Since tomorrow is Good Friday and P&R will not be open, I am posting this week’s author interview, today. This week we get to learn a little more about David G. Peterson, author of Encountering God Together.

• Question #1 – Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am an Australian pastor and theologian, who has spent most of his life training others for ministry, first at Moore College in Sydney and then at Oak Hill College in London. I am now an emeritus faculty member at Moore College, teaching a couple of hours each week. I am also engaged in running a preaching course and in writing books. I have been married for over 40 years and have three adult sons and four grandchildren.

 

• Question #2 – What inspired you to write Encountering God Together?

I have always been interested in exploring biblical teaching about worship and thinking about the most helpful ways to prepare and lead church services. I wrote a biblical theology of worship called Engaging with God, which was published in 1992 and has been much used in seminaries for courses on the subject. Many people have urged me to apply this teaching more specifically to congregational gatherings and to write at a more popular level on worship. So my latest book is the result and I hope it meets the need that has been expressed.

 

• Question #3 – What book(s) are you reading now?

Recently, I was asked to write a commentary on Paul’s Letter to the Romans and so this is occupying most of my spare time. I enjoy reading commentaries that others have written, but also books on some of the key issues in Romans such as justification by faith. Most of all, I enjoy reading Romans in the Greek text, pouring over the words and trying to evaluate exactly what Paul has written.

 

• Question #4 – What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

Start in a small way by writing articles or short pieces on your area of interest. Be sure about your target audience and write with them in mind. If possible, try to teach what you are writing to a group representative of your target audience, to get feedback and discover how well you are communicating. Show what you have written to experts you trust and invite comments and criticism. Don’t be hurt if the criticisms mean changing what you have written quite radically!

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If you would like to learn more about David Peterson,

visit his website: davidgpeterson.com.

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