My Seminary Life

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to tell the story of what God is doing in the nations?  Have you ever wondered what baseball is like in Italy?  And where in the world is Vanuatu?  In today's episode, I am joined by my good friend Jamie Taves of GoCorps who serves as a missionary specifically to film documentaries of what God is doing through the missionaries sent out by...

Does Intercultural Ministry studies even matter to people who are not leaving the United States?  Isn't this just a missionary thing?  In this episode, I discuss why this is the subject that matters to all people.  The world is a diverse place, and how we give and receive messages do matter.  Studying cultures also holds a mirror up to our own culture to expose some of its weak...

Everybody likes a good mash-up!  In this special episode, Joshua Noel and TJ of The Whole Church Podcast and Brandon Knight of My Seminary Life join forces to mash their shows together! It's mashed as good as your grandma's famous mashed potatoes.  They guys discuss progressive theology, specifically related to atonement and the gender of God.  All of this, plus we discover who has...

What can we learn from the life of David on leadership?  Today, in the series finale to Leadership 101, I talk about the four leadership traits that are present int he life of David based on a journaling project that I had to do for class.  I also discuss how when there are moments of failure in David's life these characteristics are often either warped or not present whatsoever.  ...

Parental Advisory. Explicit Content. Trigger Warning. It's a creepy edition of My Seminary Life! In this episode, I am joined by Annie Lachowicz to nerd out over one of our favorite topics, cults.  What are common leadership traits found in cult leaders?  How should the church respond to the reality that people are involved and abused by cults?  What makes a cult a cult anyway? &nbs...

Hey kids, remember that one time we talked about Hypostatic Union and Kenosis Theory? Well in today's bonus episode we are revisiting both of them from the first time we covered them in Systematic Theology 1.  What do these words mean?  How do they impact our faith?  Do we need to know these things in order to have confidence in our atonement?  All this and more will be address...

This is the third and final interview in the pastoral leadership conversations.  In this episode, Assistant Pastor of Students and Campus Life Scott Erwin returns to the show to  give us his take on servant leadership, vision casting, mentoring, and being an agent of change.  Scott and I have a reflective conversation on his views and also what Ben and Will discussed as well.  We have an honest co...

It is so important for us as Christians, in all age groups, to know what the true gospel is in order to compare that to other teachings from the world.  This is the message that John had in his epistle, and the message I had for our youth recently at church.  In this bonus episode, I encourage the students to be getting into the Word so they actually know what it says, rather than letting general...

The pastoral leadership interviews continue!  in this episode, Parish Pastor Will Rose returns to the show to give us his take on servant leadership, vision casting, mentoring, and being a change agent.  Will talks about how being a leader in a church is a lot like being a point guard on the basketball court, how to properly handle change in an environment that may not welcome it, and wh...

It's a question many Christians have wrestled with, is Christianity a religion or relationship?  Some argue that of course it is a religion because it has a lot of the other marks a religion would have like a holy book.  Others would argue emphatically that it is absolutely not a religion but a relationship with a personal Savior.  In today's bonus episode, I share my sermon on James 1:26-27 that...

Is servant leadership the best term to describe the leadership we are suppose to use in ministry, or is there another way to think about it?  Is mentoring me giving the person I'm leading all the information or helping them arrive at their own conclusions?  In this episode, I speak to Campus Pastor Ben Hixson in the first of three pastoral interviews I did for this class.  He not on...

How do we maintain unity in a divided church?  Where there are so many topics, opinions, and perspectives out there to divide us over and over again, finding unity can be difficult, and maintaining it even harder.  In this bonus episode, I share my sermon on 2 Corinthians 13:11-14, the doxology of the letter, to see what Paul has to say on unity.  Also, check out my friends over at...

Welcome to Leadership 101!  In this exciting first episode, I cast a vision for what we are going to be talking about over the next few weeks, along with highlighting the bonus episodes that will be coming out throughout October as well.  I also run down the four books that I had to read for this class, their pros and cons, and which ones I would recommend reading.   Website: https:...

Happy International Podcast Day! As a way to celebrate, here is a special bonus episode that has nothing to do with seminary at all, but has everything to do with my love for The Lord of the Rings.  But this isn't a Rings of Power review, no, this is an episode on a movie that could have been.  A take on the Lord of the Rings that would have been psychedelic, comedic, dark, and musical a...

What makes a psalm a wisdom psalm?  In the final episode of Communication in Ministry, my wife Claire joins the show to discuss a recent lesson she taught on Psalm 19, a wisdom psalm.  Claire gives us the run down on her lesson, plus we hear from Producer Cooper what he thought of the lesson as well.  Claire also gives her take on the upcoming Andor series.  Website: https://my...

What's the difference between preaching and teaching?  What role does creativity and imagination play in the Bible teaching process?  What role does lecturing play in teaching or should teaching be more discussion based?  In this episode, I discuss how to creatively teach the Bible no matter the age group.  I walk through one of my outlines on a lesson I taught on Psalm 132 as...

What makes you sad? What beats you down? Are you a teen or know a teen that is struggling in their mental health?  In today's episode I share a lesson I taught at our church's youth group on the topic of depression. Trigger warning, sensitive topics like suicide and depression do come up in this episode.  Website: https://myseminarylife983333216.wordpress.com/?preview_id=3&preview_no...

So far in this class we have discussed the standard evangelical, three point sermon style of preaching.  There is, however, an entirely different way to approach preaching and teaching in a church, one that uses liturgy and preaching from the Revised Common Lectionary.  In this episode, Parish Pastor Will Rose joins me to discuss what it is like following the church calendar and have pas...

What is a hymn?  How does a church hymn differ from a hymn in the Psalms?  What is an often overlooked tool when we worship?  All of this and more in today's sermon on Psalm 8.   Website: https://myseminarylife983333216.wordpress.com/?preview_id=3&preview_nonce=2d22b29479 Store: https://my-seminary-life-store.creator-spring.com/ Facebook & Instagram: @myseminarylifepod...

Friends, Christians, podcasters, lend me your ears.  In this episode I recap the history of My Seminary Life, talk about what has changed over the past year and almost half, and give vision for what the pivot will look like to keep this show going.   Website: https://myseminarylife983333216.wordpress.com/?preview_id=3&preview_nonce=2d22b29479 Store: https://my-seminary-life-store.cre...

Sorry! Had producer issues this past week, so to make up for it, please accept this rather late episode featuring a sermon I preached on Colossians 3:18-4:1.  A lot of times, sermons and books on marriage boil it down to men just needing to merely be present and wives just need to love their failure of a husband like Jesus would.  We need to stand upon the authoritative Word of God for w...

In today's episode, I share the sermon I had to preach for Communication in Ministry.  Romans 8:31-39 is all about how there are no limits to God's love for us.  In this passage we see that there are three reasons why, and I invite you to find out by listening!  Feel free to drop a line at the show's email to let me know if you have any feedback on the sermon, or if your church is i...

A minister spends several hours a week studying and outlining their sermon, but only a few hours every year working on how they communicate.  In this episode I discuss how that is not okay; that ministers need to spend just as much time working on how they communicate.  The Holy Spirit does the work, but that does not excuse us to be dry and boring in the pulpit.  Let the text commu...

So, how do you do this preaching thing? In this episode I walk through two standard outlines that preachers follow when writing their sermons.  I also go over the basics of studying to prep for a sermon, and offer thoughts on how we can better view our pastor when they are preaching so we can stay more in tune with the message.   Website https://myseminarylife983333216.wordpress.com/?pre...

In this episode, I begin my new class Communication in Ministry by discussing why preaching matters.  I also highlight what exegetical preaching is as oppose to topical or devotional, and I share a fascinating story about a time I was teaching at my church's youth group.  Go to the website https://myseminarylife983333216.wordpress.com/?preview_id=3&preview_nonce=2d22b29479 Check out...