The BCD of Teaching the Bible
While preaching through Titus, I came up with the BCD of Bible teaching and preaching. Each letter stands for 2 words which should always go together when we study the Bible or preach the Word:
- Belief and Behavior.
- Creed and Conduct.
- Doctrine and Duty.
Necessarily, the first always precedes the second, or the second always follows the first. Through Bible study, our behavior follows our belief, our conduct follows our creed, and our duty follows our doctrine, and not the other way around.
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Pastor’s Code of Ethics
How should pastors, elders, shepherds, and church leaders behave? Do pastors need a code of ethics?
Code of Ethics for Pastors (CEP). Over 18 months, through a taskforce that included ethicists, pastors, editors and denominational leaders, the NAE (National Association of Evangelicals) developed and adopted the NAE CEP on Mar 8, 2012. The CEP is a 4 page document that can be read, downloaded and signed here. Notable pastors who have signed it are Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Tim Keller, Max Lucado, etc.
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Marriage By Faith (Should “No Dating” be a Church Policy?)
Scary! “Marriage by faith” (MBF) is highly sensitive and “controversial.” In 1980, when I first heard the phrase before marriage, I cringed and broke out into a cold sweat. I think it is a wonderful phrase. But I stopped using it because it has become misunderstood, misapplied and mis-taught, as suggested in the comments on What is the Point of Genesis? and LGBT. MBF has perhaps come to no longer mean what it originally meant.
LGBT, Marriage, and Singleness
I will start with Richard B. Hays’ take on the LGBT issue. He is a United Methodist, New Testament scholar and currently the Dean of Duke Divinity School. He wrote a masterpiece, “The Moral Vision of the New Testament” in 1996, and I really believe that it is a Must-Read for any church leader. I highly recommend it.
What Kind of Leader Are You?
UBF loves to raise leaders. I love to raise leaders. Do you love to raise leaders? We show our love for raising leaders by using phrases like “discipleship (leadership) training,” “leader’s meeting,” “fellowship leader’s meeting,” “elder’s meeting,” “staff meeting,” “raise 12 disciples and 12 Marys,” “raise an Abraham of faith,” which are all apt descriptions that show how much we value leadership and raising leaders. Some may have heard statements like “One Moses is worth more than 100,000 Israelite foot soldiers.” I loved the statement, because I love being a leader, believing that in His Sovereignty God called me to serve Him and His church.
I am reading “Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence for Every Believer,” by J. Oswald Sanders, a book John Armstrong has used to teach a seminary class on leadership at Wheaton College. Chuck Colson says, “This is the best book on Christian leadership I’ve read.” There are countless excellent quotes on leadership in the book. But this is not a book review. It is a series of 22 + 5 excellent questions to honestly assess your own leadership potential, as well as the leadership potential of others. In other words, “What kind of a leader are you?” Be ready to be humbled! Continue reading →
Mission/Legalism/Tradition Hinders Spiritual Growth
Welcome back from a break. Thank you, admin, for your labor in the Lord!
Emphasizing mission. Since 1961, UBF’s strength has been our emphasis on mission. When I studied Genesis 1 three decades ago, I loved the catchphrase “Man = Mission.” I taught this in Genesis 1:1 Bible study repeatedly for a quarter of a century as my mission until a few years ago. I still treasure my life of mission and Bible teaching. I am as driven and passionate to teach the Bible today as I was when I became a Christian in 1980. The only subtle change is that I now wish to primarily “testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24), and to proclaim/preach “Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 1:23, 2:2) as my primary emphasis, rather than emphasizing mission imperatives. So, my point of Genesis is no longer mission, but Jesus (Jn 5:39,46).
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UBFriends Admin Notice
The admin team here at UBFriends wants to thank everyone who has contributed articles, made comments or read along silently! We are hopeful that this website can continue to encourage dialogue and edification across human boundaries (even though it is sometimes painful and ugly :) We will be performing some behind-the-scenes maintenance over the next two weeks. So there will be some downtime, and sometime this weekend I will freeze the articles/comments so that the maintenance can be performed smoothly.
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