{"id":260,"date":"2007-12-07T01:01:52","date_gmt":"2007-12-07T01:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2007\/12\/introducing-nt-wright-at-laity-lodge.html"},"modified":"2007-12-07T01:01:52","modified_gmt":"2007-12-07T01:01:52","slug":"introducing-nt-wright-at-laity-lodge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2007\/12\/introducing-nt-wright-at-laity-lodge.html","title":{"rendered":"Introducing N.T. Wright at Laity Lodge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 9 of series: Sharing Laity Lodge
\n<\/em>Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>
\nA few days ago we were blessed to host a retreat for pastors and other leaders with N.T. Wright as speaker. Bishop Tom, as he is usually called in casual settings, spoke several times and participated in one long Q & A session. He and his wife, Maggie, are delightful people, the kind of people who are happy to hang out after lunch for a scintillating conversation around the table.
\nMany of my blog readers will be familiar with N.T. Wright, or Tom Wright as he is known through his popular writings. But some may not know of him, or may have only a vague notion of who he is. So I thought it might be helpful for me to reproduce in writing my oral introduction of Bishop Tom at Laity Lodge. I did not script and read that introduction, so you’re getting more or less what I actually said. At any rate, if you’re not familiar with Bishop Tom, this will help you get to know him. So, with no further ado, here’s my introduction . . . .
\nIt is my privilege to introduce to you someone who needs no introduction. We’ve all come to this retreat because of our high regard for our speaker, who is well known through his prolific writings as well as his seasoned leadership of the church throughout the world. I’m here this weekend as the Senior Director of Laity Lodge, of course. But, in fact, I had registered for this retreat months before I came on staff here. The chance to hear Bishop Tom speak was well worth the trip from Southern California, where I lived until a couple of months ago. (Photo: from the Q & A at Laity Lodge.)
\nMy appreciation for Bishop Tom began in 2000, when I took a three-month sabbatical from my pastoral work at Irvine Presbyterian Church. One of my goals for my sabbatical was to read four giant, classic books: Herman Melville’s Moby Dick<\/em><\/a>, Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables<\/em><\/a>, and N.T. Wright’s, The New Testament and the People of God<\/em><\/a> (535 pp) and also Jesus and the Victory of God<\/a><\/em> (741 pp). Bishop Tom’s books aren’t quite as long as those two great novels, but they do total more than 1200 pages.
\nReading all four of those classics during my sabbatical was a wonderful experience. Two of the books were among the greatest novels I had ever read. And the other two, those by Bishop Tom, were among the greatest works of scholarship I had ever read. What made them so exceptional? In a nutshell, they explained Jesus and His ministry in an utterly compelling fashion by examining in detail the cultural, historical, and theological context for Jesus, and then interpreting the text of the Gospels in that context. Along the way, Bishop Tom incisively and graciously decimated the views of many of his academic opponents, especially much of the nonsense that had been popularized by the Jesus Seminar.
\nThis is not to say that the picture of Jesus emerging from Bishop Tom’s writings is the individualistic “savior” so common in Western evangelicalism. Though he believes that Jesus saved us from our sins and opened up for us a bright future after death, Bishop Tom helps us to hear the true message of Jesus, the message of the reign of God come to earth, the message of a salvation that is far more extensive than what we often think, the message that calls a community of disciples to join Jesus in His work of “putting the world to rights.”
\nThroughout his prolific writings and by his personal example, Bishop Tom challenges us to get back to Scripture, to read more carefully those documents we include within the written Word of God. Sometimes his own study of these documents, always done with close attention to their original context, takes him in new and even discomforting directions. Yet he remains faithful to the text of Scripture, urging us to do the same even if such faithfulness invades our theological comfort zones.
\nWe have with us for these next two days one of the most influential and respected biblical scholars in the world today. If Bishop Tom were simply an academic who holes up in libraries to produce masterpieces of scholarship, he’d have our deep respect and gratitude. But, amazingly enough, he is far more than this. He is Bishop Tom, as he likes to be called, because he is officially the Bishop of Durham, one of the most influential leadership positions in the Church of England. As a pastor he preaches, leads in worship, presides over the sacraments, counsels people, teaches classes, and serves on more church committees than any person should have to do prior to Purgatory. Moreover, he has been willing to take a leading role in helping the Anglican Communion deal with some of the trickiest and most divisive issues it has ever faced.
\nBishop Tom is a prolific author, not only as N.T. Wright the scholar, but also as Tom Wright the plain-speaking pastor. By the way, there’s no truth to the rumor that he is able to write so many books because he has some poor soul named Tom Wright chained to a word processor in the dungeon of his castle. N.T. Wright is Tom Wright. The brilliant scholar who stirs up the academy is also the passionate pastor who instructs and inspires ordinary people, most notably through his marvelous series of commentaries for Everyone<\/a><\/em>.
\nWe are thrilled to host Bishop Tom at Laity Lodge, not only because of his excellent scholarship and leadership, but also because we share with him a deep passion for the ministry of the kingdom of God. Just last week several of us were talking with Howard Butt, Jr. about the core vision of Laity Lodge and its network of ministries. Howard, acknowledging the tendency for the word “laity” to be misunderstood, was searching for different language to express the vision Laity Lodge. Finally he said, “Our vision is this: the people of God for the world<\/em>.” “The people of God for the world,” that’s what Laity Lodge is all about. And, as you may know, that’s what Bishop Tom is all about. In fact, he himself has used this very phrase many times to encapsulate our calling as Christians. The church, according to Bishop Tom, is to be “the people of God for the world.”
\nWe are here as pastors and other Christian leaders to learn more about how we can lead the church in this central calling. That’s why Laity Lodge is here. And that’s why Bishop Tom is here. So, Bishop Tom, we welcome you to this place with gratitude and joy. Thank you for joining us at Laity Lodge for these two days. Please come and help us learn how to lead the church to be the people of God for the world<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 9 of series: Sharing Laity Lodge Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series A few days ago we were blessed to host a retreat for pastors and other leaders with N.T. Wright as speaker. Bishop Tom, as he is usually called in casual settings, spoke several times and participated in one long…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sharing-laity-lodge"],"yoast_head":"\nIntroducing N.T. Wright at Laity Lodge - Mark D. 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Wright at Laity Lodge"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/","name":"Mark D. Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}