"Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable"Dwight. D. Eisnehower "Winging it" is not an acceptable ministry strategy. Show me a leader who doesn't spend time planning and I'll show you an ineffective leader. Planning is one of the most effective uses of a time for leaders because it sharpens their focus on what is really…
I've done things in my life that I'm not proud of, and after the fact, I have thought to myself, "That's not me." Maybe you've had a similar experience. We can probably all relate to those times when we surprise ourselves by how bad we can be. What motivates us to do those things? While…
When was the last time you felt like you had too much to do and not enough time to do it? What was your solution? Was it to "just work harder"? Or maybe you threw your hands up in despair and just walked away from the pile of working sitting on your desk or kitchen…
In NT scholar Doug Moo's article, "Every Spiritual Blessing," he seeks to provide the "general contours of Paul's concept of salvation" (135). In other words, Moo wants to sketch out the basic framework that Paul used to explain what Christ had done for the church. Moo first begins explaining the idea of "new creation." New…
Paul Williamson explains his take on the new covenant in his book, Sealed with an Oath. Williamson first begins by pointing out that the concept of the new covenant appears in several places in the Old Testament, even though the actual phrase is only used in Jeremiah 31:31 (146). But since Jeremiah 31 is the…
Peter Gentry exposits the new covenant as found in Jeremiah in his book, Kingdom through Covenant. After placing the classic new covenant text of Jeremiah 31:31-34 in its literary structure, Gentry proceeds to walk through the various elements of the covenant. Gentry contends that the phrase "days are coming" refers to a time in the…
William Dumbrell has an extended discussion on the new covenant in his OT survey, The Faith of Israel. Dumbrell points out that while Jeremiah 31:31-40 doesn't explicit speak in global terms, the emphases of the text affirms "an international context" (144). The new covenant brings with it a new creation and a New Jerusalem, the…
Tom Schreiner unpacks the new covenant in the final chapter of his book, Covenant and God's Purpose for the World. Schreiner begins making the point that the new covenant can be described various ways in the Old Testament without actually using the exact phrase, "new covenant" (89). Sometimes other descriptions for the new covenant are…
It is totally obvious to state, but here it is: Jesus was a genius disciple-maker. And to make disciples what did Jesus do? He shared his life and he shared the word of God. His practices influences our practices. The practices of sharing life and the word are the two foundational pillars for building a…
How do we get out of the mess that email has made? Cal Newport, in his book A World Without Email, lays out a few principles that could help individuals and organizations get out of this mess we've made. First, Newport argues that organizations must prioritize their worker's attention. Knowledge work require great depth of…