SAET Blog

SAET Fellow Publications Posts

  • December 2, 2010 by Gerald Hiestand

    Michael LeFebvre — Singing the Pslams

    Dr. Michael LeFebvre (Second Fellowship) has just published a new book on Psalm singing. For a brief summary and link, see below.

    Singing the Songs of Jesus: Revisiting the Psalms is a book about the Psalms. More specifically, it is about singing the Psalms (rather than reading them). Furthermore, it is about singing the Psalms in contemporary, Christ-centered worship (rather than treating them as artifacts of ancient Israel’s worship). Of course, the Psalms have a lot of rough edges which make them a hard fit for modern worship services. They are too long, for one thing. (We prefer simpler songs, today.) They are full of groaning and complaining, and even occasional curses. (Praise songs are always supposed to be positive, right?) The Psalms have lots of Old Testament temple imagery. (Why would New Testament worship use Old Testament language?) We might lift a chorus from the Psalms here or there, but we’re not in the habit of singing entire Psalms anymore. They just don’t fit our worship expectations. But maybe this is not because of problems with the Psalms. Maybe the problem is with our expectations of church praise. Maybe there is something wrong with us when the collection of songs used by both Old and New Testament believers—over thousands of years, both before and after Christ—no longer fits our worship repertoire. We know how to use the Psalms as a devotional book to read, but we have forgotten how the Psalms work as songs to sing. These are the issues taken up in Singing the Songs of Jesus. This book is intended to be both encouraging and provocative. Singing the Songs of Jesus unpacks the unique blessings which singing the Psalms will restore to contemporary Christian worship, and it explores the treasures behind those very features of the Psalms which we tend to mistake as “rough edges.”

    But put that checkbook away, there’s more! For those of you who just can’t get enough Psalm singing, Michael also contributes a chapter in the new book, Sing a New Song: Recovering Psalm Singing for the Twenty-first Century. Michael’s chapter is chapter six: “”The Hymns of Christ: The Old Testament Formation of the New Testament Hymnal.”

    Categories: General | Gerald Hiestand | SAET Fellow Publications

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  • October 9, 2010 by Gerald Hiestand

    The SAET Fall Symposium: Pastoral Reflections on Kevin Vanhoozer’s, The Drama of Doctrine

    We’re looking forward to a great couple of days with the pastors from the First Fellowship. This year we are privileged to have Dr. Kevin Vanhoozer as our Senior Theological Consultant, and we’ll be interacting with his book, The Drama of Doctrine. We’ll kick off Sunday evening with a time of reconnection, dinner and fellowship at the Wilson home. And then on Monday four of us will be presenting Drama of Doctrine response papers. Tuesday morning will be set aside to interact with a number of book projects a few of our Fellows are working on. This is one of my favorite three days of the year, made all the sweeter now that I’m on staff at Calvary Memorial Church–our host for the Fellowship Symposiums, and the nucleus of the SAET vision.

    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:

    Categories: First Fellowship | General | SAET Fellow Publications | Symposium

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  • August 24, 2010 by Gerald Hiestand

    Doug Sweeney and Owen Strachan-The Essential Edwards Collection

    I’ve been regrettably slow in noting the (relatively) recent release of The Essential Edwards Collection (Moody Press, 2010), five vols., written by Doug Sweeney and Owen Strachan. Doug is a world-class Edwards scholar, and the Senior Theological Mentor of the SAET’s Second Fellowship. Owen Strachan is finishing up his PhD at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a Fellow in the SAET’s First Fellowship. I’ve not yet had a chance to view the collection, but Owen is bringing copies to the First Fellowship’s annual symposium in October. Looking forward to seeing Owen and the Essential Edwards Collection! See below for the publisher’s description:

    “Johnathan Edwards was a colonial, philosophical preacher, and theologian. To many he stands as the preeminent theologian and thinker of the American tradition. This series of five books covers Edwards’ life and major writings opening an accessible window into the heart and mind of the pastor-theologian. They unearth the choicest treasures of Edwards’ writings and present them to lay people for discovery and personal transformation. The Essential Edwards Collection proves you do not need to be a scholar to enjoy and benefit from the writings and life from Johnathan Edwards.”

    Check out the two videos below for more information on the collection.

    Categories: Doug Sweeney | Jonathan Edwards | Owen Strachan | SAET Fellow Publications

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  • July 23, 2010 by Gerald Hiestand

    David Rudolph on “Paul’s Rule in All the Churches”

    Do you know Paul’s rule in all the churches? Can’t say that I did either. Until I read David’s paper, that is, published in the latest issue of CCJR. David is one of our SAET Fellows, and has done some important work on contemporary Jewish/Christian relations. If this is an area of interest to you, I strongly encourage you to get acquainted with David’s work. Here’s the intro to his article:

    “In preparation for this conference, I asked a number of church leaders if they were familiar with Paul’s “rule in all the churches.” Notably, not a single leader who responded to my ad hoc survey was aware of such a rule. Based on this response and my general familiarity with ecclesial theology, I think it is likely that Paul’s “rule in all the churches” has become a “rule in few of the churches” today. While many would probably be content to see this state of affairs continue, especially those who do not like church rules, there remains the nagging question, “Should a teaching that Paul considered important enough to be a universal rule be almost universally neglected by contemporary Christians?”

    The aim of this paper is to introduce Paul’s rule to those who are unfamiliar with it, and to make the case that Paul’s rule is a lynchpin that sustains the church as a body of Jews and Gentiles. In part one of the paper, I will discuss Paul’s rule as it relates to Jewish continuity, the apostle’s indifference to Jewish difference (1 Cor 7:19), and the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15). In part two, I will address the effects of the church not keeping Paul’s rule, the Jew-Gentile ekklesia, and whether Paul’s rule can be implemented today.”

    You can read the rest of the article online here.  David teaches at the Messianic Jewish Theological Institute, and blogs here and here.

    Categories: David Rudolph | SAET Fellow Publications

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  • July 20, 2010 by Gerald Hiestand

    Stephen Witmer on Sin

    Stephen Witmer (one of our SAET Fellows) has written a great article, just recently posted at Reformation 21 entitled, A God-Centered Understanding of Sin. Here’s the intro to Stephen’s article:

    The most important truth about sin is the one least recognized in our day. It is this: all sin is primarily sin against God. Where sin is understood as merely a moral concept rather than mainly a religious one, where it is seen primarily as a person-to-person problem rather than as primarily ‘theocentric,’ motivation for fighting sin is decreased and confusion about the character of God is increased. While recognizing the ‘horizontal’ (person-to-person) nature of sin, the Bible consistently presents sin as mainly a ‘vertical’ (person-to-God) offense. My purpose in this article is to promote a God-centered understanding of sin by outlining the biblical evidence for the vertical nature of all sin and then reflecting on the manifold pastoral implications of this view. If we are to understand the seriousness of sin and to help ourselves and others think about and fight sin the way we ought to, we must have this God-centered view of sin.

    A great perspective here, particularly the second half of the article where Stephen shows how the vertical aspects of sin trump its horizontal aspects. I encourage you to read the whole thing. A great example of ecclesial theology. Stephen is a pastor at Pepperell Christian Fellowship in Pepperell MA, and blogs regularly at the Pastor’s Blog.

    Categories: SAET Fellow Publications | Stephen Witmer

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  • April 24, 2010 by Gerald Hiestand

    Joel Lawrence’s “Bonhoeffer: A Guide for the Perplexed”

    Joel Lawrence — SAET Fellow, Bonhoeffer expert, and all around good guy — has recently released his new book, Bonhoeffer: A Guide for the Perplexed (T & T Clark). Joel presented a paper at last year’s SAET symposium on how Bonhoeffer’s theology navigated the gap between the academy and the church. I found the paper very helpful, and I trust this new book will be as well. The description of Joel’s book from the publisher’s website is below:

    There is little doubt that the nature of Bonhoeffer’s unfinished final theological ruminations have made him a thinker whose influence has grown as theologians and pastors have tried to make sense of Bonhoeffer’s vision. In writing a guide for the perplexed, the best way to approach his thought is to use the “perplexing” themes of the prison letters as guides for engaging Bonhoeffer’s larger theological project. In this guide, Lawrence uses five key themes from the prison letters as ways into the movements of Bonhoeffer’s theology. In doing so, he engages specifically with the difficult concepts in the Bonhoefferian corpus, using these to address the larger field of Bonhoeffer’s theology. This approach aims at the readers who would be approaching Bonhoeffer for the first time as those who are struggling with his thought. Many would be familiar with the content of the prison letters, but would have failed to grasp the context of those letters in which their difficulty is best alleviated.

    For more detailed product information (endorsements, chapter summaries, author bio) see the publisher’s website. To purchase the book at a cheaper price, go to Amazon.

    Categories: Joel Lawrence | SAET Fellow Publications

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  • February 23, 2010 by Gerald Hiestand

    The Faith of Jesus Christ, Sprinkle and Bird

    The new book edited by Preston Sprinkle (one of our SAET Fellows) and Michael Bird, The Faith of Jesus Christ: Exegetical, Biblical, and Theological Studies (Hendrickson, 2010) is now available. The book tackles the pistis christou debate, and has a great line-up of contributors. My reading list tends to bounce back and forth between historical/systematic theology and New Testament studies related to justification. I’ve not dug deeply into this issue, so this is a book I’ve ordered and look forward to reading. Here’s the product description:

    One of the most perplexing problems in Pauline studies is the meaning of the phrase pistis christou. Is Paul speaking of our faith in Christ or of Christ’s own faithfulness toward God? Here noted contemporary New Testament scholars join forces–and lock horns–to shed light on the answer by presenting rigorous exegetical studies from both sides of the debate. They also bring fresh creative proposals to bear on the problem, and place the discussion in the wider spectrum of historical, biblical, and systematic theology.

    The most penetrating and comprehensive attempt to date to grapple with the significance of Jesus’ faithfulness and obedience for Christian salvation, and the extent to which it is represented in key biblical texts.

    CONTRIBUTORS
    University of Durham luminary James D.G. Dunn authors an erudite foreword; and editor Michael Bird introduces the problems and prospects for a New Testament conversation on the topic. Debbie Hunn, Stanley E. Porter, and Andrew W. Pitts contribute essays about the background of the pistis christou discussion. Douglas A. Campbell, R. Barry Matlock, Paul Foster, and Richard Bell clarify Pauline texts in contention. Mark A. Seifrid, Francis Watson, Preston M. Sprinkle, and Ardel B. Caneday explore Pauline exegesis, hermeneutics, and theology. The witness of the wider New Testament is covered by Peter G. Bolt, Willis H. Salier, Bruce A. Lowe, and David deSilva. Finally, Mark W. Elliott and Benjamin Myers offer historical and theological reflections from the church fathers, Karl Barth, and others.

    Categories: Preston Sprinkle | SAET Fellow Publications | Theology

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  • February 16, 2010 by Gerald Hiestand

    Bargerhuff, The Love that Rescues

    Eric Bargerhuff, one of our SAET Fellows, has just announced the release of his book on church discipline, Love That Rescues: God’s Fatherly Love in the Practice of Church Discipline (Wipf and Stock).  Every pastor needs to think carefully and biblically about this important topic. I encourage you to pick up a copy. The book’s description is below:

    In an age where “church discipline” has fallen out of favor in the context of many churches, Eric Bargerhuff calls the church to a deeper understanding of its nature and purpose as an expression of God’s “fatherly love” towards his people. As a biblically mandated activity instituted by Christ himself in Matthew 18, church discipline is an essential practice of any faithful church that is committed to sharing the Gospel and making disciples.

    Tackling some of the false notions and assumptions surrounding church discipline, Bargerhuff sets forth a historical, biblical, theological, and practical position that centers its identity and purpose on a proper understanding of the cross of Christ. Since the punitive wrath of God was poured out for sin on the cross of Jesus Christ (a penal substitutionary atonement), it is therefore necessary to reject the notion that church discipline is “punishment,” but rather it should be seen as God’s hand of forgiveness and grace extended for the purpose of restoring, reconciling, and rescuing one of his own, a “sheep that has gone astray.” It is to be regarded as God’s love in the actions of a forgiven and forgiving community.

    Endorsements:

    “Here is a biblically rooted, theologically formed, and long overdue case for conceiving church discipline as a loving practice of the church. Bargerhuff flies against the prevailing cultural winds that lead most of us, when we hear mention of ‘discipline,’ to complete the phrase with the other part of Foucault’s title: ‘. . . and punish.’ The evangelical church—and not only the evangelical!—desperately needs to recover this neglected church practice as an important means of edification, if not of grace itself.”

    —Kevin J. Vanhoozer
    Blanchard Professor of Theology
    Wheaton College Graduate School

    “This is a wise, insightful, practical, and theologically rich study of the teaching of the entire Bible about God’s loving discipline of his children. It will challenge every church to exercise discipline according to Scripture, lest the church itself fall under God’s discipline through unfaithfulness.”

    —Wayne Grudem
    Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies
    Phoenix Seminary, Phoenix, Arizona

    “Viewing [church discipline] as an incarnate expression of God’s fatherly discipline, Bargerhuff helps us understand church discipline as a necessary part of being a forgiven and forgiving community. I recommend this book very highly to all who long to see the church flesh out God’s dual commitment to ethical and doctrinal purity and to his forgiving, restoring, rescuing love.”

    —Steven C. Roy
    Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology
    Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

    Categories: Eric Bargerhuff | SAET Fellow Publications

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