THE WRIGHT STUFF
Among the hundreds of Bible teachers and preachers presenting at the recent Pepperdine University Bible Lectures was a pleasant and personable gentleman from Scotland, four-and-one-half years my junior, with the same last name as the late inventors Wilbur and Orville of North Carolina – who were brothers to each other and fathers of the airplane. Mr Wright from Scotland, on the other hand, has several “handles” depending upon what he is doing at the moment.
As Bishop of Durham (2000-2010), he was, in Anglican parlance,”the Right Reverend Nicholas Thomas Wright.” As teacher (presently Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at St. Marys College in the University of St. Andrews) and author (of almost too many books to count, several near-or-more than 1,000 pages), he is usually “Dr N. T. Wright” (the initials stand for “Nicholas Thomas,” not for “New Testament,” though one might easily be excused for supposing such). To his friends he is “Tom.”
At Pepperdine this year, Wright preached the keynote opening sermon on “The Scandal of the Gospel” and taught three classes. Needless to say, Wright, along with Richard Bauckham of Cambridge (to whose position and title at the University of St Andrews, Wright became successor after Bauckham’s retirement and move to Cambridge), is one of the most highly regarded New Testament scholars living today. To enjoy his Pepperdine presentations, go to: www.youtube.com/
To better appreciate the scope and quantity of Wright’s work, go to: ntwright.com . There you can discover and/or access your choices from an inventory of 127 sermons; 110 audio/video singles and series; 11 book excerpts; 6 book reviews; 64 Q&A, articles, interviews; 25 Anglican Church Articles; 8 Wrightsaid Responses; 9 Bible Review Articles; 4 New Dictionary of Theology Articles; 25 Translations; 25 Newspaper Articles; 40 Other Writings; plus Oratorios, Reviews, Articles about Wright, Software/Audio and video, plus related websites. Other sites you may be interested in are: ntwrightpage.com/ and: ntwrightonline.org/
Whether one knows Wright personally or not, and whether one relates to him as reader, parishioner, pupil, or listener, we are blessed beyond description to enjoy the fruit of his labors. For here is a man called and gifted by God, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, faithfully exercising his stewardship to the glory of God. For that we appropriately say, “Thank you, Brother Wright,” and imitate his godly example.
