Interpreting the General Letters by Herbert W. Bateman IV

Interpreting the General Letters

An Exegetical Handbook

(Handbooks for New Testament Exegesis)

The Seminarian's best friend and the Pastor's close companion.

This book - designed as a step-by-step approach for analyzing and communicating eight letters of the New Testament: Hebrews, James, the Petrine Letters, the Johannine Letters, and Jude - was made for the person who is familiar but not expert in the epistolary books of the New Testament Bible.  The book's strength is its ability to aid the reader/student in understanding and translating the ideas of those letters into a modern/post-modern context: hence the title.  It is being reveiwed in exchange for a free copy of the book.

The authors give a letter-writing context, a bibilcal-historical context and a sense of how each of these influences but does not determine the substance and style of each of the letters written by the early church fathers.

In concluding he work, the author, Bateman provides nine steps that move from interpretation to communication: three steps for preparing to interpret the letters, three for interpreting, and finally three for communicating the letters. All explanations include examples in order to develop a student’s or pastor’s skills for accurate interpretation and convicting communication of God’s Word.

I highly recommend this book for the Seminarian, the young pastor and even the Deacon or layman who is pursuing an interest in the early foundations of the church and its leaders.

Shepherding God's Flock is no Harder than it has Ever Been

Pastoring a church has never been easier.  I can say this with complete confidence because i have never pastored a church.  I have not been an assistant or associate pastor.  I have been an Active and a Reserve Chaplain in the US Army and Army Reserves.  I talk to pastors and Lead Chaplains on a regular basis and most of these are "venting" sessions which can only be shared by those who know, and believe me, pastoring a church (or chapel) has never been easier.

It is as difficult, complex, frustrating and fulfilling as it ever was.

Shepherding God's Flock: Biblical Leadership in the New Testament and Beyond, clarifies both the need for and frustration of pastors and leaders (as well as presbyters) throughout church history and in the present.  The scholarly work is a compilation of several well-regarded authors from an ecumenical collection of faiths  and edited by Dr. Benjamin L. Merkle, a professor of New Testament and Greek at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Dr. Thomas R. Schreiner, a professor of New Testament Interpretation at the same seminary. 

Despite the subtitle, the work also looks at leadership in the Old Testament as well as perspectives and polity structures related to church leadership from Presbyterian, Anglican, Baptist ad Catholic perspectives. 

This book would be especially useful to seminarians in theologcial schools as well as Chaplains working in diverse and ecumenical Areas of Operation.   

An especially favorite chapter is Merkle's chapter three in which he looks at leadership based on Acts and the Letters of the Apostle Paul.  In this moderately long chapter which is worth the price of the book, Merkle should settle many of the arguments which I have had (and still have) with comrades in church leadership about what church leadership looks like in practice and where the concept first took form. 

The selling points of this book--which I received free in exchange for an unbiased review--is that it addresses church leadership from several perspectives and from a biblical historical reference point.  I strongly recommend it based on these advantages as well as the fact that it will make Pastoring easier for many.

What does the Best Education Look Like?

I am watching Anthony Muhammad's Moving the Bus Forward - Creating Healthy Learning Environments for All Children on my inclement weather day to get there.  What about you?
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