Who Are You "In Conversation" With?

Last week I raised the suggestion that our INPUT should be greater both in scope (quantity) and depth (quality) than our OUTPUT. As a pastor-teacher, I want to make sure I'm doing more than reading and listening to my peers; I want to learn from my betters. In a lecture at Regent College, Eugene Peterson suggested that pastors choose 4-5 theologians and scholars and read them extensively, be in "conversation with them" through their work.

I've been thinking about my list of theologians and scholars that I have been or am beginning to be in conversation with.

First, here's my criteria:

1. They Affirm the Nicene Creed
   While there are many great scholars who may not affirm the Trinity or the resurrection, when it comes to the ones that I am going to immerse myself in, I prefer those who do affirm the historic, core Christian beliefs. In this sense, I believe a theological reading of the Scriptures is what makes reading the Bible different than reading Cicero or Josephus.
2. They Draw from the Great Treasury of the Church
   Most of my list are people from the last century, but they are well-versed with the Church Fathers, the saints, and the great theological minds through the centuries. For example, if you read Bonhoeffer, you can't help but get Luther as well, and that's what makes Bonhoeffer trustworthy.
3. They Write and Speak Accessibly for the Church
   There is much need for academics who write and lecture for academics. In fact, theologians and scholars who don't stand the scrutiny of academic "peer review" are usually not worth their salt. But the ones I admire are those whose scholarship is academically rigourous and yet who able to communicate in a way that is simple and accessible. After all, if understanding and learning does not serve the Church so the Church can serve the Christ and His mission in the world, then we may as well close our books. 

OK, now, here is my list of theologians and Biblical scholars I am beginning to be "in conversation with":

1. N. T. Wright (Phd, Oxford; NT Chair at St. Andrews)
   Area of emphasis: New Testament, Christian Origins/History
   Recommended starting points:
   - "Simply Jesus"
   (Reading the life of Jesus in the Gospels through the lens of 1st-century Jewish expectations, Roman imperial culture, and Old Testament Israel images of salvation.)
   - "Surprised by Hope"
   (Why heaven is not our final home or our greatest hope...and why on earth that matters right now.)
   - "After You Believe"
   (How "living in the present in light of God's in-breaking future" gives "character" and "virtue" a competely different emphasis than simply "good works.")
   
   For the more ambitious:
   - "Justification"
   (A fresh view-- in light of a proper understanding of 1st-century Judaism-- of Paul's doctrine of justification as being more than being in right-standing with God but about also being in covenant membership with the people of God.)
    
2. Scot McKnight (Phd, Nottingham; Prof at North Park University)
   Area of emphasis: New Testament Studies
   Recommended starting points:
   - "King Jesus Gospel"
   (Paradigm-shift may be the wrong way to say it, though it will result in that; it is more like zooming out and seeing the "Gospel" as the whole Story of God's plan to redeem the world from within it, culminating in Jesus.)
   - "Blue Parakeet" 
   (A great book on reading the Bible as narrative-- Story.)
    
3. John Goldingay (Phd, Nottingham; OT Chair at Fuller Theological Seminary)
   Area of emphasis: Old Testament Studies
   Recommended starting points:
   - "For Everyone" Commentary series (He's done Genesis through Ruth at the moment)
   - 3 volume commentary on the Psalms
   
   For the more ambitious:
   - "Old Testament Theology, Vol. 1: Israel's Gospel"
   
   
4. Stanley Hauerwas (Phd, Yale; Ethics prof at Duke Divinity)
   Area of emphasis: Christian "Ethics"; Barth scholar
   Recommended starting points:
   - "Hannah's Child" 
    (His memoir-- how he became the theologian he is & how he came to believe what he does.)
   - "Resident Aliens"
   (On what the Church should be-- an alternate society/City within the world.)
   - "The Hauerwas Reader"
    (This is a compilation of his essays, articles, papers, and book excerpts, organized    thematically.)

NOTABLE MENTION (though he's not, strictly speaking, a Biblical scholar or a theologian):
C. S. Lewis
Area of emphasis: Christian theology, apologetics
Recommended starting points:
- "The Last Battle"
- "The Great Divorce"
- "Screwtape Letters"
- "The Four Loves"

For the more ambitious:
- "Mere Christianity"
- "The Problem of Pain"
- "Miracles" 

This is just my list, drawing from books I've read. I'm sure you could add more (I think of Stott and Barth and Bonhoeffer and Packer and Fee....).

So....who are theologians and Biblical scholars (who write accessibly!) that you are "in conversation with"?

Give us some names and recommended starting points.