derek vreeland's blog

My Couch to 5K Training Plan

Derek Vreeland — Sat, 19 May 2012 15:10:47 +0000

I started running two years ago, some 18 years after high school when I ran track. I have remained somewhat active through my 20s and 30s, but I wasn’t in very good cardio-vascular shape until I started running. A friend told me about a “Couch to 5K” training program where you can go, quite literally, [...]

N.T. Wright Sings Dylan’s “When the Ship Comes In”

Derek Vreeland — Thu, 10 May 2012 03:21:26 +0000

http://vimeo.com/41782945

I am a huge fan of Tom Wright. I am a huge fan of Bob Dylan. So this video pretty much blew my mind!

Questioning the Just War Assumption: A Response to Daniel Heimbach

Derek Vreeland — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:30:42 +0000

The following is my response to Dr. Heimbach’s blog “For the Record (Daniel Heimbach): Why I am Not a Pacifist.” In his post, Dr. Heimbach summarizes his thoughts concerning the affirmation of the “Just War Theory” over “Pacifism” as a superior Christian ethic. For those who are on the outside of this classic ethical debate [...]

Looking for the World to Come

Derek Vreeland — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:57:10 +0000

The formation of the Christian faith has been built on creeds, the summation of certain beliefs. Some Christians claim to have “no creed but Christ, no book but the Bible,” but this of course is a creedal statement. It is a creed against other creeds! All Christians are able to sum up their beliefs in [...]

The Comforts and Commands of Christ

Derek Vreeland — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:02:34 +0000

Jesus rose from the dead. We believe it, but now what? We are now in the second week of Easter. The celebration known as Easter is not just one day, but it is a season, a seven-week celebration of living life in light of the resurrection. We celebrated on Easter Sunday. We got dressed up. [...]

Why I Have Started Reading Fiction

Derek Vreeland — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 21:12:03 +0000

Check out my blog post on www.seedbed.com, where I explain Why I Have Started Reading Fiction: http://seedbed.com/feed/why-i-have-started-reading-fiction. In the post, I describe how the call to read fiction both shocked me and helped me as a Bible reader and a Bible teacher. In the post I talk about reading Wendell Berry’s That Distant Land, a [...]

Thinking God’s Thoughts After Him

Derek Vreeland — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:00:03 +0000

It is day 26 of Lent. We are more than half-way through our journey to Easter. During this Lenten season I have done a lot of thinking. In a curious sort of way, I have been thinking about thinking or the lack thereof in many pockets of evangelical Christianity. Perhaps my thinking about thinking was [...]

Reading Ideas for Lent

Derek Vreeland — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:52:11 +0000

Ash Wednesday is tomorrow! We are just about 12 hours away from beginning our 40-day journey through Lent. I have been spending the day getting ready for Ash Wednesday. We are hosting services at Word of Life Church at 7AM, Noon, & 7PM in our Upper Room Prayer & Worship Center. We are using the [...]

Why I Practice Lent

Derek Vreeland — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:49:00 +0000

I have been a follower of Jesus for 26 years, spending all of my time worshiping in churches not known for observing the church calendar, not known for following many of the ancient traditions of the Church. The truth is that all local churches have traditions they keep. Traditions, in and of themselves, are not [...]

Merton on Meditation

Derek Vreeland — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:43:12 +0000

I am no mystic, but I believe the human heart can encounter the heart of God. I am no master in the classic, spiritual disciplines of the Christian faith, but I am learning to pray. Meditation is one of those disciplines, one of those practices, of Christians both historic and contemporary. It seems to be [...]