ACT 3 and Dr. Norman Shepherd

How are righteousness and faithful obedience related? Last Thursday afternoon through Saturday morning, I engaged that topic with about fifty other folks at the Holiday Inn in Carol Stream, IL (suburban Chicago). The event was convened by John Armstrong and his organization, Act III.

The event focused on five lectures Dr. Norman Shepherd presented about God's Righteousness and the Obedience of Faith. Shepherd was a professor at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia in the 1970s when he came under scrutiny for his teaching on justification. Some very conservative Reformed folks have publicly labeled him a heretic. He is now a minister emeritus in the Christian Reformed Church. Dr. Shepherd's lectures were interspersed with lengthy periods for questions and discussion among the rather diverse group. Dr. Don Garlington was one of the participants, and others there had considerable theological training, including two Orthodox priests. But I also met a man who works with terminally ill children in Memphis and a Roman Catholic guy from St. Louis who is a firefighter. Most attendees appeared to be pastors from a variety of Reformed denominations.

The discussion was focused on a narrow aspect of a broader discussion called the New Perspective on Paul. I found an excellent primer at the book table called The New Perspective on Paul by Michael Thompson for those interested in this topic. In less than thirty pages, Thompson gives an overview of the topic highlighting the three major contributors to the NPP, E.P. Sanders, James Dunn, and N. T. Wright. (I'm told that Thompson circulated a draft of his work to each author to get affirmation that he had accurately represented their views. All give their approval.)

John Armstrong has a post about the substance of the conference, and I refer you there if you want to learn more. DVD and MP3 versions of Dr. Shepherd's lectures should be available soon. I think ACT 3 intends to have a printed version as well, eventually.

Overall, it was a great time and a wonderful group of folks to hang out with. Coming from my Mainline PCUSA  world (and at least three of us were there), it was fascinating to participate in conversation with a stream of the Reformed movement with whom I've had little personal contact. John Armstrong and ACT 3 are doing some exciting things as they work to create space for people from differing theological traditions to gather for discussion about difficult theological issues. I look forward to future ACT 3 events.

John Armstrong

Norman Shepherd

Comments

[Jerry]

Michael,

I'm not sure if I've ever commented on your site, but I do read it daily. Wish I would've known you were in town as I'm the pastor at the PCUSA church in Carol Stream and would've liked to have gotten together. Oh well, maybe next time!

[Michael W. Kruse]

Jerry, sorry about that. I know I'll be there again next Nov. at the next Act 3 event (assuming they invite me back. :) ) I'll make a note to look you up.