Three More Chapters to Go...

I completed the sixth and seventh chapter this week toward the two books on Christian education. I have only three chapters to be completed. I plan to complete two more chapters next week before traveling to Bulgaria on April 8th.

I also had the following articles accepted for publication:

John Wesley’s Small Group Plan, Holiness Today (September-October 2009)

James Michel Lee’s Social Science Theory: A Critical Analysis of His Theory and Implications for Christian Education. Journal of Christian Education and Information Technology. Vol. 15, Spring, 2009.

I am still waiting to hear about two other articles being accepted. Hopefully I will hear something in the next few weeks.

Writing Continues....

The book project is going well. I have completed six chapters with only four chapters to go. I plan to complete the next three chapters by April 3 before I teach in Razgrad, Bulgaria.

After returning from Bulgaria I plan to finish the remaining chapter and have the project completed.

I also am waiting to hear on two more articles for publication in the Christian Education Journal (CEJ). Hopefully I will know something final this week.

Faithful Discipleship Book

I am co-authoring a Christian education textbook with Dean Blevins from Nazarene Theological Seminary. The book, Faithful Discipleship includes two volumes, one focusing on foundations of Christian education, the other on principles and practices.

I have completed four chapter (7 to go) toward the book project. I hope to have the bulk of the book completed before traveling to Europe in mid-April.

Kentucky vs. Gerogia

While traveling to the WTS meetings in Indiana, I attended the Kentucky vs. Georgia game at Rupp Arena in Lexington. Jay Akkerman, Joe Bankard, Brent Peterson, and I traveled three hours south from Indianapolis to attend the game. Since I am a "huge" Kentucky fan it was allot of fun to attend the game (a birthday gift from my wife, Sherri).

Kentucky lost to Georgia. The Cats didn't' play very well and the game was disappointing. Attached area a couple of pictures of the game.

Also, on the way back from the game we stopped at the "Creation Museum" in Petersburg, Kentucky. The Creation museum, a twenty-seven million dollar facility, lead by Ken Hamm it is designed to uphold a literal seven day creation and a 6,000 year view of the earth. (All of which I disagree with, as does most sciences and theologians). The museum was closed but we got a couple of pictures outside the gates.

Wesley Theological Society Meetings (March 4-7)

I attended the annual WTS meetings in Anderson, Indiana, home of Anderson University. I attended the Society for the Study of Psychology and Wesleyan Theology (SSPWT) on Wednesday. The keynote speaker was Dr. John D. Caputo from Syracuse University.

NNU had nine professors and eighteen students attend the conferences. The WTS conference featured I. Howard Marshall, University of Aberdeen and Bruce L McCormack, Princeton Theological Seminary. Also, my colleague, Dr. Thomas J. Oord, the WTS President, gave the presidential address, “Love as a Methodological and Metaphysical Source for Science and Theology” on Friday night.

Conference papers and presentations can be viewed at http://wesley.nnu.edu/wts/44_annual_meeting/44_annual_meeting_papers.htm

Article Accepted

I received word on Thursday that my article, "John Wesley's Educational Philosophy" will be published by Evangelical Journal (Spring 2009).

Also, the book project is going well. I have completed the first two chapters. I have eight more to go. Dean Blevins and I are hoping to have the book completed by Summer with the book being published in early 2010.

Slumdog: Millionaire

We watched Slumdog: Millionaire on Saturday night. It was a great movie. I was a good reminder of the human suffering in Indian and other parts of the world. I also focused on how our life experiences shape our identity.

The story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapte

r of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show's questions. Each chapter of Jamal's increasingly layered story reveals where he learned the answers to the show's seemingly impossible quizzes. But one question remains a mystery: what is this young man with no apparent desire for riches really doing on the game show? When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out. At the heart of its storytelling lies the question of how anyone comes to know the things they know about life and love. Written by Fox Searchlight Pictures

Real Life Community Church

We attended the Nampa Real Life Community Church this morning for worship. I was invited by Pastor Dana Hicks to serve on a discussion panel during the service. The panel consisted of Pastor Hicks, Brent Peterson, and I. The panel addressed questions previously submitted by the congregation. The discussion can be heard on the Churches podcast at http://www.reallifecommunity.com/netcast/