Narnia Elementary School and ReachGlobal are teaming up for a 1-2 year missions opportunity as a teaching assistant for Narnia’s English language program working with grades 3-5 (ages 8-11).
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Forging a Trail Through Scripture: Learning to Read the Bible Better
Last year a few people from our local church in Banská Bystrica asked me to lead a group on how to read and study the Bible. So we started a Bible study club and set out to read the book of Acts together. We learned that the book of Acts works like a story that moves from tension to resolution and that the tension that drives the plot is defined by the programmatic verse in Acts 1:8.
[Read more…]Twenty-five Years of Theological Education in Slovakia (gallery)
In October of this year our seminary commemorated its 25th year with a celebration event at the university. Alumni, representatives from our founding denominations, former professors and current faculty and students got together to thank God for his work in establishing this important ministry for the Slovak church.
[Read more…]Why I Think Jacob Never ‘Let Go and Let God’ (download)
For the past few years I’ve been attending the annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Society of Biblical Literature. These are huge conferences (about 2,000 and 10,000 theologians respectively) where I have the chance to catch up with what’s happening in the world of academia and also present my own research. This year I presented a paper on my interpretation of the Jacob narrative, explaining why I think he never ‘let go and let God.’
[Read more…]Getting in to the Book of Acts at a Seminar on Preaching
My calling is not so much to “teach at a seminary” as it is to help the church better read and apply the teaching of Scriptures to every day life. So I’m glad whenever I get the chance to teach or preach in the local church. Even better are opportunities to help pastors hone their Scripture reading and preaching skills. I recently had the opportunity to lead a preaching seminary for about 15 Slovak pastors or teachers.
[Read more…]Is This a Movement? Church Planting Push in Slovakia Gains Traction
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?
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The Pentateuch: A New Research Group in the Institute of Biblical Research
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!
Januflecting on 2017–18: Transitioning Back to Ministry in Slovakia
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.