Blog Archives - Page 13 of 23 - Timothy Paul Jones

Family Ministry: Three Models for Ministry to Families

4th August 2016

When asked to provide a step-by-step process for implementing family ministry, Mark DeVries jokingly provided this progression: “Try something. Fail. Try something else. Fail again. Try something else. Stumble on one thing that works. Repeat what works. Try something else … you get the idea.” I appreciate Mark’s honesty and good humor, and there’s certainly […]

Giveaway: Win a Free Family Ministry Field Guide

3rd August 2016

Here’s what The Gospel Coalition had to say about Family Ministry Field Guide: Family Ministry Field Guide is not a cure-all for family ministry, and it doesn’t claim to be. Therefore, anyone who comes to this book looking for all the Bible says about families will be disappointed. But so will the person who comes […]

Leadership: The Important of a Pastor’s Presence with His People

2nd August 2016

United with Christ the perfect shepherd and sacrificial lamb, all of God’s people become sheep—but not all of God’s people become shepherds. In the new covenant, the elders of the church are uniquely designated as shepherds who join in the work of the Chief Shepherd (John 21:15-19; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Peter 5:4). But what does […]

Apologetics: Constantine, the New Testament Canon, and the Conversion of the Roman Empire

1st August 2016

Ariel Sabar has penned a devastating exposé of the forged fragment known as Gospel of Jesus’ Wife. The article is well-researched and well-written—but it also includes a couple of historical errors that seem to have become conventional wisdom in far too many news articles.

Proclamation: The Search for a Shining Face

28th July 2016

What does the book of Ecclesiastes have to say to believers in Jesus Christ today? Quite a lot, as it turns out. Sure, the book starts with the refrain, “Emptiness! Emptiness! Everything is emptiness”—but it doesn’t end there.

Church History: Rome Burned, But Nero Never Fiddled

23rd July 2016

In late July in the year AD 64, a fire began in the city of Rome that changed the course of history. The fire raged six days before being brought under control. When the smoke cleared on July 23, seven of Rome’s fourteen districts had been partly destroyed and three districts were completely obliterated. Then […]

Apologetics: What If the Copies Were Corrupted?

11th January 2016

Suppose you own a Bible, but it’s translated in a style that’s difficult to understand. Or maybe your Bible has simply worn out from years of usage. If so, you can easily walk into any Christian bookstore and pick up a different version of the Bible. The earliest Christians couldn’t do that. There was no […]

Apologetics: How the New Testament Epistles Were Written

8th January 2016

Have you ever wondered exactly how the New Testament epistles were written? Did Paul sit down with a fountain pen and a piece of papyrus? Did Peter and James sketch out an outline before they wrote their letters? And what caused the apostles to write their letters in the first place? It was in the […]

Apologetics: Why the Lost Gospels Were Lost

6th January 2016

What are the “lost Gospels”? The term “lost Gospels” usually refers to ancient writings that were excluded from the New Testament, even though they included supposed recollections of events and teachings from the life of Jesus. A few of these lost Gospels have lasted throughout the centuries. Others survive only in tiny fragments of papyrus or […]

Leadership: The Past, the Present, and the Possibilities in Online Theological Education

4th January 2016

I have never been a traditional college student. I’ve earned three degrees but never once lived on a college or seminary campus, and I’ve worked forty hours a week or more while earning every one of my degrees. In the process, I’ve witnessed a momentous shift in higher education—a movement from on-campus education in fall […]

Culture: The Worldview of Star Wars

30th December 2015

To coincide with what has become one of the biggest movie premieres in history, The Christian Examiner discussed the theology behind the Star Wars universe with me. Why is our society so enamored with Star Wars? Incessant merchandising, of course, has been part of it from the very beginning. But there are a couple of additional […]

Family Ministry: PROOF Pirates Book and Vacation Bible School Material

6th November 2015

Chore charts. Report cards. Standardized tests. Athletic banquets. Kids are inundated with messages about their performance. Because performance—work and reward—is one of the basic structures of our lives, kids often grow up thinking, “I am what I am because of what I do . . . or because of what I’ve failed to do.” How […]

Family Ministry: What If Your Child Is Far More Than Your Child?

12th October 2015

An excerpt from my recent book, co-edited with Dr. John David Trentham, Practical Family Ministry

Apologetics: How Did the Bible Begin?

28th September 2015

Have you ever wondered how the Bible got started in the first place? That is one of the many questions I address in my new book How We Got the Bible. See the excerpt below from chapter two, “How Did the Old Testament Get from God to You?” to learn how the Bible began and who […]

Apologetics: What’s So Special about the Bible?

23rd September 2015

Perhaps at one point or another, you have found yourself gazing down at a leather bound copy of a large book with small print titled The Holy Bible and asking the question, “Why did God decide to leave us with this?” This God-inspired book wasn’t an afterthought or an accident! Eternal eons before God created […]

Practical Family Ministry: A Book I’m Not Embarrassed to Beg You to Buy

21st September 2015

You may have noticed that I have a new book out that I co-edited with my colleague Dr. John David Trentham. In Practical Family Ministry, we’ve brought together several practitioners to provide you with a plethora of practical ideas to strengthen your church’s family ministry. Sometimes, I’m hesitant to ask you to purchase a book that I’ve written […]

Family Ministry: Three Truths and Three Tips for Engaging with Families in Your Church

16th September 2015

The animated feature The Incredibles is a favorite movie in our household—and one of our favorite scenes is the family meal early in the film. Dinner at the Parr household has deteriorated into pandemonium. The infant squeals in delight at the chaos as two siblings engage in super-powered combat. A frazzled mom strains unsuccessfully to […]

Apologetics: An Interview about How the Bible Came to Be

14th September 2015

Ivan Mesa, an editor for The Gospel Coalition, recently had a conversation with Timothy Paul Jones about how we got—and why we should trust—God’s Word, the topic of his recent book How We Got the Bible. At the bottom of this post, click on the coupon for a discount code that lets you buy the book for only $9.99–one-third off […]

Church History: Jan Hus, John Wycliffe, and the Word of God for Every Person

6th July 2015

In 1415, a church council gathered in the city of Constance. One of the items on their agenda was a heresy trial. In addition to ending a decades-long multiplicity of popes, the Council of Constance concluded that two particular priests had turned into heretics and that both of them must be burned. There was, however, […]

Church History: Father’s Day without a Father and the Unsung Stanzas of Amazing Grace

21st June 2015

Today, for the fourth year, I experience Father’s Day as a father but without a living father. My father passed away in the late summer of 2011. As far back as I can remember, his favorite hymn was “Amazing Grace.” I do not recall this song ever being sung without it drawing tears from his eyes. […]