The pastor-theologian as ship's first-mate in heavy cultural seas

Asked by Justin Taylor about navigating between cultural withdrawal and cultural accommodation, Kevin Vanhoozer replied with the following helpful illustration:

The most important thing is to be aware that culture is always, already there–something in which we live and move and have our historical being–and that it is always actively cultivating, always forming habits of the heart and habits of perception. Of course, it also helps when the first mate–one’s pastor theologian–is a competent seahand. “Competence” here means knowing both one’s ship (the church) and the sea (the world). The image of the church as maritime vessel is a good one. Throughout Scriptures, water is often a symbol for powers that can engulf us. But the church should not be wholly anti-world either, for the sea, as part of the created order, is in another sense what sustains us. Ultimately it is the wind–the breath of the word-ministering Spirit–that allows the church to be counter-cultural and to set her course against the prevailing intellectual currents.

Why get married or stay single?

Why get married or stay single?

Let there be light

"And God said, ‘Let there be light - and there was light. God saw that the light was good…."

There was light - not sun-and-moon light (that came later) but the light of order and meaning, of deep harmony and wisdom. Light that births life; light that is a true beginning and the beginning of all that is true in the cosmos. Light that would one day radiate from the being of God, in the face of a man.

Let there be light: Amen.

Seeing what is there

The true purpose of the historical study of the New Testament…is not to reveal what isn’t there in the text, but rather to focus our eyes properly to see what is there.

John Dickson, Hearing Her Voice

Lack of Regret is Not Repentance

Lack of Regret is Not Repentance

“[A major] theme in emerging adult culture [18-23 year olds] is that they very much want to profess to have no regrets about their lives.”

Why is there winter in Narnia?

Why is there winter in Narnia?

Engaging essay by Nick Nowalk.

Shared space: useful in church life?

Shared space: useful in church life?

The ideas of ‘shared space’ and ‘loose reins’ have ramifications for church life, too.

Healthy or Sound - 1 Tim 1:10

Healthy” or “Sound” - 1 Tim 1:10

Bill Mounce on the helpfulness of ‘healthy’ as a translation and the use of medical metaphors in the Pastorals.

What Good Shepherds Don't Do | Leadership Journal

What Good Shepherds Don't Do | Leadership Journal

Skye Jethani making the point that “Christ’s sheep need a shepherd. They already have a Lord.” No doubt it needs nuancing but lots to think about here.

all used up

All Used Up

A very pastorally-astute and compassionate article by Ed Welch.

Consider Not Setting Goals in 2013

Consider Not Setting Goals in 2013

This is a thought-provoking article - not church-oriented but still applicable. Also of interest to school governors.

looking into the mirror

What does James have in mind when he speaks about looking in the mirror (James 1:23)? Is he wanting us to see our sins and come away from the mirror humbled and deflated?

The person who doesn’t do what the word says is equated to the person who forgets what he saw in the mirror (v.24). What that person saw in the mirror is not repeated and worked-out in obedience to the word.

It seems to follow, then, that looking into the perfect law of liberty (v.25) is seeing something other than their own sinfulness. I suggest they’re seeing Jesus and they’re seeing who and what they are in union with him.

No doubt they also, therefore, see their imperfections but they see them atoned for, they see them as antithetical to who they now are in Christ. And, so, in that liberty, they’re to go into the world not forgetting who they are and, thus, be equipped for keeping the word.

eyes to see

Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God’s majesty.

John Calvin, Institutes 1.1.3

Why the church?

The Holy Spirit formed it to be a colony of heaven in the country of death…Church is the core element in the strategy of the Holy Spirit for providing human witness and physical presence to the Jesus-inaugurated kingdom of God in this world. It is not that kingdom complete, but it is a witness to that kingdom.

Eugene H. Peterson, Practise Resurrection, p.11f

The decline of fascination and the rise in ennui

The decline of fascination and the rise in ennui

I often find Seth Godin stimulates thought about ministry, albeit unintentionally. His conclusion in this piece - to eschew the rush for the new and to build longer arcs and to focus on what really produces long-term change - is surely appropriate and resonates well with the kingdom parables of Jesus.

Leaders Tell the Truth

Leaders Tell the Truth

Al Mohler on leadership and why he’s written a book on it.

thanksgiving and gratitude

thanksgiving and gratitude

Matthew Lee Anderson writes really well and thoughtfully. His latest piece on Thanksgiving is no different.

Wasted kindling (Seth Godin)

Wasted Kindling (Seth Godin)

You could apply this to thinking about pastoral ministry.

The Joy of Sects (Carl Trueman)

The Joy of Sects (Carl Trueman)

Carl Trueman ruminates on reactions to the CofE vote on women bishops.

mind the gap

There is a gap between our love for the gospel and our love for godliness. This must change. It's not pietism, legalism, or fundamentalism to take holiness seriously. It's the way of all those who have been called to a holy calling by a holy God.

Kevin DeYoung, The Hole in our Holiness, p.21