Ethics and Culture is a blog by Andrew J. Spencer. (@SpenceSpencer01)
It is paper season at seminary. As both a writer and grader of papers, I offer four suggestions for improving academic paper writing. There are points of writing that people may quibble over (e.g., the use of 1st and 2nd person), but a quality paper is a possibility if students exercise due diligence and consider a few basics.
Read MoreThere is something intoxicating about the smell of books. Whether it is the scent of new books lined up in neat rows on shelves at the local bookstore or the more experienced fragrance of books long-loved on the shelves at home.
It’s a scent, but something more than mere fragrance.
There is a feeling of power in holding a book in one’s hands. The knowledge printed within the bound pages, written a year before or one thousand years before, is there to be understood and owned by the conquering reader.
Read MoreThe fact that Sam and his wife Rachel served for 51 years is impressive in and of itself. I dream of being that faithful for so long.
That they served in Vietnam for many of those years makes the feat even more astounding. James recalls of his decision to serve in Vietnam:
"I didn't know any Vietnamese people. I'd never heard the Vietnamese language. . . . It was just something the Lord laid on my heart that I couldn't get away from. . . . Sometimes I think the call of God is something of a mystery."
Read MoreGood sermons till the soil of my soul, plowing in the same direction as last year and the year before. This time another clump of clay gets broken up and maybe another rock unearthed to be tossed aside. But it is the same ground that needs to be cultivated. It isn't as hard packed as it was a while ago, but the rains, the foot traffic of the field workers, and the baking of the sun have allowed it to get packed down pretty hard again.
I know I've heard a really good sermon not when I walk away with a four step action plan but when I leave my seat with a deeper sense of grace, hope, and determination. Grace comes from knowing that I’m not the first to still need to pull some weeds and harrow the field after all these years. Hope comes from knowing it can be done and that there is wisdom in the Word. Determination comes from a deeper appreciation of the Savior who gives the grace and hope.
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