased one of the most blatantly Christian themes of any movie in the last 10 years!” Eastwood plays a grouchy old racist war-vet named Walt, who is watching gangs and Hmong refugees overrun his once good ole white neighborhood. The whole... Read more
I really hate the assumption that getting a Bible degree will kill your passion. “Seminary feels more like Cemetery,” right? What? No way! How could anyone stare into the words of our Creator and walk away less excited about Him? That’s just totally jacked up. It’s wrong. It’s offensive. And if Seminary really does lead to cemetery, then let me eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow I die and meet a very boring Creator. Or—perhaps the problem is not... Read more
Eternity “Bible College” is largely a misnomer. For most people, when they hear the term “Bible College” they think of a training ground for pastors and missionaries. But that’s not us. While we definitely have some people training for vocational ministry, such students probably make up less than 30% of our student body. We don’t discourage people from going into vocation ministry. Not at all. But we do encourage students—all students—to live our their God given creative and missional potential... Read more
I often tell people that I don’t think I could ever teach at another college again. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like Princeton is banging down my door offering me a job. But even if they did, I wouldn’t take it. I couldn’t leave. I absolutely love teaching at Eternity Bible College and I don’t think I could ever teach anywhere else. Here’s why. Eternity Bible College (EBC) is committed to providing debt free education. You read that right, folks—no... Read more
Theology in the Raw
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