Name: Michael Asbell
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Age: 44 (born Feb. 8, 1960 in Indianapolis, Indiana)
Family stats: Wife: Beth, married 15 years.
Children: Hannah, age 10,and Joshua, age 7.
Occupation: Sales Associate, Lifeway Christian Stores
Education: B.A. in Biology (David Lipscomb University, 1983). Completed all requirements except a thesis toward an M.A. in Biblical Studies at Lipscomb. I hope to go back and finish that degree in the near future.
Nickname: None, but some people simply use my last name, Asbell. Obviously this nickname doesn?t work well at family reunions.
Thinkling role: I get treated as the Wise Old Sage, but I?m really not sure why; I?m only one of those three things.
Area of expertise: I don?t know about expertise, but my areas of interest relating to the Thinklings are books, Biblical studies, especially Life of Jesus studies, and Second Temple Judaism.
Denomination: It is difficult, but I?m trying really hard to be a non-denominational Christian. I am a member of The Family of God at Woodmont Hills, a large, progressive, very independent thinking Church of Christ. It?s definitely not your old time, everyone-else-is-going-to-hell, Campbellite church.
Calvinist or Arminian: Arminian. I wanted to be a Calvinist, but it seems that God has ordained otherwise. I generally avoid these labels, and worry that they presuppose a false dichotomy.
Eschatology: A-millennial, with many Preterist and post-millennial elements. But I?m wondering what made Rev. 20.3 the litmus test for one?s eschatology.
Favorite quote: The amazing thing about Paul isn?t that he said and did all these wonderful things; it?s that he did it all without coffee. ? N. T. Wright, in a lecture on Romans at Regent College in Vancouver, B.C.
Another quote: It is certainly my opinion that a book worth reading only in childhood is not worth reading even then. ? C. S. Lewis
Favorite movie: Dances with Wolves, Braveheart, The Preacher?s Wife, It?s a Wonderful Life, Saving Private Ryan, The Miracle Maker, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Beauty and the Beast, The Iron Giant.
Favorite book: Jesus and the Victory of God, by N. T. Wright
Favorite author: N. T. Wright. When asked what I think about the book of Revelation, I?ve been known to say, "I?m not sure. Tom Wright hasn?t written on it yet." (Christianity Today article about Tom Wright)
Other highly respected authors: Scot McKnight, Craig A. Evans, R. T. France, Richard N. Longenecker, D. A. Carson
Favorite ice cream flavor: Do you really care?
Favorite musical artists: Michael Card, John Michael Talbot, Rich Mullins
First car: 1978 Pontiac Sunbird
Childhood memory: I had a wonderful childhood. Some of my best memories are whenever my Dad went out of his way to spend time with me, whether it was taking me fishing after work in the middle of the week, or backpacking on the Appalachian Trail in below freezing weather.
Testimony: I became a Christian when I was 17 years old. When I was 20, disillusioned with life at a secular university, I transferred to David Lipscomb College (now University) in Nashville. The exposure to Christianity there has changed my life forever.
Which muppet most represents me: Huh?
Best president: Abraham Lincoln
Pet peeves: People who think the rules don?t apply to them and dangerous drivers. Often these two are the same.
Hobbies: Reading, cooking, casual wildflower & bird watching, hiking and camping, armchair mountaineering.
Unusual fact: In much the same way normal people follow football or baseball, you will often find me surfing the web in order to follow news from the world of mountain climbing, especially Mt. Everest.