Therapeutic Moralistic Deism.
Student ministers know this term well, or at least they should. Christian Smith and Melinda Denton popularized this term out of their massive research called The National Study of Youth and Religion.
They argue the Western Church has done a phenomenal job of communicating to students. But what has been communicated has not been as biblically centered as we might hope. We have communicated Christianity as behavior modification too often and as the matchless … [Read More]
Alvin Reid
| Website: | http://alvinreid.com |
| Email: | areid@sebts.edu |
Recent Posts
Moral Failure in Student Ministry
Feb 1st, 2012 by Alvin Reid
Want to Be a Better Student? Exercise
Nov 30th, 2011 by Alvin Reid
In his fascinating book The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century author Thomas Friedman decries how American students have fallen behind other nations in such fields as math and engineering. At the same time students in the U.S. have excelled at becoming couch potatoes: 65% of Americans are overweight, but this trend has become an epidemic among young people. “We are literally killing ourselves,” John Ratey says in his book Spark, … [Read More]
Reinventing Student Ministry
Nov 16th, 2011 by Alvin Reid
Recently I had the honor of participating in the ReInventing Youth Ministry Conference at Southern Seminary. I enjoyed catching up with old friends, including some phenomenal student pastors and Dr. Troy Temple, who teaches at SBTS. I finally met in the flesh Dr. Dave Adams, a legend in student ministry.
Wherever I go, whether I am speaking with a local church and its leaders or a gathering of student pastors, one thing is clear in all … [Read More]
Announcing The Story Bible
Nov 1st, 2011 by Alvin Reid
“The Bible is more deadly in one man’s hand than a whiskey bottle is in another.” from To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
“American young people are unwittingly being formed into an imposter faith that poses as Christianity, but that in fact lacks the . . . missional clarity necessary for Christian discipleship.” Almost Christian, Kendra Dean
Somewhere along the way contemporary Christianity has moved the good news in Christ from being the center of everything … [Read More]
Advance Notice to Seminary and College Students: Exercise!
Oct 27th, 2011 by Alvin Reid
In his fascinating book The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century author Thomas Friedman decries how American students have fallen behind other nations in such fields as math and engineering. At the same time students in the U.S. have excelled at becoming couch potatoes: 65% of Americans are overweight, but this has become an epidemic among young people. “We are literally killing ourselves,” John Ratey says in his book Spark, adding, … [Read More]
Burst the (Christian) Bubble
Jul 13th, 2011 by Alvin Reid
Leaders of the church in any era have the responsibility of identifying the idols of our time and confronting them with the gospel. David Platt has done this with the idol of the American Dream and it’s materialism, for instance. We have a variety of idols in our time, from rampant sensuality, to prolonged adolescence (especially in young men) to the new atheism, and the historically ubiquitous idol of worshiping self. But there is another … [Read More]
Thoughts on Youth Camps
Jul 12th, 2011 by Alvin Reid
Many years ago I began speaking at youth camps. I enjoyed the challenge, the zeal of youth, and the potential of so many students gathered for a week to learn and to be pushed toward Christ.
A combination of breaking my hip (the biggest factor), a “worship guy” leading a song about maggots, and a sense that what really mattered at many camps was numbers (and would allow just about anything from “preachers” to get the … [Read More]
The Conservative Resurgence a Generation Later: How Are We Doing?
Apr 12th, 2011 by Alvin Reid
Last night Michelle and I attended a banquet with our faculty, trustees, and board of visitors. The banquet focused on showing appreciation to the faculty at SEBTS. I sat and enjoyed the evening with such great gratitude.
I am finishing my 16th year at SEBTS, which makes me one of the most seasoned profs at the school. We have grown dramatically, from around 1000 students when I came to something like 2700-2800 now. Our faculty has … [Read More]
The Quota for Wimps Has Been Met (A Word to Young Men, Part 2)
Apr 8th, 2011 by Alvin Reid
My last post had to do with modern day barbarians and featured some of my thoughts from a must read article written years ago by Terrence Moore entitled “Wimps and Barbarians.” Now I would like to offer some of his thoughts on the wimps of our time. The quota for wimps has in fact been met, but they are everywhere, especially in the church. In fact, I would consider this problem to be one of … [Read More]
Modern Day Barbarians: (A Word to Young Men, Part 1)
Apr 7th, 2011 by Alvin Reid
I find intriguing the times when someone comments about a given feature of culture, and though the commentator does not make his observations from the perspective of a Christ-follower, his assessment of the times converges well with biblical truth. Ideas that are true may not originate with Scripture, but if true they will be consistent with God’s Word.
Take for instance young adults in our culture. Scripture does not see young adults as goofballs living in … [Read More]
