An Introduction to the Making and Meaning of the Bible is a new book by Michael Shepherd. Using clear crisp writing, Shepherd’s book explores how the Bible was made, its text, transmission, and translation as well as the textual world of the Scriptures. The book is valuable, consequently, I’ve cited it in my upcoming work The Untold Story of the New Testament Church: Revised & Expanded. Here is a description from the publisher. A comprehensive and orthodox guide to biblical... Read more

Nijay Gupta has written a new book. It’s called Strange Religion: How the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous, and Compelling. I liked the book so much I reached out to Nijay to interview him about it. Enjoy! Writing a book is a difficult task. What specific change were you intending to make among Christians (and perhaps non-Christians) by writing this book?  This is an ad fontes (“back to the origins”) kind of book—inspiring Christians today by going back to the... Read more

Paul Barnett is one of the greatest scholars of our time. I own most of his books. Regarding the ones I don’t have, I’ve rented them from the library and have made good use of them. Paul is one of my historical advisors for my upcoming book The Untold Story of the New Testament Church: Revised & Expanded and he’s quoted and cited throughout the volume. Recently, his publisher sent me his book Jerusalem to Illyricum: Earliest Christianity through the... Read more

As most of you know, I created an online training for authors (aspiring & accomplished) called SCRIBE. One of the many bonuses of the training is a free interview with the author on their next book right here on the Patheos blog. Ralph Good is one such author. I caught up with Ralph recently to discuss his new book What is GODLY Submission? Enjoy the interview. What provoked you to write this book? I experienced the devastation caused by submitting... Read more

The message I shared in the Ministry Leadership Conference last year, THE TWO ANOINTINGS continues to devastate pastors and teachers. Recently, a leader who heard it the first time wrote me, “I wanted to let you know that it has been the single most impactful message that I have ever heard!” Another leader, who has listened to countless sermons over the years said, “This is the best message I’ve ever heard in my life.” I’m humbled by these reactions, but... Read more

The SBL Study Bible features the NRSV. The Bible contains thousands of notes authored by scholars. I spent time with this Bible to access it’s value. The pros are that the NRSV is an interesting translation. One that has many positive moments. It contains the Apocryphal books, which are good to have as they provide interesting historical data. The notes are easy to read, and some of the content boxes are helpful. In fact, I cited some of them in... Read more

The Church History Bible is simply amazing! This is not your typical study Bible. Instead of notes written by a panel of contemporary scholars, this Bible features commentary notes from the “greats.” Augustine, Calvin, Luther, Warfield, Wesley, Henry, Edwards (Jonathan), Gill, the Church Fathers, C.S. Lewis, and many others. It’s an incredible array of commentary on every Bible verse by the theologians and scholars of the past. The Bible is elegant and the formatting is wonderful. I highly recommend it.... Read more

Jesus Tradition, Early Christian Memory, and Gospel Writing: The Long Search for the Authentic Source by Alan Kirk is a new scholarly work that gets deep into the weeds of Gospel writing and sources. It’s one of the works I’m citing in my revised and expanded version of The Untold Story of the New Testament Church, which is forthcoming. Here’s a description from the publisher: Breaking a 200-year impasse on the origins of the gospels   Biblical scholars want to get to... Read more

What Is a Gospel? by Francis Watson is a scholarly look at the Gospels. It’s one of the works I’m citing in my revised and expanded version of The Untold Story of the New Testament Church, which is forthcoming. The book is academic, but contains numerous insights that are helpful. This is an excellent description of the book from the publisher: When Christians speak of “the gospels” they’re usually referring to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Other ancient writings about... Read more

That I May Dwell among Them: Incarnation and Atonement in the Tabernacle Narrative is a new book by Gary Anderson. I was interested in this book because the tabernacle and temple are two key pieces of the Eternal Purpose that I’ve spoken and written about often. Anderson’s book is scholarly, and it’s one of the works I’m citing in my revised and expanded version of The Untold Story of the New Testament Church, which is forthcoming. Well written, here’s a... Read more