By: Nancy VanderRoest on November 30, 2018
I was sitting with one of my beautiful Hospice patients last week, providing the gift of ‘presence’ to a lonely Alzheimer’s patient, when she looked at me and said with unusual clarity, “You are a God-Whisperer!” I was so taken aback, as this is a lady who generally only speaks in ‘word-scramble’ and is usually…
By: Wallace Kamau on November 30, 2018
My world revolves around working with children from vulnerable communities and it always amazes me the possibilities these children open up for their families and their local communities. One of the greatest concerns for every family is the welfare of their children. They work hard to feed, clothe, educate, and facilitate for their children to…
By: Tammy Dunahoo on November 30, 2018
Over twenty years have passed since the publishing of Who Needs Theology?: An Invitation to the Study of God, and this book has an even more poignant message for today’s culture. Grenz and Olson wrote out of concern regarding the ambivalence and even, animosity toward theology not only in society, but also in the church.…
By: Mary Mims on November 30, 2018
“He may not come when you want him, but He’s always right on time”, the preacher shouted while the congregation applauded. This saying is popular in many Black churches and provides comfort to those suffering, knowing that God will eventually come through with answers to prayer. Although this saying is not specified in the Bible,…
By: Sean Dean on November 30, 2018
I first read Who Needs Theology in 2002 when I was 24. It was the first book of my first semester at Fuller and I think the only book I read cover to cover. I can remember reading the book with absolute delight, highlighting passage after passage. I let several friends borrow my copy because I…
By: Karen Rouggly on November 29, 2018
I’m a community mobilizer. It’s not just what I do but it’s who I am. I desire to mobilize people to engage local, national, and international communities. And when they engage them, I want to do so in the name of Jesus. I get the chance this in a college setting, and have been for…
By: Andrea Lathrop on November 29, 2018
In Who Needs Theology the authors make a strong case that everyone is already a theologian. The issue is not whether we are theologians but rather whether we are good theologians or poor ones. I think they are right. Grenz and Olson offer a reliable model to constructing contextual theology with the use of the…
By: Harry Fritzenschaft on November 29, 2018
Our source for this week reminded me of my theological travels. Like many of my seminary texts, oh how I wish I had been exposed to these helpful concepts sooner in my faith and pastoral journey. This source provides very helpful language and constructs for theological formation. While I appreciate my Pentecostal denominational roots, my…
By: Jenn Burnett on November 29, 2018
I’ve been a long time fan of the work of theologians. I ‘met’ my first theologian as a young girl reading The Magician’s Nephew. While C.S. Lewis’s children’s books might not necessarily classified as theology, I fell in love with the author. As such, I enthusiastically tackled Mere Christianity for the first time in high…
By: Rhonda Davis on November 29, 2018
Grenz and Olsen’s Who Needs Theology? presents the idea that all believers are theologians.[1] Each interacts with theology at different levels: folk, lay, ministerial, professional and academic. Of course, the layman does not engage theology in the same way the academic theologian does, but they should engage nonetheless. I appreciated the authors’ point that theology…
By: Mario Hood on November 29, 2018
The book, Who Needs Theology? An Invitation to the Study of God, [1] deals with a subject that can be quite cumbersome but does so practically and proficiently. Both Grenz and Olson are professional academics but wrote this book in a way that invites the causally Christian to learn at a deeper level while also…
By: Rev Jacob Bolton on November 29, 2018
One of my favorite things about being a minister is teaching a new member class. These classes provide the opportunity to better learn about the history and faith story of people who have chosen to make their spiritual home the community I am blessed to serve. What an honor. Every now and then one of…
By: Harry Edwards on November 25, 2018
The late great R.C. Sproul published a book in 2000 titled The Consequences of Ideas in which he traces, in survey fashion, the contours of Western thought through the ages and its resulting effects on culture. It is one of the best of its kind since it is accessibly written and yet comprehensive in its…
By: John Muhanji on November 25, 2018
This book has been quite a challenge with full of leadership information based on empirical evidence and theory. It has a lot of practical reflection and to understand it has been an uphill task. The world of leadership is challenging and primarily based on different cultures with their traditional norms of life. When one lives…
By: Digby Wilkinson on November 21, 2018
Further back than I care to remember, I wrote a dissertation titled, Interpreting the Text: The Gulf between Trained Clergy and the Laity.[1]The motivation came at the end of my first year in ordained ministry. What surprised me was the cavernous gap spanning the way I viewed scripture and society in contrast to the people…
By: Rhonda Davis on November 17, 2018
This week did not go as planned. Unfortunately, I came face-to-face with my humanity and how quickly my seemingly indestructible super-suit can be rendered inactive. I have been nursing a knee injury for weeks now, but a bad encounter with a staircase this week has left me down for the count, awaiting the orthopedic surgeon’s…
By: Nancy VanderRoest on November 16, 2018
Before you can lead someone else, you must be able to lead yourself. That includes your sense of purpose, your self-actualization, discipline and humility. But the question is: how does one truly become a good leader? The answer is to read and steal from others! According to Adler in How to Read a Book, reading…
By: Digby Wilkinson on November 16, 2018
I have just returned from leading a retreat for people who will be ordained in our denomination this Saturday. They will be Priests ordained to lead and care for the people of God. The themes are always centred on spiritual formation, self-awareness, prayer and so on. Invariably we do a session of leadership, and this…
By: Tammy Dunahoo on November 16, 2018
Having read more books on leadership in the last thirty-seven years of pastoral ministry than I can count, editors Nohria and Khurana’s Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice was a breath of fresh air with its scholarly research rather than popular opinions. Searching the word “leadership” in Amazon results in over 90,000 titles made available.…
By: Karen Rouggly on November 15, 2018
My work is in the middle of a tornado. Honestly, I’m expecting a cow to fly by my office window at any second of the day (Twister, anyone?)[1]. At least it feels that way. Every day is a new adventure in learning to lead and be led in the midst of trial. In fact, many…
