October 7, 2021

On Romanticizing Staying or Leaving Difficult Places: A Reflection about Christians and the Middle East Today

By Caleb Hutcherson The views and conclusions in this post represent the author’s opinion and do not represent the views of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary. I wonder if this is the year that we can finally stop glorifying staying in Lebanon and idealizing leaving it. In my family’s 13 […]
September 30, 2021

The Re-Modeling of the 21st Century Church into a Business-Like Enterprise: An Unsettling Trend of Ecclesiology

by Walid Zailaa Two years ago, I was privileged to be invited to serve as a pastor of a local church. In my relatively new capacity, I am always faced with the question of connections, networks, and partnerships (especially with the West) to such a degree that I thought for […]
September 23, 2021

Repost- Death in the Shadows of Displacement: Forced Migration, Deathliness, and the Hope for Life

By Brent Hamoud This is a revised version of a post first published in 2018 How do we share a world with over 82 million victims of displacement? This is a defining question of the 21st century as unprecedented numbers of individuals have been uprooted from their homes and thrust into precarious […]
September 16, 2021

Middle East Consultation 2021: Thinking Ecclesiology from Lebanon to the Middle East and the World

Change is daunting. Rethinking ideas, questioning practices, and scrutinizing convictions can likely lead to unknown consequences. Our desire for a sense of normalcy can often make even minor tweaks feel monumentally upending. The adage that “the only constant in life is change” extends to all of life, but it is […]
September 9, 2021

Getting Real in Prayer

by Kees  van der Knijff Too often these days, I find I am unable to pray more than a few words: “Lord, have mercy.” Overwhelmed by all that is happening in Lebanon and all around the world, everything else seems shallow, superfluous. Other mornings, I hear myself pray for justice, […]
September 2, 2021

The Agony of Afghanistan

by Mike Kuhn No need to review recent events in Afghanistan. We all know. The result is agonizing for much of the world, elating, perhaps, for some. No claim to a comprehensive treatment here…there’s far too much to consider—the massive toll in human lives from 20 years of military occupation, […]
August 26, 2021

Are We There Yet?: Thinking Through Perplexities of Lebanon

By Smyrna Khalaf “Are we there yet?” This is a question parents with young children have gotten used to hearing – especially during long drives – and it can drive everyone else crazy. Children usually ask this question not because they want to annoy their parents but because they don’t […]
August 19, 2021

The ABTS Blog: A New Brand for a Long-Established Platform

By Elie Haddad The stated purpose of our blog is to “provide theological reflections by ABTS voices about pressing matters of faith and witness in the Middle East and beyond.” There is no shortage of high-quality theological reflections on pressing matters of faith and witness around the globe. We read […]