Adam L. Feldman's Blog, page 2
August 27, 2018
Book Review: The Pursuit of God
A. W. Tozer’s The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst for the Divine is a Christian spiritual classic, and for good reason. Since its publication in 1949, this little book has inspired countless disciples in their spiritual journey with Christ. Its the kind of book that you can pick up and read over and over again at different points in your life and find it speaking afresh into your life.
This blog post is an introduction to Tozer’s classic, and an encouragement for you to read it if you haven’...
July 26, 2018
Don’t Neglect the Invitation
A few years ago I read an article by Ed Stetzer entitled “Strategic Evangelism: The Power of an Invitation.” Stetzer makes the point that Christian community (what we often call “attendance”) “is a place where evangelism should take place.” Attendance is not the same as covenant community (membership). The bar is set high for membership, but the doors are wide open for attendance.
Stetzer goes on to ask the salient question: “Whatever happened to the strategy of simply inviting a friend, co-w...
July 2, 2018
Why Should You Study Theology?
Everyone is a theologian. I don’t mean “theologian” in a vocational sense, such as seminary professor, pastor, author of theological treatises, or the like. I mean “theologian” in the colloquial sense.
You may not have thoughts about God in the form of highly systemized, codified doctrine, but you do have thoughts about God. Even the atheist who says “there is no God” has thoughts about the person, nature, and character of the God they do not believe in. These are all theological statements:...
June 12, 2018
Podcast interview with Mark Jones
Earlier this spring I was interviewed by Mark Jones of the podcast “Coaching Christian Leaders.” Mark’s a great guy. He pastors at a church near where I live, coaches, and stewards this podcast.
While I have provided the link to my interview with Mark, I encourage you to listen to other interviews he’s conducted on the podcast.
What can you expect in the interview?
JOURNALING. Mark asks me questions about my book, Journaling. He asks what inspired me to write the book, and also a bit about ho...
May 28, 2018
Book Review: “1 Corinthians (RCS)”
While preaching through 1 Corinthians last year, one of the resources I used was the 1 Corinthians: New Testament Volume 9A (Reformation Commentary on Scripture) edited by Scott M. Manetsch. Its my pleasure to introduce you to this commentary in this post. This commentary is part of the Reformation Commentary on Scripture (RCS) series, more on the series later.
I know what you’re thinking: “A book review on a commentary? Really, Adam?”
Let’s be honest: Biblical commentary is indeed an odd gen...
May 17, 2018
The 5 Spheres of Discipleship: Spheres 4-5
If you missed the intro post to this series, I defined two terms for us: “disciple” and “discipleship.” Discipleship occurs when a disciples shows up to be with Jesus in the 5 spheres of discipleship. Neglect 1 or more of these 5 spheres of discipleship, and you will either stagnate in your spiritual development or backslide.
The first 3 spheres are:
Daily personal discipleship (1 disciple) Regular life-on-life discipleship (2-3 disciples) Life Together (4-12 disciples)In this post, I expl...
May 3, 2018
The 5 Spheres of Discipleship: Spheres 1-3
In the introduction post to this series, I defined two terms for us: “disciple” and “discipleship.” They are provided below. If you want to read the full explanation and description of each term, I encourage you to go back to the introduction post.
Disciple: A disciple of Jesus Christ is a person who has decided that the most important thing in life is to be with Jesus, to learn from Jesus how to be like Him, and to do the things that Jesus said to do. Discipleship: Discipleship is the proce...April 26, 2018
The 5 Spheres of Discipleship: Introduction
Sometimes two people can use the same word, but mean entirely different things. Take, for example, the word “Evangelical.” When used in the context of a seminary or theological discourse, the word “Evangelical” most likely refers to a set of tenants or doctrines that identify a stream of the Christian faith. When used in the context of cultural commentary or politics, the word “Evangelical” means something entirely different because it refers to a particular voting block. Theological Evangeli...
March 21, 2018
Accountability and Spiritual Growth
Toward the end of the letter of James in the Bible, we find this exhortation coupled with a blessing: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16a). There is healing available to the believer (blessing) when they confess their sins to another believer and they both pray for one another (exhortation).
I think many believers understand the confession part of James 5:16 at the very least at the “head” or cognitive level. We understan...
February 15, 2018
Another Look at Jonah: God’s Prejudiced Prophet
Three weeks ago I started a sermon series at our church on the Minor Prophets. The Minor Prophets are the last 12 books of the Old Testament. “Minor” does not mean “insignificant.” Far from it! Their words are divinely inspired Scripture. “Minor” refers to the relative length of their books compared to the Major Prophets: Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Jeremiah.
This past Sunday, I preached through the book of Jonah. What comes to mind when you think of Jonah?
A big storm on the Mediterranean...
