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Pushing Past Literalism
Read more: Pushing Past LiteralismEver since I started down the path of academic theology I have been plagued by a single word: “literal”. No other word has caused me near the same amount of frustration and headaches than this word. Not only is it often, ironically, ill defined and vague, it becomes, also ironically, a license to interpret or…
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Are We Listening to the Deaf Community in the Church?
Read more: Are We Listening to the Deaf Community in the Church?What constitutes an unreached people group? Generally, it applies to a group, usually related to a geographical area, in which less than 2% of the population identify as Christian. Furthermore, it is where there is no local culture evangelizing to the rest of the culture. Being deaf is not geographically contained, but it is its…
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Some Thoughts about Calling
Read more: Some Thoughts about CallingI never really thought I would be here, in this place wondering what is next. When we left Aberdeen it was in hopeful anticipation of the next step almost being an immediate thing. At first it was a bit disappointing…. ok really disappointing. I really didn’t have much time to reflect on what was next….
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How to Argue from the Bible Poorly
Read more: How to Argue from the Bible PoorlyLately, I have noticed a particular bent in conservative evangelical circles toward a special type of biblicism. This biblicism is characterized by a style of argumentation that loosely takes after the preaching of early modern preachers in their common (or plain) sense hermeneutic. The arguer cites chapter and verse as a premise in the argument…
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Robbing Ourselves of Joy: Entitlement or Grace?
Read more: Robbing Ourselves of Joy: Entitlement or Grace?“You deserve to be happy.” “You deserve someone who treats you well.” “You deserve to be taken care of.” “You deserve the best in life.” Problem: These don’t seem to be happening with much consistency. If there was any cry under which modern culture united, it would be the one that preaches humanity deserving to…
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Excising the Experts
Read more: Excising the ExpertsThe Root Issue: Failure to Listen In my previous blog post, The Art of Listening, I discussed the important and wise lesson behind one of my favorite biblical versus—Proverbs 18:13: “He who gives an answer before he hears, it is folly and shame to him” (NASB). If you have not already done so, I highly…
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Charity: The Forgotten Christian Virtue
Read more: Charity: The Forgotten Christian VirtueThis year has been a bit crazy. American politics are more than ever divided between the right and the left. Terrorism abroad and at home have people in fear and often their neighbors have become a source of that fear. Racial tensions are a powder keg of emotion and pain. It seems that there are…
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Bingo: God on the Move at Hume Lake
Read more: Bingo: God on the Move at Hume LakeLast year I got to experience Hume Lake for the first time as a counselor. I was blown away at their focus on Jesus and emphasis on connecting students back to the local Church. You can read about my experience here. This post is dedicated to sharing what Jesus did in the lives of my…
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I Am Not Worthy of God’s Love (or so I think)
Read more: I Am Not Worthy of God’s Love (or so I think)Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. The story of the prodigal son has inspired hope in countless individuals as they have processed their religious experience. Most sermons have incorporated the passage to be primarily directed at Non-Christians, the lost, the unsaved. Some…
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Torah and Your Auto Insurance Policy
Read more: Torah and Your Auto Insurance PolicyI work for a major insurance company known nationwide and which can be found in all states… and no, it is not Nationwide or Allstate. I started working for this company just over eight years ago. I started out in a call center taking calls for our auto insurance policy holders. People called in for…