G. A. Dietrich

Parking Lot #6 | Drunken Stupor?

G. A. Dietrich — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 01:30:56 +0000

Click on picture to enlarge

It looks like someone has been hitting the sauce a little too hard! All kidding aside, this is simply an embarrassing parking job by someone in the facilities department at work. I think I have an idea of who and they will go nameless for now.

Parking Lot #5 | Drawing Your Own Lines

G. A. Dietrich — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:48:19 +0000

Click on picture to enlarge

So as my wife was out and about she saw this truck…the funny thing about it though is the story that came with it. As Michelle was leaving the store and driving by the truck she saw a guy taking a picture of the truck. She stopped and told the guy that I would of done the same thing. He proceed to tell Michelle that the truck belong to his mother and couldn’t believe how horrible she did. Michelle circled around and snapped this picture to show just how horrible the lady did.

Quick Update

G. A. Dietrich — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:00:44 +0000

Wow, it has been a couple of weeks since I posted anything…sorry about that. Hopefully that will change really soon. I’m in the middle of a major web project at work and in the midst of doing teaching prep for Genesis on a daily basis. The free time to blog simply hasn’t been there. Don’t worry though, I’m not going anywhere!

(I know, the four people that read this could still care less)

Reading G.K. Beale’s “New Testament Biblical Theology”

G. A. Dietrich — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:34:52 +0000

Starting in a week or so I’m going to start reading through G.K. Beale’s New Testament Biblical Theology, which was released toward the end of last year. I’m starting this pursuit with a couple of other blogger/reviewer types; Craig Hurst and Bob Hayton. We’ll be setting up a discussion forum shortly to discuss what we are reading and learning. Our goal is to read two chapters per week until we are finished. Since this is a larger book it will likely take us the better part of three months to accomplish. If anyone is interested in joining us let me know, we would be glad to have you.

If you are not familiar with Beale and his work in the New Testament you should be. Beale has written some important contributions to the New Testament and biblical theology as a whole. He is frequently highlighted with The Gospel Coalition and is likely best known for his work with Carson, Commentary on the New Testament use of the Old Testament.

Check out this video of Beale discussing this new work.

Another Win for the Good Guys!

G. A. Dietrich — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:14:00 +0000

This is another example of how a law abiding citizen, exercising his second amendment rights, helped exercise some justice. “Sheriff defends man who shot armed robber at SC Waffle House,” check out this article at American Vision News.

Parking Lot #4 | Wal-Mart Edition

G. A. Dietrich — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 22:37:59 +0000

It has been a while since I posted one of these gems, so today I give you the Wal-Mart edition of how to park your car. The caption for this photo I found on a friend’s Facebook page said “Apparently because there is snow on the ground you can park as crazy as you want to….(please note, you can still see the yellow lines).”

Click the image below to enlarge and see how horrible this really is.

TotalFinder for Mac | A Review

G. A. Dietrich — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:08:55 +0000

For the last couple of weeks I have using a piece of software called TotalFinder. The idea behind TotalFinder is bringing a tabbed layout to your Finder window. (If at this point I have lost you and you are trying to figure out what you are supposed to be finding, then you likely are not using a Mac and OS X).

I am used to tabs, in fact I live in my Internet browser a good part of the day, therefore, I am used to and enjoy using tabs. TotalFinder is far more than just adding tabs to Finder though—TotalFinder also gives you:

Dual Mode | This is side by side Finder in one window.
Folders on Top | If you are a recent convert from Windows you’ll likely enjoy the folders on top option that you are used to in Windows
Cut and Paste | The native Finder in OS X for some reason doesn’t have a simple copy and paste, TotalFinder restores that.

TotalFinder is only $18 and has made me more productive by helping me organize my Finder windows. They have a free demo that will give you full functionality for a couple of weeks. I would encourage you to check it out.

Revive & Plant | A Church Planting Conference

G. A. Dietrich — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:32:04 +0000

Some of my friends in the Virginia Beach/Chesapeake area are organizing and hosting a church planting conference this March which looks to be a great gathering to promote church planting and church revitalization. I know a couple of the speakers well and have greatly benefited from them in my life.

Who is speaking?

Scott Osborne, one of the organizers, will be speaking in a couple of sessions. Scott is the pastor of Redemption Church in Chesapeake, VA. Scott and his wife were my campus parents while I was a freshman in college. Years later I had the privilege of being in seminary with Scott. The man loves the gospel and wants to show it through church planting.

Ian McConnell was my pastor in Philadelphia at Grace Bible Church. Spend 5 minutes around this guy and you’ll see he is serious about the gospel and church planting…and Philadelphia sports! I cannot speak highly enough of Ian. When I left Grace Bible Church a couple of years ago to come to Northland the hardest part was knowing that Ian would no longer be caring for my soul as my shepherd.

The third speaker is Tyler Jones, who is one of the movers and shakers in Acts29 (church planting organization) in the southwest area of the US. He and his family are pastoring in the Raleigh area of North Carolina.

When & where should I show up?

The conference is March 22 and 23rd in Chesapeake, VA. The schedule and registration information can be found on the Revive & Plant website.

If you want to connect with them you can find them on Twitter and on Facebook.

D. A. Carson on Teaching

G. A. Dietrich — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:18:13 +0000

I’ve come across this quote a few times and have never shared it. I should have…because it is great! I first saw this quote in an article Andy Naselli wrote called “D. A. Carson’s Theological Method” and then again today Justin Taylor posted it on his blog. The original quote is actually from a book called The Pastor as Scholar and the Scholar as Pastor: Reflections on Life and Ministry, page 98-99.

If I have learned anything in 35 or 40 years of teaching, it is that students don’t learn everything I teach them. What they learn is what I am excited about, the kinds of things I emphasize again and again and again and again. That had better be the gospel.

I hope I can keep this kind of focus.

Reading Your Bible in 2012

G. A. Dietrich — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 21:57:05 +0000

You have probably heard, like I have, that if you “fail to plan you plan to fail.” I think there is tremendous truth in that as one considers how they will be reading their Bible in the new year. I am not a new year resolution sort of guy, however, I do think that a new year does bring a certain responsibility to have a solid Bible reading plan. So I ask you, what do you plan to do to read your Bible in the new year? Let me share with you my approach for the new year and then I’ll point you to some resources for some other methods.

Six to eight months ago I came across what is known as the Grant Horner method of Bible study. Horner is a professor at The Masters College in California. He has come up with a method of reading your Bible that accomplishes two things: (1) It allows you to read a lot of Scripture over the course of a year and (2) it allows you to remember where to find the passages in your Bible.

In essence if you follow Horner’s method you will read 10 chapters of the Bible each day. This method certainly doesn’t come without a commitment of time! The average reader will have to set aside 45 minutes a day for this. What other pursuit in life is more worthy of our time than reading the Scriptures? This is why I am going to [try] to follow Horner’s method. There are a variety of sources available to help you with Horner’s method should you choose this path.

Tim Challies has created the 3650 Challenge, which represents the number of chapters you will read in the Bible if you stick to the plan for the entire year. His post on the topic can be found here, and you can find the Facebook page he created for the challenge at this link.
You can find a published PDF that talks through the system, which provides how it works and why it is unique. | LINK
If you are looking for an iOS app that will help you track your reading I would suggest Bible Bookmarks. It was created specifically for Horner’s method and is what I am using.
Challies has also listed some other resources that will add in your pursuit.

Perhaps Horner’s method is a little too ambitious for you…understandable. You can find some other plans over at The Gospel Coalition on Justin Taylor’s blog. There are a variety of helpful plans listed here and will help you digest Scripture this year. Remember, if you fail to plan you plan to fail. Love reading the Scriptures in this new year and see what God will teach you through it!

Happy New Year to you and your family.