One of the most prevalent questions in the minds of many teenagers is “so what?” If presented with a great deal of information, even a tremendously beautiful view of the world, we as humans are so frequently compelled to try to figure out what to do with it all. This is why so many students will take an advanced algebra class and come home sighing to themselves and asking “when am I ever going to use t…
While I’m certain Ed could speak much more to this particular assertion, it is nearly universally held that one of the major tasks of adolescence is the formation of an identity. Think back to your time in middle school or high school. I’m willing to bet that a healthy chunk of your time was spent trying to figure out exactly who you were. Sometimes this takes the shape of finding yourself among lik…
Who likes talking about sin? I mean other than the preachers who you see on TV, who for whatever reason seem to really love banging their fists on their pulpits and making a big deal about how terrible we all are, nothing will quiet a room quite like saying “let’s talk about sin.” But my experience has been that if you’re going to understand a person’s theology, you almost have to start at how they unde…
Our students have begun to find me annoying for any number of reasons. I am a terrible Ripstik Soccer player. Sometimes I forget to pick up supplies for a game I promised them I would play. But I have had a question that I have asked again and again and again that if often met with eye rolls. “What is God up to you in your life?" The frequency with which I ask this question of students a…
I’ll be honest, I’m not so sure that I had a good grasp on what “theology” was when I got into seminary. I’m pretty sure I thought it was just the language that really smart people used to confuse the rest of us when they were talking about God. Why say “eschatology” when you could just as easily say “the study of the end times?” I was much more interested in biblical scholarship and historical studies in the be…
