Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

education

Administration : Faculty :: Shaft : Tip of the Spear

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abellIn a recent chapel message at Bethlehem College & Seminary, Jason Abell explains why administration is important.

Jason is BCS’s Vice President for Administration. I am so encouraged by this message and by the interaction I’ve had with Jason and others at BCS. (I’m eager to join the team in several months.)

I’ve witnessed some situations where the relationship between a school’s faculty and administration is unhealthy. Not good.

Jason closes with a provocative analogy that I hadn’t heard someone (let alone an administrator) apply to administration and faculty before:

administration : faculty :: shaft : tip of the spear

That is, [Read more…] about Administration : Faculty :: Shaft : Tip of the Spear

How to Write a Theology Essay

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jensenTheology professors may want to assign this new little book as required reading:

Michael P. Jensen. How to Write a Theology Essay. London: Latimer Trust, 2012. 78 pp.

Each of the twenty chapters (titles in bold below) ends with a bullet-point summary:

1. How not to lose heart before you start

Two New Books on the Liberal Arts

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  1. Jeffry C. Davis and Philip Graham Ryken, eds. Liberal Arts for the Christian Life.  Wheaton: Crossway, 2012. 318 pp. 13-page sample PDF.
  2. Gene C. Fant Jr. The Liberal Arts: A Student’s Guide.  Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012. 121 pp. 23-page sample PDF.

My favorite essay in the Davis-Ryken volume is chapter 9: Alan Jacobs, “How to Read a Book” (pp. 123–31). Jacobs unpacks this famous sentence by Francis Bacon: [Read more…] about Two New Books on the Liberal Arts

Thank God for Gifted Professors and Students

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There’s almost always at least one person who is more gifted than you are at something.

  • It may tempt you to be sinfully discontent with your gifts and jealous of others.
  • It may fuel godly ambition.
  • It may fuel humility and thankfulness.

Would you believe that this happens in seminary—where people are taking classes about the Bible and theology?

It does. [Read more…] about Thank God for Gifted Professors and Students

Book Giveaway: Thriving at College

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I recommended Alex Chediak’s Thriving at College  back in March. It would benefit older high school students, college students, parents, professors, and pastors.

Since it’s back-to-school season, Alex Chediak is giving away ten copies of Thriving at College to pastors and student ministers (with free shipping in the USA). You may enter his drawing by sending him a private note by Monday, September 12. Include “Pastor Giveaway” in the subject line and your church’s mailing address.

Waiting for Superman

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My wife and I recently watched the award-winning documentary Waiting for Superman, and we were stunned when it opened with this clip:

One of the saddest days of my life was when my mother told me Superman did not exist. . . . Even in the depths of the ghetto, you just thought, “He’s coming! I just don’t know when because he always shows up, and he saves all the good people.” . . . [My mother] thought I was crying because it’s like Santa Claus is not real. I was crying because there was no one coming with enough power to save us.

That’s why this documentary about America’s broken public education system is entitled Waiting for Superman.

A documentary about broken humanity could be entitled the same thing—or maybe Waiting for a Deliverer or Waiting for a Savior.

Thriving at College

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When I read this practical book a few weeks ago, I thought, “This is the perfect high school graduation gift. And it would also benefit college students, parents, professors, and pastors.”

Alex Chediak. Thriving at College: Make Great Friends, Keep Your Faith, and Get Ready for the Real World! Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2011.

Westminster Books is running a sale that ends on April 5:

  • $7.50 for the first copy (50% off)
  • $9.00 for each subsequent copy (40% off)

About forty people have endorsed it, including Randy Alcorn, David Dockery, Rick Holland, Al Mohler, Chris Morgan, Leland Ryken, Sam Storms, and Bruce Ware.

Chediak, associate professor of engineering and physics at California Baptist University, is the author of With One Voice: Singleness, Dating, and Marriage to the Glory of God and editor of Five Paths to the Love of Your Life. [Read more…] about Thriving at College