living the Gospel in an everyday world
One of my habits is to regularly write a post for this blog site. I am, after all, a mass of habits. I would like to think that my daily choices are the products of well-considered decision making, but as Charles Duhigg notes in his book, The Power of Habit, they are not. They are…
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Dave Kraft shares the fruit of forty-three years of ministry in his newest book, Mistakes Leaders Make. In his forward, Mark Driscoll advises the reader to process the book—take it slow. There is a lot of pastoral wisdom here. It is worth reading and rereading. When I was a pastor in The Netherlands, I worked…
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Gospel-centered. It’s everywhere. Not quite as ubiquitous as air, but it feels like it sometimes. We even use it at Western Seminary to describe the core of our mission: Gospel-Centered Transformation. But what does it mean? And what difference does it really make for life and ministry today? Is it just a slogan? Or does it matter? What…
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One of the things I have noticed at the athletic club is that there are a number of guys, like myself, who are working hard at “staying young”. Nonetheless, it’s pretty evident that age is winning out; we are not staying young. But we still work at it. After our routines, be it on the…
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I’m sitting here on a hot, steamy evening in Chennai, realizing it will be a while before I can go to sleep. It’s my first night here in India, and my clock is all out of whack, having arrived at 3:00 this morning after an eighteen hour flight. But it is okay. Part of my…
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“What took me by surprise was the power, the all-consuming grip, the sudden shock of an emotion rolling over me, literally rendering me unable to function for a moment or sometimes longer.” “Imagine a single event dramatically changing your calendar, your checkbook, your friendship network, the contents of your refrigerator, the temperature you set your…
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All of us need an occasional escape from a certain reality. This is a part of what vacations are for. And yet, for me anyways, I can never really escape. Equipped with my cell phone and IPad, and access to an internet connection, I’m never very far from the latest Supreme Court decision, NBA trade,…
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by Jan Verbruggen Victor P. Hamilton, Exodus. An Exegetical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011. Victor Hamilton is well known for his 2-part commentary on Genesis in the New International Commentary of the Old Testament series, his Handbook on the Pentateuch, and his Handbook on the Historical Books. He taught for 35 years at Asbury University, and now in his retirement has been…
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Art Azurdia is Associate Professor of Pastoral and Church Ministry at Western Seminary. His “passion is to persuade students to preach Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit from the entire Bible.” Here is his list of 5 Books to Note: David Wells, The Courage To Be Protestant: Truth Lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in…
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Chad Hall is the Director of Coaching at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. He “believes coaching to be an essential mindset and skill set for ministers today — an approach to conversations that allows us to express and expand the kingdom of God.” I hope you enjoy his selection of 5 Books to Note: Dee…
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