BSH--
I thought that, since we are welcoming in some new members, it might be helpful to have a place where we can introduce ourselves or remind ourselves of who that person is who just made a VERY insightful and profound comment. ;)
Comment here for introductions.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
BSH --
ReplyDeleteCall me Brad. Other than being a father to a fantastic, smart, and otherwise great little nearly 3 year old girl, and husband to an equally smart and fantastic woman (with a baby boy on the way), I function as a Counselor at a Children's Home.
My theological background is as follows: After being born into the Independent Christian Church, I graduated from Ozark Christian College. To pursue graduate work I chose Dallas Theological Seminary, because it was just about as far away from Restoration Movement teaching as you could get without becoming a Roman Catholic. I did this just to get more deeply exposed to other Christian forms of thought.
I see myself as having been heavily influenced by "postmodern" writers such as Robert Webber and Brian McLaren, despite my fundamentalist training.
My spiritual autobiography can be found here:
http://bradsgianthurtball.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!D4340918E1D98BFB!149.entry
BL -
ReplyDeleteCall me Ishmael.
No, wait - call me Bill. I am the husband of my loyal, fierce, truthful, and beautiful Betsy; the dad of Samantha and Katherine. My midlife crisis consisted of joining a church staff at the age of 38. God has brought me to Lincoln, Illinois where I serve Jefferson Street Christian Church and whomever else He puts in front of me.
I grew up in northeastern Illinois, attended Methodist churches and managed to be found by God anyway - when I was 23 years old. I chose the Christian Churches because it was the least bad option I could find. My theological perspective is still forming, and it's difficult for me to give a concise distillation. I think it would be safe to say that "I believe in God the Father, Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only begotten Son, our Lord..." You can probably guess the rest.
I am greatly influenced by Webber - but not so much by McLaren. Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, and most certainly the late Paul Brand have given me my practical theological underpinnings. I am mostly influenced and blessed by close brothers and sisters who "do not merely listen to the word and so deceive themselves, but do what it says."
Call me Dustin. I learned the basic Gospel story at a small Baptist church in Ashland, IL when I was young and my Grandma took me. When she passed, my parents 'got saved' at West Side Christian Church in Springfield, so I really grew up in a Restoration Movement background. When I decided I wanted to go to college and go into ministry, I was unaware that as a person from the Restoration Movement who believes in unity should only go to another Restoration Movement school, so I went to a Southern Baptist school, Hannibal-LaGrange College, and received a Bible degree.
ReplyDeleteSince I figured I needed to get hired, I got my M. Div from Lincoln Christian Seminary. While my theology has been formed by both educational experiences, I find that more and more my theology is formed by common church folk who really know how to live out Christ. As for writers, NT Wright has been a favorite recently. However, there's nothing like sitting down and reading a commentary by FF Bruce for good, solid exegesis. So, basically if you are a theologian and you go by your first two initials rather than your name, I'm in!