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A Pastor’s Character, Convictions, Competencies
In The Trellis and the Vine, Colin Marshall and Tony Payne suggest a three-fold schema for training church leaders: character, convictions, and competencies. I’ve found it helpful to apply these three categories to the various qualifications for the shepherd/elder/overseer in the Pastoral Epistles. Character: The Lifestyle of a Pastor Combining the list of character qualifications in…
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What I’m Reading: Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow
Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. by Ron Chernow Titan is great biographical writing, and it’s hard to imagine a more intriguing person in the history of American business than John D. Rockefeller. Before reading Titan I knew virtually nothing about this Goliath of industry, besides his incredible wealth. So I was surprised to learn…
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Character, Leadership, and the Gospel
Character Matters Why do we feel uncomfortable trusting a politician who has been unfaithful to his wife? or disappointed when a high-profile athlete–known and respected for “family values”– has been hiding an affair? Perhaps we feel this discomfort because we make an intuitive connection between a man’s character and our confidence in him as a leader. The…
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What I’m Reading: 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan Peterson
12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson This is one of the most interesting, stirring, and helpful books I’ve ever read. It’s easy to see why Peterson has been called “the most influential public intellectual in the Western world right now”—he demonstrates a grasp of philosophy, psychology, religion, and speaks…
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And the Best Background Music for Writing Is . . .
Which kind of music helps you do your best thinking, writing, or creating? I took several stabs at that question as I wrote my dissertation. I tried Rachmaninoff but found my heart too carried away with the emotion of the music. Sometimes I brought in Mozart’s chamber music. But most often, I enlisted Bach, supplemented…
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David’s Sins in David’s Sons
Is it hard to lead others when we lack integrity ourselves? You bet it is. We see this in the life of King David. In 2 Samuel 14, we start to see David’s kingdom unraveling—and it all started with the loose thread of his sexual lust. His unbridled passions are copied by his son Amnon,…
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We Judge Others Strictly. Ourselves? Not So Much.
We are usually better judges of others than of ourselves. In fact, it is probably impossible to have an unbiased evaluation of the person whose teeth you brush, whose bills you pay, whose car you drive, whose body you inhabit—your own self. We are simply too heavily vested in ourselves to be impartial judges of our…
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Sick of My Dissertation Topic?
People have asked me whether I ever got sick of my dissertation topic, as someone might ask a person who had vowed to eat only lasagna for breakfast for several months. Actually, the opposite happened. As I neared the end of my dissertation, I became increasingly fascinated with the topic, especially as it intersected with…
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How Important Is a Theological Belief?
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Every believer is assigned at least one guardian angel. Both statements above express a theological belief. But clearly, they are different in importance. The first statement I would stake my soul on. The second I wouldn’t stake a sandwich on (of course, I believe angels exist, but I…
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The Gospel According to Ecclesiastes
Seeing Christ in the Old Testament is like looking at a stereogram. When you stare at the picture just the right way, the 3D image pops up. You realize that 3D image was there all along. It was put there on purpose. It is the true subject of the picture. Likewise, Christ is the true…
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