One of the theologians I took special interest in during seminary was Augustine. Augustine, was Bishop of Hippo and his life was a journey marked by his pursuit of selfish pleasures in his youth to a conversion experience that caused him to be placed by “force” as a priest in Hippo. In just 5 short years, he became Bishop of Hippo and remained in that position for the next 35 years. As I look at the life of Augustine I am filled with conviction, hope, and encouragement. Augustine’s priority was ministry and his writing and scholarship came as a result of his experiences serving the people of God placed under his care.

Both in Augustine’s day and in ours, humanity is seeking after wisdom. They look for wisdom in a variety of places hoping that the acquisition of wisdom will save them from hardship and provide a benefit for their future. Augustine took great care to write about wisdom in a way that would be of use for those that God called to his care. Even more important, Augustine points us to pursue wisdom through the context of the Gospel and in light of the scriptures. He breaks down the pursuit of wisdom into seven steps in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: First Series, Volume II St. Augustine: City of God, Christian Doctrine

First, Fear:

It is necessary that we should be led by the fear of God to seek the knowledge of His will – Augustin

In many ways wisdom begins with humility. Our understanding of who God is and who we are should produce a holy fear. Augustine helps us see that this holy fear should cause us to seek the knowledge of God. As we understand the knowledge of God we are able to align our desires with those of God. As we come into alignment with the will of God, our choices, motivations, and actions will begin to reflect the wisdom of God.

Another key aspect of fear is the recollection of who we truly are apart from Christ. Our mortality and fragile nature will come to the forefront causing us to run into the embrace of the Creator and lay down our prideful notions of idolatrous self worth.

we should be led by the fear of God to seek the knowledge of His will – #Augustin
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Second, Piety:

It is necessary to have our hearts subdued by piety – Augustine

Augustine is asking that we allow our hearts to be subject to properly honor and respect the Word of God. It can be easy for us to neglect or even run away from Scripture. The Word of God is both life giving and offensive as it exposes our sin. Our response to scripture however should be filled with humility and a willingness to allow God’s Word to direct and change our life. Augustine also encourages us in our inability to understand Scripture at times. Rather than thinking we should be able to understand and beating ourselves up over our inadequacy, we should rest in the truth and sufficiency of God’s Word. Whatever is written, even if it is hidden, is better and more true than anything we could conjure up with our own wisdom.

It is necessary to have our hearts subdued by piety – #Augustine
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Third, Knowledge:

God is to be loved for his own sake, and our neighbor for God’s sake – Augustine

As we jump into the Scriptures to gain knowledge we will find the truth of the human condition apart from God. We have been entangled in the love of this world and taken in fleeting and momentary pleasures only to find our selves more broken and hurting. Therefore, the fear of the Lord and our pious approach to the scriptures give us a renewed sense of hope and we see the truth. As we become captivated by the beauty of the Gospel we see that God is to be loved for his own sake and that in grace he saves and restores fallen humanity to enjoy Him. The more we understand and grow in our knowledge of the scriptures we have a greater sense of the despair we were in but for Christ. So we become humble and not boastful, meek and not proud, and seek to serve not to rule.

God is to be loved for his own sake, and our neighbor for God’s sake – #Augustine
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Fourth, Strength and Resolution:

He extricates himself from every form of fatal joy in transitory things – Augustine

As you may notice, Augustine seems to be building on each of these points. As we have gained knowledge and understand the truths of scripture there is a need for response. The heart that has been redeemed and restored turns from the fatal and fleeting pleasures of this world to fix our eyes and gaze upon Christ. We fix our affections on eternal things that stir up our love and joy in Christ.

There is also a sense of resolution that takes place. A commitment to submit ourselves to the Gospel and in humility subject ourselves to the Kingship of Christ in all areas of life.

He extricates himself from every form of fatal joy in transitory things – #Augustine
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Fifth, Counsel Of Compassion:

He exercises himself diligently in the love of his neighbor – Augustine

In the most basic manner our pursuit of Godly Wisdom will result on our reflecting the character and nature of Christ. As Christ loved us so we love our neighbor. Even more so, we begin to show compassion and love towards our enemies and those that mistreat us. Our story becomes one that is defined by the love of Christ.

Our affections are so stirred up for Christ that we can not help but become agents of his mercy and love. We carry out our mission as ambassadors of Christ and the ministry of reconciliation. Therefore, our love of our neighbor and enemy produces a Godly wisdom.

He exercises himself diligently in the love of his neighbor – #Augustine
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Sixth, Purification Of Heart:

For men see Him just as far as they die to this world; and so far as they live to it they see Him not – Augustine

The process of our purification forms us into the image of Christ. As we live in light of the Gospel we will be so pure in heart that we can’t step aside from truth for any reason. The thought of pleasing man or even our own desires fade in comparison to the brilliant and beautiful light of Christ. Our purification of heart and mind cause us to see this world for what it is, a temporary living place until the return of the King who will create and form the new heavens and earth.

Our purification will also allow us to see God. As we die to this world and live for the Kingdom our clarity of the King becomes clearer. Sadly, those that live for this world are unable to see the King or His Kingdom.

Seventh, Ascend To Wisdom:

For the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom – Augustine

Peace and tranquility is found by the person who processes these six steps and finds it’s culmination in Godly wisdom. It is a full circle as we are brought back to the truth that the fear of God is in fact the very beginning of wisdom.

“From that beginning, then, till we reach wisdom itself, our way is by the steps now described” – Augustine

For the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom – #Augustine
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P.S – If you would like a copy to read I recommend the following edition. Click the link and grab your copy!

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^[1] Augustine of Hippo, “On Christian Doctrine,” in St. Augustin’s City of God and Christian Doctrine, ed. Philip Schaff, trans. J. F. Shaw, vol. 2, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, First Series (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1887), 538.

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In 2013 I set out to earn a second Master’s Degree. I had just completed a Master of Science in Organizational Psychology and was faced with an opportunity to earn a Masters Degree in Biblical and Theological Studies from Knox Theological Seminary. The offer was too good to pass up and I love being a student so I embarked on a 2.5 year journey. Recently, I finished all course requirements and finished my degree. As I’ve been reflecting on my time in Seminary I’ve come to realize that much of what I learned and will take away with me are the intangibles. The following are five of the most important skills that Seminary taught me aside from the standard academic goals of proficiency and aptitude in the area of theological and biblical studies.

Pursuing Excellence in the Area of Time/Calendar Management:

Throughout my seminary journey I balanced a full time job at Faithlife which had me traveling over 100K miles a year around the world. I did my best to be a faithful husband and loving father to my three sons. I also attempted to be apart of the local church and serve to the best of my ability. Somewhere in that mix was serious study time for seminary which included lots of reading and writing. Oh, I also had to fit in fantasy football and watching and playing basketball! I’ve been constantly asked, “How do you manage it all”. I typically responded with, “It’s really just the way God wired me”. As I reflect on that season of my life I agree that God has definitely wired me in a way to enjoy balancing multiple projects, however; I think an overlooked skill that was forcibly developed was pursuing excellence in my time and calendar management. The most important part of this for me was redeeming possibly wasted time. For instance:

• Get all my reading and as much of my writing done during airplane rides instead of falling asleep (which sadly I did to often!).
• Create blocks of time that was dedicated to school, work, family, and fun/activities. I built this in my iCal and shared it with my wife so we had visibility in my schedule.
• Evaluate my calendar and how successful I had been the previous week – I learned quickly how much I could manage and had to make some difficult decisions in different seasons on things that I had to lay down in order to get my priorities done. For instance, I took a 4 month break on this blog to finish seminary strong and achieve the grade point average I needed to have a competitive application for a PhD program

Ultimately, this allowed me to finish my goals without having to many things slip. If they did slip, it would be taken care of in the evaluation of my previous week. Learning this has been vital and really has overflowed into every area of my life.

Think Critically about Literature and Scripture:

Until I got into Seminary I didn’t realize how much of my reading was on auto pilot. I took almost everything I read to be fact without really engaging and thinking critically about what was being said, why it was being said in that way, and if I even agreed with what was written. This showed up specifically in engaging with commentaries, modern surveys, and biographical research and study on influential people such as Jonathan Edwards, John Calvin, and Augustine. It is easy to just assume what they have to say is correct because of the great platform they have in the development of theology and doctrine. However, I was forced to come to terms with parts of their writings I didn’t agree with or where they missed the point or were simply negligent in. This is not isolated just to writing but the life that was lived. For instance, for all the good that Edwards has done for the church the fact is he was also a slave owner. Some how in his study, this was a blind area of his life.

Thinking critically about literature and scripture caused my mind to work in ways that it hadn’t previously. I found my self asking different questions which led me to a deeper and better understanding of scripture and theology.

Funnel my Scholarly Pursuit Through the Lens of Ministry:

One of my honest fears of Seminary was that I would turn into a snobbish academic elitist with little time for ministry and people. I didn’t want to become a modern Pharisee who was so caught up in the details of the scripture that I missed the heart and mission of God. This fear actually served as a lens that I funneled my academic pursuits through. I made it a habit of asking the simple questions, “How and why would this relate to my church or the body of Christ?”. Crossing the bridge of application between the scholarly and ministry worlds is so important. I think its when we neglect this bridge that we lose our way. Again, I am greatly influenced by Augustine who spent 35 years as Bishop of Hippo preaching up to two times a day and still accomplished academic excellence. It took Augustine 16 years to write his influential work on the Trinity in his “spare time”! Possibly my favorite Augustine quote is:

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Better is it that scholars find fault with us, than that the people understand us not – #Augustine
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Being an Academic and Still Have a Relationship with Christ:

Another fear going into seminary was that my heart would turn cold towards God and that the scriptures would become a textbook filled with information that needed to be studied and researched. Again, this fear propelled me to engage with the Lord personally through seminary. I made a commitment to read books that were more devotional in nature and caused me to realign my heart with the creator of the universe. Dr. John Piper’s Desiring God was monumental for me in seasons where I felt myself slipping.

While this is a serious danger, especially as I consider further academic pursuits; I am encouraged that there are those out there that have also been down that road and are more in love with Christ than ever before as a result of their academic journey.

Being a Perpetual Student of the Word of God: There is no “Arriving”

Just because you graduate with a diploma and have the ability to add a few letters after your signature doesn’t mean you have “arrived”. Throughout my entire seminary process what became more and more evident is how little I am and how much there is to learn and grow in. This goes for both the academic and spiritual parts of our life. We will ever be servants of Christ and it bodes us well to position our selves in humility before the creator of the universe. That he reveals himself to us through his Word is evidence of his grace and love for the people whom He created. This sense of humility allows us to approach the scriptures with an eager mind and humble heart.

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Earlier in the year I wrote a post about bridging the gap between music and the Word. You can read it here.

I realized quickly that this concept of bridging two worlds is much larger than just music and the Word. It affects all areas of life, church, and ministry. Augustine is famous for his writings on what he calls the two cities in his book “The City of God”. Throughout the pages we read the tension and the contrast between the City of man and City of God.

This same tension exists today, however, we also feel it within the borders of the church and how it relates to modern day culture. With various opinions, methodologies, and preferences, it can become difficult to see what we have in common. It’s even harder to see where our differences can be bridged and become helpful.

What follows in this series are some practical ways we can begin to bridge the gap between:

Culture and Church:

The church is made up of people. People live in cities, neighborhoods, and interact with other people. Each person is influenced in both passive and assertive ways via means of tv and social media. So how do we engage our culture? How can the church leverage culture for the sake of making Jesus famous?

Nationality, Ethnicity, and the Church:

Heaven will be made up of every race, skin color, and ethnicity possible. Yet sadly, the church can be one of the most segregated places. How can the local church relate to ethnicity as it is inevitably apart of the church? What does it look like to be a multi ethnic church?

Youth Ministry and the Church:

As a former youth pastor I know first hand the great joys and sorrows that come with youth ministry. I also know the danger of youth pastors creating a “sub church” culture. How can churches embrace, engage, love, and support youth ministries?

The Goal:

That we would see what we have in common, identify areas that can be come distractions and cause divisiveness, and carefully contextualize in order to see the Gospel advanced within our communities.

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