2 And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself …
I have been studying toward the MTh in Reformed Theology with Union Theological College, using the BibleMesh platform. It has been in equal measure enjoyable, challenging, and fruitful. I am a trainee pastor at Christ Church, Loughborough, in the East Midlands, UK, and so am taking the course part-time and at a distance. In no …
What is it like to study online as part of training for pastoral ministry? Read More »
In July 1836, a black slave named Adam presented himself for membership in the First Baptist Church of Louisville, Mississippi. Most of the congregation was white, including Adam’s owner, but they accepted him into their church with a unanimous vote and great affection. The church clerk recorded the event: “Adam, a black brother owned by …
Kind but Blind: Southern Churches and Slavery, 1850s Read More »
Reflecting on God’s providence, John Webster writes: ‘God’s governance secures the creature’s freedom. If this fails to commend itself, it is because it contravenes a destructive convention according to which true freedom is indeterminacy and absolute spontaneity or it is nothing at all. To say that is to deny creatureliness. Freedom is existence in accordance …
First as a pastor in Detroit and then as a seminary professor in New York, Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) was an influential voice for Christian ethics in the twentieth century. The cross of Christ was a particularly important theme in his thought.1 In this passage from “The Christian Church in a Secular Age,” Niebuhr explains that …
Repentance, the First Key to the Kingdom—Reinhold Niebuhr Read More »
On Saturday November 19th 1836, Charles Simeon (1759-1836) was buried in a vault in the world-famous chapel of King’s College, Cambridge, England. Despite wanting a simple funeral, his was probably the most remarkable the town had seen. Every shop was closed and University lectures were suspended. An enormous procession saw eight Masters of colleges and …