Pisteuomen - πιστευομεν - T. Michael W. Halcomb

Finally, my 5th language Getting Theological Languages site has launched: Getting Hebrew . As with Getting (Theological) German , Getting (Theological) French , Getting Greek and Getting Aramaic , this site provides user-friendly, interactive resources to help aid you in "Getting Hebrew." Spread the word and go have a look around. Keep watch as many new items will be added in the following days, weeks and months. To visit, click the image-link below:

Hebrew Helps 13-14 are now posted. Here, I look at the the markings or identifiers of Singular & Plural / Masculine & Feminine terms. There are some helpful tips and tables, so, if you get a chance, check it out below! (To see the earlier installations of this series, click the links at the foot of this post.) + Helps 1-3 + Helps 6-8 + Helps 11-12 + Helps 4-5 + Helps 9-10

And up again on the docket, here is another interactive translation module that I just created. As usual, I have posted it on the Getting (Theological) French website. And, as usual, it's pretty sweet!!! Click the image-link below to access it:

And, here is another interactive translation module I just created. As usual, I have posted it on the Getting (Theological) French website. And, as usual, it's pretty sweet!!! Click the image-link below to access it:

Hey everyone, I just created another new translation exercise and posted it on the Getting (Theological) French website. It's pretty sweet!!! Click the image-link below to access it:

Meet Georgia & Lillian. These two girls are truly amazing! These pre-teen twins have started their own project to help sponsor children in Addis Abeba in the Korah area. Their story is both edifying and challenging and forces us to ask and answer the question: If two young children can sponsor children, then why can't I? I hope that as you watch this 53 second video, you will find the compassion to sponsor a child and the creativity to find ways to make it happen. Thank you Georgia & Lillian for all of the great ministry you are doing!!!

That's right, over at HelpKorah.com and Transformation Love , in the last 3 days we've had 3 kids sponsored, how incredible!!! This brings us to to a total of 12 now and puts us just a little ahead of our 1 child every 2 days pace. Do you know someone who might have an interest in sponsoring? Do you have an interest yourself? There's no better time than the present to make it happen. Let's continue giving these kids and their families help and hope. Everyone at HelpKorah and Transformation Love just wants to say "Thank You" to all who are getting the word out and who are helping make this all possible. May we all continue to do our part to advance the Gospel in Addis and to change lives.

In Umberto Eco's novel Foucault's Pendulum , there's a discussion between two of the characters, Belbo and Casaubon, which is quite fascinating. Belbo says this to his friend: "...then last year, when I saw the Pendulum [that hangs in teh Conservatoire des arts et metiers in Paris], I understand everything." "Everything?" "Almost everything. you see, Casaubon, even the Pendulum is a false prophet. You look at it, you think it's the only fixed point in the cosmos, but if you detach it from the ceiling of the Conservatoire and hang it in a brothel, it works just the same. And there are other pendulums: there's one in New York, in the UN building, there's one in the science museum in San Francisco, and God knows how many others. Wherever you put it, Foucault's Pendulum swings from a motionless point while the earth rotates beneath it. Every point of the universe is a fixed point: all you have to do is hang the Pendulum from it....

Now, you might think that title's misleading but actually, it's not! Today, I figured out a way to sponsor a child for $35 a month without having to budget out that $35. Essentially, I have found a way to sponsor a child at no cost. What do I mean? Well, when you sign up for or own a Mastercard, you can also sign up for their free rewards program. One of the great rewards programs they have is called "Cash Rewards." For every cent you spend with your card, you earn money back. Recently, when I checked on our rewards program, I saw that in the last year, we earned $400 in cash. That is enough to cover about 11 & 1/2 months worth of sponsoring a child! If you spend a little more and bring your rewards earnings up to $420, you can sponsor a kid for free with your earnings. You can withdraw these earnings monthly or annually or whenever you need to make your donations. That's right just by shopping, paying your bills and spending, you can sponsor a child....

Hey everyone, I just created another new translation exercise and posted it on the Getting (Theological) French website. It's pretty sweet!!! Click the image-link below to access it:

Hey everyone, check out this new translation exercise I just posted on the Getting (Theological) French website. It's pretty sweet!!! Click the image-link below to access it:

I developed another set of flashcards and this time, they cover the 250 most frequently used French words. You can access them at the Getting (Theological) French site or clicking the image-link below:

It was sad news to hear that one of the theologians who I have found myself in much agreement with over the years has passed away, namely, Clark Pinnock. Clark was, at times, a controversial figure. He was a pioneer in the Open Theism movement and was very interested in hermeneutics. I met him 3 years ago in Cincinnati at a conference and loved the way he presented himself and conducted the Q&A sessions that he was part of. He was a tall guy, brilliant and funny and a guy who often felt ousted by those who owned fundamentalist brands of American Christianity. Regardless, it was clear to me that Clark loved Jesus Christ and that he was very in-tune with God's Spirit; he was a Spirit-filled man! Though Clark and I did not know one another on a personal level, through his books, articles and presentations, I can honestly say that he was one Christian thinker who helped me not only find my own voice, but not be afraid to use it. In the wake of this theological icon's dea...

Check out the first set of Getting (Theological) French flashcards up on the Getting French site. Click the image-link below to go directly to the flashcards page:

It has been a bit since I have really had the chance to begin exploring pacifism here on Pisteuomen again but there's no better time than now to get going again. I had mentioned in Pt. 2 of this series that here, in Pt. 3, I would speak about power. That is still my aim. In particular, I want to talk about power in relation to violence (the topic of my Pt. 2 ) and explore some of the ways they are or can be connected or disconnected. Let's start with the latter. I need to make it clear that power and violence are not the same thing. This should seem obvious enough, after all, they are two different words. As Arendt has pointed out, when we move beyond the individual to the group or society, one difference between power and violence is that power relies on numbers whereas violence can, up to a point, be managed by a single entity. On a different note, but just as well, since I am coming at this from a Christian perspective, I can say that in my tradition, we believe that...

I just wanted to announce here on Pisteuomen that nearly 20 more child sponsorship profiles have been added over at HelpKorah . (this brings us to 27 with 5 having already been sponsored; we started with 33.) You can see and read all of the beautiful profiles by clicking HERE . Please, spread the word and if you feel led, make a decision to change a child's life, a family's life and a community's life! As I mentioned already, we had 5 kids sponsored last week, so, let's see what we can do in the days and weeks to come. Join HelpKorah and Transformation Love in advancing a holistic Gospel in Ethiopia!!!

Head over to Getting (Theological) French and check out a new interactive wordsearch that I have created. It covers 50 very common verbs and is quite fun to play. Enjoy. (Click the image-link below to play the puzzle.)

Head over to Getting (Theological) French and check out this interactive crossword puzzle I created. It covers 20 very common verbs. Be on the lookout for an interactive wordsearch in a little bit too. Enjoy. (Click the image-link below to play the puzzle.)

Here is a 1-page study resource that contains 51 very common geography & nature terms in the French language; many of these can be found in the Gospel accounts. This is another aid I have designed to help those studying (Theological) French and as usual, it is a FREE resource!! Anyway, when you're done with this, if you haven't already, look at the other "Getting Theological French" resources in the table below and visit the Getting (Theological) French website HERE . Also visit my Getting Theological Languages portal HERE . + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 1 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 3 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 5 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 7 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 9 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 11 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 13 " + Link: ...

A few days ago I mentioned here on Pisteuomen that 3 kids had been sponsored via HelpKorah. Well, add two more to that number and make it 5! Things are picking up with the HelpKorah child sponsorship initiative and we certainly hope that more people will consider not only changing the life of a child, but also take the time to realize that in sponsoring one child, you can make a huge, positive difference for an entire family and in turn, part of a community or village. Please, consider sponsoring one of the wonderful children listed on the HelpKorah sponsorship pages . And keep an eye on those pages because more profiles will be added very soon.

Here is a sermon I recently delivered titled In The Shadow Of The Valley , which was the first in a series titled "Worshipping When You Are Wounded." In it, I speak about Jesus' Gethsemane experience (in Mk, of course), some of my own experiences in Ethiopia and offer up some passionate preaching. Enjoy!

Here is a 1 and 1/2 page study resource that contains 200 very common French phrases. This is another aid I have designed to help those studying (Theological) French, though, pt. 13 here is not all that "theological." Still, check it out and oh, as usual, this is another FREE resource (so, don't complain)!!! Also, when you're done, if you haven't already, look at the other "Getting Theological French" resources in the table below and visit the Getting (Theological) French website HERE . + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 1 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 3 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 5 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 7 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 9 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 11 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 2 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 4 ...

The HelpKorah / Transformation Love Child Sponsorship Initiative launched less than a week ago and at this point in time, we have had 3 children receive sponsorship! Praise God!!! You can sponsor a child too. To learn more, just click HERE to visit HelpKorah's Child Sponsorship page. Here are three kids whose lives have literally been changed by being sponsored:

Check out this new theological languages website appropriately titled, Getting Theological Languages. In the main, this is a very simple site that acts as a theological languages portal. In short, it is a quick and easy way to get to my other theological language sites: Getting Greek, Getting Aramaic, Getting (Theological) German, Getting (Theological) French and Getting Hebrew (COMING SOON). Anyway, check it out and spread the word! To visit, click the screenshot below or HERE .

Here is a 1-page study resource that contains 82 French words that have to description (e.g. adjectives). This is another aid I have designed to help those studying (Theological) French. And, as usual, this is another FREE resource!!! Anyway, check it out and when you're done, if you haven't already, look at the other "Getting Theological French" resources in the table below. Also, visit the Getting (Theological) French website HERE . + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 1 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 3 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 5 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 7 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 9 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 11 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 2 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 4 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 6 " + Link:...

Here are the courses, professors and books I will be spending my upcoming semester with and even though I'm looking forward to it all, 12 hours at the PhD level while trying to be a family-man isn't easy! * BS 999 - Exegesis of Romans (Independent Study): Dr. Ben Witherington, III - Ian Scott, Paul’s Way of Knowing: Story, Experience and the Spirit ; Peter Oakes, Reading Romans in Pompeii: Paul's Letter at the Ground Level ; Thomas Tobin, Paul’s Rhetoric in Its Contexts: The Argument of Romans ; Christopher Bryan, A Preface to Romans: Notes on the Epistle in Its Literary and Cultural Setting ; Douglas Moo, Encountering the Book of Romans: A Theological Survey ; Ben Witherington, III, Paul's Letter to the Romans: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary ; Robert Jewett, Romans (Hermenia) * BS 999 - Exegesis of 2 Corinthians (Independent Study): Dr. Fred Long - David Bauer, An Annotated Guide to Biblical Resources for Ministry ; Murray J. Harris, The Second Epistle to the Corinthia...

Are you taking classes this fall? If so, why not save some money when buying your textbooks!?! Having just ordered some books, let me just share with you two things I did to find cheaper textbooks: 1) Signed up for the 1-year of free "Prime Shipping" by registering as a student with Amazon.com . All they require is your .edu email and you are good to go. Here are a couple of snapshots, one from the sign-up page and one from the checkout page: 2) In addition, I would highly recommend using Addall.com . On this site, you can enter the author / title / isbn, etc. for any book and it will scour the internet and compare prices for you. Right before I checked out with amazon, I actually remembered to do this and ended up saving about $10 by finding the book at a less expensive price elsewhere. Here is a screenshot of Addall: If you have tips you'd like to share, feel free to leave them in the comments section of this post. Happy book hunting and have a good semester ev...

Here is a 4-page study resource that contains 172 French words that have to do with food. This is another aid I have designed to help those studying (Theological) French. And, as usual, this is another FREE resource!!! Anyway, check it out and when you're done, if you haven't already, look at the other 10 "Getting Theological French" resources in the table below. Also, visit the Getting (Theological) French website HERE . + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 1 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 3 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 5 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 7 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 9 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 2 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 4 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 6 " + Link: " Getting (Theological) French, Pt. 8 " + Link: " Getting...

I mentioned a couple of days ago that in addition to the HelpKorah Bible Scholars initiative, that we also had a Child Sponsorship project & partnership in the works. I (Michael) cannot even begin to tell you just how thrilled I am to finally be making the announcement that our partnership for this has finally launched! 8 months after starting all of this and two trips to Ethiopia later, HelpKorah, in partnership with Transformation Love Ministries & Mekanisa Addis Kidan Church is finally able to help get children sponsored. Our hope for holistic ministry undergirds our entire approach here as we desire to care physically and spiritually for young boys & girls in Addis. The majority of our children (we currently have 12 profiles posted), as you will see as you view profiles (click HERE or the "Child Sponsorship" tab on the HelpKorah site to see them), have lost the at least one parent to HIV & complications and may soon lose their second parent. Typically...

I know I've said it several times already but I really just wanted to take the time to thank everyone, once again, for all the support and encourage -ment you've shown me over the last few months. Starting with my wife, who made so many sacrifices so that I could travel to Ethiopia, I say "Thank you!" Next, the great folks at my local Church who supported me, "Thank you!" To all those who donated funds, I am incredibly grateful. Quite a few people whom I've never even met face-to-face stepped-up to give me financial backing. The reach of your dollars and mine went farther in advancing the Kingdom than probably most of us will ever know! So, "Thank you!" To everyone who kept up with my blog, checked on my family while I was away, sent notes of encouragement via email and Facebook, "Thank You." I have a million stories I could share but as I am trying to readjust to life here and to process everything, I really would like to sha...

Hey everyone, I just wanted to make a quick announcement about the upcoming event with Shane Claiborne at Embrace Church downtown Lexington, KY. You can see most of the details you need by glancing at the flyer to the left. But if you need any addition details, hit me up and I'll do my best to help you. If y'all can make it out to this event, I'm sure you won't regret it. Come here from a brother in Christ who has his finger on the nerve of some very important theological & cultural issues in our world today.

Hey everyone, please, go check out the new HelpKorah website and join the movement. You'll notice a brand new layout and logo too (we decided to change the logo after another organization who came after us, pretty much hijacked our not only our name but also our original logo...whatever!!!). Anyway, there are lots of things brewing over there and in the coming days I'll be making some more announcements regarding our HelpKorah Bible Scholars initiative as well as our Child Sponsorship program. Anyway, again, please go check the site out and join our Awareness Team and support us                                                                     ...