Spiritual Formation as Journey, Part 2

A Journey Requires a Guide A walk in the park doesn’t require a guide. However, a trek in the wilderness, especially when you are going to a destination you have never been, requires a guide. In the Southwest, cowboys refer to the guide as the “front rider.” Guides come in many forms. On the trails [...]

Spiritual Formation as Journey, Part 1

A few years ago, our family went backpacking on the Kalalau Trail in Kauai, Hawaii.  I was pumped at the prospect of seeing beautiful waterfalls, sunsets in the ocean, and breathtaking views from the cliffs of Na Pali Coast.  However, I did not expect that in the course of those six days on the eleven [...]

2020 Vision

As we begin a new year, my 2020 vision for our students is threefold: 1. Students will know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. Through our curriculum, students gain a great deal of information about the Bible, theology, and practical ministry skills. We are proud of the academic accomplishments of our students. But we [...]

Joy

Do you know people who are joy challenged?  I do and one of them is me.  I’m still on step 5 of my 12-step joy program.  I grew up in the Midwest and joyous expressions were verboten.  We were taught to not draw attention to ourselves. In our tribe, Christianity required a serious demeanor.  Remember [...]

In the Flesh

You’ve heard the phrase “in the flesh.”  If a person should ask if you are so-and-so, you might reply, “in the flesh.”  “If you meet or see others in the flesh, you are physically present with them, rather than seeing them on television or reading about them in a book.  Christmas is about God showing up [...]

Grace and Gratitude

Have you noticed that people who have difficulty accepting grace also have trouble with gratitude?  Grace and gratitude go hand in hand.  While many believers express the belief that salvation is a free gift from God, their thoughts and actions say the opposite.  They think they earned or deserve all the good gifts they receive. [...]

Lazy Theology

A Christian couple, John and Sarah, wanted to have children, but after spending a fortune for fertility treatments they were still not pregnant.  They were told by friends it must not be God’s will for them to have children. They couldn’t understand how a neighbor’s child, a crack addict and abusive mother, was pregnant for [...]

God’s Provision

Each semester we hear stories of students who did not have the financial resources to take the next class and God provided for their needs. Recently, one of our students was going through challenges in their business and mentioned to a friend they would not be attending seminary this semester. The friend stopped and prayed [...]

Launching a Multisite Campus

Multisite churches are becoming more and more common. No longer an experiment, multisite churches are a viable means for churches to expand their ministry.  Patrick Trawick’s DMin Applied Research Project identified the critical components for effectively launching a campus for a multisite church. Trawick identified the following steps to a multi-sight launch strategy: The first [...]

A Prayer for Graduates (And Good for All of Us)

Kelly Walter, founding pastor at Rock Brook Church in Belton, MO., spoke at our recent commencement and challenged graduates to put this prayer at the top of their list: “God, let me humbly serve you in the authority of Jesus Christ.” In 2 Peter 1, one of the closest friends of Jesus identified himself as [...]

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