Pisteuomen - πιστευομεν - T. Michael W. Halcomb

I just recieved an email from the Faculty Services department at Cornerstone University that I have been awarded a teaching position in the PGS (Professional & Graduate Studies) program there. The position offers placement in the accelerated program and is a bit different from the typical day-to-day course schedule. The official title is "Adjunct Faculty" so, this is not a tenured position but still, I'm very excited about the opportunity to get some classroom experience. Upon taking the job, some of the courses (among others) that I'd teach are: * Principles of Biblical Studies * Inductive Study of Ephesians * Interpretive Analysis of Old Testament Literature * Gospel Literature (emphasis on Mark) Yay!!! * Mosaic Literature * Christian Doctrine

Prior to the first of this year, I had been blogging for about a year and a half. In that time period, I never missed a day of updating Pisteuomen. However, with the advent of 2009, a few things changed and in many ways, I had to temporarily cut back on my blogging activities. While I plan to write a post some time in the near future with more specifics, here, I just want to be quite general as to what's been going on in my life. First of all, just before the advent of 2009 (December 2008) I was quite busy on a number of projects. I was filling out PhD applications, finishing up two conference papers and doing my ministerial duties. As January rolled around, the motherboard on my computer melted and I had to get it replaced; this led to a nearly 2-week hiatus. Second of all, when I recieved my computer back in mid-January, I needed to finish my two papers for the conferences immediately. This meant a 3-4 week leave from blogging. Third of all, at the end of January, I started my ow...

In my view, funerals are one of the ripest moments for both pastoral ministry and sharing the Gospel. Funerals tend to make people reflect on their own lives and perhaps, their own (impending) deaths. Funerals get people thinking spiritually and often get them asking spiritual or theological questions. Yet, funerals, at least from all of my experience with them, are often times the place where theology is thoughtless, chucked out the window or just errant. Here are some of the things that you should never, never, never say or do at a funeral: 1. Never say, "God needed an angel so He took so and so." First of all, God needs nothing! Second of all, God doesn't "need" angels in particular. Third of all, God doesn't take people's lives. People die and then God recieves them or not. None of this is sustained by the Scriptures or Christian theology. 2. Never say, "Everything happens for a reason." This is a view from ancient Greek philosophers (e.g. ...