the day i felt like the coolest teacher in the world

Sara and I were making the journey to Columbia on Tuesday about lunch. Mr James was sleeping soundly in the back. My phone buzzes and the text was from one of my Honors Systematic Theology students who was making a college visit. It said,

I'm at CIU and just sat in a Romans class. The prof was trying to explain Greek stuff and I already knew all of it, even the vocab!

Call it nerdy. Call it prideful. I call it pure delight in my soul :)

the book that i'm writing that i'll really never get around to

Teaching has really made me want to write a book. I don't have cute letters in front of my name so it will likely not happen. I've got a thorough bibliography, a table of contents, specific charts and paradigms, a thesis, etc, etc.

I want it to be a book that that appropriately blends reading the Scriptures narratively, doctrinally, devotionally, and theologically. My title would be "A King and A Kingdom: God's Story of Grace and Truth."

I've bounced the idea off several people. And, of course, my students are all thumbs up. We shall see. Here are the chapters:

1. Scripture [what it is and what it isn't]
2. Glory [the grand goal of it all]
3. Inclusio [the royal narrative oreo]
4. Covenant [the relational remedy]
5. Covenant(s) [the story unfolds]
6. Jesus [the covenants fulfilled]
7. Gospel [the kingdom is here]
8. Soteriology [this all means something about Salvation]
9. Pneumatology [this all means something about the Spirit]
10. Ecclesiology [this all means something about the Church]
11. Eschatology [this all means something about the End]

THE SiNGiNG FRiDAYS

In Mr T's class, we start the weekend early. Fridays are not very academically oriented in my classroom. We usually take a quiz, grade it, catch up on or review the notes from that week, do a devotion, and/or see what the question box might hold for us.

Occasionally, our devotion time is a sing-along. We sing hymns though. It's fantastic. Even though close to half of the kids don't know some of them, I make them learn the hymns. This is education for crying out loud!

[this guy plays pipe organ in my class for me... I wish]

We will usually sing a hymn and then discuss which line or thought was our favorite and why. Yesterday, we sang 'Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.' After we spiritually mulled over it for 8-10 minutes or so, I asked them, "We only have a little bit of time left. Would you like to do the question box or sing another song?" Their reply: "Let's sing 'Praise to the Lord, the Almighty' again!" Tons of fun.

So, because they were greatly edified, I hope you will be too:

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation

O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near
Praise Him in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, who over all things so wondrously reigneth
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth
Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee
Surely His goodness and mercy shall daily attend thee
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do
If with His love He befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him
Let the Amen sound from His people again
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

fellowship and division?

What are issues that should cause a break in Christian fellowship? At what point can a local congregation no longer work together in unity for the kingdom moving forward through the gospel?

Is it strictly a matter of the issue on the table? Baptism? Lord's Supper? Deity of Christ? The Millennium? Justification? Bodily resurrection? Six literal days of creation? Literal, eternal hell?

Is there any litmus test to these issues that will show which ones are ok to disagree on? I've got two thoughts on this that have proved helpful to me. Here goes nothing.

FIRST, I'm blessed to teach Redemptive History and Systematic Theology. I love explaining the difference to my students. I tell them that RH is the story of God creating and calling a people to be with Him, like Him, and for Him. This is experiential, relational, and more subjective. It is based more on chronology and progressive revelation. A simple way to put it is that RH is about reading the Bible like this:

ST, on the other hand, is asking the question, "What does the Bible say about __________?" Anything can go in the blank: free will, faith, predestination, baptism, etc. ST seeks to grasp what God has revealed about a certain issue throughout the whole of Scripture. ST cannot be done without RH and it is often done flippantly and without regard for the context of how the Spirit breathed out the Scriptures. So, the cute and helpful diagram for how ST reads the Bible is:

Here's the point. If we read the Bible as though we are only and simply in the story of God [RH], we turn into doctrinally spineless loose-nuts who water down the Scriptures and believe that theology damns people and turns them away. Or, if we only read the Bible as a book of doctrines or truths [ST], then everybody else will be wrong except you and your three friends who take Ezekiel out of context and think the Bible's subtitle is "Doctrines You Better Believe."

Some think the tension here is problematic. I think it's perfect. This is a slim part of the reason why Jesus was described as being full of GRACE and TRUTH. So, all I'm saying is that if believers pursue reading the Scriptures correctly, many of the issues that oft divide will find their quirky niche.

This still may not be satisfactory. So,

SECOND, I do believe that there should be a rigid and tenacious contending [Jude 3] for those truths that directly relate to and involve the person and work of Jesus. This doesn't solve everything, but I believe gives us the most wise and safe starting point for juggling these issues. For example,

• the virgin birth
• the historical/bodily resurrection
• the deity of Jesus
• the bodily second coming of Jesus
• the sufficiency of the atonement

These are things to be staunchly defended. There is a centrality to the person and the work of Jesus that cannot be over-articulated and over-delighted in if we are His New Covenant people being His ambassadors in this present, passing age.

There is still plenty of grey room for which we need wisdom. But these two thoughts have helped me see those grey areas as opportunities for humility and not avenues for having to be right.

Hope it helps.

PNEUMATOLOGY 101

With my juniors, I just finished our section on Pneumatology [the study of the Holy Spirit]. It was a really sweet time, especially since most Christians in the south are scared of the Holy Spirit.

We got to discuss how, in Jesus, there is a New Exodus. The Hebrew people got much of their identity from the old exodus. This included an innocent lamb's blood, freedom from bondage, passing through waters, receiving the Law, and being led by God's presence. In this New Exodus [Rom 5-8], all its blessings flow from the slain and risen Lamb. We are unfettered from sin, death, and Satan. We pass through the waters of baptism. We must now live by the Law of God written on the heart. This is done by knowing we can't on our own, but knowing we can by the presence of God guiding us. He guides because He indwells. He is the New Covenant, New Exodus, Holy Spirit of God [Jer 31, Ezk 36-37].

We were able to talk about how Peter's sermon in Acts 2 shows that the Spirit's presence means we are now living in the last days. So, the Spirit's presence looks back to the exodus and is also the down payment of future glory that has entered into our hearts in the present [Eph 1, Eph 4].

Obviously, some of the most fun talks we got to have were over the gifts of the Spirit. Deconstructing the absurd arguments of cessationists in 1 Cor 13.8-10 was healthy for them to witness. Paul's three pleas to the Corinthians to "earnestly desire" the gifts are huge [12.31, 14.1, 14.39]. Nobody prays like that: "Spirit, grant us to speak in the tongues of angels. Cause us to prophesy." It sure sounds biblical though if you read 1 Cor 12-14. This is particularly convicting if you read 12.1. "About spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant."

When we pondered the deity of the Spirit, we logically turned to St Paul. One of the primary things that I wanted them to see was that Paul rarely sought to prove that the Spirit was fully divine. This fact seems assumed to him. Rather, Paul seeks to show that the Spirit's divinity means something. The fullness of God - dwelling in sinners! Paul is floored by this and longs for the experiences of life that will come from it. This is how Paul talks about the Spirit's deity.

So... I had to give him half credit.

Question 7 on their test read, "What did we say in class about how the Apostle Paul writes about the deity of the Spirit?" His thoughtful answer:

He writes with a feather, lightly dipped into the ink, and carefully strokes the papyrus.

"tobacco, alcohol, tattoos" OR "how to get 83% of western evangelicals to disagree"

Teaching is great. Teenagers ask good questions. Predestination. Dating. Free will. Physical intimacy before marriage. The rapture. And my favorite... Did Jesus' poop smell?

But there are three questions that they always come back to and are attentive to: What should Christians do or not do about smoking, drinking, and tattoos. The questions persisted so much that I summed up what I think the Bible says Christians should think about those things.

Merry Christmas:

1. THE LAW. If it says you can't ___________ because you're too young, then don't do it. It is sin. Respect authority [Rom 13]. God has put it there.
2. STUMBLING BLOCKS. If you know another brother or sister in Christ has a different conviction than you, then don't participate in ___________ around them. If you cause them to stumble, it is sin [Rom 14].
3. STEWARDSHIP. A nice tattoo, a good bottle of wine [like the kind Jesus served in John 2], a good cigar... these things cost money. Our Father has made us stewards. Don't waste what He gives you. Paul says contentment is a roof over our heads and food in our bellies [1 Tim 6.6-11]. Don't waste money. It is a sin.
4. BODY = TEMPLE. Paul told the Corinthians that they are God's temple. God's temple should be kept holy. There is definitely wiggle room for what this looks like practically. It could mean: no tattoos. It could mean: exercise more. It could mean: quit smoking. It could mean: eat right. It could mean: have more sex with your wife. BUT it definitely means: be humble; be holy; be happy; be a servant. If you don't, it is sin.
5. HONOR YOUR PARENTS. This is especially for the kids. Somehow video games have caused them to think they run the universe? Obedience to parents is the only commandment with a promise [Ex 20, Dt 5, Eph 6, Col 3, etc]. If you don't, it is sin. Ask them if this means college. They likely still pay the bills.

TEACHiNG STORiES

Below are three encounters with students that were equally saddening and hilarious. My students know that I love them and I've changed the names of those involved. Enjoy.



Derek is a bright kid. He gets it. He even gets it theologically. However, in my classes, he can often be found trying to sneak a nap in. To put it bluntly, his classroom diligence doesn't quite match his intellectual capacity. Derek's class had to do a research paper for their midterm exam. His content was good. You can tell that he is bright. However, the last sentence in his opening paragraph ended with this parenthetical remark: "Mr Thompson, this paper is going to nock your socks off." Aside from how flippant, colloquial, and unnecessary it was, the misspelling of knock was classic.

Jessica is also bright. She asks great questions. She gets frustrated when she doesn't understand something. One day, I gave Jessica's class a test. One of the bonus questions asked for something in Hebrew. Because this was a bonus question, after the question I wrote: "Mr Thompson will be hugely impressed if you get this." Jessica did not answer the question, but rather, underlined the phrase "hugely impressed." Underneath her pencil-scratched line, she wrote the following: "Mr Thompson, this is not gramitically correct." Jessica was right. It isn't gramitically correct to say "hugely impressed." It is, however, grammatically correct :)

John has a big personality. He is happy. He is an athlete. He is curious in a healthy way. You can tell that John loves life. Most kids at school enjoy John's company. Recently, I was introducing the prophets of the Old Testament to John's class. When I read the name of the prophet Hosea, John curiously and happily said, "Mr Thompson, there is a prophet named Hosea?!?" This was my response: "John, what would you do if your pastor stood in the pulpit on a Sunday morning and said that he had been praying and he feels that God wants him to marry a whore?" He looked at me like I just cussed his mama. "John, that's what the whole book of Hosea is about!" Needless to say, he was intrigued.