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Richard B. Hays is internationally recognized for his work on the Gospels, the letters of Paul, and on New Testament ethics. His scholarly work has bridged the disciplines of biblical criticism and literary studies, exploring the innovative ways in which early Christian writers interpreted Israel’s Scripture. He has also consistently sought to demonstrate how close […]

Dr. Vince Bantu (PhD in Semitic and Egyptian Languages, CUA) is the Ohene (President) of the Meachum School of Haymanot and is Assistant Professor of Church History and Black Church Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is also the Ohene of the Society of Gospel Haymanot (SGH), an academic society of theological Gospelism—Afro-rooted theology committed […]

Aaron Niequist is a liturgist, writer, in New York City. After leading worship at Mars Hill Church (Grand Rapids, MI) and Willow Creek Church (Barrington, IL), Aaron created A New Liturgy- a collection of modern liturgical worship recordings. Shortly after, Aaron started a discipleship-focused, formational, ecumenical, practice-based community at Willow Creek called The Practice. Since […]

Kellye Fabian serves at Willow Creek Community Church as the Pastor of Biblical Oversight & Support and is the author of Holy Vulnerability: Spiritual Practices for the Broken, Ashamed, Anxious, and Afraid and Sacred Questions: A Transformative Journey Through the Bible. A former trial attorney turned pastor, Kellye’s experiences have equipped her to work closely with people struggling and learning how to cope with hard things. Kellye provides leadership, develops content, and fills various roles at Willow Creek, including teaching and leading the community through spiritual practices. Kellye also teaches spiritual discipline workshops. Kellye has a Certificate of Spiritual Formation through the Transforming Center and a master of arts degree in New Testament from Northern Seminary. Kellye and her husband, Steve, have three daughters between them and live in the Chicago area. You can read more of Kellye’s thoughts on her blog, and follow her on Twitter. Life can seemingly be fine on the surface. But for any of us who scratch that surface, we recognize anxiety, shame, disappointment, and regret. And yet, in the depths of these feelings, in the things we hate about ourselves, others, and this world, we can invite God’s presence.This is the essence of holy vulnerability. To enter into holy vulnerability is to intentionally expose our raw wounds so that God can heal and mend and transform us.What happens when we refuse this depth of healing? Something that author Kellye Fabian calls “unholy leakage”—that thing that happens when we are afraid, ashamed, or anxious, and instead of facing the reality of what we’re experiencing, we just spill it on everyone around us. Where is anxiety occupying our hearts and minds? Where is fear hindering our relationships and limiting our faith and joy? Where is shame causing us to question our self-worth? Is there another way? Yes.Holy Vulnerability unpacks six atypical, unexpected spiritual practices intended to open us to God’s healing and transformation. Through practices like laughter, community, and tangible engagement with creation, Kellye guides us to notice where brokenness is breaking into our lives. And as we intentionally seek God in the midst of these practices—as we step out in holy vulnerability—God will meet us there. – From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout on Apple Podcasts Get 40% off Shane’s book Go and Do: Nine Axioms on Peacemaking and Transformation From the Life of John Perkins.

Tim Mackie is a writer and creative director for BibleProject. He has a PhD in Semitic Languages and Biblical Studies. He wrote his dissertation on the manuscript history of the book of Ezekiel, with a focus on the Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls. He is a professor at Western Seminary and served as a teaching pastor for many years. Jon Collins is a writer and creative director for BibleProject. He has a BA in Biblical Studies from Multnomah University (where he met Tim). Jon is a master of making complex ideas simple and has spent the last decade founding and leading digital media and marketing companies. You can follow Tim on Twitter @timmackie and Jon is @jonpdx. BibleProject is a nonprofit ed-tech organization and animation studio that produces 100% free Bible videos, podcasts, blogs, classes, and educational Bible resources to help make the biblical story accessible to everyone, everywhere.From page one to the final word, we believe the Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus. This diverse collection of ancient books overflows with wisdom for our modern world. As we let the biblical story speak for itself, we believe the message of Jesus will transform individuals and entire communities.Many people have misunderstood the Bible as a collection of inspirational quotes or a divine instruction manual dropped from heaven. Most of us gravitate toward sections we enjoy while avoiding parts that are confusing or even disturbing.Our Bible resources help people experience the Bible in a way that is approachable, engaging, and transformative. We do this by showcasing the literary art of the Scriptures and tracing the themes found in them from beginning to end. Rather than taking the stance of a specific tradition or denomination, we create materials to elevate the Bible for all people and draw our eyes to its unified message. – From BibleProject.com You can follow The Bible Project on Twitter @bibleproject Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout on Apple Podcasts Get 40% off Shane’s book Go and Do: Nine Axioms on Peacemaking and Transformation From the Life of John Perkins.

Beth Allison Barr received her B.A. from Baylor University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Medieval History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research focuses primarily on women and gender identity in late medieval England, how the advent of Protestantism affected women in Christianity, and medieval attitudes towards women in sermons across the Reformation era. Beth is the author of The Pastoral Care of Women in Late Medieval England, and is co-editor of The Acts of the Apostles: Four Centuries of Baptist Interpretation. She is currently working on her next book, Women in English Sermons, 1350-1700. She is also a regular contributor to The Anxious Bench, a religious history blog on Patheos. Beth has been very active in service to her discipline—serving as president of two historical societies (the Texas Medieval Association and the Conference on Faith and History), serving on the diversity committee and program committee for the American Society of Church History, serving on the sexual harassment committee for the Sixteenth Century Society, and serving as a board member for The Medieval Review (2015) and the Conference on Faith and History since 2013, as well as CFH program chair (2016) and Vice President (2016). You can follow Beth on Twitter: @bethallisonbarr Biblical womanhood–the belief that God designed women to be submissive wives, virtuous mothers, and joyful homemakers–pervades North American Christianity. From choices about careers to roles in local churches to relationship dynamics, this belief shapes the everyday lives of evangelical women. Yet biblical womanhood isn’t biblical, says Baylor University historian Beth Allison Barr. It arose from a series of clearly definable historical moments.This book moves the conversation about biblical womanhood beyond Greek grammar and into the realm of church history–ancient, medieval, and modern–to show that this belief is not divinely ordained but a product of human civilization that continues to creep into the church. Barr’s historical insights provide context for contemporary teachings about women’s roles in the church and help move the conversation forward.Interweaving her story as a Baptist pastor’s wife, Barr sheds light on the #ChurchToo movement and abuse scandals in Southern Baptist circles and the broader evangelical world, helping readers understand why biblical womanhood is more about human power structures than the message of Christ. – From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout on Apple Podcasts Get 40% off Shane’s book Go and Do: Nine Axioms on Peacemaking and Transformation From the Life of John Perkins.

Michael grew up in Brisbane before joining the Army and serving as a paratrooper, intelligence operator, and then chaplains assistant. It was during his time in the military that he came to faith from a non-Christian background, and soon after felt a call to ministry. Michael describes himself as a “biblical theologian” who endeavours to bring together biblical studies and systematic theology. He believes that the purpose of the church is to “gospelize,” that is to preach, promote, and practise the Gospel-story of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remembered by his students for his mix of outlandish humour and intellectual rigor, he makes theology both entertaining and challenging. As an industrious researcher, Michael has written and edited over thirty books in the fields of Septuagint, Historical Jesus, the Gospels, St Paul, Biblical Theology, and Systematic Theology. He also runs a popular blog called Euangelion. You can follow Mike on Twitter: @mbird12 Seven Things I Wish Christians Knew about the Bible is a short and readable introduction to the Bible–its origins, interpretation, truthfulness, and authority. Bible scholar, prolific author, and Anglican minister Michael Bird helps Christians understand seven important “things” about this unique book. Seven Things presents a clear and understandable evangelical account of the Bible’s inspiration, canonization, significance, and relevance in a way that is irenic and compelling. It is a must-read for any serious Bible reader who desires an informed and mature view of the Bible that will enrich their faith. – From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout on Apple Podcasts Get 40% off Shane’s book Go and Do: Nine Axioms on Peacemaking and Transformation From the Life of John Perkins.

Dr John Dickson thinks, writes, and speaks. Starting out as a singer-songwriter, he now works as an author, academic, and media presenter. In 2007 he co-founded (with Dr Greg Clarke) the Centre for Public Christianity, and has published 18 books and three TV documentaries. He teaches ‘Historical Jesus’ at the University of Sydney, and is a Visiting Academic (2016-2021) in the Faculty of Classics at the University of Oxford. In 2019 he was appointed Distinguished Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Public Christianity at Ridley College, Melbourne. In all that he does, whether in the media or the church, creative or academic, he strives to be a public advocate for the Christian faith. His podcast Undeceptions seeks to promote clarity about Christianity in doubting times. Having lost his father in a plane crash at 9, John is sympathetic to the sorrows and questions of our world and values his wife and three children above all other gifts of this life. You can follow John on Twitter: @JohnPaulDickson, and on Instagram: @JohnPaulDickson. Is religion a pernicious force in the world? Does it poison everything? Would we be better off without religion in general and Christianity in particular? Many think so.But the critics are only partly right: this is not what Christianity was at its foundation or on its best days. Jesus of Nazareth gave the world a beautiful melody – of charity, humility, and human dignity – and while many of its followers have been tone-deaf, many others have sung the tune and transformed the world. Dickson provides an honest account of the mixed history of Christianity and asks skeptics to listen again to the melody of Christ, despite the discord produced by too many unbelievers. He also asks Christians to reflect soberly on their own participation in the tragic inconsistencies of Christendom and pleads with them to live in tune with their Maestro. – From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes

Dominique DuBois Gilliard is the Director of Racial Righteousness and Reconciliation for the Love Mercy Do Justice (LMDJ) initiative of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). He is the author of Rethinking Incarceration: Advocating for Justice that Restores, which won the 2018 Book of the Year Award for InterVarsity Press. Gilliard also serves on the board of directors for the Christian Community Development Association and Evangelicals for Justice. In 2015, he was selected as one of the ECC’s “40 Under 40” leaders to watch, and HuffPost named him one of the “Black Christian Leaders Changing the World.” An ordained minister, Gilliard has served in pastoral ministry in Atlanta, Chicago, and Oakland. He was executive pastor of New Hope Covenant Church in Oakland, California and also served in Oakland as the associate pastor of Convergence Covenant Church. He was also a campus minister at North Park University and the racial righteousness director for ECC’s ministry initiatives in the Pacific Southwest Conference. Dominique earned a bachelor’s degree in African American Studies from Georgia State University and a master’s degree in history from East Tennessee State University, with an emphasis on race, gender, and class in the United States. He also earned an MDiv from North Park Seminary, where he served as an adjunct professor teaching Christian ethics, theology, and reconciliation. You can follow Dominique on Twitter: @DDGilliard, and on Instagram: @dominiquedgilliard. Privilege is a social consequence of our unwillingness to reckon with and turn from sin. But properly stewarded, it can help us see and participate in God’s inbreaking kingdom. Scripture repeatedly affirms that privilege is real and declares that, rather than exploiting it for selfish gain or feeling immobilized by it, Christians have a responsibility to leverage it.Subversive Witness asks us to grapple with privilege, indifference, and systemic sin in new ways by using biblical examples to reveal the complex nature of privilege and Christians’ responsibility in stewarding it well. – From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes

Dr. Nijay Gupta teaches New Testament courses at Northern and working closely with the Master of Arts in New Testament and the Doctor in Ministry in New Testament Context cohorts. Dr. Gupta has been teaching for more than a decade, is the author of the recent important study, Paul and the Language of Faith, and will be publishing a handful of books in 2020. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Bulletin for Biblical Research, Co-Editor of The Bible in God’s World series with Scot McKnight, and as a member of the Editorial Board of both Ex Auditu and and of the Biblical Interpretation Series. He is a graduate of Miami of Ohio University, Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, and the University of Durham. This accessible and balanced introduction helps readers sort out key views on the most important debated issues in New Testament studies. Well-known New Testament scholar Nijay Gupta fairly presents the spectrum of viewpoints on thirteen topics and offers reflections on why scholars disagree on these matters. Written to be accessible to students and readers without advanced training in New Testament studies, this book will serve as an excellent supplementary text for New Testament introduction courses. -From the Publisher This book surveys the current landscape of New Testament studies, offering readers a concise guide to contemporary discussions. Bringing together a diverse group of experts, it covers research on the most important issues in New Testament studies, including new discipline areas, making it an ideal supplemental textbook for a variety of courses on the New Testament. Michael Bird, David Capes, Greg Carey, Lynn Cohick, Dennis Edwards, Michael Gorman, and Abson Joseph are among the contributors. -From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes

Steve Cuss am a published Author of the book Managing Leadership Anxiety- Yours & Theirs and your host on the Managing Anxiety Podcast. I love leaders, and I see how much pressure they carry. My particular concern is to bring relief by equipping them with tools for individual and team health. I especially enjoy helping leaders break long stuck patterns in themselves and their organizations. You Can Learn to Handle the Onslaught of Internal and External PressuresDoes anxiety get in the way of your ability to be an effective leader? Is your inability to notice when you and those around you are anxious keeping you “stuck” in chronic unhealthy patterns? In Managing Leadership Anxiety, pastor and spiritual growth expert Steve Cuss offers powerful tools to help you move from being managed by anxiety to managing anxiety.You’ll develop the capacity to notice your anxiety and your group’s anxiety. You will increase your sensitivity to the way groups develop systemic anxiety that keeps them trapped. Your personal self-awareness will increase as you learn how self gets in the way of identifying and addressing issues.Managing Leadership Anxiety offers valuable principles to those who are hungry to understand the source of the anxiety in themselves and in the people with whom they relate. Readers will be empowered to take back control of their lives and lead in mature and vibrant ways. -From the Publisher

Pete Scazzero, after leading New Life Fellowship Church for 26 years, co-founded Emotionally Healthy Discipleship, a groundbreaking ministry that moves the church forward by slowing the church down in order to multiply deeply changed leaders and disciples. Pete hosts the top-ranked Emotionally Healthy Leader podcast and is the author of a number of bestselling books, including The Emotionally Healthy Leader and Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. Pete and his wife Geri also developed The Emotionally Healthy Discipleship Course (Part 1 and 2), a powerful resource that moves people from a shallow to a deep relationship with Jesus. For more information, visit emotionallyhealthy.org or connect with Pete on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram @petescazzero. Check out The Emotionally Healthy Leaders podcast here. Pete and Geri remain vital members of New Life Fellowship Church in Queens, NY. Many churches invest endless time and resources into discipleship, yet these efforts often do not produce deeply transformed disciples. Why? By exploring the systemic gaps that undermine effective growth and change, Peter Scazzero unpacks seven biblical themes to offer a clear vision of an emotionally healthy discipleship culture that will reshape the world. -From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes

Michelle Ami Reyes, PhD, is an Indian American writer, speaker, and activist whose work on faith and culture has been featured in Christianity Today, Faithfully Magazine, Patheos, and more. She is also the Vice President of the Asian American Christian Collaborative and Editorial Director at Pax. Michelle lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, Aaron, and two kids. Connect with Michelle at michelleamireyes.com Cultural identities and cross-cultural engagement are not things that anyone can choose to ignore anymore, least of all Christians. Many of us want to have diverse friends and are passionate about justice. But if we are serious about cross-cultural relationships–real relationships that lead to understanding, healing and solidarity across cultural lines–we need to be willing to change. And that’s not something that comes easy for any of us.In Becoming All Things, Michelle Reyes offers a poignant discussion on the challenges surrounding cross-cultural relationships in America today, including the reasons for cultural difference, stereotyping, appropriation, gentrification, racism, and more. Seeking to deconstruct these things in our own lives, Reyes focuses on the concept of cultural accommodation in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, and looks at the ways in which we need to adapt who we are in order to become all things to all people. The problems inherent in cross-cultural relationships have to do with us. We have to do better.With language that’s witty, funny, and accessible, Reyes offers hope for majority and minority alike by showing what’s possible when all of us are willing to try something new. -From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes

This week on Seminary Dropout… Chris Rice has helped give birth to pioneering initiatives to renew Christian life and mission and to address social division in the U.S., East Africa, and Northeast Asia. His three award-winning books are Reconciling All Things (co-authored with Emmanuel Katongole), the memoir Grace Matters, and More Than Equals: Racial Healing for the Sake of the Gospel (co-authored with Spencer Perkins). His writing has appeared in Sojourners, Christianity Today, and the Christian Century. Chris currently serves as Director of the Mennonite Central Committee United Nations Office in New York City. Follow Chris on his blog at reconcilers.wordpress.com. Chris’ books mentioned in this episode: Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes

This week on Seminary Dropout… A. J. Swoboda (PhD, University of Birmingham) is assistant professor of Bible, theology, and world Christianity at Bushnell University in Eugene, Oregon, and leads a Doctor of Ministry cohort on the Holy Spirit and leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including Subversive Sabbath, winner of a Christianity Today Book Award (Spiritual Formation) and an Award of Merit for CT’s Beautiful Orthodoxy Book of the Year. He speaks regularly at conferences, churches, camps, and retreats. Swoboda served for ten years as the lead pastor at Theophilus Church in urban Portland, is the founder and former director of Blessed Earth Northwest, and served as executive director of the Seminary Stewardship Alliance. Check out his new podcast with previous Seminary Dropout guest Nijay Gupta, called In Faith and Doubt. Follow A.J. on his website and on twitter.  Is there a way to walk faithfully through doubt and come out the other side with a deeper love for Jesus, the church, and its tradition? Can we question our faith without losing it? Award-winning author, pastor, and professor A. J. Swoboda has witnessed many young people wrestle with their core Christian beliefs. Too often, what begins as a set of critical and important questions turns to resentment and faith abandonment. Unfortunately, the church has largely ignored its task of serving people along their journey of questioning. The local church must walk alongside those who are deconstructing their faith and show them how to reconstruct it. Drawing on his own experience of deconstruction, Swoboda offers tools to help emerging adults navigate their faith in a hostile landscape. Doubt is a part of our natural spiritual journey, says Swoboda, and deconstruction is a legitimate space to encounter the living God. After Doubt offers a hopeful, practical vision of spiritual formation for those in the process of faith deconstruction and those who serve them. Foreword by pastor and author John Mark Comer. -From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes

This Week on Seminary Dropout… Marlena Graves is a writer and adjunct professor. Marlena holds an MDiv from Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, New York, and is a graduate of the Renovaré Institute. She has been a bylined writer for Christianity Today, (in)courage, womenleaders.com, and Our Daily Bread, and she is also the author of A Beautiful Disaster. She lives with her husband and three daughters in Toledo, Ohio. Follow Marlena at marlenagraves.com “Now, with God’s help, I shall become myself.” These words from Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard resonate deeply with Marlena Graves, a Puerto Rican writer, professor, and activist. In these pages she describes the process of emptying herself that allows her to move upward toward God and become the true self that God calls her to. Drawing on the rich traditions of Eastern and Western Christian saints, she shares stories and insights that have enlivened her transformation. For Marlena, formation and justice always intertwine on the path to a balanced life of both action and contemplation. If you long for more of God, this book offers a time-honored path to deeper life. -From the Publisher Also mentioned on the podcast: Two Years Later, Families Are Still Being Separated Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes

This Week on Seminary Dropout… Emily Smith, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences at Baylor University, is an adjunct assistant professor at DGHI. Her research interests include global surgery, health systems strengthening in low-income countries, capacity building and surgical service scale-up modeling. Currently, her research takes place in Uganda, Nigeria, Somaliland and Latin America. Before joining the faculty at Baylor, Dr. Smith was a research scholar at DGHI for two years. Prior to DGHI, her work at the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) involved utilizing epidemiological methods, mathematical modeling techniques and cost-effectiveness research to determine effectiveness of various testing strategies among HIV exposed infants in sub-Saharan Africa. During her time at Scott & White Healthcare in Temple, Texas, she worked to develop, implement, and evaluate models of caregivers of family members with Alzheimers or dementia. Dr. Smith received her PhD in epidemiology from the Gillings School of Public Health at UNC-CH and an MSPH from the University of South Carolina. Follow Emily on her Facebook page: facebook.com/friendlyneighborepidemiologist/ Other Experts Emily is Following: Dr. Anthony Fauci – all things COVIDDr. Sanjay Gupta – all things COVIDDr. Ralph Baric – COVID treatment (the big treatment in the news is in his lab!. Emily knows Dr. Baric personally.)Dr. Peter Hotez – COVID vaccine (Emily also knows Dr. Hotez personally.) Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes

This Week on Seminary Dropout… Ronald J. Sider, whose book Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger has been called one of the top 100 books in religion in the twentieth century, is a well-known evangelical speaker, writer, and editor. Holding a PhD in history from Yale University, Ron Sider is president of Evangelicals for Social Action, director of the Sider Center on Ministry and Public Policy, and a professor at Palmer Theological Seminary. He is also a contributing editor of Christianity Today and an ordained minister in the Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches. Sider has written more than thirty books, including Christ and Violence, Living Like Jesus, Just Politics, Just Generosity, The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience, and I Am Not a Social Activist. Ron Sider lives with his wife Arbutus in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. Follow Ron on his blog ronsiderblog.substack.com. ” What does Jesus have to say about violence, just war, and killing? Does Jesus ever want his disciples to kill in order to resist evil and promote peace and justice? This book by noted theologian and bestselling author Ronald J. Sider provides a career capstone statement on biblical peacemaking. Sider makes a strong case for the view that Jesus calls his disciples to love, and never kill, their enemies. He explains that there are never only two options: to kill or to do nothing in the face of tyranny and brutality. There is always a third possibility: vigorous, nonviolent resistance. If we believe that Jesus is Lord, then we disobey him when we set aside what he taught about killing and ignore his command to love our enemies. This thorough, comprehensive treatment of a topic of perennial concern vigorously engages with the just war tradition and issues a challenge to all Christians, especially evangelicals, to engage in biblical peacemaking. The book includes a foreword by Stanley Hauerwas.” -From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes

This Week on Seminary Dropout… Cyd Holsclaw is a pastor at Vineyard North in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as well as a ministry and life coach and spiritual director. Geoff Holsclaw (PhD, Marquette University) is also a pastor at Vineyard North, as well as affiliate professor of theology at Northern Seminary in Lisle, Illinois, and coauthor of Prodigal Christianity. “I guess I believe that God loves me. But does he like me?” We all know what it’s like to feel overlooked, disconnected, and ashamed. We might believe in God’s love in the abstract, but we often live our lives without experiencing it in any deep or lasting way. Pastors Cyd and Geoff Holsclaw understand this―indeed, they’ve felt it themselves. In this warm, engaging book, they explain from the story of Scripture that God not only likes us and wants to be with us, he also wants to work through us to bless the whole world. Filled with personal stories and simple, clear teaching from the Bible, Does God Really Like Me? applies the good news of the gospel to the shame and disconnection that we all experience in our everyday lives. God wants to be with us―we belong in his presence. And from that place of belonging, we can bless the whole world with the message of God’s love.-From the Publisher Subscribe/Rate/Review Seminary Dropout in iTunes