Theology Thursday
During the medieval ages, the church conducted worship in Latin—even though most didn't speak or understand it. When the priest would invoke the words of institution over the bread, he would say “Hoc est enim corpus meum” ("This is my body" in Latin). The laity assumed the phrase was some sort of incantation that magically transformed one element into another. And because they didn't know a lick of Latin, when the priest said, "hoc est corpus" the congregation heard "hocus pocus." Yes, like abracadabra.
Our concern is that the distance between the cross-shaped ivory tower and the pew is growing exponentially. If we don't disciple our churches and do the hard work of spiritual formation, we will be preaching to Babel soon enough. Even when we say true things from the pulpit—without an understanding of the elementary doctrine of Christ and beyond (Heb 6:1)—the congregation will only hear "hocus pocus." We have to do better. Theology Thursdays is our attempt at just that.
Person of The Holy Spirit
Dr. Gregg Allison is the professor of Christian theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, secretary of the Evangelical Theological Society, elder at Sojourn Church, and a theological strategist for the Harbor Network. He is the author of Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine; Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church; Roman Catholic Theology and Practice: An Evangelical Assessment; Baker Compact Dictionary of Theological Terms; and many other books.
In light of his most recent work, The Holy Spirit: Theology for the People of God, We have asked him to spend a few hours teaching us on the Person of the Holy Spirit.
To download a copy of Dr. Allison’s teaching notes click this link.
Hermeneutics Primer
Dr. Brian Vickers is the professor of New Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of Jesus’ Blood and Righteousness: Paul’s Theology of Imputation; Justification by Faith: Finding Freedom from Legalism, Lawlessness, Pride, and Despair; and has contributed various chapters and articles to books and journals. He is actively involved in leading short term mission trips to many overseas locations including India, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Nepal, and Thailand, and is a frequent conference speaker and preacher.
Apatheism
Dr. Kyle Beshears is teaching pastor at Mars Hill Church in Mobile, Alabama. He holds a Master of Theology and a PhD from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has written journal articles for Themelios and the Evangelical Missiological Society Series and has taught courses on religion at the University of Mobile. He’s the author of Apatheism: How We Share When They Don't Care (B&H Academic) and the forthcoming book 40 Questions About Mormonism (Kregel Academic, 2023).
Dr. Beshears is also a regular contributor to the So What? Podcast and blogs at Theology in the Middle.
To download a copy of Kyle’s teaching notes click this link.
Redemptive Kingdom Diversity
Dr. Jarvis J. Williams has taught at Southern Seminary since 2013. He has published numerous books, including Christ Redeemed ‘Us’ from the Curse of the Law: A Jewish Martyrological Reading of Galatians 3:13 in the Library of New Testament Studies Monograph Series (T&T Clark, 2019), his commentary on Galatians in the New Covenant Commentary Series (Cascade, 2020), and a commentary on Romans (IVP Academic, Submitted and Forthcoming 2021 or 2022). Dr. Williams has also published popular books and articles on race, racism, and reconciliation.
In light of his forthcoming book, Redemptive Kingdom Diversity: A Biblical Theology of the People of God (Baker Academic, September 2021), we asked Dr. Williams to spend a few hours teaching us on what the Bible has to say about the beauty of God’s multiethnic and unified kingdom-people.
Why Study Church History?
Born in England of Irish and Kurdish parents, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin serves as professor of church history & biblical spirituality. Haykin has a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Toronto (1974), a Master of Religion from Wycliffe College, the University of Toronto (1977), and a Th.D. in Church History from Wycliffe College and the University of Toronto (1982). Haykin and his wife, Alison, have two grown children: Victoria and Nigel.
He is the author of a number of books, including Loving God and Neighbor with Samuel Pearce; The Christian Lover: The Sweetness of Love and Marriage in the Letters of Believers; Rediscovering the Church Fathers: Who They Were and How They Shaped the Church; and Eight Women of Faith.
Four Views of the End Times
Dr. Timothy Paul Jones is the VP for Doctoral Studies; Chair, Department of Apologetics, Ethics, and Philosophy; C. Edwin Gheens Professor of Christian Family Ministry at The Souther Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY.
Before coming to Southern, he led churches in Missouri and Oklahoma as pastor and associate pastor. Jones has authored or edited more than a dozen books, including The God Who Goes Before You; Perspectives on Family Ministry; and Christian History Made Easy; . In 2016, the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association awarded Dr. Jones a Gold Medallion book of the year award for his book How We Got the Bible.
Dr. Jones is married to Rayann and they have four daughters: Hannah, Skylar, Kylinn, and Katrisha. Additionally, he serves as one of the teaching pastors at the Midtown congregation of Sojourn Collective.
The Church
Dr. Gregg Allison is the professor of Christian theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, secretary of the Evangelical Theological Society, elder at Sojourn Church, and a theological strategist for the Harbor Network. He is the author of The Holy Spirit: Theology for the People of God; Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine; Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church; Roman Catholic Theology and Practice: An Evangelical Assessment; Baker Compact Dictionary of Theological Terms; and many other books.
In light of his most recent work, The Church: An Introduction, we asked him to spend a few hours teaching us on the identity, leadership, government, and mission of the church.
To download a copy of Dr. Allison’s teaching notes click this link.
10 Thoughts on Pain and Suffering
After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Baylor University, Andrew spent 7 years working with Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru) building spiritual movements on college campuses here in the States and overseas. In 2010 Andrew felt the Lord’s prompting to continue his education and in 2012 he graduated from Texas Women’s University with a Master’s degree in Counseling and Development. After providing counseling services at the Denton County Jail, Andrew transitioned into a Pastoral Residency at The Village Church. During his residency Andrew directed the Recovery Support ministry, taught biblical counseling courses, and provided marital, pre-marital, addictions, family, and crisis counseling.
Andrew’s passion is to display the glory of God in the darkest moments and places of peoples’ lives and to help them see that the Lord’s ability to save, heal, restore, and redeem is not hindered by the severity of our circumstances or weaknesses. The Lord is always able, even when we feel like we are not.
To download a copy of Andrew’s teaching notes click this link.