No Arrogance Beside the Cross

As an illustration of cross-centered humility in one of his exegetical works, Don Carson tells of the opportunity he had to interview Dr. Carl Henry and Dr. Kenneth Kantzer, two of the most influential evangelical theologians in America in the last century.  Near the end of the interview, he asked them:

You two men have been extraordinarily influential for almost half a century.  Without wanting to indulge in cheap flattery, I must say that what is attractive about your ministries is that you have retained integrity.  Both of you are strong, yet neither of you is egotistical.  You have not succumbed to eccentricity in doctrine, nor to individualistic empire-building. In God's good grace, what has been instrumental in preserving you in these areas?

Carson then reports the following:

Both sputtered in deep embarrassment.  And then one of them ventured, with a kind of gentle outrage, "How on earth can anyone be arrogant when standing beside the cross?" 

Our Difficulty with Prayer

Prayer, an activity which seems so simple in theory, is often anything but simple. In fact, it remains a constant difficulty for most of us. If we’re honest, the difficulty arises because prayer feels like a waste of time. We live in a society in which inactivity and inefficiency are deadly sins. And since prayer feels inefficient for many of us, we begin to question its value. When we fail to see visible and tangible results to our prayers, we can grow discouraged and lose heart. Consequently, we begin praying less and less, until eventually we find ourselves not praying at all.

If you find yourself struggling in this area (and who among us doesn't?), I would strongly recommend Paul Miller's A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World. Another book I would recommend is D.A. Carson's A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities from Paul and His Prayers. I have found them both to be very helpful and practical resources.

True Piety or Just a Reputation for Piety?

"The person who prays more in public than in private reveals that he is less interested in God's approval than in human praise. Not piety but a reputation for piety is his concern."

--D.A. Carson

D. A. Carson: A Professor and a Poet

After my previous post regarding D. A. Carson's poem on the incarnation of Christ, Ray Van Neste brought to my attention that Carson has published a book of sonnets as well as released two CDs with songs written by him (thank you, Ray, for informing me of this!).

The book, Holy Sonnets of the Twentieth Century, appears to be out of print (though it can still be found).

The two CDs, Shout with Delight (Volume 1) and For the Love of God (Volume 2), are both still available.

Unpublished Poem on the Incarnation of Christ

Most of us know D. A. Carson the professor, but few of us know Carson the poet. Thankfully, Justin Taylor has made one of Carson's unpublished poems available. His theologically rich and beautifully crafted poem on the incarnation of Christ can be read here.

Word Within the Word Conference

The audio is now available from the Word Within the Word Conference hosted by the Ryan Center for Biblical Studies at Union University. The three plenary sessions with D.A. Carson as well as all the breakout sessions have been posted on the Union University website.

Plenary Sessions with Carson

• Plenary 3: D.A. Carson - How The Book of Hebrews Makes Use of Old Testament Passages - Genesis 14 and Psalm 110 in Hebrews 7
• Plenary 2: D.A. Carson - How The Book of Hebrews Makes Use of Old Testament Passages - Psalm 95 in Hebrews 3-4
• Plenary 1: D.A. Carson - How The Book of Hebrews Makes Use of Old Testament Passages - Psalm 2:7 and 2 Samuel 7:14 in Hebrews 1

Breakout Sessions

• Breakout Session - Greg Spears - Paul's Worldview Apologetic in Acts 17
• Breakout Session - Richard Wells - Using the Psalms in Pastoral Prayer
• Breakout Session - Brad Green - Salvation and Works in the Old and New Testaments
• Breakout Session: George Guthrie - How to Do Biblical Word Studies
• Breakout Session - James Patterson - Church History and the Interpretation of Scripture
• Breakout Session: David Olford - Preaching an Old Covenant Text as a New Covenant Preacher
• Breakout Session - Terry Wilder - Paul's Use of the OT in Romans 15:1-13
• Breakout Session - Taylor Worley - Seeing the Psalms in the New Testament
• Breakout Session - Ray Clendenen - Theological Themes in the book of Malachi
• Breakout Session 3 - David and Sally Michael - Aiming for Application and Response in Teaching Children the Bible
• Breakout Session 2 - David and Sally Michael - Raising Bible-Saturated Children
• Breakout Session 1 - David and Sally Michael - God-Centered Bible Teaching for the Glory of God
• Breakout Session - Paul Jackson - Psalm 22 in the Words of Jesus
• Breakout Session - Ken Easley - From Promises to Reality: How Christianity Fulfills the Ancient Plan God Promised
• Breakout Session - Justin Barnard - Eschatology and Ethics: Envisioning the Christian Life Without a Bracelet
• Breakout Session - Gary Smith - The OT and NT Identification of the "Servant" in Isa 42:1-13