This semester, I am teaching theology TWICE at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek, Croatia. January – March, I am teaching undergraduate students, “Biblical Theology of the New Testament”. March – May I am teaching graduate students, “Contemporary Approaches to New Testament Theology.”

I’m ridiculously excited about this! Theology is my favorite class to teach, because it integrates so many things I am interested in: biblical text, intellectual history, hermeneutics, the practical application of scripture to life and church, etc.

I have written a new assignment that I am particularly proud of, so I thought I would share it with you here. It’s an assignment for the undergraduate class.

This is a description of the assignment, two student presentations:

1. Students will research, write, and present two brief (15-20 minutes each) exegetical/theological presentations.
2. Each student also offer thoughtful critical analysis of the other students’ presentations.
3. The focus for the presentations will be theological themes (not texts assigned by the professor) from the New Testament books of Romans and Matthew. The themes are the starting point.
4. Each presentation will focus on a selected theological theme.  Students will be responsible for finding the central texts addressing their chosen themes from those New Testament documents.
5. Potential themes are listed below.
   1. Theological themes from the Gospel of Matthew:
      1. Leadership in the church
      2. Injury/insult & forgiveness
      3. The Church
      4. God who knows what we need & supplies
      5. True righteousness (obedience, bearing fruit)
      6. The Kingdom of God (Kingdom of Heaven)
      7. God who redeems
      8. Blessedness
      9. God with us
      10. Repentance
      11. Living lives of witness (salt, light)
   2. Theological themes from Paul’s epistle to the Romans:
      1. The effects of sin
      2. God’s plan of redemption
      3. Sin in the Christian life
      4. The Holy Spirit
      5. Life together in a diverse church
      6. God’s wrath, faithfulness, & righteousness
6. Students will select their own themes.  Students may not choose the same theme as another student.
7. For each presentation, students will be graded by how well they address the following questions.
   1. What texts from Matthew/Romans deal with this theme?
   2. What questions need to be answered for people in today’s Croatian churches to understand and apply this teaching to their lives?
   3. What is God saying to the student and his/her church through this teaching?

If that looks like fun to you, then you are truly my people.