ETS Here I Come!
I am very excited to say that this year for the first time I will be attending the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society or ETS. According to their website, “The Evangelical Theological Society is a professional academic society of biblical and theological scholars, pastors, and students.” As far as their doctrinal position is concerned, they keep it quite brief stating that they are, “Devoted to the inerrancy and inspiration of the Scriptures and the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Each year they hold a meeting (this year in Boston) attended by scholars and guests from around the world. During these meetings, academic papers on a wide range of biblical and theological topics are delivered and discussed, and when I say papers, I mean lots of them! At any given moment during the conference, there are dozens of papers being delivered simultaneously. Participants (like me!) have to pick and choose which they will attend. These meetings are also a wonderful opportunity for participants to network, meet up in-person and take advantage of some incredible book sales. (Many major Christian publishers attend these meetings with books discounted by as much as 50%).
Seeing as how this will be my first ETS meeting and while I have some idea of what to expect but at the same time don’t really know what I’m getting myself into, I thought it would be fun to write down (and share) some expectations, and then hopefully write a follow-up piece when I return discussing how reality met these expectations. And so, here are the top three things I am looking forward to at ETS this year.
1. Falling more in love with Jesus
It is a common critique of the Christian academy that thinking too hard about theological nuances actually distracts from the important work of the gospel. While I suppose this could be true, it has never been my experience. In fact, quite the opposite is true, I find that thinking deeply about the things of God deepens my appreciation for his faithfulness in my life. I am looking forward to thinking deeply and in the process being led to worship. While I’m sure I will make some on-the-fly changes to my schedule and I have not yet picked all of the papers I am preparing to attend, I am currently looking forward to attending papers on, “Will the Real Gideon Please Sit Down? Relistening to Judges 6-9 with the Hearing Devices Provided,” “Can N.T. Wright’s View of the Nature of Justification be Saved?,” and “Making sense of ‘Herem’ Today.”
2. Reconnecting with former professors
Each year when ETS rolls around, I see several of my former professors and friends on social media posting about their upcoming travel plans and subsequent reviews of their experiences. This always fills me with a (holy?) jealousy, not only because I want to experience ETS for myself but also because I long to spend some time with men and women whose fingerprints have been all over my ministry for the past twenty years. While I once thought of these individuals as my professors, I still consider them friends and mentors. This year I am looking forward to opportunities to reconnect with (among others), Mark Gignilliat, Daniel Trier, Vince, Bacote, and Lynn Cohick.
3. Meeting for the first time scholars and thinkers who have shaped my theology and ministry
This expectation has a few different dimensions. The first is to meet in-person scholars that I have been fortunate to interact with virtually either through social media or Zoom calls. I am most excited about connecting for the first time in-person with Myrto Theocharous who teaches at the Greek Bible College in Athens, Greece, and more importantly is on the board of New Life ministries there in Athens ministering in the red-light district. Our church has supported New Life for many years, and I remain in awe of their work. It will be a joy to connect with Myrto at ETS, as well as to hear two of her papers. I am also hoping for an opportunity to meet Carmen Imes whose books and virtual ministry have been a huge blessing to me for several years.
The other dimension is to meet scholars who I have only interacted with through their writing. In this vein I am looking forward to hearing papers delivered by Craig Keener and William Lane Craig.
If all goes according to plan, I will be returning from Boston with some great stories and a lot of new, signed books! I can’t wait!