Dr. David L. Turner

/ˈmyo͞oziNG/

Colossians: Complete in Christ.1

Although Colossians is known primarily for its profound teaching about Jesus in chapter 1, it was written to solve a pastoral problem. There was danger! The Colossians were being enticed by counterfeit teachings about angels and rules they needed to follow in order to have a fully satisfying relationship with God.

Just like the Colossians, we hear enticing narratives today that promise us fulfillment but subtly draw us away from our participation in the Easter victory of Jesus, in whom all the fulness of deity dwells. As we study Colossians together, we pray to the Father that the Holy Spirit will exalt Jesus by convincing us that we are complete in him, and that He is sufficient to meet all our needs and to equip us to live out our new identity in Him in our family relationships, in our church, and in the world.

So, let’s study Colossians!

Btw, the image above is courtesy of Priscilla Du Preez at Unsplash.

Seminaries at the Crossroads.2: GRTS

When I came to GRTS in 1986, a high berm pierced by a rather narrow entrance separated the college campus from the busy East Beltline highway. The berm was installed to shield the campus from traffic noise, but some saw it as symbolic of the school’s desire to be separate from the community. Later, the main campus entrance was widened and the berm was lowered. In my mind at least, the new landscaping pictured positive developments in the school’s vision of its constituency.

I’m concerned that the berm is being rebuilt . . .

Seminaries at the Crossroads

Many seminaries are in serious trouble. In fact, it may be the end of the seminary as we know it. Despite declining seminaries, Jesus’ promise to build the church still holds true. How can seminaries better align themselves with this promise?

Thank God for Deacons, but what about . . .

Can women be deacons? Can divorced people be deacons? I don’t hear much about deacons at all these days, let alone about these two questions. Maybe our culturally-driven preoccupation with prominent pastors and other high profile Christian leaders draws our attention away from the multitude of faithful deacons who serve Christ anonymously in churches all over the world. In this post we’ll spend a little time reviewing the New Testament teaching on deacons and then speak to the two questions raised above.

The Blessed Virgin, a Wedding Party with Problems, and a Lesson on Prayer.

It’s helpful to understand the language that different churches use to describe Mary, and it’s fun to ponder what she was thinking when she told Jesus the wine had run out at the wedding feast. There’s even more value for us when we think of Mary’s request as a model of prayer. Are we mindful of the hour of Jesus’ passion when we pray, or do we just blurt out prayers assuming that God exists to meet our personal needs in the way we want them met? Hopefully we’re learning, as Mary was, about cruciform praying. Our requests, like hers, need to be in step with the hour of Jesus’ passion, when he prayed three times, “I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Jewish Roots: A New Book on the Gospels, and a Conversation with David Mishkin

You may have seen it on a bumper sticker, a tee-shirt, or a coffee mug—”My boss is a Jewish carpenter.” This catchy saying is an attempt to express the Jewish background of the Christian faith. The expression “Jewish roots” describes a relationship between Judaism and the church that involves so much more than the bland term “background”—roots are so much more than the background or setting of a tree. Roots are organically connected to the stem, branches, leaves, and seeds of any plant, and so it is with the church and the Jews. Both are rooted in the grace of God, expressed in biblical promises going back to Abraham in Genesis 12. Here’s a book that will help you understand your roots. Dig it?