I am so excited about SeminaryNow’s new **FREE** Holy Week 2024 series, featuring short videos from great scholars like Ben Witherington, Cindy Westfall, Craig Keener, Darrell Bock, Patty Pell, and Amy Peeler. These are great resources to share with your church or watch as a family. What a gift! LINK TO ALL VIDEOS. Read more

SeminaryNow has been piloting credit-earning options for people who are interested in seminary and want to try it out in a convenient and affordable setting online. SemNow is running three courses starting in May – expertly produced video lectures, live engagement with a teacher/facilitator, group interaction, manageable assignments, etc. The three classes are: New Testament Survey (with me and Dr. Thomas Lyons) [starting May 7, 2024] Understanding Evil (with Dr. Ingrid Faro) [starting May 7, 2024] Old Testament Survey (with... Read more

I’m excited to share with you that I am writing a short-form fiction series as a companion to my book Strange Religion: How the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous, and Compelling (Brazos Press). The fiction series will be released in episodes, through a partnership with Fathom Magazine (and my amazing magazine editor Kelsey Hency). Episodes 1 and 2 were released this morning (March 22, 2024). You can find them HERE. This series is called “Strange Encounter: Felix and Anna Meet a... Read more

I have good news! When I wrote Strange Religion: How the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous, and Compelling, I produced a “bonus essay” that is not in the book. Why? Brazos Press and I did this as a special gift to the 100+ readers that were a part of our launch team. But now we are offering this bonus essay to anyone who writes an honest review. What is a bonus essay? Think of it like “deleted scenes” for a movie. It’s... Read more

  I’m excited to be giving the Frank Pack lecture at Pepperdine University, hosted by Jerry Rushford and Jessica Hooten Wilson. I will be talking about my book Tell Her Story and sharing a bit about Strange Religion as well. Past lectures include some of my heroes and friends in the academy including J.I. Packer (1981), F. Dale Bruner (1992), Richard Foster (1993), Philip Yancey (1994), Elizabeth Achtemeier (1996), Richard Mouw (1997), Fred Craddock (1998), Dallas Willard (2000), Luke Timothy Johnson (2004),... Read more

It’s always a good time to read Black scholars!  Here are some great reads:   Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited Lisa Bowens, African-American Readings of Paul: Reception, Resistance & Transformation   Marcus Jerkins, Black Lives Matter to Jesus: The Salvation of Black Life and All Life in Luke and Acts Esau McCaulley, Lent Dennis Edwards, Humility Illuminated   Shively T. J. Smith, Strangers to Family: Diaspora and 1 Peter’s Invention of God’s Household Read more

Press Release from Northern Seminary Northern Seminary is excited to announce the addition of Dr. Matthew W. Bates to the faculty as Professor of New Testament. In his role, Dr. Bates will co-lead the Master of Arts in New Testament and Doctor of Ministry in New Testament Context programs in partnership with Dr. Nijay Gupta. Dr. Bates comes to Northern with stellar credentials, including serving as Professor of Theology at Quincy University and authoring the award-winning Why the Gospel? Living... Read more

My friend (and doctoral student) Kat Armstrong has a brand new podcast with Christianity Today, called Holy Curiosity. This podcast highlights the genius storytelling of God in Scripture. If you like the kind of stuff the Bible Project does, you’ll want to listen to Holy Curiosity too! And—cross-over bonus—Tim Mackie is one of Kat’s guests. I (metaphorically) sat down with Kat to ask her some questions about herself and this exciting new resource. Check it out. Kat, tell us about... Read more

I am pleased to announce that Baker Academic is publishing a follow-up to The State of New Testament Studies. Dr. Erin Heim joins Scot and I as editors for The State of Pauline Studies: A Survey of Recent Research. Just take a look at the list of contributors! This will be a valuable resource for students, pastors who want to catch up on the latest conversations in Pauline studies, and even scholars who will appreciate the expert analysis and goldmines in the footnotes.... Read more

Join the Launch Team! I am excited to be releasing my latest book STRANGE RELIGION in February. I am opening up invites for the launch team, and I would love for you to join us. Here are some quick details. -Prerequisite: preorder the book (<$20) Launch Team Members get: -Digital pre-release access to the book -Membership in Private FB group with me -Weekly FB live sessions about the book -Some giveaways and freebies -A surprise gift for all participants *We... Read more