Category: <span>Journal articles</span>

Some of the Gospel according to Luke’s most prominent passages describe salvation in terms of utterly transformed sociopolitical values and realities. The energy expressed in those texts’ grand and far-reaching assertions can be difficult to see in the rest of Luke unless interpreters pay attention to the ways Jesus dismantles the tools and ethos of dominance in the more intimate settings of his public ministry. For preachers and teachers who lead others through Luke one passage at a time, interpreting the whole Gospel narrative with those big promises in view is essential.

Read the full article, which was published in the October 2018 issue of the online journal Currents in Theology and Mission.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers Journal articles

Summary: This article is more academic than most of the other things I’ve written that are accessible on the Web. It offers a basic overview of the Apostle Paul’s letters, especially some of the theological convictions that inform what he wrote. To read Paul’s letters properly is to understand that Paul wrote as a pastor seeking to offer care to communities and to understand Paul’s enduring Jewish faith–a faith not replaced but transformed by his experience of Jesus Christ.

Read the full article from the journal Word & World. It was originally published in the Fall 2010 issue.

Journal articles

Summary: This article is more academic than most of the other things I’ve written that are accessible on the Web. In it, I explore the story of a woman who asks Jesus to drive a demon from her daughter, but Jesus initially refuses. It’s a fascinating, troubling story. My article explores the deep, persistent, and even argumentative faith of this admirable woman who ultimately persuades Jesus to grant her request.

Read the full article from the journal Word & World. It was originally published in the Winter 2006 issue.

Journal articles

Summary: This article is more academic than most of the other things I’ve written that are accessible on the Web. It explores Jesus’ words in Mark 8:34: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” The self-denial Jesus calls for isn’t about self-improvement. It’s to embrace a new identity that makes a public declaration of our commitment to the enactment of God’s reign.

Read the full article from the journal Word & World. It was originally published in the Summer 2003 issue.

Journal articles