I've posted a couple of Bible studies this past week.  After going through that material with my wife (who is brilliant at stuff like this), I realized that I'm off track. The material that I've written is taking a hard turn toward the academic, and away from what I wanted: practical, usable, discipleship-oriented material. So: when … Continue reading Stepping Back: Objectives

Here is the second study in the discipleship series that I'm writing.  It's the first of three studies based on the creation stories of Genesis 1-2. I'm going to try to paste it into the blog post, instead of linking it for download.  I usually hate what that does to the formatting, but we'll see. … Continue reading Study: “What Kind of God?”

I'm writing some material I hope to use for discipleship training here in Croatia.  The attached document is a draft, in progress, still undergoing changes.  I welcome feedback. 1. “Why Study the Bible”

One of my gifts is the gift of tunnel vision. I am able to focus very closely on a problem or a task for extended period of time, and ignore most distractions. This is my preferred way of working. (Honestly, I sometimes wonder if I’m not mildly autistic.) The problem, of course, is that I … Continue reading Thinking about Meetings

From today’s email from Richard Rohr, “Conscious Love”:  “The source of violence and so many of our world’s hurts is the illusion of separation. Our culture of romance suggests that sex and marriage solve the problem of loneliness and longing. But from many people I’ve talked with, it seems there is a great deal of … Continue reading “We Don’t Know How to Love” (Rohr)

I wrote the following for the October issue of Obitelj List, the magazine of the Council of Churches of Christ in Croatia.  I offer it to you today, the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther setting match to fuse. “The Reformers’ Gifts to Today’s Christian” As we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation this fall, … Continue reading The Reformation’s Gifts to Us

The following will be translated into Croatian and used as a handout for the Romans lectures I will give at EPC Stiejna spasenja (Evangelical Pentecostal Church Rock of Salvation) in Zagreb in November and December. While I recognize that Luther's reading of Romans is not perfect--it's too individualistic, too "Western", etc.--I maintain that Luther's reading … Continue reading Romans Intro and Outline

There's a great line from a Bob Dylan song; "The Titanic sails at dawn; everybody's shouting, 'Which side are you on?'" We live in a contentious, noisy world, a lot like the world Dylan was describing. Everywhere we look, people are in a hurry to take sides; "I'm against THAT," "How can you NOT be … Continue reading Rise Above the Dissonance

Last night, Biblijski institut installed me as the second president/ravnatelj in the school's history.  What follows are the remarks I gave, outlining my foundational convictions regarding the work of the school, my "Declaration of Principles," so to speak.  (I pray that I will live them out and uphold them more consistently than did Charles Foster … Continue reading Foundational Convictions