KBBC 2010 Week 3

The 3rd & final week of the Karl Barth Blog Conference is in session.  Click here for a general outline to the week, & the Tue-Fri posts are already up.  So head on over to Der Evangelische Theologe & be sure to comment on any of the posts of interest to you.

KBBC 2010, Week 2

The next session of the KBBC is under way, with an initial offering that is drawing a ton of buzz.  There will be a new post everyday this week, so go get involved in this second session!

KBBC Update

So far it appears that this year’s KBBC is living up to its high billing.  So far Barth has been brought into conversation with Schleiermacher, Bavinck, and Bonhoeffer.  If you haven’t stopped by yet, you must at your earliest convenience.  Lastly, be sure to check out my contribution tomorrow on Barth & Tillich-hope to dialogue with you there!

KBBC 2010 is Here!!!

The Karl Barth Blog Conference has arrived!  This is one of the annual highlights of the entire theoblogosphere every year, and as Travis mentions in his introductory post, this year’s conference will undoubtedly be the best yet.  You need to stop by!

One other important thing to mention for readers of this blog: this year I will be (formally) participating for the first time ever towards the end of this week (check the schedule for week 1 here).

Conference Reminder

Several months ago I announced this, and thought it would be worthwhile to throw a reminder out there:

The Fifth Annual Western Fellowship of Professors and Scholars will be held in Manhattan, Kansas, on October 8-9, 2010, Friday afternoon through Saturday early afternoon. Mark Ziese, professor of Old Testament and archaeology at Cincinnati and a veteran field archaeologist, will be our keynote speaker.

The purpose of the conference is to encourage fellowship, discussion, and research among scholars from various academic backgrounds. This year’s theme is “Slavery: Hermeneutics and Ethics.” People are still bought and sold, chained and exploited around the world today. What are Christians doing about it now? What have the people of God done through the ages in response to human bondage? How do we interpret biblical texts that either seem to condone slavery or, on the other hand, those that advocate liberation?

For more details, click here.

Karl Barth the Preacher

In preparation for the upcoming Karl Barth Blog Conference, I have been reading KB’s Homiletics lectures.  As usual, Barth is both stimulating & unsettling.  In this particular case, as i near the end i am struck by the passion, the commitment Barth has for the ministry of preaching.  While it is well known that the “problem of preaching” provided the impetus for Barth to begin rigorous dogmatic investigation, it has been quite refreshing for me to encounter someone who is as passionate about the call to preach, even if i don’t agree with all of his conclusions.  Here is a brief excerpt that deals with originality & honesty in preaching:

Honesty of speech is demanded.  Speak your own language!  Do not put on the royal mantle of the language of Canaan or pass yourselves off as little Luthers.  Precisely those who are committed to exegesis and the church cannot posture as apostles or reformers.  Phrases from the bible and the hymnal and sonorous perorations are not appropriate either.  If quotations are introduced only to give momentum to what is said, there is every reason for mistrust.  Stand behind your own poverty!”  (83)

A New Beginning

In my last post, I shared how after much time, prayer, & consideration, I decided to resign from the youth ministry at the church I serve at.  While it was a hard decision, my family & I are eager to begin this new chapter in our lives, one that involves the last steps of preparation for what I pray will be the life-long joys & challenges of teaching others.

This hope has moved much closer to a reality as I have been accepted into the MTh program at Luther Seminary in St. Paul MN.  No place is perfect, but in numerous ways Luther is a great fit for my academic aspirations, and I hope to be working on my PhD there within the next couple years.  My wife and I are thrilled, daunted, & thankful by the challenges this opportunity poses.   

We have to be moved & somewhat settled by Labor Day weekend, so any prayers are appreciated as we scramble to get all our affairs in order.  They weren’t able to confirm my acceptance until almost mid-June, so there is still much to do.

So, there’s the personal update.  Now time to get back to theology.  Right now I am working through Tillich’s Systematic Theology, & I plan on blogging through each section as I go as part of my prep for the KBBC in August.  Be sure to check out this great blog conference put on by Travis & David.

A Call for Papers

I have the honor of planning and leading this year’s Western Fellowship of Scholars and Professors conference.  My former professor, who founded the conference, is on sabbatical, and he graciously asked me to step in.  Here is some info on the general flavor of the conference:

• The purpose of the Western Fellowship of Professors and Scholars is to promote the renewal of evangelical faith and life through scholarly research, reflection, and discussion.
• Papers should deal with issues of interest to Christian scholarship.  They may be in one of the traditional fields of theology, Bible, Christian history, practical theology, world religions, etc., or they may be interdisciplinary, showing the contribution of other areas of learning to Christian concerns.
• Papers that are exploratory, experimental or provisional are welcome.  This forum may be used to present papers that will be revised later for other publication or presentation.
• It is preferred that papers conform to the topic (see below), but since the goal of WFPS is to promote research, papers outside the topic are welcome.
• It is recommended that papers dealing with biblical or theological topics conform to the SBL Style Guide.  Papers in other fields may follow the style guidelines appropriate to those fields.
• One’s paper will be put on the WFPS site, unless the author prefers otherwise.  All rights to the paper will still be the author’s.

This year’s topic is: “The Globalization of Christianity and its Implications for the Church.”  The conference is October 3rd-4th in Manhattan Ks, at Manhattan Christian College.  The cost for attending is $30 (hotel not included).  If you have any interest in attending, please comment and i will send you the necessary registration materials.  Also, if you merely want more info, let me know.  Hope to see you there!