I've got four boys, and one of the "challenges" we face many evenings is getting them to make it to suppertime with an appetite.  You see, they come home from school and want a snack - perfectly understandable, right?  But if we're not careful, that snacking can turn into grazing until suppertime, and by then they've lost their appetite!

And the thing is, my wife is a good cook.  She makes great food, and she does her best to make it healthy and nourishing.  And so if they "graze" from 3:30pm-5:30pm, my sons can fill their stomachs with stuff that's not always super healthy and completely lose their appetite for the things that will truly sustain them - protein, vegetables, etc.

I wonder how often we do this with the Word of God?

In our "Fuel for Faith: An Important Class about Christian Theology" session last weekend, we looked at the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.  We learned that God is three Persons in one God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit  Each of these Persons is distinct yet connected to/relating with the others, and each Person is fully God. Even though we can understand God's Triune nature truly, that does't mean we'll be able to exhaust its meaning fully.  In other words, there's still an element of mystery to the Trinity.  There are still ways this doctrine makes smoke come out of our ears.  And for me, that's OK.  After all, we're talking about God - there should be some categories of Deity that challenge my understanding as a finite creature.

With all this serious stuff in mind, I love that this short video can remain orthodox in its understanding of the Trinity AND have some light-hearted fun with acknowledging how it can blow apart some of our categories and ways we tend to think about it.  (In other words, don't take this video more seriously than it wants to be taken.)  So take the doctrine of the Trinity very seriously, and then enjoy this appx 4 min video on the Trinity:

Here's a sampling of some of the things I've been reading and reviewing this week.  The hope is that these bite-sized sections of books, articles, blog posts, etc will stand on their own and be beneficial in-and-of-themselves.  But I also hope that some of you will like these excerpts enough that they pull you into the larger work from which they've been taken.

Let's start sampling: 

As I teach and interact with others, one of the things I love doing most is helping people see the expansiveness and depths of God's Word.  God's Word is expansive - it deals with big topics and tells the grandest story.  And God's Word is deep - it contains truth and beauty that needs to be plunged into, and can be explored in greater and greater measure.  

The question, then, is this: How do we experience both the expansiveness AND the depth of Scripture as we read?  In answering that question, I've found it helpful to rely on two images: (1) Bible reading as speedboating, and (2) Bible reading as scuba diving.

We had a great "launch Sunday" for Fall Institute classes!  There's a lot I could mention.  I'm grateful for all the behind-the-scenes help that goes into the launch of a health ministry.  I'm glad there's a strong team of teachers that support each other, and that help create a reputation of excellence and faithfulness in teaching.  I love that our classes are full of people who are eager life-long learners and who are hungry for Scripture and truth - whether they've been attending multiple classes, or this semester is their first exposure.  I love that I got to get back up and teach, and interact, and learn alongside others.

All these things get me excited about the Institute.  I think the thing that gets me MOST excited, though, is dreaming about where these classes can take people:

Here's a sampling of some of the things I've been reading and reviewing this week.  The hope is that these bite-sized sections of books, articles, blog posts, etc will stand on their own and be beneficial in-and-of-themselves.  But I also hope that some of you will like these excerpts enough that they pull you into the larger work from which they've been taken.

Let's start sampling: 

People say you can't judge a book by its cover.  That may be true, but the stuff on the cover can still be what compels you to check it out in the first place.  And this is exactly the case with Os Guinness's latest, Renaissance.

The name on the cover compelled me to pick the book up - Os Guinness has long been an insightful and prophetic voice speaking to American evangelicalism through his books and speaking.  The subtitle of the book compelled me to take a closer look: "The Power of the Gospel However Dark the Times."  In a world almost deaf amidst the cacophony of voices addressing how evangelicals relate to culture, Guinness's voice is worth listening to as he offers realism and hope.

For any Christian that wants to think thoughtfully on interacting with, in, and among culture (whatever stance you may currently take), this book is a must-read.

At its core, the Brookside Institute is all about building and reinforcing foundations of the Christian faith.  We do this because we believe that something called "catechesis" - even though we don't always call it that - is still important and worthwhile.  (Click here and here for a couple of posts explaining and reinforcing the continuing value of catechesis.)  We love offering classes that help people Dig Deep, Learn Good, and Launch Well.

Everything in this post so far (in my biased opinion) helps paint a picture of WHAT the Institute is all about, and WHY I believe so strongly in this equipping ministry for the local church.  But at least one more important question still needs to be answered: HOW do we go about doing this?

I suppose there's a few angles by which this question could be approached, but one such helpful angle is by the category of "core values."  Very simply, core values describe the behaviors that already exist in any organization that help make the organization what it is and keep it on track.  (For more on this, see Patrick Lencioni's The Advantage.)  While everyone at every layer of an organization may not be able to recite the core values word for word, when any of these people hear the core values, they should say "Oh yeah, that makes sense.  Here's how I've seen those things played out in my area."

So...HOW does the Brookside Institute go about doing what it does?  Here - in very brief form - is a look inside our playbook at 3 core values of the Brookside Institute:

People just like you have taken "Fuel for Faith: An Important Class about Christian Theology" and have benefited from it.  Take a few minutes and hear what they've got to say.  Then, click here to be taken to our Fall 2014 classes page where you can sign up for this Fuel for Faith class and benefit from it yourself!

People just like you have taken "Fuel for Faith: An Important Class about Christian Theology" and have benefited from it.  Take a few minutes and hear what they've got to say.  Then, click here to be taken to our Fall 2014 classes page where you can sign up for this Fuel for Faith class and benefit from it yourself!