In Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, Susan Cain has an interesting discussion of stage fright, noting that “public speaking is the number-one fear in America, far more common than the fear of death.” I’m terrified pretty much every time I speak in front of other people, so this […]

I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about Paul as a pastoral theologian (or, as a theologically-oriented pastor). I was struck by, and had to re-read a few times, this wonderful closing passage to Part 2 of N. T. Wright’s Paul and the Faithfulness of God: So when people say, as they often do, that […]

Over the last few days I’ve been reflecting a bit on the character of Christian identity with reference to its corporate and individual dimensions. After introducing it in class a few times, I’ve been struck by some of the questions I’ve encountered. As I indicated previously, students from communal cultures (e.g., parts of Africa, Asia, S. America) […]

Yesterday I reproduced a blog post I wrote a few years ago about the first audience(s) of the New Testament. The recipients of NT letters were communities and not individuals (even in the case of Paul’s letter to Philemon!). I brought this up in order to generate some discussion and to clarify my own thoughts […]

I’ve had a number of discussions recently about the differences between modern and first-century conceptions of being Christian. The paragraphs below represent what I’ve taught in classes on the NT. How do these thoughts strike you? The documents of the NT, with a few exceptions, are addressed to communities and not to individuals.  Many of […]

In a recent class, we discussed how the modern value of convenience works against the cultivation of rich community life in churches. We are rushed and hurried, and the frantic and harried pace of life shapes us in such ways that we see occasions where we can linger with one another as “wasted time.” We’re […]

This past Sunday Stephen Holmgren focused our attention on “Christ Carrying the Cross,” by Hieronymus Bosch (1515). It’s an arrestingly beautiful work, and it’s been the occasion for much reflection over the past week. An excerpt from Stephen’s sermon: With sustained attention to the composition of the painting you will notice a significant detail. The faces of seventeen […]

Christianity Today’s recent cover story about N. T. Wright discusses both his broader contribution to the church and his most recent book, Paul and the Faithfulness of God. One particular line in the article struck me, because it reflects a sentiment among evangelical critics of Wright that I find troubling. Wright’s opponents ask, wisely: Did […]

One of N. T. Wright’s most significant contributions is situating Paul (and the rest of the NT writers, for that matter) within the larger narrative framework of Scripture. Many Western Christians read their Bibles in terms of the larger interpretive framework of “my relationship with God” — I was previously a sinner; I’m now saved; […]