The Message of Acts in the History of Redemption by Dennis E. Johnson

This was my favorite book that I read for class in the Fall semester this year (2012).  If you are teaching or preaching on Acts, stop reading and go buy it now.  It really is worth having, and at 250 pages, it won't take you too long to read.  If that wasn't convincing...

Dennis Johnson's The Message of Acts in the History of Redemption is a bit tough to pigeon hole.  It's not really a commentary, though it is quite valuable exegetically.  Nor is it an introduction, as it goes deeper into the text than such a book would.  I think it is best to view it as a theology of Acts.  It looks at the major themes and traces those through the book by means of detailed and learned exegesis.  In short, it is an excellent work.  It is relatively short, and not an ounce of ink was wasted in its production.  Every page contains insightful and valuable observations.  

It is in the pastor or seminary student's hand that this will be most beneficial.  There is a fair amount of discussion of the original language (though, annoyingly, without accents in Greek or pointing in Hebrew).  The (must read) end-notes are a cornucopia of historical, grammatical, and referential information.  Johnson uses the Septuagint extensively, placing Acts firmly in "the History of Redemption."  The amount and profundity of Luke's Old Testament references was something I gleaned from reading this book.   His applications and pastoral challenges are insightful and clearly derived from the text.  His hermeneutic is also instructive.  It is easy to over or under apply Acts, and the nature of the apostolic calling makes application to today tricky.  Johnson navigates these waters well, and is lucid as he discusses issues of interpretation and application.  Given the books length, he does not interact too extensively with scholarly opinion as a commentary would, but this serves the pastor well.  You need not wade through this text to find the meat, because all of the fat has been trimmed.

I am less inclined to recommend this book outright for the lay person.  Each chapter is framed with probing application questions and contextualization that will prove helpful in thinking through Acts, and Johnson's discussion of how Acts relates to the present day is one of the valuable contributions of this work.  However, the fine detail and work in the original languages makes this less likely to be a home run as an introductory work, even if much of this detail is buried in the end-notes   Each chapter is well organized, though, and will benefit all readers in some way.  If you know Acts well and are looking to dig deeper, this is a good book, but it is not a good introduction.  Let me put it this way, I would not use this as a book to read together in a Bible study on Acts, but I would not go without it as a reference if I were teaching such a Bible study.

There are a few drawbacks to this work.  While there is an extensive Scripture index, I do wish a subject index would have been included (but that is something every book of this sort needs).  The editorial decision regarding the original language font (see above) is truly regrettable, and will likely cause some to take this work less seriously than they should.  It feels to me as though the book was written to a seminary level, then edited to be accessible to a wider audience by placing much of the detail work in the end-notes.  The chapters also feel a bit disconnected from each other.  It reads like 13 essays on different aspects of Acts.  By the end, you gain a full understanding of Luke's second letter to Theophilus, but the major themes (or "bridges" as he refers to them) of promise leading to fulfillment, Jew and Gentile relations, and the Apostolic events and our day are mentioned in the in preface, but don't form the organizing structure of the book. Indeed, he begins with the last and these themes are often mixed together within the chapters themselves.  A clearer meta-structure would be appreciated.  Finally, the cover is hideous.

Those drawbacks, though, do not detract from the benefit one will gain in reading this book.  Acts is not just a history lesson of how the Gospel expanded after Jesus left town.  It is a theologically deep explanation of the place of the Church in "the History of Redemption."  At under $15, Johnson's book is well worth a purchase.

"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."

Top 10 for New Seminary Students

A new semester is upon us and I thought, in a gesture of good will, that it would be nice to write a "Top Ten" list for new seminary students.  These are things that I did which worked well, things I failed to do which I regret, and things that I wish I had known when I showed up in Saint Louis.  The list could be expanded (it is mostly focused on the classroom side of things), and if any other seminary students or pastors read this, feel free to add things in the comments.

My top 10 pieces of advise for new seminary students:

10.  Get organized - You will be busy.  You will be very busy.  If you have a job, you'll be busier.  If you have a wife, you'll be even busier.  If you have kids, you'll be busier still.  Believe me, if you have none of those things, there will be plenty of things to keep you busy.  I've yet to meet a student who has had too much time to work on a paper or project.  One of the most important things that you can do is to get organized.  As soon as you get your assignments, plan your semester.  Know when things are due and guess at how long they will take.  Organize files for papers and notes.  Organize the files on your computer into semeseters and classes.  Start organizing your library.  Organize your personal life as well (bills, calender and so forth).  The better organized that you are at the beginning, the easier life will be in crunch time.

9.  Find a church home - Here in St. Louis the number of PCA churches is staggering.  Add the other good churches in the greater St. Louis area, and you could be looking for a church home well into your third year. In my opinion, this isn't an ideal situation.  Visit some churches.  Ask your neighbors where they go and what their church is like.  Visit the ones where you think you can worship and minister.  Once you find one, stick with it. You will need the spiritual support of a good church.

8.  Go to chapel - Chapel here at Covenant is outstanding.  It is one of the best ways to keep all of the knowledge that you will gain in proper perspective.  We aren't here just to learn, we are here to become closer to Jesus.  In chapel you will hear the gospel in word and song.  You will hear from some of the best preachers around.  It is worth your time.  Don't be legalistic about it.  If you need to study for an exam, study for an exam, but try to get in the habit of going as often as you can.

7.  Serve - A professor here told me that one of the best ways to ensure that the knowledge that you gain here is not just academic is to serve.  Serve in anyway you can.  It may be ushering for your church, serving in nursery, participating in mercy ministries, helping with youth group, or any number of other things.  It does not really matter how you are serving, but your time here and all of the knowledge that you gain will be put to better use if you make service a priority.

6.  Get to know your classmates - During seminary you will likely form bonds with people that you will carry through your future ministry.  Spend some time and get to know people.  Study with them, help them if they are in need, pray together, eat together, have fun together.  Your classmates here are not your competition, they are your support.  The seminary does a wonderful job of facilitating this, so use the resources that they provide.  Not everybody here is wonderful.  There are some bad eggs.  There will be many people whom you will meet here that will be growing in grace just like you.  There are very few people (though there are some) who are the same now as when they got here, so get to know your classmates and grow with them.

5.  Do the reading -This may be the single most difficult aspect of seminary.  It was for me.  I don't read very quickly, so it was a real struggle to keep up, but try your hardest.  You will get more out of your classes if you do the reading.  You will understand the subject matter better if you do the reading.  The professors here are pretty smart.  They know what a good book is.  Trust them.  If they think you should read it in preparation for ministry, you probably should.

4.  Go to office hours - I did not do this during my first semester here and it is one of my greatest regrets.  Sign up for office hours.  Your professors are intelligent, experienced, graceful pastors.  Any time that you spend with them is time well spent.  Don't waste thier time.  Go into the office prepared with questions and items that you want to discuss.  Then, just see where the conversation goes.

3.  Ask for help - Do not be afraid to ask for help.  If you are stuck or struggling in class, use your professors, classmates, teacher's assistants, upper class-men, and pastors as a resource.  There is no shame in admitting that you aren't quite understanding.  It is okay to ask for an extension if something serious comes up (but do so knowing that the professor may say no).  Form some study groups.  Do research as part of a group.  Be willing to help others as well.  If you find something great, share it with your classmates.

2.  Be humble - This one is not easy.  If you get a good grade, it is easy to let it go to your head.  If you grasp a topic that one of your classmates is struggling with, it can make you feel superior.  When you go to church on Sunday, you'll have more knowledge and more resources at your disposal than most people in your church.  It can be tough to be humble.  Remember two things: 1. There are a lot of people at the seminary (classmates and professors) who are smarter and more talented than you.  2. Seminary is not a competition.  You are here to learn to serve and use your gifts.  If a classmate is struggling and you could help him but choose not to, then you have failed.  This is a time to strengthen and encourage each other in the Lord.  We are all hear to learn, and learning is difficult without humility.

1.  Be patient - You will not "get" everything.  There will be subjects and parts of subjects that will be difficult, or that you might not understand fully.  You will be confronted with a lot of new ideas and faced with new ways of thinking, and you will not understand them all the first (and sometimes second or third) time.  Be patient.  Seminary is the beginning of a journey, not the end of one.  You will not leave with all of the answers.  Seminary is a place where you learn how to seek the answers, how to read your Bible well.  Be patient with yourself as you are challenged and as you grow.

Finally, and this should be a part of all ten of the things mentioned above, don't forget to seek God.  Do not forget to pray.  Do not forget to read your Bible.  Remember that you are here to be trained as a minister and servant of God and His people.  Place your heart in God's hands and seek Him throughout your seminary experience.

Seminary can be a wonderful.  Covenant certainly is.  Enjoy the time you have been given to learn from your pastors, teachers, books, and friends.  But, above all else, seek the Lord.

"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."

The Story of Christianity (2 vols.) by Justo Gonzalez

The two volume Church History by Justo Gonzalez is a great introduction to Church History.  These thick volumes (each over 500 pages) serve as a very good orientation to the two thousand years that have transpired since the resurrection of Jesus.  After a short orientation to first century Palestine, Gonzalez moves on to the church in Jerusalem, and does not stop until the conclusion of volume two with a discussion of the church in the world today.


One of the things that the reader will come to appreciate about these books is the concerted effort on the part of the author to show not only the breadth, but the depth of the Christian story.  Gonzalez draws attention to the life of the average believer in the early church, the development of Christianity in  places outside of the empire in the early centuries of the church, and the contribution of more remote remnants of Christianity in places like Egypt and Ethiopia.  To be sure, much of the ink used in these volumes describes Western History, but that is because most of the History of the Church took place in that region or under its influence.  Throughout the book, though, wherever something is happening outside of Western Europe, or among minorities, Gonzalez calls attention to it.


Despite the length of these volumes, it still reads as a fairly high level overview.  It is rare that any one theologian gets more than a few pages.  Augustine, for instance, who is very significant, has a relatively long section of 12 pages.  One must remember that this is an overview and introduction.  It is not likely that the average reader would want or expect much more than this.  This book is here to orient you in the history of the Church.


Included in these volumes are maps and pictures which prove helpful.  For those whose interest is piqued, the end of most chapters contain sometimes lengthy bibliographies which guide you towards further investigation.  Also quite helpful are the time-lines at the beginning of each book and the beginning of each chapter.  These help you to quickly grasp where you are in human history should you decide to read a specific chapter out of order.


This is great two volume set, and well worth the time if you have any interest in Church History.  They are not perfect volumes (for instance, Gonzalez slightly misunderstands Luther's theology), but as an overview, they are great.  Both volumes read very well and integrate the Christian story into the larger political and historical narratives of the day.  The indexes and tables of contents are very useful if you want to brush up on a specific subject, like, say, German Pietism.  It is a useful and readable history, and as a bonus, it has a quite attractive cover that looks great on a bookshelf.  

"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."

The Anonymous Pastor

Before I came to Covenant Seminary, I took a couple of Church History classes through the seminary's distance education program.  They were great classes taught by professor emeratis Dr. Calhoun.  These lectures are available on Covenant Seminary's World-wide Classroom, and I highly recommend them.

As we got to the end of Reformation and Modern Church history, we spent some time reflecting on the history we studied. Over the centuries, there were many famous and important pastors and theologians who helped to shape and protect our faith.  Men like Ignatius, Irenaeus, Origen, Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus, Augustine, Chrysostom, and Benedict (all from the first five centuries after Christ) are just some of the names of pastors that we know and respect down to this day.  But as Dr. Calhoun pointed out in his lecture, all these names, all of the many people mentioned in our text that we used, are just a tiny fraction of the men who served as pastors and elders in the church.  

For every famous pastor or theologian that we know about, there are thousands who remain anonymous.  The strength of the church is not found in the preaching of Chrysostom, Wycliffe, and Baxter, but in the untold number of men who have humbly worked each Sunday to bring God’s Word to their congregations. We must thank God for the Whitefields and Wesleys, but we must remember that it is a fully acceptable and wonderful calling to be an anonymous, faithful pastor.  To be one of the unnamed thousands who humbly preach each week. 

I know full well that I am not endowed with the gifts of these great men of the faith.  I am certain that I will not be well known in my day, let alone in history.  But if that were to be my goal, I could not be a faithful minister of the Word.  If it were my goal to be the next great world-famous pastor, I would not be able to preach the Gospel of grace.  My arrogance and ambition would get in the way.  The great men of Church History came by greatness quite by accident.  Some loathed the prominence that they found.  John Calvin, for instance, asked that he be buried in anonymous grave.  He was concerned that his fame would detract from the Gospel.  That he is remembered at all is likely quite a disappointment to him.

That is the sort of pastor that I want to be.  Anonymous, not famous.  Faithful to the Word.  One of the anonymous thousands who keep the Gospel flame burning bright for generations. 

"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."

Competition at Seminary

It was an odd way to begin an academic career.  Almost from kindergarten, school has been a competition.  But when Dr. Guthrie addressed the incoming class at Covenant Seminary at the beginning of this past semester, the tone was markedly different.

He stood up before a room of eager incoming students and told us that our career in seminary was not about us.  It isn't about us looking good.  It isn't about us looking smart.  It isn't about having our intellectual itch scratched.  It is about the people that we would be pastoring when we leave seminary.  It is about our brothers that we will minister with.  It is about growing in our love of the Lord.

Because of these things, our experience at Covenant  is to be an experience of community.  Instead of competing with each other, we support, love, and care for each other.  The professors intentionally give us group assignments, and even finals, because it's not about us, but about the community of believers called the church.  If we do not learn this here, we may never do so.  If we don't learn this at seminary, we will do damage to our churches when we leave.

It is a lesson that is hard to learn.  Most of us at seminary have a certain type-A personality and a drive to learn.  It can be hard to take an exam and not wonder how you measure up.  It is difficult to unlearn what our educational and cultural institutions have taught us for so long.  But it is an important message.  It is something that, once grasped, will benefit others.  And that is a good thing, because, after all, it's not about me.

"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."

Finding a Church at Seminary

One of the things that new seminary students and families who move to seminary face is the search for a new church.    It can be an intimidating task.  Here in Saint Louis  there are twelve PCA churches with a Saint Louis address, and at least that many more in the greater Saint Louis area.  Add to that some good churches in other denominations, and the search for a church home can be daunting. In fact, there are students here who have been here a year and have not yet settled on a church.


We didn't want to be in that state of flux for that long.  We decided to do a few things to facilitate finding a good church home.  The first thing we did was decide that we were not going to look for a church with good scholarships for their seminary students.  If we happened to land at a church that did offer financial support for seminary students, great.  But that was certainly not the goal.  Secondly, because I am under care of the James River Presbytery, we wanted to stay in the PCA.  With those two things in mind, we began to talk with people that have lived here for awhile.  We told them about the type of church that we were looking for and visited churches based on their suggestions.  Finally, we decided that we would land when we found a church that fit, be it the first or twenty-first that we visited, provided that the church had the marks of a true church.


It would have been easy for us to be dissatisfied and to keep looking for a church that was exactly like the church we left, but you will almost never find that.  When we visited Covenant Presbyterian Church we found God-honoring worship and we heard the Gospel clearly preached.  Each member of the church was assigned to an elder to facilitate pastoral care.  The people were welcoming.  We were invited to a cook-out for seminary students, and the kids liked the nursery.  We decided to make Covenant our church home for the next four years, and have been blessed immensely during our first few months there.  We sincerely miss our church at home, and we are gladly keeping our full membership there, but we praise God that he has given us such a warm and wonderful body of believers with whom we can worship while here in St. Louis.

"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."