Introducing...

You may be wondering why there is a photo of a middle aged man on our NC connection blog. Allow me to introduce to you NT Wright (a.k.a. Tom) Wright. NT Wright is Bishop of Durham, in the Church of England who is also one of the most respected biblical scholars and theologians across denominational lines. He has an impressive resume (I’ll spare you the details) and he meditates daily on the Old Testament/New Testament in the original language of Hebrew & Greek. And though his writings and speech reflect his deep understanding and knowledge of history and theology, it also resonates with a humility and respect for those who may think differently from him. I give you all this background information to recommend some of his books.

The man has a long list of publications, so the following may not be the “best of the best”, but the first one is entitled Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense and may be good for those of you who want an introduction or reintroduction to the significance of the Christian message. The 2nd entitled The Challenge of Jesus has been personally profound for me. It’s lucid and brings together the Old & New Testament in a way that may alter your vision of the “good” in the good news. The last recommendation is a series known as the “For Everyone” bible commentary. (There is a Luke for Everyone, Mark for Everyone, Romans, etc. under his less formal name, Tom Wright). It is one of the more accessible bible commentaries out there for well, everyone. I know that some of you are leaders, teachers in your church and this series may be a good resource for you. His tone and language is very down to earth and he tries to avoid heavy theological jargon, but adds a glossary in the back just in case. Even if you aren’t leading a bible study, it may help you to go deeper in your personal reading time. He’s a N. Testament scholar so the series is limited to the NT, but on that note, I have to mention a reference for Genesis by Walter Brueggemann in the Interpretation Commentary series. It is a RICH and fascinating commentary that is very readable.

I was just reminded by a friend that yesterday was Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of Lent. I sheepishly confess that I totally forgot b/c I was so focused on watching American Idol last night. (Lakisha’s rendition of “And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going” gave me goose bumps--that girl is so fly). In any case, all the books mentioned above are available though Amazon for a great price and if you are interested in finding out more about NT Wright, there are quite a few websites dedicated to him through Google’s search engine. If you have any questions or want more recommendations for resource, feel free to send me an email(enkeris@gmail.com). It's been good to hear how you are all doing and to reconnect this way. Wishes for peace, joy and good reflection in the Lenten season; looking forward to Easter. Happy reading!