Over at his blog, Mike Bird offers his thoughts on the Lord’s Supper. Here’s a snippet: Francis Chan recently preached a sermon where he said that we’ve replaced the Lord’s Supper with “one guy and his pulpit” and he also decried the mere memorialism of such evangelical practice of the Lord’s Supper and the marginalization of the…
Interview on Pastoral Theology
Chandler Warren, a graduate student at the University of St. Andrews (Scotland), recently interviewed me on the subject of pastoral theology. We touch on a number of things–defining pastoral theology, the role of Scripture in the life of the church, prayer, etc. It was a fun conversation. You can check it out here: Interview on…
Thinking About Genesis 1-2, Part 3
Part 3: The Days in Genesis 1 Do Not Have a Literal Function, but a Literary Function In my my last post, I argued that a literalistic reading of the creation story in Gen 1 contradicts the creation story of Gen 2. To alleviate the tension between these two creation stories, I suggested in that…
Thinking About Genesis 1-2, Part 2
Part 2: When Genesis 1 is read as a literal, historical sequence of events, then it contradicts Genesis 2. In my last post, I argued that it is not necessary to understand “day” as a literal, 24-hour day. I showed that it is possible to understand the “days” of Genesis 1 in a non-literal way.…
Thinking About Genesis 1-2, Part 1
Part 1: It is not necessary to interpret “days” as literal, 24-hour days. As I said in the introduction, I don’t have all the answers to questions about Genesis 1-2. I have much to learn, for sure. And so, I have decided to take a journey of sorts through these opening chapters of the Bible.…
Thinking About Genesis 1-2: Introduction
In today’s ideological climate, some sectors of both modern science and evangelicalism commune with each other about like oil and water. In other words, they don’t. When it comes to substantive issues, scientists and evangelicals have been known to disagree (to put the matter gently). Because both sides tend to have certain adherents who choose…
Near-Death Experiences: An Interview with Dr. Gary Habermas
This video is part of a larger project that my colleague, Dr. Alan Bandy, and I are working on. The aim behind these interviews is to compile research on various sub-topics that relate to the paranormal genre and supernatural experiences that people claim to have had. Our goal is to help folks understand these things…
Interview with Dr. Craig Keener
The video below is part of a larger project that my colleague, Dr. Alan Bandy, and I are working on. The aim behind these interviews is to compile research on various sub-topics that relate to the paranormal genre and supernatural experiences that people claim to have had. Our goal is to help folks understand and…
Thinking about the Love of God in Christ
One of my favorite passages in Scripture is the so-called “Christ hymn” found in Phil 2:5-11. There, we learn how God’s love for each of us is incredibly deep. Christ, the text says, “emptied himself” (v.7). So much to say about this! The cross was the way in which God put his love on public…
Alas, Discouragement
UPDATED: 5/19/21: A few years ago, a friend (and seasoned saint) came up to me and said that, during a hard season of depression, some in the church told her that mature Christians don’t struggle with things like that. “Christians,” they said, “don’t go through depression at all.” Sigh. Such statements are as dangerous as…