Years ago a friend asked me why I believed Christianity was true. I said it was because the story hangs together.

Genesis begins with the creation of the heavens and the earth and Revelation leaves us with the promise of a new heaven and new earth. The 14 generations noted in each phase of Matthew’s genealogy are sets of seven, indicating perfection (if not an exhaustive listing). The first-born sons of the Israelites are spared from the final plague before the exodus, but this mercy sets in motion a new sacrificial system and paves the way for The Son to redeem us all.

Perhaps it’s my hard-wired love of story or maybe it’s just my compulsive need for symmetry and closure, but the rich symbolism and connections running through the biblical account are one reason I believe God’s behind it all.


So I was captivated by N.T. Wright’s lectures on the Gospels this past Saturday. The good bishop spoke at a church here in Nashville and more than 500 of us crammed into the stuffy gym to sit on plastic chairs, take notes until our hands ached, and thoroughly love the experience.

Wright’s theme was we have missed the big picture of the Gospels: that they are the story of how Israel’s God became king of the world and the challenging, paradigm-shifting ramifications of that idea.

He urged us to consider four aspects of the four accounts: Jesus as the culmination of the story of Israel, Jesus as God’s return to his people after leaving the temple, Jesus as the beginning and renewal of the church, and Jesus introducing the empire of God vs. the empire of the world.


It was a full day and I’d need to write at least three more blog posts to summarize all the great material. But I was especially happy when—in addition to amazing discourses on Old Testament prophecy or the theology of suffering or a million other things—he also tossed in fascinating insights about the story.

For instance, those three generational accounts in Matthew not only symbolize perfection in each set of 14, but the overall structure—two 7s, two 7s, two 7s—point to Jesus as the seventh 7—the complete fulfillment, the year of jubilee.

Samuel foreshadows John the Baptist. Isaiah 55 replaces the thorns of Genesis 3 with juniper. Jesus defeats temptation where the Israelites could not—the wilderness.

On the sixth day of creation God creates man before resting on the seventh day. On the sixth day of a dark week 2000 years ago Pilate announced, “Here is the man!” before Jesus spent the seventh day “resting” in the tomb. (Implication? The 8th day of the new creation is going to be awesome.) And baptism is a symbol not only of our death to self and our emergence into new life, but of the Israelites’ rescue in the parted Red Sea, the creation of life from the waters, and the rescues of Noah and Jonah.

Maybe this is is stuff every first-year seminary student already knows, but we’ve already established I have some stuff to learn. One of Bishop Wright’s books has to be next on the list for Jen University. I’m starting Simply Christian today. Who wants to join me?

Filed under: people, resources, the church Tagged: Bible, Gospels, NT Wright, Simply Christian

A few weeks ago I asked for help brainstorming answers to the questions “How did we get to a post-Christian America?” and “Where do we go from here?”

As expected, you shared some excellent thoughts and they helped me form my own response and shoot my (super low-tech) video for the Destiny Leader online conference.

The event starts this Thursday, May 5 at 8 am PST/11 am EST and is scheduled to last about four hours. You can watch any and all of it for free by registering on the website. And believe me, you want to be watching. I am the weak link in a strong chain of speakers including my dad (yay!), DJ Chuang, Mike Foster, Shaun King, Miles McPherson, Carlos Whittaker, Jud Wilhite, and even a couple of women (glad to be on the list with you, Allie and Lucille).

This is one of the busiest weeks of my year (more on that Friday) but I plan to tune in for as much as possible. These are truly good questions, and I can’t wait to hear some answers.

Check out the conference here.

Filed under: resources, the church, work Tagged: Carlos Whittaker, Destiny Leader, DJ Chuang, Jud Wilhite, Mike Foster, Miles McPherson, Shuan King

Last week I realized two things.

I spent three days in another gathering of great Christian leaders discussing church and cultural trends and theology. And I was reminded for the 389th time that because I’ve not gone to seminary or studied some of the thinkers and topics covered there, I have less to contribute to these discussions.

During this meeting we also had the opportunity to share something good happening in our ministries. From church merges or learning Spanish to preach in two languages (whoa) to community gardens feeding the homeless, these guys had great stories to share about making a difference. And I realized I once again had little to contribute because I spend my days crossing off copywriting and social media to-do lists that make groups like theirs successful.


“Helping organizations doing good to do better” is my Twitter bio and it’s grown into a fun career. But it means I have nothing that’s “mine”—nothing I lead, nothing I’ve launched. At the same time, I feel unequipped to strike out as a leader without more grounding in history, philosophy and strategy.

So I need a project and I need to learn—how did I not think of Jen University before now?

This new school will include books, blogs, podcasts and magazines. It will not include homework, papers, internships, sororities, or courses involving terms like “cosine” or “lipid.”

To paraphrase Good Will Hunting, you can get a great education for $1.50 in library fines (although I may use this as an excuse to buy a Kindle). I’m compiling a master list of stuff to read and I welcome your suggestions for the best resources in biblical studies, ministry trends, spiritual formation, leadership, theology and doctrine. (I’d even like to see the syllabi from your own graduate programs—email jen@seejenwrite.com.)


It”s time to think about what I want to accomplish before my status changes from “emerging leader” to “over 40, kind of emerged, and not that effective.” Tomorrow I turn 35 (good grief) and Jen U officially begins—Kindle donations welcome.

Filed under: life, resources, RM, the church, work Tagged: church, church history, Kindle, learn, school, seminary, theology

Occasionally bloggers will invite their readers to share links to the other blogs they read in hopes of finding some new favorites. Commenters often use the opportunity to not just share their must-reads but to promote their own blogs.

I am pleased to now offer you this same opportunity for shameless self-promotion, but for a different purpose. (My Google Reader currently has 423 unread blog posts. When I start asking you for additional “fun” reading suggestions you’ll know I’ve struck oil in my driveway and retired.)


But back to the purpose: in a few weeks, Christian Standard is going to add some new features, including a section called “Media Matters.” The idea is to feature the books, magazines, podcasts, blogs, apps, and websites that would be of interest to Christian church leaders.

I’ve been asked to compile these each week, which is great fun but requires a steady supply of material. We each have our own lists of blogs we read regularly, sites we check daily, books we love to recommend and other resources we couldn’t do ministry without. And I’d love for you to share your list.

Please leave a note in the comments with the online and print resources you think I just can’t miss—the stuff you recommend and forward to others. You’ll be helping each other find great stuff, helping me start strong with a new project and making a positive contribution to CS. (And yes, go ahead and include your own blog.)

Filed under: resources, work Tagged: blog, christian standard, resources

The kerfluffle over the weekend (other than what on earth Melissa Leo was thinking) was Rob Bell’s new book, “Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.”

Although the book doesn’t come out until the end of March, reviewers who read some early-advance chapters had a lot to say.

Some were dismayed: “It is unspeakably sad when those called to be ministers of the Word distort the gospel and deceive the people of God with false doctrine,” wrote Justin Taylor (no relation ).

Some were intrigued: “If we’re honest with ourselves, we can acknowledge that we don’t know everything; that we have questions and even doubts about certain things,” said Eugene Cho. “While we might be attracted to absolute clarity, we  must yield to the possibility that there are some things that are mysterious; they are not fully attainable – as of yet.”

And some were smug: “Farewell Rob Bell,” tweeted John Piper, seeming to imply a) Bell is no longer a Christian and b) Piper gets to decide.


But here’s the statement I find most significant:

“What we believe about heaven and hell is incredibly important because it exposes what we believe about who God is and what God is like,” Bell says.


I’ve not read Bell’s book and when I do his conclusions may bother me. But I’m glad he wrote it, because the doctrine of heaven and hell and its implications for evangelism, pluralism and other isms is huge—and a major reason many people can’t accept Christianity.

It’s an issue we must deal with. Unlike Piper, I don’t know what Bell believes or if he is, himself, damned for writing it. (Because I’m going to READ IT FIRST.) But the reaction to the book and the blogs is proof of the need to talk about it.


Here’s the video that sparked the controversy, and here’s Glen Elliott’s recent article on the subject. What do you think?

Filed under: people, resources, the church Tagged: Eugene Cho, heaven, hell, John Piper, Justin Taylor, Love Wins, Rob Bell