Category: Church & Theology

By micoots
11/09/2016 0

Answering Tough Texts of the Bible

As I’ve mentioned a few times (here and here), Trevin Wax and I host a podcast called Word Matters, which seeks to help Christians understand some of the most confusing passages of the Bible. We often discuss questions amongst ourselves, but we also like to ask guests to join us. If you’d like to check out, here’s a list of guests and topics so far:
Michael Bird on Romans 7 and “the wretched man”Scot McKnight on Matthew 5 (oath-taking) and Matthew 7 (“I never knew you”)Rus..

balance-1
By micoots
07/09/2016 0

10 Diagnostic Questions to Assess Balance and Sustainability, part 2

In the previous post, we discussed the need to intentionally evaluate our balance and to make adjustments for sustainability along the way. (If you have not yet read that post, I’d encourage you to read it before reading this post.)

Who do I fear?
How is my tempo?
How is my courage?
How is my spiritual discipline?
In this post, we continue with six more assessment questions.

5. Am I coming apart?
We need to adjust the rhythm of our lives. We can’t constantly march to “Onward Christian Soldiers..

balance-1
By micoots
05/09/2016 0

10 Diagnostic Questions to Assess Balance and Sustainability, part 1

We often speak of balance as if it is something you write out on paper and then have attained for life. The truth is, maintaining life balance takes constant adjustment. Like a sailor who is constantly analyzing the wind and adjusting his sails to reach an intended destination, balance for a spiritual leader requires sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and a willingness to make changes.

Over the years, I’ve learned that, at times, the pace at which I do the work of God can hinder His work in me. But..

starting-race
By micoots
29/08/2016 0

4 Ways Courageous Leaders Model Sustained Urgency

You can’t miss the urgency and passion with which Jesus carried out His ministry. Throughout His ministry, He spoke of musts, such as, “I must work the works of Him that sent me” (John 9:4).

As spiritual leaders, we know there is urgency to our labor, but we don’t always maintain it. The truth is, urgency is not the default mode; complacency is.

Strangely enough, it is our very successes in ministry that tend to feed complacency. It works like this: Success builds pride, and pride kills urgenc..

adult-Bible-class
By micoots
26/08/2016 0

7 Essentials of an Adult Bible Class

I believe the key reason for adult Bible classes in the local church is the organization to fulfill the purposes of the church. Dr. Lee Roberson used to say, “The Sunday school is the church organized to fulfill the purpose of the church.”

Whether you call it Sunday School, Adult Bible Fellowships, Connection Groups, or something else, it is vital that you have clearly defined purposes and processes for this vital area of church ministry.

At Lancaster Baptist Church, we now have over fifty adu..

handing-a-tract
By micoots
22/08/2016 0

5 Questions to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Your Gospel Witness

We cannot always measure effectiveness by visible fruit. Some of my favorite testimonies of salvation are of people who trusted Christ after repeated witnessing attempts by multiple people.

Even the Apostle Paul experienced times when he witnessed and the fruit wasn’t immediate.

I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.—1 Corinthians 3:6

So if we try to measure the effectiveness of our witness on fruit alone, we may miscalculate. Perhaps during a season when we are diligentl..

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By micoots
20/08/2016 0

Biblical Sci-Fi? Aliens, Angels, and the Nephilim

On a recent episode of Word Matters, Trevin Wax and I discussed some prominent views of Genesis 6, particularly these first few verses:
When mankind began to multiply on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives for themselves. And the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years.” The Nephilim were o..

books
By micoots
15/08/2016 0

6 Ways Teachers Prepare for a Life-Changing Year

I think of teachers much like I do of nurses—heroes. Like nursing, teaching is an unsung job that requires tremendous amounts of personal investment in other people’s lives. And, also like nursing, teaching has the potential to make a tremendous difference as well.

Teachers have a unique ability to influence moldable lives. I still remember the names of and specific lessons from many of my teachers, and I’m guessing you do as well.

So, as a new school year begins, how can you as a teacher—in a..

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By micoots
12/08/2016 0

Did New Testament Writers Understand the Trinity?

In a thesis I recently wrote for Ridley College, under the supervision of Michael Bird, I argued that the Book of Revelation contains an incipient Trinitarianism. I made the case that John, looking back at his Old Testament (OT) and reflecting on the Christian tradition that would produce the New Testament (NT), at some level understood the divinity of the Son and Holy Spirit. No doubt, NT writers were not Nicene-confessing Christians–but I think it is an overreach to assu..

empty-auditorium
By micoots
09/08/2016 0

What Do Pastors Do All Week?

I think one of the most common misconceptions of those who have not served as a senior pastor is that a pastor’s work is only the work of preaching. If you look at it that way, it would seem the pastor hardly works at all—perhaps for an hour two or three times each week.

Yet, when Paul described the “office of a bishop” (pastor), he specifically called it “work.”

This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.—1 Timothy 3:1

It was a joy a few months bac..