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 adds more ideas about church revitalization, providing specific details about how it should be done. 0:09 How a church should pursue revitalization: "leading by feeding." 1:40 Problem: people assume the purpose of the church, but aren't guided by a clear...
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.
This is the second part of a two-part post on how to survive seminary as a couple/family. The first part is Mark Snoeberger's perspective as a husband. What follows below is an answer to the same question from the perspective of Mark's wife, Heather. The seminary...
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...
During the summer of 2000, my wife and I travelled through Iowa on the way to visit family. Along the way we stopped in Ankeny to attend church and catch up with some old friends. After the evening service, Myron Houghton took us out for pie at Baker’s Square. It was...
The standard editions of the Greek New Testament are the Nestle-Aland and the United Bible Societies editions. The current versions are the NA 27th and the UBS 4th, both published in 1993. The NA 28th edition is scheduled to be published in September. The German Bible...
One of the persistent themes of the conservative evangelical movement has been a recovery of a “theology of the cross” from its eclipse by a “theology of glory.” In general, this is a positive development. The distinction between these two categories is generally...
This is a guest post by Matt Owen, my friend and associate pastor of Community Baptist Church in Trenton, MI. Only a few days have passed since the Olympic torch was extinguished at the conclusion of the 2012 summer games. London has no doubt wearily...
I did not eat at Chick-fil-A on August 1st. I've got a good excuse: they don't have Chick-fil-A's in Michigan, and Toledo is forty miles away. But honestly, I probably wouldn't have gone anyway, because I don't like fast food chicken (my refined fast food palate...
I received the most recent issue of Evangelical Missions Quarterly with some anticipation. The title article was "Proclamation vs. Social Action: A Symposium." With the 2011 release of Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert's book What is the Mission of the Church?...
God sometimes uses strange instruments to accomplish his gracious purposes. Such was the case in late 1830 when a young man named Alvah Strong (1809–1875) was converted under the ministry of Charles Finney (1792–1875). For roughly six months during the fall and winter...
This is a new online journal that has apparently just become available with volume one, number one. The articles can be accessed on the home page as individual pdfs, or one can download the entire issue. Check it out here.
Each year I look forward to Al Mohler’s summer reading suggestions. His lists contain just the kind of books I enjoy reading for recreation. Unfortunately, although Mohler has introduced me to a number of new authors, I’ve never made it through one of his summer...
During the past few months, a number of helpful resources related to the Protestant Reformation have hit bookstore shelves. This post will highlight two of the more significant volumes. Whitford, David M., ed. T&T Clark Companion to Reformation Theology. London:...
That's the title of an interview with Dr. Bryant Wood and Prof. Todd Bolen. Wood was the lecturer for the Seminary's 2012 Rice Lectures. Bolen was our guide for the Seminary's Israel Study tour in 2000. The interview discusses how both men got involved in biblical...
Did you take any Greek in seminary or Bible college? Perhaps you teach it. If so, then I suspect you’ll know what I mean when I say that my second-year Greek class has entered that time in the semester when I’ve got to start talking about Heinrich Bizter or posting...
Most seminary students are involved in teaching children in some venue or another. Many are husbands and fathers, and so are responsible for training their own children on a daily basis. Others are not, but are still involved in teaching children within the context of...
In the interests of avoiding a reputation as an iconoclast, I thought it might be good to offer a positive follow-up to my previous post, God Is Not My Fall Guy. Some of you perhaps were scandalized by the post, supposing that the only alternative to invoking...
"Hello, my name is__________, and I approve this message." This awkward disclaimer became part of standard political jargon in 2002, when the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act was passed. Specifically, its "Stand By Your Ad" provision demands that all political ads run...
John J. Collins. The Scepter and the Star: Messianism in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls. 2nd edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010, xi + 298 pp. Why was Jesus crucified as a messianic pretender (“King of the Jews”) or, upon his resurrection, declared by his...
The William R. Rice Lectures were held on March 14 with Dr. Bryant G. Wood. The theme for 2012 was, “Archaeology and the Conquest: New Evidence on an Old Problem.” The audio recordings from the sessions are now posted to the DBTS website. One of Dr. Wood's topics was...
I was preparing for my class in the OT Historical Books the other day when I stumbled over one of the ESV's little-advertised translation changes in 1 Samuel 13:1 (I'd call it a stealth version, but that would be a cheap shot). Unlike many of these changes, this was a...
We looked at Romans 9–16 last week in a course I’m teaching on Paul. I’ll admit, we spent most of our time in chs. 9–11, working a bit too closely—considering our time constraints—through Paul’s OT citations. One of the more puzzling of these citations is found in...
The Rice Lectures will take place on Wednesday March 14, with speaker Dr. Bryant G. Wood. His topic will be “Archaeology and the Conquest: New Evidence on an Old Problem.” There is no cost to attend the Rice Lectures. However, for planning purposes, all guests are...
Every time I hear a specific date announced for the end of the War in Afghanistan, I experience a brief snort of laughter. What kind of world do we live in where the beginning and end of wars can be scheduled? The fact is, so long as differing worldviews exist, wars...
What question do seminary students get asked more than any other? I’ll bet you know even if you’ve never been to seminary or met a real-life seminarian. No, it’s not what brand of lapsarian they are, believe it or not, nor even whether they prefer the Erasmian or...
According to Job 14:5, “A person’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.” But Northwestern Mutual Life has come up with a calculator that predicts your life span after answering only 13 questions.
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 next year's event on March 14, 2012, will be Dr. Bryant G. Wood. His topic will be “Archaeology and the...
Welcome to the blog of Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary in Allen Park, Michigan. This is a blog by the faculty of DBTS. Why the name Theologically Driven? We believe it accurately describes one of the important principles that distinguishes DBTS. Every discipline...
This being Thanksgiving, I wanted to express my thanks to all of the faithful pastors that are opening their hearts to people—upholding them in their hearts through prayer, pouring out their hearts in preaching, and exposing their hearts in counseling. It is a great...
“The new standard for a long time”—that’s how John Piper recently described Tom Nettles’s new biography of Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–1892). Just released in the past week, Living by Revealed Truth: The Life and Pastoral Theology of Charles Haddon Spurgeon has...
As one reads the Old Testament, he will undoubtedly notice the mysterious references to the angel of the LORD. Is this an angel like Michael who was sent out by the LORD? Or is this some kind of manifestation of deity? Who is the angel of the LORD? Let's initially...