Beware Objective Standards Where Only Subjective Ones Are Provided
Paul’s instructions to Timothy regarding the qualifications for leadership in the church (specifically for elders in 3:1-7) are vitally important. They are also not as simple as we might sometimes prefer. We generally prefer things to be neat and clean – objective and...
A Worker’s Manifesto: Why Do Excellent Work?
I once heard a story – I don’t recall where – of a builder who was commissioned by his employer to build a house. The builder’s employer gave specific instructions regarding the quality of the house. He wanted it to be excellent, but the builder tried to save money...
How Can I Know God’s Will For My Life?
In a study addressing why millennials stay in church, the Barna group discovered that 65% of active church goers or those who believed their faith is very important to their life believed that the Bible contains everything a person needs to live a meaningful life,...
“The most effective leadership, management, and efficiency models share traits common with each other, and traits that are ultimately traceable to the pages of the Bible. While these models are often not intentionally rooted in Biblical concepts by those that promote the models, the models illustrate how applying Biblical principles can set a trajectory of success in enterprise and in life. Led By a Lion is designed to introduce some of these leadership, management, and efficiency models, but goes a step further in identifying the Biblical genesis of many of the core traits that fuel the success of these models.”
2016 SCS Commencement Address by Dr. Christopher Cone
GO FROM THIS MOMENT AND DO SMALL THINGS Commencement Address, Southern California Seminary, May 14, 2016 Christopher Cone, Th.D, Ph.D, Ph.D It is one of the great honors of my life to have been invited to share these precious moments with you today. I express my...
Time to Put the Gun Away? A Comment on the Auction of George Zimmerman’s Gun
Recently George Zimmerman has put up for auction the gun that he describes as a “piece of American history,” and which is notable for its role in the loss of Trayvon Martin’s life. The auction is currently being handled by the United Gun Group, owned by Todd Underwood...
Why Go to Church?
A recent survey showed that the percentage of those in the U.S. who identify as Christians declined sharply by 8% from 2007 to 2014, with millennials leading the exodus. Roughly 36% of millennials now consider themselves to have no religious affiliation (“nones”)....
“This approach has the advantage of seeking to view all knowledge through the lens of Scripture, and to subject all knowledge to the authority of Scripture. It encourages science and research within the field of psychology. It offers a Biblical balance of description and prescription. Of course, if the Bible is unreliable, then the refractive power of Scripture is distortive rather than corrective, but the epistemological premise of this approach is that God’s word is authoritative and sufficient for our understanding, for our equipping, and for our practice. There are many extra-biblical resources that we can employ, but in seeking out how and when to do that, we mustn’t lose sight of the one reliable constant that God has provided for us – the Bible.” –Chapter 9
The Rise of Philosophy and Conflict With Theology
(An excerpt from Life Beyond the Sun: An Introduction to Worldview and Philosophy Through the Lens of Ecclesiastes) – Despite assertions that “any conflict between philosophy and theology must be apparent rather than real, the result of a misunderstanding,”[i]...
How to Choose an English Bible Translation, Part 2
In the previous article, we introduced some significant aspects to consider when deciding on an English translation for Bible study (formal versus dynamic equivalence, and transparency in the source material used, for example). While no translation can equal the value...
The Magnificent Seven: Formats for Communicating Biblical Content (PPT)
Presented to the first annual Calvary International Pastors' Conference on April 22, 2016. The Magnificent Seven (a reimagining of Seven Samurai) tells the story of seven men who were unspectacular as individuals, but who together had the power to change lives. It is...
“The Green Tree is an exceptional work…provides a vital tool for every Bible interpreter…Just as the root system is the foundation of a tree and directly impacts the health of a tree, hermeneutic method is at the root of one’s worldview. This illustration demonstrates that the hermeneutic method that an interpreter of the Bible employs will significantly affect the outcome. The tree will either be healthy, or it will not be healthy…The authors provide a unique examination of Revelation, Genesis, and Job that demonstrates that the LGH hermeneutic is derived from within Scripture, something that other hermeneutical methods fail to demonstrate. This is perhaps the most crucial principle demonstrated in The Green Tree, and it effectively demonstrates that the LGH hermeneutic is also the Biblical hermeneutic.” – Andrew Friend (Amazon Review)
Does the Biblical God Exist?
A brief examination of Scripture will unveil, in particular, the central assumption of the existence of God (Gen. 1:1, Ps. 14:1, etc.). Never does Scripture seek to prove His existence; rather it presents His reality as the foundational starting point of Biblical...
The Central Question of Christianity: Is Jesus Still Dead?
Whether or not Jesus rose from the dead is perhaps the most important question in determining the truth of Biblical Christianity. As Paul put it, “if Christ has not been raised from the dead…then your faith also is vain” (1 Cor 15:14). He adds that if Jesus hasn’t...
SWOT Analysis, the Bible, and Personal Growth
SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The analytical tool has been in use for around fifty years, and while some attribute the origin of the SWOT analysis to Stanford Research Institute’s Albert Humphrey, because he doesn’t take...
How to Grow as a Person
A Google search of the phrase “how to grow as a person” (or even just “grow as a person”) reveals 520 million related links. For points of reference, let’s look at the results of some other popular Google searches: “how to make money” 426 million, “world peace”...
How Can I Know God?
How can I know God? Paul’s Letter to the Romans tells the important true story about who we are, what we need, and what God has done for us. Paul writes that “There is none righteous not even one…there is none who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10-12). We have all...
Kaizen and the Biblical Model for Continuous Improvement
Kaizen means improvement, or literally, good change. Identified by author Masaaki Imai as “the key to Japanese competitive success,”[1] kaizen is the philosophy undergirding continuous improvement at every level of the organization, and involving all personnel. As a...
What Kind of Literature is Genesis 1?
The Bible contains four basic genres of literature: historical narrative, poetry, prophetic, and epistolary. The genre classification of Genesis 1 is very important for our understanding of the overall message of Scripture, because the chapter deals with so many...
3 Ways to Understand and Communicate the Gospel
Sometimes it seems difficult to communicate the love of Christ to others. It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer weight of Biblical data and become tongue-tied when trying to share how one can know Christ. Here are three ways to share God’s plan for salvation...
Psalm 90: New Year’s Resolutions For Every Day
Of the 150 psalms that constitute the largest book in the Bible, Moses penned only one, so we approach Psalm 90 with particular interest. What was so significant about the prayer of this one who spoke face to face with God (Exodus 33:11), that his prayer would later...
The Basis and Mandate of Christian Ethics
The simplicity of Paul’s ethical mandate for believers is unmistakable in 1 Corinthians 10:31: “Whatever then you eat or you drink or whatever you do – all unto God’s glory you are to do.” In that context Paul challenges the Corinthian believers specifically to handle...