In an ideal world, all Christians would maintain three types of spiritual relationships as they walked through life. (Disclaimer: There have only been a couple times in my own life when I have had all three going at once, but this is still an ideal worth aiming for.)
El nacimiento de Jes煤s cambi贸 al mundo. La navidad es, sin duda alguna, el acontecimiento m谩s importante en la historia de la humanidad y, por lo tanto, la mayor celebraci贸n de cada a帽o. El Dios creador del universo se hizo hombre y habit贸 entre nosotros. Dios no est谩 lejos ni es distante sino que a trav茅s de Jes煤s su presencia es real y personal. De hecho, el milagro de la navidad se resume con la palabra 鈥淓manuel鈥 que significa apropiadamente 鈥淒ios con nosotros.鈥
鈥淭he Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are without error or misstatement in their moral and spiritual teaching and record of historical facts. They are without error or defect of any kind.鈥 Thus reads Biola University鈥檚 (and Talbot School of Theology鈥檚) Articles of Faith鈥攁 document that remains unchanged since it was written shortly after the turn of the century. As the Dean of Talbot and as one who has been on the faculty for 27 years, I can say that this is a conviction that runs very deep in our faculty. We believe that the Bible is the Word of God and, as such, is truthful in what it affirms and can be completely trusted.
Por los tres 煤ltimos a帽os, el 铆ndice de felicidad planetaria ha dado a conocer los pa铆ses m谩s felices del mundo de acuerdo a ciertos par谩metros. Los resultados sorprendentes de la 煤ltima edici贸n en el 2012 se帽alaron que pa铆s m谩s feliz del mundo es Costa Rica, en segundo lugar se encuentra Vietnam y en tercero Colombia. Los Estados Unidos se ubicaron en el lugar 104. Este 铆ndice de felicidad se basa en tres cosas: 1) Se hace la pregunta la persona, "驴Qu茅 tan feliz es usted?" En una escala del 0-10. 2) Luego se mide la expectativa de vida de las personas de ese pa铆s. Finalmente se mide cuanta 鈥渢ierra鈥 (o recursos ecol贸gicos) necesita la persona en ese pa铆s para ser feliz.
Between 1750 and 1900, the total expanse of human knowledge had doubled. At that time of pre-technology human history, it took 150 years. Today, the growth of knowledge is occurring some 100 times faster. It is said that the entire sum of all known information, i.e., human knowledge, doubles every 1.5 years. By 2020 it is estimated that it will be doubling approximately every month and a half (72 days). Think about that鈥
El gran educador Antonio del Corro (Sevilla, 1527-Londres, 1591) es quiz谩 una de las figuras m谩s importantes y a la vez menos conocidas de la reforma espa帽ola. Es tambi茅n un ejemplo a imitar para todos los que seguimos a Cristo y sobre todo para los que nos dedicamos a servirle a trav茅s de la ense帽anza. El historiador Emilio Monjo se refiere a Antonio de Corro como 鈥渦n personaje que refleja el talante de la Reforma espa帽ola en cuanto a su libertad de pensamiento y palabra: una iglesia que hab铆a nacido libre por la acci贸n de la Escritura, y que se mantuvo libre con la Escritura tambi茅n en su exilio europeo".
Three years ago, Trudi and I adopted two precious girls out of the Los Angeles County foster system. They are now 14 and 12 years old. We are deeply grateful for these precious young ladies God has brought into our family. But we encountered a few things that we wish someone had told us about foster-adoptions before we started the process. Here is a short list of issues that might be helpful for you to know if you鈥檙e considering embarking on such an adventure.
2013 is the inaugural year of an innovative biblical commentary series edited by John Walton and Mark Straus (published by Baker Books). It鈥檚 called Teach the Text because that is what it is about: helping people to teach the biblical text effectively. It combines literary, background and exegetical analysis with theological, pedagogical and homiletical discussion. But it does this in a surprisingly concise and accessible manner.
Yesterday I spent about 45 minutes talking and praying with one of my current students. Four months ago he was invited to step into the role of youth pastor in his church, and now finds himself responsible for preparing and teaching a message every Friday and Sunday. Two messages a week! And this for someone who has only done a bit of preaching in the past鈥 He shared with me (and I share this entire post with his permission) that the single hardest thing he has faced in his new role as youth pastor is the agonizing decision of what to preach each week.
鈥淎 mind is a terrible thing to waste.鈥 This slogan, first broadcast by the United Negro College Fund in 1972, has become something of a John 3:16 for educators seeking to evangelistically rouse students out of intellectual slumber. If I could tailor this slogan for our Biola community as we embark on a new semester, it would become: 鈥淭he mind of Christ is far too precious to not cultivate.鈥 While lacking the elegant phrasing and bumper sticker quote-ability of the original, it does express something I hope we can pause to ponder as we enter our classrooms.
Hace ya varios a帽os escuch茅 una frase que me ha hecho pensar constantemente y que refleja uno de los mayores peligros que enfrentan los l铆deres cristianos. La frase dice as铆: 鈥渆s importante no estar tan ocupado en la obra de Dios que nos olvidemos del Dios de la obra鈥. El problema no es el servicio a Dios sino el enfoque y, en muchos casos, la motivaci贸n que nos mueve al servicio. Estoy convencido que uno de los pecados principales de muchos l铆deres es el 茅nfasis obsesivo por el trabajo y, por lo tanto, el descuido de lo esencial y verdaderamente importante como Dios, la familia y el cuidado personal.
The most recent issue of the Journal of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care carried an article I wrote on the relationship between spiritual formation and mission. Here's an outline...
One of the little known facts of church growth is that pastors can stay too long. Long pastoral tenure can actually harm the growth of a church. Generally, the first twenty years of a pastor鈥檚 tenure are quite healthy, but it is very rare for a pastor to lead a church through a third decade with vitality and growth.
驴Por qu茅 las cosas son como son? 驴D贸nde est谩 Dios cuando el mundo lo ignora a 脡l y a sus principios? Cuando Dios act煤a, 驴por qu茅 hace 脡l lo que hace? Todos nos hemos hecho alguna vez preguntas dif铆ciles respecto a Dios y a nuestra fe. En muchas ocasiones, lo que vemos aparentemente no concuerda con lo que creemos acerca de Dios. 驴Qu茅 hacer en estas circunstancias? En Habacuc encontramos un libro b铆blico que nos muestra un modelo para enfrentar estos momentos y acrecentar nuestra fe en el Dios que sostiene el universo con su poder.
I love my office. There are many reasons that I love my office. One is that I can store the many books that I own in there. Second, it is a place for study or reading in a quiet setting. But what I love most is that my office is a place for ministry and discipleship to occur. In other words, it is a safe place to meet students who are not only facing the challenges of academia but also the hardships of life. For this reason, the value of my office hours is priceless!
My wife Trudi and I spoke for a parenting seminar this past weekend. We offered 14 鈥渢ips鈥 for nurturing the spiritual lives of one鈥檚 children. I鈥檝e included the 14 teaching points here for your own consideration. Our prayer is that many parents will take on the call to intentionally train their children in the ways of the Lord. If you want your children to grow up to be passionate followers of Christ鈥
There is a pressure that is constantly battling around us to give people whatever they want. When you are younger it was labeled peer pressure. However, as we grow older the peer pressures continues throughout life, we just call them 鈥淓xpectations鈥濃
A search of the Internet will reveal several different kite parables, including one in support of the (un-Christian) idea that by holding tight to the string of God鈥檚 commandments people can fly themselves up into the heavens. I鈥檇 like to suggest a different kite parable, one that is more in keeping with Christian orthodoxy. My parable focuses on the kite itself (not the string) as the gospel of salvation through faith in Christ alone, but not a faith that is alone.
Looking over a resume in order to hire a person for ministry can be trickier than one realizes at first. This is especially true because they typically want to give the benefit of the doubt to one鈥檚 accomplishments and experiences as listed on a resume. However, it has been the experience of this writer that what is often listed on a resume may not actually be the truth. There are those who like to 鈥渟tretch鈥 the information or possibly 鈥渆mbellish鈥 the facts to point in favor of the applicant. Then there are those who just flat out lie about who they really are and what they鈥檝e done. This blog will highlight some clues or signs of 鈥渞ed flags鈥 that may show up in ministry resumes.
Esta semana se conmemoran los d铆as m谩s importantes para el cristianismo y, por consiguiente, para todo el mundo. La muerte y resurrecci贸n de Jesucristo marcan el eje central de nuestra fe. Durante la semana santa recordamos la muerte de Jes煤s en la cruz por nuestros pecados y su victoria sobre la muerte a trav茅s de su gloriosa resurrecci贸n.
Breaking up may be hard to do, but starting over in ministry can be scary. No one enjoys change and often our worst mistakes happen in the stress of transitions.
Forming the right kind of pastoral staff or leadership team can be a very challenging endeavor. Getting the right people to work together for the long run is much more difficult than people imagine. Sometimes great individual leaders do not necessarily mean they will work well together in a team. So, how can this be remedied? But before this question can be asked, there is another important preliminary question that needs to be raised. What elements need to be in place or need to match in order to build a strong and cohesive staff? This blog will examine three aspects that need to match well in order to build a good, strong, and cohesive staff.
Recuerdo que el pastor de la iglesia donde crec铆 repet铆a constantemente esta frase 鈥渆l amor es un producto de la voluntad鈥. Estas palabras se convirtieron en una expresi贸n com煤n en la iglesia y se mencionaban constantemente en diferentes contextos. Me parece que lo que el pastor quer铆a comunicar era que la acci贸n de amar est谩 basada principalmente en una decisi贸n y no solamente en emociones. Nuestras emociones cambian, pero cuando decidimos amar a Dios y a nuestro pr贸jimo independientemente de nuestro estado de 谩nimo entonces estamos as铆 cumpliendo la ley de Cristo. Estoy de acuerdo con la idea general, pero creo que el amor va mucho m谩s all谩 de nuestra voluntad. El amor se centra en la persona de Dios y nosotros tenemos el gran privilegio de participar y demostrar el amor divino.
This post is for people who are praying seriously about the possibility of serving overseas in long-term cross-cultural missions. It may help you assess where you presently stand in terms of 鈥渞eadiness鈥 for such a ministry assignment.
Biola University