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Is This a Movement? Church Planting Push in Slovakia Gains Traction

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From 2001 to 2005 Jana and I were part of one of the first post-communist church planting efforts in Slovakia for our denomination, the Cirkev bratská.1CB, member IFFEC Despite lots of effort and investment and despite a pretty steady stream of new believers, the congregation struggled to maintain “critical mass.” Fast forward ten years and the church now has more than 40 members. On June 24 they will send off their current pastor to plant a new congregation in Bratislava. How did that happen?

Click through to read on or listen to the article here:

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The Pentateuch: A New Research Group in the Institute of Biblical Research

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The Institute for Biblical Research (IBR) is an organization of evangelical Christian scholars with a vision to foster excellence in the pursuit of Biblical Studies. A fellow Pentateuch scholar and I have recently started a new research group on the Pentateuch and are accepting proposals for the 2018 annual meeting of IBR (at SBL). Proposals are due March 7!

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Januflecting on 2017–18: Transitioning Back to Ministry in Slovakia

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Janus was the Roman god of transitions. With his two faces he stood in the gate of time and looked with one face toward the past and one toward the future. He gave his name (according to some) to the month of January since this is the time of year we like to januflect—evaluate our past and make adjustments for the future. If you are praying for us, this is a good post to read to understand how best to pray for our ministry and family.

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Highlighting Personal Impact: Clara, the Book of Psalms and the Slovak Church

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In this post I’m going to tell you the story of Clara, who is a collage of four different students (all young ladies) who wrote research papers or Bachelor’s theses for me in the last couple of years. For each of them, the process of researching and writing turned in to a love for God’s Word and a desire to dig deeper to discover more about the depth of God’s lovingkindness and faithfulness as Scripture reveals it to us. You should be aware that since it’s a collage of my students, it’s a little idealistic. Still, it represents some of the things I love about teaching and real encouragement I’ve received from four different students.

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Theological Differential Equations: A Tribute to my Dad and Theology All at the Same Time

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My father grew up on a dairy farm in northern Illinois. He’s a typical Midwest farm boy, I suppose—great work ethic and an incredible range of practical skills. Growing up with him I watched (helped?) him fix our cars, the washing machine, finish the basement and put an addition on the garage (and lots more). He did all the electrical in the first house he built and he did all the plumbing in the second (passed on first inspection!).

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Employed at the University, but Still a Missionary

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Just recently I became an official employee of our seminary in and so also of the University of Matej Bel in Banská Bystrica. On the surface, this doesn’t change my ministry priorities or day to day activities, but it does increases my long term ability to influence the viability and direction of the seminary and it changes our financial situation.

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