Five Reasons Why Millennials Do Not Want to Be Pastors or Staff in Established Churches.
It feels strange. I haven't put anything on this blog for a couple of weeks. Frankly, I have had to redirect my thinking time into some other things: Working on my Book for Cultural Anthropology students in the Philippines ("Ministry in Diversity: Cultural Anthropology in a Multi-cultural World"). Working on a book with my wife …
I have been reflecting on the term "pastor" in the last few months. Part of it is because sometimes people here call me pastor (even though it is not a title or role I seek), but also because our group promotes, trains on, and writes about "pastoral care." Not all Christian groups use the term …
James 2:1 1My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. 2For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, 3and you pay special attention to …
Continue reading The Rich and the Christian Organization… an Awkward Relationship
One of my jobs is that I am the administrator of a counseling center in the Philippines. My wife is a chaplain and we teach pastoral care/pastoral counseling. We teach that one does not proselytize in counseling. Or at least if one does proselytize... it is done by permission or request from the person... and …
I think of this part as a bit more straightforward. Cultural Anthropology is important in contextual theology. Consider the above image. The Bible comes to us as divine revelation that is embedded in certain source cultures (Ancient Jewish and Hellenstic-Roman particularly). If we accept that the canon of Scripture is closed, and identify that the …
The previous post, quoted Hans Frei. This post expands the idea. Previously it was noted that a theologian working with a sacred text (particularly, in our case, the Holy Bible) must recognize that it is part of the community of faith, providing guidance and meaning for that community, and given its status by that same …
Theology means Study of God (at least etymologically). Anthropology means Study of Man (again, etymologically). I would like to suggest that Theology has cultural anthropology as a powerful tool (perhaps most powerful tool from the human sciences) in its development from revelation and context. The material here is a bit heavy (for me at least) …