The Path — 2/26/24
What I'll be Studying
As I discussed in my previous post, I will be making weekly posts covering what I’m learning in several key areas. In this post, I will explain more of my method and what I will be studying in particular.
Translation & Exegesis
Translation is the first step in understanding God’s inspired Word. Scripture was originally written and inspired in Biblical Hebrew and Koine Greek, thus it needs to be translated in order for modern audiences to understand it. As I seek to grow in my ability to translate God’s Word, I may share some insights that influence our understanding of specific passages.
Exegesis is basically fancy term referring to Bible study. It is a “critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture.” From the Greek word meaning “to lead out,” exegesis is the practice of finding the meaning of the text of Scripture. Beginning next week, I will provide an overview of the interpretive method covered in Grasping God’s Word by Duvall and Hays.
Theology
There are four general types of theology, including biblical theology, systematic theology, historic theology, and practical theology. In this section, I will study through these different theologies. It may be a book that I am studying through or an original study through a specific topic.
To start, I’m going to study one of the historic confessions of the church: the London Baptist Confession. This will be a mix of systematic and historic theology, as it is a systematic formulation of faith from church history. To do this, I will be using a Credo Canterbury from Evangelical Bibles; A New Exposition of the London Baptist Confession of 1689; and Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms.
Church History
Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
This quote from Winston Churchill drives much of my desire to learn history. A knowledge of history puts our present into perspective. As a minister working in the church, learning about church history is important to me.
Currently, I will be working my way through 27 Servants of Sovereign Joy by John Piper. This book contains short biographies of 27 inspiring figures from church history. As I read through this resource, I hope to find something helpful, inspirational, or informative to share with you every week.
Biblical Counseling
Biblical counseling is one of my passions and an important ministry. It focuses on applying the truths of progressive sanctification and the sufficiency of Scripture to the lives of individuals. Biblical counseling seeks to edify believers and teach them to do likewise with others.
I will be reading through Biblical Counseling and the Church, which seeks to help local churches develop a culture saturated by “one-another” ministry.
Pastoral Ministry
This is somewhat of a catchall section for preaching, teaching, leadership, and everything else involved in pastoral ministry. To begin, I’m going to examine children’s ministry, one of my other passions. In particular, I will be reading through Transforming Children Into Spiritual Championships by George Barna. This was an extremely influential book early on in my ministry, and I look forward to reading it again!
If you want to stay up to date with my study through these topics and resources, click the button below to subscribe:
Soli Deo Gloria,
Caleb Friske