Towers is the campus news publication of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The Dec-Jan issue contains three resolutions from eight of Southern’s professors and staff members. Several of them, for different reasons, are worth sharing here: “Read through the entire Bible two times.” “Say ‘no’ to my grandkids at least once during the year.” … More New Year’s Resolutions from Southern Seminary Staff
1. Breaks invite us to explore new expressions of faith, hope, and love. We are called to trust God in different venues, with fewer of our trusted resources at our disposal, in less comfortable circumstantial climates, with less of a schedule and routine to guide us. We are called to hope in God, his daily … More Seasonal Love: Caring for College Students through the Breaks (Part 4)
1. Breaks tend to conjure up memories — both happy and heartbreaking. Family, home, and holidays all tend to stimulate memories that bring our past to the forefront. And memories are powerful things. There may be memories of sexual sin, wasted years, old romances, broken relationships, parental abuse, damaging choices, untimely deaths, and overwhelming regrets. … More Seasonal Love: Caring for College Students through the Breaks (Part 3)
Winter and summer breaks are unique seasons for Christian college students. Those who minister to them have an equally unique opportunity and responsibility to meet these breaks with seasonal love — personal care that considers the dynamics of the season and the corresponding needs of the person. However, seasonal love does not begin with strategies … More Seasonal Love: The Affections of a Full-Hearted Minister (Part 2)
After ten years of Christian college ministry, I operate in semesters. My year starts in August, breaks for Christmas, relaunches in January, and finishes in May with caps and gowns. There’s a lot that happens in between each segment, but the rhythm is palpable. One unique element of college ministry is the breaks. For faculty and staff, … More Seasonal Love: Caring for College Students through the Breaks (Part 1)
Aaron Rodgers is the starting quarterback for the defending World Champion Green Bay Packers. After playing at Cal and surprisingly slipping to the 24th pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, Rodgers sat behind legend Brett Favre for three years from 2005-2007 until Favre’s legendary annual retirements led to his trade from the Packers to the New York Jets. … More Perfecting Your Craft: Wisdom from Aaron Rodgers
This is the final installment of a four-part series about church planting teams working among unreached tribes. Former 20-year tribal missionary Brad Buser (Papua New Guinea) shared these twenty practical tips with his Cross-Cultural Church Planting class at The Master’s College in 2004. Here are Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. 16. You’re not asked, … More Church-Planting among the Unreached: Gritty Wisdom from Brad Buser (Part 4)
This is Part 3 of pioneer missionary Brad Buser’s invaluable lecture about relationships between missionary partners doing hardcore church-planting among the unreached. Brad and his family spent twenty years among the unreached Iteri tribe in Papua New Guinea, and his wisdom is at once gritty and golden. Be sure to read Part 1 and Part 2, … More Church-Planting among the Unreached: Gritty Wisdom from Brad Buser (Part 3)
Brad Buser and his family spent twenty years among the unreached Iteri tribe in Papua New Guinea. They learned the language, translated the New Testament, planted a church, and trained indigenous elders before leaving with their work accomplished. Here are points 6-10 of his course lecture entitled “Ministry Team Startup Talk.” Part 1 contains points 1-5. … More Church-Planting among the Unreached: Gritty Wisdom from Brad Buser (Part 2)
Listen to people with scars. That’s become a motto of mine. Brad Buser has scars. In processing some old files recently, I came across one of his handouts from a class on Cross-Cultural Church Planting at The Master’s College around 2004. I never took the course, but Brad and his teaching were so well received by the students … More Church-Planting among the Unreached: Gritty Wisdom from Brad Buser (Part 1)
“Why People Stick by Scandal-Plagued Pastors” by CNN’s John Blake is a brief foray into the blind loyalty that many knowing parishioners maintain toward their scandalized pastors. Sue Thompson, a public speaker herself, has been burned before. She explains that followers often build a “spiritual firewall” around their pastors so that reasonable suspicions and legitimate … More When the Pastor Falls: Lessons from Church Scandals & Blind Loyalty
Jim Tressel, long-revered coach and field general of the Ohio State Buckeyes football program, resigned on Monday after a lengthy saga of unraveling details regarding NCAA violations. Time and truth go hand in hand, so the sporting world must wait, as it often must, for the full revelation. I’m nauseated by those who turn every … More Secret Sins and the Resignation of Jim Tressel
In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus tells a story about a landowner who hired laborers to work his vineyard for a day. Jesus was responding to Peter’s question about what kind of reward he and the other disciples would have since they had made such great sacrifices to join Jesus in his mission (19:27), in contrast to the rich young ruler who had … More Bargaining with God (Matthew 20:1-16)
The Bible is full of Cinderella verses — plain-looking, hard-working, easily-ignored verses that will one day be unveiled at the grand eschatological ball, blowing us all away with their beauty and significance. It won’t just be the atheists and the agnostics and the rebels standing aghast and amazed at these unveiled truths. We will all realize just how … More The Verses We Skipped
My Good Friend, At many points in our academic journey together, we will meet surprises, obstacles, setbacks, and disappointments. Some will be merely annoying. Others will be devastating. We will be overwhelmed, overworked, and overworried. We will theorize about “balancing life” and will do our best, but such balance will remain an ideal, a mystery, … More See You at the Top
My semester class schedule is now finalized. I’ve already completed the initial online course consisting of nine brief online lectures introducing us to the Southern Baptist Convention and its main funding mechanism, the Cooperative Program. On Thursday I completed the helpful Graduate Research Seminar, the introductory course for all doctoral and Th.M. students which centers on research and writing. And Friday, … More The Classroom and the Crucible
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