On the balance between scholarship and discipleship

Since starting seminary over a year ago, I have often wrestled with this question: How do I merge the scholarly world of intellect and information with the “real world” of faith and discipleship? In some traditions, talk of seminary and intellect has such negative connotations that anyone taking an interest in such things is deemed suspect. Destined to fall into the abyss of cerebral knowledge absent of authentic worship. In other circles, knowledge and intellect are so revered that church leadership is withheld until certain academic standards have been met. And Christian discipleship can, in this scene, be relegated to a secondary place after the pinnacle passion of knowledge.

But does it have to be this way? Does there need to be such extremes? Can the worlds of knowledge and discipleship collide in such a way that each speaks a word into the other? On the long drives home from school, I pray that this “collision” of sorts would happen in my life. I dream of becoming a man whose discipleship is inescapably fueled by his academic pursuits, and whose academic pursuits are tempered by and understood entirely in the context of discipleship.

I think T. F. Torrance hits the nail on the head in this struggle to balance the two:

“The transformation of the human mind and its renewal through assimilation to the mind of Christ is something that has to go on throughout the whole of our life—it is a never-ending discipleship in repentant rethinking as we take up the cross and follow Christ. That is why we cannot be theologians without the incessant prayer in offering ourselves daily to God through the reconciling and atoning mediation of Christ; and that is also why we cannot be evangelists without being theologians whose minds are constantly schooled in obedience to Christ.”

Filed under: Life, School, Spirituality

Book list for fall quarter

I finished 3 courses over the summer term- Missional Church, Special Issues in Pastoral Counseling, and Christianity in the Southern Hemisphere- and now have begun the fall quarter at Ashland Theological Seminary. Below is a list of the books I will be reading for each of this term’s courses:

Christian Theology II with Dr. Allan Bevere

• Michael Jinkins, Invitation to Theology. Downers Grove: IVP, 2001
• Veli-Matti Karkkainen, An Introduction to Ecclesiology: Ecumenical, Historical, and Global Perspectives. Downers Grove: IVP, 2002.
• Alister McGrath, The Christian Theology Reader, 3rd ed. Malden: Blackwell, 2006.
• Christopher Seitz (ed), Nicene Christianity: The Future for a New Ecumenism. Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2001.

Person in Prayer with Dr. Terry Wardle

• Ole Hallesby, Prayer. Minneapolis: Augsburg Press, 1994.
• Leighton Ford, The Attentive Life: Preserving God’s Presence in All Things. Downers Grove: IVP, 2008.

Christian Worship with Dr. Rob Douglass

• Barry Liesch, The New Worship. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001.
• Pedrito Maynard-Reid, Diverse Worship: African-American, Caribbean, and Hispanic Perspectives. Downers Grove: IVP, 2000.
• Rory Noland, The Heart of the Artist. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999.
• Robert Webber, Worship Old and New: A Biblical and Practical Introduction. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.

Filed under: School

Hebrew and character formation

Spring quarter is now over. Three more classes down, way too many to list yet to go. What is both exciting and saddening is that I am now done with Hebrew coursework (after 9 months of intensive study). I recently spent time reflecting on how the study of the language of the Old Testament has influenced the formation of my character.  This is what I came up with:

What I must first affirm is that the actual exposure to the Scriptural text, oftentimes more robust in meaning in the original language, brings about a transformation that no doubt shapes character. However, equally impactful for me is how the study of Hebrew offers me a constant reminder of the great weight of handling the inspired Word of God. Since beginning this course, I have often been reminded of a few verses from the New Testament:

Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1 NIV).

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15 NIV).

The task of shepherding the people of God through the ministry of teaching and equipping is indeed a weighty one. So, as I engaged in the study of Hebrew, I constantly asked God to grant me a heart of deep passion and eager willingness to submit to Him. I often asked Him to allow my character to “keep pace” with what I am learning in the original language. I was reminded of how blessed I am to learn the language and now feel a nearly immediate instinct to share what I learn with others. Yet when I consider sharing with others, another instinct rises to the surface: to check where I am in my journey to know and experience the God revealed through the medium of language.

Filed under: Life, School

Book list for spring quarter

My two-week break between quarters will soon come to an end. Here is the list of courses I will be taking this spring, along with their corresponding textbooks. You may read descriptions of these books on my Currently Reading page (hover your mouse over the title and an information window will be displayed).

History of Christian Mission

• A History of Christian Missions by Stephen Neill
• From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions by Ruth Tucker

Hebrew Exegesis

• Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (The Old Testament in Hebrew)
• Hebrew Syntax: An Outline by Ronald Williams
• A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament by Brown, Driver, Briggs
• A Student’s Vocabulary for Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic by Larry Mitchell

Christian Theology I

• Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology by Daniel Migliore 
• Christian Theology by Millard Erickson
• Christian Theology: An Introduction by Alister McGrath

Filed under: School

Ecclesia National Gathering

Next week I will be traveling to the DC area for the National Gathering of the Ecclesia Network, a movement of missional churches. Among the presenters, I am most excited to learn from Dr. Darrell Guder, Professor of Missional and Ecumenical Theology at Princeton Seminary. I am presently reading his book, Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America. Among his many significant contributions to the church, his writing on the incarnation of Jesus and its impact on ecclesiology has most impacted me. Guder developed the terms “missional” and “incarnational” to describe the biblically-faithful church long before they became overused and empty buzzwords. Here are the details:

“Crafting Missional Expressions of Church” (conference pdf)

• Darrell Guder – Professor, Princeton Seminary
• Eddie Gibbs – Missiologist (ret), Fuller Seminary
• Mike Breen – Director, European Church Planting Network
• Jon Tyson – Pastor, Trinity Grace Church, Manhattan

Collective sessions include:

•  Missionary strategies then & now
• Structures for incarnational church
• Barriers to mission in the Western context
• Guiding missional movements
• Scripture: a missional hermeneutic
• Communication: hearing the Good News in context 

Focused sessions include:

• Discipleship that forms mission
• Developing local theology
• Preaching in the missional congregation
• Training and developing church planters
• Missional engagement and contextualization

Following the conference I will be writing a paper highlighting the major themes discussed and will be presenting them to Dr. Chilcote, my professor at Ashland. I will also post my thoughts here, likely during my two-week spring break that starts March 14.

Filed under: Church, Mission, School, Theology

What is evangelism?

This is the question I answered in my most recent seminary assignment. In a five-page paper, I had to expound on a one-sentence definition of evangelism. No borrowing allowed. It had to be my own definition. Sounds easy, right? It was actually one of the most difficult tasks I’ve had thus far in grad school. This is my single-sentence definition:

Being rooted in the love and grace of the triune God to restore his sin-tarnished creation, evangelism is the activity of God through his church (a) to bear witness to the reality of the Kingdom of God inaugurated by and under the rule of Jesus Christ, (b) to invite men and women into the restored existence of this Kingdom, and (c) to mobilize Spirit-inspired laborers for the further realization of this Kingdom on earth. 

I welcome your thoughts and critiques.

Filed under: Mission, School

Book list for winter quarter

For Evangelism course with Dr. Paul Chilcote

1. The Study of Evangelism: Exploring a Missional Practice of the Church, Paul Chilcote & Laceye Warner
2. Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America, Darrell Guder
3. The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission, Lesslie Newbigin
4. The Logic of Evangelism, William Abraham

For Seminar in Ethics/Mission: Human Trafficking with Dr. Paul Chilcote

1. Not For Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade, David Batstone
2. Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy, Kevin Bales

For Hebrew II with Dr. Paul Overland

1. Logos Software: Original Languages Library
2. The First Hebrew Primer: Third Edition

Filed under: School