18
Nov
2016
2016 E3 Pastors Conference Recap
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The Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary hosted its inaugural E3 Pastors Conference on October 20-21. E3PC is a continuation of MACP with a new name and a new topical focus. Following the theme of “The Pastor’s Sanctification,” general sessions were times of encouragement and exhortation, focusing on topics such as “The Power of Trials in a... Read More
17
Nov
2016
Evangelical Philosophical Society
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DBTS has a history of presenting papers at the Evangelical Theological Society. This year, I have the honor of presenting at the sister organization, the Evangelical Philosophical Society, a paper titled, “Perspectival Epistemology: John Frame’s Trinitarian Theology and the Problems of Knowledge.” This is a chapter of my dissertation that had to be cut due... Read More
14
Nov
2016
No Bargaining: Being a Disciple in all of Life
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“I would like to buy about three dollars’ worth of gospel, please. Not too much—just enough to make me happy, but not so much that I get addicted. I don’t want so much gospel that I learn to really hate covetousness and lust. I certainly don’t want so much that I start to love my... Read More
10
Nov
2016
Getting the Sermon Started
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I feel a bit inadequate to write on a topic on which so many with greater experience than I have written at length. I don’t purport to be an expert on writing homilies; only rarely have I had extended seasons of life where I have had to write a weekly (much less twice- or thrice-weekly)... Read More
8
Nov
2016
Reflections on the Election (From an Old Testament Perspective)
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It’s finally here. Millions of Americans are turning out today to cast their vote in an election that many pundits are calling the most significant in a generation. I must confess that the arrival of election day brings mixed feelings: relief (that the election ads and news cycle will finally end), excitement (that I can... Read More
3
Nov
2016
Is Our World a Simulation?
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Is our world a simulation? That position has been expressed in the past.[1] Some of the more well-known theories come from Descartes and the movie, “The Matrix.” According to Descartes, it is possible that our world experience is the hallucination caused by a malicious demon. For The Matrix, a future world is taken over by... Read More
31
Oct
2016
Luther’s 95 Theses
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On this day 499 years ago, a monk named Martin Luther (1483–1546) approached a church door in Wittenberg, Germany and posted a list of topics for academic debate at the local university. With this relatively innocuous act Luther started a movement that developed into the Protestant Reformation. That list of topics which Luther posted on... Read More
27
Oct
2016
Praying for God to Be “With” Us
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Go to your average weekly prayer meeting, and chances are it won’t be long before you hear a prayer dressed up with mindless filler that means practically nothing. We all know it would be really bad to lead out in prayer by saying, “God: here’s my prayer list: Frank, Jennifer, Andrea, Jimmy. Amen.” So we... Read More
25
Oct
2016
The Simple Solution to Unleashing the Spirit . . . No Really!
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There is a time in everyone’s life where they look at the long list of desires and goals in front of them and wonder, “How am I ever going to get this done?” There are books and books along with blogs upon blogs of pithy slogans to help you get more done in less time.... Read More
17
Oct
2016
E3 Workshop Teaser: Why Did Wesley Think God Raised up the Methodists?
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Just six months before he died, John Wesley (1703–1791) wrote to a preacher named Robert Carr Brackenbury (1752–1818). In that letter Wesley revealed why he believed God had led him establish the Methodists. He wrote, “…with regard to full sanctification. This doctrine is the grand depositum which God has lodged with the people called Methodists;... Read More