I’ve been doing a little study on the term ekklesia recently. That’s the Greek term translated ‘church’ in the New Testament (at least most of the time). The word is important to Baptists because of the prominence of eccliesiology (the doctrine of the church) to the Baptist distinctives.
by on 10.17.13
an interesting verse for my Calvinist friends
NAU Luke 7:30 But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.
The word for purpose here is a very interesting word. Thayer defines it this way:
counsel, purpose … especially of the purpose of God respecting the salvation of men through Christ
by on 7.28.13
how do you like your spam?
Got an interesting comment tonight on a post from a couple of years ago:
When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now
each time a comment is added I get three emails with the same
comment. Is there any way you can remove people from that service?Many thanks!
Right… the alleged person making this comment has never had any comments approved on oxgoad, the post in question has only ever had a total of five comments, again some time ago. There are no new comments coming in… and if anyone cares to notice, oxgoad is a little inactive lately.
I point this out for fellow bloggers who may get similar spam. Some spammers are getting a little more sophisticated it seems and posting what seems like more and more legit comments. So be careful.
by on 7.2.13
I love peace, but next to peace…
Above all things I love peace, but next to peace I love a fight, and I believe the next best thing to peace is a theological fight.
— A. C. Dixon, in the Ecumenical Missionary Conference, New York 1900, I (New York, 1900), p. 364, quoted by George M. Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture, Oxford University Press, (Oxford, 2006) 101.
by on 6.28.13
me, the Holy Spirit, and my Bible
The great William Tyndale gave us most of our English Bible. He is credited with a quote about desiring to make the Bible such that the common plowboy could understand it. The quote (as many such) may be a bit off. Wikipedia reports it this way: “John Foxe describes an argument with a ‘learned’ but ‘blasphemous’ clergyman, who had asserted to Tyndale that, ‘We had better be without God’s laws than the Pope’s.’ Tyndale responded: ‘I defy the Pope, and all his laws; and if God spares my life, ere many years, I will cause the boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost!’”
Regardless of the accuracy of the quote and Tyndale’s intended meaning, there is a common perception among Christians that they should be safe in personal Bible study by means of their reliance on the Holy Spirit to guide their understanding. To some extent, this is true. The simplest Christian, reading his Bible with the eyes of faith, guided by the indwelling Spirit is often able to discern more truth than learned scholars who study the Bible without faith or the Holy Spirit.
In spite of this, the individual who relies only on his own faith in Christ, God, the Spirit and the Bible will inevitably fall into misunderstanding and error if he pursues truth thus entirely on his own. There are several reasons for this.
by on 6.14.13
what shall we do with this?
Perhaps you remember an educational game called Amazon Trail. Part of the game involved ‘fishing’ so you could survive on your trek up the Amazon. Whenever you speared a fish, the program would tell you what kind of fish you had captured and a voice would ask, “What shall we do with this?” Over and over and over… as my kids played it, this line kept repeating itself from our kitchen. Enough to drive you batty (short trip for some of us).
Recent happenings in the ecclesiastical world make me ask that question: what shall we do with this?
by on 6.14.13
sad story
I don’t know how else to describe the turn of events at NIU. I truly am sorry to see the continued turmoil. While I disagree with the chosen direction, I wish no ill will to NIU or to Matt Olson, former classmate and hopefully still a friend in spite of differences.
What next for Northland? I was talking to another educator yesterday and when he got over the shock of hearing this news his first comment was, “I don’t see how they can open in September.” How indeed. Sad story.
by on 5.22.13
not naming names
But hitting the bulls-eye dead center.
For a pastor to chart a new course which effectively empties the church until the only ones remaining agree with him is unethical. For the leader of a service organization to pursue a new direction that leaves the organization vulnerable to collapse unless people go along with his choices is simply wrong. This is not servant leadership. Really it is not leadership at all; it is coercion. The congregation or organization is not allowed to make a free, informed choice about its new course or direction. The leader has imposed his will, not served. …
A genuine servant leader lives within the stewardship boundaries outlined for him in the governing documents of his church or ministry. If he finds himself in conflict with those, he either removes himself or calls for the church or ministry to reconsider its position. If he does the latter, he does that first, not after positioning things so that saying no will lead to catastrophic consequences. Leaving people no choice but to bend to your will is the antithesis of servant leadership.
Read the whole thing.
by on 5.10.13
Whiplash
A few thoughts on the sudden about-face of Northland International “University”:
Clearly what we have witnessed is a power struggle. The conservative members of the board were able to get enough backing to fire Matt Olson, but the family spoke, the decision of the board was reversed, and according to some reports, all non-family members of the board resigned.
Which leads one to conclude that the board was a sham, the real power at NI”U” lies with the Patz family.
And one would have to think that the conservatives made a mistake in allowing Matt to continue through graduation, though perhaps they didn’t have enough clout to pull that off.
Clearly, the whiplash effect is an embarrassment – NI”U” is a sham school. It is hard to see how they have any credibility going forward. Will they have more than 200 students next year? Would you risk your hard earned $$$ to send a student there?
The chirping at SI by some that says this is showing leadership is incredibly amusing. Apparently these folks have no clue about leadership or integrity.
It’s a pretty sad situation. Hard to imagine how quickly this situation has deteriorated. Hard to see any way out for the Patz family and their play school.
Maranatha!
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3
by on 4.29.13
end of an era or a stepping stone?
I’ve been on the road all day, literally. Read about the termination of Matt Olson as president of Northland International University somewhere between Cache Creek and Kamloops, BC. I was more than a little astonished.
I’m not writing to pontificate today. I am sorry to see Matt lose his post, though I have been a very vocal critic of the positions he has been taking over the last few years. Matt and I were classmates and I think at one time I could have counted him as a friend. I doubt that he thinks of me in that way any longer.
His announcement by way of his public letter was very gracious. I applaud him for it. I haven’t seen the chapel session, probably won’t. Don’t have time this week and it will be old news by next week. But I expect it was handled in a similar fashion. I hope that Matt does well in the future and I also hope that he will come out in a better position with respect to fundamentalism / evangelicalism and holiness / worldliness.
Where does NIU go from here? It depends on who they select as a new president. One could wonder if anyone in their right mind would want the job, but surely some courageous soul will take it. Who that is will give us an indication whether the experiment with evangelicalism is over or we are merely moving to phase 2.
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