God is the Story-teller and the main character. He is the Bard and the hero. He authors the fairy tale and then comes to kill the dragon and get the girl. —Joe Rigney, “The Story-Teller Who Entered In,” desiringGod.org This is the first letter that I have written as president-elect to the friends and contributors […]
My teaching in Viet Nam in 2020 has looked radically different than in previous years. I had been scheduled to teach in Hai Phong and Nam Dinh in June of this year, but the COVID-19 crisis scuttled those plans. Instead, I was able to teach the Hai Phong group via Microsoft Teams the week of […]
Yet, I am proud, though you rebuke me. Slave I am, but slave whose power doth swell. With sickness, poison, war, you say I dwell— ‘Tis true, and you fear each because of me. Slave I am, but slave beneath whom ev’ry Other slave doth tremble and his pride quell! Through me fate sends kings […]
This week we celebrate Thanksgiving. It will likely be a holiday that we won’t soon forget as all of the restrictions of the pandemic continue to restrain us from our normal gatherings and activities. In fact, some of us may have a hard time thinking of what there is to give thanks for! And yet […]
Rise from sleep, day has come, now are the hours of the sun. Time to work, time to plod, turning hand to till the clod. Dirt beneath stomping feet, Plow-crushed earth smelling sweet. Rock and thorn Causing pain, Fields of mud in pouring rain. Muddled furrows, hard to see where seed will sprout and plant […]
There is a sadness that feels cold, And forgets that light is not dead When hurt and regret are thus wed In the human problem of old. Grey shadows stretch across his path, The sun from the horizon beams, Hues of red upon the world gleams, The town falls in a scarlet bath. He stops […]
By now I hope you’ve received a copy of the Fall 2020 issue of the Serious Joy Newsletter. (You can read an electronic version here; if you’d like a print version, let us know—we’d be happy to send you one). This issue highlights our distinctive approach to seminary education as a pastoral apprenticeship and features […]
In high school, I learned a valuable lesson about the difference between know-how and know-of. I was part of the track team, and my coach asked me to fill in for a vacancy for the 400m race. My regular races were the 100m and 200m. I, of course, knew of the 400m race. I had […]
Psalm 2 1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” 4 He who sits in the […]