No minister (or Christian) will be all things equally, at once, or at all times: smart, practical, prayerful, faithful, efficient, effective, respectable, humble, confident, organised, servant-hearted, and so on – in a word, “Balanced.” But there are prerequisites of character that must be in place before ministry begins. I bring this up because I recentlyContinue reading “The Order Beneath the Tension – Ministry’s Priorities”
Author Archives: Robbie
AI, Wisdom, and the Complexity of Consciousness
With the AI boom having recently made waves in the world of everyday folk, what is washing up on the shores of our thoughts is… our thoughts. That is, our consciousness. So it is that there is a renewed—or at least more realistic and tangible—line of questioning emerging. People talk about uploading their consciousness toContinue reading “AI, Wisdom, and the Complexity of Consciousness”
The Burning Bush of Individualism
The modern Western anthem of expressive individualism could be summed up in the words, “I am who I am.” To be an individual, and to express your individuality, is to be self-determining, and as far as possible, independent. The scary thing is, or should be, that this motto is how God is described in Ex.Continue reading “The Burning Bush of Individualism”
News Consumption (revisited)
Once upon a time I wrote this (https://bigvaiandshiphrah.com/2021/01/07/no-news-is-good-news/), which I am proud of. It’s a fun read (unbiased and fact-checked statement). But I thought I’d revisit the subject. Because… I’ve relapsed. Into ignorance. And I love it. Take that, Dad! First. Yes, we should care about truth. And yes, news media (of a variety ofContinue reading “News Consumption (revisited)”
Stewarding the Body for Gospel Ministry
On the value of Physical Training for the christian and ministry (1 Timothy 4:7-8)
On Personal Revelation
If you or I were to ask a handful of people—church folk or otherwise—whether, loosely speaking, they felt or knew that God had spoken to them personally, my guess is that many would say they think it has happened. For staunch Reformed folk, this idea tends to make us uncomfortable (if that’s you, I knowContinue reading “On Personal Revelation”
A Heirachy for Reading Mediums
Because there are a number of mediums in which to read (or listen—I’ll just keep referring to reading/listening as reading) a book, the manner in which we read a book can play a role in the way we understand and learn from that book. The following is a hierarchy of the way I categorize mediumsContinue reading “A Heirachy for Reading Mediums”
Entering into the authority of the scriptures
When Jesus was tested in the wilderness, his retort to Satan’s temptations was, “It is written.” That was his authority—the written word. What gave this authority to the canon? It was the speaker, who was God (and still is). This opens up in my mind two ways of approaching the reading of the Bible. TheContinue reading “Entering into the authority of the scriptures”
Productive Mortification
People put a lot of time into figuring out how to be productive workers. We could use some of the principles of modern self-help productivity gurus to consider how we might productively put to death sin.
That’s what this article is about.
The Point of Genealogies
When you come across genealogies in the Bible, which happens inevitably, you may wonder why they are there and also secretly think, “Can I skip this? Or skim this?” Although every genealogy has its own unique purpose, flavor, and message, there are general principles and purposes behind all genealogies in the Bible.
That’s what this article explores.
Bigvai and Shiphrah 