“It behooves us to let the prophets and apostles stand at the professors’ lectern, while we, down below at their feet, listen to what they say. It is not they who must hear what we say.†(Quoted in Timothy George, Reading Scripture with the Reformers, 127)
Archive of posts tagged teaching
Dominated by Jesus
In a technical article on the Greek word for “false teacher†used in 2 Peter 2:1, K. Rengstorf says this term shows their teaching was false and “in every respect they are a perversion of the Christian διδασκολος [teacher], since they reject the claim of Jesus to domination over their whole lives.â€[1] This is an [...]
Serious, Lively Teaching
I was struck by the following quote which I came across in Bartholomew and Dowd’s Old Testament Wisdom Literature: Theological Introduction. The original quote seems to have in view primarily classroom teaching. Bartholomew and Dowd use it in well drawing out the implications of biblical wisdom. The truths here apply well to those of us [...]
The Duty of Pastors, Philadelphia 1743
In 1743 the Philadelphia Baptist Association adopted as a statement of their discipline Benjamin Griffith’s treatise, “Concerning a True and Orderly Gospel Church.†In this treatise is the following description of the duty of pastors (emphasis added, and reformatted): The minister being thus put upon his work, proceeds (1.) to preach the word of God [...]
John MacArthur on How to Serve Christians Who Are Needlessly Restrictive
Andy Naselli has posted audio and a written summary of John MacArthur’s response to the question: How would you approach a congregation trapped in years of legalistic tradition? MacArthur’s call for patient loving instruction is helpful, providing a good portrait of shepherding.
Richard Furman on Teaching Your Children
While working on a chapter on communion I came across a circular letter written by Richard Furman in 1806. Furman was one of the leading Baptist pastors of the time, serving as pastor of First Baptist Charleston, SC, the first president of the Triennial Convention, and first president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. In [...]
"Education with Force"
In one of our Wednesday night classes we are reading and discussing Thabiti Anyabwile’s What is a Healthy Church Member? (which I have commented on here previously). Last night we came to this quote which Anyabwile cited from Jay Adams: “When we are baptized into the church, we thereby matriculate into Christ’s school. Then, for [...]
Ryan Center Conference 2009
A few days ago I commented here on the need for Bible teachers in our churches. Aiding the growth of such teachers is at the heart of the Ryan Center for Biblical Studies here at Union University. As we say, we exist to encourage and enable sound biblical interpretation and application. One of the ways [...]
Need for Teachers
Last week after one of the services where I was preaching, an older man came up to talk with me. One of the joys of these situations for me is the opportunity to hear from such saints who have walked with the Lord for many decades. This man was 89 and told me how he [...]
Packer on Baxter’s Directory
The following lengthy quote is from J. I. Packer’s introduction to Richard Baxter’s Christian Directory.. The task of writing an encyclopedia entry on Baxter has given me opportunity to delve some more into the man who in the eyes of many embodies the oversight of souls. This quote provides a great contrast between the pastoral [...]
