About the Contributor(s): T. Michael W. Halcomb is a PhD candidate at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is the author of People of the Book: Inviting Communities into Biblical Interpretation, Entering the Fray: A Primer on New Testament Issues for the Church & Academy, and A Handbook of Ancient Greek Grammatical Terms: Greek-English and English-Greek.

Speak Koine Greek contains over 240 sayings, expressions, phrases, idioms, and figures of speech from ancient (Koine) Greek. This work has been strategically arranged into simple categories (Getting in the Conversation, Staying in the Conversation, Ending the Conversation) with each entry ordered alphabetically by English glosses and followed by both a phrase that is similar or comparable in Koine as well as a source citation. Speak Koine Greek is a user-friendly compilation of expressions meant to help learners progress in fluency and knowledge of Koine while having fun doing so. As a further add-on, companion audio files for this book are available for purchase and download at the GlossaHouse website (GlossaHouse.com).

Synopsis: In modern times the relationship between the church and academy has been strained and tension-filled. Mainstream church culture has often been skeptical of Bible scholars, depicting them as self-serving intellectuals trying to out-think God by devising new and controversial interpretations. Just as well, academics have often leveled harsh critiques against church culture, painting pastors and laity as anti-intellectual pseudo-spiritualists. Entering the Fray argues that, in spite of the wide gap between the academic and ecclesiastical worlds, the modern church should be aware of the key discussions taking place among biblical scholars. To be sure, the average churchgoer has not been tuned in to scholarly conversations concerning matters such as the Messianic Secret, Q, the Historical Jesus, the pistis Christou debate, and related topics. In fact, they may have purposefully tuned out Some, however, are simply unaware that any such dialogue has taken place, and beyond the internet, may not have the first clue as to how to explore the details. This primer seeks to function as that "first clue" by helping congregants, pastors, and students of the Bible enter into the fray of scholarly discussions that, over the last few hundred years, have shaped both the academy and church. Endorsements: "New Testament studies are often a beehive of contentious debates. Halcomb surveys several of these debates and guides his readers away from the killer bees of confusion and takes them to the honeycomb of understanding. If you want to get a grip on some hot-potato topics in biblical studies without frying your figurative fingers, then Halcomb does a sterling job of introducing readers to several big debates and showing what the various interpretative options are. Great for students " --Michael Bird, Highland Theological College "Navigating New Testament scholarship can be daunting. In Entering the Fray, Halcomb proves to be a reliable guide. This thorough-yet-succinct presentation introduces the major issues and players of the last four hundred years. With a personal touch, Halcomb demonstrates what scholars do and why the church needs scholarship. This book is for anyone who ever wondered about New Testament scholarship and what impact it has on their faith and life." --John Byron, Ashland Theological Seminary "Entering the Fray offers non-specialists an easily accessible path into scholars' conversations on key concerns, such as the nature of the New Testament canon, the relationship between the Gospels, and the historical accuracy of Acts. In all twelve chapters, Halcomb explains why the scholars' discussions should matter to the church." --Lynn H. Cohick, Wheaton College "This book aims to not only make the major scholarly issues known to the reader, but to introduce the reader to the scholars who have studied and discussed those issues . . . Halcomb works to build a bridge between the academy and the church, and the result is a unique opportunity for Christians to experience something like a speed-dating round with several centuries' worth of scholars " --James F. McGrath, Butler University "Halcomb does the church and academy a great service by answering the big question of why the church needs academic studies . . . This is a good book for all who want to seek the truth behind the text. Whomever 'enters the fray' will come out on the other side a better and more learned student of the Bible." --Sam Tsang, Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary Author Biography: Michael Halcomb is a PhD Candidate in biblical studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and teaches at Centenary United Methodist Church in Lexington, Kentucky. He is the author of People of the Book: Inviting Communities into Biblical Interpretation (Wipf and Stock, 2012).

Synopsis: We live in an era when the Bible appears to be less and less relevant to mainstream cultures. Those who do care about the Scriptures tend to derive their interpretations secondhand, from the preacher's pulpit or from generalized study guides written by complete strangers. These approaches overlook the communal and conversational nature of the Bible itself. If we hope to recover the transformative power of these ancient texts, and invite our world to reconsider their significance, we will need to engage whole communities together in the bottom-up task of interpretation. People of the Book was written to offer an organic-holistic approach to communal interpretation, an approach that can work for your community and appeal to your wider culture. Halcomb and McNinch envision the Bible as a conversation we are privileged to enter: listening, questioning, wrestling, reasoning, and responding together as authentic people of the Book. Endorsements: "For too long we've seen ourselves as culture warriors engaged in a 'battle for the Bible.' Halcomb and McNinch propose a new way through the misery this metaphor makes. What if instead we are conversation partners engaged in a communal search for the meaning and implications of a text that can transform us together? What if this is what it really means to be 'a people of the book'?" --Ken Wilson Author of Mystically Wired: Exploring New Realms in Prayer "Too many Christian communities cultivate an innocuous church-talk that isn't really about anything and that does not wrestle with the scriptural text. People of the Book offers a rich and compelling alternative in which Christian communities allow themselves to be shaped by their open-ended, holistic, and conversational grappling with the church's book." --Gary J. Dorrien Author of Economy, Difference, Empire: Social Ethics for Social Justice Author Biography: T. Michael W. Halcomb is a PhD candidate in biblical studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and teaches at Centenary United Methodist Church in Lexington, Kentucky. He is also the author of the forthcoming book Entering the Fray: A Primer on New Testament Issues for the Church & Academy (Wipf & Stock). Timothy McNinch is the founding pastor of Vineyard Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan. He worked for several years as a campus staff member for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.

For those wanting to retain language abilities for research or recreation, this volume contains the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts in interlinear and parallel formats in Hebrew, Latin, Greek, English, German, and French.