What does it mean to follow Jesus? A pretty important question for those who would call themselves followers of Jesus. And maybe it is not as complicated as we seem to make it sometimes. After all, Jesus doesn't seem to make it very complicated. What does He say when He calls the disciples? Simply, "Follow me."
With Acts 28 the book of Acts comes to end. As Luke brings brings Paul's journey to a conclusion, he passes the torch of the mission of Jesus to the reader, as if to say, "Now will you go? Will you take the gospel the rest of the way?" So, will you? Or maybe the better question: Will you go all in? Will you give everything to Jesus and hold nothing back?
Today I am joined by my wife, Nicole Heppner, to talk about the basics of biblical counselling. In our chat Nicole helps define what exactly biblical counselling is; she disusses how it is different from other forms of counselling, and even gets into some the specifics of applying biblical counselling principles and methods to our day to day lives. Nicole grew up on Long Island NY and spent many years working for apologetics ministries in NY as well as serving on the mission field in Latin Ameri...
It is easy to think that the gospel will reach the ends of the earth without me. A pastor will do the job, or a missionary, or just somehow God will accomplish it without me having to go. But is that a biblical view of the mission of Jesus and what He calls us to? The question asked in this sermon is simply this, how does the Gospel reach far away places? How will the kingdom of God advance to the edges of the earth?
We are tempted as Christians to at times believe that deeper study will lead to a heady and withered faith. I am convinced that the exact opposite is true. That in fact deeper study, when it is saturated with Christ, will lead us into the most thrilling faith we have ever known.
Three takeaways from Paul's testimony/defense before the rulers.
As both a pastor of a church and a blood bought member of the church I find myself continually living with this tension, that I love where the church is at and I know that there is more. In this first episode of who knows how many episodes, Ben and I begin an ongoing conversation around this tension. We have no real plan or destination in mind, except to start the conversation and to (God willingly) find more biblical clarity, a greater vision for the future, and a deeper love for His Bride alon...
I was joined today by Dr. T. Desmond Alexander from Union Theological College to chat about, among other things, some of the common mistakes people make in reading the Old Testament, the importance of the Old Testament for understanding the New Testament, and the keys to understanding and interpreting the book of Exodus. Dr. T Desmond Alexander (PhD, The Queen’s University of Belfast) is senior lecturer in biblical studies and director of postgraduate studies at Union Theological College in Belf...
In this conversation I am joined by Dr. Craig Ott to discuss topics ranging from the need for scholarship in missions, to the parallels between contextualization and Settlers of Catan, to the effects of the increase in short term mission trips. Dr. Ott is professor of mission and intercultural studies, and chair of the mission and evangelism department at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Deerfield, USA). Prior to going to Trinity in 2002 he served for 21 years in Germany planting four reprod...
Mark's gospel ends abruptly, as if to say to the reader, "Now you finish the story." So how will we respond to the evidence of the resurrection that Mark presents? Like the 3 women, in fear and silence? Or with faith that declares through the radical lives that we live, "He has risen from the grave."
If you are ever a prisoner, what kind of prisoner will you be? I think it really depends upon this question: What kind of person/citizen are you now?
In this episode I chat with Dan Kreiss and Efrem Smith about their (bound to be impactful) new book, Church For Everyone: Building Multi-Inclusive Community For Emerging Generations. Among other things, Kreiss and Smith unpack for me what multi-inclusiveness truly is, how rooted it is in Scripture, why it can be so difficult and how it is ultimately fostered. As you listen I hope you are both encouraged and challenged. And after you are done I hope you do yourself a favour and go get a copy of t...
Is there radical Christianity and non radical Christianity? Or is there just Christianity, and it is always radical?
In this episode I talk to Biblical Scholar Dr. Brent Sandy about his new book "Hear Ye The Word: What We Miss If We Only Read the Bible." Dr. Sandy describes ancient oral cultures, explains how the Scriptures would have been originally digested and passed around, and highlights some of what is being lost in our understanding of and interaction with Scripture today if we only ever read it and never hear it read. Dr. Sandy (PhD, Duke University) taught New Testament and Greek at Wheaton College an...
In this episode I ask pastor and author John Hindley about his experiences planting churches in the city versus planting in rural towns, and how the strategies for the two are both similar and different. We also chat about his new book "Weakness Our Strength," and how God so beautifully uses weakness and weak people to accomplish His will. John Hindley is the pastor of BroadGrace church in Norfolk, UK, he is a part of the Acts29 Rural Church Planting Collective in Eurpoe, and he is the author of...
Stoked to be joined by Ben again to chat about everything from journaling to Bible Reading, to the difficulties of career and ministry transitions, to the absolute and undeniable importance of ending well in ministry, and really in all of life. Hope you enjoy!
In my conversation with American and church historian Mark Noll, we discuss the place and role of the Bible in the America's early settlement and development, the influence in the colonies of the great evangelist George Whitefield, and how biblical literacy in America (and Canada) has changed through the centuries. Dr. Noll is a leading church historian. He recently retired as the Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, having previously served as Professor of H...
In today's conversation I ask Biblical Scholar, Dr. Tremper Longman III (among other things) to help me/us better understand OT books like Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs. What are the purpose of these wisdom books? How are they relevant to our lives today? And in what ways do they anticipate Jesus? As always, I hope you enjoy, I hope you are encouraged and challenged, and I hope you find yourself better equipped to read, understand and apply God's Word! Dr. Longman graduated from Ohio Wesleyan U...
I had the pleasure today of speaking with NT professor, Dr. David Bryan. I asked Dr. Bryan about his work in the area of Jesus' parables, as well as about the ways in which the gospel writers wrote and the apparent contradictions between their timelines. Hope you enjoy and are encouraged by our conversation! Dr. Bryan is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is passionate about helping men and women receive the preparation they need for a lifetime of fai...
What is God's providence? What does it have to do with suffering? And how does it affect my life?
In some ways a simple question and in others a complicated one: What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? In this very brief video I give a bit of background to the word itself and then highlight a few passages that give it some nuance.
In my conversation with New Testament Professor, Dr. Ben Witherington III, I ask Dr. Witherington about his journey into scholarship, about the decline of biblical literacy in the west and about some of Jesus' teachings on money and the places where Christians struggle to live those teachings out. It was a pleasure to talk Dr. Witherington and I hope now that you are both as challenged and encouraged in your listening to this conversation as I was in having it. Dr. Ben Witherington III is Amos P...
Christians are to be led by the Spirit, but how do we discern the Spirit's leading? On top of that, when the Spirit leads us into painful and difficult things, how are we to endure where we have been led?
I had the privilege of chatting with New Testament Professor Darrell Bock. In particular I wanted to ask Dr. Bock about cultural engagement (a topic he has written on and taught on extensively), and how he thinks the western church is doing at engaging with and speaking gospel truth into the culture. Dr. Darrell Bock serves as the executive director of Cultural Engagement at the Hendricks Center and as the senior research professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. He is t...
Whatever the reasons are, we all end up looking for a new church at some point. With that being said, what should we look for in a church?
Are there things that we have allowed into our lives that actually cannot be adapted but must be confronted and killed?
I was privileged to be joined today by Dr. Chris Watkin. In our conversation Dr. Watkin shared about his journey into scholarship and then spent time unpacking for me both the modern uses of the term deconstructionism and what Jacques Derrida called, "Religion Without Religion." Dr. Chris Watkin is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and associate professor in European languages at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He is a scholar with an international reputation in modern and ...
New Testament professor, Dr. Craig Blomberg joined me to share about his journey into academia, to talk about the relationship between the church and biblical scholarship and to share wisdom and insights into how Christians can navigate the complexities of the information age. Craig Blomberg is distinguished professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary, where he has been teaching since 1986. Blomberg earned degrees from Augustana College, Trinity Divinity School, and Aberdeen University in Scot...
Ben Jepsen was kind enough to be my guest today. Ben is just wrapping up twelve years of pastoral ministry, and I wanted to take the chance to pick his brain on the highs and lows, the ins and outs and the many lessons learned in twelve years of pastoring.
Last time the question was, 'Do idols still exist?' Having answered that with a giant YES, the question for this week is 'How then do we live in, interact with and confront an idolatrous culture?' Do we hide from it, or as the apostle demonstrated in Athens, do we seek to understand it that we might effectively speak the Gospel into it.
