In my former life as a professor, I once spent a week grading 68 undergraduate papers, each 8–10 pages long. In the process, I noticed enough trends that I decided to throw together a series of writing tips. The number came to 25. I was focused on academic writing, but most of the principles are … More 25 Tips on Writing
There are some things you never forget. Back in 2002, during my last semester in college, Professor Todd Bolen returned my final assignment for his History of Ancient Israel class. He had spent an hour grading my 10-page paper and had stapled a full page of typed comments to the back. I’ll never forget what he wrote, … More Twenty-Five Tweets on Writing
A Commentary on the Psalms: Volume 2 (42-89) (Kregel Academic, 2013) is the second installment in Allen Ross‘s multi-volume commentary on the Psalter in the Kregel Exegetical Library series. Ross currently serves as Professor of Divinity in Old Testament at Beeson Divinity School. This second volume covers Books II-III of the Psalter (42-89). Ross introduces each psalm with … More A Commentary on the Psalms: Volume 2 (42-89) by Allen Ross (Review)
If you want to be a scholar, you have to know your field. The seminal works, the major contributions, the game-changing periods, the ebb and flow of dialogue throughout the decades or centuries or millennia. You have to join the conversation. There’s one potential problem with this (well, more than one, but only one I’m … More Give Me the Scenic Route: Intellectual Curiosity vs. Intellectual Cul-de-Sacs
A mind is a terrible thing to waste. It’s been said that the intellectual life, or the thinking life, is nothing more than a mind awake. And who in their right mind could bear to live as a mind asleep? To think is one of the highest privileges humanity possesses. Made in God’s image to … More A Mind Awake
The Hebrew Scriptures are adorned and haunted by their crown jewel — the Psalter. The Psalms fathom the depths of evil, suffering, and betrayal, and scale the heights of devotion, deliverance, and steadfast love. Through the centuries, Jews and Christians have turned to the Psalter both as individuals and communities to lament, repent, question, declare, and … More Singing in the Reign: The Psalms and the Liturgy of God’s Kingdom by Michael Barber (Review)
The Psalter Reclaimed: Praying and Praising with the Psalms (Crossway, 2013) is a collection of insightful essays by seasoned OT scholar Gordon Wenham. Wenham promotes using the Psalms in worship, reading the Psalms through canonical, messianic, and ethical lenses, and valuing the imprecatory psalms. Emphasizing a canonical approach throughout, Wenham seeks to interpret a particular psalm in light … More The Psalter Reclaimed: Praying and Praising with the Psalms by Gordon Wenham (Review)
Todd Bolen is a professor, mentor, and friend — the kind of teacher and advisor I want to be around and be like. In 2002 I took my only class with Todd — History of Ancient Israel — and then toured Israel with him in summer 2005. Both experiences fostered true education: my understanding and my … More Lessons on Teaching from Prof. Todd Bolen: A Brief Interview
Professor Grant Horner is a rock-climbing, sailing English teacher at The Master’s College and author of Meaning at the Movies: Becoming a Discerning Viewer (Crossway, 2010). I took only gen ed courses with Horner in college, but they were always intellectually appetizing. Horner’s teaching was passionate, stirring, and tension-building, creating the need for wise and discerning resolutions. His … More Lessons on Teaching from Prof. Grant Horner: A Brief Interview
I have written a little, and would like to write more. Dave DeWit is Senior Editor at Crossway and has spent nearly three decades in the Christian publishing industry, mostly with Moody Publishers. I met Dave on a recent trip to Chicago, and after hearing some of his experience and perspective in person, I wanted to hear … More Wisdom for Would-be Authors: Interview with Crossway’s Senior Editor Dave DeWit
Dr. Abner Chou serves as Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at The Master’s College in Southern California. He is the author of I Saw the Lord: A Biblical Theology of Vision (Wipf & Stock, forthcoming) and will contribute the Lamentations installment of the Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (Logos). I have known Abner for more than ten years now. … More Lessons on Teaching from Dr. Abner Chou: A Brief Interview
The landscape of higher education is undergoing a seismic shift. What’s the future of teachers after the shakedown? What will the teachers of the next generation need to look like and prioritize? Dan Dumas, Senior Vice President for Institutional Administration at Southern Seminary, recently shared four observations with a classroom of prospective teachers. Dumas has … More Teachers of the Future: Advice from Seminary Leader Dan Dumas
I recently took Theological French with Dr. Rob Plummer, Associate Professor of NT Interpretation at Southern Seminary and author of the popular 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible. One-semester courses in research languages are not the main reason why anyone pursues theological education, yet even in this course I found Dr. Plummer engaging, clear, caring, … More Lessons on Teaching from Dr. Rob Plummer: A Brief Interview
The job market for PhD’s isn’t good, and it’s only getting worse. The recent article “Ph.D. Job Woes” (from Inside Higher Ed) reports that PhD jobs in the humanities show the most severe decline. For the record, I’m a PhD student — in the humanities (Bible). I hope to teach the Bible in an academic … More Providential Blessings of the Declining PhD Job Market: Reflections of a PhD Student
“If you don’t use it, you lose it.” Most Greek teachers have brandished some version of this educational proverb in the relentless battle for student motivation. The Handy Guide to New Testament Greek by Douglas Huffman (Kregel Academic, 2012) provides a concise summary of grammar, syntax, and diagramming, adding a well-crafted weapon to the arsenal. This power-packed book will … More The Handy Guide to New Testament Greek by Douglas Huffman (Review)
On November 6, Zondervan will release what looks like a helpful new compare-the-approaches book on biblical theology: Understanding Biblical Theology: A Comparison of Theory and Practice by Edward W. Klink III and Darian R. Lockett. Klink and Lockett both teach at Biola University in Los Angeles. PUBLISHER’S DESCRIPTION Understanding Biblical Theology examines the five major schools of … More Biblical Theology Briefing (#2)
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