Justice in Pastoral Ministry: Caring for Souls with Humility
The Virtue of Justice It is easy to love in general, theoretically, or ideologically, but loving neighbors and giving others their right due is quite difficult in light of all their weaknesses and quirks that drive us crazy. This requires the individual to have their soul rightly ordered to have devotion to the triune God, […]
Holy Enjoyment: Temperance and Joy in Pastoral Ministry
Temperance: Ordering Your Desires The Bible often articulates the virtue of temperance as sobriety or self-control, as in 1 Peter 1:13: “preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded.” Or, in 1 Peter 4:7 he says, “The end of all things is near; therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer.” Likewise, in 2 Peter 1:5–8 […]
What Is Christian Formation? Conformed By Scripture, Transformed by Grace
As we study the seven virtues in this book, we will seek Christian formation that is conformed to divine revelation and transformed by divine grace. Apart from divine revelation, we are in danger of sinful rationalization and satanic deception. Our loves are disordered: We do not esteem God rightly or honor his design.[1] Instead, we […]
On Vice and Virtue
In volume two of his trilogy, Ethics as Theology, Oliver O’Donovan attempts to “follow moral thought from self-awareness to decision through the sequence of virtues from faith to hope.”1 Here, O’Donovan begins with a sort of reorientation related to the ‘Spirit and Self.’ This reorientation is attempting to respond rightly to the divine summons in […]
What is the Hypostatic Union?
Series: Theology in the Everyday
In this magnificent hypostatic union, God the Son incarnate as the second Adam reconciled those who were alienated from God and made peace by the blood of His cross.
Keeping a Close Watch: On Cultivating and Maintaining Godliness in Pastoral Ministry
In March 2020, the world was rocked by COVID, its physiological consequences, and the compounded political upheaval that was already present in the country. At the time, I was not yet voted in as an elder at Emmaus but was in the applicant stage. So, I was in conversation with the elders on a few […]
Deep Discipleship: A Book Review
Series: Book Reviews
The book is asking completely different questions: Where does discipleship happen in the church? What do they need? How do disciples grow? Where do disciples go?
FTC Preaching Guide: Micah
Micah is a beautiful book and a literary masterpiece. In three movements, God speaks through Micah his word of judgment and salvation.