DBTS will be sponsoring Seminary Days this spring on March 13-14. Complete information on Seminary Days 2014, including a brochure and registration form, can be found on the Seminary website. Students will be able to attend classes, share meals with faculty and...
The Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal has been produced annually by DBTS since 1996. The 2013 edition (vol. 18) was recently published: "Why a Commitment to Inerrancy Does Not Demand a Strictly 6000-Year-Old Earth: One Young Earther’s Plea for Realism" by Mark A....
If you’ve decided to shake out of your Greek-less stupor in this new year but aren’t yet sure how to do it, let me try to offer you some help. Here’s a link to a refresher schedule I recommend my first year students complete during their Winter break between Greek...
According to author Kevin Schultz, in 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt asserted that the United States is “a Protestant country,” and that “Catholics and Jews are here under sufferance” (Tri-Faith America, 10). In this fascinating book, Schultz argues that between...
Over at the Reformation 21 blog, Todd Pruitt has some insightful thoughts about homosexuality and the Phil Robertson controversy: As I have read the many commentaries offered by various evangelicals on the Phil Robertson flap I cannot help but wonder if some of the...
I’m finding myself somewhere between pity and embarrassment as I watch otherwise respectable middle-aged white men tripping over one another to be first in line insisting that they’re not racist because they’re OK with Reformed Rap and Holy Hip-Hop as valid worship...
One of our seminary graduates, Dr. Rod Decker, is suffering from stage 4 incurable cancer. Rod is Professor of Greek and New Testament at Baptist Bible Seminary in Clarks Summit, PA. Recently, Rod and a colleague spoke about their health situations in chapel at the...
The Life of a preacher should be a magnet to draw men to Christ.... Sanctity in ministers is a loud call to sinners to repent, and when allied with holy cheerfulness, it becomes wondrously attractive. This from Charles Spurgeon in his lecture, "The Minister's...
A few years ago, Stanley Gundry wrote an article, “Hermeneutics or Zeitgeist as the Determining Factor in the History of Eschatologies?” (JETS 20 [1977]: 45–55). In it, he proposed that the church’s eschatological trends have not been established principally by...
How long does or should it take to prepare a sermon? You might enjoy the answers from some well-known preachers. HT: Tim Challies
I’m leading a seminar this semester on biblical theology. We just had our third meeting this last week. For the first two, we read from and discussed a dictionary. (It was better than it sounds. I promise!) Last week we read and discussed a new release from Zondervan...
In recent weeks the city of Damascus has frequently appeared in our headlines. Although it now appears that a U.S.-led strike against the region is not on the immediate horizon, it also looks as if negotiations over the proposed transfer of chemical weapons will...
This past Sunday evening, we had our annual Ministry Equipping and Training Seminar here at Inter-City Baptist Church. During this time we have ministry-specific seminars and also general sessions. I did a general session on "Discipling the Next Generation: The...
I’ve read about people who go on technology fasts—some to concentrate on more important priorities, some to relate with other cultures or eras, some to prove to themselves that they aren’t really technology addicts after all. I’ve never felt the need to abstain. But...
If you have been in ministry for a number of years since seminary, you know how easy it can be to get into a ministry routine and allow other things in your life to become your first love, whether it is a hobby, a recreational pursuit, or other amusement. We as...
Some eight years ago now, Zondervan released the first installment of a two-volume church history set. The initial volume was written by Everett Ferguson, the author or editor of numerous works related to early church history. Ferguson is currently Professor of Church...
I prepared a biographical presentation on Adoniram Judson for our recent church family camp. As is usually the case, I get far more out of these preparations than I am sure the listeners do, and some of the best lessons are the things I am not looking to learn. One of...
I’ve written in the past about a few websites that provide access to a wide range of electronic resources. When looking for academic resources sometimes you know exactly what you are looking for, and the most convenient way to find it is to search for a specific...
In my previous post, I noted the existence of several examples of the use of the Old Testament in the New that don’t seem to make sense (Hos 11:1 with Matt 2:15; Jer 31:15 with Matt 2:16–18; Psalm 22:18 with John 19:24; Psalm 96:25 and 109:8 with Acts 1:16–20; Joel...
Last week a friend of mine, Fred Zaspel, offered a case for the typological interpretation of the Scripture. In offering a four-point rationale for typological interpretation, Zaspel made several observations that call for both applause and reflection. I applauded,...
Many people promise to provide the secret to a successful pastoral ministry. Conferences, curricula, and consultants like to offer products for discouraged pastors. Attend this conference and you will come away with a ministry-changing model. Purchase this curriculum...
Ecclesiastes by Dr. James G. Bollhagen is a welcome addition to the growing number of commentaries on Ecclesiastes. He earned his M.Div., S.T.M., and Ph.D. from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. He has also served as a professor of exegetical theology at Concordia...
WikiAnswers poses the question, “Why does music exist?” then self-replies: “Because it brings happiness to people all over the world.” We must grant that WikiAnswers is scarcely an authoritative reference source, but it does offer a window on popular culture. It...
The proceedings (written and audio) of the 2013 Conference of the Church for God's Glory (Rockford, IL) are now available on the conference website. I'd like to invite you to enjoy and use the resources made available by the various speakers. I cannot speak on their...
Can you imagine the shock when an usher escorts you out of a church service to be told that your mother had just died? Because my mother was forty-four years old at that time and had become a Christian a few years earlier, I was emotionally devastated when I was...
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY is being redefined in America, or at least many would like it to be. Our secular establishment wants to reduce the autonomy of religious institutions and limit the influence of faith in the public square. The reason is not hard to grasp. In America,...
Readers living within driving distance of Rockford, Illinois, will be interested in attending the annual Conference on the Church for God's Glory held there on May 20th of this year. This year's conference theme, "The Resolved Pastor," promises a careful reflection on...
I’ve never met a Bible teacher who wished they had not learned Greek. It’s only the guys who have let it slip and no longer use it for their sermon preparation who try to tell me that Greek doesn’t enhance their teaching—Con Campbell in Keep Your Greek: Strategies for...
The William R. Rice Lectures were held on March 20, given by Professor Brent Belford of Northland International University. The theme for 2013 was “Paul’s Pastoral Use of the Scriptures in 1 Corinthians.” The audio recordings from the sessions are now posted to the...
John Calvin (1509–1564) is remembered for many things—some good, some bad, some real, some imagined. If Calvin’s legacy is misunderstood today, the reason for that misunderstanding generally cannot be traced to lack of access to his thought. Although the exact...
The Associates for Biblical Research have posted an excellent article by DBTS Professor Jared Compton on the resurrection of Christ. You can find it here.
Dear [seminarian], I thought I’d write to pass along a bit of advice about your studies from St. Paul. I suspect now may be as good of a time as any, since you’ll likely receive this right after your midterms. (If not, feel free to put my note on hold until you’ve...
We ended up with 37 comments on our book giveaway post from earlier this week. This morning my four oldest children each picked a number between 1 and 37. Then my 2 year old daughter drew number 17. This means that Matt Tolosa is the winner of Letters to the Church....
Each year DBTS hosts the William R. Rice Lecture Series, named for the Seminary's founder and first president. We are pleased to announce that the speaker for this year's event on March 20, 2013, will be Prof. Brent Belford. His topic will be “Paul's Pastoral Use of...
Dave Doran talks about making (and keeping) resolutions at the outset of a new year. He addresses what the book of James says about resolutions and goals, centering on the balance between our diligence and reliance on God's sovereign control.
If you are interested in New Testament Greek, you might want to check out David Black's New Testament Greek Portal. Here you will find information for beginners and experts alike. Dr. Black is Professor of New Testament and Greek at Southeastern Baptist Theological...
We ended up with 43 comments on our book giveaway post from earlier this week. Here’s how we came up with a winner. Late last night my four oldest kids each chose a number between 1 and 43. We wrote those four numbers down on slips of paper. Then we let our fifth...
We ended up with 59 comments on our giveaway post from last week, and so a little after 9 pm last night my four oldest kids each chose a number between 1 and 59. We wrote those four numbers down on slips of paper. Then we mixed the papers up and let our fifth child...
I read a very interesting article over at the Harvard Business Review blog called "The Dark Side of Charisma," which provides some helpful insights from the secular world on the dangers of focusing on choosing or promoting people to leadership because of their...
E&E: Church Revitalization 4 from DBTS. Dave Doran talks about some faulty options for church revitalization in the 4th talk on the subject. 00:10 It is crucial that church leaders root members' hearts in the mission statement of the church 1:16 Surface changes...
Dave Doran continues his talk about church revitalization, describing the process of church decline and inept responses to it. 0:34 challenge of church revitalization in older, established churches 1:34 Trend of church health and decline: - Upward: Dream > Beliefs...
A number of recent DBTS graduates are currently involved in theological education abroad, and several more alumni are in the process of deputation with the goal of teaching overseas. This kind of ministry represents a great opportunity for our graduates to help equip...
E&E: Church Revitalization 1 from DBTS.
Since my wife and I are seminary survivors that still occasionally hold hands in public, we are sometimes asked, “How did you do it?” Or “How did you survive the seminary experience?” For the next two posts on this blog, we are going to answer that question—I from my...
In 1916, the Chicago Tribune published a series of articles about Henry Ford, the famous industrialist. One of those articles included a statement from Ford that, with slight variations, has been repeated many times over, often to the chagrin of history teachers. Ford...
Rowman & Littlefield just graciously sent me a desk copy of their Guide to Writing with Sources by James Davis (2012), so I took the requisite 45 minutes to read it. Since I teach Theological Research Methods here at DBTS, I try to keep up on sources of this...
The fall semester for Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary has begun. Yesterday in chapel we heard from Ben Edwards, DBTS grad and Executive Pastor of Inter-City Baptist Church. I think you will enjoy his message from James 1:19–25.
This is a guest post by my friend David Doran, Jr., who is the Director of Outreach at Inter-City Baptist Church and a student at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary. If you were anywhere within 1,000 miles of another human being this summer—let alone a TV—you heard...