study . live . teach
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!
We have a special financial need coming up in early 2018 in order to continue funding the “grant” that covers my teaching position at the seminary. When First Evangelical Free Church in Rockford, IL found out about this need, they offered to match any special giving toward the grant. If you can make a special donation toward our ministry between now and the end of January, that donation will be doubled by First Free. For more information (how to give, FAQs) please click through.
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.
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!).
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.
Seeing fruit from ministry can be a real encouragement that puts some spark in our not always exciting everyday activities. I had one of those moments recently when a former student talked at our church about going to Tanzania with Wycliffe as a Bible translator.
In response to my most recent post in my series on “The Evangelical’s Creation Conundrum,” A friend asked my opinion about the Mohler-Collins conversation about Scripture’s teaching on the age of the universe that took place on February 1. Rather than an extensive response, I picked out one of Mohler’s statements that I think is representative of the way young earth creationists sometimes rhetorically distort the debate by forcing us to go all in on a lopsided bet.
Creation was meant to be a place of provision and protection. That’s what the ordering of the six days of creation communicates. But Genesis 1:1-2:3 sets in motion a big idea that drives the whole biblical story from beginning to end. The temple theme is rooted in the seven day structure of creation and opens up the possibility that the author did not use “days” to express length of time, but rather to set up the all important temple metaphor as the lens through which we understand the creation narrative.
