Coming Soon . . . Gospel Portraits

Thank you for reading my first newsletter on the Substack platform. I’ll be using this newsletter to write more about Theology and Christian Ministry, as I love to do. However, I am also starting this newsletter as a way of promoting my forthcoming book Gospel Portraits: Reading Scripture as Participants in the Mission of God, to be published by Wipf and Stock.

If you know me then you know one of my interests is the intersection of hermeneutics and mission when pertains to how Christians read the Bible and embody the gospel. This was the focus of my research when I pursued my Doctor of Ministry in Contextual Theology at Northern Seminary. So now I have taken that work and turned it into a book that I hope will be helpful to other Christians.

So what is this book about? Well, I’ll answer that for you but let me first remind you of what you’re likely already aware of and that is the rapidly shifting cultural landscape of North America. With such shifting, many new challenges for the way local churches live as a proclamation of the gospel have and continue emerging. Such challenges relate to the way local churches participate in the mission of God, particularly how they live faithfully to God while remaining relevant to their local contexts. Because the Bible is received as God’s word, these challenges also pertain to the way the Bible is read since scripture should and does shape the way local churches embody the gospel.

So this book, Gospel Portraits, addresses the intersection of mission and hermeneutics within the local church. Believing the gospel calls the church to follow Jesus and bear witness to the Kingdom of God, this book suggests the Bible should be read as a Christ-centered and Kingdom-oriented narrative. I contend that such a reading of scripture will open new space for local churches to reimagine how they might embody the gospel. In discerning what a contextual embodiment of the gospel might involve, local churches are positioned to live as God’s new creation in ways that are coherent with the biblical narrative and relevant to their local contexts. The result is hopefully, and prayerfully, Christ-formed and Spirit-led communities portraying the gospel.

Anyways, if you’ve read this far, then thanks. I hope you’ll consider subscribing, which is free.