{"id":746,"date":"2009-04-27T04:01:10","date_gmt":"2009-04-27T04:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2009\/04\/scot-mcknight-at-laity-lodge.html"},"modified":"2009-04-27T04:01:10","modified_gmt":"2009-04-27T04:01:10","slug":"scot-mcknight-at-laity-lodge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/04\/scot-mcknight-at-laity-lodge.html","title":{"rendered":"Scot McKnight at Laity Lodge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 1 of series: Sharing Laity Lodge: 2009
\n<\/em>Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>
\nThis past weekend we were pleased to host Scot McKnight at Laity Lodge. Many of my readers will be familiar with Scot because he is, among other things, a prolific and influential blogger. Jesus Creed<\/em><\/a>, Scot’s blog, is one of the most widely read Christian blogs. It appears in the “Faith Blog” section<\/a> of Beliefnet.com<\/a>, which is the Web’s largest clearinghouse of things religious. (Photo: Scot holds forth in the Great Hall at Laity Lodge.)
\nBut Scot McKnight is not merely a popular blogger. He’s also a fine New Testament scholar, whose books I used to require when I taught seminary classes. Officially, he’s the Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at North Park University (Chicago, Illinois). Scot is also a prolific author, who has written well over a dozen books on a wide range of topics, from academic studies to more popular books. In 2004, Scot’s book The Jesus Creed<\/em><\/a> won the prestigious Christianity Today book award in the “Christian Living” category. Another of Scot’s surprising books is called Praying with the Church<\/em><\/a>. It is an outstanding introduction to liturgical and shared prayers for people from traditions in which spontaneous prayer is the order of the day.
\nScot’s contribution at Laity Lodge was outstanding. He is a fine scholar who is able to communicate in a popular, engaging style. He does not flaunt his scholarship, but rather uses it as a solid basis for his teaching. Scot also has a delightful sense of humor, and is able, among other things, to laugh at himself. Though he takes his content seriously, he does not take himself too seriously!
\nScot’s teaching content was based on some of his recent books: The Real Mary<\/em><\/a>, The Jesus Creed<\/em><\/a>, Praying with the Church<\/em><\/a>, and The Blue Parakeet<\/em><\/a>. But he didn’t just rehash old material, or, worse yet, read portions of this books. Rather, he summarized some of his main points, illustrating them creatively and helping us connect to them personally.
\nOne of Scot’s persistent points was that Christian spirituality is not just a matter of developing an inner glow, even one that shines outward. It is also doing what Jesus said, loving our neighbors as ourselves, and giving cups of cold water to those who are thirsty . . . especially to those we’d rather not have to get involved with. “Responding to other people with mercy and grace,” Scot observed, “is almost always inconvenient.”
\nThis is worth a second read. “Responding to other people with mercy and grace is almost always inconvenient.” As someone who likes convenience, I don’t like this. I don’t disagree with its truth, but I don’t like it. I must confess that I sometimes let my desire for convenience and comfort defeat my commitment to acting with mercy and grace. Scot has challenged me to allow the Lord to work on this part of me.
\nFor years, I have held Scot McKnight in high esteem. Now, having had the chance to meet him and sit under his teaching, my esteem is even higher.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 1 of series: Sharing Laity Lodge: 2009 Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series This past weekend we were pleased to host Scot McKnight at Laity Lodge. Many of my readers will be familiar with Scot because he is, among other things, a prolific and influential blogger. Jesus Creed, Scot’s blog, is…<\/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-746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sharing-laity-lodge"],"yoast_head":"\nScot McKnight at Laity Lodge - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/04\/scot-mcknight-at-laity-lodge.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Scot McKnight at Laity Lodge - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Part 1 of series: Sharing Laity Lodge: 2009 Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series This past weekend we were pleased to host Scot McKnight at Laity Lodge. Many of my readers will be familiar with Scot because he is, among other things, a prolific and influential blogger. 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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\/746","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=746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/746\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}