When the publisher sent me the book From M.Div. to Rev. by Eubanks, I confess I was less than enthusiastic about it reviewing it. However, I quickly changed my attitude. Books of this genre often just state the obvious, but Eubanks does a good job...
Book Review Bernard Brandon Scott, editor, Polebridge Press, 2011, 94 pp. As the Jesus Seminar now begins to engage the questions of the historical Paul, the Polebridge Press Jesus Seminar Guides study series has published its first collection of...
Book Review Arthur J. Dewey, Roy W. Hoover, Lane C. McGaughy, and Daryl D. Schmidt, Polebridge Press, 2010, 270 pp. Those who appreciated the fresh and edgy translation of the Scholars Version of the Gospels will be thrilled with the Westar...
And now for something completely different! Whoever said that biblical studies can’t be fun? Indulge in the lighter side of faith with Mark Mattison’s new e-book, Bible Puns: 100 Original Jokes, now available for only $2.99! In this...
Book Review Bruce W. Longenecker, Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2010, 400 pp. It is widely agreed that the apostle Paul’s theological reflections had little to do with social structures and economic issues. This consensus, however, is increasingly being...
Book Review Kent L. Yinger, Cascade Books, 2011, 120 pp. Kent L. Yinger’s The New Perspective on Paul: An Introduction is as accessible as it is academically sound. In only 120 pages he outlines and illustrates nearly every aspect of the new...
Weekly chapel is an exciting rite of passage in the first weeks of seminary. I can still remember many sermons where a pastor would talk about his own chapel experiences way back in the day. This past year it was my turn. My wife even came to the...
It has been four months since we began this journey to and through seminary together. Thank you to those who have read, commented, encouraged and helped me along the way. There is one resounding question in my mind that continually drives me to my...
In Cross-Shattered Christ, Stanley Hauerwas wrote in his introduction that, ‘Mystery does not name a puzzle that cannot be solved. Rather, mystery names that which we know, but the more we know, the more we are forced to rethink everything we think...
In my mind, the primary reason we attend seminary is so that we can learn how to handle God’s Word appropriately. Of course there are many other benefits to seminary that go beyond that, but I believe that this is what makes seminary unique...
Can you name a team sport that starts with ‘s’? (Think about it’ll wait.) How about ‘seminary’? Oh, you don’t think so? Well, you’ll have another chance later. Hopefully by then I will have changed your...
Mark Goodacre has just announced on his NT Blog that Eisenbrauns has launched a new academic journal. Edited by Michael Bird, the new journal is the Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters (JSPL). A sample copy can be downloaded here in PDF...
Grabbing nibbles all morning of the food being prepared for our Thanksgiving lunch is one of my favorite parts of the day. I wink and sneak them to my children as they pass by. They get the message, “Don’t let Mom see you with the...
Have you ever taken a trip? Did it go just like you had planned? Chances are, if you’ve traveled much at all, at some point you’ve found yourself dealing with unexpected delays, detail changes or maybe even a complete cancellation of...
Life is full of surprises. A tired, cliche phrase, I know. But the phrase speaks the truth. With friends and family, we share stories that surprised us. We remember them vividly because the stories are pivotal in shaping our lives. Seminary life, on...
In Mark 12:30 Jesus said the greatest commandment was an echo of the shema of Deuteronomy 6. This is the first and greatest commandment that we are to follow. This implies that those of us in seminary with an eye toward leadership want to help...
Book Review Richard A. Brown, Blue Springs, Missouri: Isaac’s Press, 2010, 130 pp. Considering the fact that the new perspective on Paul is not so “new” anymore, the lack of popular study material on the topic is perplexing. Richard A. Brown’s...
The Transformation and Weaving of Scripture in 1 Corinthians In view of work already done on biblical use of older texts, including Paul’s use of Scripture, it seems appropriate that further exploration of Paul be especially attentive to two...
Besides adjusting to the academics and general flow of your particular school, another challenge lies in meeting all of your fellow students. It can be dizzying trying to remember so many new names and faces. This too is God’s providence...
Do you remember your first experience with puppy love? You fell in love with that cute girl/boy across the classroom, playground, grocery store, etc. Immediately, in your mind at least, this woman or man became your knight in shining armor or the...
As seminarians, we swing between two world—books and people. Reading theological books and articles is a taxing experience. Heavy commentaries make a dent on our cheap faux wood shelves. PDFs and e-books suck up our bytes. We read. We read. We...
There is a generation of pastors ministering today who were taught that they should take care of the church and let God take care of their families. As a result, the term ‘PK’ exists among parole officers to refer to a pastor’s kid...
Every seminarian remembers visiting their seminary for the first time. Everything on the walking tour is mesmerizing. You crane to take it all in as you revere current students that pass by (secretly wondering if that could ever be you) and hang on...
Desire: Have you ever had a desire for something deeper than yourself? Of course, as a Christian, we all have. Has that desire been so strong and so internally compelling that it scared you? Has a desire like this driven you to pursue God in a way...
I started seminary as a 32 year-old who experienced some serious personal trials. By the grace of God I had been set free from both pornography and self-gratification as well as gluttony and laziness. I had served in a ministry helping men find...
On my first day of class, my professor began class with a prayer. While students closed their eyes, listening to the professor’s plea for wisdom in our studies, my eyes remained wide open. Was it because that pile of new textbooks near me...
Many of the posts here on GTS have pointed out that seminary students realize during their academic career just how starved they were for formal training. Even students who were reared in church all their lives have commented on how little they...
The year is 2015. Flying cars and hoverboards are everywhere, and most of us will have graduated from seminary. Maybe most of the world’s problems will be fixed in this short amount of time. There could be self-drying clothes and pizza that...
A frequent question we face is ‘How do we get done all that we want to do?’ It’s a very important question, but if we think about this way, it’s the wrong question. A better question is ‘How do I do all that God has...
“There is a danger of doing too much as well as of doing too little. Life is not for work, but work for life, and when it is carried to the extent of undermining life or unduly absorbing it, work is not praiseworthy but blameworthy.”...
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