In our Wednesday night services for the past few months, we've been doing what I call a cooperative bible study. That is, I try to act more as a facilitator than a teacher. I really enjoy being a moderator for this kind of study, even though it is difficult for me to keep my mouth shut sometimes. For the last couple weeks we've been studying the "five-fold" (or four-fold) gifts in Ephesians 4. We encountered a situation where one bible dictionary gave a definition of evangelist as "one who evangelizes"...not very helpful. My comment at the time was "time to get a new bible dictionary". So I thought I would post some bible dictionary recommendations.

On a budget (free online):

The International Standard bible Encyclopedia - This work has been revised and expanded (the current edition is nearly 5,000 pages) but the first edition is still useful and it's available free online.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary - Another good free online tool.

The basics:

The New Unger's Bible Dictionary - This is a good tool to have. I reference it often.

Vine's Expository Dictionary - Older and not as detailed as Unger's, but still quite useful.

Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary - I don't personally have a copy of this work yet, but it's been recommended by a number of people as "Vine's for the 21st century".

If I've missed a bible dictionary that you've found particularly helpful, leave a comment.

Over 20 years ago <shudder> I was a leader of the Campus Life group at my high school and a subscriber to Campus Life Magazine. A former editor at the magazine had left to write novels, so the magazine published an excerpt from one of his books, Dream Thief. His name: Stephen R. Lawhead, and I immediately loved his writing. I went back and read all his books that I could get my hands on.

When I got to college, I found my new roommate to be a Lawhead fan too...one of the few things we had in common. I was quiet, bookish, and a bit socially awkward. He was outgoing, loud, and the life of every party. One day he had a crazy idea. "Let's call Stephen Lawhead!" I thought it was the craziest thing I'd ever heard but he talked me into it. We looked at a dust cover that said he lived in Lincoln, Nebraska so we picked up the phone and dialed information. His wife, Alice, answered the phone and said that Stephen wasn't home but we could call back in a half hour or so. I was ready to quit but my roommate was not giving up. We called back later and spoke for a good 30 minutes with our favorite author. He was incredibly friendly and gracious with a couple of audacious teenagers. He told us he was packing up the family to move to Oxford, England to begin researching his new book series: The Pendragon Cycle.

As simple as it was, I'll never forget that experience. Faithful readers of my blog know I've mentioned Stephen Lawhead a number of times. His books are really the only works of fiction I take the time to read. Even though he is primarily a writer of fiction, his books have taught me, challenged me, and encouraged me throughout my life. In particular, God used Stephen's book Byzantium to help wake me from a very dark time in my life. It's the only time a book has ever brought me to tears. I consider him a mentor of sorts, even though I've never really met him.

This weekend I was stunned to receive an email from Stephen's mother, Lois. She had noticed that I mentioned Stephen in my blog. At first, I was stunned that she would write to me. As I read the letter, I was stunned by the news she shared. Stephen is ill and has been hospitalized. She asked me to pray for Stephen's recovery. With this blog, however, I can do better than that. I can get lots of people to pray for him. So I'm asking: please pray for Stephen Lawhead and his family as they go through this trial.

I don't watch much PBS TV. Based on this video, maybe I should watch more. I particularly appreciated the second segment with Greg Boyd. I know it's an hour-long video, but it's worth it.

I feel I need to qualify this posting. I certainly don't agree with all of Boyd's theology, but I think he makes some good points in this video. It troubles me a bit that I feel this way, because I could say the same thing about Rick Warren and nearly everyone else I quote or every book I recommend. I don't want to publish a "doctrinal purity" scale for every recommendation I make, but I also don't want to be misunderstood. I honestly need to think more about how to handle this kind of thing. I hope my faithful readers will agree that we can learn from people even when we don't agree with them 100%.

HT: The Blind Beggar

Peter Chattaway blogged today about a new book and possible movie, Here, There Be Dragons. The premise of the book is that The Inklings actually were adventurers themselves, rather than just men who wrote about adventures. Color me intrigued. I might just add this to my daughter's Christmas list.

Good thing she doesn't read my blog. :-)