Set Apart In Christ

So I open my letterbox yesterday and am confronted with the usual Monday afternoon pile of junk mail. This week there's a slightly different edge to it. On the cover of the K-Mart catalogue is not the usual top 3 options - Women's Clothing, Toys and Kitchen Appliances, but men dressed in appropriately boring polo shirts, smiling as if someone's just "dropped" something and no-one's owning up to it; there's plain white socks, a dart board and a block of Toblerone labelled "Super Dad"... It must be Father's Day soon. The only time of year when a male is not out of place on the cover of these recycle bin fillers. I'm struck by the image of "Fathers" that society portrays at this time of year. Apparently, it's the time of year when mothers and children purchase our underwear. The only time. It must be, because that seems to be the overarching theme of these catalogues. Boxers, briefs, jockeys, Y-fronts. It's all there. Bu...

Michael J. Gorman  Inhabiting the Cruciform God . (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009). This was one of those books that had been recommended to me but I simply added it to the list. That normally means it's years off being actually read because I have so many other things already on the list. That was, until last weekend when I finally bumped this book up to the number one spot. I'm glad that I did because it has made a considerable contribution to a number of discussions going on in both Biblical studies (Pauline) and Holiness theology. I had been told that Chapter 2 was the one to look out for here, because of Gorman's ability to synthesise the doctrine of justification and sanctification together under the heading of co-crucifixion. This is no mean task, but I think Gorman is successful. This lengthy chapter did live up to expectations, as Gorman shows that Paul does not have two soteriological models (participationist and juridical) but one  - what Gorman calls "ju...

There are a few free events upcoming which you may be interested in attending. 1. The Nazarene Theological College in Brisbane are hosting Dr Joseph Coleson from Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City tonight (25th August, 2010). More details here . 2. Booth College is hosting General Dr Paul Rader (R) and Commissioner Kay Rader who will be presenting the Coutts Memorial Lecture. The lecture will be presented in Sydney on Thursday 26th August at 7:30pm and in Brisbane on Sunday 29th August at 2:30pm. More details here . You can also view online the Sydney lecture (26th August at 7:30pm) via the livestream available here . 3. St Andrew's Greek Orthodox College in Sydney are hosting their 2010 Patristic Symposium on Wednesday nights commencing 1 September through to 6 October. More details here . 4. Macquarie University Ancient Cultures Research Centre and Australain Catholic University Centre of Early Christian Studies have combined to present "Epistolary Conver...

Just thought I would make you aware that the 2010 Frederick Coutts Memorial Lecture is on this Thursday, 26th August, at 7:30pm at Booth College in Sydney. The guest speakers this year are General Paul Rader (R) and Commissioner Kay Rader. I've had the opportunity to hear them both speak in the last two weeks and I'm sure it will be a great lecture. The title of the lecture is "Reaching for Metaphors of Grace". If you cannot make it in person then you can watch it live from anywhere in the world here . (Just enter a guest name and click OK. You may be asked to download a "plug-in" which only takes a couple of minutes). Sydney is +10:00hrs from GMT, and you can calculate the time difference using this site . Hope to see you there. Adam

This was a review that was published in "The Officer" magazine last year. This publication is only made available to Officers in The Salvation Army, so I thought I'd also make it available here for others who may be interested. Comments are very welcome. Phil Layton, The Rapture London: Salvation Books, 2009. A quick survey of recent Salvation Army Year Books reveals that in recent years the Army has not published a great many books of a strictly Theological or Biblical Studies nature. In fact, by and large the vast majority of texts are either reprints of old texts or translations into other languages. So as someone who refers to himself as an “apprentice theologian” I get excited when I do see a new publication by a Salvationist author that attempts to address a topic of a theological nature. My present appointment is as Director for the School for Christian Studies at Booth College in the Australia Eastern Territory. Part of my role, as I see it, is to stay in ...

Today I came across two articles on worship which I found quite interesting. Firstly at theRubicon , James Pedlar suggests 5 ways to improve worship in The Salvation Army. These are a great discussion starter and it will be interesting to see what responses are received to these suggestions... In the light of number 4 on James' list (pay attention to content) it was then interesting to read an interview with Keith and Kristyn Getty over at Leadershipjournal.net. A fantastic quote here which I find particularly encouraging... "If I've got non-Christian friends coming to church, I'd far rather give them four verses of comparatively heavy theology with some theological words which explains the gospel, than give them twenty repeated words that could be said about your pet horse or your girlfriend." While we're on the topic. Here's another great reading from one of my favourite authors, Robert Webber . I originally read the whole book that this came from ...