New Henry Center Site

Many of us know of the CTU made famous by the series, 24. Readers may be less familiar with the other CTU based on the campus of Trinity International University. Last week, Dr. Douglas Sweeney, Director of the the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding, sent the following announcement:

It is with gratitude to God that I announce to you today the launch of a brand-new Henry Center website. As I hope you will see for yourselves, this site has a great new look, up-to-date details on the ministries of the Center, and important information about our mission and future plans, as well as an audio-video archives full of the Center's previous lectures and some video-taped interviews on pastoral concerns with some of the Center's recent speakers (downloadable for free).

I had the privilege of conducting the interview with Dr. Stephen Seamands about his book, Ministry in the Image of God: The Trinitarian Shape of Christian Service.

The Books We Need Most

Stephen Seamands, professor of Christian doctrine at Asbury Theological Seminary, is the author of Ministry in the Image of God: The Trinitarian Shape of Christian Service which I received in the mail today. In the opening chapter he states that his reason for writing the book was "to demonstrate the significance of the doctrine of the Trinity for the vocation of ministry."

Seamands says that while there has been a resurgence of interest in trinitarian doctrine on the part of theologians over the last century, many of their writings are so abstract, dense, and theoretical that they are regarded as irrelevant by those engaged in pastoral ministry. "As a result, when they reflect theologically on their ministerial practice, they do so with very little reference to the doctrine of the Trinity." Seamands goes on to tell of a luncheon he attended years ago at which Martin Marty was the guest speaker. When asked by a faculty member what kind of Christian books are needed today, Marty replied, "So many Christian books written today are either 'theologically theological' or 'practically practical.' What we need most are books that are 'theologically practical.'"

Trinitarian Living

Tim Challies reviews and heartily recommends Bruce Ware's Father, Son, & Holy Spirit and David Wayne reports from the Jonathan Edwards Institute Conference on a message by Sinclair Ferguson titled "The Trinity: The Life of God in the World of Eternity." Both emphasize the relevance of the doctrine of the Trinity to Christian life and therefore reminded me of how John Frame applies the doctrine in The Doctrine of God:

Jesus prays in John 17:22 that his people may be "one as we are one." How can the church possibly be one as God himself is one? The church is not divine, and so it can never achieve the perfect oneness of the Father, Son, and Spirit. But the passage does help the church to set some goals to achieve with God's help. One way toward a oneness that reflects the Trinity is for us to glorify one another as do the persons of the Trinity. That means loving one another, serving one another, praising one another, honoring one another. If we really sought to glorify one another, we would seek, even across denominational and traditional lines, to make one another look good, to enhance one another's reputations rather than to make ourselves look good at everyone else's expense (p. 595)