Raptured in Flaming Fire: An Exegesis of 2 Thessalonians 1
Once upon a time there was a little boy and his sister who went shopping with their mom. When they arrived at one of the stores, the mother said she was going to run into the store and be back in a few minutes. Being eight years old, the boy wasn't worried about being...
Church for the Sake of the Disabled & Marginalized.
My youngest sister has Down syndrome. Since her birth I have had many chances to reflect on disabilities, as well as consider how the church can better serve marginalized people. This has led to deeper thinking toward gender, ethnicity, and the general way in which...
A Commentary on the Psalms: Volume 2 (42-89), by Allen P. Ross
Of the Psalms, John Calvin said that “the varied and resplendid riches which are contained in this treasury it is no easy matter to express in words.” Martin Luther stated that the Psalms are a “Little Bible, wherein everything contained in the entire Bible is...
Smoking Pot is Worse than Beating Women: Why the NFL Just Totally Blew It
You may not care much about football. Touchdowns, first-downs and tackling people may be as boring as watching paint dry. Yet if you are a human being than you should care deeply about the NFL's latest example of completely and totally blowing it. Ray Rice, the...
Praying in God’s Theater, by Joel L. Watts
Throughout the year I often find myself asking questions about personal "soul care" and this usually turns into questions about my time spent reading Scripture and praying. I used to always feel like I was the worst follower of Jesus in the universe because I really...
Karl Barth Recognized Churchianity as Opposed to Community
Karl Barth writes: "When theology confronts the Word of God and its witnesses, its place is very concretely in the community, not somewhere in empty space. The word "community," rather than "Church," is used advisedly, for from a theological point of view it is best...
So You Want to Preach Like the Apostles…
Recently I had a conversation with a young and newly minted pastor who was asking me some questions about preaching. We spent some time talking about different homiletic principles and I recall that one of the last things that she said was, "I want to preach like the...
How to Develop, Foster, & Maintain a Leadership Team
Over the past eight years I've taken a number of different approaches to having a leadership/ministry/staff team. In this post I want to share a few of the things that I've learned over the years from my experience, both positive and negative, and the resources that...
Reflecting on the Midwest North Vineyard Regional Conference…
I've been in Burnsville, a suburb of Minneapolis, since late Tuesday night in order to participate in the Midwest North Region's Summer Family Fest. It's basically a way for the Vineyard family to gather together to worship, learn, experience, and serve. I've written...
Vineyard Theology Doesn’t Mix with Dispensationalism
Is the kingdom of God coming? Has it already come? Is it the church? Is it in heaven? Many questions still abound in regards to the nature of the kingdom of God and I've argued that I think it's important for those of us in the Vineyard to have a robustly informed...
“First Among Equals” in a Plurality of Pastors Model…
Jonathan Leeman has a good post over at 9Marks on "What Does "First Among Equals" Mean on an Elder Board." I've talked about this model, which I endorse as what I think is the healthiest, safest, and practical way of doing church government before (see here). Though...
“Pastor, pace yourself… or you will learn the hard way.”
Able recently wrote about 21 things people might not know about pastors and their families. Reading the list made me deeply concerned for pastors that experience many of those feelings. Unfortunately, many of the pastors I know struggle with those feelings on a...
Elders in the Life of the Church, by Phil Newton & Matt Schmucker
I think a case could be made that the Bible offers a variety of options regarding church polity. However, I personally find the plurality of pastors model the best option for the local church (see my top 5 books on the subject). In fact, if you take a look at my list...
The Whole Bible is About God Establishing His Kingdom
N. T. Wright dropping some knowledge on fools: "... the point about God’s authority is that the whole Bible is about God establishing his kingdom on earth as in heaven, completing (in other words) the project begun but aborted in Genesis 1– 3. This is the big story...
Kingdom Theology in the Vineyard: Upside Down & Now Not Yet
Yesterday I introduced this new series toward understanding Vineyard theology (and praxis) because it is increasingly obvious that our movement is facing questions regarding our identity. Truth be told, I think we always have and always will have questions about who...
Understanding Vineyard Theology: Introduction & Challenges
The Vineyard Movement traces its history back to the mid-seventies and John Wimber took leadership of the young group of churches around 1982. The history of the Vineyard has been documented in Jackson's The Quest for the Radical Middle as well as a bit in Carol...
Ken Heer’s WPH Commentary on Luke’s Gospel
My sincere thanks to Becky Eberhard and the folks at Wesleyan Publishing House for sending me a review copy of Ken Heer’s biblical commentary on the Gospel of Luke. I just finished mining through it, and I can’t wait to recommend it to you! This is actually my first...
Interview with Kevin Scott…
A few months ago I posted a review of Kevin Scott's absolutely fantastic book ReCreatable (review here). Kevin was kind enough to answer a few questions for us and I want to again encourage you to pick up his book! It's excellent. ************************************...
On How I’ve Changed My View(s) on Women in Ministry, AKA, “Farewell Luke Geraty”
I guess blogging is as good a place to be introspective and anecdotal as anywhere else, right? I've decidedly chosen to "think out loud" here at ThinkTheology.org for a number of years now, so this isn't really all that new. I've written in the past about why I think...
Reviewing Ken Wilson (part 4): His Treatment of the Old Testament
We have finally arrived to the area of Ken Wilson's book, A Letter to My Congregation, that many of you have been patiently waiting for... Ken's biblical arguments! How does Ken treat the Bible's statements regarding homosexuality? How does he understand Scriptures...
Several Posts on Small Town Church Planting & Ministry…
Here's a quick round up of some short articles I've written or contributed to in regards to small town rural church ministry: Ministry Longevity in Small Towns - Bob Logan was kind enough to allow me to reflect on the importance of ministry longevity in small town...
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