Surviving Seminary
by Zachery Maloney Being in seminary creates a number of tensions in one’s life, namely in the area of time-management. How do we balance various commitments? Balance is not really a word that we find in Scripture, though it certainly seems like a spiritual concern. If we’re all honest, most days end up imbalanced. The seminary student must accept the fact that the challenge of finding balance will never disappear, even beyond...
The Work of David F. Wells: An Appreciative Reflection
As people who talk a lot about God, it’s important that our words as Christians actually correspond to reality. While all of our language is analogical and therefore limited, it would be a fatal error to speak about God in ways that misrepresent His glorious character. Indeed, we should often ask, “What kind of vision of God am I projecting to the world when I speak about Him or act in His name?” One of the challenges with speaking of...
Anthropology for Pastors
Pastors spend a lot of time thinking about people. As much time as they invest in biblical study, planning services, and more, people are the focus of their ministry. To be sure, Christ is the ultimate object of our worship and service. Serving Him means we are shaped primarily by His Word and the Holy Spirit. However, sermons are preached to people. Struggling members are counseled. Wayward saints are confronted. Take any meaningful...
Hauerwas: A (Very) Critical Introduction: A Book Review
Mainstream magazines seldom get involved in theological affairs—at least not in expressing approbation for theologians. Yet in 2001 it named one seminary professor “America’s Best Theologian,” to which he responded, “‘Best’ is not a theological category” [1]. This snarky reply is something of an attitudinal trademark of Stanley Hauerwas, who retired recently after many years as the Gilbert T. Rowe professor of theological ethics at...
J. Gresham Machen: Christianity & Liberalism
“Christianity is a way of life—not a religion.” This is the mantra of many Christians today. Some prefer a tame, non-doctrinaire Jesus—one who is more akin to a teenage boyfriend than a suffering servant or a conquering king. Maybe this is overstated, but it certainly rings true that there is a modern tendency to sentimentalize Christianity by acting as if it has been resurrected from an ancient time capsule and is of no import to...
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