Now that I'm a seminary grad, I'm on the hunt for a lead pastor position. I want to be open to anywhere if God so leads, but absent some clear direction otherwise, I am maintaining my search focus on the midwest. That means there are hundreds of pastoral search committees around the country that won't see my resume. Some of those vacancies could use a little extra advertising, so I've taken it upon myself to highlight one every once in a while with a little flare I can only hope will be worthy of our very own humorist, William Thornton. First up, the First Baptist Church of Petersburg, … [Read more...] about Are you feeling the call to Alaska?
The Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon, Volume II
About this time last year I published a review of The Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon, Volume I. Courtesy of Broadman and Holman Publishers, this year I'm able to bring you review of Volume II. Charles Haddon Spurgeon was one of the most influential preachers of the 19th century. At a time before automobiles, airplanes, and electricity, he regularly preached before crowds of more than 5,000 in his church in London (he once even preached before crowd of over 23,000 people). He founded a college, an orphanage, and was a strong advocate for foreign missions. He was personally acquainted with D. … [Read more...] about The Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon, Volume II
The Reader’s Bibles are here!
A few years ago a Kickstarter project raised over a million dollars to produce a high-quality, multi-volume Bible without chapter or verse numbers. The idea was to create a distraction-free reading experience. I was taken in and ponied up $25 for the volume on the New Testament. Then I waited. And waited. And Crossway was able to get out a single-volume ESV Reader's Bible, so I bought that and read through it a few times in a couple of years. (I did eventually get my New Testament and read that too). I recently saw that both Zondervan and Broadman and Holman had released their own … [Read more...] about The Reader’s Bibles are here!
A Greek guide for the book of Luke and a FREEBIE too!
How's your Greek? I've got a book review as well as a freebie that might peak your interest. Christmas will be here before you know it, and taking the effort to work through the Greek text of the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke might help kickstart a habit that will bless you and your ministry for years to come. And if you need a recommendation to get you started, look no further than the volume on Luke in the Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (EGGNT) series. In the interest of full disclosure, I asked Broadman and Holman to bring Christmas to me early this year by … [Read more...] about A Greek guide for the book of Luke and a FREEBIE too!
The Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon
Charles Haddon Spurgeon was one of the most influential preachers of the 19th century. At a time before automobiles, airplanes, and electricity, he regularly preached before crowds of more than 5,000 in his church in London (he once even preached before crowd of over 23,000 people). He founded a college, an orphanage, and was a strong advocate for foreign missions. He was personally acquainted with D. L. Moody and Hudson Taylor. Famous Americans like Mark Twain, John D. Rockefeller, and James Garfield (before he became the 20th president of the United States) visited his church to hear him … [Read more...] about The Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon
Balanced Preaching
We tend to like the idea of balance. Eat a balanced breakfast. Maintain a healthy work/life balance. Balance your checkbook. Balance your budget. Balance is desirable. As preachers, we ought to recognize the power of our words and exercise extra caution in how we use them, since "we who teach will be judged with greater strictness," and "if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man." We don't want people to misconstrue what we're teaching and pursue unwise or unbiblical paths because we failed to narrow the scope of application, so we try to give examples or warnings to … [Read more...] about Balanced Preaching
Book Review: Preaching Old Testament Narratives
I've been preaching off and on now for about six years. During that time my favorite and probably best sermons came from a series I did on Daniel. When offered the opportunity to receive a review copy of Preaching Old Testament Narratives from Kregel Publications, I had to take it. I'm glad I did. Benjamin Walton, formerly a pastor, is president of PreachingWorks, an organization that helps pastors become better preachers. Walton argues that Old Testament Narratives shouldn't be preached like New Testament epistles, prophecy, or other biblical genres. For one thing, a complete unit of … [Read more...] about Book Review: Preaching Old Testament Narratives
Going deeper with New Testament Greek (a book review)
I decided to make 2016 the year I would try to pick up my biblical Greek again after a lapse in practicing for a couple years. One of the most helpful resources I’ve found is the 2-4 minute video clips on the Daily Dose of Greek website Robert Plummer, my seminary professor, created a little while ago. He works through a verse or a part of a verse in each video, translating, parsing verbs, and commenting on the grammar. Because the videos are so short, I’m able to refresh my memory and learn new concepts all with a minimal time investment. I discovered that he had worked on an intermediate … [Read more...] about Going deeper with New Testament Greek (a book review)
A grown man in the girl’s restroom
We need to be better spokespersons on the issue of transgenderism. It seems the message from conservatives can be boiled down to one question. I’ve seen it all over Facebook, heard it in conversations, and saw that even Ted Cruz was touting it during his last-ditch effort to stave off a Trump nomination: “Do you want a grown man to follow your little girl into the women’s restroom?” In a world of sound bytes and 140 character limits, it’s not surprising that conservatives have settled on this as the summary representative of their argument, thinking that their position is so obvious that … [Read more...] about A grown man in the girl’s restroom
On Spanish ministry and ethnic churches
I’ve been involved in Spanish-language ministry for the past seven years. In December 2014 I was called as a bi-vocational youth pastor at Enfoque, a Spanish-speaking congregation connected to Fall Creek Baptist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. When I publicly announced that I was moving to Buffalo, New York, it took most people by surprise. Moving to la frontera (the border) should have placed me somewhere in the Southwest, not the Northeast. Although it was an HR job that opened up the opportunity to move to Buffalo, it was the 40,000+ Hispanics and lack of an SBC-aligned Hispanic church … [Read more...] about On Spanish ministry and ethnic churches