FROM THE HILL: Park addresses the importance of understanding in biblical counseling, Caldwell discusses denominations in North America

“From the Hill” is a regular series highlighting the work of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s faculty. Check back here regularly to find articles, blogs, podcasts, interviews, and more.

“Gaining Understanding, Gaining Wisdom” (article on Biblical Counseling Coalition), by Lilly Park, Associate Professor of Biblical Counseling

• “According to Proverbs 20:5, ‘The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.’ Biblical counseling requires being a person of understanding to help others well. Otherwise, we can misguide people in counseling by not seeking to know them well. We can overlook significant details when we barely ask questions or shorten the time needed to gather data. When we’re very familiar with a counseling issue, we can allow our assumptions to inform our interpretation without realizing it. It’s like going on cruise control, but acceleration and deceleration should be used. We must work hard to understand people if we want to provide accurate biblical wisdom. Only Jesus knew men’s hearts perfectly.”

“Let the Little Children Come: Family Worship on Sundays (And the Other Six Days Too)” (Book published by Free Grace Press), by Scott Aniol, Associate Professor of Church Music and Worship, Worship Doctoral Studies Director

• “In Let the Little Children Come, Scott Aniol strives to convince church leaders and parents that children best grow into faithful, mature worshipers of Jesus Christ when they are led to Jesus by their parents in the context of intergenerational church gatherings and in daily worship at home. In Part 1, Scott presents biblical and theological reasons families should worship together both on Sundays and the other six days too, addressing common objections and suggesting some practical ways family worship might be recovered. In Part 2, Scott then offers practical tips and myriads of resources for engaging children in church worship as well as family worship at home.”

“Make Disciples of All Nations: A History of Southern Baptist International Missions” Co-Edited by, John D. Massey, Mike Morris, and W. Madison Grace II

• “A contemporary evaluation of the history and present status of Southern Baptist Missions. For more than 175 years the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention has been sending missionaries around the world to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. It has also developed strategies and methods that have been adopted by numerous other missions groups. Make Disciples of All Nations tells the story of this groundbreaking organization, including its most recent developments.”

“Evangelical by Conviction, Baptist by Tradition: David Dockery’s Vision for Southern Baptist Higher Education,” in Baptists, Gospel, and Culture: Papers from the Eighth International Conference on Baptist Studies”, from Mercer University Press, by William L. Pitts Jr., on the contribution of David S. Dockery to Baptist higher education.

• “Baptists historically have shared common beliefs, including believer’s baptism, congregational governance, and separation of church and state. But Baptists also demonstrate significant variety. This book addresses the question of why Baptists differ in various parts of the world. In order to document the diversities, this study has intentionally sought contributions from Baptist scholars across the world, including Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, eastern Europe, western Europe, and North America where Baptist presence is more common.”

“The (Whole) Old Testament Law in One Word” (article on The Gospel Coalition), by Josh Philpot, Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies, TBC

• “If you had to sum up the Old Testament law in one verb, what would it be? ‘Obey,’ perhaps? Or maybe ‘fear’? Be honest. No cheating. How you answer this question can tell you a lot about your understanding of the Old Testament.”

“Why so many religious denominations in North America?” (article on The Pathway), by Robert Caldwell III, Professor of Church History

• “Two hundred years ago frontier revivalist Barton Stone was fed up with Presbyterianism. He found the denomination too theological, too elitist, and out of touch with the common frontier folk he ministered to in southern Kentucky. His biggest problem was that he believed Presbyterianism was not biblical. To Stone, pure Christianity must be built solely upon a plain reading of Scripture, and as he surveyed the Protestant denominations of his day he concluded that they all were contaminated with human traditions. He thus founded a new group that would not be another denomination, but merely an organization of biblical believers bound together to worship God according to scriptural guidelines. To capture their anti-denominational spirit, they simply called themselves ‘Christians.'”

“Defending the Faith without a PhD” (article on Radical.net), co-authored by Travis Kerns and Jared Wellman

• “For many Christians, questions about our faith come on a regular basis. How can we believe a dead man rose from the grave? How can we believe that said dead man is risen and now lives in a physical, glorified body? How can we possibly believe the Creator of the universe spoke through humans to give us his written Word? For that matter, how can we even believe in a Creator at all? For some believers, especially younger ones, these questions can cause a crisis of faith in one’s ability to defend his or her beliefs. Or, even worse, they can cause a crisis of faith in Christ. What’s more, young believers may end up feeling like they need to pursue a Ph.D. in apologetics to defend their faith. This is certainly not unhelpful, but it is also not necessary.” 

“Seminary and Theological Education in the 21st Century” (podcast on Out of My Mind), featuring Adam W. Greenway, President of Southwestern Seminary and Texas Baptist College

• “This is another ‘interview Friday!’ Is someone you know considering seminary or theological education? Join Keith as he speaks with Dr. Adam Greenway, president of The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas (one of the largest seminaries in North America). They discuss seminary online, in person, and theological education in the 21st Century.”