The Needy Pastor

Posted on April 28, 2015
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One of the best pieces of advice I have ever received also left me damaged and wounded, but only for a time. โ€œYou come off as needy,โ€ he said. โ€œAnd people can smell it.โ€ Sure, we all have needs and none of us is self-sufficient. But after the defensiveness wore off, I realized he was referring…

What They Don’t Teach You In Seminary, Part 3: Practicing Sabbath

Posted on October 21, 2014
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During my seminary years, teaching the theology of Sabbath was not scarce. In Old Testament courses, pastoral theology courses, and chapel services, I heard some excellent theological thinking on the Sabbath. I rarely saw sabbath practiced in community. The distance between thought and practice can become quite a chasm. Good ideas about the Sabbath can…

What They Don’t Teach You in Seminary, Part 2: Personal Repentance

Posted on October 8, 2014
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by Jack King ‘There is no theology apart from experience; it is necessary to change, to become a new man.’ –Vladmir Lossky โ€˜If you are a theologian, you truly pray; if you truly pray you are a theologian.โ€™โ€”Evagrius Ponticus If you visit any seminary website, schools will speak about the importance of spiritual life for…

What They Don’t Teach You In Seminary (Part I)

Posted on September 30, 2014
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by Jack King The truth is that I could have attended 10 seminaries and never have been entirely prepared for ministry in the local church. I attended two different seminaries in my Masters of Divinity degreeโ€”Asbury Theological Seminary and Duke Divinity School. Both were really good schools and Iโ€™m grateful I had experiences at both…

Showing the Spirit

Posted on March 17, 2013
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At a clergy retreat, I once asked a fellow priest what his church was like. He said that his parish had two groups of people. He raised both hands high in the air, turned his face to the heavens, closed his eyes, and swayed gently. โ€œThatโ€™s the first group,โ€ he said. Then, he clasped his…