Last week I attended my 15th seminary reunion in Princeton, New Jersey. It was a great time to reconnect with old friends and classmates, worship with other pastors and leaders, hear interesting and insightful speakers and eat a few good meals. I also really enjoyed being back on campus and thinking back on my time in seminary. I can remember having coffee or long lunches with classmates discussing theology, the Bible and life. What joy and privilege to be able to engage in such learning and growth!

One of the first text books we had in seminary was an introduction to theology book called Faith Seeking Understanding by Daniel Migliore. I still have it on my shelf here in my office. The title is based on the maxim by Anselm: fides quaerens intellectum. It means something like, "the active love of God seeks deeper knowledge of God."

The idea is that our faith in God makes us more curious about the world and spurs on our quest for more knowledge and learning. As William Sloane Coffin writes, 

"There is nothing anti-intellectual in the leap of faith, for faith is not believing without proof but trusting without reservation. Faith is no substitute for thinking. On the contrary, it is what makes good thinking possible. It has what we might call a limbering effect on the mind; by taking us beyond familiar ground, faith ends up giving us that much more to think about."

This July my sermons will once again be based on theological questions from the congregation. What have you always wondered about God, the Bible or theology but never dared asked? What niggling theological questions of faith and life keep you up at night? Send me an email and I will do my best to address them all in a Faith Seeking Understanding sermon series this summer. Because faith is not the end of exploration, but the beginning and, likewise, sermons are not the end of conversation, but the beginning. Please join me in the fun!  

I look forward to seeing you Sunday!

In faith, hope and love,

Mark