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Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

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scholarship

Three Reflections on Being a Pastor and a Professor

August 16, 2024 by Andy Naselli

My school just published this short article:

Naselli, Andrew David. “Three Reflections on Being a Pastor and a Professor.” Bethlehem College and Seminary, 16 August 2024.

I expand on these three reflections:

  1. It is helpful to lay out a spectrum of six options for being a pastor or professor.
  2. It is good for seminary professors to be pastors as they train pastors.
  3. Pastor-professors labor to build up Christ’s church.

Related:

  • Announcing a New Church Plant
  • 3 Reflections on Evangelical Academic Publishing
  • Application to Bethlehem College and Seminary (Completing the initial step will take less than 10 minutes.)

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: church planting, personal, scholarship

3 Reflections on Evangelical Academic Publishing

December 2, 2014 by Andy Naselli

This morning the latest issue of Themelios released.

It includes an article I wrote entitled “Three Reflections on Evangelical Academic Publishing” (web version | PDF).

It’s the most personal essay I’ve written.

Here’s the abstract:

In light of John A. D’Elia’s A Place at the Table and Stanley E. Porter’s Inking the Deal, this article shares three reflections on evangelical academic publishing.

Ladd inking

(1) Evangelical scholarship is a gift to evangelicals for which they should be grateful.

(2) Evangelical academics should aim to be academically responsible more than being academically respectable.

(3) Evangelical scholarship is ultimately about glorifying God by serving Christ’s church.

Related:

  1. Kevin DeYoung, “7 Ways Christian Academics Can Be Truly Christian“
  2. Dane Ortlund, “Reflections on Christian Publishing“

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: scholarship

Study, Practice, Teach: The Pattern of Ezra 7:10

August 8, 2013 by Andy Naselli

one of the few framed items in my school office

The pattern of Ezra 7:10:

  1. Study the word.
  2. Practice the word.
  3. Teach the word. [Read more…] about Study, Practice, Teach: The Pattern of Ezra 7:10

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: preaching, scholarship

How to Write a Theology Essay

September 19, 2012 by Andy Naselli

jensenTheology professors may want to assign this new little book as required reading:

Michael P. Jensen. How to Write a Theology Essay. London: Latimer Trust, 2012. 78 pp.

Each of the twenty chapters (titles in bold below) ends with a bullet-point summary:

1. How not to lose heart before you start

  • The topics of theology really matter
  • The knowledge of God is not the preserve of the very clever
  • Starting to write theology is a challenge that can be fun! [Read more…] about How to Write a Theology Essay

Filed Under: Systematic Theology Tagged With: education, scholarship, writing

Thank God for Gifted Professors and Students

March 30, 2012 by Andy Naselli

There’s almost always at least one person who is more gifted than you are at something.

  • It may tempt you to be sinfully discontent with your gifts and jealous of others.
  • It may fuel godly ambition.
  • It may fuel humility and thankfulness.

Would you believe that this happens in seminary—where people are taking classes about the Bible and theology?

It does. [Read more…] about Thank God for Gifted Professors and Students

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: D. A. Carson, education, Peter O'Brien, scholarship

Zotero: A Guide for Librarians, Researchers, and Educators

November 9, 2011 by Andy Naselli

If you use Zotero for research and writing, this book will serve you well:

Jason Puckett. Zotero: A Guide for Librarians, Researchers and Educators. Chicago: American Library Association, 2011.

Jason Puckett is the the Communication Librarian at Georgia State University Library in Atlanta, where he teaches library classes on research and information literacy skills, bibliographic software, and library technology topics.

If you don’t want to buy a personal copy, at least request that your library (school or public) add it to their collection. It’s readable and well-organized.

Related: “Why You Should Organize Your Personal Theological Library and a Way How”

Filed Under: Other Tagged With: scholarship

Thank God for Biblical Scholars Who Write for Lay People

November 7, 2011 by Andy Naselli

Ben Witherington III, Is There a Doctor in the House? An Insider’s Story and Advice on Becoming a Bible Scholar (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 83–84:

[excerpt from ch. 7: “The Write Stuff: The Ability to Research and Write”]

Unfortunately, we live in a culture of “experts” where expertise is revered; sadly, people’s egos get bound up in the desire to be a “world’s leading authority in X.” The expert too often feels it is enough to do pure research. He has no need to distill things for the masses; that’s beneath his dignity and pay scale. It is enough to live in one’s head and to talk only to other equally heady folk in the same field.

Whatever the merits of this approach to research in other fields, a Christian who is a Bible teacher or scholar should never take such an approach. Never! Research by a Christian is never done just for its own sake, or even just to advance knowledge in a given field. It is done in service to the Lord and to his church. I must confess I am sometimes baffled by some Christian NT scholars who are perfectly content to just talk to small circles of like-minded experts without any sense of responsibility to share their knowledge with a broader audience—indeed with the church.

Cf. this chapter:

D. A. Carson, “The Scholar as Pastor,” in The Pastor as Scholar and the Scholar as Pastor: Reflections on Life and Ministry (ed. David Mathis and Owen Strachan; Wheaton: Crossway, 2011), 71–106.

It’s based on this talk from this event:

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: D. A. Carson, scholarship

Professors Who Can’t Teach

November 4, 2011 by Andy Naselli

Ben Witherington III, Is There a Doctor in the House? An Insider’s Story and Advice on Becoming a Bible Scholar (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 113:

[excerpt from ch. 9: “Honing Your Rhetoric: The Ability to Lecture and Teach”]

Learning Is Not Enough for Good Lecturing

Sadly, some Christian teachers ought not to be teachers, but because there are so few pure research professors in biblical studies or in any sort of Christian studies, these folks become teachers by default. Some of them can’t lecture their way out of a paper bag. I had a teacher like this in college. The running joke was that the difference between this teacher and the textbook was that the textbook didn’t mumble or stutter. As cruel as that joke may seem, it was an accurate assessment of this poor man’s attempt to teach. He couldn’t explain anything. He just kept quoting the textbook.

Tragically, too few Bible teachers or scholars have had any training in pedagogy, much less in Christian education. Furthermore, they have never even been taught the rudiments of good communication.

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: scholarship

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God's Will and Making Decisions

How to Read a Book: Advice for Christian Readers

Predestination: An Introduction

Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament

Tracing the Argument of 1 Corinthians: A Phrase Diagram

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1433580349/?tag=andynaselli-20

Tracing the Argument of Romans: A Phrase Diagram of the Greatest Letter Ever Written

The Serpent Slayer and the Scroll of Riddles: The Kambur Chronicles

The Serpent and the Serpent Slayer

40 Questions about Biblical Theology

1 Corinthians in Romans–Galatians (ESV Expository Commentary)

How Can I Love Church Members with Different Politics?

Three Views on Israel and the Church: Perspectives on Romans 9–11

That Little Voice in Your Head: Learning about Your Conscience

How to Understand and Apply the New Testament: Twelve Steps from Exegesis to Theology

No Quick Fix: Where Higher Life Theology Came From, What It Is, and Why It's Harmful

Conscience: What It Is, How to Train It, and Loving Those Who Differ

NIV Zondervan Study Bible

Perspectives on the Extent of the Atonement

From Typology to Doxology: Paul’s Use of Isaiah and Job in Romans 11:34–35

Four Views on the Spectrum of Evangelicalism

Let God and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology

Introducing the New Testament: A Short Guide to Its History and Message

See more of my publications.

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