Thank you for stopping by! I’m Celia Wolff, Assistant Professor of New Testament at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho, where I teach a variety of courses for both undergraduate and graduate students: introduction to biblical studies, upper division Bible and theology electives, and intensive exegesis courses in New Testament. I studied Christian Scripture and Ethics as my primary and secondary subject areas in the Doctor of Theology program at Duke Divinity School, and defended my dissertation, titled Witness Acts, in November 2018. I love the work of integrating rigorous scholarly engagement of Christian Scripture with socio-political analysis to the end of learning and living (and helping those around me learn and live) patterns of life that reflect God’s character of creative and life-giving power. I have enjoyed the privilege of pursuing this work with wide spectrum of students and churchgoers of all ages.
Beyond the classroom, the most defining features of my life are a supportive family and a network of friends I’m sure I don’t deserve but deeply appreciate, nonetheless. Some of these friends join me for the activities I most enjoy, including riding my horse (Rose), gardening, hiking, riding bikes, and all things related to camping—even if it’s just a fire pit in the backyard. In other words, over the last five years I have adapted seamlessly to living in Idaho after having grown up in the Pacific Northwest and spending two graduate programs in Durham, North Carolina.
This blog’s title has an intentional ambiguity. Throughout Acts of the Apostles, its author characterizes those who follow Jesus and proclaim his lordship as Holy Spirit-empowered witnesses (see, e.g, Acts 1:8). I believe that this identity extends to those who would follow Jesus today, which is the principal thing I am trying to do in life. But in Acts the Spirit also bears witness (Acts 5:32). I hope that this space will serve as a point of intersection for listening to the Spirit’s witness and learning to be the Spirit’s witnesses. In other words, this blog is about the God to whom the Christian scriptures bear witness, and everything else in relation to God. I hope you find something interesting, and I’d love to hear from you in the comments of individual posts or below, or via E-mail: cwolff(at)nnu.edu.
The Spirit's Witness 
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