Listening to the Spirit for Discernment

November 28, 2022

In response to a dear friend’s question about listening to the Spirit and discernment. I wish listening to the Spirit was a mechanical process that always had a clear outcome. Unfortunately, we human beings are the ones who still do the “listening,” and our listening is complicated by our own interests, biases, and fears. Just […]


2 Corinthians 13:1-10 – Test Yourselves!

April 30, 2022

Though Paul has already anticipated what his third visit to Corinth might bring—whether joy or grief, he reiterates the fact that he is coming a third time. Twice he emphasizes that his next visit is his third one (once in 12:14, and again in 13:1). Since this is his third, that means—obviously—he has had two […]


Why Care About Church History or Historical Theology?

February 1, 2009

I have a vested interest in that question. Partly because I have a Ph.D. in Reformation and Post-Reformation historical theology, partly because I teach academic courses in historical theology, but mostly because I have found the study of historical theology illuminating, liberating and humbling. Illuminating in the same way that studying my own family of […]