By: Phillip Struckmeyer on October 22, 2015
Becoming a Different Kind of Leader For the last three years I have operated under a job title I have made up for myself. I am the “Network Catalyst” for Nitrogen, a church health and multiplication network within The Wesleyan Church denomination. I live in Lowell, Michigan, a four hour drive from The Wesleyan Church…
By: Nick Martineau on October 21, 2015
Just think about how much has changed in the last 50 years. Just over 50 years ago, the fictional married couple, Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, starred in the number one television show, I Love Lucy, but they couldn’t dare sleep in the same bed. Even though showing the married couple in one bed would be…
By: Dave Young on October 21, 2015
I want to live in a different world. I long for the world that would have been if Adam had said to Eve “Oh, honey—let’s not listen to that snake in the grass. After all, God has shown himself to be completely trustworthy.” Or even if his theological discernment was a little off that day,…
By: Claire Appiah on October 20, 2015
Christian Theology: An Introduction by Alister McGrath Introduction Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson in Who Needs Theology? make it clear that everyone needs theology and everyone engages in theologizing on some level. But, good Christian theology which is the theology that characterizes students in the dminlgp program entails critical thinking and reflection on core values…
By: Brian Yost on October 19, 2015
In his book Visual Faith: Art, Theology, and Worship in Dialogue, William A. Dyrness reminds us of the need to embrace the visual arts and incorporate them into our worship. Visual arts have been embraced for centuries in the church. While not without conflict, it was understood that beauty and artistic expression could be used…
By: Rose Anding on October 19, 2015
Introduction In most cases, we go to church, sing worship songs, read scriptures, dance, preach or listen to preachers. Some of us have Christian songs in our iPods, laptops or even mobile phones. Some of us attend night concerts organized by various preachers across the world. It’s obvious that if I sample 2000…
By: Anthony Watkins on October 18, 2015
Friends and fellow students, thank you for all your thoughtful comments to my blog on Grenz and Olson’s “Who Needs Theology?” Forgive me for taking so long to respond to you. I’m grateful to be a member of this cohort. Several of you brought up the same points. You spoke about my terms: Hermeneutics, Doctrine…
By: Jon Spellman on October 17, 2015
Rational behavior… I have often asked myself, “What in the world are you doing?” Or, “what did you get done today?” I can’t count the number of times that a person has asked me (quite innocently enough) “hey, so what do you do?” and almost immediately I feel the anxiety creeping up the back of…
By: Travis Biglow on October 17, 2015
No Mystery October 15th 2015 (I posted this thursday dont know what happened) I never feel that we are where we are for no reason. I think God ordains us for what we are created for. “People are products of their past”[1] As much as I want to not associate with my past I know…
By: Brian Yost on October 16, 2015
While it is true that a good leader will have a clear vision for the future, it is important to recognize that our past will inform our present as we move into the future. A leader does not just arrive onto the scene. A leader and each person with whom the leader works will function…
By: Dawnel Volzke on October 16, 2015
In his book, The Leadership Mystique, Manfred Kets De Vries states, “effective business leadership is never limited to the acts of one “heroic” individual; rather, it operates in a context of employees and of the business, industry, and larger social environment. Leaders who recognize the nuances of that context and guide their followers accordingly provide…
By: Garfield Harvey on October 16, 2015
Interestingly enough, Grenz/Olsen revealed that Bethany College vowed never to have a theology department. This speaks to the complexity with how we interact with the understanding of theology. The bias (or ignorance) against theology understands theology to be superstitious, boring and irrelevant to real life. The authors state, “It is not a question of whether…
By: Kevin Norwood on October 15, 2015
Introduction Who needs theology? I do! I accept the invitation to the study of God. The only problem I have with accepting this invitation is that I am not so sure about the foundation. What is theology? “A revival of sound theological interest and reflection among God’s people.” What is the fear? Christianity may be…
By: Mary Pandiani on October 15, 2015
A number of years ago, I asked my Organizational Dynamics teacher in seminary which book and/or author would she recommend as one of the best on leadership. Perhaps because of her influence under Dr. Bobby Clinton, especially with his work Making of a Leader, she claimed that he provided the most significant practical information on…
By: Phil Goldsberry on October 15, 2015
Introduction The word “theology” invokes a wide range of emotions and arguments. To some it is a substitution for just “knowing Jesus” for others it is the ability to proof text what you really believe. Stanley Grenz and Roget Olson in their work, “Who Needs Theology?” addresses holistically the true…
By: Pablo Morales on October 15, 2015
Introduction Who needs theology? This question is not only the title of the book I just read, but it is also a personal question that I must answer. Summary Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson eloquently argue that every thinking person is a theologian, but not every theologian has good theology. In order to become a…
By: Aaron Cole on October 15, 2015
Introduction: Who Needs Theology by Stanley J. Grenz and Roger E. Olson is a basic overview of what theology is and is not. The essence of the book for me is summed up in two words: theological exploration. Grenz and Olson state: “…they (Christians) would do well to explore the meaning of God and try…
By: Anthony Watkins on October 15, 2015
Who Needs Theology? Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson in their book “Who Needs Theology?” show that there are popular and pervasive misunderstandings of theology. During the years that they taught theology, they recognized some of the students had a hunger for a deeper understanding of God and God’s ways. However, they also discovered that both…
By: Colleen Batchelder on October 15, 2015
Pens tapped and kept time with the endless mantra of the ticking clock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. The white walls closed in and the professor stood at full height above the class. “What is your theology?” He waited expectantly – peering into their soul and past their façade. They held their breath and grasped onto…
By: Jason Kennedy on October 15, 2015
Stanley Grenz and Roger Olson open their book with a fundamental question. They state, “Many Christians today not only are uninformed about basic theology, but even seem hostile to it. What has brought about this appalling lack of interest and frequently open hostility to theology among Christian laypeople, students and even pastors (Kindle Loc 27…
