Seminary Dropout

This Week on Seminary Dropout… Cyd Holsclaw is a pastor at Vineyard North in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as well as a ministry and life coach and spiritual director. Geoff Holsclaw (PhD, Marquette University) is also a pastor at Vineyard North, as well as affiliate professor of theology at Northern Seminary in Lisle, Illinois, and coauthor of Prodigal Christianity. “I guess I believe that God loves me. But does he like me?” We all know what it’s like to feel overlooked, disconnected, and ashamed. We might believe in God’s love in the abstract, but we often live our lives without experiencing it in any deep or lasting way. Pastors Cyd and Geoff Holsclaw understand this―indeed, they’ve felt it themselves. In this warm, engaging book, they explain from the story of Scripture that God not only likes us and wants to be with us, he also wants to work through us to bless the whole world. Filled with personal stories and simple, clear teaching from the Bible, Does God Really Like Me? applies the good news of the gospel to the shame and disconnection that we all experience in our everyday lives. God wants to be with us―we belong in his presence. And from that place of belonging, we can bless the whole world with the message of God’s love.-From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes

This Week on Seminary Dropout… Matthew W. Bates (PhD, University of Notre Dame) is associate professor of theology at Quincy University in Quincy, Illinois. He is the author of Salvation by Allegiance Alone, named the Jesus Creed 2017 Book of the Year and one of the Best Books of 2017 by Englewood Review of Books. He has also written The Birth of the Trinity and The Hermeneutics of the Apostolic Proclamation. Bates is cofounder and cohost of the popular OnScript podcast. Is faith in Jesus enough for salvation? Perhaps, says Matthew Bates, but we’re missing pieces of the gospel. The biblical gospel can never change. Yet our understanding of the gospel must change. The church needs an allegiance shift. Popular pastoral resources on the gospel are causing widespread confusion. Bates shows that the biblical gospel is different, fuller, and more beautiful than we have been led to believe. He explains that saving faith doesn’t come through trust in Jesus’s death on the cross alone but through allegiance to Christ the king. There is only one true gospel and one required response: allegiance. Bates ignited conversation with his successful and influential book Salvation by Allegiance Alone. Here he goes deeper while making his acclaimed teaching on salvation more accessible and experiential for believers who want to better understand and share the gospel. Gospel Allegiance includes a guide for further conversation, making it ideal for church groups, pastors, leaders, and students. -From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes

This Week on Seminary Dropout… LIVE from the Christian Community Development Association in Dallas, Texas! Noemi Vega Quiñones leads as the South Texas area ministry director for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. She moved with her family from Mexico to the United States when she was five and grew up in the central coast of California. She has been an adjunct professor at Fresno Pacific University Biblical Seminary and has written for The Well and The High Calling. God calls Latinas to lives of influence. He created his Latina daughters to partner with him, live into the incredible plans he has for each of us, and walk in his grace and strength to help change this world. But many of us have heard cultural messages that make us doubt our adequacy. We have not seen many Latina women in positions of leadership, and we need more mentors and role models. Natalia Kohn, Noemi Vega Quiñones, and Kristy Garza Robinson share their own journeys as Latinas and leaders. They find mentorship in twelve inspirational women of the Bible including Esther, Rahab, Mary, and Lydia, who navigated challenges of brokenness and suffering, being bicultural, and crossing borders. As we deepen our spiritual and ethnic identities, we grow in intimacy with God and others and become better equipped to influence others for the kingdom. The insights here will help any who seek to empower Latinas in leadership. You are not alone on this journey. Join your sisters and partner with our heavenly Father as you become the Latina leader God has called you to be. -From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes

This Week on Seminary Dropout… N. T. Wright is the Chair of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He is the award-winning author of many books, including After You Believe, Surprised by Hope, Simply Christian, The Challenge of Jesus, and The Meaning of Jesus (coauthored with Marcus Borg), as well as the series Christian Origins and the Question of God. Finally: an introduction that captures the excitement of the early Christians, helping today’s readers to think like a first-century believer while reading the text responsibly for today.The New Testament in Its World is your passageway from the twenty-first century to the era of Jesus and the first Christians. A highly-readable, one-volume introduction placing the entire New Testament and early Christianity in its original context, it is the only such work by distinguished scholar and author N. T. (Tom) Wright. An ideal guide for students, The New Testament in Its World addresses the many difficult questions faced by those studying early Christianity. Both large and small, these questions include: What is the purpose of the New Testament?What was the first-century understanding of the kingdom?What is the real meaning of the resurrection in its original context?What really were the Gospels?Who was Paul and why are his letters so controversial?As twenty-first-century people, how do we recover the excitement of what it was like to live as Christians in the first or second centuries? In short, The New Testament in Its World brings together decades of ground-breaking research, writing, and teaching into one volume that will open readers’ eyes to the larger world of the New Testament. It presents the New Testament books as historical, literary, and social phenomena located in the world of Second Temple Judaism, amidst Greco-Roman politics and culture, and within early Christianity. Written for both classroom and personal use, the benefits of The New Testament in Its World include: A distillation of the life work of N. T. Wright on the New Testament with input from Michael BirdHistorical context that situates Jesus and the early church within the history, culture, and religion of Second Temple Judaism and the Greco-Roman worldMajor sections on the historical Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus, and Paul’s chronology and theologySurveys of each New Testament book that discuss their significance, critical topics like authorship and date, and that provide commentary on contents along with implications for the Christian lifeUp-to-date discussions of textual criticism and the canonization of the New TestamentA concluding chapter dedicated to living the story of the New TestamentAvailable Video and Workbook companion resources to enhance learning and experience the world of the New TestamentIllustrated with visually rich pictures, maps, charts, diagrams, and artwork; plentiful sidebars provide additional explanations and insights -From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes

This Week on Seminary Dropout… Gena Thomas is a writer and speaker who works at a nonprofit that empowers others through holistic development. She served as a missionary in northern Mexico for four years, holds a master’s degree in international development, and is the author of A Smoldering Wick: Igniting Missions Work with Sustainable Practices. She lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with her husband, Andrew, and their two children. In 2017 five-year-old Julia traveled with her mother, Guadalupe, from Honduras to the United States. Her harrowing journey took her through Mexico in the cargo section of a tractor trailer. Then she was separated from her mother, who was held hostage by smugglers who exploited her physically and financially. At the United States border, Julia came through the processing center as an unaccompanied minor after being separated from her stepdad who was deported. Gena Thomas tells the story of how Julia came to the United States, what she experienced in the system, and what it took to reunite her with her family. A Spanish-speaking former missionary, Gena became Julia’s foster mother and witnessed firsthand the ways migrant children experience trauma. Weaving together the stories of birth mother and foster mother, this book shows the human face of the immigrant and refugee, the challenges of the immigration and foster care systems, and the tenacious power of motherly love. -From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes

This Week on Seminary Dropout… Latasha Morrison is a bridge-builder, reconciler, and a compelling voice in the fight for racial justice. Ebony magazine recognized her as one of their 2017 Power 100 for her work as a community crusader. Tasha has spoken across the country at events that include: IF:Gathering, Justice Conference, Youth Specialties, Catalyst, Orange Conference, MOPS International and many others. A native of North Carolina, Tasha earned degrees in human development and business leadership. In 2016 she founded Be the Bridge to inspire and equip ambassadors of racial reconciliation. In addition to equipping more than 1,000 sub-groups across five countries, Be the Bridge hosts a closed, moderated online community of bridge-builders on Facebook with more than 20,000 members. Find a Be The Bridge Chapter Click the Image to Buy the Book! A leading advocate for racial reconciliation offers a clarion call for Christians to move toward relationship and deeper understanding in the midst of a divisive culture.With racial tensions as high within the church as outside the church, it is time for Christians to become the leaders in the conversation on racial reconciliation. This power-packed guide helps readers deepen their understanding of historical factors and present realities, equipping them to participate in the ongoing dialogue and to serve as catalysts for righteousness, justice, healing, transformation, and reconciliation. -From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes

This Week on Seminary Dropout… Natalie Frisk is the curriculum pastor at The Meeting House Church in Toronto, Canada, where she and a team create kids’ and youth curricula for ages 0–18 used by churches worldwide. Frisk is a sought-after speaker on topics of youth and children’s ministry, spiritual formation, and discipleship, and her work has been published in Canadian Youth Workers Magazine and at the ReKnew and Pangea blogs. Frisk has a master’s degree in theological studies from McMaster Divinity College and serves on the board of Be in Christ Church of Canada. She is married to Sam, mom to Erin, and child of God. She loves Jesus, coffee, and samosas. Children and youth will just “catch” the faith of their parents, right?Not necessarily. Talking with kids about Jesus no longer comes naturally to many Christian parents. In Raising Disciples, pastor Natalie Frisk helps us reconnect faith and parenting, equipping parents to model what following Jesus looks like in daily life. Filled with authenticity, flexibility, humor, and prayer, Frisk outlines how parents can make openings for their children to experience God in their daily lives.As curriculum pastor at The Meeting House, one of the largest churches in Canada, Frisk calls parents who follow Christ to ask the big questions about the spiritual formation of children and teens. In practical and thoughtful ways, she equips parents to disciple their kids in various stages of childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. Raising Disciples will awaken parents to the possibly of Jesus-centered parenting and encourage us to engage in the lost art of discipling our own kids. – From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes

This Week on Seminary Dropout… Glenn Packiam is an Associate Senior Pastor at New Life Church, a multi-congregational church in Colorado Springs. He also serves as the Lead Pastor of New Life Downtown, a thriving New Life congregation in the heart of the city. An ordained Anglican priest serving in a non-denominational church, Packiam treasures Christian practices that are both ancient and modern. He has a doctorate from Durham University, UK. Glenn, his wife Holly, and their four children live in Colorado Springs. An invitation to find beauty and meaning in the ordinary and imperfect aspects of your life; not as a call to settle for less, but rather as a way to mysteriously participate in God’s power and purpose. Glenn Packiam wants to empower readers to find great joy, purpose, and passion in their daily living. While bread may be one of the most common items on our dinner tables, Jesus chose to take it at the Last Supper and invest deep, wonderful, and transcendent meaning in it. Like the bread that was blessed, broken, and given; readers will see how God uses ordinary experiences to cultivate their mission and their brokenness to bring healing to the world. The ordinary is not the enemy; it is the means by which God accomplishes the miraculous. Through clear biblical teaching and practical steps, Packiam leads the reader into a more purposeful, directed, hopeful future. -From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes

This Week on Seminary Dropout… Christena Cleveland Ph.D. is a social psychologist, public theologian, author, and activist. She is the founder and director of the recently-launched Center for Justice + Renewal, a non-profit dedicated to helping justice advocates sharpen their understanding of the social realities that maintain injustice while also stimulating the soul’s enormous capacity to resist and transform those realities. Committed to leading both in scholarly settings and in the public square, Christena writes regularly, speaks widely, and consults with organizations. Dr. Cleveland holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of California Santa Barbara as well as an honorary doctorate from the Virginia Theological Seminary. She integrates psychology, theology, and art to stimulate our spiritual imaginations. An award-winning researcher and author, Christena has held faculty positions at several institutions of higher education — most recently at Duke University’s Divinity School, where she led a research team investigating self-compassion as a buffer to racial stress. She is currently working on her third book which examines the relationship among race, gender, and cultural perceptions of the Divine. Dr. Cleveland is based in North Carolina where she lives with her spouse, Jim. To follow what Christena is doing, check out her Patreon page at Patreon.com/cscleve Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes