- monthly archives
- « October 2007 | Home | December 2007 »
November 30, 2007 >> 10:57:53 AM
An interesting place to find Asbury's name...
I was doing a technorati search on Asbury Seminary today and found this article. It goes to show you never know where you will find Asbury.
November 29, 2007 >> 12:44:52 PM
ATS Comic
November 29, 2007 >> 4:58:37 AM
Ben Witherington v. John Piper on the chief aim of God
A good conversation continues to brew on the blogosphere between our own Ben Witherington and the world of reformed bloggers. Has he hit a nerve?
November 26, 2007 >> 1:32:57 AM
Pasquarello blogs with Christian Century
Mike Pasquarello, professor of homiletics at the seminary, blogs weekly with some solid lectionary text reflections on the Christian Century Blog.
November 15, 2007 >> 9:56:28 AM
Dear Robbie
Dear Robbie,
Do you think it's ok to text during chapel?
Regards,
needtocommunicateallthetime.com
Dear Need To,
Some students are more important than others. It is a simple fact. The lesser important students need to pay attention to whatever is happening during the chapel service, whether it is worship, the sermon, the Eucharist, etc.
On the other hand, the more important students, like you, should prioritize their time. The persona of an important student says, “Yes, I am here physically, but mentally I am getting important stuff done elsewhere.” What I am saying to you is that texting certainly is OK during any part of chapel. But this only applies to the distinguished part of the student body. A trivial student should be reported immediately if they are caught using their phone for any reason during the service. The only reason a trivial student should touch their phone during service is to let a more important student borrow it. That is the ONLY exception to the rule.
Thanks for your question! I’ll TTYL CUZ I G2G.
- Rob
November 15, 2007 >> 9:53:25 AM
Dear Robbie
Dear Robbie,
I am not sure how to ask this...I guess I am a little embarrassed. There
are quite a few restrooms on this campus that have timed lights and
no windows. You may already be beginning to see this dark problem. I have
a pretty 'regular' day on Tuesdays, and after lunch in the cafeteria nature
naturally takes its course. As a student who lives off campus, my
need is much too urgent to allow me the time it takes to make it home. I
know of a couple restrooms that have light switches, but I'm a guy who likes
variety. Besides, there are often other guys in there or it is all too
evident that they recently have been, if you catch my drift...or theirs.
So here's the picture: The other day I was about to begin the “paper work” when
the auto lights go off. Can you imagine the difficulty of continuously pressing
my cell phone button in order to keep illumination while holding my ice cream
cone in the other hand? What am I supposed to do?
Sincerely,
Can't See Squat
Dear CSS,
You are not the only squatter who
is not casting shadows. In fact, yours truly has been blinded in this very
situation (However, I was not eating an ice cream cone at the time). A couple
months ago I asked some other students if they had solutions to remedy this
bathroom catastrophe. Here is a summary of the ideas passed around:
1) Keep
a deflated beach ball in your bag. Blow it up and serve it over the stall door
to activate the motion sensors.
2) Pray
for revival. A flaming tongue will appear above your head if your faith is strong.
The flaming tongue should produce enough light to finish the job.
3) Cry
out “Free Bread from Panera!” Within minutes, keen-eared students will come
running from the farthest reaches of campus.
- Robbie
November 13, 2007 >> 5:07:06 PM
A Poem for the Semester's Stretch Run
Death by Exegesis
It’s 3:15 on finals week
I’m caffeine-dependent….
Must not sleep
Because of chiasms, and commentaries
Waw consecutives, tautologies
Exegesis and IBS
Aren’t those still fatal diseases?
Between Hebrew,
Greek and KJV
NRS and NIV
NAB and Art McFee
Dr. Walls with Modus Ponens
Church History for Dr. Collins
Metaphysics, Cosmology
Somehow It’s Still Greek to Me
Now it’s on to Candidacy
Bibleworks and John Wesley
World Views, now relevancy
O God, my God, someone help me
Qal, Niphal,
Piel, Pual and Hithpael
Now I know why
I believe in Hell!
Word Studies and Teleology
Syntactical context
Shouldn’t this mean something to me?
Grammatical Analysis
By lexicons
Of all shapes
And sizes
Trying to be entirely sanctified
Still leaves me
Thoroughly mystified
KCW & VOM
Flawed hermeneutics
No greater sin
Revelation – is that how our world ends?
Amazing Grace
But now I see
Seminary will be the death of me!
Authored by Danielle Salcedo. Read her blog here.
November 08, 2007 >> 10:42:44 AM
Blog Post of the Week
From Asbury Bloggers Society member Ashlee Alley
It’s a precarious path we walk in helping students identify the areas that can help them to grow spiritually. There are two extremes: 1.) They are so eager to please those in authority that they set many goals for every area of their life. 2.) They fear being legalistic and so don’t set any goals, but hope for the best. The former is characterized by the student who decides that they are going to read through the Bible in a year, pray for 30 minutes daily, and be involved in 2 small groups each semester. The latter is characterized by the student who loves philosophical discussion and even hangs around for hours talking after a weekly worship time, but can’t ever make it a priority to regularly commit to involvement in a ministry. Neither thing I’ve described is bad, actually, both have very important elements. However, they represent the tension that students sometimes feel as they are learning how to follow Christ out of love, not obligation, yet fully sacrificing their agenda to follow him.
I think that there is a nice middle
ground that is possible for students to set goals and make commitments,
but also freely offer themselves up in service without trying to meet
some “objective.” The challenge for students in this is to see that as
they set goals with the intent to grow, they are being conformed to the
image of Christ. There is grace for them as they strive toward the
transformation of being who Christ has called them to be—they will fail
from time to time, but that does not mean that they do not allow Christ
to set the standard high!
For some time in working with youth and
young adults, I’ve used the following exercise after speaking about
ways that we can become transformed to the image of Christ. I do it
about once a year to help students set goals in different areas of
their lives that work toward that process:
- Social—with friends
- Self—character traits and physical health
- Spiritual—prayer life, Bible Study, small group, worship, etc.
- School—grades, classes, studying
I ask students to listen to God as they set specific goals in each of these areas that will help them to continue to develop the mind of Christ at work within them. Sometimes I’ve asked them to copy the goals and put one copy of them in a self-addressed envelope that I will then mail out to them in 3 to 6 months as a means of reminding them and holding them accountable (to a small degree) to what their desire was in following Christ. This isn’t a “magic formula” that will automatically teach students about how to submit every aspect of their life to Christ, but it can begin a journey that starts with the first step.
November 02, 2007 >> 4:17:44 PM
Sexual Brokenness in Ministry
Marilyn Elliott, our Student and Family Chaplain passed this article on to me today. It's worth the read.
The dark demon of ministry
A pastor’s story of sexual addiction
by Santosh Ninan
ChristianWeek
Reprinted with permission
Ten years ago I was the InterVarsity staff worker at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. The hard work of a previous staffer had drawn together a large group of about 100 students.
I enjoyed working with the students and I was starting to develop a small speaking ministry.
My ministry “star” was starting to rise – I was getting busier, invitations to speak at young adult retreats and conferences were increasing. I would come home and sometimes find 10 to 15 invitations for different ministry opportunities and speaking engagements.
I was having the time of my life, and felt I had found God’s purpose for me.
But I was living a bi-polar life. On the surface, I was an eloquent, personable, knowledge Christian speaker developing a large network of friends and colleagues. But inside a dark cancer was eating my soul.
I was a sex addict. I won’t go into the salacious details of my dark secret, but my addiction was quite serious.
Addiction will eventually come out. Either you get caught in a scandal a la Ted Haggard, or the hypocrisy destroys your mental and emotional stability.
I experienced the latter. In August 1997, I found I could no longer sleep at night. In the morning I would lie in bed wondering why I should get up. Fantasies of suicide were becoming more and more common. I would later be diagnosed with severe clinical depression.
Finally, my psychiatrist told me I might need to be committed to an institution since the suicidal thoughts were getting stronger and stronger. After a flurry of consultations with my supervisors at InterVarsity, my parents, and my doctors, I was on a flight back to my parents’ home in Saskatoon.
My “star” had crashed.
I immediately started weekly individual counseling sessions and a monthly psychiatric evaluation. I was put on anti-depressants. I also joined Sexaholics Anonymous, a 12-step recovery group for sex addicts.
I was utterly humbled – living at home with no job. But it was a blessing. God stopped me so I could be healed. It took me about a year of recovery before I could slowly re-enter some small ministry roles.
A lot has happened in the past 10 years. I lived in India for a year, I got married, I completed my MDIV and I worked in a large church in downtown Vancouver. Right now, my wife and I have two children and are planting a church in downtown Vancouver.
Because of my addiction and my weakness, I know that all I am, all I do and all I have are products of the grace of God. God spared me from my addiction. God made the opening verses of Psalm 40 a reality in my life: God heard my cry; He lifted me out of my pit of addiction; He set me on solid ground; He put a song of worship in my mouth. I believe many people will see what God has done and will come to put their trust in Him.
Alarming statistics
The statistics on pastors and pornography are alarming. In a 2001 Leadership Journal survey, 37 percent of pastors said porn was a struggle for them, and 51 percent admitted it was a temptation.
Most experts in the field of sexual addiction recovery estimate about 20 percent of clergy are addicted to internet porn.
Pastoral ministry can create an atmosphere that more easily fosters addictive sexual behavior.
Time. People in full-time Christian ministry rarely punch a clock. We have a ot of freedom in how we spend our time. We have congregations that trust us. Consequently, some ministers may indulge in internet porn as an escape.
Pressure. Ministry is a difficult profession: not much money, a lot of expectation and frequent criticism. As a result, some pastors find they need some sort of release from the pressure. Instead of finding a healthy outlet like sports or a hobby, some succumb to internet porn. Ultimately, of course, we should be finding solace in our relationship with god.
Past pain. Most addictions are rooted in some sort of childhood trauma, either abuse or neglect. There is a wound that has not been healed. Maybe during those difficult times, we discovered we could find some solace in masturbation. This may lead to more addictive and dangerous practices later in life. Though good counseling and the ministry of the Holy Spirit this pain can be healed.
Sexual-addiction is serious. It is real. And it can have enormous impact if left untreated. Families can be destroyed. Churches can implode. But there is also healing and victory.
I would urge anyone with event he slightest problem in this area to tell someone trustworthy and then seek professional counseling. In my own journey, the support of a 12-step recovery group was a crucial part of my recovery. I still attend meetings from time to time, as I will probably always have this addiction – just as an alcoholic is always an alcoholic.
I would also recommend that all pastors familiarize themselves with the work of Patrick Carnes. Carnes is a leading expert in sexual addiction. He pioneered much of the contemporary research on the subject and is a good resource for those interested in understanding more about sexual addiction.
Finally, I want to give praise and honour to God who saved me. He took my brokenness and made me whole. He filled up what was lacking inside me. I previously ministered through the power of my natural talents. Now I minister out of my brokenness. Soli Deo Gloria.
Santosh Ninan is the lead pastor of Urban Sanctuary in Vancouver (www.urban-sanctuary.ca). He blogs at www.dreamsunlocked.blogspot.com
