Category: History and Archaeology

Jesus, an Example of Mentoring Leadership

Mentoring leadership
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How did Jesus mentor His disciples? How did He mentor others? How should we mentor those who look to us for leadership? Discover mentoring leadership.

By Mark D. Harris

Institutions from business to government to the military decry poor leadership throughout the world. Examples of poor leadership are legion, as are examples of poor followership. Library shelves groan under the weight of leadership books, and millions of words about leadership spew from audio files into waiting ears every month. And yet, during my 27 years in uniform, the situation never really seemed to get better. The faces changed from 1989 to 2016, but the message did not. Is leadership a dead art? We will look at the example of Jesus.

Teaching as mentoring

One of the greatest strengths of mentoring leaders is the ability to teach.  To reproduce himself, a man must teach, by words and by actions, those who are learning from him.  Jesus taught large groups and the people marveled at the wisdom and authority of His words.  He was doing His most important work, however, when He was teaching small groups of His disciples and other followers (Luke 24:32).

Mentoring leaders also use gifts of exhortation to mentor those entrusted to them.  Exhortation includes encouragement and instruction to do the right and wise thing.  After Peter’s proclamation of faith in Matthew 16:16, Jesus encouraged him.  After Peter denied Jesus in Matthew 26:69-75, Jesus encouraged him again (John 21:15-17).  Many times in the gospels Jesus exhorted His disciples.  Such gifts as exhortation and teaching are evidence of excellent communication, in this case sharing leadership principles and examples to the next generation of leaders.

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Israel at the Time of Hosea

time of Hosea
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Students of the Bible must understand the background to Bible stories and Bible characters if they wish to grow in their faith. This article looks at Israel during the time of Hosea.

By Mark D. Harris

The Prophet Hosea (ministry 750-715 BC) lived at a time of weakness in the northern kingdom of Israel, home of the ten tribes. Within 30 years, Israel would fall to the Assyrian army, its people would be carried into exile, and Israel would cease to exist. The glory days of Jeroboam II were long over. Weak and foolish kings followed him, and the people drifted further from the Lord.

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Acts as Theological History

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The book of Acts in the Bible is reliable history. It is also reliable theology. Together, Acts is Theological History. Those who reject it do so for reasons other than academic honesty. 

By Mark D. Harris

Modern historiography, almost regardless of the topic, has a standard framework.  Whether describing a person’s life or describing an event or series of events, the modern historian will write chronologically; things that happened earlier in time will occur earlier in the article or book. Certain elements are also usually present.  A biography, for example, will almost invariably contain a chapter about the subject’s family and background, another about his birth and childhood, both early in the book, several chapters about his life’s work and contribution in the middle and then a chapter about his death at the end.   Modern authors carefully specify when and where events happened so that readers can associate what they are reading with other people and events.  Ancient history is more likely to be thematic and dialectic than modern history, and less willing to sacrifice theme for chronology.

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Hellenization After Alexander – What was it, and Why Did it Matter?

Hellenization
~ MD Harris Institute ~ 1 Comment

Alexander the Great did far more than conquer the Middle East and large swaths of Central Asia. He spread Greek thought, customs, and culture into every place he went. Hellenization, making cultures more Greek, was anathema in Judea. And yet, Greek and Hebrew cultures mixed to form the milieu of first century Israel.

By Mark D. Harris

When conquerors want to subdue a foe, they crush their armies. If they want to rule a conquered land, however, they must displace the culture of that land. Alexander the Great knew this, and as he wanted an empire that would outlive him, he needed to displace conquered cultures with his own. This was especially urgent to him due to the diversity of his empire, including Assyrians, Jews, Egyptians, Persians, Parthians, Armenians, and a host of others. Hellenism is Greek culture, and is the primary weapon, even more than his armies, that Alexander used to influence Middle Eastern and European history for millennia.

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The Old Testament Prophets – What Did They Do?

~ MD Harris Institute ~ 3 Comments

Prophets seem strange to us, but they also seemed strange to their contemporaries. Who were they, and what did they do? What did the Old Testament prophets do?

By Mark D. Harris

Some Christians believe that the Old Testament (OT) prophets were men who predicted a distant future revealed to them by God.  Either the coming of Christ or the book of Revelation and the end times (or both) are seen as the main message of the Old Testament prophet.  Some critical scholars in the past have seen OT prophecy as unique or even fictitious; their messages brand new without any connection to Israel’s past and with no relevance for the future.  In reality, the primary mission of the prophets was to proclaim God’s truth to the people of their time and place, just like pastors and teachers today are called to do.

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The Intertestamental Period – Where Do We Get Our Knowledge?

Intertestamental period
~ MD Harris Institute ~ 1 Comment

About 400 years elapsed between the end of Malachi and the beginning of Matthew. Called the intertestamental period, this time set the stage for the Roman Empire and the coming of Christ.

By Mark D. Harris

Knowledge is important in all fields, but it derives from different sources.  One can know science by observation and experimentation since physical phenomena are perceivable by the senses and repeatable.  Historical events, however, are not repeatable, and so persons of later eras must rely on written records and on artifacts from earlier eras if they wish to understand them. The best understanding usually comes from a combination of sources.[1]

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