Background

Mark Powell was born on July 5, 1953, in Gainesville, Florida.

Education

Mark Powell studied at Texas Lutheran College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1975. He also received a Master of Divinity at the Trinity Lutheran Seminary in 1980 and a Doctor of Philosophy at the Union Theological Seminary in 1987.

Career

Mark Powell is an ordained Lutheran minister at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 1980 and a leading New Testament scholar with numerous books and articles to his credit. He joined the faculty of Trinity Lutheran Seminary. He began as an assistant professor of New Testament in 1987-1992, then became an associate professor in 1992, and finally, the Robert and Phyllis Leatherman Professor of New Testament. Powell also served as director of continuing education and postgraduate studies in 1989-1992. Moreover, he was a visiting educator at Berkeley, Vanderbilt, and the University of Chicago, and at schools in Estonia, Tanzania, and Russia.

Additionally, Mark Powell is a writer. He is currently the author of more than a hundred articles and thirty-five books on the Bible and religion. He has done significant research on the historical Jesus and has contributed a great deal to the study of the Bible as literature. Besides, Powell is one of the founding editors of the Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus.

Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee summarizes past scholarship and explains and evaluates the most important recent work on the subject of the historical Jesus. It gives an excellent analysis of recent historical inquiry into the life of Jesus. Powell has chosen the core scholars to review, did an excellent job of describing their primary positions, giving enough of their arguments for one to appreciate the basis for their reconstructions. He did similar work on other New Testament topics, especially on the study of Matthew.

Another of his book is Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music. Having once worked as a rock journalist and critic, Powell has an informed appreciation for popular music. The book includes entries about specifically religious music. It also says about artists whose work deals with more subtle aspects of Christianity, such as Sam Cook, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, and Collective Soul.

Achievements

• Mark Powell is best known as an educator and writer. He teaches for more than thirty years. Besides, Powell is a holder of several honors and awards, such as the Outstanding Young Graduate Award from the Texas Lutheran College in 1989, and was endowed a Chair in New Testament by the Trinity Lutheran Seminary in 1998. He also received the Award of Excellence for Biographical Profile, Marsha's Tears: An Orphan of the Church, in Christian Century in 2000, the Award of Merit for Denominational Feature Article, Contemporary Christian Music: What Can We Learn?, in Lutheran Partners in 2003 and for the Biblical Interpretation Article, Where You Put Your Treasure, in The Lutheran in 2006, all by the Associated Press in Religion. Powell's book, Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, became the Book of the Year in 2003 by the Associated Press in Religion.

Works

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  • What Do They Hear?

    (Powell provides a startling study of how differently the ...)

    2007
  • Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music

    (This groundbreaking work covers both major and minor Chri...)

    2002
  • Who Do You Say That I Am?

    (In this volume, some of the most prominent international ...)

    1999
  • Loving Jesus

    (In this biblical spirituality for today, Powell's earnest...)

    2004
  • Jesus as Israel's Messiah

    (Jesus as Israel's Prophet is one of four volumes in which...)

    2015
  • Introducción al Nuevo Testamento

    (This Spanish edition of Powell's lively and engaging intr...)

    2019
  • Giving to God

    (Filled with good news for followers of Jesus, Mark Allan ...)

    2005
  • Chasing the Eastern Star

    (Emphasizing meaning as "effect" rather than merely "messa...)

    2001
  • Fortress Introduction to the Gospels

    (With clarity and verve, Mark Allan Powell describes the c...)

    1998
  • God With Us

    (Powell offers a creative pastoral approach to the theolog...)

    1995
  • Introducing the New Testament

    (This beautifully written and engaging survey offers an up...)

    2009
  • Harper Collins Bible Dictionary

    (The Harper Collins Bible Dictionary is the most complete,...)

    2009
  • The Jesus Debate

    (This absorbing and enlightening account of modern Jesus s...)

    1999
  • What Are They Saying About Acts?

    (Provides an overview of current scholarship on Acts which...)

    1991
  • Methods for Matthew

    (Methods for Matthew offers a primer on six exegetical app...)

    2009
  • The New Testament Today

    (This volume offers the collective insight of eleven schol...)

    1999
  • The Bible and Modern Literary Criticism

    (In recent years, both religious and secular scholars have...)

    1992
  • Opening the Book of Faith

    (This book explores four methods of Bible study, then appl...)

    2008
  • What Are They Saying about Luke?

    (Offers a concise summary of, and an excellent introductio...)

    1989
  • Jesus as a Figure in History

    (Here is the first comprehensive, balanced account of hist...)

    1998
  • What Is Narrative Criticism?

    (A study of the complexities of narrative criticism about ...)

    1990
  • Treasures New and Old 1996

Views

Quotations: "As I became a professional theologian and I learned to think of things in what are supposed to be sophisticated and nuanced ways, I have never forgotten how much that music meant to me and how important it was to my faith development."

Membership

• 

  Mark Powell was a co-chair of The Matthew Group, devoted to the study of Matthew's Gospel in 1992-1996, and a chair of The Historical Jesus Sectio in 2000-2006 at the Society of Biblical Literature.

  Society of Biblical Literature , United States

Connections

Mark Powell married Melissa Curtis Powell. They have four children, David, Michael, Brandon, and Jillian Powell.

Wife:

Melissa Curtis Powell

Son:

David Powell

Son:

Michael Powell

Son:

Brandon Powell

Daughter:

Jillian Powell