The glue that united Paul’s thought and life with the message he preached and the mission he conducted was his suffering as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Paul’s suffering was the vehicle through which the saving power of God, climactically revealed in Christ, was being made known in the world. To reject the suffering Paul was therefore to reject Christ; to identify with Paul in his suffering was a sure sign that one was being saved by the “foolishness” and “stumbling block” of the cross.

Scott Hafemann, “The role of Suffering in the mission of Paul,” ed. P. Bolt and M. Thompson (Downers Grove: IVP, 2000), 140. For a similar article by Hafemann that is available as a free PDF download, check out his “A Call to Pastoral Suffering“. (Hafemann is the Senior Theological Mentor for the First SAET Fellowship.)

Dave is co-founder and pastor of Fellowship Denver which is a growing urban church in central Denver (fellowshipdenver.org) and he hosts open forums throughout Denver dedicated to difficult questions about Christianity (thequestiongroup.blogspot.com). He was born and raised in Oklahoma City and has since lived in Dallas, Cambridge (UK), Durham (UK) and Denver. He received his B.A. in Communications from Oklahoma Baptist University (‘99), his ThM (‘03) at Dallas Theological Seminary and his PhD in Theology and Religion at Durham University, UK (‘10). He contributed and edited numerous articles in Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words published by Zonderzan and is a contributor to the forthcoming monograph edited by Joel Willitts and Michael Bird entitled Paul and the Gospels: Christologies, Conflicts and Convergences published by T&T Clark. Dave’s dissertation, Paul and Luke on Conversion: An Exegetical and Theological Exploration, is currently under review for publication by T&T Clark. Dave has been married to his lovely wife, Renee, for ten years and has three little boys to show for it: Will, Ian and Beckett. Dave enjoys playing with his kids, watching and playing all sorts of sports and lounging with his wife.

Welcome Dave!

Drama of Doctrine response papers to include:

• Dr. Trygve Johnson — “The Pulpit Leads the World: A Reflection on The Drama of Doctrine“
• Dr. John Yates — “The Art of Listening Locally”
• Gerald Hiestand — “The Pastor-Theologian and the Academic Theologian: Toward a Healthy Partnership”
• Dr. Joel Lawrence — “Pray Acting”

The following projects are in progress, and the guys will be presenting sample chapters, book proposals, etc.

• Jim Samra’s book on seeking God’s guidance
• Gerald Hiestand and Jay Thomas’ book for singles on sexual purity and relationships (Crossway)
• Preston Sprinkle’s book, Judaism and Paul Revisited (IVP Academic)
• Stephen Witmer’s book, Waiting For Jesus: Living Restlessly and Patiently Between the Times
• Joel Willitts and David Rudolph’s book on Messianic Judaism (Zondervan)
  

Completed Fellow book projects being given away this year include:

• Gerald Hiestand – Raising Purity: Helping Parents Understand the Bible’s Perspective On Sex, Dating, and Relationships (Iustificare Press)
• Preston Sprinkle (along with Michael Bird), eds.,  — The Faith of Jesus Christ: Exegetical, Biblical, and Theological Studies (Hendrickson)
• Jim Samra –The Gift of Church: How God Designed the Local Church to Meet Our Needs as Christians (Zondervan)
• Doug Sweeney and Owen Strachan — The Essential Edwards Collection, Five Volumes (Moody)

Joel Willitts, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor in Biblical and Theological Studies. He has had a wide breath of experience within both the Christian community and academia. After graduating with a BS (’93) he spent 7 years in youth ministry in Texas, Florida and Illinois. He eventually earned a Th.M. (’00) and then a M.Phil. (’02) and Ph.D. (’07) from Cambridge University in England. Joel has published books, essays and journal articles in the areas of New Testament and the Dead Sea Scroll studies. He is married to Karla (16 years) and they have twin toddlers, Zion and Mary.

Joel blogs regularly  over at euagelion. Welcome,  Joel!

Pulling together a diverse body of evangelical pastor-theologians from across the country, the Fellowship includes representation from the Lutheran, Pentecostal, Episcopal, Baptist, Messianic Jewish, Presbyterian, and independent Bible church traditions. The SAET Fellowship meets annually for a two-day working symposium at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, Illinois, where Fellows present essays on a given theme. Additional Fellowship interaction takes place through quarterly conference calls, as well as informal communication between Fellows.

The SAET is looking to expand the Fellowship to include representation from the Methodist/Wesleyan tradition. The ideal candidate to the SAET Fellowship is:

• A vocational pastor who views the writing/publication of ecclesial theology as a significant ministry calling.
• Has a ThM or PhD.
• Has a demonstrated publishing record.
• Is a young(er) pastor who is in the early years of his pastoral and writing ministry.
• Is available to attend the Fellowship Symposium.

To download a Fellowship Prospectus, click here. To download a Fellowship Application, click here.

For more information regarding the SAET Fellowship, contact Gerald Hiestand at ghiestand[at]saet-online.org.