My most recent publications are:
- ‘The reimagining of theological time: Revelation’s use of the Old Testament’ in The Scriptures in the Book of Revelation and Apocalyptic Literature.
- ‘The genre of Revelation’ (including two new proposals!) in The Apocalypse of John amongst its Critics.
- The New Testament’s Vision of Mission Grove booklet, exploring key themes from the teaching and practice of Jesus.
- The Practice of Evangelical Spirituality Grove booklet, looking at the seven dimensions of biblical discipleship.
- Exploring the New Testament, Volume Two: Letters and Revelation third edition, fully updated, revised and expanded.
- Revelation: Faithfulness in Testing Times, a series of six studies for individuals or groups.
- Revelation, the Tyndale New Testament Commentary from IVP. (If you order from an online store, make sure you choose mine, not the previous edition by Leon Morris!)
My other recent publications include:
- How to Interpret the Bible: four essential questions (Grove, 2017)
- Being Messy, Being Church (Bible Reading Fellowship, 2017)
- Kingdom, Hope and the End of the World (Grove, 2016)
- The Book of Revelation: currents in British research (Mohr Siebeck, WUNT, 2015)
- Evangelical Leadership: Challenges and Opportunities (Grove, 2016)
What makes for Black Success in Britain today?
John Root offers this review of Black Success—The Surprising Truth by Tony Sewell, published earlier this month. Sewell was recently chair of the UK’s government’s Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, the recommendations which are now the foundations of the government’s policy on tackling racial inequalities.
At the time in early 1970s that Tony Sewell was attending an Anglican Sunday School in south-east London, I was leading a Pathfinder group of 60 or so of his mainly black contemporaries in north-west London. So reading his book at times generated nostalgia, often strong appreciation of his perceptions, and resonance with his positivity and love of reggae.
It is a book of two halves. Part 1 is ‘Education’, referring both to his own experience and his work as an educationalist. He describes his childhood and early education; his involvement in responding to life in Britain, especially writing regularly for the ‘Voice’ black newspaper; his work on The Hackney Learning Trust, and overturning the shibboleths surrounding the education of black children; and setting up the Generating Genius project to develop STEM capabilities amongst, initially, black teenage boys.
Part 1 has already included capsules on what underlies black success, such as Jamaican sprinting gold medallists. Similar exemplary stories are the theme of Part 2 on ‘Black Success’, where he looks at Nigeria, not just at the curious fact of it being the home of world Scrabble champions, but also at the role of faith. A chapter on the famous Jamaican nurse Mary Seacole imaginatively links her with her with the white Jamaican record producer, Chris Blackwell. Sewell flips the narrative of seeing her as being a racialistically overlooked equivalent of Florence Nightingale to instead having the qualities that Sewell is foregrounding—readiness for adventure and the risk-taking utilisation of whatever resources life has presented us with. Instead of being seen for this, in the contemporary debate ‘she is made fit for the needs of modern white guilt and black historic racial trauma’ (page 170).
The chapter on ‘The Housing Lark’ shows how the racism of landlords led the early immigrants to buy their own houses, creating long-term financial benefit. The final chapter utilises once more his love of stories, of ‘Odysseus and the Five Talents’, and exemplified in the success of the 1976 West Indian cricket team, his central role in the highly controversial Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparities, and his late life move into developing a ‘wellness’ farm back to his Jamaican roots.
Characteristics of the book—and of Tony Sewell
What are the characteristics of this book, and of Sewell’s approach, and what makes it such a compelling narrative? For me, six things stand out.
Imagination
Sewell was an enthusiastic English Literature scholar at the University of Essex. As I have already mentioned, his book abounds in love for stories and imaginative connections. Thus he connects the Jamaican folk-lore stories about the spider god Anansi with D H Lawrence’s observation in The Rainbow about the gargoyles on Lincoln Cathedral—they are
The women at the empty tomb in Mark 16
The gospel lectionary reading for Easter Sunday in Year B is the short ending of Mark in Mark 16.1–8. Although it is a short reading, there are lots of interesting…
The women at the empty tomb in Mark 16 video discussion
The gospel lectionary reading for Easter Sunday in Year B is the short ending of Mark 16. Despite being a short reading, it raises a lot of questions to explore….
Can we find a way forward for LLF together?
Andrew Goddard writes: In this article, I offer a summary of what happened at General Synod in February and its procedural consequences. I then look at the recently announced structures…
What strange new world are we now living in?
Laurie Clow offers this review of Carl Trueman’s new book Strange New World (Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois: 2022): As I move inexorably to the end of my sixth decade and celebrate…
Jesus enters Jerusalem on ‘Palm Sunday’ in Mark 11
This Sunday in the lectionary is Palm Sunday, the week before Easter, and here in Year B we are offered the choice between reading the account in Mark 11 and…
‘Palm’ ‘Sunday’ in Mark 11 video discussion
The lectionary gospel reading for Palm Sunday in Year B is Mark 11.1–11. (There is an alternative reading from John 12.) It is a fascinating passage, since, rather than focus…
‘The Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice’: a discussion
John Root writes: By a macabre coincidence the Church of England is simultaneously engaged in debates about safeguarding and the victims of abuse, and responses to its involvement in slavery…
In what way does Jesus ‘welcome’ sinners?
When I was a teenager, one of the books I treasured was William Barclay’s New Testament Words. It was a collection of word studies—with an impressive Scrabble-style tiling of Greek words…
The paradox of Jesus’ glory in John 12
The lectionary gospel reading for the fifth Sunday in Lent in Year B is John 12.20–33, and here we are reading the text in a strange order! There are clear…
The Paradox of Jesus’ glory in John 12 video discussion
The lectionary gospel reading for the fifth Sunday in Lent in Year B is John 12.20–33, which follows the passage we read next week! It is in three parts: the…