Preaching ‘tough texts’ focus of first MBTS workshop
CELINA, Texas — Pastors and ministry leaders from across the north Texas region gathered to discuss preaching “tough texts” at a workshop from the Midwestern Institute for Preaching and Preachers on Feb. 24.
Held at The Trails Church in Celina, Texas, the workshop was the first in a series of regional workshops to be offered by the institute.
“As most people know, Midwestern Seminary exists ‘For the Church,’” said Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Jason Allen. “And one of the ways we seek to demonstrate this reality is seeking to further equip and encourage those already in local church ministry. That is why I am very thankful for the Midwestern Institute for Preaching and Preachers. I am grateful for Matt, Jared, and Afshin for leading our very first one, and I am excited about all of the future workshops we will hold to further bless the church.”
Led by Matt Boswell, Jared C. Wilson and Afshin Ziafat, workshop sessions focused on equipping participants to lead their congregations through challenging passages of Scripture.
Boswell, who serves as pastor of The Trails Church and was recently named professor of worship ministries at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS), opened with an example sermon on a “tough text.” Preaching on the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11, he showed how it warns against hypocrisy and calls Christians to walk in the light through repentance and fear of God.
Addressing the preachers in the room, Boswell emphasized the importance of fleeing hypocrisy and pursuing integrity to protect their ministries. “The reason I chose this text was to call us, men who stand on this side of the pulpit week in and week out, to deal with seriously with it,” he said.
He concluded, “Look to Christ, who in our place stood condemned for our sin, including the sin of hypocrisy.”
The second session was given by Jared C. Wilson, assistant professor of pastoral ministry and author in residence at MBTS. Wilson addressed the challenges of preaching Christ in every text.
Wilson noted three reasons preachers do not preach Christ in every sermon: They lack vision to see Christ in the text, they lack spiritual vibrancy in their own walk with Christ, and they lack versatility to connect the gospel to the text at hand. To help participants overcome these challenges, Wilson noted New Testament examples of Christ-centered interpretation and offered several hermeneutical tools for seeing Christ in every passage.
Encouraging preachers to pursue spiritual vibrancy, Wilson said, “If we are regularly communing with Christ, reading the Scriptures in a devotional sense in a daily, disciplined way, the instinct is there to preach Christ.”
The final session was led by Afshin Ziafat, lead pastor of Providence Church in Frisco, Texas. Ziafat preached from Romans 9, offering another example of how to preach a challenging text.
Noting the debated interpretations of Romans 9, Ziafat said, “This is a very difficult passage to preach, but I believe that we can preach it in a way that is humble and yet holds God’s Word up as the ultimate authority.”
He concluded by offering five principles for preaching difficult texts: Avoid apologizing for the text, specify what an interpretation does not mean, “be charitable with the opposing views,” “be compassionate and patient,” and avoid preaching secondary and tertiary doctrines as primary for faith.
Following the sessions, participants in the workshop experienced a panel discussion led by the three speakers and had an opportunity to apply the teaching during a group work session.
SBTS, 9Marks team up for ‘Bible Talk’ podcast
By Travis Hearne, SBTS
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The long-running “Bible Talk” podcast, produced by 9Marks, is now an official partner with Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS). The new collaboration will bring video episodes, in addition to audio, to better serve the Church. All three hosts of “Bible Talk” graduated from SBTS and share the seminary’s commitments to biblical and theological faithfulness.
9Marks editorial director Jonathan Leeman explains, “It occurred to us that SBTS was a natural partner in this endeavor, but because all three hosts coming out of Southern Seminary, and, more, because we share the goal of equipping churches in sound doctrine and biblical understanding. We trust the partnership will allow us to reach more people together.”
Old Testament professor and host James Hamilton is thrilled to see his seminary partner with a ministry dedicated to making healthy churches.
“Bible Talk is an expository conversation between three friends having a blast talking about the Bible together,” Hamilton said. “We are going verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book through the Bible. We started in Genesis 1 and are moving through the Old Testament by discussing the Law, Prophets and Writings order. We are now recording in the middle of 2 Kings.”
This new partnership furthers the goals of SBTS and 9Marks to serve the local church by training pastors. Hamilton hopes to bring listeners closer to the campus community because of shared commitments between SBTS and the 9Marks audience.
“Bible Talk exists to serve the local church by helping pastors and laypeople understand the Bible,” Hamilton said. “We’re excited to link arms in pursuit of our common objective to serve the Lord Jesus by serving his bride, the church. Hopefully, some people in our audience will want to go deeper by moving to Louisville to equip themselves with more faithful service at SBTS.”
Hamilton expressed SBTS’s vision to help ministry leaders read the Bible better to serve the church more faithfully. That’s why he believes ‘Bible Talk’ to be a valuable resource for the church and a perfect collaboration partner for the seminary.
“On the one hand, Southern Seminary is well known,” Hamilton said. “But on the other hand, Southern Seminary may be one of the best-kept secrets in evangelicalism. We’re excited to do anything to get the word out that such a place exists where the Bible can be studied. We have so many great passages of Scripture to discuss, and it’s a joy to worship the Lord together as we relish his revelation of himself in his Word.”
Paul Akin, Provost at SBTS, applauds the partnership and believes the passion of Hamilton and the rest of the ‘Bible Talk’ team will inspire listeners to love God more deeply through Scripture.
“I’m so grateful for Dr. Hamilton and his infectious love for the Bible,” Akin said. “I hope and pray that Christians young and old will love God’s word more deeply, serve him more faithfully, and engage in mission more boldly due to these podcast episodes.”
As new episodes drop, join Hamilton, Alex Duke and Sam Emadi as they blend exegesis, systematic theology, and biblical theology, all with the aim of spreading the joy of studying Scripture the way the authors intended you to read.
Visit 9Marks.org or www.sbts.edu to learn more.
