I met Dan at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary in 1993. He was about to graduate from Cedarville University, and was out shopping for a seminary. Dan went on to earn his MDiv and ThM in New Testament at GRTS. I remember my last class with him in summer school 1995—it was the book of Revelation, and I was working out an eclectic progressive dispensational approach to the book on the fly. Dan was my conversation partner, while rest of the students looked on in varying degrees of bewilderment.
The Epiphany of Immanuel: Living in God’s Withness in 2026
I get that Home Alone is a funny movie, but being alone is not a plan for most of us. Far from being a fun adventure, being alone usually leads to loneliness, not comedy. God didn’t cut us out for alone-ness but for community. God hasn’t left us home alone! Epiphany reminds us that God has made his ultimate appearance to us in Christ. Baptists like me typically don’t place Epiphany on their short list of major Bible doctrines, but we might be able to make our Christmas experience more than temporary euphoria if we did.
“Light” in the Bible, Hanukkah, and Advent
In the west Michigan USA where I live, winter solstice and with it the shortest day of the year is approaching. We’re getting only about nine hours of potential sun light each day, but it’s been so cloudy and snowy we’ve seen little of it. WE NEED LIGHT! And we need it in more ways than one. Jewish people all over the world are lighting candles each night from December 14-22. Churches started lighting Advent candles on Sunday November 30. Both of these candle traditions direct us back to the pervasive and profound imagery of light in the Bible. Let’s have a look at how all this fits together.
Praise Comes before Thanksgiving: Saint Paul’s example in Ephesians
My concern about the Thanksgiving holiday is that we confuse thanksgiving with warm fuzzy feelings about serendipitous circumstances. Thanksgiving is not simply being happy that we have a warm house on a cold day and that we got the turkey for only $.49 a pound at Meijer. It’s not just the relief we feel when the Republicans and Democrats in the family don’t have a knock-down, drag-out brawl over the pumpkin pie. Being pleased by a pleasant situation is not thanksgiving. Simple cheerfulness is not thankfulness. True thankfulness is directed in praise to God, speech that reverently acknowledges and approves his goodness and faithfulness.
Gales of November: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald 50 Years Later
I never tire of listening to Gordon Lightfoot’s song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. I’m hooked from the first strum of the Asus2 chord to the ninth time the haunting guitar riff is played as the song fades out. The lyrics contain striking lines like this metaphor: that big ship and true was a bone to be chewed when the gales of November came early. But for me as a believer in Jesus and a student of the Bible, the most significant part of the song is the question Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours? In this post I explore how the wind destroyed the Fizgerald, as well as how the Bible speaks of wind and storms as a challenge to faith in God.
A Traveler’s Guide Through Suffering and Joy
Christian books on suffering tend to be either theoretical/intellectual or personal/experiential. They either add boredom to your pain or lather you up with empty platitudes. Not so this Traveler’s Guide by Dr. Karen Thomas Olsen. Karen dares to tell us that we can be changed by theology that feeds and leads. Imagine this, our lives can be changed if we take sound biblical doctrine to heart and live by it! Truth transforms!
I recently learned about Dr. Olsen’s book from a mutual friend (thanks Mary!). It turns out Karen and I both spent time at Grace Theological Seminary years ago, but we were like the proverbial two ships in the night. I’m grateful for this opportunity to connect with Karen, and for a copy of her book.