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Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

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John Piper

Brothers, We Are Not Professionals

August 22, 2013 by Andy Naselli

brosEarlier this summer I read this book for the first time:

John Piper. Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry. 2nd ed. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2013. 307 pp.

Wow.

Here are the contents (I highlighted the chapters that are new to the second edition): [Read more…] about Brothers, We Are Not Professionals

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: John Piper

Piper Illustrates for Children How Faith Glorifies God

June 13, 2013 by Andy Naselli

In his sermon on Romans 4:16–21 (9/26/1999), John Piper directly addresses the children and illustrates how faith glorifies God. Listen from 27:28 to 33:30.

Here’s what’s in the sermon manuscript (which isn’t a transcript):

Let’s illustrate this for the children. Your daddy is standing in a swimming pool out a little bit from the edge. You are, let’s say, three years old and standing on the edge of the pool. Daddy holds out his arms to you and says, “Jump, I’ll catch you. I promise.” Now, how do you make your daddy look good at that moment? Answer: trust him and jump. Have faith in him and jump. That makes him look strong and wise and loving. But if you won’t jump, if you shake your head and run away from the edge, you make your daddy look bad. It looks like you are saying, “he can’t catch me” [i.e., he’s incompetent] or “he won’t catch me” [i.e., he’s mean] or “it’s not a good idea to do what he tells me to do” [i.e., he’s unwise]. And all three of those make your dad look bad. [Read more…] about Piper Illustrates for Children How Faith Glorifies God

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: John Piper

We’re Moving to Minneapolis: 5 Reasons We’re Excited to Serve at Bethlehem College and Seminary

January 16, 2013 by Andy Naselli

bcsLogoColorBethlehem College & Seminary (BCS) just announced that I’ll be joining their faculty in August 2013 as Assistant Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology.

Jenni and I are grateful to God and excited to join the BCS family. We’re planning to move to Minneapolis this summer.

If you don’t know much about BCS, these links are a good place to start:

  • History (cf. John Piper’s announcement in 2008)
  • Leadership (John Piper is chancellor)
  • Faculty

We’re excited to serve at BCS for at least five reasons:

1. Doctrine

The doctrine BCS affirms and celebrates is what we affirm and celebrate. [Read more…] about We’re Moving to Minneapolis: 5 Reasons We’re Excited to Serve at Bethlehem College and Seminary

Filed Under: Other Tagged With: John Piper, personal

Keller and Carson: Greco-Roman Slavery ≠ Race-Based Slavery

January 1, 2013 by Andy Naselli

Many modern readers assume that slavery in the New Testament is equivalent to the race-based slavery of the African slave trade. While not defending the Greco-Roman institution of slavery, Tim Keller and Don Carson explain why it’s important not to equate it with the race-based slavery that we may be more familiar with.

Tim Keller

KellerTimothy Keller, Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God’s Work (New York: Dutton, 2012), 213–14, 280–83.

Paul is speaking to servants and masters [in Ephesians 6:5–9], and this raises many questions in the minds of modern readers about the Bible’s depiction of the evil of slavery. While much can be said about this subject,* it is important to remember that slavery in the Greco-Roman world was not the same as the New World institution that developed in the wake of the African slave trade. Slavery in Paul’s time was not race-based and was seldom lifelong. It was more like what we would call indentured servitude. But for our purposes, think of this passage as a rhetorical amplifier and consider this: If slave owners are told they must not manage workers in pride and through fear, how much more should this be true of employers today? And if slaves are told it is possible to find satisfaction and meaning in their work, how much more should this be true of workers today? [Read more…] about Keller and Carson: Greco-Roman Slavery ≠ Race-Based Slavery

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: D. A. Carson, ethnicity, John Piper, Tim Keller, work

Money, Materialism, and Missions

November 29, 2012 by Andy Naselli

David Platt and John Piper comment briefly on money, materialism, and missions:

One of many ways to give to missions is by donating here.

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: John Piper, missions, money

Don’t Look at Me; Look at God (John Piper’s Influence on Mike Bullmore)

November 22, 2012 by Andy Naselli

In this 2006 sermon on John 1:19–37, Mike Bullmore shares how God used John Piper to move him from teaching at TEDS to pastoring CrossWay. Listen from 4:47 to 9:23.

“Yep. God does stuff like that.”

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: John Piper, Mike Bullmore

Why Pastors Should Bless Interracial Marriage

December 14, 2011 by Andy Naselli

An 8-minute video by John Piper:

http://vimeo.com/32973970

Related: Interracial Marriage: Oppose, Tolerate, or Celebrate?

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: ethnic, John Piper, marriage

Interracial Marriage: Oppose, Tolerate, or Celebrate?

September 30, 2011 by Andy Naselli

I’ve been a member of churches that oppose interracial marriage. I have friends who have received counsel in those churches from pastors—pastors who refuse to perform an interracial wedding—to break off an interracial dating relationship primarily because of a person’s ethnicity.

I vividly recall when Bob Jones University dropped their ban against interracial dating in 2000 and apologized in 2008.

Nor do I forget the first time I taught an MDiv course at an extension site of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in 2007 composed entirely of black students—all older than I. When the dean introduced me to the class, he mentioned that I earned an MA and PhD from Bob Jones University. Then he walked out of the classroom. The stares felt like glares, and I don’t blame them. I had to dig myself out of a big hole (which, by God’s grace, I think I finally escaped).

So at least for me based on my limited experience, this issue is still fresh.

In John Piper’s new book, his chapter on interracial (or better: inter-ethnic*) marriage argues “from Scripture and experience that interracial marriage is not only permitted by God but is a positive good in our day. It is not just to be tolerated, but celebrated” (p. 203):

John Piper. Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian. Wheaton: Crossway, 2011. 

*See Piper’s appendix 1 for why the term ethnicity is better than race (pp. 234–40).

The book is even more interesting to me since Piper grew up across the street from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina.

Watch him talk about it in this gripping 17-minute documentary:

Piper tells his story in chapter 1, and a big part of it is interracial marriage (pp. 35–37):

The perceived wrongness of interracial marriage had been for me one of the unshakeable reasons why segregation was right. (p. 35)

Here’s the outline of chapter 15 (“Interracial Marriage,” pp. 203–15, numbering added) with some excerpts: [Read more…] about Interracial Marriage: Oppose, Tolerate, or Celebrate?

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: ethnicity, John Piper, marriage

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God's Will and Making Decisions

How to Read a Book: Advice for Christian Readers

Predestination: An Introduction

Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament

Tracing the Argument of 1 Corinthians: A Phrase Diagram

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40 Questions about Biblical Theology

1 Corinthians in Romans–Galatians (ESV Expository Commentary)

How Can I Love Church Members with Different Politics?

Three Views on Israel and the Church: Perspectives on Romans 9–11

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How to Understand and Apply the New Testament: Twelve Steps from Exegesis to Theology

No Quick Fix: Where Higher Life Theology Came From, What It Is, and Why It's Harmful

Conscience: What It Is, How to Train It, and Loving Those Who Differ

NIV Zondervan Study Bible

Perspectives on the Extent of the Atonement

From Typology to Doxology: Paul’s Use of Isaiah and Job in Romans 11:34–35

Four Views on the Spectrum of Evangelicalism

Let God and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology

Introducing the New Testament: A Short Guide to Its History and Message

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