• Home
  • About This Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • Comment Policy

Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
Home Commentary What I’ve been doing instead of blogging

What I’ve been doing instead of blogging

Posted on February 25, 2017 Written by Mark McIntyre 1 Comment


PCA LogoThose who regularly read this blog have probably realized that over the last year, posts have been rather sporadic. I took a long break between Memorial Day and Labor Day and haven’t posted very regularly since coming back to it in September.

I thought I would take a few minutes to tell you what has been consuming my time.

A couple of years ago, I became convinced that I should pursue licensure to preach in the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA), the domination to which I currently belong. The reasons for pursuing this were two. First, it was an opportunity to sharpen both my knowledge of the Bible and my theological understanding. And secondly, it would qualify me to be “on the bench” for the PCA churches in our area, some of which are small church plants that do not have multiple elders who are qualified to fill the pulpit.

The PCA has adopted the Westminster Confession of Faith along with the two Westminster Catechisms as the definitive statements of their belief. These were documents to which I had no exposure prior to moving forward toward licensure. And, while I have a graduate degree in Biblical Studies, that degree was obtained more than 25 years ago, so I was more than a little rusty in my knowledge and it took a lot of time and effort to gain the required familiarity with these documents to pass the licensure examinations. This preparation consumed the time that I would otherwise have invested in posting to this blog.

I am happy to say that last Saturday, February 18, the final step in the process was completed. I am now officially licensed by the Eastern Pennsylvania Presbytery to preach in the churches of the PCA. I am relieved that the process is over and am excited to see what opportunities present themselves to preach. I am also happy to be able to spend some time writing for Attempts at Honesty.

Before starting this process, I would have told you that I am really bad at memorization. I envy those who can read something a couple of times and regurgitate it word for word with little effort. My brain is not like that. But, I did find out that even though it requires a lot of effort on my part, I can indeed memorize and have memorized about half of the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

If you are convinced that you cannot memorize Bible verses or anything else, I encourage you to not give up. The effort will be rewarded by the quick recall of what you have memorized.


Filed Under: Commentary Tagged With: licensure, PCA, preach

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

Follow Attempts at Honesty

Honesty in your Inbox

Truth is Narrow

Truth is an arrow and the gate is narrow

Those who approve of homosexual union think us narrow to reject their claims. Yet Jesus and Bob Dylan tell us that the truth is narrow. We can choose to acquiesce to the culture or stand with Jesus. I know who wins in the end and I choose to stand with him.

C. S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis on Christian morality

People often think of Christian morality as a kind of bargain in which God says, ‘If you keep a lot of rules I’ll reward you, and if you don’t I’ll do the other thing.’ I don’t think that is the best way of looking at it.

Peaceful

On the peaceful transfer of power

Presidential inaugurations have historically been peaceful transitions of power where the office transcends party politics and is honored by citizens regardless of their party affiliation. But yesterday there were violent protests against our newly minted president.

Saving Leonardo

Nancy Pearcy on the Logos

John’s Gospel begins, “In the beginning was the Logos.” A paragraph by Nancy Pearcey helps set this phrase in its cultural context.

Why are you provoked? A Lesson from the Apostle Paul

Acts 17:16 records that when the Apostle Paul arrived in Athens, “his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.” Lots of things provoke me; I assume that is true for you also. The challenge that I get from reading about the Apostle Paul is that I […]

Post Series

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series

Categories

Archives

Blogger Grid
Follow me on Blogarama

Copyright © 2022 · Focus Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in