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CTS town hall discusses Third Wave Pentecostalism
On Thursday, April 26, a town hall meeting was held in the Student Center at Calvin Theological Seminary to discuss the two synodical reports on Third Wave Pentecostalism; topics discussed included prophecy, healing ministry, spiritual warfare, and dialogic prayer.
Engaging the world or feeding the hype?
A retrospective of the 2007 Festival of Faith and Music
It was interesting – a Christian conference where a body of Christians are committed to intentionally and genuinely engaging with the world of Christian artists who produce the so-called art that is appreciated by secular and Christian audiences alike. While I must congratulate the intention of Christians seeking to have a conversation with world about anything, at the same time, I must disagree with wisdom saying of the baseball movie The Field of Dreams that “If you build it they will come.” FFM 2007 was, at best, a conversation between Christians about their favorite secular bands.
New coffee system perks up student body
Arrival of new caffeine dispensing machinery sparks discussion, awe amongst community
In March, the Student Senate of Calvin Theological Seminary purchased a new coffee maker to be placed in the student center. While this may seem like a trivial matter, reaction from students has indicated otherwise.
Student Senate President Dave Prince said of the new machines "In my three years on Senate, no other student life issue has inspired more complaints than coffee."
Have a little class
Everything [else] you need to know to not be an embarrassing failure in ministry
Through four years of classes, the seminary teaches students everything they need to know to have a good baseline understanding of Scripture, theology, church history, and pastoral care. But a vital component is lacking in that educational rubric that many students will sadly never receive a formal education in: everything else. The seminary isn’t, of course, a liberal arts academy – it’s assumed that students had that before coming in. But what if they haven’t? (And many students seem not to have.)
What follows is a partial list of everything else apart from doctrines and Bible verses that you need to know to not be an embarrassing failure in ministry: how to dress, how to eat, what to drink, and more. You might criticize this list for being cosmopolitan, but so much of the real world is.
What happened to Kerux?
In my first editorial of the year explaining the change of publishing Kerux online, I made the bold statement that "Kerux is published every Friday during the main academic school year, excepting holidays and exam weeks." That same statement of commitment is also reflect in our About page. And yet the date of the most recent Kerux prior to this one is 19 March. What happened?
Still looking
A poem by Sherilyn Vandervalk
The gift of prophecy
Have we lost the gift of prophecy? Does the church recognise it when it happens? Do members of the Christian Reformed Church in North America understand how to think of this spiritual gift? I have had a few experiences in which I have come face to face with this gift, and it has left me wondering.
A long Holy Saturday in Virginia
On a Monday morning in April, a young man walked down the hallway of his dormitory at Virginia Tech, and shot and killed an RA and another student. From there, he mailed a manifesto to NBC and then proceeded to kill an additional 31 people, including himself. His statement to NBC was accusatory. He said that he gave plenty of people plenty of chances to prevent what he was going to do. Somehow in his mind, his own actions were someone else’s fault. He said, “I didn’t have to do this.”
Transforming God's kingdom: Leading by serving
Many people in North American society have benefited greatly from the economic boom over the last 12 or more years. There has been an increase in the standard of living filled with traveling, extreme sports, lots of fashionable clothing, all within the context of an upwardly mobile community.
So you want to be a Minister of the Word
“Preaching is ‘old church.’ It does not work anymore. A new paradigm is needed.”
Experts will offer to help you reinvent the gospel. They will offer a complete pyrotechnics program. “Ooooh,” says one preacher, “Wouldn’t it be great if we could use iMax for my sermon illustration instead of this little video screen!” No. Please no. But it will happen.
Sem Eye: Flirt to convert
Tamara, Tamara, Tamara, what are you doing to me? How could anyone miss your heavenly hotness? I don’t understand, though; to what use are you putting your dazzling appearance today? As I mulled these questions over my eyes finally drifted away from Tamara’s steamy pictures, (who doesn’t love a girl apparently huffing something out of a Ziploc bag?), and upwards to the title of her web-based dating service, “Flirt to Convert: Matchmaking with a Higher Calling.”