People of the Book: Inviting Communities into Biblical Interpretation

T. Michael W. Halcomb · Timothy C. McNinch

May 2012 · Wipf and Stock Publishers

About this ebook

We live in an era when the Bible appears to be less and less relevant to mainstream cultures. Those who do care about the Scriptures tend to derive their interpretations secondhand, from the preacher's pulpit or from generalized study guides written by complete strangers. These approaches overlook the communal and conversational nature of the Bible itself. If we hope to recover the transformative power of these ancient texts, and invite our world to reconsider their significance, we will need to engage whole communities together in the bottom-up task of interpretation. People of the Book was written to offer an organic-holistic approach to communal interpretation, an approach that can work for your community and appeal to your wider culture. Halcomb and McNinch envision the Bible as a conversation we are privileged to enter: listening, questioning, wrestling, reasoning, and responding together as authentic people of the Book.

Find the companion website & app at http://michaelhalcomb.com/peopleofthebook.html

About the author

T. Michael W. Halcomb is a PhD candidate in biblical studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and teaches at Centenary United Methodist Church in Lexington, Kentucky. He is also the author of the forthcoming book Entering the Fray: A Primer on New Testament Issues for the Church & Academy (Wipf & Stock). Timothy McNinch is the founding pastor of Vineyard Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan. He worked for several years as a campus staff member for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.