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John M. G. Barclay is Lightfoot Professor of Divinity at Durham University in England, one of the most highly regarded professorships in the theological world.

John is President of TRS-UK, the body that represents and coordinates all the Departments of Theology and Religion/Religious Studies in the UK, together with twelve subject associations. Out of the study, he enjoys cycling, music, and watching rugby. Having spent three sabbatical periods in New Zealand (where Dan, the editor of Seminary Dropout, is based), he is also a fan of their national rugby team, the All Blacks!

John is married to Diana, and they have three grown children.

In this book esteemed Pauline scholar John Barclay presents a strikingly fresh reading of grace in Paul’s theology, studying it in view of ancient notions of “gift” and shining new light on Paul’s relationship to Second Temple Judaism.

Paul and the Gift centers on divine gift-giving, which for Paul, Barclay says, is focused and fulfilled in the gift of Christ. He offers a new appraisal of Paul’s theology of the Christ-event as gift as it comes to expression in Galatians and Romans, and he presents a nuanced and detailed discussion of the history of reception of Paul. This exegetically responsible, theologically informed, hermeneutically useful book shows that a respectful, though not uncritical, reading of Paul contains resources that remain important for Christians today.

From the Publisher

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Get 40% off Shane’s book Go and Do: Nine Axioms on Peacemaking and Transformation From the Life of John Perkins.

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Aaron Niequist is a liturgist, writer, in New York City. After leading worship at Mars Hill Church (Grand Rapids, MI) and Willow Creek Church (Barrington, IL), Aaron created A New Liturgy- a collection of modern liturgical worship recordings. Shortly after, Aaron started a discipleship-focused, formational, ecumenical, practice-based community at Willow Creek called The Practice. Since writing ‘The Eternal Current: How a Practice-Based Faith Can Save Us from Drowning’, he’s continued to create resources to help us all flesh it out.

You can find Aaron’s book, music, and other resources on his website, and you can follow him on Twitter, @aaronieq.

This retreat is for exhausted spiritual leaders who are looking for holy space, godly spiritual guidance, and new personal practices.

Many of us spiritual leaders spend so much time helping others participate, that we miss out on the fullness of the invitation. In an attempt to help our communities live “unforced rhythms of grace”, we accidentally stumble into “forced rhythms of stress”. But it doesn’t have to be this way. It’s been said that “The way we do anything is the way we do everything”, and Jesus Christ humbly invites us to baptize our entire lives—even the work of ministry—into God’s deep streams of Life.

Learn more about the Pastors, Priests, and Guides Retreat here.

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Get 40% off Shane’s book Go and Do: Nine Axioms on Peacemaking and Transformation From the Life of John Perkins.

If you don’t know, my first book debuted last week. Because it was my first time I didn’t do everything right, like turning in my acknowledgments to my publisher with the final draft. I have many people to thank. I am who I am because of the people around me. They make me better and they’ve made this book possible.

First, to Kate my wife, partner, and best friend, thank you for always supporting my unconventional work and vocational life. Whether it’s showing houses until 8pm, flying off to Jackson for a 4 days, or driving to another city to record a podcast, you’ve let me pursue my interests and passion projects, and spend our money that might not get repaid in any earthly way. We are good together.

Margot & Amos… I can’t believe I get to be your dad! You are the best and every day is a new adventure with you. I get sad that you’re not your younger selves anymore and excited about who you’ll become as you get older all at the same time.

To my parents… One of the surprises of adulthood was finding that I never stopped wanting my parents to be proud of me. I don’t know how people who don’t have the full support and love of their parents make it in the world. If I’m anything good, it’s because of you.

My church Austin Mustard Seed, we’re imperfect, we’re messy and real. Thank you for being people for whom I can work out my theology in front of, thanks for letting me cry in front of you and thanks for letting me be myself. April, thanks for being a pastor to me and always having a lot of grace for my scattered brain and busy schedule. Erin, thanks for loving our kids. Josh and Tim, thanks for holding my confessions, and hearing me with nothing but compassionate curiosity.

Chris, thanks for being my friend, and for always being my advocate. Laura and Micah, thanks for being our people.

Kerri, what did we do before we had each other to recognize our mutual comedic genius?! Thank you for reading a million different versions and drafts of this book, and all the priceless feedback. I really don’t think I could have done this without your guidance.

Drew Hart, Tara Beth Leach, Michelle Reyes, and AJ Swoboda I can’t believe we’re friends. BTW I tell people we’re friends… is that ok?! Your endorsements floored me. “Those must be words about someone else and their work”, my brain told me. Thank you for all you’ve taught me through your books, sermons, and conversations.

Lastly, thank you John Perkins. I have been in awe of you since I first read Let Justice Roll Down. Eight years ago I sent an email to The Spencer Perkins Center hoping to get an interview with you. I thought it was a long shot, but you said yes. These last several years getting to know you have be life giving. In addition to our hours of conversations, I’ll always remember being at your house, picking okra, watching TV, making pancakes, and sitting at your kitchen table late at night talking. I’ll also never forget when you came to my house, and seeing you talk and laugh with my kids. Thanks for giving of yourself. I want to be more like you.

The book, Go and Do: Nine Axioms on Peacemaking and Transformation From the Life of John Perkins, is out now wherever books are sold. Go here to get 40% off.

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Dominique DuBois Gilliard is the Director of Racial Righteousness and Reconciliation for the Love Mercy Do Justice (LMDJ) initiative of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC). He is the author of Rethinking Incarceration: Advocating for Justice that Restores, which won the 2018 Book of the Year Award for InterVarsity Press. Gilliard also serves on the board of directors for the Christian Community Development Association and Evangelicals for Justice. In 2015, he was selected as one of the ECC’s “40 Under 40” leaders to watch, and HuffPost named him one of the “Black Christian Leaders Changing the World.”

An ordained minister, Gilliard has served in pastoral ministry in Atlanta, Chicago, and Oakland. He was executive pastor of New Hope Covenant Church in Oakland, California and also served in Oakland as the associate pastor of Convergence Covenant Church. He was also a campus minister at North Park University and the racial righteousness director for ECC’s ministry initiatives in the Pacific Southwest Conference.

Dominique earned a bachelor’s degree in African American Studies from Georgia State University and a master’s degree in history from East Tennessee State University, with an emphasis on race, gender, and class in the United States. He also earned an MDiv from North Park Seminary, where he served as an adjunct professor teaching Christian ethics, theology, and reconciliation.

You can follow Dominique on Twitter: @DDGilliard, and on Instagram: @dominiquedgilliard.

Privilege is a social consequence of our unwillingness to reckon with and turn from sin. But properly stewarded, it can help us see and participate in God’s inbreaking kingdom. Scripture repeatedly affirms that privilege is real and declares that, rather than exploiting it for selfish gain or feeling immobilized by it, Christians have a responsibility to leverage it.
Subversive Witness asks us to grapple with privilege, indifference, and systemic sin in new ways by using biblical examples to reveal the complex nature of privilege and Christians’ responsibility in stewarding it well. – From the Publisher

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This Week on Seminary Dropout…

Christena Cleveland Ph.D. is a social psychologist, public theologian, author, and activist. She is the founder and director of the recently-launched Center for Justice + Renewal, a non-profit dedicated to helping justice advocates sharpen their understanding of the social realities that maintain injustice while also stimulating the soul’s enormous capacity to resist and transform those realities. Committed to leading both in scholarly settings and in the public square, Christena writes regularly, speaks widely, and consults with organizations.

Dr. Cleveland holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of California Santa Barbara as well as an honorary doctorate from the Virginia Theological Seminary. She integrates psychology, theology, and art to stimulate our spiritual imaginations. An award-winning researcher and author, Christena has held faculty positions at several institutions of higher education — most recently at Duke University’s Divinity School, where she led a research team investigating self-compassion as a buffer to racial stress. She is currently working on her third book which examines the relationship among race, gender, and cultural perceptions of the Divine. Dr. Cleveland is based in North Carolina where she lives with her spouse, Jim.

To follow what Christena is doing, check out her Patreon page at Patreon.com/cscleve

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