Tim and Rachel Farley
Our understanding of theology impacts every area of our lives. Theology is not just a mental exercise, but forms the core of who we are and how we live. Theology shapes practice.
My name is Tim and I have a passion for challenging people to live what they say they believe – especially fellow Christians. I received my M.Div. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary and serve as a pastor at a church near Kalamazoo, Michigan. My wife and I love to explore the great outdoors and especially enjoy hiking, backpacking, and cycling. Our only child, Sarah, celebrated her first birthday in January and has alreay begun to show her love for the outdoors as well!
Great blog Tim. These issues you bring up are definitely challenging to this layman’s mind. Keep up the good work!
Hi Tim and Rachel
I am enjoying your blog, Tim and the discussions generated cause us all to examine ourselves. May “iron sharpeneth iron” through your insights and wisdom.
Congratulations on the birth of your daughter, I pray she will grow in the ways of the Lord and have no doubt that you will thoroughly enjoy the adventure! What a blessing daughters are! We welcomed our daughter into the world 9 months ago and together with our two sons we have a home growing with little blessings.
I look forward to reading more about the Work of God in California from here in Australia.
Have a blessed day in Jesus.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and give some insight. Your site was helpful and I look forward to reading more. Thanks again!
hey Tim,
Thanks for the coverage – just a point of clarification – the downloads will be free forevermore, not just on Monday, May 11th.
You said “I have a passion for challenging people to live what they say they believe – especially fellow Christians.” Let’s explore that.
That’s right. Just like you have a passion for tearing down the church while trying to justify it biblically. Just tell me and the readers here your views so we can discuss them in the open.
You have no fruit, nor do the works Jesus did. It won’t be me tearing a church down, it’ll be God. I am nothing. You won’t have the honesty to discuss scripture. Be we can try. “Challenging people to live what they say.” Can you say Mark 16 describes you as a christian? Can you tell me your preaching is confirmed by the spirit doing works?
You know nothing of the fruit of my ministry. You are right, though, I do not do the works Jesus did. He was God. I am not. His works were to demonstrate to people that he was who he claimed to be. When I proclaim the word of God, I do not need signs to validate who I am. I am no one. God validates his word by working in the lives of others through his Spirit.
You want me to validate my salvation by Mark 16? I assume you mean verses 9-20 (especially vv. 15-18). I also assume that you would say these verses describe you? You do realize that almost all New Testament scholars do not believe these verses are even authentic, right? These verses are absent from the earliest manuscripts of Mark and the vocabulary, style, and theological content are all very different from the rest of the book. You need to find another passage than one that has serious doubts regarding its authenticity to make your point.
I am going to ask you to refrain from commenting on my blog any longer if you continue to focus on personal attacks and not on the topics that I am posting. You can use your own blog to launch attacks against your problems with the church.
I thought you might not have the courage, too young I guess. Yes I have more than just Mark 16, but you will find a way or have been taught a way to nullify the works of faith. And yes, by God’s grace those verse’s are and have been coming true. God bless you Tim.
” Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” Will this do instead?
I am willing to have an honest discussion with you on these matters, but you have failed to engage in true dialogue. In every responsed to your comments I have included one or more questions for you to respond to. You have chosen to ignore my questions and only voice more of your views. When you are willing to truly engage by answering my questions to you, I will continue this discussion, but not until you stop ignoring things you would rather not mention.
Yes, I realize that most scholars have not recognized parts of Mark. And no sir, I did not intend for you to validate you salvation.
Hi Tim; I have truly enjoyed reading through you blog but I guess i’m wondering, Who is Tim Farley? Could you share some of your testimony and backround? Would love to know more about you and your bride.
Mark
Mark:
Sorry it has taken me a while to get back to you. We have been passing around the flu at our house and I have not been feeling too great the last couple of days.
You are right that I have not put much personal information on here. When I started this blog I wanted it to be a place to discuss theological issues rather than a personal diary or journal. However, since you asked, I will share a little about myself.
I was raised in a Christian home in NE Ohio and came to know Christ at a young age (9). When my best friend died in an accident while I was in my early twenties, I went through a time of feeling angry with God and searching to know if I truly believed what I had grown up knowing. In the end, God showed his grace and mercy to me in many ways and I emerged stronger and more committed to living my life for Christ than I had ever been.
I began serving my local church by helping in the youth ministry. I am a musician and they needed someone to help form a student worship team. Over time I also taught Bible lessons and participated in almost every area of the youth ministry. Later, I also was asked to start a college-age ministry for the church, which I did for a little over a year.
After several years volunteering, I decided to go to seminary. This decision was made after two former pastors continued to encourage me to consider full-time ministry. Before this I was a technology sales rep and had earned my bachelor’s degree in business administration.
I loved the 3 years I spent in seminary, especially studying Greek and Hebrew. I still love to work in the original languages even though my skills have diminished some. I also loved the church I interned at while studying. I was primarily involved in the youth ministry there, but they gave me opportunity to be involved in almost every area of the ministry. It was a large and growing ministry of about 800, so I feel it gave me some excellent experience.
After seminary, I took a position in California as a Youth/Worship/Outreach pastor. I served there for three years. However, after the birth of our first child, Rachel and I realized that we needed to be closer to family and we are now looking for a ministry closer to home (NE Ohio).
Rachel and I met while attending the same church. We got to know each other because we both served in many of the same areas. We were married in February of 2007. Rachel is a registered nurse and a graduate of Cedarville University in Ohio. Our daughter, Sarah, was born in January of 2009.
I am an outdoor lover. I have always enjoyed hunting, fishing, and camping. Over the last 5 to 10 years, I have also come to love cycling, backpacking, hiking, and snowshoeing. I am a sports fan as well. I grew up playing baseball and still love to play softball whenever possible. I never played organized football, but I am a die-hard Ohio State fan (sorry if you are a U of M guy).
Tim, I found your blog yesterday and have been reading some of your posts. First I need to say, Go Bucks!
I’m originally from Canton, Ohio so we’re probably from the same neck of the woods.
Second, I want to thank you for your faithfulness to God and the work you are doing here. This is good stuff. I like the discussions you help create and the way it encourages people to think more deeply and analytically about their faith, spirituality, and theology. Our church needs more of this. This /is/ the work of Jesus.
I look forward to reading more. I’m sure I’ll find stuff I disagree with but the that’s not the important thing, is it. The important thing is that we learn to love one another as God loves us. Grace to you, my friend.
Chad:
Thanks for stopping by and for commenting. I am originally from the Elyria, Ohio area (SW of Cleveland), so not too far from Canton. I appreciate your encouraging words. I do hope this blog encourages fellow Christians to think. As you said, I am sure we will disagree on some things, but that is okay. I hope we can learn from each other.
It is definitely time for a new picture, Pastor Tim….you know, one of those dignified ones!;-)
Tim, I would like to hear from you. Let me know how you are doing these days.
Kelsey P
“Comments are closed”…..are you done with this blog? Reread some of the posts. Just wondered.