Rachel and I are in the middle of our second month of calling Birmingham, Alabama “home.”

While we could both do with a little less humidity (!), we’re enjoying ourselves and our surroundings down here in Alabama.

What's Happening in Birmingham, AL:

I don’t start my M.Div. coursework at Beeson Divinity School until late August, but I’ve already started working at Beeson’s Media Center (follow our nascent Twitter account here). It’s an incredibly convenient on-campus job. I’m already thankful for the hospitality of my boss and coworkers. It’s helpful as I learn the ropes of AV, IT, and sundry other tasks.

Before diving into my required reading for the Fall, I’ve been working my way through a few books so far this summer. On the fiction side of things, I heartily recommend Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

Even more so, however, I strongly recommend Myron Bradley Penner’s The End of Apologetics: Christian Witness in a Postmodern Context to anyone and everyone interested in philosophy, religion, and theology. I plan on devoting a series of posts to a discussion of Penner’s work. For now, suffice it to say the following: This book has already been a godsend in my contemplation of how best to advance God’s Kingdom. (Academically, pastorally, and globally, as I’d say.) Especially in the midst of postmodernity.

Again, I’ll have more to say about Penner’s book in later posts, but to whet your appetite, allow me to point you toward Peter Enns’ interview with Penner: “Is Christian Apologetics Secular and Unbiblical?” Also, Sarah Jones’ post, “Tony Jones and the Need for a Postcolonial Christianity” came to mind several times while reading The End of Apologetics. Definitely worth a read!

Finally, my current project is reading Terje Oestigaard’s Water, Christianity and the Rise of Capitalism to review for Liverpool Hope University’s Theological Book Review. It’s definitely further away from my comfort zone than the Pentateuch textbook I’ve reviewed previously, but hey, I’m trying to branch out. Stay tuned for my feedback.

~Josh