2017 was a weird year. After making logical plans regarding writing projects, my 2017 was upended when our son Josiah arrived in February. It’s not that we didn’t expect a child, we just didn’t expect him then (adoption is weird that way).

So it was good circumstance, but bad for consistent time to research, write, and edit. That said, I did manage to push out one new book for Appian Way Press at the end of the year, a Greek Readers edition of the First Apocryphal Apocalypse of John.

I’d hoped to write on (and finish) my Lexical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles: Second Timothy. But it languishes at halfway written because my schedule is really unpredictable. Maybe 2018 will be the year it gets some attention.

So what about 2018? Not too much different. Here are the major projects as I see them right now.

Introduction and Commentary on the Acts of Pilate (A and B) and the Descent of Christ to Hades

I’ve been working on digital transcription of Acts of Pilate A and the Descent of Christ to Hades; it has progressed fairly well. I’ll need to begin keying in Acts of Pilate B soon, and then doing some analysis and correction of the text. Once that’s done, I’ll focus on the translation, and then the Commentary. This actually may get published by someone other than me (that is, someone other than Appian Way Press). More details on that as they come to light.

I’m able to get this going because typing Greek is something that can be done in smaller and random chunks of time; the project may bog down after I get the transcriptions and translation complete and actually need to focus on research and writing, which require longer uninterrupted periods of time. So I really don’t think I’ll come close to finishing this work in 2018, but it has started.

Depending on the progress of the transcription, I may be able to publish a Greek reader’s edition of this text. I plan to do that eventually, but it may not happen in 2018.

Lexical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles: Second Timothy

The First Timothy volume in this series came out in 2016, and I’d really like to kick Second Timothy out the door too. However this work requires longer portions of time. That is, some work can be done in 60–90 minute chunks (the typical amount of time I’d have available in the morning) but 120–180 minute chunks are really the best. And I don’t forsee much of either, at least not in the first six months of 2018.

Other Stuff

I’m pretty much an opportunist, so I reserve the right to totally change directions if personal circumstance or opportunity warrants. But honestly, it seems I’ve barely had time to write my every-other-month Thoughts from the Church Fathers column for Bible Study Magazine (thanks for your patience, editors!) so I’m really not sure what 2018 will bring.

If attending SBL seems like it will be a reality this year, I may dust of my Stock Phrases in the Christian Apocrypha work and try to get something together there.

I’ve also (very briefly) thought about book-itizing a class I taught at church a few years back called Stuff Early Christians Read. That’s something I’d like to do some day, but I don’t know that 2018 is the time. We’ll see.