Posts by Joe Hellerman

Joe Hellerman

Joe Hellerman is a professor of New Testament at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University. Joe has taught at Talbot for more than a decade and ministered in the church most of his adult life. Joe's seminary training at Talbot focused on Old Testament studies, while his doctoral research at UCLA dealt with the social history of the early Christians. Joe has authored three academic monographs: The Ancient Church as Family (Fortress Press, 2001), Reconstructing Honor in Roman Philippi (Cambridge University Press, 2005) and Jesus and the People of God: Reconfiguring Ethnic Identity (Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2007). He has also written two books about Christian community for pastors and other church leaders: When The Church Was A Family (B & H Press, 2009) and Embracing Shared Leadership (Kregel, 2013). In addition to his full-time duties with our New Testament Department, Joe presently serves as co-pastor at Oceanside Christian Fellowship in El Segundo. Joe is constantly encouraged and delighted by the love he receives from his wife Joann and his two adult daughters, Rebekah and Rachel. Away from Talbot, you might find Joe playing jazz-rock piano or fishing on a sportsboat in the Pacific Ocean.

Talbot Magazine
The Church is Your Family
Why Genuine Christian Community is Essential.
Joe Hellerman — December 08, 2020
Folks at church often ask me what I do at Talbot School of Theology. My response usually goes something like this: “Well, I’m paid to teach Greek....
The Good Book Blog
“Black Lives Matter” or “All Lives Matter”
Sharing God’s Truth in Troubled Times
Joe Hellerman — June 12, 2020
The following post has been circulating on Facebook. Two thousand years ago, Jesus ended the debate on which lives matter. He died for all....
The Good Book Blog
Decision-Making In Community
Joe Hellerman — February 19, 2020
This morning I was teaching my undergrad Bible class about the strong-group orientation of the early church. Personal decisions in the ancient...
Talbot Magazine
Shelf Life
Recent publications from our very own Talbot faculty.
Ed Curtis, Leon Harris, Joe Hellerman, Kyle Strobel — June 20, 2018
"Jonathan Edwards;" "Why We Need the Church to Become More Like Jesus;" "Interpreting the Wisdom Books;" "The Holy Spirit as Communion"
The Good Book Blog
Course Corrections For Worship Ministry, Part 2
Joe Hellerman — May 10, 2018
In the first installment of Course Corrections For Worship Ministry , I maintained that Worship Is About US — Not About ME . I challenged us to...
The Good Book Blog
Course Corrections For Worship Ministry, Part 1
Joe Hellerman — May 08, 2018
I am a pastor. I play keyboards on our church worship team. And I am a New Testament scholar. As you might imagine, I have some pretty strong...
The Good Book Blog
Funeral After A Suicide
Joe Hellerman — February 21, 2018
I recently faced a most difficult pastoral challenge, which also presented a great opportunity for the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of those...
Think Biblically
Have Churches Oversold Family and Marriage?
with Joe Hellerman
Joe Hellerman, Sean McDowell, Scott Rae — February 08, 2018
The contemporary church puts a huge emphasis on natural marriage and family. But according to pastor, author and Talbot professor Joe Hellerman,...
The Good Book Blog
Why We Need the Church to Become More Like Jesus
Joe Hellerman — January 23, 2018
Here is the Introduction from Dr. Joe Hellerman’s newly released book, Why We Need The Church To Become More Like Jesus: Reflections About...
The Good Book Blog
The World Will End On Saturday
Joe Hellerman — September 21, 2017
My students in Exegesis In The Gospels (a second-year Greek course) were delighted to discover that (in the words of one news agency) “Christian conspiracy theorists have gathered clues that suggest the end of the world is nigh" ...
The Good Book Blog
Unleashing Your Potential as an Emerging Leader
Joe Hellerman — May 24, 2017
Many persons in vocational Christian service got their start by working with young people. Youth ministry is great preparation for future service in other capacities. But it is much more than that. Youth pastors have the potential to impact the world for Christ in a powerful way, because young people often make important decisions about their future lives under the influence of church mentors and student ministries workers ...
The Good Book Blog
Is Group-First Christianity A Trans-Cultural Value?
Joe Hellerman — May 04, 2017
Is the church here to help me to grow in Christ as an individual? Or has God put me here to help the church grow both qualitatively and quantitatively? The easy answer is “Both!” And that’s not completely wrong. But the early Christians clearly prioritized the health and growth of God’s community over the goals and desires of individual believers. This group-first mentality is not only characterized the early church, it characterized family life throughout the ancient Mediterranean world. This is why families arranged marriages. The goal of marriage in the ancient world was the not relational satisfaction of the individuals involved. It was the honor and ongoing viability of the two families who brokered the marriage. The group — in this case the family — came first ...
The Good Book Blog
Bonhoeffer on Christian Celebrities
Joe Hellerman — March 27, 2017
Israel cried out, “Give us a king!” (1 Samuel 8:6). Against his will, God gave his people what they wanted. A real superstar. Saul was the handsomest and tallest man around (9:2). That didn’t work out very well, did it? It never does ...
The Good Book Blog
Getting To Know My Body: Five Good Reasons To “Flee From Sexual Immorality”
Joe Hellerman — February 10, 2016
This year we are studying 1 Corinthians at Oceanside Christian Fellowship. I preached the message on 6:12-20, with the above title. I began by explaining Paul’s foundational principles in verse 12: (1) not all things are helpful, and (2) I will not be dominated by anything. The rest of the sermon outlined the “Five Good Reasons” (subtitle, above) as follows ...
The Good Book Blog
The “Cool” Factor
Joe Hellerman — November 04, 2015
I came to Christ as a last resort after a year-long quest to find God back in 1975. With two thriving evangelical churches just a few blocks from my doorstep, why did I explore the Christian faith last instead of first? The cool factor, of course! I was a long-haired, pot-smoking keyboard player in a rock band. Eastern and New Age religion were “spiritual” and cool — Christianity definitely was not ...
The Good Book Blog
Don’t Lose Faith!
Joe Hellerman — October 19, 2015
Seminary students are among the busiest people I know. Church + Family + School + Work makes for a challenging time of wise prioritizing. A Talbot professor back in the early 1980s gave his busy seminarians some pointed advice. He instructed us not to spend a lot of our time in local church ministry. “This is your training time,” he asserted, “and seminary is where you need to focus for this season of your life.” At the time it sounded like good advice. Now I’m not so sure ...
The Good Book Blog
New Commentary On Philippians
Joe Hellerman — September 23, 2015
Dr. Joseph Hellerman, Professor of New Testament at Talbot School of Theology, talks about his volume on Philippians in the Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament series ...
The Good Book Blog
A Divine Appointment
Joe Hellerman — May 27, 2015
I wrote a book titled When The Church Was A Family. Considering its rather narrow focus, it has sold pretty well. I am particularly delighted that the book has become required reading in one of our Talbot Spiritual Formation courses. One person who has read When The Church Was A Family is Mark DeNeui. Mark is a New Testament scholar who has been training Christian leaders in Europe for over twenty years. He and his wife Lisa have been on furlough from the mission field and will shortly return to France. I was Mark’s youth pastor back in the late 1970s, I officiated at their wedding a decade or so later, and my wife and I have remained close to the DeNeuis all these years ...
The Good Book Blog
God is Back!
Joe Hellerman — April 07, 2015
Maybe you didn’t know that he was gone. He was. The prophet Ezekiel saw it all in a vision. God abandoned his temple during the Babylonian Exile in the sixth-century BC ...
The Good Book Blog
He is Risen! And So Have You!
Joe Hellerman — April 02, 2015
Are you a Friday person or a Sunday person? Each year Easter gives us a special opportunity to stop and recalibrate our outlook on life. What is the difference between a Friday person and a Sunday person? Well, a Friday person is basically a pessimist, viewing every circumstance in a negative light, and always anticipating the worst: That little noise under the hood probably means I need to have my engine rebuilt. I’ll never be able to please my demanding boss. Nobody likes me. I’ll never get out from under these financial pressures. I guess I’m just meant to have a lousy marriage. This persistent pain in my side is probably cancer. A Friday person is someone who looks at a half-glass of water and thinks, “A lot of good that’ll do. I have a whole forest fire to put out!”
The Good Book Blog
Thriving In Ministry: 20-20 Hindsight
Joe Hellerman — December 02, 2014
Students often ask, What does a Christian leader need in order to experience an effective life of ministry in the local church? A key part of the answer has to do with the kinds of people we gather around ourselves. As I look back over some thirty-five years of local church ministry, four kinds of relationships (besides God and my natural family) have proven indispensable to the health and vitality of my own pilgrimage as a pastor ...
The Good Book Blog
When the Church Was a Family: ETS Plenary Address
Joe Hellerman — November 11, 2014
As indicated in a previous post, Talbot School of Theology will be well represented this year at the Evangelical Theological Society's national meeting [need link here]. For those unable to attend (most of you, I assume!), here is a video clip that touches upon some key ideas that I will be sharing in my plenary address. The interviewer is Dr. Jason Cusick, a pastor at Journey of Faith Church in Manhattan Beach, CA. The clip was shown in a church service as part of a series on the church and the family.
The Good Book Blog
Shepherds, Sheep, and Talking Heads
Joe Hellerman — October 15, 2014
I am often asked my opinion of the mega-church model of ministry. I find the model lacking, frankly, but not for the reasons you might think.
The Good Book Blog
When The Group Comes First
Joe Hellerman — September 04, 2014
I recently read a fascinating book by Richard Nisbett, who compares and contrasts contemporary Asian and Western worldviews. It just so happens that the strong-group mentality of Nisbett’s Asian culture corresponds in some important ways to the mindset of people in the New Testament world.
The Good Book Blog
The Importance of Spiritual Formation - A Personal Story
Joe Hellerman — July 29, 2014
Each August the Hellermans spend several weeks vacationing in the mountains, in Mammoth Lakes, CA. One afternoon, on one of our getaways, our oldest daughter (then thirteen years old) came out of her room with a play she had written. Rebekah has always been into drama. She had participated in a number of children’s theater productions at our previous church. On the home front, Rebekah recruited neighborhood friends and staged “plays” before a captive audience of indulgent parents ... So began an adventure that continues to unfold today, sixteen years later.