Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

40 Questions about Church Membership and Church Discipline

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This book releases this week:

Jeremy M. Kimble. 40 Questions about Church Membership and Church Discipline. 40 Questions. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2017.

My endorsement:

This handbook concisely explains the why and how of church membership and church discipline. Jeremy Kimble, who serves as a pastor and who wrote his PhD dissertation on church discipline, is a faithful guide.

I read this book twice—first last summer as a prepublication draft and then last month as the final version. I mostly agree with how Jeremy answers the 40 questions, and on a few minor issues where I might differ a bit (e.g., age of baptism), I appreciate his calm, generous tone.

The book’s most impressive endorsement comes from Jonathan Leeman, editorial director of 9Marks and an expert on ecclesiology:

Every pastor needs this resource, which is sound exegetically, theologically, and pastorally. The 40-question format makes it so readable and easy to use. I’ve written a few things on church membership and discipline, yet still found myself learning throughout. An excellent work.

Doug Wilson’s New Novel: Flags Out Front

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This book released last week:

Douglas Wilson. Flags Out Front: A Contrarian’s Daydream. Moscow, ID: Canon, 2016.

Why does reading Doug Wilson sometimes feels like a guilty pleasure? Well, I read his new novel last Saturday, and it was a jolly read.

I enjoyed it more than his last one—which I enjoyed. (See my review of Evangellyfish.)

I don’t want to give away the plot. Let’s just say it’s a clever story about religion and politics.

Here are twenty lines that made me smile: [Read more…] about Doug Wilson’s New Novel: Flags Out Front

Controversy of the Ages: Why Christians Should Not Divide Over the Age of the Earth

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This book releases today:

Theodore J. Cabal and Peter J. Rasor II. Controversy of the Ages: Why Christians Should Not Divide Over the Age of the Earth. Wooster, OH: Weaver, 2017.

I agree with Justin Taylor’s endorsement: “Cabal and Rasor help us sort through the issues and the options, modeling for us how to use proportion and perspective in our rhetoric and strategies of disagreement within the body of Christ.” [Read more…] about Controversy of the Ages: Why Christians Should Not Divide Over the Age of the Earth

Is Every Promise “Yes”? Old Testament Promises and the Christian

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The latest issue of Themelios just released, and it includes the updated version of an outstanding lecture that my colleague Jason DeRouchie gave on February 23 to commemorate his promotion to Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Theology at Bethlehem College & Seminary:

“Is Every Promise ‘Yes’? Old Testament Promises and the Christian” (web version | PDF)

I am not aware of anyone who has thought so carefully about how the people of God under the new covenant can claim promises God made to his people under the old covenant.

Here’s a video of the 80-minute lecture:

Related: See Jason DeRouchie’s How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament: Twelve Steps from Exegesis to Theology.

Andy and Jason Drive It Home

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Here’s a 4-minute video with my brother Jason DeRouchie:

Some background:

Jason and I recently wrote companion volumes on how to understand and apply the Old and New Testaments.

We asked Rick Segal if he would be willing to help us spread the news with a short video. Rick is Vice President of Advancement for Bethlehem College & Seminary, and prior to coming to our school he was president and CPO of a successful global marketing and advertising agency. He used to have about $250,000 to work with when preparing a promotional video, and he got creative with ours with only about $100.

Jason and I commute together, and Rick recorded one of our commutes and titled the video “Andy and Jason Drive It Home.” Our assignment was to get 90 seconds of unscripted footage on our 25-minute drive home.

I confirmed that show business is not my calling.

It felt awkward to record, but it gives viewers a little taste of our camaraderie.

Here’s what I say about Jason in the acknowledgements of my book:

It’s a joy to serve shoulder to shoulder with Jason DeRouchie at Bethlehem College & Seminary. He embodies Ezra 7:10. I can’t think of another Old Testament seminary professor I’d rather team up with. We spend about three hours together each week while commuting, and the better I get to know him, the more I thank God for him. I especially love coteaching a fourth-year graduate course with him on biblical theology. Jason is both an Old Testament scholar and a biblical theologian. He helps me see Jesus more clearly in the Old Testament. It was an honor to collaborate with Jason as I prepared this book and he prepared the companion volume How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament: Twelve Steps from Exegesis to Theology.

Update: I refer to “normal people” in the video, and some friends teased me on Facebook by referring to themselves as normal people. I don’t mind the teasing, but I should clarify something: I didn’t mean to be condescending in any way by using the phrase “normal people.” It’s shorthand for non-specialists—that is, lay people as opposed to academics and scholars. I’m a normal guy for the vast number of domains of knowledge—like European history or economics or criminal law or automobile mechanics or whatever. I’m grateful when specialists communicate in a way that non-specialists can understand. (I write a little more about my philosophy of publishing here and here.)

Suffering in Ancient Worldview: An Interview with Brian Tabb

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This book releases today:

Brian J. Tabb. Suffering in Ancient Worldview: Luke, Seneca and 4 Maccabees in Dialogue. LNTS 569. New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017.

It’s by my dean, colleague, friend, fellow Themelios editor, and fellow elder of Bethlehem Baptist Church.

It is extremely difficult to successfully submit a book for publication in the prestigious Library of New Testament Studies series. Brian did some first-class scholarship for this book. He updated his PhD thesis, which he completed in 2013 under Steve Walton at the London School of Theology. The examiners for his thesis defense were N. T. Wright and Conrad Gempf, and Brian passed with high marks.

I asked Brian if he’d answer some questions about his book for my readers, and he generously agreed. [Read more…] about Suffering in Ancient Worldview: An Interview with Brian Tabb