Writing is part of a professor’s life. We write books, articles, lecture notes, emails, and more. At many schools, writing is such an important part of the job that promotions are tied directly to your ability to write. “Publish or perish” as they say. Writing is part of the job.

But blogging? For many, blogging seems like something else entirely. It’s more like a hobby. Professors don’t blog because it contributes to their work as a professor. They blog because…well, why do they blog? Wouldn’t they be better off writing in peer-reviewed academic journals or publishing lengthy and career-advancing scholarly monographs?

I’m sure everyone who blogs does so for different reasons. So I won’t claim to know why other teachers blog. But at least one reason worth considering is that blogging can make you a better teacher.

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been thinking about whether blogging is worth it. In my last post, I explained why I think blogging has made me a better writer. Today our focus shifts to five ways that I think blogging has helped me be a better teacher.

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IVP has kindly provided me with some great books to give away so we can celebrate the launch of the new blog design/domain. Thanks!

So every Thursday, I’m announcing a new book giveaway. And this week’s book is Rodney Reeves’ Spirituality According to Paul: Imitating the Apostle of Christ.

Spirituality often evokes images of quiet centeredness, meditative serenity and freedom from life’s pressures. It’s become a chic
commodity, with its benefits evoked by images of sunrises and secluded retreats.

Contrast the apostle Paul, who promotes a cross-shaped spirituality for fools making their way though life’s trials. Paul realized that images of crucifixion, burial and resurrection would never be popular images of the spiritual life. So he encourages his fellow travelers, who are spiritually united with Christ, to “follow me as I follow Christ.”

As he explores this ancient spiritual path, Rodney Reeves probes our understanding of what Christian spirituality should be. And to illuminate its transformative power, he gives us living illustrations of what it means to follow Paul as he followed Christ. Here is a book that joins a deep understanding of Paul with a pastoral and spiritual wisdom born of experience.

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Thanks to everyone who entered the contest to win The Historical Jesus: Five Views. And in keeping with the football theme of this givewaway, I selected this week’s winner by picking the number of points that I’m hoping the Patriots will lose by on Sunday. And this week’s winner is Russell Almon.

Congratulations Russell. Send me an email and we can make arrangements for me to get the book to you.

Stay tuned tomorrow for another great giveaway courtesy of IVP. And, as always, thanks to IVP for sponsoring these giveaways.

You only have until tomorrow evening to enter for a chance to win Historical Jesus: 5 Views from IVP. I’ll post the winner tomorrow night at 8pm. So, if you haven’t already, make sure you enter the drawing.

It’s been one month since I redecorated the blog and moved it to its new location. And things seem to be running smoothly. Thanks everyone for being patient with any glitches we ran into along the way.

Here are our top posts from January. I excluded the two book giveaways, though you should check out the current giveaway if you haven’t already. Otherwise, the top five posts from the last month are:

• How bad is the job market for PhDs?
• The Absolute Best Way to Grade Essays
• Augustine vs. Chrysostom: How to read Genesis 1-2
• How to Survive & Thrive as a Postgrad Student
• 6 Challenges Every Postgrad Faces

IVP has kindly provided me with some great books to give away so we can celebrate the launch of the new blog design/domain. Thanks!

So every Thursday, I’m announcing a new book giveaway. And this week’s book is The Historical Jesus: Five Views edited by James K. Beilby and Paul R. Eddy.

The Historical Jesus: Five Views provides a venue for readers to sit in on a virtual seminar on the historical Jesus. Beginning with a scene-setting historical introduction by the editors, prominent figures in the Jesus quest set forth their views and respond to their fellow scholars.

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Thank to everyone who entered the contest to win Timothy George’s Reading Scripture with the Reformers. And in keeping with the feline theme of this givewaway, I selected this week’s winner by poking my wife’s cat in the head while it was curled up in front the fire and counting how many seconds it took for it to leave the room. (Actually I used a random number generator. Poking the cat was just for fun.) And this week’s winner is Andrew.

Congratulations Andrew. Send me an email and we can make arrangements for me to get the book to you.

Stay tuned tomorrow for another great giveaway courtesy of IVP. And thanks again to IVP for sponsoring these giveaways. They’re greatly appreciated!

I’m almost at the end of of my second year of regular blogging. Before that, it was more a resource for my students than a true blog. And blogging regularly for two years takes a fair chunk of time. So, as I’ve looked back over the last two years, I’ve wrestled with the question of whether it has really been worth it. And the answer is definitely yes.

Over the next few days, I’m going to explain why. I’m sure there’s more that I could add to this list, but here are the four main reasons that I think two years of blogging has definitely been worth it.

1. Blogging has made me a better writer.

2. Blogging has made me a better teacher.

3. Blogging has helped me stay sharp.

4. Blogging has helped me connect with a broader community.

I’ll explain each of these more in subsequent posts. So stay tuned.

IVP has kindly provided me with four great books to give away so we can celebrate the launch of the new blog design/domain. Thanks!

So every Thursday for the next four weeks, I’ll be announcing a new book giveaway. And this week’s book is Reading Scripture with the Reformers by Timothy George.

In Reading Scripture with the Reformers, Timothy George takes readers through the exciting events of the sixteenth century, showing how this dynamic period was instigated by a fresh return to the Scriptures. George immerses us in the world of the Reformation, its continuities with the ancient and medieval church, and its dramatic upheavals and controversies. Most of all, he uncovers the significant way that the Bible shaped the minds and hearts of the reformers.

This book shows how the key figures of the Reformation read and interpreted Scripture, and how their thought was shaped by what they read. We are invited to see what the church today can learn from the fathers of the Reformation, and how these figures offer a model of reading, praying and living out the Scriptures.

Entering is simple. Just do one or more of the following. And, as usual, the more of these you do, the better your chances of winning. (To make my life easier, please leave one comment for everything that you do. So, for example, if you “like” the post on Facebook and also Tweet about it, leave two comments – one for each.)

Here’s a fun video for any bibliophiles out there.