Oddly enough, early on in my Christian life, I was not remotely interested in church history. (I’ll never forget the first day of seminary when I saw the 1200 page reading list for my Church History course, including Justo Gonzales’ 2-volume tome, The Story of Christianity. I remember thinking I’d rather wake up with my head stapled to the carpet than read that many pages of history.) I think I devalued church history and historical … [Read More]
Doing Theology as a Servant of Jesus (5): Theology Has Everything To Do with Reason, Culture, Experience, and Tradition.
This blog series is based upon the conviction that God can be known. But this conviction raises the question: If we believe that God can be known in a true, trustworthy, and sufficient manner (albeit not comprehensively or univocally), where do we look for such knowledge and how do we speak in such a manner? Upon what sources does a theologian draw when looking for raw material about God? And if there is more than … [Read More]
Doing Theology as a Servant of Jesus (4): Theology is Not Primarily for Professors or Preachers.
At one point in my life, I thought “theology” was for only for eccentric religious professionals who wore hounds-tooth jackets with elbow patches, smelled like papyrus, smoked hand carved pipes, sported Santa Claus beards, and talked a lot about topics such as Second Temple Judaism and revelational epistemology. In other words, I thought they were weird. I thought it would be fun to stick a theologian in a room of normal people and play the … [Read More]
Doing Theology as a Servant of Jesus (2): Theology Aims at the Head, the Heart, and the Hands
One of the benefits of marriage is that it brings a theologian down to earth. During the first years of my marriage to Lauren, my patient wife had to listen to hours of my theological bloviations, which I delivered with the oratorical verve of Will Ferrell and a great deal of unsuccessfully suppressed self-satisfaction. After I had finally given birth to the entirety of my “train of thought” (on creational ontology, revelational epistemology, or some … [Read More]
Doing Theology as a Servant of Jesus (1): The Most Exciting Endeavor of All
I will never forget my first day of Systematic Theology. (The year was 1996. Think Billy Ray Cyrus. America Online. Super Nintendo. Doc Martens. Et, as they say, cetera). I had decided to take Systematic during my first semester and the opening class period would be the first experience I would have in a seminary environment. I sat on a row with J. D. Greear, Keith Errickson, Micah Patisall, and Chris Thompson. As Dr. Patterson … [Read More]
The Greenhouse Series: Renewal Church, Greenville, SC
[Note: The Greenhouse Series promotes church planting and church renewal in the United States. Each installment spotlights a specific church that has recently been planted or is in the process of revitalization, as a means of encouraging our readership in the victories of the gospel and allowing them the opportunity to support these churches.]
Here is a painful truth: the American South is full of cultural Christians who are in fact non-disciples. In recognition of that … [Read More]
The Greenhouse Series: Grace Church Boston and Mosaic Boston
[Note: The Greenhouse Series promotes church planting and church renewal in the United States. Each installment spotlights a specific church that has recently been planted or is in the process of revitalization, as a means of encouraging our readership in the victories of the gospel and allowing them the opportunity to support these churches.]
SEBTS alum Jan Vezikov and his family are working hard by God’s grace to reach the city of Boston for his glory. … [Read More]
The Greenhouse Series: Redemption Hill Church in Boston, MA
[Note: The Greenhouse Series promotes church planting and church renewal in the United States. Each installment spotlights a specific church that has recently been planted or is in the process of revitalization, as a means of encouraging our readership in the victories of the gospel and allowing them the opportunity to support these churches.]
Over the past few years, we Southern Baptists have come face to face with the brutal facts: … [Read More]
The Greenhouse Series: Restoration Church in Washington, DC
[Note: The Greenhouse Series promotes church planting and church renewal in the United States. Each installment spotlights a specific church that has recently been planted or is in the process of revitalization, as a means of encouraging our readership in the victories of the gospel and allowing them the opportunity to support these churches.]
My friends Nathan Knight and Joey Craft are SEBTS alums and co-planters and pastors of Restoration Church in Washington, DC (www.restorationchurchdc.com). Nathan … [Read More]
