Blog
Category – Systematic Theology
A Pastor’s Reflections: Important Reading
I can remember sitting in various classes in seminary (not WSC) and hearing all about the supposed composition of the Bible. Moses didn’t write the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) but it was instead written by at least four different authors spread over several hundred years long…
CONTINUE
CONTINUE
May 29, 2018
A Pastor’s Reflections: When Friends Turn On You
John Calvin had many friends in his life, but some of his friendships did not stand the test of time and the stress of ministry. One friend in particular, Sebastian Castellio, embraced the Reformation and joined Calvin in Strasbourg to work alongside of him. Calvin made him a member of…
CONTINUE
CONTINUE
A Pastor’s Reflections: The Gospel Comes with a House Key
We live in a day and age when activism of all kinds is on display on the internet, cable news broadcasts, and print media. The world’s mentality is, if you want to get something done, you have to protest, march, boycott, or do something to wield power and influence to…
CONTINUE
CONTINUE
A Pastor’s Reflections: Pray before you Study
One of the casualties of the modern theological curriculum is the division of the different theological disciplines. In the nineteenth-century theologians created the fourfold division of theology: biblical studies, church history, theology, and practical theology. While there are undoubtedly other factors at play, such as the distancing of the theological…
CONTINUE
CONTINUE
A Pastor’s Reflections: Intangibles
A retired football player recently made headlines when he was flummoxed by the fact that he was not nominated to the pro football hall of fame. On the one hand, the player has a point. He was one of the NFL’s top players and has the statistics to prove it.…
CONTINUE
CONTINUE
A Pastor’s Reflections: Divine Pruning
I can remember that over the course of 24 months I had more than ten families tell me that they were re-locating due to job transfers. When I received the first intimations of these moves, I thought, “Well, that’s ok. God willing we can find some other families to fill…
CONTINUE
CONTINUE
A Pastor’s Reflections: Dealing with Burnout
I regularly run across statistics that say that thousands of pastors each year leave the ministry and cite burn out as a chief reason. While some have challenged the accuracy of these statistics, it doesn’t change the fact that burn out is a real problem for many pastors. They graduate…
CONTINUE
CONTINUE
A Pastor’s Reflections: The Psychology of Atheism and Fathers
Sigmund Freud once famously opined that religion was merely the wishful projection of weak people who were looking for their lost father figure. Freud was echoing the earlier theory of Ludwig Feurbach, who made the same claim. In his book, Faith of the Fatherless: A Psychology of Atheism, Paul Vitz…
CONTINUE
CONTINUE
A Pastor’s Reflections: The Case for Christ (the Movie)
I was recently was perusing the newly added movies to Netflix and amidst the usual collection of never-heard-of movies was a title that caught my attention, The Case for Christ. I knew of the book, written by Lee Strobel, but was unaware that there was a movie. The movie was…
CONTINUE
CONTINUE
March 20, 2018
A Pastor’s Reflections: Isaiah’s Job
Preachers often give thought to the question of how they will get the message of the gospel out to people who need to hear it. The church is, after all, supposed to evangelize the nations. While preachers are ready to preach God’s word, there is the practical question of what…
CONTINUE
CONTINUE
March 13, 2018
