My mother was a prolific writer. We haven’t even begun to work through her journals and notebooks, but a few months ago I came across a little folder of theological reflections from her time at Smith College, where she studied literature and theology, and I tucked it away to bring home before putting it back for the others to read.
The last day of our trip to Morocco overlapped with the Pope’s visit. We had just completed the final module of our Certificate in Transformational Ministry at the Margins with 40 French-speaking Sub-Sahara African migrants. I was tired but excited after having spent time visiting house churches and engaging with serious missional leaders from ten or so different countries.
That day, Saturday, March 30 the Pope arrived for a two-day visit. Security was tight, and only people on pre-approved lists could attend the special smaller gatherings where he was speaking. Gracie and I weren’t on any lists. Students and faculty from the ecumenical theological seminary where we were teaching who were on the list gathered excitedly, ready to travel together by bus to one of the venues.
While I was waiting around, hoping to somehow be able to go, Gracie came over and asked me to help her pray for a French woman who had had a chronic illness for over 25 years. Christian, one of the African pastors who was on the list had also told me that he would rather take us to pray for a man from one of his house churches whose legs were totally paralyzed than see the Pope. He had told us that he’d likely be coming by later that afternoon to take us to this young man’s house. I wasn’t in the mood to pray for anyone- tired from four days of straight teaching and ministry in French.
Jesus’ journey to the feast in Jerusalem in John 5 did come to mind though—the story where he stops at the sheep gate and prays for a man paralyzed for 38 years. Stopping and praying for this man appeared Jesus’ priority over anything else.
Getting my will in alignment with Jesus’ priorities rather than seeing the Pope or being a tourist in Morocco felt like a kind of death. A Scripture from Romans 8:36 came to mind, which I’m finding myself called to remember and come under throughout each day, every day.
Just as it is written, “for your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
I reluctantly agreed to pray with Gracie for the French woman, as students and faculty left excitedly to get on the bus to see the Pope. We saw the Spirit move to bring healing and freedom– a beautiful experience! As we were wrapping up we got a call from Christian, the house church pastor from Cameroon, telling us he was on his way to take us to pray for the paralytic.
He flagged down a taxi and we headed out to one of the marginalized neighborhoods where many migrants find inexpensive housing (see video link below). The neighborhood had been cleansed of petty criminals—which normally abound, days prior to the Pope’s visit. We followed Christian through streets and alleys until we came to the paralyzed man’s house.
As we entered the smell of urine was strong. The 26-year-old man with paralyzed legs lay on a bed- immobile. His name is Jesus! He’s a worship leader from Afrique Central (Central African Republic) who had been unable to move his legs at all for over a year. We prayed for him and saw his excitement and faith build as his back pain left and he began to move his feet and legs. He insisted on attempting to get up, without out help, and was able to stand.
I think of the verse right before Romans 8:36:
“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”
We left feeling like we were experiencing the verse following– Romans 8:37.
“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.”
As we left Jesus’ room, Christian’s five-year-old daughter tugged on his arm, telling him God was telling her to pray for a blind Morocco Muslim woman who sat by the entrance to Jesus’ apartment. Christian did an about face—returning with his daughter to the woman and her friend. He explained what God had told his daughter. The two women were deeply touched, kissing the girl’s cheeks. The little girl boldly stretched out her hand and prayed for the woman’s eye to be opened in Jesus’ name. If anyone could reach these two Moroccan women, this little girl seemed like the perfect missionary.
Surrendering to Jesus’ will involves dying to our own agendas. “Being put to death all day long” might mean relinquishing our own plans, comfort, security—whatever needs to die in favor of following a higher calling. Abundant, resurrection life awaits us.
In this WTCLive episode, hosted by Dr. Matt Lynch, Dr. Lucy Peppiatt, and Nick Crawley in a coffee shop in Bristol Old Testament scholar Jack Levison discusses his own journey in discovering more about the Bible and the Holy Spirit.
Jack Levison
Southern Methodist University
Jack holds the W. J. A. Power Chair of Old Testament Interpretation and Biblical Hebrew at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. Raised in a small tract house in Levittown, New York, Jack left to attend Wheaton College, where his Greek professor regaled him with stories of Cambridge University. At Christ’s College, Cambridge, Jack received the Fitzpatrick Prize for theology and was awarded a College Scholarship. When he returned from England to pursue doctoral studies at Duke University, Jack fell in love with a divinity student, Priscilla Pope, alongside of whom he now works at SMU.
Jack is an internationally recognized scholar, whose books have received wide acclaim. Scot McKnight, author of The Jesus Creed, characterized Filled with the Spirit as “the benchmark and starting point for all future studies of the Spirit.” Walter Brueggemann hailed it as “inspired.” Eugene Peterson called Fresh Air: the Holy Spirit for an Inspired Life “a rare and remarkable achievement.” Phyllis Tickle calls him “a brilliant and spirited theologian,” and N. T. Wright notes that Jack’s “account of the holy spirit–and what the spirit can do for whole churches, not just individuals!–is mature, seasoned, challenging, and wise.”
Jack has received many fellowships and grants from the National Humanities Center, the Lilly Fellows Program, the Louisville Institute, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Rotary Foundation, the International Catacomb Society, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He recently directed, with Jörg Frey, an interdisciplinary, international research project on The Historical Roots of the Holy Spirit and is founding editor of a scholarly book series, Ekstasis: Religious Experience from Antiquity to the Middle Ages.
Jack’s books and teaching have a global reach. He has lectured around the States, as well as in Belgium, Canada, England, Germany, and Scotland. He has been an Honorary Visiting Lecturer at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, and a Von Humboldt Fellow at Ludwig Maximilians Universität in Munich, Germany. Several of his books have been translated into Spanish, Korean, and German.
In this WTCLive episode, hosted by Dr. Lucy Peppiatt, New Testament scholar Craig Keener discusses his recent book The Mind of the Spirit: Paul’s Approach to Transformed Thinking (Baker Publishing Group, 2016) in which he looks at how the Holy Spirit functions from Paul’s perspective in the New Testament. Keener also discusses how the Holy Spirit has impacted his own life in a very personal way.
Craig Keener
Asbury Theological Seminary
Dr. Craig S. Keener (PhD, Duke University) is a professor of the New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is especially known for his work as a New Testament scholar on Bible background (commentaries on the New Testament in its early Jewish and Greco-Roman settings). His popular-level IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (now available in a number of languages) has sold over half a million copies.
Craig has authored 18 books, four of which have won awards in Christianity Today. His recent books include Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts (Baker Academic, 2011); The Historical Jesus of the Gospels (Eerdmans, 2009); The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Eerdmans, 2009); Romans (Cascade, 2009); 1-2 Corinthians (Cambridge, 2005); The Gospel of John: A Commentary (Hendrickson/Baker Academic, 2003).
This episode of WTCLive comes to you from the student pub at WTC’s student residential (September 2016). Lucy Peppiatt, Matt Lynch and Brad Jersak interview Chris Kugler on the various aspects of his thesis, which looks at the Image of God in Paul’s writings and how that relates to a Sacramental Anthropology and Image Monotheism. Chris is also involved in a broader discussion amongst current New Testament scholars on Divine Christology and he argues for the bringing together of a high Christology and a high anthropology in Paul’s letters.
Chris Kugler PhD CandidateChris holds a bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies and Biblical Languages, as well as two master’s degrees in Biblical Studies from Duke University and the University of St Andrews respectively. He is currently working on a PhD in New Testament at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, under N. T. Wright, where his research focuses particularly on Paul’s use of the Jewish and Greco-Roman imago Dei traditions in his Christology and theological anthropology. More broadly, his research interests include Jewish Monotheism, Jewish and Greco-Roman theological anthropology, Christology and Christian Origins. His primary passion is to help students encounter the New Testament in its rich and complex historical context. He is married to Katie Rae and both of them are based in Houston, Texas.
Rev. Brad Jersak PhD
New Testament and Patristics
Rev. Dr. Brad Jersak (Reader Irenaeus) is an author and teacher based in Abbotsford, Canada. He teaches New Testament and Patristics at WTC. After serving as pastor and church-planter for twenty years, he now travels for Fresh Wind Christian Fellowship and serves as reader at All-Saints Orthodox Monastery. Brad’s focus today is on writing accessible theology, facilitating ‘listening prayer’ seminars, and teaching college courses. His emphases are the Gospels, Cruciform theology , and contemplative spirituality applied to prophetic justice. He is currently editor of www.clarionjournal.com and senior editor Plain Truth Ministries (www.ptm.org).
Lucy Peppiatt PhD
Principal, Systematic Theology
Lucy has bachelor’s degrees in both English and Theology. She completed her MA in Systematic Theology at King’s College, London, and her PhD through the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Lucy is the author of Women and Worship at Corinth: Paul’s Rhetorical Arguments in 1 Corinthians. (Wipf and Stock, 2015); and The Disciple: On Becoming Truly Human. (Wipf and Stock, 2012). Lucy’s research interests are Christ and the Spirit, Charismatic theology, discipleship, and 1 Corinthians.
Matt Lynch PhD
Dean of Studies, Old Testament
Matt teaches Old Testament and serves as Dean of Studies at WTC. He recently moved from Germany, where he completed post-doctoral research on conceptions of divine supremacy in Persian period biblical literature. Matt is the author of Monotheism and Institutions in the Book of Chronicles (Mohr Siebeck, 2014) and various articles on the Old Testament. Matt is particularly interested in helping students grasp the theological and literary contours of the Old Testament, wrestle through its ethical and historical challenges, and understand its ongoing significance.
So I get that the charismatic church is messy, and can be off putting. That’s why I love 1 Corinthians. Just when you think Paul should have just shut the crazy Corinthian charismaniacs down, he tells them to ‘Eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy’! He was brave. I take heart from that.
A hardening of attitudes toward immigrants and refugees is increasingly noticeable in Europe and North America of late.
In this WTCLive episode: Matt Lynch interviews Lucy Peppiatt on her groundbreaking new book, Women and Worship at Corinth: Paul’s Rhetorical Arguments in 1 Corinthians (Wipf & Stock, 2015).
In this book, Lucy outlines an argument for reading key texts in 1 Cor 11 and 14 as supportive of the full participation of women in the life of the worshipping Church. She suggests that in 1 Corinthians Paul quotes and then refutes the misguided views of his opponents.
Lucy Peppiatt PhDPrincipal, Systematic Theology
Lucy has bachelor’s degrees in both English and Theology. She completed her MA in Systematic Theology at King’s College, London, and her PhD through the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Lucy’s research interests are Christ and the Spirit, Charismatic theology, discipleship, and 1 Corinthians. She and her husband, Nick Crawley, lead Crossnet Anglican Church in Bristol. They have four sons.
With: Richard Middleton and William Brown.
In this WTCLive episode, Matt continues the discussion on the subject of creation, violence and God with two of his favourite Old Testament scholars. Creation and the question of violence occupy an important place in the work of these Old Testament gurus. Plus, they’ve both just come out with some fantastic new books that you’ll want to read to help you navigate these topics and to open up new worlds. Middleton’s book is A New Heaven and A New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology (Baker 2014) and Brown’s is Wisdom’s Wonder: Character, Creation, and Crisis in the Bible’s Wisdom Literature (Eerdmans, 2014).
This is the second in our series on ‘Creation, Violence and God of the Old Testament’ (see part one here.)
Richard earned a Ph.D. from the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, in a joint-degree program with the Institute of Christian Studies, Toronto. His other degrees include: M.A. in Philosophy, University of Guelph (Canada), 1985, and B.Th., Jamaica Theological Seminary, 1977. Dr. Middleton has done additional graduate studies in the Old Testament at Colgate Rochester Divinity School (1986-1988), and in religious studies and philosophy at Syracuse University (1984-1985).
He is widely published in religious periodicals and journals, as well as the author of four books. His most recent books are The Liberating Image: The Imago Dei in Genesis 1 (Brazos) and A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology (Baker Academic). He has edited a volume of essays on Caribbean Theology for Pickwick Publications, and is working on a manuscript for Abingdon Press on the dynamics of human and divine agency in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel. Special areas of interest are Old Testament theology, the Christian worldview, the books of Genesis and Samuel, the doctrine of Creation, and Christianity and postmodern culture. He also serves as an adjunct professor of Old Testament at the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology in Kingston, Jamaica, and is the president of the Canadian Evangelical Theological Association.
William earned his Ph.D. at Emory University, his MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary, and his BA from Whitman College. He has abiding interests in the use of scripture in the life of the church and the world, particularly in the context of ecology and justice. Specific interests include creation theology, faith and science dialogue, the Psalms, and wisdom literature (Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes). Recent books include The Seven Pillars of Creation: Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder (Oxford University) and Wisdom’s Wonder (Wm. B. Eerdmans). Recently, he helped Columbia Seminary earn one of 10 grants totalling $1.5 million awarded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science to integrate science into the seminary’s curriculum.
With: Lincoln Harvey, Andrew Parker and Brian Brock.
What can be said about theology and sport in the same breath? As we enter another frenzied World Cup Season, should we give a rest to our theological concerns? No way! say these two theologians of sport. Sport intersects in some fascinating ways with a life of faith, work, and worship. If you think theology and sport is a strange brew, or want to see how theologians think about purportedly ‘non-theological’ subjects, join Matt Lynch for this WTCLive event (or watch it later).
Lincoln is Lecturer in Systematic Theology at St Mellitus College, and author of the recent A Brief Theology of Sport (SCM/Cascade, 2014). He studied systematic theology at King’s College London under the supervision of Colin E. Gunton, on whose theology he has edited a collection of essays with T&T Clark (‘The Theology of Colin Gunton’). He was previously Tutor for Christian Doctrine at The South East Institute for Theological Education (SEITE), and has also taught on the MA programmes at King’s College London, where he continues to contribute to the AKC programme. He is also Associate Priest at St Andrew’s Fulham Fields, having served his curacy at St John-at-Hackney in East London.
Andrew is Professor of Sport and Christian Outreach in the Faculty of Applied Sciences at the University of Gloucestershire, and is the co-author of the recent Sport and the Christian Religion: A Systematic Review of Literature (2014). He is also the editor of three other books on sport, sociology and Christianity. Andrew leads the University of Gloucestershire’s suite of courses (Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma/MA) in Sport and Christian Outreach. He is also founding Director of the University’s Centre for Sport, Spirituality and Religion (CSSR). Andrew is a former physical education teacher and teacher-educator and also has experience of working in manufacturing industry. His research interests include: sport and social identity, sport and spirituality, physical activity and schooling, and broader issues of organisational behaviour and institutional relations.
Brian is a reader in the School of Divinity, History and Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen. Brian’s teaching focuses on practical theology, ethics, and scriptural interpretation. He is the author of Christian Ethics in a Technological Age (Eerdmans, 2010) and Singing the Ethos of God: On the Place of Christian Ethics in Scripture (Eerdmans, 2007), and has edited several other books. In addition, Brian has written a recent article entitled ‘Discipline, Sport, and the Religion of Winners: Paul on Running to Win the Prize, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27,’ Studies in Christian Ethics 25/1 (2012): 4-19. Brian’s engagements with Christian doctrine and cultural hermeneutics are tied together by a third interest in the role scripture plays in God’s work of generating a people with a distinctive ethos.
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