Author: Andy Rowell

Categories
Books Seminaries

What to read the summer before you start seminary

Wess Daniels, a Ph.D. student at Fuller Theological Seminary, has posted a list of pre-seminary summer reading for a friend who is starting at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in the fall.  See his "A List for Pre-Seminary Summer Reading"  Wess is someone worth listening to.

I have listed Wess’s top five selections below and then made a few comments on what else students entering seminary might consider reading during the summer.

Affirming Wess’s Picks
Good picks.   

I love all five of these authors.  All five are good respected scholars you could cite in a paper.  And all are evangelical, even Yoder in my opinion. "For some, the adjective ‘evangelical’ belongs to those who read the Bible with a special kind of respect; some of them consider me as fitting in that realm." John Howard Yoder: For the Nations: Essays Evangelical and Public p.6-7)

John Howard Yoder: For the Nations: Essays Evangelical and Public

 

 

Biographies of theologians worth considering
I wonder if reading easy-to-read biographies of Augustine, Aquinas (by Chesterton perhaps), Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Barth, Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Pope John Paul II, and Billy Graham might not be the best way to get used to theology in a user-friendly way.  It would help you to connect the "big ideas" with the situations and personalities that helped produce them.  I read John Stott and J.I. Packer biographies and found them enlightening for understanding the theological landscape of 20th century evangelical British scholarship. 

A biblical studies book worth considering
I would also add a Bible book worth working through:

Fee taught at Gordon-Conwell and Stuart still does so. That is a bonus for understanding Gordon-Conwell. 


Easy to read books worth considering
If we are placing the emphasis on the summer part of pre-seminary summer reading, I would recommend some beach books that will inspire you for seminary but may not be sufficiently academic to cite in academic writing.   

For thinking about pastoring,

was helpful for me.  Easy to read. 

Or read something current to remind you what all of this is about:

A novel worth considering
Or read one big book:

I love all the parts at the beginning of the book about Father Zosima. 

Pick what looks good
Or, read whatever you want!  You will have to read what the professors want you to read after you arrive.  Part of your vocation, you calling, are the books that you pick off the shelf and read.  Notice what you find yourself choosing.  That may be part of where God is directing you.

Other resources:
For more about seminaries, see my March 12, 2006 post Seminaries for Evangelicals

Categories
Personal

Director of Youth Ministries position at Blacknall Presbyterian Church in Durham, NC

Related update April 13, 2008
It was announced today at Blacknall, that my wife, Amy Rowell, Amy_headshot_dec_2007dwill be the new Director of Children's Ministry (20 hours per week) starting May 5th.  Amy has a BA in Christian Education and Psychology from Taylor University and an M.Div. from Regent College.  She worked as a director of children's ministry at Granville Chapel in Vancouver, British Columbia from 1999-2002 and served as a professor of Christian Educational Ministries at Taylor University from 2005-2007.  Amy and I hope that Blacknall finds a great Director of Youth Ministries.  See below.
 

Original Post April 6, 2008

There is a full-time youth ministries position open at Blacknall Presbyterian Church, the evangelically-minded PCUSA congregation, where Amy and I are members.  They are only taking applications until April 30, 2008 so forward this to people who are interested right away.  I have placed the official job position announcement at the bottom of this blog post.

June 1, 2008 UPDATE: The deadline has been extended.  See new job description below. 

Why Blacknall would be a great place to serve.
I have listed four reasons below about why Blacknall is a great church.  Maybe I can help persuade some great people to apply.   Below my reasons I have posted the official announcement and details. 

  1. It is a theologically strong congregation. Blacknall is a very evangelical PCUSA congregation.  The PCUSA denomination is more liberal on the whole than the Presbyterian Church of America but at Blacknall, Scripture is taken very seriously.  Music and sermons are theologically rich.  Long-time Senior Pastor Allan Poole is a Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary graduate who regularly takes summer courses at my alma mater Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  Allan teaches a course called "The Pastor's Vocation" at Duke Divinity School with Dean Greg Jones and Dr. Susan Jones.  A couple of Duke Divinity School faculty, a number of theology and biblical studies doctoral students at Duke, and a few parachurch staff attend Blacknall.  The congregation also has
    high degree of involvement in ministries of social justice and
    missions.
  2. It is a growing congregation.  They have had great growth in the number of youth involved and so they have made the decision to increase their staff in youth ministry.  According to the 2006 PCUSA online statistics, Blacknall's worship attendance was 535 then.  It is probably about the same or larger now. 
  3. It is has a great location right by Duke.  Blacknall is situated one block from Duke
    University, next door to the cheapest (and some say the best) burritos in
    town at Cosmic Cantina, across the street from the trendy Whole Foods,
    and just off 9th Street (a great little strip of coffee shops and
    restaurants).
  4. It has a family atmosphere.  Though with an attendance over 500 Blacknall is getting large, it still has a family feel.  One example of this is that congregation members are given the opportunity to stand up and share prayer requests with the rest of the congregation before the Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession in the worship service.  The congregation has a mix of older and younger people.  Worship services have a mix of traditional liturgical elements such as the Lord's prayer and Nicene/Apostle's Creed but are otherwise quite informal.  The pastor wears a tie and blazer but unlike many other PCUSA congregations, not a robe.   The congregation dresses informally.  The church permits both infant baptisms and baby dedications – many PCUSA churches just have infant baptisms.  This demonstrates the number of people who attend Blacknall from free church backgrounds. 

The official posting from the April 6, 2008 Blacknall bulletin:
Director of Youth Ministries Job Announcement – Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church is seeking qualified candidates for a full-time Director of Youth Ministries position to provide successful leadership and vision for middle and high school students.  This individual will have primary programming and ministry responsibilities for all aspects of the high school ministry, work with an existing part-time middle school staff position, develop a comprehensive vision and sequence for Christian growth, and provide direction and leadership for this important relational ministry.  For more information, please contact Artie Kamiya, Search Committee Chair (919-818-6486). Closing Date: April 30.

The official posting from the June 15, 2008 Blacknall bulletin:
Director of Youth Ministries Job Announcement
– Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church is seeking qualified
candidates for a full-time Director of Youth Ministries position to
provide (1) a programmatic ministry to our high school students, (2) work with the existing part-time middle school staff position, and (3) provide overall direction to the middle and high school youth programs.  This individual will be responsible for supporting a committed cadre of approximately 20 adult volunteer youth leaders, developing a comprehensive vision and sequence for Christian growth for approximately 75 middle/high school youth, making curriculum decisions for Sunday morning and Sunday evening youth groups, and providing direct service for this important relational ministry.  For more complete information (job description and qualifications), please contact Artie Kamiya, Search Committee Chair
(919-818-6486); artie@greatactivities.net Applications will be accepted through July 15, 2008.

Update: Bulletin announcement May 3, 2009 Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church

New Director of Youth Ministries Announced – The Blacknall Session and Search Committee are pleased to announce that Brad Turnage will join the staff as Director of Youth Ministries effective June 15. Brad is currently Director of Youth Ministries at Grace Fellowship in Asheboro, NC, and comes to us with an extensive Young Life background. Brad was an intern with Young Life (Durham/Chapel Hill) for two years and was Young Life Area Director for Asheboro (Randolph County) for three years. Brad grew up in Bunn,
NC, and is a 2001 graduate of Elon University. He is married to Jamie, a first grade classroom teacher for Randolph County Schools. We rejoice in God's gift to us: this couple who love Christ and teenagers.

Categories
Ecclesiology Evangelism Missional Preaching

My sermon “The Spirit-led Missional Church” (Acts 11) Audio

I preached Sunday, March 30th at Clayton Presbyterian Church in Clayton, North Carolina.  My text was Acts 11:1-18 as part of a series in the book of Acts.   I would argue that this is one of the most important texts on the church in mission in the New Testament. 

The iTunes link is Clayton Presbyterian Church Podcasts (will only work if you have iTunes – a free program – installed on your computer). 

The direct link is Clayton Presbyterian Church Sermons – you can download the sermon there or listen to it streaming. 

I have also made a copy of the recording and put it here.

The transcript is

here as a Microsoft Word document

and here as a pdf

Summary:
In the sermon, I suggest we appreciate the passion for un-churched people that seeker-driven churches embody.  I also suggest, however, that there is real value in churches that are very diverse and ignore the seeker-driven philosophy of reaching a specific target audience.  I suggest that Acts 11:1-18 (which essentially retells Acts 10) in which Cornelius, the Gentile centurion comes to faith in Jesus, exemplifies what mission in the church should be like.  Not only are unbelievers reached but diverse ones.  I suggest that the Acts 10-11 narrative can serve as a paradigm as we think about the mission of our churches. 

Here are some of the points I draw out from the narrative:  Change is hard.  We all like to stay in our comfort zones.  Prayer is where it starts but our prayers are often weak.  We are prodded by the Spirit to obey what is clear.  We are to do this work with others.  The message of Jesus is simple.  The Spirit goes before us.  What can we do to get out of the way so that people can see Jesus?

Additional notes on some of the examples in the sermon:

  1. There is the old pastor’s legend about the pastor who wanted to move the piano to the other side of the sanctuary and the way he got away with it was by moving it an inch every week.   Source: I can't remember where I heard this one. 

  2. Pastors often overestimate what they can change in one year but underestimate what they can change in five years.  Source: I first heard this from Sandy Millar at Holy Trinity Brompton Church but I don't think it was original to him. 

  3. Erik Erikson  “all change is perceived as loss.” Source: internet.   

  4. If you find the perfect church, don’t join it or it will no longer be perfect.  Source: I can't remember. 

  5. Like Noah’s ark, it stinks being inside but it is still better than being outside.  Source: I can't remember.   

  6. Mark Twain: "It ain't the parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand." Source: internet. 

  7. G.K Chesterton: “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.” Source: internet.