Monday, October 30, 2006
Seminary for Free?
In the November/December issue of the magazine, Ministry Today checked out some of the best theological education available--for free (or almost free). Read the article and use these links to check out the options:
Free courses:
Bill Mounce: Special features include abbreviated classes (in addition to the full-length offerings) and the ability to “customize” the lectures if you are leading a class.
Regent College, BC: Lectures can be enjoyed 24-hours a day. Regent standard bearers such as Packer, Fee and Eugene Peterson are joined by other well known evangelicals, like N.T. Wright.
Covenant Theological Seminary: MP3 lectures online, as well as, lecture transcripts and study guides in PDF format. Reformed emphasis.
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary: 10-course core curriculum. Attractive and user-friendly website. Testing and resultant certificate are optional.
Courses for purchase:
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary: 25 courses offered for $45 each. Gary Pratico, co-author of a Hebrew textbook, teaches a two-course Hebrew set.
Regent College, BC: In addition to Packer, Fee, and Peterson there is vintage material available --- including F. F. Bruce and Clark Pinnock. Some courses on DVD.
Westminster Theological Seminary: The full-length courses of note are from Moises Silva: New Testament Introduction and the Gospel of John.
Beeson Divinity School: Allen Ross’ 23-CD series on Hebrew exegesis for $96! Six other full-length courses by Ross, as well.
Founders Study Center: Packer is available at this site, too. Also, Roger Nicole, Timothy George, and--bonus--the late Martyn Lloyd-Jones on preaching.
Fuller Theological Seminary: A concentration of missions courses not available from the others in this list. Courses can be taken for credit or personal enrichment.
Institute for Theological Studies: 21 major seminaries can’t be wrong! They use ITS courses. So should you.
The Teaching Company: Mostly secular courses. The treasures here are the five courses on Christianity by Luke Timothy Johnson. DVD is available.
Wheaton Graduate School: Douglas Moo teaching Romans is desirable. Having to search the Wheaton website is not. Call 1-630-752-5119 and tell the bookstore you want to purchase the BITH 548 DL instructional CDs. The $37.50 cost probably makes it worth your time.
Asbury Online Institute: Only four courses available, and sorry, no Ben Witherington or Victor Hamilton offerings.
- compiled by Jon Rising
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Too Much Information?
Mysecret.tv’s Craig Groeschel on the risks and rewards of pastoral transparency.
Craig Groeschel has no secrets ... well, maybe a few. Groeschel founded LifeChurch.tv in Edmond, Oklahoma in 1996 as one of the nation's first multi-campus churches. Today the ministry offers 40 weekly worship experiences at nine different locations. But, whereas many pastors of large churches become more secretive and inaccessible with success, Groeschel decided to reverse this trend (at least for himself) with his jarringly transparent Confessions of a Pastor.
A gifted and creative communicator, Groeschel bares his soul about personal and professional challenges. A mixture of Groeschel's confessions serve as the chapter headings of his book. Among his confessions: "I can't stand a lot of Christians," "I hate prayer meetings," "I worry almost all the time," and "Sometimes I doubt God."
We caught up with Groeschel amid a hectic schedule of media appearances related to mysecret.tv, a confessional Web site LifeChurch.tv launched in the summer.
Ministry Today: You write about being mentored by someone who advocated sustaining the "pastor's mystique." Isn't there something to be said for not airing all your issues lest your people lose respect for your calling?
Groeschel: Absolutely. You can share too much. One pastor confessed to his church his struggle with lust. In a sermon he actually told his listeners that he might even be having lustful thoughts about some of them at that very moment. Too much information! Church members need to see pastors as real people, struggling to surrender daily to Christ. By all means take risks, but take calculated ones. Ask yourself what your motivation is to share. Are you being selfish (for example, you want to relieve yourself of loneliness or guilt)? Or is what you're saying spiritually useful to those you serve?
Ministry Today: So, what are some of the practical implications of this?
Groeschel: I know many pastors who encourage small groups in their churches yet don't participate themselves. But Jesus spent "down-time" with the very people He was leading. Genuine relationships don't happen without transparency. And transparency means risk. I'm not recommending that pastors should be saying everything we're thinking (if I did that, I'd probably lose my job). But without pouring our hearts into one another, we isolate ourselves and dry up spiritually. And we can end up on the slippery slope toward hypocrisy.
Ministry Today: Ministry seems to naturally cultivate the tendency toward inauthenticity. So, how do you "keep it real"—in spite of what your congregation may think?
Groeschel: No matter what I do, some people (maybe a lot of people) won't like me. For too many years, I lived to please people and meet their expectations, which of course is impossible. My goal—one I don't always achieve, by the way—is to be who God created me to be. Anything less is hypocrisy and compromises the integrity of my ministry.
Ministry Today: Can feelings of inadequacy actually enhance ministry?
Groeschel: I don't know any pastor (especially me) who is an adequate leader for our pastoral role. That's why we need to learn to depend completely on God. Fears of inadequacy are normal. Talking about them openly, with deliberate intention, can be powerful. I regularly confess to our church that I get nervous before I speak, and that I feel completely inadequate to do this job. That humanizes me, both to them and to myself. I've experienced other times when I didn't know if I could continue in ministry. This wasn't something I talked about while preaching. It would've been too much for the average church member to bear. Although we should invite people to know us as real people following Christ, we should also consciously avoid undermining their confidence in our ability to lead them to Him.
Ministry Today: You mention the importance of a personal accountability partner.
Groeschel: My accountability partner is someone I knew before I was deeply engaged in public ministry. This has been helpful because he knows me as regular Craig, not Pastor Craig. To me, finding a true accountability partner ranks close to finding your spouse. It's a prayerful, intentional pursuit of a lifelong friendship, whose ongoing purpose is to make you more like Jesus. It's not a breakfast with three other people shooting the breeze. It's gut-level, here's-where-I-am, not-holding-anything-back transparency. It may be scary, but I've discovered that, for me, it's a matter of survival.
Ministry Today: What about the pitfalls of baring your soul to someone other than your spouse?
Groeschel: It is risky to bare your soul to someone besides your spouse—especially for a pastor. However, in my opinion, the dangers of isolating yourself, carrying your own burdens and secrets, are far greater. Honestly, I didn't bare my soul in the early stages of my accountability friendship. In the past I had been significantly betrayed by someone I trusted completely. That experience inclined me never to trust again. Thankfully, I eventually overcame that pain and reached out again.
Ministry Today: Mysecret.tv has gotten a lot of media attention. But some questioned the benefit of anonymous confesssion.
Groeschel: Our intention has always been to encourage visitors to mysecret.tv to approach others' confessions prayerfully, not use them as a voyeuristic experience. Also, we've never suggested that confessing anonymously to a computer has special powers. Directing our confessions into a prayer toward God and His people is what changes lives. But think how many never go there. For them, writing a private confession for millions to read can be a first step—a huge one, as it turns out—and one they might never otherwise take.
Craig Groeschel has no secrets ... well, maybe a few. Groeschel founded LifeChurch.tv in Edmond, Oklahoma in 1996 as one of the nation's first multi-campus churches. Today the ministry offers 40 weekly worship experiences at nine different locations. But, whereas many pastors of large churches become more secretive and inaccessible with success, Groeschel decided to reverse this trend (at least for himself) with his jarringly transparent Confessions of a Pastor.
A gifted and creative communicator, Groeschel bares his soul about personal and professional challenges. A mixture of Groeschel's confessions serve as the chapter headings of his book. Among his confessions: "I can't stand a lot of Christians," "I hate prayer meetings," "I worry almost all the time," and "Sometimes I doubt God."
We caught up with Groeschel amid a hectic schedule of media appearances related to mysecret.tv, a confessional Web site LifeChurch.tv launched in the summer.
Ministry Today: You write about being mentored by someone who advocated sustaining the "pastor's mystique." Isn't there something to be said for not airing all your issues lest your people lose respect for your calling?
Groeschel: Absolutely. You can share too much. One pastor confessed to his church his struggle with lust. In a sermon he actually told his listeners that he might even be having lustful thoughts about some of them at that very moment. Too much information! Church members need to see pastors as real people, struggling to surrender daily to Christ. By all means take risks, but take calculated ones. Ask yourself what your motivation is to share. Are you being selfish (for example, you want to relieve yourself of loneliness or guilt)? Or is what you're saying spiritually useful to those you serve?
Ministry Today: So, what are some of the practical implications of this?
Groeschel: I know many pastors who encourage small groups in their churches yet don't participate themselves. But Jesus spent "down-time" with the very people He was leading. Genuine relationships don't happen without transparency. And transparency means risk. I'm not recommending that pastors should be saying everything we're thinking (if I did that, I'd probably lose my job). But without pouring our hearts into one another, we isolate ourselves and dry up spiritually. And we can end up on the slippery slope toward hypocrisy.
Ministry Today: Ministry seems to naturally cultivate the tendency toward inauthenticity. So, how do you "keep it real"—in spite of what your congregation may think?
Groeschel: No matter what I do, some people (maybe a lot of people) won't like me. For too many years, I lived to please people and meet their expectations, which of course is impossible. My goal—one I don't always achieve, by the way—is to be who God created me to be. Anything less is hypocrisy and compromises the integrity of my ministry.
Ministry Today: Can feelings of inadequacy actually enhance ministry?
Groeschel: I don't know any pastor (especially me) who is an adequate leader for our pastoral role. That's why we need to learn to depend completely on God. Fears of inadequacy are normal. Talking about them openly, with deliberate intention, can be powerful. I regularly confess to our church that I get nervous before I speak, and that I feel completely inadequate to do this job. That humanizes me, both to them and to myself. I've experienced other times when I didn't know if I could continue in ministry. This wasn't something I talked about while preaching. It would've been too much for the average church member to bear. Although we should invite people to know us as real people following Christ, we should also consciously avoid undermining their confidence in our ability to lead them to Him.
Ministry Today: You mention the importance of a personal accountability partner.
Groeschel: My accountability partner is someone I knew before I was deeply engaged in public ministry. This has been helpful because he knows me as regular Craig, not Pastor Craig. To me, finding a true accountability partner ranks close to finding your spouse. It's a prayerful, intentional pursuit of a lifelong friendship, whose ongoing purpose is to make you more like Jesus. It's not a breakfast with three other people shooting the breeze. It's gut-level, here's-where-I-am, not-holding-anything-back transparency. It may be scary, but I've discovered that, for me, it's a matter of survival.
Ministry Today: What about the pitfalls of baring your soul to someone other than your spouse?
Groeschel: It is risky to bare your soul to someone besides your spouse—especially for a pastor. However, in my opinion, the dangers of isolating yourself, carrying your own burdens and secrets, are far greater. Honestly, I didn't bare my soul in the early stages of my accountability friendship. In the past I had been significantly betrayed by someone I trusted completely. That experience inclined me never to trust again. Thankfully, I eventually overcame that pain and reached out again.
Ministry Today: Mysecret.tv has gotten a lot of media attention. But some questioned the benefit of anonymous confesssion.
Groeschel: Our intention has always been to encourage visitors to mysecret.tv to approach others' confessions prayerfully, not use them as a voyeuristic experience. Also, we've never suggested that confessing anonymously to a computer has special powers. Directing our confessions into a prayer toward God and His people is what changes lives. But think how many never go there. For them, writing a private confession for millions to read can be a first step—a huge one, as it turns out—and one they might never otherwise take.
- Interview by Sean Fowlds
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Downward Mobility
Why God doesn't give up on declining congregations--an interview with Ruth Tucker, author of Left Behind in a Megachurch World
Can God work through declining congregations in economically-depressed areas? Absolutely, Ruth Tucker argues in her new book, Left Behind in a Megachurch World (Baker). Associate professor of missiology at Calvin Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Tucker became interested in declining churches while researching for a church growth class.
"I ran across material from George Barna and others that said that if a church has plateaued or is declining, humanly speaking it's a waste of time to revitalize it—it's better to shut it down and start a new church," she recalls. "Just because a factory moved out of town and the numbers in the church decline doesn't mean that God is no longer working there."
These declining churches she describes as "left-behind," arguing that their potential is often overlooked as they stand in the shadow of larger churches. Recently, Ministry Today sat down with Tucker to discuss her book—and her conviction that one size does not fit all.
Ministry Today: Are megachurches a new phenomenon or is it just that they've received more media attention of late?
Tucker: This is not a new phenomenon. Spurgeon, Moody and others were megachurch pastors. In fact, one of these incredible stories was Mike King's church—Ebenezer Baptist Church. Mike took a trip to Europe shortly after he became pastor, followed in the footsteps of Martin Luther and changed his name to Martin Luther King. His son was Martin Luther King Jr. King would put megachurch pastors to shame today.
Ministry Today: You believe there's a place in God's plan for "left-behind" churches. Is there a place for megachurches?
Ruth Tucker: Yes, they're here whether we like it or not. Wal-Mart puts smaller stores out of business. Is Wal-Mart part of God's plan? I tend to shop at Wal-Mart on some occasions. However, what I'm saying in this book is that the megachurch should not be the standard.
Ministry Today: So, are "left-behind" churches qualitatively better than megachurches?
Tucker: No, there are terrible church fights—in fact, it's hard to mask these family fights. In this book, I don't make "left-behind" churches little utopias. But, there are ministries that a left-behind church can have that are simply not available to megachurches.
Ministry Today: Such as …
Tucker: I was in a megachurch not too long ago—more than 2,000 people—but the parking lot will not accommodate its way to 5,000 which is the church's goal. So, the church is leaving this beautiful campus and moving to the outskirts of town. The result is that the church is no longer near the needy people. That's the advantage of the left-behind church—it's near the needs.
Ministry Today: So, smaller churches can reach people that megachurches cannot.
Tucker: Yes. For instance, I know a pastor on the Indiana-Illinois border, whose church is in the shadow of a huge megachurch that everyone wants to go to. So, a lot of little churches nearby have lost members. But the church I visited sees this megachurch as no threat because this church has been built up around the concept of homeschooling. These families are not at all tempted to go to the megachurch because their needs are being met in the smaller church setting of about 200 people.
Ministry Today: Are you seeing more specialization of smaller churches, in response to the megachurch phenomenon?
Tucker: Yes. I just read in the paper about a church that has a lot of families with adopted children. Also, if a family is involved in the community and they go off to a suburban megachurch, they will lose that opportunity to serve in the neighborhood.
Can God work through declining congregations in economically-depressed areas? Absolutely, Ruth Tucker argues in her new book, Left Behind in a Megachurch World (Baker). Associate professor of missiology at Calvin Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Tucker became interested in declining churches while researching for a church growth class.
"I ran across material from George Barna and others that said that if a church has plateaued or is declining, humanly speaking it's a waste of time to revitalize it—it's better to shut it down and start a new church," she recalls. "Just because a factory moved out of town and the numbers in the church decline doesn't mean that God is no longer working there."
These declining churches she describes as "left-behind," arguing that their potential is often overlooked as they stand in the shadow of larger churches. Recently, Ministry Today sat down with Tucker to discuss her book—and her conviction that one size does not fit all.
Ministry Today: Are megachurches a new phenomenon or is it just that they've received more media attention of late?
Tucker: This is not a new phenomenon. Spurgeon, Moody and others were megachurch pastors. In fact, one of these incredible stories was Mike King's church—Ebenezer Baptist Church. Mike took a trip to Europe shortly after he became pastor, followed in the footsteps of Martin Luther and changed his name to Martin Luther King. His son was Martin Luther King Jr. King would put megachurch pastors to shame today.
Ministry Today: You believe there's a place in God's plan for "left-behind" churches. Is there a place for megachurches?
Ruth Tucker: Yes, they're here whether we like it or not. Wal-Mart puts smaller stores out of business. Is Wal-Mart part of God's plan? I tend to shop at Wal-Mart on some occasions. However, what I'm saying in this book is that the megachurch should not be the standard.
Ministry Today: So, are "left-behind" churches qualitatively better than megachurches?
Tucker: No, there are terrible church fights—in fact, it's hard to mask these family fights. In this book, I don't make "left-behind" churches little utopias. But, there are ministries that a left-behind church can have that are simply not available to megachurches.
Ministry Today: Such as …
Tucker: I was in a megachurch not too long ago—more than 2,000 people—but the parking lot will not accommodate its way to 5,000 which is the church's goal. So, the church is leaving this beautiful campus and moving to the outskirts of town. The result is that the church is no longer near the needy people. That's the advantage of the left-behind church—it's near the needs.
Ministry Today: So, smaller churches can reach people that megachurches cannot.
Tucker: Yes. For instance, I know a pastor on the Indiana-Illinois border, whose church is in the shadow of a huge megachurch that everyone wants to go to. So, a lot of little churches nearby have lost members. But the church I visited sees this megachurch as no threat because this church has been built up around the concept of homeschooling. These families are not at all tempted to go to the megachurch because their needs are being met in the smaller church setting of about 200 people.
Ministry Today: Are you seeing more specialization of smaller churches, in response to the megachurch phenomenon?
Tucker: Yes. I just read in the paper about a church that has a lot of families with adopted children. Also, if a family is involved in the community and they go off to a suburban megachurch, they will lose that opportunity to serve in the neighborhood.
