Remain in Your Calling explores the way the Apostle Paul negotiates and transforms existing social identities of the Corinthian Christ-followers in order to extend his gentile mission. Building on the findings of Tucker’s first monograph, You Belong to Christ: Paul and the Formation of Social Identity in 1 Corinthians 1-4, this work expands the focus to the rest of 1 Corinthians. The study addresses the way Paul forms Christ-movement identity and the kind of identity that emerges from his kinship formation. It examines the way previous Jewish and gentile social identities continue but are also transformed ‘in Christ.’ It then provides case studies from 1 Corinthians that show the way social-scientific criticism and ancient source material provide insights concerning Paul’s formational goals. The first looks at the way Roman water practices and patronage influence baptismal practices in Corinth. The next uncovers the challenges associated with the transformation of the Roman household when it functions as sacred space within the ekklesia. The final study investigates the way Paul uses apocalyptic discourse to recontextualize the Corinthians’ identity in order to remind them that God, rather than the Roman Empire, is in control of history.
Mengenai Pengarang
J. Brian Tucker is Professor of New Testament at Moody Theological Seminary-Michigan and teaches in the area of NT and theology. He completed his Ph D at the University of Wales, Lampeter in 2009 on the topic of Paul and his approach to identity formation in 1 Corinthians 1-4. He has authored two books on the Pickwick imprint: You Belong to Christ and Remain in Your Calling. He has been a church planter, senior pastor, teaching pastor, and worship leader during his twenty years of local church pastoral work. He has been teaching at Moody since 2005.