Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Andy Naselli

Craig Blomberg: “Jesus of Nazareth: How Historians Can Know Him and Why It Matters”

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The second essay in Christ on Campus Initiative’s series was released this morning: Craig Blomberg‘s “Jesus of Nazareth: How Historians Can Know Him and Why It Matters.” The CCI essays are (1) by evangelical scholars, (2) geared for campus evangelism, and (3) edited by D. A. Carson. Readers and organizations may circulate these essays without charge.

The Christ on Campus Initiative (CCI) is a ministry created for the purpose of preparing and circulating literature for college and university students, addressing an array of important intellectual and practical issues from an evangelical Christian perspective. This initiative is made possible by generous support from the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, IL) and the MAC foundation (Fort Collins, CO). The editorial team, led by D.A. Carson, commissions top evangelical scholars to oversee the creation and distribution of a variety of resources for university students. The goal of these resources is that they be intellectually rigorous, culturally relevant, persuasive in argument, and faithful to historic, evangelical Christianity.

Blomberg

Here’s an outline of Blomberg’s 29-page article:

[Read more…] about Craig Blomberg: “Jesus of Nazareth: How Historians Can Know Him and Why It Matters”

Keswick Theology

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Last week I was honored to give the 2008 William R. Rice Lecture Series at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary on “Keswick Theology: A Survey and Analysis of the Doctrine of Sanctification in the Early Keswick Movement.” (Update: It’s available as a PDF.)

Keswick

The manuscript for this lecture series is scheduled for publication in the fall 2008 Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal. It distills my first dissertation (“Keswick Theology: A Historical and Theological Survey and Analysis of the Doctrine of Sanctification in the Early Keswick Movement, 1875–1920,” Ph.D. dissertation, Bob Jones University, 2006; xxiv + 387 pp.) from about 100,000 to 20,000 words.

Detroit Seminary is hosting the following resources from the lecture series:

  1. Handout (five-page PDF)
  2. Power Point presentation as a PDF (eighty slides with lots of pictures) [12.1 MB]
  3. MP3s:

Keswick 2

(photos by Dr. Robert V. McCabe)

Update (June 2, 2010): This analysis of Keswick theology is updated and now available as a book.

Update on 8/23/2017: My latest book attempts to survey and analyze “let go and let God” theology more accessibly:

No Quick Fix

John Piper’s “Desiring God”

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Mark Dever posed his eighth “T4Free question” on the T4G blog earlier this week, and I was surprised that my answer was selected. (Perhaps mine had the least misspelled words and the most Piper-like hyphenated ones! Regardless, I’m grateful for this happy providence and eager for edification along with about 5,000 other people at T4G in mid-April 2008.) Here’s Mark’s question followed by the 100-words-or-less answer I submitted:

Q: “What Christian book (other than the Bible) do you think has been read by the most people attending T4G 2008, and why?”

A: “John Piper’s Desiring God

“This richly theological and warmly devotional best-seller has been the means for sending countless Christians on a trajectory towards theology that is increasingly joyful, robust, God-centered, Christ-exalting, and gospel-treasuring.

“My testimony is not unusual. I read it as a freshman in college and again during my first year of seminary, and it had a revolutionary effect on my Christian life. It shaped my attitude towards Reformed soteriology and convinced me that God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him.”

desiringgod.jpg

In addition to selling the print book for just $9.50, Desiring God Ministries offers the following free resources:

I thank God for John Piper. He is a gift to the church.

On a related note, D. A. Carson pays Piper no small compliment in the preface to Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson by mentioning him parallel to three other giants of the faith:

“But my aim is much more modest: to convey enough of his [i.e., Tom Carson’s] ministry and his own thought that ordinary ministers are encouraged, not least by the thought that the God of Augustine, Calvin, Spurgeon, and Piper is no less the God of Tom Carson, and of you and me” (p. 11).

Childlike Faith About Heaven

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Last Thursday evening one of my wife‘s pre-K4 students was tragically killed. On Monday morning Jenni had to inform her students that their little friend would not be coming back to school. Here’s a lightly edited excerpt from a moving letter she sent to parents Monday afternoon.

I just wanted to give you a quick update on this morning and how gracious God was to us and to the children as we discussed KC’s loss.

[Read more…] about Childlike Faith About Heaven

Mark Driscoll and Mark Dever on Church Planting

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Mark Driscoll was on the TEDS campus on January 29-30 leading the 2008 Chicago Boot Camp for the Acts 29 network, and I attended and profited from the following (sometimes provocative!) sessions he led:

  1. Preaching the Mission: MP3 | Notes

  2. Gospel-Centered Families: This is particularly practical. It’s almost entirely Q & A geared for the wives of church planters.

Also available from the same conference is Mark Dever’s thoughtful session: Church Planting Evangelism.

C. J. and Carolyn Mahaney on Parenting

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This week my wife and I listened to a two-part interview that Grant Layman conducted with C. J. and Carolyn Mahaney and their daughters Nicole and Janelle in 2002 (at least that’s the copyright date). My wife had already listened to it and wanted me to hear it. What an edifying, humbling, enjoyable interview. Highly recommended!

  1. Part 1: “Grant Layman opens this message on parenting by inviting his audience into the Mahaney’s living room. This session of testimonies from C.J. and Carolyn Mahaney and two of their daughters offer insight into biblical parenting. Grant interviews the Mahaney family on topics including guarding family times together, training godly sons and daughters, faithful confrontation of sin, proper discipline, and building a collection of family memories.”

  2. Part 2: “Grant Layman continues an insightful and fun-filled interview with C.J. and Carolyn Mahaney. Daughters Nicole and Janelle share what each appreciated most about her upbringing and make a fascinating statement concerning what they wish their parents had done differently. Topics include the challenges faced by parents of teens, and insight on graciously dealing with those challenges according to Scripture. “

Mahaneys