Reading 1 John missionally, a doctoral decade, and how to study prayerfully
Welcome to my newsletter, ‘Bible, Mission, and More’, where I share what’s on my mind as I teach, research, and write on the Bible and mission, children-at-risk in the Bible and contemporary society, Psalms and Wisdom Literature, and a range of other topics. I teach at All Nations Christian College in the UK, though views are my own.
Each Friday I’ll share something I’ve read, something I’ve written or recorded, something on learning and teaching, and a quote to take into the weekend.
Something read – Lizette M. Acosta on a missional reading of 1 John
As part of the growing body of literature on missional hermeneutics Lizette M. Acosta has worked on a missional reading of 1 John. This short article in the WCIU journal contains some key points from her excellent doctoral dissertation “A Missional Reading of 1 John: Understanding the Dual Love-Command.”
Sometimes biblical texts are seen as only addressing internal matters and, therefore, offering little of ‘missional’ interest. Acosta’s work tackles this head on and shows very well how even a text like 1 John can be shown to be missional. A quote:
The implications of God’s love for how God’s children are to live are radical. God’s love always results in action, and always on behalf of others. To love as God loves is revolutionary, as was the life of Christ. Ultimately, the world is the beneficiary of God sending his Son (2:2; 4:14; cf. John 3:16, 17). God intends to be known in the world and believers join God in this mission. Since the world is the object of God’s love, it ought to also be the object of our love (Snodderly 2008, 67).
Read the full article: Completing God’s Work in the World: A Missional Reading of First John
Something written – A doctoral decade and a missional reading of the book of Job
Hard to believe but this week saw the ten-year anniversary of my PhD viva! For those not used to the UK system, a PhD candidate submits a thesis of around 80,000 words, having been guided through the process by a main supervisor (in my case, Prof. Gordon McConville) and a second supervisor (Dr Alison Lo). You then have to defend the thesis in an oral exam, known as a ‘viva voce’, by answering the questions of two examiners. I managed to pass with minor corrections and later published a slightly revised version of the thesis with Wipf & Stock.
The title of my thesis was, ‘The Book of Job and the Mission of God: An Application of a Missional Hermeneutic to the Book of Job’. There’s a whole story around how I arrived at that topic, which I’ll save for another day. In the meantime, here’s part of the abstract (summary) of the thesis and some links for accessing it:
This thesis is a work in biblical interpretation and Christian theology, which seeks to develop and apply a missional hermeneutic to the book of Job; that is, to offer a reading of Job in the light of what I see as the missional nature of the Bible. Part one concerns the development of a missional approach to Job. I begin in chapter one by framing Christian mission using the concepts of missio Dei and holistic mission. Drawing on the emerging conversation on missional hermeneutics, I then set out an understanding of the missional nature of the Bible; that is, the Bible as a product, record and means of God’s mission…
You can access the original thesis for free using the University of Gloucestershire’s research repository
It was published by Wipf & Stock in 2020. You can purchase a physical copy of the published version in the usual places, including St Andrews Bookshop. The Kindle version is much cheaper than the print version. If you have access to Perlego you’ll find it there too.
Learning and teaching – five ways to study more prayerfully (part 1)
At its best the process of studying will enrich our relationship with God and lead us to deeper prayer. However, I know this is much easier said than done. The first piece of advice for studying more prayerfully is perhaps a bit obvious but let’s start here: pray that God will help us in our studies. Perhaps the next time you open your book, notes, or screen, you could use or adapt this prayer of Thomas Aquinas:
… Grant me a penetrating mind to understand, a retentive memory, method and ease in learning, the lucidity to comprehend, and abundant grace in expressing myself…
See the full prayer here.
I also love these two prayers from the Jewish Authorised Daily Prayer Book (p. 783):
On seeing an outstanding Torah scholar: ‘Blessed are You, LORD our GOD, King of the Universe, who has shared of His wisdom with those who revere Him.’
On seeing an outstanding secular scholar: ‘Blessed are You, LORD our GOD, King of the Universe, who has given of his wisdom with human beings.’
The point is, be intentional in inviting God into your times of study.
Quote – Jessy Jaison on children and dignity
When sin marred humanity, it marred the following generations too; yet in the divine design and vision every new child signifies hope and promise to humanity. All through the Bible we see God’s amazing plan of redemption in which children are integral. (Jessy Jaison, ‘Affirming Children’s Dignity as a Theological Vision and Mandate’ in Rosalind Tan, Nativity A. Petallar, and Lucy A. Hefford (eds.), God’s Heart for Children: Practical Theology from Global Perspectives (Carlisle: Langham, 2022), 13-24 [17].)
Thanks for joining the journey and see you next week,
Tim