An Overview of What’s Coming in Fall 2017
You can click on this link and see a calendar showing all the upcoming class offerings for Fall 2017. The calendar will open in another page. Fall 2017-2018 Classes...
A Short and Sad Conversation
Flying back to Greenville, I sat next to someone I would describe as both fascinating and terribly confused. We chatted briefly; most of the time was taken up with her offering her take on all things “spiritual.” She explained that she had a master’s degree in...
How Sherlock Holmes Can Help Us Read Scripture
Even if you are not a fan of detective stories, you’ve probably heard of Arthur Conan Doyle’s consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes. Like any good detective, Holmes solves crimes. But what sets him apart is how he comes to his solutions: Although others may see...
Not What Was Expected
I had two back-to-back meetings at a local Starbucks. But the store computers were down. It wasn't a heart break for me, as I don't go for the coffee. (I have never had a cup of coffee, but I typically order something because I'm meeting in their space.) I ended...
Does He Still Speak?
It is either the height of arrogance or the depth of deception or both for the professed Christian to insist he is directly and personally hearing from God when God spoke directly to less than 100 people during the first 4,000 years of recorded human history, and...
What Jesus Was Trying to Say . . .
Sadly, I have caught myself doing it. When opening up the Bible and discussing a passage with someone I can find myself saying something like: What Jesus was trying to say . . . What God tried to communicate . . . What the Spirit was attempting to convey . . . And...
Don’t Just Sit There . . .
It is the centerpiece of most Sunday church offerings. After the announcements have been made and the opening songs have been sung, attention is turned to the platform—to the podium or the chair or the video screen—and someone preaches. That is how it should be....
If You Could Have Those Hours Back . . .
Do you ever re-think the day? Reflect back on what you did, or did not, do? And have you wondered what it would be like if you could travel back in time, even for just a few hours, to live some moment differently? As I reflected on that, I wondered how amazing it...
Preaching Should Not Be Like a Magician’s Trick
Recently, in conversation with a student, he discovered that I "did magic." That is, over the years I have done everything from simple card tricks to full stage illusions. When I was a college student, my senior project was a full stage show of illusions I built....
Theology Trumping Texts
From time to time I find myself exchanging short posts with someone on-line. Obviously, these are not deep theological discussions; but there can be something instructive in even these minimalistic dialogues. One recent back-and-forth exchange illustrates how, at...