Navigating the Bizarre: Reflections on Ministry and Myth

Dr. Rolf A. Jacobson is the Professor of Old Testament and the Alvin N. Rogness Chair of Scripture, Theology, and Ministry at Luther Seminary.

Known for his humor and faithful biblical interpretation, Jacobson is an in-demand preacher and teacher.  With Craig Koester, he developed and supports the Narrative Lectionary.  He enjoys collaborating with other teachers and pastors.  His collaborative projects include The Book of Psalms (NICOT; with Beth Tanner and Nancy deClaissé-Walford), Invitation to the Psalms (with Karl Jacobson), Crazy Talk: A Not-So-Stuffy Dictionary of Theological Terms (with five fellow Luther Seminary graduates), and Crazy Book: A Not-So-Stuffy Dictionary of Biblical Terms(with Hans Wiersma and Karl Jacobon). He is also the author of The Homebrewed Christianity Guide to the Old Testament: Israel’s In-Your-Face, Holy God. His scholarly interests include the Psalms, prophets, biblical theology, biblical narrative, and preaching the Old Testament.

His voice can be heard on two weekly preaching podcasts, “Sermon Brainwave” and “The Narrative Lectionary,” as well as singing the high lonesome with a Lutheran bluegrass band, “The Fleshpots of Egypt.”

A survivor of childhood cancer, he is a double, above-the-knee amputee, who generally wears a bicycle and a smile.  He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with his beloved wife Amy, their children Ingrid and Gunnar, and a cat who thinks he is a dog. He is a loyal friend, lifelong sufferer of Minnesota sports, and committed board-game geek.

1. Nobody wrote anything (in the Bible)
2. There are two—no, make that three, four, five, six,—seven creation stories in the Old Testament
3. There are no “Jews” in the Old Testament 
4. Nobody agrees on how many books are in the Old Testament
5. The metaphor that God is a husband and the people of God are God’s wife is really offensive and yucky

Other things we discuss in the conversation:

• a hot take on the 10 Commandments
• the task of teaching the Old Testament to future ministers
• the deep joy of ruining everyone's favorite Bible verses...'i knew the plans I have for you' - 'this is the day the Lord has made'
• the Lutheran & Process connection
• Biblical authorship and source criticism
• Bluegrass Hymn Sing with Richard Rohr
• the Biblical Creation stories and the divine hermeneutic Leviathan love
• the holy ghost resurrection NFT
• where the canon comes from
• how wild Ezekiel gets and the day Tripp wore an Ezekiel shirt
• how Biblical translations hide the Bible's rough side
• election as synchronicity not selectivity
• way too many Tripp stories...the last one is about Demons

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