All Saints Presbyterian Church

Austin Has A New Seminary

Last March, my wife, Julianna, and I were planning a weekend trip to St. Louis to begin looking for places to live. We were about to move from Austin to St. Louis, so that I could begin a seminary degree at Covenant Seminary. My wife was going to quit her studies at UT, and I was going to quit my work at All Saints. In God's Providence, days before we were going to purchase our flight to St. Louis, I received an email from a friend informing me that a seminary was to be planted in Austin that coming fall. Despite the incredible education and community offered by Covenant Seminary, Julianna and I were drawn to the idea of continuing our education within the church and community of All Saints and Austin. I decided to become one of the seven first-time, full-time seminary students at Redeemer Seminary in Austin. 

Tim Keller at Covenant Seminary

"In November, Tim Keller, senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, visited the Covenant Seminary campus for a Q&A session with Dr. Bryan Chapell. Rev. Keller answered questions submitted by students and discussed topics ranging from church planting to idol worship."

Those participating in an All Saints small group considering Christian Discipleship may find Keller's comments on his personal attempts at daily prayer especially relevant. Pick up at around the 41:50 mark to hear him talk about his fight against being proud, cold, scared, and hooked.

Recommended.

AUDIO

Casting lots for leaders?

During “Sunday School” this past week, we talked about “faithful interpretation, with all the saints, of scripture in the light of Christ.” “With all the saints” implies that as Christians we are not only aware of, but desirous to glean from, Christians across time (history) and tradition whenever we find someone with wisdom and a gift for discerning God’s Word. Thus, I quoted Stanley Hauerwas this past Sunday. Dr. Hauerwas teaches at Duke University and did his Ph.D. under the most prominent Mennonite scholar in our time, John Howard Yoder. Here is an excerpt from an interview with Dr. Hauerwas which includes his take on the choosing of Matthias by lot, which I referenced in the sermon.

Holy Spirit and Improvisation

3 questions with Richard Winter

Dr. Richard Winter joins us next Friday for our annual Growth in Grace Conference.  He’ll be talking about perfectionism.  Tickets are selling out fast, so be sure to purchase them at the book table this Sunday or call the church office. What follows is a brief interview between Greg and Richard, along with a few other Winter resources. 

In recent years you've written books on boredom and perfectionism. What drew you to the subject of perfectionism?

Firstly, in my family there is a strong influence of “healthy” perfectionism in the value that is placed on hard work, high standards, good grades, punctuality, cleanliness, tidiness, moral integrity, and maintaining good relationships.  What is normal? What is healthy?  The perfectionist tendencies verge on the unhealthy, contributing to indecision, procrastination, obsessive behavior, depression, and even criticism - almost contempt, for others who do not live up to the same standards.  For most of us it has been a good trait that contributes to achievement and success and does not damage relationships.  But the line is fine and the question recurs: when does being good become bad? Should I always try to be better? In some areas of life I wish I was more of a perfectionist.

The Greeks hate me; by Garrett Lathan

Hello brothers and sisters back in Austin,

I write this across the table from a giant stack of Greek flashcards. It is towering and chock full of strange letters, long words, and frightening grammar rules all of which reflect the guiding principal our Greek Professor Brad Matthews told us to help us in studying the Biblical Greek: “Just remember, the Greeks hate you.” Seriously though, studying Greek has been a wonderful experience so far, and one I am actually enjoying.

First I want to thank all of you for your kind support of Sara and me while we attend Covenant Seminary. I can’t tell you how much All Saints’ support - from prayer, to checks from the missions committee, to the personal notes included on those checks -  means to us.  By the way, some of that money put a new clutch in my car when it broke down on the way to work last month.