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Exciting Updates

Some things coming up that are gathering a bit of excitement from me:

  • I am very excited that I will get to write an example church liturgy as a project for my Biblical Theology of Worship class. I plan on doing a special occasion (Christmas, Easter, or wedding, probably). This is going to end up probably relying a lot on Calvin (who himself relied a lot on the early church), with a bit of Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer, and a lot of Scripture. I want the full gospel to be proclaimed in this liturgy.
  • I am looking at the books I am considering reading over the one and a half month winter holiday. I will only knock one or two out at the most, but I have so many possibilites. So far under consideration are The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton, Eric Gill by Fiona McCarthy, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, The Mortification of Sin and The Death of Death in the Death of Christ by John Owen, Saint Francis of Assisi by G.K. Chesterton, and Encoutering the Mystery by Patriarch Bartholomew, among others. Any thoughts?
  • Have I mentioned that I am super-excited about the ESV with Apocrypha??? This is going to open the door to some great study tools and for some writing on my part.
  • Next semester, I will be taking two classes with Dr. Steve Halla, Christianity & Film and Visual Art and 20th Century Theologians. Both of these are going to be incredible.
  • The theology video projects may be back on my to-do list.
  • So also are the other creative projects, especially one particular film idea and possibly some theological commentary on gothic classics such as Frankenstein and Dracula. I have some opportunity to get these things done, I think.
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Billy Graham Turns 90

The internationally known evangelist Billy Graham turned 90 today. His ministry has affected many, including me. From a very early age, I remember hearing the gospel presented on his televised crusades. I may disagree with Billy Graham from time to time, but his steadfast proclamation of the gospel message and faithfulness to God is admirable, and I praise God for using him so mightily to touch many, many lives. That man has lived in a constant study and proclamation of the Bible. May all of us called to gospel ministry be so faithful.

Adrian Warnock has compiled a round-up list of news and blog posts related to Billy Graham’s birthday.

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More Musings at Starbucks

I think there’s a James Taylor song on the P.A. right now. I can’t be sure. His voice has changed since he has gotten older. The music here at Starbucks is different lately. I’m not sure, but they must have someone new in charge of putting together their playlists. At any rate, yes, I’m here at Starbucks at 64 & Hurstbourne again. I have gotten into such a habit of it that it has become the place where I know I can accomplish the most homework. That’s what I’m doing now as a matter of fact, only taking this little moment to write down some thoughts in order to not burn out. Ok, so the song has changed a couple of times now, and this band sounds like Wilco, but I know it isn’t… hmmm…

Life news and musings:

  • Halloween was good. I hung out with Mike and Robyn Crowe and their almost one year old daughter Addie most of the evening, trick-or-treating on the street next to us. Hillcrest Avenue has a huge Halloween house-decorating extravaganza, and it is the place to go in Louisville for family-friendly tricks and treats. I then came down here to Starbucks for a bit. Good evening overall. What started as my vampire costume wound up as Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day. Long story, but it worked. (Edit: the vampire thing was partially washed out because of trouble with the make-up, but I already had some misgivings about it because, as innocent as my portrayal would have been, I don’t particularly want to give the wrong idea that I endorse vampirism. Still, those who would gain that from a Halloween costume would be over-reading it a bit. This is Louisville, though. P.S. – I don’t necessarily endorse Green Day either.)
  • I love seminary people who will openly admit that Halloween is still their favorite holiday. I have heard this openly admitted twice this past week. These are awesome individuals, and I wish there were more folks like them at Southern, not for the fact of Halloween being their favorite holiday (of course, it is mine too), but for their overall personalities, always willing to engage the issues and not live in “the box.”
  • This is the first week I will be serving on the connect team at Sojourn on a regular basis. I have filled in a few times, but I’m finally at a point of getting plugged in. I will be serving at the 7:00 p.m. service, after attending the 5:00. This feels good, and it is way past time.
  • I want the Orthodox Study Bible and Patriarch Bartholemew’s Encoutering the Mystery: Understanding Orthodox Christianity Today. I am beginning to think there is much more to Eastern Orthodox Christianity than we give it credit for, and they certainly are far ahead of us when it comes to understanding the use of art in the Church, even if our particular expressions of it end up different. I think we have more to learn from them than we will let on.
  • I have ideas for both stage and screen that are driving me crazy. I want to work with them with a group of people and get them made, for the edification of the Church.
  • Andrew Peterson‘s album Resurrection Letters: Volume II is excellent. I can’t wait for volume I. Peterson is one of the true masters of art in the Church today. We need more artist like him.
  • I want to see the Church recognize it’s ancient liturgical calendar more, for the sake of Gospel proclamation.

Happy All Saints Day.

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Three Exciting New Study Bibles

I am going to probably post longer reviews of these later, at least the ESV Study Bible. In the meantime, here are my initial opinions of three of the latest study bibles to release to market (in chronological order). The NLT Study Bible, NIV Study Bible, and ESV Study Bible are all at the very, very top of their game. All three are of the “comprehensive” stream of study bible style, meaning they wish to cover a lot of areas, not just one particular feature or use of the Scriptures (such as the Literary Study Bible, Archeological Study Bible, Apologetics Study Bible, or Chronological Study Bible would do) or from one narrow theological perspective (such as the Reformation Study Bible, the MacArthur Study Bible, the Scoffield Study Bible, or the Ryrie Study Bible do). As such, they function in the context of a good bible handbook, commentary, hermeneutic guide, and historical study, as well as the occasional devotion prompter. Before I go further, know that I would highly recommend any of these three to any member of a church congregation. They are, simply, the best study bibles on the market.

The NLT Study Bible
Tyndale, 2008
Rating: 9.1/10

I was much more impressed with this one than I ever thought I would be. It is a great, fairly comprehensive study bible. It is first and foremost for the layperson, but the notes are by accomplished scholars from a variety of evangelical backgrounds (including senior SBTS professor Robert Stein). Like the New Living Translation itself, the notes are easy to read, yet deep. I cannot find a place where I wholly disagree with the annotated explanation of a passage, and the introductions are likewise as scholarly as they are practical. An interesting feature, now found in the other two study bibles as well, is a “literary features” section in the intro to some of the books. The pages are well-organize , though I wish the articles and notes were in a different font than they are, but altogether this is a great work. Therefore, for someone who enjoys the NLT translation and wants to grow in their walk with God, I wholly endorse this study bible. The very best currently existing review of this study bible I know of is by my friend, fellow seminarian, Sojourner, and coworker, Bryan Lilly.

The NIV Study Bible: Updated Edition (2008)
Zondervan, 1984–2008
Rating: 9.4/10

Okay, this one isn’t new, but the current edition is, and deserves to be included as a new study bible. This was my first study bible, in its 1996 edition, and it has recently gotten better. It is even more comprehensive than it used to be, with 5,000 notes more than the last version, and with its previously existing notes totally revised to be in accord with the most current scholarship. New features have been slipped in, such as some color maps and a “literary features” section in some of the book headings. With over 20 years under its belt, it still holds up well with its competitors. Great evangelical scholarship and extensive notes has made this study bible the one to beat for years. This new edition is currently only available in the NIV (a good dynamic-equivalent translation which is certainly the most popular in the world), though the previous edition (2002) is also published as the Zondervan NASB Study Bible and the Zondervan KJV Study Bible.

The ESV Study Bible
Crossway, 2008
Rating: 10/10

I never thought a study bible would surpass the NIV Study Bible. It did. This one is the most comprehensive, attractive, theologically astute, and helpful study bible I have ever come across. It will be helpful to both the seminarian and the layman, the apologist and missionary, the new believer and the church elder, without condescending in tone or content. I have only had it in my possession for about three hours, but those three hours have been amazing. The full color maps and architectural illustrations, the extensive introductions (again, including this “literary features” section, this time written by ESV literary stylist and Bible-as-Literature guru Leland Ryken), and the extensive articles throughout are deep and enriching. Several SBTS scholars worked on this (including Dr. Tom Schreiner as the New Testament editor), as well as many other noted scholars from other schools we hold in high respect. This is one I am for certain going to write a longer review on. For now, read the awesome review on it by Tim Challies, with which I agree.

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Finally, the ESV with Apocrypha

[REVISED 10/10/08]
Yes, that’s right. Oxford University Press has announced the development of The English Standard Version Bible with Apocrypha. I, for one, am incredibly excited. According to the website (emphasis in bold mine, for particular areas I found interesting):

The English Standard Version Bible captures as far as possible the precise wording of the original biblical text and the personal style of each Bible writer, while taking into account differences of grammar, syntax, and idiom between current literary English and the original languages. The ESV thus provides an accurate rendering of the original texts that is in readable, high quality English prose and poetry. This Bible has been growing in popularity among students in biblical studies, mainline Christian scholars and clergy, and Evangelical Christians of all denominations.
Along with that growth comes the need for the books of the Apocrypha to be included in ESV Bibles, both for denominations that use those books in liturgical readings and for students who need them for historical purposes. More Evangelicals are also beginning to be interested in the Apocrypha, even though they don’t consider it God’s Word. The English Standard Version Bible with the Apocrypha , for which the Apocrypha has been commissioned by Oxford University Press, employs the same methods and guidelines used by the original translators of the ESV, to produce for the first time an ESV Apocrypha. This will be the only ESV with Apocrypha available anywhere, and it includes all of the books and parts of books in the Protestant Apocrypha, the Catholic Old Testament, and the Old Testament as used in Orthodox Christian churches. It will have a lovely pre-printed case binding, and will include a full-color map section, a table of weights and measures used in the Bible, and many other attractive features.
The English Standard Version Bible with Apocrypha is certain to become the preferred Bible in more conservative divinity schools and seminaries, where the Apocrypha is studied from an academic perspective. And it answers the need of conservative Christians in general for a more literal version of these books.

List price is $25.00. Amazon.com is selling it for $16.50.

HT: Bible Design & Binding Blog

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Sojourning in Georgia

I went to Reinhardt today. I walked the concrete walkways across the campus, strew with the first dusting of autumn leaves that bounced in the cool autumn breeze that whisked the last gleam of summer warmth. Oh, this campus is so familiar to me: the brick Georgian architecture, the hilly, grassy lawns, the crisp smells of a rural autumn permeating the air of the little town of Waleska. Even with the new student center (built on the site of the one torn down prior to my junior year), the campus remains by and large entirely similar to how it was when I left it two years ago. Nothing has really changed.

And yet, everything has changed. I’ve changed. I realized just how much I no longer fit at the campus that nurtured me for four and a half years. Perhaps it is because I no longer know many students on the campus and am thus an alien in familiar territory (alas, I probably count four or five of the remaining students as friends, and only a couple of those I saw today during my visit), and perhaps it is because I am so much older than the majority of the student population there now. Perhaps it is because so much in my life has passed since my time as a student there. Perhaps it is because the foundation laid at Reinhardt is now being used and fleshed out in my time at Southern.

I saw three of my most beloved professors. I got to share with them the joys of my journey after Reinhardt. I have such different worldviews than they do in many regards, but I respect all three of these women with the utmost sincerity. I realize that, despite our differences, I could discuss issues with these professors on a much more open and honest level than I could with most of the people I encounter at Southern. Only with Dr. Halla and two or three other professors would I encounter this same openness to a natural, intelligent conversation. I would love to one day be a professor in a similar environment, one accommodating to an honest discussion between intelligent people.

Over the last few days, I have had discussions with several of my closest friends. Each time I am reminded of an issue: the churches in Georgia are in a sad state, as are churches across the Unites States as a whole. Sojourn and the other healthy churches I see in Louisville are a cream-of-the-crop representation of what overall is a deplorable state that the American church is in. Whether I like it or not, I need to be a pastor. The Church needs as many solid pastors as it can get right now. I want to see solid pastors come and plant new solid churches and reform those that already exist. This is an emergency we must be praying that God continues his work in. As for me, I may find myself pastoring in three to four years, not because it is the first thing I want to do, but because if I don’t, am I really using the gifts God has given me to adequately serve the critical needs of the church right now?

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Review: Death by Love

Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshears, Death By Love. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008. 272 pp.

Get this book. Hardly ever am I so enthusiastic in my endorsement of a book, but anything less that a statement such as that for this book would be too mild. This is one of the best books in Christianity to have been written in the last decade. It is an important monument in theological Christian writing, as well as devotional Christian writing.

Driscoll, the pastor of Mars Hill Church Seattle, together with seasoned Baptist theologian Gerry Breshears of Western Seminary, composes a pastoral theology of the cross by means of letters to individuals he has had contact with in his time as a pastor. The authors walk the reader through the stories of individuals who have been raped, molested, are going through struggles with cancer, dealing with strife, are tormented by demons, and other issues and through them explains that Christ, through his actions on the cross, is our atonement, redemption, sacrifice, gift righteousness, our justification, propitiation, expiation, and many other things in the following chapters.

For anyone in the Church, this is a must read. From the pastor wishing to seek how to counsel his people to the layperson trying to understand theology, to the seeker struggling for, or against, faith, this is a timely book that speaks directly, sometimes pointedly, to the mind and soul.