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D. A. Carson on Teaching

By on January 14, 2012 in Gospel, Teaching

I’ve come across this quote a few times and have never shared it. I should have…because it is great! I first saw this quote in an article Andy Naselli wrote called “D. A. Carson’s Theological Method” and then again today Justin Taylor posted it on his blog. The original quote is actually from a book called The Pastor as Scholar and the Scholar as Pastor: Reflections on Life and Ministry, page 98-99.

If I have learned anything in 35 or 40 years of teaching, it is that students don’t learn everything I teach them. What they learn is what I am excited about, the kinds of things I emphasize again and again and again and again. That had better be the gospel.

I hope I can keep this kind of focus.

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Defining Words

By on September 27, 2011 in Teaching

In the newest issue of Tabletalk (Nov) magazine there is an article called “In Defense of Words” by Burk Parsons. In it he recalls a recent story of how a young girl asked him what a pastor was. He also concluded that if she didn’t know what a pastor is she surely didn’t know what preaching, praying, counseling, discipling, and evangelizing are.

The church is in a tough spot where it is not teaching it’s people. Parsons believes, and I’m inclined to agree with him, that this stems from pastors failing to move from the reading of the Bible to the study of the Bible.

While I’m mentioning it…if you don’t already subscribe to Tabletalk you should. I have subscribed for close to five years now and have always been refreshed by the devotional material and the great articles. They offer a risk-free 3 month trial.

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The Emerging Church

By on March 17, 2011 in Ecclesiology, Teaching, Theology, Video

With the kerfuffle sounding Rob Bell in the past couple of weeks, a renewed conversation seems to be firing up again about the emerging church movement/non-movement. In a couple of weeks I will be teaching some lectures on the emerging church in a contemporary theology class here at Northland. This is a topic I have studied for about six or seven years and still continue to be amazed at some of the things the leaders of this movement have to say. If you are unfamiliar with the topic I would encourage you to watch the video below of Mark Driscoll. This is probably one of the most succinct descriptions of what is going on out there in the emerging church. Once you watch that video you can check out an album I made over at Vimeo that has a couple of other videos in it. The PBS documentary in particular is very interesting.

In my lectures I plan to take the first day to give some of the history, background, and theological compromising the emerging church has gone through. Then on the second day my intent is to give a good summary of Rob Bell as a person and a church. This could prove to be a bit difficult because I have never met Bell nor visited his church. However, I have read his books and have read widely much of the material around him. I just started into his newest book, Love Wins, which has caused no small firestorm. Once I am finished with the book I intend to post a short review with links to other places where you could probably find better reviews.

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