For the December Biblical Studies Carnival I am sharing posts from the four categories that I write about: Bible, theology, small groups, and leadership. Enjoy!
BIBLICAL STUDIES
- Christmas Letter. I am always appreciative for Dan Wallace and his work with the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM).
- Books of Interest to Textual Criticism. I sometimes don’t understand all that is discussed on the Evangelical Textual Criticism blog, but this one I did! Some good books to put on your reading list for 2019.
- Book Review: David J. Shepherd and Christopher J. H. Wright. Ezra and Nehemiah (THOTC). A possible addition to your Old Testament library.
- The NET Bible, Ruth 1:17, and Text Notes. It is rare to hear people talk about the NET Bible. This is a good example of the usefulness of the translation and the notes that come with it.
- Who is the Greatest in the Kingdom of God? Matthew 18:1. I couldn’t resist this one! Always a great post from Dr. Phil Long.
- Book Review: Matthieu Richelle, The Bible and Archaeology. From our veteran of the Giving Carnival, Dr. Phil Long.
THEOLOGICAL STUDIES
- Who Are the Archangels in the Bible? While most of the Logos blog posts are sales posts, but this one was pretty good by Michael Heiser.
- What sola scriptura is not. A blog post title you totally expect from a blog titled, “The Reformed Reader.” (With a little fun from my dispensationalist leanings.)
- Bible in the Making. Some bibliology material for your systematic theology nerds. This comes from Tim Mackie, one of the guys of the Bible Project.
- Notes, How Did the Disciples Remember Jesus’s Exact Teaching? The 3-Step Process for Formulating the 4 Gospels. Some more bibliology study for you all from Justin Taylor.
- Making Sense of Sexuality. A sensitive but important subject.
SMALL GROUPS
- Disciple Making in Small Groups. As usual, Allen White provides some biblical and practical tips.
- Five Ways to Evaluate Group Health. Reid Smith is the small groups pastor of a large healthy church. In this blog post he gives some good tips for not just looking at how many groups you have, but how healthy they are.
- The Future of Disciple Making. Another great post from Allen White, a guy that has been in the trenches doing small groups and disciple making for a couple decades.
- Cinnamon Rolls and Wild Truck Rides. A good reminder that disciple making is about building relationships with people and not seeing them as projects.
- The Oreo Method of Discipleship. Another great video and tip for doing small group ministry by Kiersten Telzerow.
- The Seven Basics to Develop in Those You Disciple. A great summary of some of the basic things that we need to help Christians grow.
- Five Things to Do in January to Connect More People in 2019. Mark Howell always gives great small group tips.
- Update Your Resume. An interesting point in the post that “you haven’t made a disciple until your disciple has made a disciple.”
LEADERSHIP
- Why defensiveness is destructive and how we can become more open. Former EFCA guy, TJ Addington, writes a good post about the need for leaders to be open.
- Five Distinguishing Traits of High Performing Leaders. I’ve been following Michael McKinney and his blog for almost ten years now. This post is reflective of a lot of his material on what it means to be a faithful and effective leader.
- How To Write an Encouraging Thank You Note to Your Volunteers. Roger Carr has been working with volunteers for a long time. He knows his stuff. When he blogs, I read.
- Twenty-Five Leadership Nuggets. As a veteran pastor and church planter, I take Ron’s advice to heart.
- Nine Ways to Spot a Great Book for Your Ministry Library. Some great tips from Rick Warren.
- Question: Is there an article or blog post I missed? If so, leave a comment below with a link.
Next month Jim West will be hosting the January Biblical Studies Carnival.
