For our second author interview, we will be hearing from Guy Waters, author of the following books: Justification & the New Perspectives on Paul; Federal Vision and Covenant Theology; How Jesus Runs the Church; and What Is the Bible?.

• Question #1 – Which writers inspire you?

“Different writers have helped me in different ways. Theologians like Francis Turretin, Robert L. Dabney, A. A. Hodge, B. B. Warfield, and Jonathan Edwards have helped me think clearly and precisely about biblical truth. Geerhardus Vos, Herman Ridderbos, and Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. have helped me understand the progress and unity of God’s plan of redemption in history. Writers like C. S. Lewis and Jonathan Edwards have modeled for me what might be called the “sanctified imagination.”  The writings of John H. Gerstner are a stellar example of pungency, clarity, simplicity, and penetration. Writers like P. G. Wodehouse, William F. Buckley, Jr., and David Bentley Hart are masterful in their handling of the English language, not least in their vocabulary.”

• Question #2 – What inspired you to write this book, about this topic? If you choose this question and have published more than 1 book with us, please specify which book you are referring to.

“I wrote How Jesus Runs the Church because I wanted to fill what I perceived to be a gap. I want to provide people in the church with an introduction and survey of the biblical foundations of church government. I want people to appreciate church government as part of the whole counsel of God, as an integral part of the way we think of Christ’s reign over his church. I also want to help people in the Reformed and Presbyterian tradition get reacquainted with some fine but often forgotten writings from the past on this subject.”

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

“Beyond the books that I read for publishing projects, lecture preparation, and professional development, I try to read a variety of books from a number of different disciplines and perspectives. I am reading books by two of my theological “heroes,” a collection of sermons by B.B. Warfield (The Power of God Unto Salvation), and a collection of essays by Geerhardus Vos (Redemptive History and Biblical Interpretation: The Shorter Writings of Geerhardus Vos). I am also reading Dante’s Purgatorio, Blanchard and Johnson’s The One Minute Manager, and am about to begin the most recent edition of Gilbert Meilaender’s Bioethics.”

• Question #4 – Other than the Bible, do you have a favorite book?

“Yes. I would have to say, Pilgrim’s Progress. I have read it a number of times and glean rich biblical truths from it at every sitting. It is a wonderful, balanced, and Scriptural account of the Christian life.”

• Question #5 – How can readers discover more about you and your work?

“Readers can learn more about me and my work by visiting www.rts.edu (see especially the Jackson Campus page). There they find updates on recent publications, travels, and speaking engagements. They can also find out what courses I am teaching that semester, and find links to chapel messages that I have delivered. Or read my professor page:  https://www.rts.edu/seminary/faculty/bio.aspx?id=491.”

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Guy Prentiss Waters (BA, University of Pennsylvania; MDiv, Westminster Theological Seminary; PhD, Duke University) is Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. At Duke, he studied under Richard B. Hays and E. P. Sanders, two leading expositors of the New Perspectives on Paul. He is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church in America. He is also a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and the Institute of Biblical Research.

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This is the first post of a new part of our blog. Every Friday we will post an interview with one of our authors. We hope that you all will enjoy getting to know some P&R’s authors in a more personal way. If there is a question that you would like P&R authors to answer, comment on one of our author interview posts and maybe it will be answered in the next author interview!

Paul Yeulett: author of Jesus and His Enemies

 

• Question #1 – Tell us a little bit about yourself: where you’re from, family, job, personal interests, unique hobbies, what do you do in your spare time, etc.

“I was born near Cambridge in the East of England, but now live in Shrewsbury in the west of England.  I am married to Ruth and we have three children: Rebecca (9), Matthew (7) and Daniel (6).  I have been pastor of Shrewsbury Evangelical Church since 2007.  Hobbies, when I get round to them, include star-gazing, with the naked eye and by telescope; and also playing golf from an unmentionably high handicap.”

• Question #2 – When did you first want to write a book?

“I wanted to write a book when I was a child, and there were several abortive attempts before Jesus and His Enemies simply suggested itself: the various chapters fell into my lap like rain falling from the sky.”

• Question #3 – Which writers inspire you?

“Iain H Murray, Sinclair Ferguson, Stuart Olyott, John Murray, Dale Ralph Davies, William Hendrikson, among many others.”

• Question #4 – What book(s) are you reading now?

“I’m reading Jonathan Edwards’ History of Redemption , which is a thrilling panoramic oversight of the whole of history, and also Spiritual Formation in Emerging Adulthood by David P. Setran and Chris A. Kiesl.  We need to understand the pressures and influences that come upon people at that age, whether we are 18-30 or not.”

• Question #5 – What advice would you give to aspiring writers?

“If writing is something habitual to you and you can’t stop doing it, make sure you save everything you write.  You never know when a good opportunity might come.  Read as deeply and widely as possible.  Cultivate a curious mind; don’t be afraid of unfamiliar words, concepts or ideas, but find out as much as you can about them.”

• Question #6 – How do you deal with writer’s block?

“By writing!  It’s a bit like with praying; the way to get into a difficult activity is to actually begin to engage in it, haltingly at first, but if you have been called and equipped to do something you will be given the grace and capacity to continue.”

• Question #7 – Favorite sport to watch? Why?

“Cricket.  It’s the national English sport and it’s epic, even though England have just been walloped by the Aussies.”

• Question #8 – Do you have a favorite food?

“Indian food, moderately spicy and with onion bhajis and raitha sauce!”

• Question #9 – Which do you like better: Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia? Why?

“Lord of the Rings for its sheer and massive bulk – it’s a world of its own, rich, wide and deep.  Tolkien was a master of language as well as literature.”

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Paul Yeulett is the pastor of Shrewsbury Evangelical Church in Shrewsbury, England. He graduated from Highland Theological College and is ordained in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales. Previously he studied mathematics at Newcastle University and taught high-school math. Want to learn more about Paul? Visit his church’s website: http://www.shrewsburyevangelicalchurch.org. The main features of this website are the online audio sermons: there are currently over 400 of them.