Parchment & Pen Blog

The Holy Spirit does not give me an overwhelming sense of my calling. This moment is better than some, but it usually depends on the day hour that you ask me. “Michael, how do you know you have been called by God to do what you are doing?” “Michael, how do you know you are doing what [...]

I live with the fear that someone will discover that I am not fit for ministry. Wait, I am getting ahead of myself . . . January 2000. I have just been hired as an intern at Stonebriar Community Church. I still have a year left at Dallas Theological Seminary, but my excitement is far [...]

There are a lot of things that you must think through when choosing a seminary for your ministry preparation. I will attempt to cover them here. Type of Seminary There are three types of seminaries you need to be aware of: 1. University – These are those that are connected to a larger university and [...]

I’m confused. Just when I think I start to figure things out, God says, “Calm down Michael.” As many of you know, I often like to take a break from my church and explore what is going on in other places. Today was one of those days. Due to my confusion, I don’t have a pulpit [...]

People often appeal to Paul’s example when confronting people concerning false doctrine or sin in their lives. His polemics, especially to the Galatians, are often used to defend our own less than gracious encounters. But there are some problems with this that I think we should consider. First, Paul was an apostle who carried the authority [...]

Considering full-time ministry? Considering seminary? I don’t know of any question that I am asked more often than this: “I think I am being called into ministry but how do I know?” I don’t claim to be an expert on this issue, but I can offer some words of advice. Here are some questions that [...]

Please note, I have added to the post to clarify. See the parenthetical addition in italics. So many times I want to throw in the ministry towel and be “normal”—to have a normal job with normal responsibilities.  Maybe some of you out there know what I mean. Love, joy, peace, patience…you know the rest. Sometimes [...]

Added to the “. . . And Other Stupid Statements” series The other day I was listening to a radio program. The speaker is someone who is very popular in Evangelical apologetics. He is someone that I have learned a lot from and whom I respect a great deal. However, he propagated something that I [...]