Tool Talk

Why should a pastor consider doctoral studies? How in the world can you find the time? Why would a pastor teach seminary and Bible college students? What does an average week look like? Is there such a thing? Whether you’re a pastor considering PhD studies, a seminarian looking to the future, or a curious veteran, this interview with Jason Kees (PhD, Biblical Studies) will be insightful and encouraging. Dr. Kees is Pastor at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church and adjunct professor of biblical studies at MBTS and California Baptist University. View this episode on exegeticaltools.com for links to featured resources: https://wp.me/p6eJ2Q-2pJFollow ET on social media: @exegeticaltools

The Gospels are more than a weigh-station on the way to the cross. How can we preach, teach, and read the fourfold Gospel for all they’re worth? To answer this question, Travis interviews Todd Chipman, Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Pastor of The Master’s Community Church. Listen in to hear how the Gospel accounts ground classic doctrines in the historical events of Jesus’ life and ministry. Check out this episode on exegeticaltools.com for more resources and follow along @exegeticaltools!

Can church history and exegesis live together in harmony? How did the early church fathers interpret the Bible? What can we learn from them without sacrificing sound exegetical methods? Matt Emerson provides a helpful primer and some interesting examples. Emerson is the Dickenson Associate Professor of Religion and Program Director for the Master of Arts at Oklahoma Baptist University. He is the author of several forthcoming books on such topics as the Trinity and theological method, the descent of Christ to hell, and Baptists' understanding of the Great Tradition. Check out this episode on exegeticaltools.com for more great content and links to featured resources! @exegeticaltools

After Crossway partnered with Tyndale House to produce a new Greek New Testament, it was only a matter of time before a THGNT-ESV parallel Bible was produced. How can students of the Scriptures benefit from these tools?  How can seminaries and Bible colleges train students to use tools like these? What is the goal of language learning for exegetes? Check out this episode on exegeticaltools.com and follow on social media @exegeticaltools.

Can the importance of context be visualized? A unique and innovative resource, Visual Charts of the New Testament (SCS Press, 2020) introduces, surveys, and outlines every book of the NT in single-page charts, breaking them into discourse units and smaller sub-sections. In this episode of Tool Talk, Travis interviews author Scott Bashoor, faculty associate and instructor at The Master's Seminary and University and co-pastor at Community Bible Church in Anaheim, CA. Thinking in terms of discourse and outlining Scripture visually can help Bible teachers, Bible preachers, and Bible readers display how the parts relate to the whole and better understand the Word.

The Gospels don't have a 'lower' Christology than Paul, so why has this claim gained ground? To answer this question, Matthew Barrett considers the nature of Scripture, the definition of biblical theology, and the role of systematics in exegesis. Barrett has taken on these challenges in Canon, Covenant, and Christology: Rethinking Jesus and the Scriptures of Israel, the latest entry in the excellent New Studies in Biblical Theology series (NSBT), published by IVP Academic and edited by D. A. Carson. Barrett, associate professor of Christian theology at Midwestern Seminary and Executive Editor of Credo Magazine, argues that a lack of emphasis on the Divine Author of the Scriptures leads one to devalue typology and miss the high Christology of the Gospels.Additional Resources:"Doing Biblical Theology with Geerhardus Vos" (Tool Talk)New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, edited by Brian Rosner, T. Desmond Alexander, Graeme Goldsworthy, and D. A. CarsonA Theology of John's Gospel and Letters by Andreas J. KöstenbergerView this episode on exegeticaltools.com for more great resources!

What does a biblical scholar do? Andreas Köstenberger's answer is simple, but he has applied it in his own career in a variety of ways. Dr. Köstenberger serves as Research Professor of NT and Biblical Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Director of the Center for Biblical Studies, Founder of Biblical Foundations, Editor of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. Köstenberger is a prolific author in areas including biblical studies, hermeneutics, biblical theology, the biblical view of family, and more. In this episode of Tool Talk, Travis asks Dr. Köstenberger about a range of topics, including his career, his current sense of calling, the nature of biblical theology, scholars he admires, his forthcoming works, what he's been learning, and Kansas City BBQ.Resources from Andreas Köstenberger:The Jesus of the Gospels: An Introduction (Kregel, forthcoming)Handbook on Hebrews Through Revelation (Baker, forthcoming)Going Deeper with New Testament Greek (with Benjamin Merkle and Robert Plummer, B&H Academic)A Theology of John's Gospel and Letters (Zondervan Academic)Many More

Christians have one Bible with two testaments, and the New Testament authors frequently refer back to the Old Testament Scriptures. But they don't only point to prophecies that have been fulfilled or directly quote OT passages. In this episode, joined by co-host Taylor DiRoberto, Travis gives an overview of the NT use of the OT and considers some trickier examples.Going to ETS 2019 in San Diego? Reach out to Travis to chat about Tool Talk, Exegetical Tools, Fontes Press, Midwestern Seminary, or whatever! Travis's ETS 2019 presentation: "An Ironic Redemption: The Use of Psalm 2 LXX in Luke 23:1-25," Friday, Nov 22, 3:30-4:10 PM, Grand Hyatt - Pyramid Peak.Featured Resources:Accelerate (Five-Year BA and MDiv) at Spurgeon CollegeThe Timothy Track (Residential MDiv Internship and Scholarship) at Midwestern SeminaryCommentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament by G. K. Beale and D. A. CarsonHandbook on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament by G. K. BealeA New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New by G. K. BealeEchoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul by Richard B. HaysEchoes of Scripture in the Gospels by Richard B. HaysNew Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ by Thomas SchreinerMatthew, Disciple and Scribe: The First Gospel and Its Portrait of Jesus by Patrick SchreinerBiblical Theology of the New Testament by Peter StuhlmacherThe Ways of Our God: An Approach to Biblical Theology by Charles Scobie

What has Athens to do with Jerusalem? What does philosophy have to do with the New Testament? In Acts 17, Paul answered, "Plenty!" In this episode of Tool Talk, Travis chats with Joseph Dodson about two common errors when it comes to studying extrabiblical parallels to Scripture, especially in Greco-Roman philosophy. Dodson (PhD, Aberdeen) is associate professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary and co-editor (with David Briones) of Paul and the Giants of Philosophy: Reading the Apostle in Greco-Roman Context (IVP Academic, 2019).  Follow along @exegeticaltools and visit exegeticaltools.com for more great resources to help you rightly divide the Word of Truth.  Additional Resources:Paul and the Gift by John BarclayPaul and the Faithfulness of God by N. T. WrightPaul and Seneca in Dialogue by Dodson and BrionesPaul and the Greco-Roman Philosophical Tradition, edited by Dodson and Andrew Pitts"Stoicism and Christianity: Professor Joseph Dodson on Similarities & Differences" on the Daily Stoic

How is so-called "devotional" reading of the Bible different from so-called "academic" reading of the Bible? Why must the serious student of Scripture make time for both? How can the methodical and inquisitive reader make Scripture reading a time of worship? In this episode of Tool Talk, Travis asks these questions and more of John Linebarger, a "collector of degrees," bivocational minister, and author of Meeting God in the Bible: How to Read Scripture Devotionally (Fontes Press, 2019).Follow along: @exegeticaltoolsFeatured resources: exegeticaltools.com

Matthew’s use of the Old Testament portrays Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment of the Old Testament story. But Matthew doesn’t do this with just citations and quotations of specific OT texts. In this episode of Tool Talk, Travis chats with Patrick Schreiner (Assistant Professor of NT Language and Literature, Director of the ThM Program, Western Seminary) about Matthew’s narrative allusions and Schreiner’s new book, Matthew, Disciple and Scribe: The First Gospel and Its Portrait of Jesus (Baker Academic). Learn more at exegeticaltools.com, and follow ET on social media @exegeticaltools.

What does the book of Jonah want readers to think and do? Beyond the history and apologetics involved, many readers are unaware of the important literary cues in Jonah. Sam Bierig, Dean of Spurgeon College at Midwestern Seminary, has been studying, writing, and preaching Jonah and wants Christians to hear the cues and see the book as it is. What's more, he wants college students to focus on souls and Scripture as they learn and train for the Kingdom.Find featured resources at exegeticaltools.com and follow ET at @exegeticaltoolsLearn more about Spurgeon College at spurgeoncollege.com

Dispensationalism: It's not just about the end times; it's also about exegesis. As Cory Marsh, Associate Professor of New Testament at the College at Southern California Seminary, points out, it's largely about hermeneutics. In this episode of Tool Talk, Travis chats with Cory about the exegetical commitments of dispensational thought. A member of the Council on Dispensational Hermeneutics and a founding member of the Center for Dispensational Thought, Marsh has contributed to the conversation in presentations, articles, and books, including Forged from Reformation: How Dispensational Thought Advances the Reformed Legacy (Contributor, SCS Press, 2017) and a forthcoming historical theology of dispensationalism.View this episode on exegeticaltools.com for more resources, and follow ET on social media @exegeticaltools

Throughout Scripture, one author will recall the words or themes of an earlier author, whether through a quotation, allusion, or echo. How do exegetes identify these cases of intertextuality? What is their importance? On this episode of Tool Talk, Travis talks with Brian Koning, an adjunct professor of theology at Grand Canyon University researching Habakkuk’s allusions to Job. Travis and Brian also discuss the role of an adjunct professor and how that responsibility meshes with doctoral studies. Listen in at exegeticaltools.com for links to featured resources, and follow ET at @exegeticaltools. 

It is more and more feasible for a lifelong missionary to contribute substantially to scholarship. David Clark is one such missionary scholar, leveraging his decades of Bible translation work to provide helpful insights to the fields of biblical studies and corpus linguistics. On this episode, Todd Scacewater (Founder of Exegetical Tools, Co-Founder of Fontes Press) talks about  Clark’s legacy, as seen through his memoirs (including “Of Islands and Highlands,” Fontes Press) and his academic work (including “Analyzing & Translating New Testament Discourse,” Fontes Press). Check out this episode on exegeticaltools.com for links to featured resources, and follow ET on social media for updates (@exegeticaltools).

It’s easy to simply refer to varying philosophies of Bible translation as either “formal” or “functional,” but are these valid categories? What are the values and setbacks of these different translations of Scripture? How does contemporary linguistics help us think through this? On this episode of Tool Talk, Travis chats with Todd Scacewater (Exegetical Tools, Fontes Press, Wycliffe Bible Translators) about linguistics and Bible translation. Don’t forget to check out this episode’s featured resources – Immerse: The Reading Bible and Immerse: The Bible Reading Experience – at immersebible.com Follow us: @exegeticaltools

The advent of English “reader’s Bibles” and audio Bibles is upon us. What should we make of it? With poor statistics on Bible literacy in the West, how can pastors and church members encourage more and better Bible reading in their churches and small groups? On this episode, Travis chats with Glenn Paauw, Senior Director of Content at the Institute for Bible Reading. Much like Exegetical Tools, the Institute for Bible Reading is committed to helping people read and understand the Bible. Travis and Glenn talk about Bible literacy in the West today, the advantage of reader’s Bibles and audio Bibles, the need for reading in community, Larry Hurtado, and more!Don’t forget to check out this episode’s featured resources – Immerse: The Reading Bible and Immerse: The Bible Reading Experience – at immersebible.com Follow us: @exegeticaltools

“I’ve sought to devote my life to being a believing biblical scholar” – Peter J. Williams (PhD, Cambridge University). Dr. Williams leads one of the leading institutions for biblical studies in the world as the Principal of Tyndale House Cambridge, yet he’s recently authored a book for laypeople and pastors, titled “Can We Trust the Gospels?” (Crossway, 2018). As a confessing evangelical, his answer is a firm “yes,” but this hasn’t shortchanged his study. Actually, it’s enhanced it. In this episode, Dr. Williams explains how faith benefits diligent scholarship, reflects on his work, and offers advice for aspiring (and growing) academics.View this episode online at exegeticaltools.com. Social media: @exegeticaltools

Have you ever stopped to consider whether your lexicon of choice was trustworthy? The erudite exegete might recognize the limitations of lexicons, but what are we supposed to do with them? In his groundbreaking "A History of New Testament Lexicography," John A. L. Lee (Macquarie University) gently but incisively shows the faulty methodology that plagues NT lexicography and proposes a future for NT lexicography in light of the digital revolution.exegeticaltools.com@exegeticaltools

The Revelation of Jesus to John and… you? If you’ve ever wondered how to read the Revelation, then you should consider who was meant to read it. This conversation with Jason Kees discusses his work identifying the ideal reader of the Apocalypse of John and the merits of a “canonical” approach to biblical interpretation. Dr. Kees (PhD, Biblical Studies) is pastor of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church and adjunct professor of biblical studies at MBTS and California Baptist University. View this episode on exegeticaltools.com for links to featured resources.Follow ET on social media @exegeticaltools