The Bible presents two offices (or formal positions) within the local church: elders (also called overseers and pastors) and deacons, which means “servants.” But what exactly are deacons? Who should serve as a church’s deacons? How are deacons meant to function? And why are they so very, very important to the health and mission of a church? Matt Smethurst joins us to discuss these matters and more.
The Christian faith consists of certain beliefs, called doctrines. And theology is the study of doctrine. Theology is important if we are to know God rightly and live in his world accordingly as those he has redeemed. Christopher Morgan’s Christian Theology: The Biblical Story and Our Faith provides a fantastic and accessible overview of our Christian beliefs.
Jesus is the true and better Adam. He’s our Passover Lamb whose death brings about a new Exodus. Indwelt by God’s Spirit, Christ’s church is the end-time temple of God. And on and on we could go. The Bible is littered with types, “prophetic patterns,” that anticipate and find their fulfillment in Christ. But what exactly is typology, and how does it function? What are its underlying assumptions, the theological operating system if you will, on which it runs? And should we be imitating the apostles by practicing typological interpretation even today? Mitch Chase joins us to help us answer these questions.
For a while now, I’ve been on the hunt for a solid, entry-level systematic theology to use with people in my church. We have a wealth of in-depth, academic-level systematic theologies available to us today, especially for those of us in the Reformed tradition. But there’s a notable gap in literature that hits the sweet spot—at least for those of us who are Reformed and Baptist—between those more technical, lengthier works and systematic theologies that are geared to the average person in the pew.
This is partly why I think Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology has been so popular despite its methodological and theological problems. I’ll be honest; I’ve used it with people! It’s accessible, easy to understand, saturated with scripture, and generally takes Reformed positions. In terms of those qualities, it’s ideal for use in the church. But alas, there’s that pesky methodology (Biblicism) along with his odd (Grudem’s view of prophecy) to even straight-up aberrant (eternal subordination of the Son) theological positions at times.
So I’ve long desired a replacement, something that’s equally accessible, readable, scripture saturated, but without the problems of Grudem.
Kirk E. Miller 