Category Archives: School

by

So Where am I?

I have been very quiet here and at Image of Truth as of late.  Honestly, the majority of the semester had me in a mental fog, and my mood matched the relative lack of lucidity that I was feeling.  Frankly, the burnout I have felt with seminary the past year has been a great stumbling block for me.  My affection for the school itself waned after the Center for Christianity and the Arts at Southern was done away with, as well as my favorite professor, who headed up that department.  Without the classes I enjoyed through that program, Southern has simply not been as exciting a place.

What has truly excited me in the past year and what has caused frustration for me at the same time has been thoughts of the future. Continue reading →

by

A Change of Seasons

There have recently been several unseasonably cool days for an August in Louisville. The breeze has brought about even the slightest scent of autumn’s approach. A few stray dry leaves have even found their way onto my balcony. While the official beginning of autumn is still almost a month away, one cannot escape noticing that the seasons are, if ever so subtly, changing. Soon, this year’s summer will be no more, passing into the shadows of many summers past, we will pass through autumn, find another Christmas is upon us, and we will eventually look toward the warmth brought by the summer of 2010.

Continue reading →

by

The Coming Evangelical Rebirth

Evangelical Christianity, as we know it, is collapsing, but perhaps this is not a bad thing. Michael Spencer’s heralding piece “The Coming Evangelical Collapse,” (published in the Christian Science Monitor) has gained widespread recognition over the past couple of weeks in its announcement that “We are on the verge – within 10 years – of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity. This breakdown will follow the deterioration of the mainline Protestant world and it will fundamentally alter the religious and cultural environment in the West.” The piece is a shortened version of a series of three articles (pt. 1, pt. 2, pt. 3) that he posted on his own website, the highly-trafficked Internet Monk. I won’t expound on the contents of the post (though I ask you to please read it yourself), except to say that I largely would agree with Spencer’s conclusions.

Continue reading →

by

Whitewashed

Let he who has ears hear:

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them ‘Rabbi.’

“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and then you make that convert twice as much a child of hell as you are.

“Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but whoever swears by the gift on the altar is bound by the oath.’ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your ancestors!

“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ “

–Matthew 23, TNIV

by

The Defication of the World

So…

1. My car was robbed in my apartment complex parking lot Monday night. My front passenger side window was smashed in and my GPS stolen.

2. About two weeks ago, Edgar’s, a “men’s emporium,” opened on the Southern Seminary campus. It sells mid- to upper-range men’s suits, fountain pens, and haircuts in the guise of teaching men to “dress like preachers.” Being another excuse not to leave the seminary campus and to spend extravegant amounts of money on luxury items, this is of course the exact thing I think the seminary needs to be doing. Yeah… barf.

3. Meanwhile, the campus has made all sorts of other cutbacks, including slashing over 30 jobs and getting rid of departments and programs. The Center for Christianity and the Arts is soon to be no more. After all, what minister needs to know about art (nevermind the fact that the arts are what shape culture and are the showing sign of a culture)? Who needs to know about the arts when ministering to a visually-oriented society? Much more important is a three-piece suit.

Our world is so fallen. I feel much less animosity with the person who broke into my car right now than with the trustees and administration of the seminary. I, quite frankly, have been royally pissed with the way they have made these decisions as of late and find them contrary to the Gospel mission. What we expect of a fallen world is for it to act fallen. We expect the Church to be on mission for the Gospel, but this is a Church still under the influence of a fallen world. We, as Christians, live in a way contrary to the gospel despite our best efforts. Christ has given us much mercy in the way we have sought to live out this mission.

by

On Communicating Truth

My roommate Marty has posted an excellent article called “‘The Truth,’ Communication, and the Intellectual Achilles’ Heel” for those of us academically/intellectually-oriented Christians who may need a dose of humility and reminder of our mission from time to time. There’s nothing wrong with studying the depths of Christian thought… but let’s not forget to preach the Truth that we know in ways that people can actually comprehend. Marty makes a great reference to a sort-of “‘orthodox’ Gnosticism,” that is, an attitude of having a “higher knowledge” that can creep into our egos because we pour over Christian thought day and night. Let us never think too highly of our intellect in the sight of the one who “laid the foundations of the earth” or exalt our place in the Church that rests on the bones of fishermen.

by

Not so Literal Luther

My friend Bryan has posted an article entitled “Luther on Translation” featuring a couple of quotes by Martin Luther on not always translating the Bible literally. To those here (particularly at SBTS) who have such a heavy respect of Luther, these passages should be a signal to lay off some of the criticism of the NLT, TNIV and other dynamic-equivalent translations. I appreciate the NASB and ESV as much as the next guy and use the ESV for most of my work/teaching, but there is value in rendering the Word in down-to-earth, colloquial English.

by

Exciting Updates

Some things coming up that are gathering a bit of excitement from me:

  • I am very excited that I will get to write an example church liturgy as a project for my Biblical Theology of Worship class. I plan on doing a special occasion (Christmas, Easter, or wedding, probably). This is going to end up probably relying a lot on Calvin (who himself relied a lot on the early church), with a bit of Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer, and a lot of Scripture. I want the full gospel to be proclaimed in this liturgy.
  • I am looking at the books I am considering reading over the one and a half month winter holiday. I will only knock one or two out at the most, but I have so many possibilites. So far under consideration are The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton, Eric Gill by Fiona McCarthy, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, The Mortification of Sin and The Death of Death in the Death of Christ by John Owen, Saint Francis of Assisi by G.K. Chesterton, and Encoutering the Mystery by Patriarch Bartholomew, among others. Any thoughts?
  • Have I mentioned that I am super-excited about the ESV with Apocrypha??? This is going to open the door to some great study tools and for some writing on my part.
  • Next semester, I will be taking two classes with Dr. Steve Halla, Christianity & Film and Visual Art and 20th Century Theologians. Both of these are going to be incredible.
  • The theology video projects may be back on my to-do list.
  • So also are the other creative projects, especially one particular film idea and possibly some theological commentary on gothic classics such as Frankenstein and Dracula. I have some opportunity to get these things done, I think.
by

More Musings at Starbucks

I think there’s a James Taylor song on the P.A. right now. I can’t be sure. His voice has changed since he has gotten older. The music here at Starbucks is different lately. I’m not sure, but they must have someone new in charge of putting together their playlists. At any rate, yes, I’m here at Starbucks at 64 & Hurstbourne again. I have gotten into such a habit of it that it has become the place where I know I can accomplish the most homework. That’s what I’m doing now as a matter of fact, only taking this little moment to write down some thoughts in order to not burn out. Ok, so the song has changed a couple of times now, and this band sounds like Wilco, but I know it isn’t… hmmm…

Life news and musings:

  • Halloween was good. I hung out with Mike and Robyn Crowe and their almost one year old daughter Addie most of the evening, trick-or-treating on the street next to us. Hillcrest Avenue has a huge Halloween house-decorating extravaganza, and it is the place to go in Louisville for family-friendly tricks and treats. I then came down here to Starbucks for a bit. Good evening overall. What started as my vampire costume wound up as Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day. Long story, but it worked. (Edit: the vampire thing was partially washed out because of trouble with the make-up, but I already had some misgivings about it because, as innocent as my portrayal would have been, I don’t particularly want to give the wrong idea that I endorse vampirism. Still, those who would gain that from a Halloween costume would be over-reading it a bit. This is Louisville, though. P.S. – I don’t necessarily endorse Green Day either.)
  • I love seminary people who will openly admit that Halloween is still their favorite holiday. I have heard this openly admitted twice this past week. These are awesome individuals, and I wish there were more folks like them at Southern, not for the fact of Halloween being their favorite holiday (of course, it is mine too), but for their overall personalities, always willing to engage the issues and not live in “the box.”
  • This is the first week I will be serving on the connect team at Sojourn on a regular basis. I have filled in a few times, but I’m finally at a point of getting plugged in. I will be serving at the 7:00 p.m. service, after attending the 5:00. This feels good, and it is way past time.
  • I want the Orthodox Study Bible and Patriarch Bartholemew’s Encoutering the Mystery: Understanding Orthodox Christianity Today. I am beginning to think there is much more to Eastern Orthodox Christianity than we give it credit for, and they certainly are far ahead of us when it comes to understanding the use of art in the Church, even if our particular expressions of it end up different. I think we have more to learn from them than we will let on.
  • I have ideas for both stage and screen that are driving me crazy. I want to work with them with a group of people and get them made, for the edification of the Church.
  • Andrew Peterson‘s album Resurrection Letters: Volume II is excellent. I can’t wait for volume I. Peterson is one of the true masters of art in the Church today. We need more artist like him.
  • I want to see the Church recognize it’s ancient liturgical calendar more, for the sake of Gospel proclamation.

Happy All Saints Day.

by

Sojourning in Georgia

I went to Reinhardt today. I walked the concrete walkways across the campus, strew with the first dusting of autumn leaves that bounced in the cool autumn breeze that whisked the last gleam of summer warmth. Oh, this campus is so familiar to me: the brick Georgian architecture, the hilly, grassy lawns, the crisp smells of a rural autumn permeating the air of the little town of Waleska. Even with the new student center (built on the site of the one torn down prior to my junior year), the campus remains by and large entirely similar to how it was when I left it two years ago. Nothing has really changed.

And yet, everything has changed. I’ve changed. I realized just how much I no longer fit at the campus that nurtured me for four and a half years. Perhaps it is because I no longer know many students on the campus and am thus an alien in familiar territory (alas, I probably count four or five of the remaining students as friends, and only a couple of those I saw today during my visit), and perhaps it is because I am so much older than the majority of the student population there now. Perhaps it is because so much in my life has passed since my time as a student there. Perhaps it is because the foundation laid at Reinhardt is now being used and fleshed out in my time at Southern.

I saw three of my most beloved professors. I got to share with them the joys of my journey after Reinhardt. I have such different worldviews than they do in many regards, but I respect all three of these women with the utmost sincerity. I realize that, despite our differences, I could discuss issues with these professors on a much more open and honest level than I could with most of the people I encounter at Southern. Only with Dr. Halla and two or three other professors would I encounter this same openness to a natural, intelligent conversation. I would love to one day be a professor in a similar environment, one accommodating to an honest discussion between intelligent people.

Over the last few days, I have had discussions with several of my closest friends. Each time I am reminded of an issue: the churches in Georgia are in a sad state, as are churches across the Unites States as a whole. Sojourn and the other healthy churches I see in Louisville are a cream-of-the-crop representation of what overall is a deplorable state that the American church is in. Whether I like it or not, I need to be a pastor. The Church needs as many solid pastors as it can get right now. I want to see solid pastors come and plant new solid churches and reform those that already exist. This is an emergency we must be praying that God continues his work in. As for me, I may find myself pastoring in three to four years, not because it is the first thing I want to do, but because if I don’t, am I really using the gifts God has given me to adequately serve the critical needs of the church right now?