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November 1, 2018

The Pastor as Public Theologian: Is This His Role?

In this episode, Drs. Darrell Bock and Kevin Vanhoozer discuss the pastor as public theologian, focusing on the minister’s identity and mission. Transcript Darrell Bock: Welcome to The Table where we discuss issues of God and culture, and our topic today is the pastor, both as he is and how – and as he should be. And our guest is Kevin Vanhoozer, who is research professor of systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, better affectionately known as TEDS, and he is with us via Skype. It take it from Illinois. You’re still in the Illinois area or your […]

October 30, 2018

How One Pastor Prepares A Sermon

This article “How One Pastor Prepares a Sermon” is shared with permission from Pastor Josh Reich. I’m often asked by other pastors or church planters about how I prep a sermon. While these aren’t so much things you should do, these are things that are principles for me and shape how a sermon goes from nothing to something. 6 things that go into preparing a sermon. CLICK TO TWEET 1. Plan ahead. My goal is to know 18 months in advance what I plan to preach on. This is crucial to my process. I’m a big believer that the Holy Spirit is just as […]

October 9, 2018

Influence of the Bible: Bible Engagement and Daily Conversations

By Dr. Lloyd Estrada I am sure that you are familiar with the following words and phrases: “scapegoat” a person who is blamed for the mistake or wrongdoing of someone else “drop in a bucket” a very small amount; less than nothing “the powers that be” important people that have authority over others “put words in one’s mouth” to falsely attribute a statement to someone “fall from grace” to fall out of favor; to have one’s reputation tarnished “labor of love” work done for the benefit of others rather than for material gain “the blind leading the blind” a situation […]

October 4, 2018

The Wisdom of God

“ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD-BREATHED AND IS USEFUL FOR TEACHING, REBUKING, CORRECTING AND TRAINING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, SO THAT THE MAN OF GOD MAY BE THOROUGHLY EQUIPPED FOR EVERY GOOD WORK.” 2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17 We live in a world where everyone has their own source of truth. I believe that there are 6 main sources of truth that most people look to. First, some people believe that truth is what they have been taught, whether by their parents, schools, books, or people they look up to. Second, some people believe truth is what the media tells them based on what they see […]

October 2, 2018

Devoted to the Public Reading of Scripture: Ideas, Techniques, and Resources

by Kevin Halloran, reposted with kind permission from Leadership Resources. Paul commands Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:13 to “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture. . . .” Why be devoted to the public reading of Scripture? Let’s take a look at the theological foundations of public Scripture reading and some ways to give Scripture a more prominent place in public gatherings. Theological Foundations God has spoken. From the beginning of the Bible (Genesis 1:3), we see that God speaks, and His word is powerful and life-giving. At the end of the Bible, we see that a word from God ushers in […]

June 5, 2018

Transformed Pulpits Lead to Transformed Communities

Shared with kind permission of Leadership Resources. What does a Movement of the Word actually look like . . . on the ground? Here’s the short answer: the Word faithfully taught and preached transforms pulpits, which then transform churches, which then transform communities. But, is this depth of transformation actually happening? YES! . . . Consider what’s happening in Vietnam and the story of our in-country leader, Chinh*. Chinh’s life and ministry have been transformed by LRI’s tools for digging into God’s Word. And it’s not just Chinh. This transformation has impacted many Vietnamese pastors, causing many to repent of misusing and […]

May 10, 2018

Preaching Content of the Bible is Not Enough

Shared with kind permission of Leadership Resources. Preaching the content of the Bible is not enough. Content must lead to intent. The Scriptures are purposeful…they were written to a particular group of people with the intention of bringing about a necessary (from God’s perspective) change. Our noble task, as teachers and preachers of God’s Word, is to discern the original aim of the text. Of course, this requires a careful reading of the both the text and the context. Once grasped, the original aim or the shepherding intent of the text leads us to a biblically-driven application for today. God’s aim then fuels […]

October 19, 2017

Preaching the Content of the Bible is Not Enough

Preaching the content of the Bible is not enough. Content must lead to intent. The Scriptures are purposeful…they were written to a particular group of people with the intention of bringing about a necessary (from God’s perspective) change. Our noble task, as teachers and preachers of God’s Word, is to discern the original aim of the text. Of course, this requires a careful reading of both the text and the context. Once grasped, the original aim or the shepherding intent of the text leads us to a biblically-driven application for today. God’s aim then fuels our application. Unfortunately, we might miss God’s aim […]

September 18, 2017

Why does biblical transformation matter?

Transformation on the ground Our first training session in an eastern Asian country was about to begin, in the foothills of the Himalayas. We were waiting for one more pastor to arrive. As I walked up the footpath to the training center, I saw a man trudging up the road towards me. I stopped, thinking: this is probably him. I greeted him with one of the few words I knew in his language. Switching quickly to English, I said ,“we’re ready to begin!” In spite of the language barrier, I persuaded him to follow me. During that first training session, the pastor, Tham, […]

June 21, 2017

Why does biblical engagement matter?

Why biblical engagement? Let me take you back to 620 BC. Judah, the Southern Kingdom, had been in decline for almost a century, with only a brief revival under King Josiah. His sons proved to be ungodly leaders who abandoned the God of Israel. God, in his mercy, sent prophets to urge both the leaders and the people to repent. If they refused, Jeremiah, Habakkuk and others warned of a coming invasion and devastating defeat, followed by a bitter exile. But other prophets contradicted these warnings with comforting words that only stirred false hopes. Jeremiah 23 reads: Thus says the […]