2019 New York Bistro Award winner, Shirley Crabbe was hailed by Downbeat Magazine’s John Ephland as possessing an, “…almost Ella Fitzgerald–like vibe…”
— Read on www.storybeat.net/shirley-crabbe/
Author: stevekinnard
Teachers Teach: Equipping Bible Teachers for the Teaching Ministry
Dr. Kinnard with the ministry interns in Lagos, Nigeria
My name is Steve Kinnard. I am a teacher and an evangelist with the New York City Church Of Christ. I’m also the Dean of the Bible Department and Professor of Bible at the Rocky Mountain School of Ministry and Theology. I am also an Adjunct Professor of Bible at Lincoln Christian University. I’m part of the Teachers Service Team in the ICOC.
For the past few years, I’ve been training Bible teachers for the teaching ministry in Africa. The past summer I was able to help recognize three new teachers in the Lagos church. As far as I know, they were the first three teachers appointed in our churches on the continent of Africa. In the picture below, you see our three newest teachers (from left to right) Fred George, Emmanuel Emeh, and Gilbert Kimeng.
One of the greatest thrills of my ministry life has been helping train these gifted men to become teachers in the teaching ministry. I’m not the only one who trained them. They were trained by many people in their local churches including their elders and evangelists. Other teachers like Douglas Jacoby and Joey Harris helped train them. But I had a hand in their training, and I’m grateful for that.
In 2019, we hope to recognize three teachers in French West Africa (Abidjan, Ivory Coast and Kinshasha, Democratic Republic of Congo) and East Africa (Nairobi, Kenya).
So what is Teachers Teach? Teachers Teach is a teacher training initiative. This series is for people who wish to be trained in the teaching ministry of the church. I want to help equip women and men who have the gift of teaching to maximize their gift in order to serve their local ministries. The program is open to salaried staff people and non-salaried members of the church.
I’m currently recording videos of lessons that I used to help train teachers on the continent of Africa. I also want to send out written lessons, articles, interviews of other teachers, and book reviews. I plan on sending out a lesson every other week.
This program is not designed to replace the training that teachers will receive from their local ministry leaders. It is a supplement to that training.
How do you sign up? Simply send your name, email address, and current city and country to stevekinnard@mac.com. When I receive your information, I’ll add you to the email list. When new material is ready, you’ll be notified.
Here is a link to the first video lesson–https://vimeo.com/314091277.
Please share this initiative with other people. Share the video, share my blog https://wordpress.com/stevekinnard, and ask people to contact me to join my email list at stevekinnard@mac.com.
Grace and peace,
Dr. G. Steve Kinnard
The elders of the Lagos church praying over Gilbert, Fred, and Emmanuel as they were recognized as teachers of the Lagos church.
Teachers Teach
Teacher Training for women or men who are interested in the teaching ministry.
Tolkien On Writing TLTR
J. R. R. Tolkien shares about some of the people and places he discovered along his journey of writing The Lord of The Rings. As I was writing Our Struggle, I too discovered many wonderful people and places. That’s part of the beauty of writing. If you open your heart to the story, then the story comes to you.
Books on Spiritual Warfare
One of my students at Lincoln Christian University was asking about books on the topic–Spiritual Warfare. This is a topic I like to study. If you are unfamiliar with the topic, you should begin by reading Ephesians 6.
Here are books I enjoy in this area. Some might surprise you:
The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis
Powers of Evil: A Biblical Study of Satan and Demons by Sydney Page
Three Questions about Spiritual Warfare by Clifton Arnold
The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
Pilgrims Progress by Bunyan (get a modern edition)
God at War by Gregory Boyd
The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible by Michael S. Heiser
Seeing the Unseen: Preparing for Spiritual War by Joe Beam
Our Struggle by G. Steve Kinnard
“What the Cross Means to Me” by Chris Exias
This past Sunday, Chris Exias shared a communion message with the Hudson Valley Ministry of the New York City Church of Christ. I found the message to be incredibly inspiring and asked Chris if I could share the message with you. He graciously allowed me to post his message. Here is the message followed by a short bio from Chris. –GSK
Good morning church and Happy New Year. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you about what the cross means to me. I am Chris Exias and both my wife, Alejandra and I were baptized last year, so 2018 was a big year in our household.
New Year’s is often the time for goals, whether spiritual, professional, personal or familial. Although we are often fixated on the future at this early period of the year, the God we serve is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. With this in mind, I’d like to speak about how Jesus’s expression of love on the cross covers our past, present and future. I’d like to share a few Bible passages that embody why He died and why He lives in us today.
It was Christ’s sacrifice that allowed us to be called sons and daughters of the Most High. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” As I studied the word, it was hard to come to terms with my selfish and worldly desires, which were nailed to the cross with our Lord so that I could be born again into Christ.
But as the old adage says, old habits die hard. Today, I constantly remind myself of Jesus’s statement in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”. Lately, my walk with God has revealed areas of weakness in my spiritual and family life. When my wife and I were married, there was that oh-so popular but still oh-so-relevant reading from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, which states “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails”. I admit that I have failed to be patient and kind to my loved ones, the ones I hold most dear to my heart. Indeed, I prayed just this morning that God help me in these areas so that I can be the spiritual leader and man of God He wants me to be and my family needs me to be.
2019 brings great promise and lots of possibilities. Alejandra and I are looking forward to meeting our son Mateo, Matthew in Spanish. Matthew ends his gospel account with the Great Commission, which is as follows: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Surely I am with you always to the very end of the age. What a great source of comfort and joy, two ideas that need not end after the Christmas season has passed.
The cross means that no matter what season I am in, whether I am looking back, down or forward, the cross reminds me to always look up, as our Heavenly father was, is and will always be there. In sum, the cross means reconciliation for the past, faith for the present, and hope for the future.
Bio:
Chris was born in New York City and was raised in Stamford, Connecticut in a Catholic home. He attended a Jesuit high school in Connecticut that emphasized service to others and the ideal of using faith to reveal the fullness of truth. He attended Trinity College and then the University of Connecticut School of Law, where he met his soulmate and best friend, Alejandra. They are both practicing attorneys in Rockland County.
Chris began attending the New York City Church of Christ in 2014. After a hiatus following the birth of his daughter, Gabriela, Chris and Alejandra began regularly attending services in the Hudson Valley Region of the New York City Church of Christ. Alejandra was baptized on January 15, 2018 and Chris was baptized on July 15, 2018. They live in Suffern, NY with their daughter, Gabriela and are expecting a son, Mateo, in March of 2019. They love the community of believers they have found in the Hudson Valley Region of the New York City Church of Christ.
My 5 Favorite Books on The Holy Land
This is a picture of my wife Leigh and me before a tree in the Garden of Gethsemane that we like to call “The Chelsea Tree.” Our family had the wonderful opportunity of living in Jerusalem for a year. While there, we often went to the Garden of Gethsemane for family devotionals. Our daughter Chelsea would climb in this tree, perch herself on the branch above us, and pray. Thus, “The Chelsea Tree.”
Over the last decade I’ve had the privilege of co-leading tour groups to the Holy Land with my good friend Douglas Jacoby. (Go to https://www.douglasjacoby.com/2019-bst-israel/ for details of the 2019 tour). We always have a devotional (usually a Sunday service) in the Garden of Gethsemane on our tours. While there, I find “The Chelsea Tree” and pray beside her tree. It’s one of several special connections I’ve made with the Holy Land over the years.
People often ask me about good books to read before going on a trip to the Holy Land. It should probably go without saying, but the first and most important book to read is the Bible. It’s good to go into a tour of the Holy Land with a working knowledge of the people and places of the Bible. After visiting the Holy Land you will be able to visualize the scenes of the Bible like never before. So, start with the Bible and end with the Bible.
Outside of the Bible itself, here are five of my favorite books on The Holy Land:
1. For the scholar:
THE best scholarly book is Jerome Murphy O’Conner’s The Holy Land: Oxford Archaeological Guides. I was blessed to go on a walking tour with Dr. O’Conner when I lived in Jerusalem. He autographed my copy of his book. So I have that going for me, and that’s cool.
2/3. For the general reader:
Two good books for the general audience are:
Bargil Pixner’s
With Jesus Through Galilee According to the Fifth Gospel
And
With Jesus In Jerusalem.
My wife and I were fortune enough to hear Dr. Pixner lecture on his books.
4. For the tourist:
There are many tourist guides, but I like the Knopf Guide: The Holy Land. It’s a good size, built with rugged construction, and is very readable. Plus, it has gorgeous pictures throughout. I think you’ll like this book.
One more.
5. For the mystic:
For a nice spiritual journey through the Holy Land I suggest Jesus: A Pilgrimage by James Martin. It’s easy to read and full of practical knowledge on Jesus and his ministry. Interestingly, most of his archaeological material comes from Jerome Murphy O’Conner’s book.
There you are. My 5 favorite books on the Holy Land.
Enjoy.
And come on a tour with Douglas and me. It will be one of the highlights of your spiritual journey.
Dr. G. Steve Kinnard
From “Late Hours” by Lisel Mueller
Psalm 121 as retold by Michael Wigglesworth
The King Jesus Herald 