The Pastor's Worst Enemy

See David Murray's post on the pastor's worst enemy.

Köstenberger on Timothy and Titus as Apostolic Delegates

Andreas Köstenberger has a post and link here on Timothy and Titus as apostolic delegates.

T. C. Smith on Acts 15

"Chapter 15 is one of the most important chapters in the book of Acts. Obviously, the purpose if Luke is to explain to Theophilus how the Gentiles came to recognized as the worthy acceptance by the Jewish believers in Jerusalem. In less than 700 words the author shows us how and agreement was reached by the church in Jerusalem that would be acceptable to the ultra-Judaistic party and the more liberal wing of the church in Antioch. We would like to know more about the events leading up to the council and the details about the meeting itself, yet in his concise report Luke has given us a masterful presentation."

T. C. Smith, "Acts," in The Broadman Bible Commentary, Volume 10: Acts-1 Corinthians, ed. Clifton J. Allen (Nashville: Broadman,1979), 90.

Extra-Biblical Evidence for a Millennial Kingdom

"The idea of a millennial kingdom is attested in at least three Jewish apocalyptic works basically contemporaneous with the New Testament:1 Enoch 93:3-17 (ca. 167 B.C.); 7:26-44/12:31-34 (ca. A.D. 90); and 4 Ezra2 Baruch 29:3-30:1/40:1-4/72:2-74:3 (ca. A.D. 100). Each of these writings envisions the following scenario: this age-temporary messianic kingdom-eternal age to come/kingdom of God. In each instance, the Messiah will come and form a transitional kingdom between this age and the age to come. Some ancient rabbis held to the same belief (Akiba, ca. A.D. 135; Eliezer b. Hyrcanus, ca. A.D. 90; Jehoshua, ca. A.D. 90)."

J. Daniel Hays, J. Scott Duvall, C. Marvin Pate, Dictionary of Biblical Prophecy and End Times (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 287.

Interview with David Allen on Text-Driven Preaching

Yesterday I introduced a forthcoming volume on expository preaching entitled Text-Driven Preaching. Today I have an interview with David Allen, one of the editors of the book, and also a table of contents for the book.

David Allen is the Dean of the School of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and an outstanding preacher in his own right.

-->

Question: How did Text-Driven Preaching come about?

The idea for the book came about as a result of the preaching lectures I delivered at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in January of 2004. Dr. David Black and I were talking and he suggested the possibility. I immediately agreed and we began to work on the project from there. Originally, Dr. Black and I had planned to serve as co-editors of the book, but due to pressing engagements, he had to drop out. Drs. Akin and Matthews and I teamed up to serve as co-editors.

Question: Why did you write Text-Driven Preaching?

We wrote the book because we see a dearth of genuine expository preaching in many pulpits today. Even among those who do or who attempt to do exposition, many do not know how best to go about the task. We wanted to write a book that would give something of the history, methodology and practice of expository preaching that would be practical for all interested pastors and students.

Question: What is the main thesis of the book?

The main thesis of the book is that all genuine preaching should be text-driven preaching for theological reasons. The Bible is the Word of God. We believe in verbal-plenary inspiration. Consequently, what better to preach on to the people in our churches than the very words of God himself? We believe that all sermons should stay true to the structure, the substance and the spirit of the text of Scripture. Topical preaching fails to do this. We do not believe that expository preaching confines the preacher to a strait-jacket of three points and a poem. Sermons may appear in a variety of forms, as long as they clearly expound the meaning of the text.

Question: Who should read this book?

We would hope every pastor and student who plans to preach or teach the Bible would read it.

Question: What do you hope to accomplish through this book?

We hope to foster genuine biblical preaching that handles the text accurately and creatively at the same time. We hope to encourage pastors to consider preaching through books of the Bible as a part of their preaching ministry. We hope to encourage pastors out there on the front lines to realize that the best thing they can do for their people in the long run is to feed them the Word of God week by week. Nothing short of that will build strong disciples and great churches. Here is the

Table of Contents:

Introduction – David L. Allen

Part I
1. Ancient Rhetoric, A Model for Text-driven Preachers – Paige Patterson
2. A History of Text-driven Preaching – Jim Shaddix
3. The Secret of Preaching with Power – Bill Bennett
4. The Disciplines of a Text-driven Preacher – Ned Matthews

Part II
5. Preparing a Text-driven Sermon – David L. Allen
6. Exegesis for the Text-driven Sermon – David Alan Black
7. Biblical Genres and the Text-driven Sermon – Robert Vogel
8. Biblical Theology and Preaching – James M. Hamilton Jr.
9. Communication Theory and Text-driven Preaching – Hershael W. York
10. Delivering a Text-driven Sermon – Adam B. Dooley and Jerry Vines
11. Applying a Text-driven Sermon – Daniel L. Akin

Conclusion – Ned L. Mathews

Text-Driven Preaching

    
Text-Driven Preaching: God's Word at the Heart of Every Sermon is a forthcoming volume (June 2010) devoted to expository preaching. Here is the publishers description,

Text-Driven Preaching features essays by Daniel L. Akin, Paige Patterson, David Alan Black, Jerry Vines, Hershael York, David L. Allen, Bill Bennett, Ned L. Mathews, Robert Vogel, and Jim Shaddix urging pastors to commit to presenting true expository preaching from the pulpit. Concerned over what some church leaders even consider to be expository preaching today, they agree, “This book rests firmly on the biblical and theological foundation for exposition: God has spoken.”Capturing the urgency and spirit of these writings in the book’s preface, co-editor Allen notes, “The church today is anemic spiritually for many reasons, but one of the major reasons has to be the loss of biblical content in so much of contemporary preaching. Pop psychology substitutes for the Word of God . . . in the headlong rush to be relevant, People magazine and popular television shows have replaced Scripture as sermonic resources.”

Tomorrow I will post an interview with David Allen, one of the editors of Text-Driven Preaching.
   

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre Online

Go here to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre online. Not as good as being in Jerusalem but pretty nifty.


HT: Trevin Wax

Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews that may be of interest from a Bible Exposition perspective include:

Kenneth E. Bailey
The Cross and the Prodigal: Luke 15 through the Eyes of Middle Eastern Peasants
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5098
Reviewed by Robert O'Toole

Craig G. Bartholomew
Ecclesiastes
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7240
Reviewed by Richard Schultz

Manfred T. Brauch
Abusing Scripture: The Consequences of Misreading the Bible
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7160
Reviewed by Michael D. Matlock

Brendan Byrne
A Costly Freedom: A Theological Reading of Mark's Gospel
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6722
Reviewed by Sean Kealy

Duane L. Christensen
Nahum: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7296
Reviewed by Klaas Spronk

Gary N. Knoppers and Kenneth A. Ristau, eds.
Community Identity in Judean Historiography: Biblical and Comparative Perspectives
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7249
Reviewed by Rainer Kessler

R. W. L. Moberly
The Theology of the Book of Genesis
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7215
Reviewed by Brian D. Russell

Stanley E. Porter and Mark J. Boda, eds.
Translating the New Testament: Text, Translation, Theology
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7310
Reviewed by Douglas Moo

John M. Steele, ed.
Calendars and Years: Astronomy and Time in the Ancient Near East
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6789
Reviewed by Mladen Popovic

Conflict in Acts

See Richard Fellows' discussion on conflicts in Acts. I think that Richard is spot on. Acts does not gloss over conflicts, nor does it present a sanitized version of church history. Indeed it can be argued that the conflict passages, like the summary/progress reports, serve an important narratival and theological function(s) within the book.

Pastors and the Value of a Seminary Education

According to the latest Church Leaders Intelligence Report,

Researchers behind a new survey by LifeWay of more than 1,000 Protestant pastors report that more than 95% of pastors at least somewhat agreed that they regularly use their seminary training in their ministry; 71% strongly agreed with that statement. Two-thirds of those surveyed had obtained at least a Master’s degree. 85% said they have taken seminary classes, and 96% said they would make the same decision to take them if they “had it to do over again.” Fewer pastors of small churches had formal seminary training; 74% of pastors of churches under 50 in attendance had attended seminary classes, while 88% of pastors with larger churches had. The vast majority of pastors strongly agree that their seminary training was worth the time and investment (83%); among doctoral-level seminary graduates, the percentage of strong agreement was even higher (94%). Scott McConnell with LifeWay Research said, “This is encouraging news for seminaries at a time when a 2009 report from the Association of Theological Schools indicated seminary enrollment is in a slump. The lack of new students doesn’t appear to be linked to any decline in the perceived relevance of seminary education among pastors.”

Some Resources on Replacement Theology

Go here for both audio and print resources on Replacement Theology from Michael Vlach's recent lectures at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary.

HT: Rodney Decker

Jewish Origins of Gnosticism?

Michael Bird has some interesting thoughts on a possible Jewish origin for Gnosticism here.

Christology

"Let our finest minds, then, devote themselves to the study of Christology. Other subjects may, or may not, be exhausted; other callings may, or may not, be overcrowded; but there is plenty of room in the topmost calling of all, and there is an ever-opening and ever-deepening interest there."

Wilbur M. Smith, Chats From a Minister's Library (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1951), 182.

Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews that may be of interest from a Bible Exposition perspective include:

Elizabeth Boase
The Fulfilment of Doom? The Dialogic Interaction between the Book of Lamentations and the Pre-exilic/Early Exilic Prophetic Literature
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5481
Reviewed by Charles Miller

Jo Carruthers
Esther through the Centuries
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6424
Reviewed by Linda Day
Reviewed by Timothy Laniak

Mark K. George
Israel's Tabernacle as Social Space
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7233
Reviewed by Gert Prinsloo

Joel B. Green
Body, Soul, and Human Life: The Nature of Humanity in the Bible
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7039
Reviewed by Robin Gallaher Branch

Peter J. Leithart
Deep Exegesis: The Mystery of Reading Scripture
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7256
Reviewed by Matthew Gordley

Bruce J. Malina
Timothy: Paul's Closest Associate
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6387
Reviewed by Mark Batluck

Scot McKnight and Joseph B. Modica, eds.
Who Do My Opponents Say That I Am? An Investigation of the Accusations against Jesus
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6663
Reviewed by M. Robert Mulholland

John Oswalt
The Bible among the Myths: Unique Revelation or Just Ancient Literature?
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7263
Reviewed by Claude Mariottini

Tessa Rajak
Translation and Survival: The Greek Bible and the Ancient Jewish Diaspora
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7212
Reviewed by Christopher Beetham

Lesleigh Cushing Stahlberg
Sustaining Fictions: Intertextuality, Midrash, Translation, and the Literary Afterlife of the Bible
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6953
Reviewed by Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer

Tom Thatcher
Greater than Caesar: Christology and Empire in the Fourth Gospel
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7195
Reviewed by Adam Winn

Thirteen Tips for Leading the Congregation in Prayer

See Kevin DeYoung's "Thirteen Tips for leading the congregation in prayer" here.

Church Splits

David Murray has some advice for those who have been, or are now involved in, a church split in this post.

Pitts on Lukan Authorship of Hebrews

Michael Bird has a nice interview with Andrew W. Pitts who is a coauthor of a forthcoming with Joshua F. Walker entitled "The Authorship of Hebrews: A Further Development in the Luke-Paul Relationship" which will be included in forthcoming in book Paul's Social Relations, ed. Stanley Porter (Leiden: Brill, 2010). According to Pitts, "The evidence we examine suggests that Hebrews likely represents a Pauline speech, probably originally delivered in a Diaspora synagogue, that Luke documented in some way during their travels together and which Luke later published as an independent speech to be circulated among house churches in the Jewish-Christian Diaspora." Read the entire interview here.

Journal for the Study of the New Testament: March 2010; Vol. 32, No. 3

Table of Contents:

Guardians, not Taskmasters: The Cultural Resonances of Paul’s Metaphor in Galatians 4.1-2

John K. Goodrich

Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2010;32 251-284
http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/3/251

Immortal Glory and the Problem of Death in Romans 3.23

Ben C. Blackwell

Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2010;32 285-308
http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/3/285

With Homi Bhabha at the Jerusalem City Gates: A Postcolonial Reading of the ‘Triumphant’ Entry (Mark 11.1-11)

Hans Leander

Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2010;32 309-335
http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/3/309

Review Article: Seeking the Identity of Jesus

Richard Bauckham

Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2010;32 337-346
http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/3/337

Review Article: Seeking the Identity of Jesus

John K. Riches

Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2010;32 347-362
http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/3/347

Seeking the Identity of Jesus: A Rejoinder

Beverly Roberts Gaventa and Richard B. Hays

Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2010;32 363-370
http://jnt.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/3/363

Preaching Christ From Ecclesiastes

I just noticed that Sidney Greidanus' book Preaching Christ From Ecclesiastes: Foundations for Expository Sermons is due out in May 2010. Should be interesting. If Eerdmans wants to send me a review copy I would greatly appreciate it!

"Was Jesus' Last Supper a Seder?"

See Jonathan Klawans article entitled "Was Jesus' Last Supper a Seder?" hosted at the Biblical Archaeology Review website here. Although I disagree with Klawans' conclusion that the Lord's Supper was not a Passover Seder, the article provides a decent overview of the issue. I would also suggest that readers take a look at Harold Hoehner's Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, pp. 76-90.

Varner on a New Perspective on Hebrews

See William Varner's post entitled "A New Perspective on Hebrews" here.

Interview With Gerald McDermott

See Trevin Wax's interview of Gerald McDermott, professor of religion and philosophy at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. His new book is The Great Theologians: A Brief Guide here. You can see his list of the eleven most influential theologians on Christian thought among other things.

Thiselton: The Living Paul

One book that I look forward to reading is Anthony Thiselton's The Living Paul. According to the publisher:

The apostle Paul has long had his admirers and revilers. And contemporary Christians often harbor private misgivings about this prominent apostle. Paul sounds harsh, intolerant, misogynistic, and his gospel surely misconstrues the message of Jesus. "How is it," they want to ask, "that some Christians can speak so fondly of Paul?"

Anthony Thiselton is an unabashed admirer of Paul, a student of his letters and a devotee of his gospel. Over a range of issues, Thiselton cleans the lens and sharpens the focus to give us snapshots of Paul's life, mission and thought. Whatever your level of knowledge and experience of Paul, you will find The Living Paul informative and interesting, nuanced and inspiring. A portrait of Paul rendered in the deft strokes of a master.

Rackham on the Fidelity of Luke

Richard Rackham suggests the following in his discussion of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:1–29).

"We now come to a narrative which bears strong testimony to the fidelity of S. Luke. This is indeed incidentally confirmed by the relation of S. Paul to S. Barnabas: at Jerusalem, and in official records, Barnabas stands first (verses 12 and 25), but where S. Luke narrates, or gives his version of the record, he slips into the usual Paul and Barnabas (verse 22: cp. 2 and 35). But the chief evidence is afforded by the speeches. These are of course only brief notes of what was actually said, written out afterwards by S. Luke; and yet in these few verses the characteristic attitudes and phraseology of the speakers unconsciously assert themselves."

Richard Belward Rackham, The Acts of the Apostles: An Exposition (London: Methuen & Co., 1901), 247

While I am a believer in Luke’s fidelity, I am not sure I am convinced that order of names is all that determinative.

Oswalt Discussing The Bible Among the Myths

John Oswalt discussing his recent book The Bible Among the Myths.