Since 2003, I have been involved in training people for ministry. I taught Bible and ministry classes, and for several years have been the dean or director of schools whose primary foci were preparing people for lay and vocational ministry. Throughout my career, one of my great worries has been how poorly most pastors handle … Continue reading Pastoring the Pastors
Sermon: The Value of Forgiveness
Here are my sermon notes for The Value of Forgiveness, from Matthew 18.21-35. Notice five things about forgiveness: Forgiveness is reciprocal (23-28: "So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him,... And out of pity for him the lord of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But that same servant, as he … Continue reading Sermon: The Value of Forgiveness
McKnight on Reading Romans Backward
Reading Romans Backward: at Jesus Creed, McKnight has been teasing this new book for several weeks, with the intriguing reference to reading Romans from back to front. Now he is exposing some of the content, and it sounds like a must-read. Readings of Romans are notoriously front-loaded (i.e., focused only on the perceived theology of … Continue reading McKnight on Reading Romans Backward
Preaching Seminar at Biblijski institut
We (Biblijski institut) just hosted Dr. Jeff Snell, preaching professor from Johnson University, for a seminar. He did an EXCELLENT job. This guy is a REALLY good professor. (And he's not just a professor; he's been preaching in churches throughout his career. He preached for Kristova Crkva this past Sunday, and his sermon was excellent … Continue reading Preaching Seminar at Biblijski institut
Triumphalism, pt 2
So is "experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit," or numerical growth, or prosperity a sure sign that God is pleased? I think not. God is not an algebra equation. You can't just plug in values, x + y = z, and solve for blessings. God's favor is more complicated than that. And God's purposes are … Continue reading Triumphalism, pt 2
Triumphalism & the Holy Spirit
I was in a pastors meeting several years ago where one of the pastors was complaining about how difficult it was to grow his church numerically. A second pastor, whose church happened to be growing quickly at the time, spoke up: "The reason you're not growing is because you're not doing what God wants you … Continue reading Triumphalism & the Holy Spirit
The Power of the Right Book
We (Biblijski institut) continue to raise funds on Facebook to support our work in publishing. The "slogan" (I don't know what else to call it) that I am using in the Facebook fundraising posts is about the power of the right book at the right time. When I talk about the power of the right … Continue reading The Power of the Right Book
