The (Lieben)GOOD LIFE

Every student at LeTourneau University has to take a class called Biblical Literature, otherwise known as "BibLit". I teach at least one section of this class every semester, and I thoroughly enjoy it. The goal of the class is to help students understand the big picture of the Bible (its central themes, characters, events, and how it all fits together) and how they can be more faithful to what God is calling them to be and do. As a department we decided that a narrative approach would be the best way to accomplish our goals, which led us to an excellent book written by Craig Bartholomew and Michael Goheen called The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the  Biblical Story . Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching by Irenaeus (2nd century), is a similar kind of book, written to show how the Bible points to the essentials of the faith as well as to strengthen Christian faith(fulness). Perhaps we could say that Demonstration was the first BibLit textbook! As I wor...

I have revised and finalized my reading list for this summer. Academically, my year is marked by three seasons: Fall semester, Spring semester, and Summer.  Each season I try to be intentional about what I read, while also trying to stretch myself beyond my comfort zone. Each year, along with doing research in my area of expertise, I try to read at least one book in each of the following categories: an Old Testament Monograph, a New Testament Monograph (outside of my area of expertise), a modern theologian, an early church father, a Second Temple text, a Greco-Roman primary source text, something about the history of the church, a book on hermeneutics, a philosophy of higher education book,  a book on spiritual formation, and a novel. I won't be able to cross everything off the list this summer, but here is what I am shooting for before August 15: 1. Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching by Irenaeus. 2. The Struggle to Understand Isaiah as Christian Scripture by Bre...

People my age, especially educators, who engage with 18-22 year-olds regularly complain that this generation lacks passion and drive: in short, we think they care about nothing. Recently, I got a window into the heart of this generation, and it renewed in me a desire to invest in their lives. This summer I have been teaching an intensive course on the Book of Revelation. In one of my first lectures I highlighted one of Augustine's key insights: the problem of humanity is not that we lack the right information (education) or the right technology; rather the essential problem with humankind is that we do not love the right things. In my lecture I stressed that, in my view,  the Book of Revelation is ultimately about teaching us to love and align ourselves with the right things. In the course of trying to demonstrate this, I showed the class a video clip from a documentary called the Persuaders , a PBS Frontline look into the advertising industry. I was deeply moved by the conve...