Parchment & Pen Blog

(Lisa Robinson) Every Sunday morning, I am transported to another place in time. There are no contemporary aesthetics, only architecture and relics that scream “church”. The pastor does not stand on a stage with cool graphics flashing in the background and deliver his sermon from a little round cafe table or no table at all. [...]

(Lisa Robinson) These are some pretty random thoughts that have swirling around in my head for awhile so I wanted to just splash them out in writing. Tim Challies posted this article a while back on his blog that served as the catalyst. The article concerns the workforce but I think it’s premise is very [...]

(Lisa Robinson) If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you have most likely heard the term “pew sitter”. It is typically used in a derogatory way to describe those who come to church but make no contribution to church ministry.  What that usually means is that they don’t volunteer to do [...]

(While the following story is true, names, addresses, and particular details have been changed for obvious purposes.) While on the internet the other day, my friend came across a pastor whom he thought had some interesting comments. This pastor had the title of “Reverend.” This means one of two things: 1) he is a self-proclaimed [...]

(Lisa Robinson) This post is really not about singleness.  Although, by way of getting to something that has me increasingly troubled, I will use singleness as the spring to launch into what I believe is the root of a problem, particularly in American evangelical Christianity.  In contending with my own issues related to singleness, I [...]

(Lisa Robinson) One of the essays in my application to DTS, was responding to how I knew I was called into ministry.  While I understood that question to be more related to affirming events that led me to apply to seminary, I find that the idea of being called into ministry has not only been [...]

In theology, I have learned what the three most controversial topics are: 1. Women in ministry 2. Creation/Evolution issues 3. Calvinism/Arminianism stuff I would put them in that order too. Talk about these topics, and be prepared for a divided crowed. Blog one of these issues and get ready for the comments section to explode. Take [...]

I have been thinking through some issues related to Ecclesiology lately, which in part is prompted by the fact that one of my courses this semester is Sanctification and Ecclesiology (although we recently started discussions on the Ecclesiology portion).  Specifically, I have been pondering what the church’s responsibility is towards educating its people with respect [...]