restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations
사랑하는 동역자들에게 다음의 에세이들은 여러분들이 쉽게 읽으시고 저와 의견을 나눌 수 있도록 한국어로 번역한 것들입니다.혹시, 저의 다른 글들을 한국어로 읽어보시고 싶으시거나 저에게 개인적으로 말씀하시고 싶으신 의견들이 있으시면 언제든지 말씀해 주세요. 하나님의 은혜가 여러분들에게 함께 하시길 기원합니다.
restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations
십자가에대한마가의신학
Mark’s Theology of the Cross
데이비드알렌블랙
나는열살의소년으로하와이에서자라면서나의목사님이교회에서해고를당한것을똑똑히기억하고있다.목사님은친절했고나이가드신진정한성도였다.그는각별하게목양을하셨으며좋은강해설교자였다.그런데목사님은뇌졸중으로고통받았다.그의연약함과쇠약함가운데도인내하며 섬기려는마음은나에게큰열망을남기었다. 20년후에내가베젤에서같은주제로박사논문을 쓸것을모른채나는생각했었다, 얼마나연약함가운데능력있는본이되는가? (사도바울의연약함)그런데갑자기목사님이가버리셨다.어른들은 목사님이말하는것을듣는것이너무힘들어, 그분은은퇴하고어디로갈준비가됐어!, 목사님때문에어린유소년들이떠나고있어,라고계속이야기했다. 자비로운하늘이여,이것이교회가자신의목사님을대하는태도입니까? 나는소리쳤다.
예수님도그의 새로운제자들로인해서비슷한어려움을직면하셨다.그들은유대율법학자로부터왜곡된리더쉽을배웠다.그것은알아차린예수님이그들의영적리더쉽과파워에대한개념들을 다시새롭게하셨다.그새로운정의는너무나깊어서우리는이천년이지난지금에도아직그것에대해서이야기하고있다. 2주동안내가마가복음을가르치면서학생들이정확하게그것을이해하도록하는것이나의일이다.
기본적으로나는마가복음이가장초기에쓰여진복음서임을인정했다.그러나그결론에대해서많은이유들로인해질문을던질수있다. (나의 왜사복음서인가를읽어보라) 마가복음은사도베드로의눈으로목도한간증으로이루어져있다.그베드로는예수님의고난을목격한장로였다(벧전5:1). 마가는베드로의믿음의아들이고(5:3)실누아노가베드로를대필해서베드로전서를썼던것처럼마가가베드로의속기자로마가복음을썼을교부적증거가확실하다.
요즘학자들은제안하길마가복음은 긴도입부분이있는열정적서술이라고주장한다.위트가있지만정확한묘사가있다.내가 왜사복음서인가라는책에서설명하려고시도했던것처럼,마가에의하면우리의관심을두개의주요주제로향하게한다.하나는그리스도론이고다른하나는교회론이다.중요한것은그리스도론적인주제이다.마가는 예수님을세례요한을죽인유대인의리더의손에고난과죽음을당하는것을받아들이는인자로소개한다. (정확하게이야기하면마가복음에는세례요한과예수님의두개의열정적서술이있다.)그래서마가복음은시작부터아주모순적이다.하나님의아들인예수님은단지명령만한것이아니라 세상에서자기를중요하게여기는것과는반대로낮은자의태도의본이되셨다.예수님의미션은세상적방법으로다스리는것이아니라스스로고난받고거절당하는것이었다.어떤학자들은이야기하길(가장눈에띄는학자는랄피마틴이다.그의책 마가:전도자이며신학자에서),바울의메시지가잘못이해되는위험을교회가직면하게되어서마가복음이기록되어졌다주장한다.특히그의서신서의 십자가신학이다.바울과베드로모두예수님은거절당함과십자가로인해영광을얻으셨다고말하고있다. 예수님의본이라는나의책에서언급한빌립보서2:5-11의거룩한낮아짐을비교해보라.
고통과거절의주제는마가복음에서웅장한수사학적방법으로더진행이된다.만약메시야가승리가아닌고통을,인기가아닌거절을경험하게된다면그를따르는사람들은얼마나더예수님을당했던같은것을당해야하는가 (8:34-38,13:9-13)? 마가는자기부인과십자가를지는것이수반되어야하는제자화와선교에서부터너무나동떨어진크리스천들에게시위를하고있는것이다. (H. Adderson, The Gospel of Mark, p.55) 그러므로어떤사람이든지하나님나라에헌신하는제자화와상관없는어떤결속이나더사랑하는무엇인가가있다면,그는단호하게그것들을다루어야하고깨뜨려야할것이다.십자가는종교적상징이아니라죽음의도구이다.그리고십자가를짊어지는것은비록 모든개인적야망,자기를위한어떤업적이사람들에게숭고하게보일지몰라도그모든것을다포기해야하며 자기자신을죽여야하는것이요구된다.진정한제자화는모든어떤세상의소유보다더소중한보화이다.그것은한사람이가진모든것의 가치에해당되는진주와같다.게다가마가복음은말하길제자화는애매하게실천되지않음을명확하게말해주고있다.말과행동이일치해야한다.마가는독자가화려한신학이아니라복음의행동이있기를 강하게어필하고있다. 고통의원리가제한없이받아질때교회의진정한새로워짐이있는것처럼말이다.
내가본것처럼여기근본적인마가의메시지가있다.그것은모든남자,여자,목회자,평신도,노인,젊은이들모두에게적용해야하는개인적참여의메시지이다.모든크리스천은꼭그들의직업이무엇이든지십자가를짊어지어야하는것이다.왜냐하면순종하지않은그리스도인은반대하는사람이다. 몇몇의적은수의성직자들이낮은신분의일반적신자보다더높은신분을가지고있어그비교됨에서오는영광에만족하는것이아니라뒷좌석에앉아있는,뒤로빠져있는수많은평범한크리스천들이순종하기원하는마음으로만족하는것이낫다.높아진성직자들의태도는예수님이제자들의발을씻는것에서부터아주멀다.
우리가보았듯이,마가복음에서공부한우리의과제는단지해석적인것을넘어선다.성경적관점에서우리는사역의전체적문제를보려고노력한다. 인자가온것은섬김을받으려함이아니라도리어섬기려하고자기목숨을많은사람의대속물로주려함이니라.격려할만한가치가있는유일한해석은전체크리스천교회와단체에완전한변화를만들어내는것이다.우리도마찬가지이다.마가복음의 십자가신학의메시지는실제적으로교회에서환영받지못하고있음을당면하고있는것이다.또한그헌신에대한개념을이해하는데실패했다. 예수님이원하는것은자기의로움의공동체가아니라비록자신을부족하고가치없다고여길지모르나세상으로나아가모든만민에게복음을전하는완전히헌신된형제,자매들의공동체이다(16:15).모든멤버가완전히이것을이루어낸교회가진정으로이가르침을계승하는데성공한교회이다.당신과내가이전우주적인사명에서우리가하는역할을빨리인정할수록현대세계에서기독교에대항하여배열된세력들은그리스도의대의가주목할만한가치가있다는것을깨닫게될것이다.
May 27, 2019
David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.
restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations
April 2019 Blog Archives
Monday, April 29
7:34 AM Last night I saw the movie Breakthrough. It’s been a while since I did a movie review, so here goes.
Breakthrough is a fascinating movie that tries to give an answer to the age-old question: Why does God heal some people but not others? In the movie, a teenager named John drowns in an icy lake and is given up for dead. When his mother Joyce prays for him, he miraculously revives.
Despite having gone without oxygen for 20 minutes he wakes up in the hospital without any signs of brain damage. This is another of those “true stories” that you suspect has been embellished a bit but I’m told the story line is pretty accurate. I thought the acting was average at best (as seems to be the case with so many “Christian” movies nowadays). Still, I’m glad I saw it. Breakthrough poignantly raises the issue of how faith and real life intersect. Parts of it were hard to watch, like when John returns to school and his teacher asks him why God didn’t heal her husband who died two years previously from an aneurism. Indeed, maybe the main value of this movie is that we can’t opt out of the difficulties of life and that we must constantly trust God for the future. The movie will help move you in this direction if you’re not already there.
I saw this story as a compelling commentary on the power of love — the love we share as family members, the love we experience as members of Christ’s body, and especially the love that God has for us even when we’e going through tough times. Loving God and living in community are tied together. You can’t purse the one without pursuing the other. I loved the way their distant pastor all of a sudden becomes loved and accepted when he begins to show true compassion to a member of his church. As he puts it in one scene, “A shepherd takes care of a sick sheep.”
One of God’s methods of bringing us closer to Him is to disrupt our normal lives by allowing us to feel the terror and pain of grief and loss. He does not ask us to whitewash the truth. Quite the opposite. By honestly facing our weaknesses, and by admitting deep pain into our souls, we are exposed to the ugly unbelief that all too often rules us. Sure, we pray to God, but at heart we are still preoccupied with ourselves. Our passion is to live pain-free lives rather than to submit to God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will.
The apex of the movie comes when John’s mother, alone on the roof of the hospital building, cries out to God and confesses her pride, her obstinacy, her desire to control the situation. She realizes, finally, that our primary purpose as Christians is not to use God to solve our problems but to move through our problems toward finding Him. God reveals Himself to people who want to know Him more than they want anything else. When John’s mother comes to that realization, everything else changes. For those of us who have experienced loss in life (and that includes just about every one of us I suppose), Christ is all too often merely the shadow, and something else shines more brightly. Nothing makes us regain a proper focus, nothing puts Christ back into the center, more quickly than pain.
Breakthrough is a heartfelt story. Sadly, it’s aimed more to the choir than to a lost world. The parking lot at the theater last night was jam-packed but there were only 8 people in my movie. The rest were watching Avengers.
By the way, if you haven’t read Craig Keener’stwo-volume work on miracles, you need to. Science can’t explain everything!
Dave Black, film critic at your service.
Sunday, April 28
8:18 AM Just accepted a kind invitation to speak at a conference on the NT canon in September. The princes of canonical studies — Peter Gurry and John Meade of Phoenix Seminary — will also be there. Should be great fun. Details to come.
6:56 AM Discourse analysis figured prominently in our linguistics conference. If you’d like a simple and straightforward introduction to the subject, you can do no better than read Noah Kelley’sdiscussion (with application to Colossians). Check it out when you can.
6:16 AM Odds and sods ….
1) This is the sight that greets me every morning as I make my way downstairs.
Sheba’s too old to climb steps so she sleeps at the foot of the stairs, faithfully awaiting the arrival of her owner. She is a gift from the Lord. How I hope I can have the same attitude toward my Master.
2) Mowed the yards for the first time this year. Felt good.
3) I don’t particularly like to have sparrows’ nests on my porches, but I don’t have the heart to destroy them. Here a mommy patiently sits on her eggs, a living parable of God’s love for His own.
4) Saw the podiatrist on Friday morning. Not even the pedicurists can cut my runner’s toenails.
5) Inspired by Will Varner’s talk on James yesterday, I spent my Bible reading this morning in the second chapter of this great letter. Here James insists that we are not to treat other people differently based on their wealth or social status. It was so good to see this truth played out in our conference as I watched students talking with established scholars who seemed to truly enjoy the interaction. Always the best part of a conference!
6) Finally, Baker was kind enough to give me a copy of my good friend Don Hagner’s latest work.
I loved this book! Without giving too much away, its argument is that the NT announcement of the kingdom of God changes everything about how we understand the relationship between the Testaments. The writers of the NT, he says, know only one way of salvation for both Jews and non-Jews, and that is the cross of Christ. “For this reason, they would never entertain the notion of two covenants, the old for the Jews and the new for the Gentiles, nor would they ever have considered the idea of a Sonderweg (a “special way”) of salvation, apart from faith in Christ, for the Jews” (p. 177). He concludes (p. 179):
Newness is intrinsic to the Christian gospel and its theology. Just as new wine cannot be kept in old wineskins, the new wine of Christianity cannot ultimately be contained within the framework of Judaism.
One implication of all this that Don doesn’t discuss is our understanding of NT ecclesiology. And this is important, because all too often we have in our churches an OT concept of ecclesiology: holy men doing holy things in holy places, as opposed to the New Covenant emphasis on all members as ministers and no holy places other than the temple of the Holy Spirit. As a few of us discussed yesterday during one of our breaks at the conference, it’s time to abolish, not the clergy but the laity, since all of us are to be ministers of the Gospel.
Now you might have concluded that a book with this depth would be boring, but the opposite is true. It’s actually a page-turner. Thanks, Don, for yet another wonderful book from your hand.
Saturday, April 27
6:32 PM Few things capture the spirit and excitement of scholarship more than a conference. Here’s a picture of today’s speakers:
Actually, the people shown above are imposters. Here are the real Avengers:
(Inside joke. If you weren’t at the conference, you have no idea what I’m talking about.)
Try to imagine for a moment having the world’s leading Greek linguists in a single room packed to the gills. It was so amazing it hurt. The conference had lots of laughs. It had plenty of stimulating presentations. It even had some tears. In any event, it was a huge blessing. I saw many old friends and made some new ones. If you include the speakers, people came from as far away as Australia, Israel, Hawaii, California, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. I personally thought the lectures were very helpful. The simple fact is that God has gifted His church with some incredible talent. Of course, there were some disagreements. But overall I’d say we all left with a good feeling about the future of New Testament Greek scholarship. The undeniable reality is that Greek studies have made a major course correction. If we forget this and carry on as we always have we unnecessarily weaken the church. We who pledge ultimate allegiance to Christ and to His word should individually and collectively engage in linguistic scholarship at the highest levels. Does this mean that we have everything figured out? Of course not. Not at all. But it does mean that we are committed to moving forward and not just spinning our wheels. Anyway, like I said, I think the conference threw the audience into a vortex of excitement. I think people came away engaged. Anybody who knows my work can see why I would be very excited at this outcome.
I’ll leave you with a handful of pix. The lectures will be published, by the way, by Baker Academic in due course. Until then, this is a topic I’d encourage everyone to wrestle with.
1) Here’s Will Varner of the Master’s University speaking at a pre-conference luncheon. His theme was the application of discourse analysis to Matthew’s nativity and the book of James.
2) In the “Green Room” with the speakers. From left to right: Steve Runge, Mike Aubrey, Randall Buth, Michael Halcomb, Nick Ellis, Con Campbell, Stan Porter, Thomas Hudgins, Rob Plummer, and Ben Merkle.
3) The event was sold out.
4) People came to hear these topics.
5) Stan Porter kicked things off magnificently.
6) Shout out to our sponsors: Baker Academic.
7) And GlossaHouse.
8) These amazing guys ran the sound.
9) Winner of the “Hat of the Year” award.
10) With colleagues from New Orleans Seminary.
11) Almost my entire Philippians class from last semester attended. Oorah!
12) My friend and colleague Ben Merkle (right) co-organized the conference with me. His skill as MC made all the difference in the sessions. Ben and Rob Plummer (left) are completing a major new beginning Greek grammar for B & H. I am a little embarrassed to say that I have no doubt it will far surpass anything I have ever written on Greek grammar. We hope it may attract a huge clientele to the study of Greek.
13) Finally, here’s a short clip of Con Campbell’s peroration. Such was the flavor of all of the lectures.
I want to express my gratitude to God as I look back over the past two years of preparing for this conference and the privilege of interacting with the scholars who presented papers. Each of them amazed me by their intelligence and spiritual passion. I am also deeply grateful to the seminary administration for its unflagging support of this endeavor. Most of all, I am grateful for the privilege of working for the best of all employers, Jesus Christ. Without Him, none of this could have happened. Glory to Him alone.
Friday, April 26
6:46 AM I love me a good conference. I suppose this stems from the Bible conferences I attended while growing up in Hawaii. I began to develop a deep love for the Word, a love that has never left me. Eschatology, prophecy, inerrancy — I was fascinated by it all.
When I came to Southeastern 21 years ago, I had the opportunity to organize a New Testament symposium on campus. Here, assembled in the Forest of Wake, were such well-known names as Craig Blomberg, Scot McKnight, Bill Farmer, Grant Osborne, Keith Elliott, Eldon Jay Epp, Moisés Silva, Michael Holmes, and others. I was elated with the results. Later, it was possible to get two other conferences off the ground, one on the last twelve verses of Mark and the other on the woman taken in adultery passage. The success of those conferences led to the one on linguistics that begins today. It is almost an undreamed-of blessing for God to allow this symposium to take place. There are two particular ways I hope this conference will advance the discussion. I pray, first of all, that by collecting in one place at the same time the leading Greek scholars in the world the wonderful spirit of collegiality that already exists among them might be strengthened and expanded. I also cherish the dream that those in attendance might see the relevance of general revelation for biblical studies. Studying linguistics through the years has been an enormous encouragement to me, as you can well imagine. I do not think that the study of a “secular” science like linguistics and the study biblical exegesis are incompatible. I believe God often uses the pages of general revelation to inform our knowledge of Him. As a result, it would be folly for us to think that we can please God without fully engaging the minds He has given us. No doubt there are some precautions to be taken, but as long as we do not sacrifice inspiration on the alter of academics I think God still has much to teach us about how language in general works and how the Greek of the New Testament works in particular.
This year marks my 43rd year of teaching Greek. This calling is exactly what the good Lord designed for me. If I had to live my life over again, I would follow the exact same path. It has meant teaching in some of the best seminaries in the United States. It has meant teaching in theological colleges and universities in Great Britain and many other countries. It has meant travel in the cause of the Great Commission over a good deal of the world. It has meant having the privilege of watching men and women turn to Christ and many Christians devote their lives to the only Cause that really matters.
It is that decision to follow God’s will for our lives that is so vital. I believe there are some who attend our conference whom God is calling into fulltime teaching at the college or seminary level. Perhaps they will see or hear something in the next two days that will slowly and quietly draw them into the academic guild, like the gently unfolding of a flower. Vocation is the name we give to the calling of God in our lives. One’s vocation is always God’s gift, but there must always be a human response.
I am well aware that nothing we humans do can even begin to approximate perfection. This conference will succeed only to the degree that the hand of God is upon it. I cannot thank Him enough for the privilege of attending and of witnessing firsthand what He is doing among us as we seek to honor Him with our whole minds as well as our whole hearts.
Thursday, April 25
8:55 PM “You live as if you were destined to live forever, no thought of your finality ever enters your head, of how much time has largely gone by, you take no heed.” –Seneca.
I love being dramatic.
I do know that I am riding on cloud nine right now. This afternoon I spent almost 2 hours with my cardiologist and his assistant. It was time to get the final report after all the tests I had taken the last couple of weeks. The bottom line? I’ve been cleared to run again! The tests showed a PERFECTLY NORMAL HEART for a 66-year old. No coronary heart disease. No palpitations. No PVCs. No fibromyalgia. No cardiomyopathy. No peripheral heart disease. All ruled out, thank God. The blood work showed normal glucose levels and the absence of anemia. In short, my heart strength is “superb,” according to the doctor. I can continue to run long distance races provided I do so “IN MODERATION,” he stressed. Okay. I’m good with that. That means maybe 1 or at the most 2 marathons a year instead of the 5 I’ve been averaging. It’s only a race, after all. Get over yourself. And I have to monitor my heart rate. Carefully. I can do that too.
A theme of this blog is determination. No wimping out. Persevere to the end. But life never stands still. In a new season of life you can’t do the things you’ve done in a previous season. It just doesn’t work that way. Nothing is meant to last forever. Yes, I can keep pushing myself, but in new ways with different results. I will still push myself physically every day, just not as hard. And I know one thing for sure. I will never again take running for granted.
I’m not saying anything profound here. I’m writing it simply for what it’s worth. In life, you’re always having to try new things. This is reality. You have to adjust your goals and expectations with age.
I truly do not know if any of this makes sense to you. But I do know that I will be approaching things differently from here on out. It’s highly unlikely that I’ll attempt the Flying Pig in two weekends, but you never know. Still, I truly believe my best days are ahead of me.
7:45 AM I’m not sure if you all knew I was in Georgia and Alabama last week. After all, I never write about my travels. (Insert sarcasm.) You know you’re with family when you are spoiled to death — chorale concert, jazz club, Easter services, home-cooked meals, foot massages, snack at the Waffle House with grandkids, etc. It was also a good week for exercising, although all I can do right now is walk. Currently I’m working on the “less is more” approach to life. You simply can’t ramp it up week after week and month after month without it taking a toll. I am fully convinced that God didn’t make a mistake when He created me with a type-A personality, but that’s no excuse for carelessness. Right now I’m trying to remember a few things:
Running is only a sport. It’s not the core of life. In other words, get perspective.
You will have good days and bad days.
You will come through on the other side.
My value isn’t determined by how many races I finish or even start.
It’s always good to reassess your goals.
Acceptance is a key part of life.
Learn from past mistakes.
Believe me, I’m not saying this is easy. It takes patience to overcome setbacks. The key is finding what works for you. Will you lose fitness by not running? Yessiree. In fact, you lose fitness twice as fast as you gain it. But that’s true of anything in life. That means, for example, if you’ve just finished a year of Greek it will take you less than half that time to lose what you acquired despite all of your hard work and study. The key is constant use. If you are a former Greek student and are currently in a dark place, readFive Things to Do Until You Master Greek andLetter to My Greek Students, written by yours truly. One thing is guaranteed: if you put in the time and make the effort, great things can happen.
Well, gotta get this “road on the show.” A few pix:
1) The boys shore do love them werffles.
2) Out for some exercise in Trussville, Alabama.
3) My granddaughter performing at the Alabama School of the Fine Arts in B-Ham. Can you spot her?
4) Live music in downtown Columbus, Georgia. I love me some jazz!
5) In front of the Infantry Museum at Fort Benning. Karen’s husband was just promoted to Sergeant. Go Tino!
6) The River Walk in Columbus was flooded, so no biking this trip.
7) My grandson Chesley watches his dad fertilize one of our fields while I was away.
8) Shout out to Steve Booth for lecturing in my NT class yesterday. Steve is academic dean and professor of New Testament at the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary. His topic was “Selected Peak Markings in the Gospel of John.” Pretty awesome.
9) I read this book during my trip. So many great takeaways.
Wednesday, April 17
5:10 AM I’ve been reading a very interesting book on leadership. It’s not a “Christian” book per se but still it has some good principles. One chapter is devoted to the leader’s family. In it the author says that our family relationships are the most important sources of happiness in our lives. We draw strength and encouragement from the love of our kin. But, he says, we have to be very careful not to be lulled into thinking that our efforts to sustain these relationships can be put on the back burner. Even when we think our relationships are healthy, we still can’t take them for granted. This means that the most important time to invest in building strong families is, paradoxically, when on the surface it appears that it’s not necessary.
I’ve often told you that I feel family-rich. And I am. But we make a sincere effort to invest in each others’ lives. Solid relationships happen to people who are diligent, careful, loving, and attentive to the needs of others. No one is immune from a souring relationship. We’ve all been there. If you haven’t, just wait a little longer.
My kids have been with me through thick and thin. They’ve helped me adjust to life as a single parent. They’ve given me invaluable advice about how to manage the houses and land. We spent hundreds of hours on the phone together that first year after Becky died. They grieved with me and not merely for me. I have indeed experienced family at its best. When I have a need, they rally to my side.
Today I leave to visit my kids who live in Alabama and Georgia. I love these visits. They provide familiarity and security in a world that sometimes seems out of kilter. They also remind me of the past that I had lost — but in a good sort of way. I recognize that my children will respond to the tragedies in their lives in part on how I cared for them as their father. Still, I realize that all relationships are fragile. They require nurturing. We need to be present in each others’ lives. Becky’s death drove me to find a source of love that I couldn’t find in myself, and to a large degree I found it in family. My family reminds me every day that I’m not alone as I face the future. They challenge me to believe and inspire me to serve. I’m grateful that I can keep their company and learn from them. I will forever be discovering and experiencing new dimensions of what it means to be a father and a grandfather. I want to preserve the heritage Becky bequeathed to us. But we also have our own story to live out, our own destiny to fulfill.
My soul has grown because of the love and grace extended to me by my family. God is growing me through them, making my life fuller and larger and filling it with Himself. I couldn’t be more thankful to God.
Tuesday, April 16
5:30 PM Since you asked about my running (wait — did you ask?), let me bring you up to speed. As you know, I’ve been running for 4 years now. My first ever marathon was almost exactly 3 years ago in Cincinnati — the Flying Pig. Since that race, I’ve been pushing pretty hard — 17 half marathons, 14 full marathons, 4 triathlons, one 31-mile ultra, and countless 5Ks and 10Ks. In all of these races my body felt like you always want it to feel — like a sponge. Your body should be able to absorb all the training and races you do, and (hopefully) you find yourself slowly getting stronger and better. But my last two marathons — one 10 weeks ago and the other only 4 weeks ago — took me in the opposite direction. I felt extremely fatigued after each race, and during the marathon I did a month ago I even experienced mid-race something I had never felt before — my heart fluttering wildly. This was a first for me, and right then and there I knew that something must be amiss. The only wise thing for me to do was to stop running altogether and seek the advice of a good cardiologist, which I am now doing. Yesterday I had both an echo cardiogram and a treadmill stress test. I felt they both went well. In fact, the techs told me they saw absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. But they’re not the doctor. I meet with him next week Thursday after I get back from vacationing with my kids and teaching my 4 classes on campus. I am asking God for the wisdom and strength I need to endure the trial I’m facing. I’ll be honest. I want to run again, badly. But the truth is, for now all I can do is walk and then only if I can keep my BPM (beats per minute) below 80 percent of my maximum heart rate. Here’s the thing, though. As I walk — as I do each and every day — I’m finding myself relaxing in the knowledge that God knows all about my struggles and is in the furnace with me. Deena Kastor, of the movie Spirit of the Marathon fame, once said that runners go through both good and bad patches, and when you go through a bad patch you will eventually come out on the other side. I know that it is true because I have seen it time and again in my own life. I truly believe with all my heart that I can get “back into the race” — though the “race” might need some redefining at this stage of the game. If so, I’m good with that. I really am.
The Christian attitude toward suffering and affliction is truly revolutionary. I try to imagine what life would be like without Jesus and I simply can’t fathom it. “Do not be afraid, man greatly beloved. All will be well with you. Be strong, be strong” was the angel’s message to Daniel when his strength was about to fail him in the lion’s den. I saw how God sustained Becky through 4 years of suffering. Like Jesus, she was in anguish of soul as she pursued the course of her Father. Yet she was never a victim of her sufferings. She never once said, “Woe is me.” Hannah Whitehall Smith, in her book Religious Fanaticism, wrote:
A quiet steadfast holding of the human will to the will of God and a peaceful resting in His love and care is of infinitely greater value in the religious life than the most intense emotions of the most wonderful experiences that have ever been known by the greatest mystic of them all.
Becky was an overcomer because she had her hope fixed on the grace that was to be hers when Jesus Christ is revealed. By God’s grace, I know I can too. Meanwhile, I’m so grateful to Him for:
The ability to exercise every day even if at a slower pace than I’m used to.
The excellent health care I enjoy as a result of my employer’s generous health insurance plan.
The desire to make small changes in my eating habits that will pay rich dividends in time.
The God-given ability to embrace the discomfort and to know that life is always filled with ups and downs.
The pleasure of cooking my own meals and not dying from food poisoning when I’m finished.
The happiness of rediscovering the joy of great music.
The realization that I am nothing but a clay pot — common stuff, easily replaceable, but holding a precious treasure.
Did you know that very few records are broken at the Boston Marathon? That’s because there are two kinds of marathon races. The first is called a paced race that has a designated number of runners whose job is to set a fast pace and allow the other runners to tuck in behind them, protected from the wind. The other kind is the non-paced race. When records are set, it’s always in paced races like Chicago. At Boston, which doesn’t have pacers, there are usually slower times because most runners hate running out in front and serving as a windbreaker.
In just 3 weeks the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincy will be upon us. At this point I have no idea idea if I will be strong enough to participate in it. But if I do, my goal will be a very simple one: to get the very best out of the body God has given me and to realize my full potential as a runner who is 66 years of age. If I do make it to Cincy, and if I do cross the finish line, I know I will feel as happy as if I had won the race. And I know that I will draw so much encouragement from all those runners ahead of me who are setting the pace and breaking the wind so that I can run the race I’m capable of. I love how the book of Hebrews calls us to run our race with endurance by “fixing our eyes on Jesus.” Our attitude toward our struggles arises out of our life with Him. Though an old pot, my body holds a priceless treasure because it holds Him. Yes, the race is always hard. But Jesus always supplies what we need to complete it. Blogging friend, my body has found in running (and now walking) all it needs to know or do. I am not disappointed that it has so few other skills. As such, the body is not to be profaned.
Remember: Right now, somewhere in the world, someone is planning their day tomorrow without realizing they’re going to die before then. It’s what we do today that counts. It’s not the achievement but the unremitting effort to achieve that marks the successful life.
7:04 AM Boston 2019 is now history. The Kenyans and Ethiopians excelled as usual. Go East Africa!
The weather forecast called for rain and a serious head wind. But as things turned out, the weather ended up being beautiful if a bit on the humid side. For many runners yesterday, the race wasn’t about winning or a new PR. It wasn’t about time. It wasn’t about age group ratings. It was about stepping over the finish line of their very first Boston Marathon. It was about chasing a dream and seeing it come to pass. If you’ve ever been involved in sports, you know exactly what I’m talking about. I like what Pope John Paul once said about athletics:
Every type of sport carries within itself a rich patrimony of values, which must always be kept present in order to be realized.
The training in reflection, the proper commitment of one’s own energies, the education of will, the control of sensitivity, the methodical preparation, perseverance, resistance, the endurance of fatigue and wounds, the domination of one’s own faculties, the sense of joy, the acceptance of rules, the spirit of solidarity, loyalty to commitment, generosity toward the winners, serenity in defeat, patience towards all — these are a complex of moral realties which demand a true asceticism and validly contribute to forming the human being and the Christian.
On the high school track where I live the football team has already begun training. Can you believe it? “I am my body’s sternest master,” wrote Paul. After all, bodily exercise does bring about limited benefits — that is, benefits limited to the schema of this age. The Baptist subculture to which I belong jokes about our self-indulgence and our failure to exercise any kind of self-discipline when it comes to what we put in our mouths. Sure, some of us are overweight due to physiological reasons. But I imagine the vast majority simply are guilty of eating too much and eating the wrong things. I suppose a great many don’t do any form of regular exercise. But the bodies we are given are meant to be cared for. Paul calls them a “tent” in which we live temporarily until we die. Even then, that’s not the end of our tent. One day we will be clothed again and will spend eternity praising God for the good gift that came to us when we were clothed with our tent. Sadly, we have come to imagine that caring for the tent is somehow an “extra” for the Christian. Nothing could be further from the spirit of discipleship. A body needs care, just like your pets do.
So how’s your tent today? For we all have one. In my case, the tent is tall (6 feet 4), half Romanian and half Scots-Welsh, oldish (66), male, with blue eyes, crooked teeth, and a heavy bone structure. I wasn’t given a choice about any of these things when I was born. But I have a choice about how I use them today. “There’s a time for every activity under heaven,” wrote the Philosopher. We are given only the present in which to choose whom we will serve and how we will serve Him.
Why do people run Boston? For some, it’s the prize money for sure. But for most, it’s a symbol of hard work, determination, and the pursuit of personal fitness and health. I personally will never run Boston but I understand why people do. It’s a measurable goal. To tell you the truth, I’m just happy that I can still be up and about every day. Any day I can get out of bed and enjoy God’s beautiful creation is a win for me. I keep craving that next challenge. I’ll be happy if I can stay in good enough shape to do 1 marathon a year. When I run, I’m a 5-year old with sneakers. How about you? Whether it’s running Boston or eating clean or writing your first book or climbing your first 14er in the Rockies or sticking it out in an unfulfilling marriage, if that’s your goal I’m your #1 cheerleader. Whatever goal you’re pursuing, you should be proud of yourself. Good for you. The goal of every true disciple is to please God. But remember: It’s not all Spirit-control. Self-control is needed too. Paul willingly disciplined himself. But only the will that is surrendered to God can do this.
Sunday, April 14
7:20 PM “Strive to choose, not that which is easiest, but that which is most difficult. Do not deprive your soul of the agility which it needs to mount up to Him.” These are the famous words of St. John of the Cross, and perhaps the motto of my life. I think back to my last year of college. As a Bible major, I was required to take 2 years of Greek. I enrolled in Greek 1 and dropped out after a mere 3 weeks. I wanted to give up. Maybe I should have given up. But I was determined to graduate with a Bible major (and not one in Christian Education) and so I pressed on doggedly until I found a Greek course that I could understand (Moody Bible Institute). It was then that I learned something I hadn’t learned in all my years of schooling in Hawaii. God desires that we love Him with our minds. Up to that point, to say that I had an idle mind would be no exaggeration. “There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid the real labor of thinking,” wrote Joshua Reynolds. How many times did I swallow, gullibly, what I was being spoon fed at church and on Christian talk radio? How many times did I use surfing as an escape from reason, a chance to lose myself in creation without ever contemplating the Creator?
Today I’m not sure things are much improved. My mind wanders in a thousand directions (as you can probably tell already from reading this post). It’s almost like being back in Hawaii, knowing little besides waves and wipeouts. And then I recall men like Harry Sturz of Biola or Bo Reicke of Basel. They were thinkers. As I got to know them, I began to realize that my problem was that I never truly thought. Not in any depth at least. Holiness is vastly more than adopting a certain lifestyle. It engages in the most dangerous form of behavior of all. It actually thinks. It is repelled by its blindness. It abhors the self-indulgence that passes for scholarship. From time to time I’ve found it necessary to reevaluate everything I believe in and hope for. How many of my values are based on the wisdom of this world and not on the kingdom of God? Just because we’re “thinking” doesn’t mean we’re thinking Christ’s thoughts after Him. “May the mind of Christ my Savior/Live in me from day to day” becomes my constant prayer. But setting one’s mind on heavenly things is never easy. The natural mind prefers to go with the flow. It prefers argument to obedience. There’s no end of conformities we are capable of substituting for thinking. If we truly wanted to rethink current events, would we not find the teaching of Scripture absolutely revolutionary? Truth that contradicts the Bible is not truth at all. If I am to love the Lord my God with all my mind, I must give it over to Him.
Our great model in this, as in all of life, is Jesus. He did nothing apart from the Father. And thus He honored the Father. No wonder Paul wrote that we are to set our minds, not on earthly things, but on heavenly things. Worldly wisdom always exalts itself against God. Forward progress is always made through a very narrow gate. But what is the alternative?
“Strive to choose, not that which is easiest, but that which is most difficult.” The minute I think that I no longer have to make that choice is the day when I stop being a true Christian.
6:14 PM Well, it looks like the weather will be a challenge for the Boston Marathon tomorrow. Rainfall’s a lock in the morning, though the temps will be milder than last year. Still, that’s crummy weather two years in a row.
The dirtiest word for a runner isn’t rain, however. It’s heat. Which goes to show: We runners obsess about the weather. A few months ago it was too cold. Now it’s too warm. Call it cyclical whining, but it’s real. On a warm day, it’s important to take in 6 ounces of water every 15 minutes. You might even have to adjust your pace. (I know that from sad experience.) Speaking of running, I haven’t been doing any. But walk I can, and my goal is to walk at least 1 hour every day.
And eat clean. The 10 pounds I’ve lost so far are due, I think, to not eating out so much and to cutting out fatty snacks, including soda and fruit drinks. (Minute Maid lemonade actually has more calories than a Coke.) My dinner tonight was fairly simple: Curry chicken with jasmine rice and fresh corn on the cob. And a glass of delicious well water.
I know this looks like a lot of food, but earlier I biked 10 miles and worked up a hefty appetite. I hope to get back into running next week if my doctor gives me the go-ahead. The Flying Pig is 3 weeks away so there’s no time to lose in training. Like I’ve said, if I have to walk the entire race I can but I’m really hoping I can run/walk like I normally do. The weather will play a big role. I’m a huge wuss about heat. But I promise not to whine … much.
7:12 AM At the end of his biography, Malcolm Muggeridge writes something truly profound. He’s talking about the British government but his words, I think, apply to the current political situation in the U.S.
The Apostle Paul, as usual, was right when he told the early Christians that all earthly authority must be accepted since it could only exist to the degree that it was acceptable to God — that is to say, appropriate. When it ceased to be so, it would collapse.
Think about this. Instead of inviting the polarizing ambiguity of politics into our kingdom fellowships and fighting over what we think Caesar should do (and, of course, our side knows better than your side what government should do), we could stop blaming government for what it is or isn’t doing and partner with whatever other churches are willing to mimic Jesus, forsake privilege and power, and advance the Jesus-looking kingdom. In the spiritual realm, it seems to me that we’re spending a lot of time treating symptoms instead of the disease. An aspirin may remove the symptom but there may well be a more serious cause of the headache. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t call attention to symptoms. But the basic trouble is the old self-life that doesn’t consent to identification with Christ.
A lot more could be said (and needs to be said — see my aforementioned book if you’re interested), but this post is already longer than I wanted it to be.
Saturday, April 13
5:18 PM This afternoon I’ve been watching YouTubes of Malcolm Muggeridge, and one of them merits at least a very brief comment. In it, Muggeridge opines:
To identify Christian hopes with an earthly cause, however ostensibly noble, is disastrous, because all earthly causes end in total disappointment.
It was my reading of Muggeridge (as well as Jacque Ellul) that launched a path that ended up in my book Christian Archy.
Muggeridge (and Ellul) taught me a powerful lesson about God’s work in the world. Participating in political causes as Christians inevitably requires unacceptable compromise. That’s not to say that Christians shouldn’t be involved in government or politics. But it’s most certainly not their duty to do so. The most important part of Christian initiation is the new birth, for without the new life that comes to us through conversion, we simply have not begun living out the kingdom of God. Being a Republican or a Democrat has nothing to do with it. What would happen if the church took the words of Muggeridge to heart? What if Christians did what Jesus called them and empowered them to do? I submit we would do more than the combined efforts of all the world’s governments and political parties put together. Sadly, a secular world looks at the church and concludes that the only kind of power most Christians think makes an actual difference is political power. But our job is to manifest God’s scandalous love by using our time, talents, and resources to serve the world.
The one thing I like most about Muggeridge is his call to regeneration. There must always be a surrender to the claims of Jesus. And consequently, there must always be a lifestyle change. Without the new birth, we have good reason to doubt that Christian discipleship has begun. The older I get, the surer I am that this message of Muggeridge’s — this message of the New Testament — needs to be at the very center of our proclamation as followers of Jesus Christ. The new birth is crucial, but it is often muted or absent in churches that are into the maintenance of the chairs on the Titanic. Christianity begins with conversion, a personal encounter with the risen Christ. I thank God that I heard this call to conversion when I was 8 years old. I am well aware that not all are so fortunate.
Watch for yourself:
Blessings,
Dave
7:50 AM I’m mentally TOAST this morning. Maybe I’m trying to pack too much into my life (I don’t think I told you, but this weekend I have to finish grading a master’s thesis and then read a 378-page manuscript a friend from South Africa sent me for an endorsement). I am still a bit tired after the exertions of the past two days but not too tired to exercise. Sometimes I find that exercise is just what my body needs to rejuvenate itself. One of my points in this post (and I just realized it) is that being mentally tired can actually make us physically tired. I find that I’m at my worst physically when I’m worn down mentally. All of that to say that I’m not going to touch anything mentally rigorous until I’ve had a chance to restore vitality to my body. Then I’m going to rest up and pamper myself.
It’s raining today so my workout will be at the Y. If you’ve been been reading this blog for a while, you know that I prefer the track or the trail to the treadmill any day. Still, the treadmill can give you a satisfying workout. I love my workouts. And I love my sleep. Everything in-between is icing on the cake., What is your schedule today? Think (but don’t obsess) about what you are doing and why. Are you doing too much? Are your activities imbalanced (either too much mental activity or too much physical activity)? Are you sleep deprived? This happens to the best of us. Some days are just tougher than others.
Health is truly a privilege and a gift. Don’t abuse it.
Friday, April 12
7:38 PM Hello blogging buds. Hope your week was wonderful. Mine was exhaustingly delightful. So, you’re wondering, how was Winston-Salem?
Splendid! The university was kind enough to put me up in the historic Brookstown Inn (ca. 1837).
I imagine these rafters are original to the building.
For meals, I hung out with their faculty.
Or ate with their awesome students.
I lectured in chapel.
I spoke at a luncheon.
And I sat in on two of their Greek classes.
Of course, none of this matters much to you. You’ve been busy pursuing your own ways of serving Jesus. Whatever we do, however, it’s nice to be able to share it with others, don’t you think? I loved being with my new friends at Piedmont. To equip and send students into a lifetime of service for Christ and their fellow human beings is one of the most treasured privileges that has ever come my way. The harmony on campus was beautiful to behold. The worship music left me open-mouthed. Its content and musicality was as much a delightful surprise as was the person using sign language to lead their deaf students in praise and worship. I had several more surprises — meeting former students, signing books, listening to the president share with me his heart for missions and global education. I have come away time and time again from lectureships like this one with the conviction that God is doing a new work today in Christian higher education.
Thanks again for all your prayers, by the way. I’m feeling much better. I’m still a little worn out after my last marathon, but I managed to get in an hour of exercise both yesterday and today. Overall, lots of good, God things are happening in my life right now, and I can’t tell you how excited I am to be able to visit my kids and their families next week in Alabama and Georgia. But let me conclude by saying thank you to Piedmont for hosting me and letting me be part of their annual lecture series. I hope I wasn’t too boring!
Thursday, April 11
7:15 AM I’m no expert on world missions, but by God’s providence I’ve been around the globe a few times. It has been an enormous privilege to minister in many countries. It humbles me to think that I’ve had a front row seat to see the workings of God in many parts of the world. It began in 1978, when Becky and I spent 3 months in West Germany. Some aspects of that trip were ludicrous: I thought I could speak German, but frequently made a fool of myself. I was often corrected ruthlessly. Still, I was privileged to see the Lord’s hand in the work our brass octet did as we traveled the length of breadth of that nation. Even in those early days, I realized that God can take any talent we have and use it for His service. The very evening we arrived in Seeheim after 24 hours of travel, I was asked to usher for a crusade being given in town by Joni Earickson. All I wanted to do was sleep. But I was young, and besides, who could pass up an opportunity to hear Joni speak? Her talk was electric. Such were some of the excitements of ministry in the early days of my life as a missionary of Christ.
Later I began traveling to South Korea to teach. I’ve made 6 such trips. This was my first real exposure to Asian Christianity, and I was fascinated to see the appeal of Jesus to the students I taught. At first I thought I was an abject failure. The students would never look at me when when I lectured. Later I was told that this was a mark of respect in that culture. You learn something new every day. My trips to Korea reinforced my determination to make Christ known wherever in the world I went and as long as I could travel internationally.
I have the happiest of memories of my 17 trips to Ethiopia. Simply to see where Becky grew up made an enormous impression on me. Today, during my lectureship at Piedmont International University, I plan on sharing some stories of our visits to Africa. Our repeated visits to Ethiopia were not without costs: malaria for me, and unspeakable disappoints for Becky. I began turning my attention more to Europe, especially the countries that were once in the Soviet Union. I can’t always recall why I was initially invited to visit Romania or Ukraine, but I was, and I delighted in the fellowship I enjoyed with my brothers and sisters there. I remember well a lectureship I gave for a week in Romania. It began in Oradea and finished up in Bucharest. Midweek I happened to be in Cluj, which my mother’s family of 12 left in 1916 in order to make its way to the U.S. It was a bit embarrassing for me not to be able to speak a word of the language, even though I am half Romanian. But it was wonderful to see the dedication and commitment of young people with had practically nothing, except a deep love for Jesus. When later I returned to Asia (13 further trips), what struck me was the way the new generation of Christians were taking risks for God and seeing fruit. I felt a sense of shame that we in the West are sometimes ignorant of the persecution of our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world, and I found myself praying that God would fan into flame the small fires of renewal to be found in churches where I live and work in North Carolina and Virginia.
I can’t help but wonder how different how things might have been for me had Becky and I not taken that first trip to West Germany. It’s remarkable to see what the Lord is doing all over the world. And it is remarkable to see more and more North Americans becoming intentional about missions both at home and abroad. This speaks eloquently of the free grace of Christ that lies at the heart of the Gospel.
All this, and more, will be on my heart and mind as I travel to speak at Piedmont. We need Christian centers like this, ready and willing to send forth students into the harvest. There is nothing gimmicky about the Gospel. You just follow King Jesus in obedience and love. I’m convinced that the churches in the Majority World have far more to teach us than we have to teach them. The future of the universal church now lies with them. The growth of the church in Asia, Africa, and Latin America totally eclipses anything in the West. Today I hope to share some of the lessons I’ve learned through my travels to these places. I’ll have the opportunity to pass out complimentary copies of my booklet Will You Join the Cause of Global Missions? My appeal to my audience will be as basic as ABC:
Ask God to show you the needs of the people you hope to reach.
Be practical and sacrificial in responding to them.
Commit yourself to action.
There is nothing iconoclastic about the Great Commission. Partnership is the key word. We have a long way to go in our churches in America, but the job can be done provided we are prepared to make sacrifices of our time, prayer, finances, and commitment.
Thanks for reading,
Dave
Radu Gheorghita, a Romanian-American who teaches New Testament at Midwestern Seminary, served as my translator during my lectureship in Romania.
Here I’m trying to give my best impression of Count Dracula since we’re standing in front of his castle in Transylvania.
Wednesday, April 10
8:12 PM Update:
1) I got in a 1-hour walk every day this week at Joyner Park in the heart of Wake Forest. The weather could not have been more perfect. I am feeling fit and strong. Seriously, God is good.
2) The great joy: Going through 1 John 1:5-10 with my Greek classes. Fun and extremely satisfying.
3) This came today.
I hesitate to open it lest I spend all night reading it. One quote from Muggeridge and only one (for now):
Of all the distortions of scripture — and heaven knows there have plenty of them in our time — the most disastrous is surely to suggest that when our Lord insisted that his Kingdom was not of this world, he meant that it was.
That is so good it hurts. The simple fact is that people who share the same faith can disagree fundamentally about politics. The one thing we can’t do is allow someone other than Jesus to be Lord.
Well, I gotta boogie and get ready for my trip to Winston-Salem tomorrow. By the way, my talk (and its Power Point) at Liberty U. is now online should you need a sedative tonight.
Monday, April 8
7:45 AM For any of my Greek students who may be reading my blog this morning, let me congratulate you. This week we begin our study of the book of 1 John, and you will now be translating directly from your Greek New Testaments. (Quiet! Did you hear that? My students breathing a deep sigh of relief that they are no longer translating my silly made-up Greek sentences or short excerpts from the Greek New Testament.) In all seriousness, this is a landmark week for us. And where shall we begin? None other than 1 John 1. Here we read much about sin and confession and forgiveness, but the theme of this passage is something altogether different. Anyone care to guess what it is? It is koinōnia, the Greek word most often translated “fellowship” in our English versions. Our passage is perhaps the classic New Testament passage on the theme of fellowship in the entire Bible.
What can be said about it?
1) The basis for Christian fellowship is the fellowship we enjoy with God. Note the 4 occurrences of koinonia in this chapter. The reference is either to our fellowship with God or to our fellowship with one another. The former is the basis for the latter. “Our fellowship,” writes John, “is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” Now, to have “fellowship” with something is to have a share in it. John says that we all share the same Father. That’s what every Christian has in common with other Christians. And because God is our Father, we are all brothers and sisters. Then, John writes, our fellowship is with Jesus Christ. If God is our Father, Jesus Christ is our Savior, the propitiation for our sins, the means by which God’s wrath had been satisfied, thus bringing about reconciliation between us and God (2:1). Finally, we have fellowship with God’s Spirit. Although this truth is not enunciated here in chapter 1, later John writes, “This is how we know we live in Him and He in us: He has given us His Spirit” (4:13). Thus the Christian has fellowship with God as Father, with Christ as Savior, and with the Holy Spirit as Sanctifier, the one who leads us into all truth and holiness (2:20-27). This fellowship with God is the basis for all human fellowship we enjoy in the body of Christ. In other words, our fellowship with one another is dependent on our fellowship with God. If we have anything in common with each other, it is only because we have something in common with God. And we do. We all possess the same Father, we all possess the same Son, and we all possess the same Spirit.
So then, fellowship with God is the basis of our Christian fellowship and unity. There is no other basis. And all our differences, and differences we have galore, are eclipsed by the brightness of our common inheritance. Take, for instance, the color of our skin. Why on earth does it matter if our skin happens to be a certain color? What does it matter what language we speak or what accent we have? What does it matter what schools we attended or didn’t attend? What does it matter how much money we earn? What does it matter what political affiliation we espouse or whether we home school or government school our children? All these differences are so superficial as to be almost irrelevant in comparison with what unites us. However great our differences may seem to be, we have this in common: We have the same Father, the same Savior, and the same indwelling Sanctifier, and how I wish the church would demonstrate this. The more interracial and international and intersocial our Christian fellowship is the better. For the more diversity we have, the easier it will be able to prove to the world the truth about Christian fellowship, which is based not on external similarities but on our common participation in God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
2) Now look at verses 6 and 7 of I John 1. Here John writes that fellowship with God, and therefore fellowship with each other, is impossible if we are walking in darkness — in ungodliness and untruthfulness. But if we walk in the light as opposed to the darkness — in the light of holiness and in the light of truth — then we have fellowship not only with God but with one another. Here John is talking not about the basis of Christian fellowship but about the obligations of Christian fellowship. If fellowship with God puts us into fellowship with one another (and it does), what will this mutual fellowship look like? Well, it will always look like a meaningful one-another relationship. Fellowship with God puts us into inescapable reciprocal obligations. In Greek class last week we talked about the reciprocal pronoun allēlous, “one another.” The word describes an obligation that is reciprocal. It isn’t a one-sided but a two-sided relationship: Me to you and you to me. Christian fellowship is, we might say, one-anotherness. The church is not a train car where people sit together and go in the same direction but have no meaningful relationships. It is more like a fireside, where the family meets together and where we all share common pursuits and common interests and converse with one another. Our common relationship binds us all together in a warm bond of love. A biblical illustration, and one that Paul frequently uses, is that of the human body. As Christians, we are all members of the body of Christ. That is, we are members of one another, whether we like it nor not. We belong to one another. And because we’re all members of the same body, we each have a duty to care for that body. We are to love one another, serve one another, provoke one another to love and good works, pray for one another, admonish one another, bear one another’s burdens, etc. Incidentally, at the root of the Greek wordkoinōnia is the adjective koinos, “common.” Christians share things in common, or should. So it shouldn’t surprise us that in Acts 2, one of the ways Christian fellowship was exhibited was by the fact the believers in Jerusalem had all things in common. As a result, no one had a need. Not a single person! Here in 1 John, the writer asserts that we cannot simply stand by when we see a need without doing anything about it. “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with mere words or speech but with actions and with truth” (3:17-18). If God so loved us that He gave His Son to die for us, we ought also to love one another. This is the basic obligation we have as Christians to one another. We are to receive one another as Christ has received us without judging one another. This is Paul’s teaching in Romans 14-15. We are to forbear one another. We are to submit to one another. We are to receive one another into our homes. And it’s always a characteristic of love to serve the other. This is what Jesus did when He took a towel and washed His disciples’ feet. We serve each other by caring for one another and by building one another up. We seek to help one another by exercising our spiritual gifts for the benefit of one another. We encourage one another and comfort one another. And if we fail to do this, we are walking in darkness. We are sinning against the truth.
Are we fixed on this kind of one-anothering? Or are we leading sinful, self-centered lives? Let’s beware of a religious aloofness that is the hallmark of Pharisaism. Nothing develops our own spiritual life as sharing our blessings with others. I personally know many Christians who are outstanding examples of this truth. They are constantly giving and sacrificing for others. They not only believe the Gospel but practice it. Here is a grace that can be practiced anywhere and by any Christian. There is nothing weak or effeminate about love. Anyone can be selfish. Only great souls are truly caring.
Reminder: Don’t just translate a Greek passage to get its meaning. Find its message for today. You never know how God might speak to you through the passage you’re translating, so soak it up and be PRESENT.
Sunday, April 7
7:20 PM Well, it’s April, and I’m reminded of a scene in Elizabeth and Her German Garden. In case you haven’t heard of this book, it’s a semi-autobiographical look into the life of a British woman who marries a German and moves to her wealthy husband’s estate in Germany. Visitors come and go, even when she wishes they wouldn’t. Elizabeth can be snarky at times, but she’s always honest. I love this quote about “New Year’s resolutions” made by one of her visitors:
I find my resolutions carry me very nicely into the spring. I revise them at the end of each month, and strike out the unnecessary ones. By the end of April they have been so severely revised that there are none left.
Did you make any New Year’s resolutions for 2019? If so, what’s their status as of April 7? Someone once said (probably George Washington or Beyonce) that the trouble with our “resolutions” in the plural is that we lack “resolution” in the singular. We lack the determination and the motivation to carry them out. So we struggle to make our resolutions more resolute, if you will.
Well, there’s one resolution I made in the New Year and, though I’ve only been partially successful at keeping it, I’m trying to make it a daily habit. It’s based on Rom. 12:1-2 and it involves doing 3 things every morning before getting out of bed:
1) Thank God for His mercies. Paul writes, “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s many mercies to us, to present your body as a living sacrifice unto God.” The mercy Paul has in mind is the culmination of 11 chapters of argument. These 11 chapters describe both our need for God’s mercy and His provision of mercy. Here Paul demonstrates our sin and our guilt, and then he shows us how God has made provision for our sin by sending His Son to identity with our sin and guilt. In this Jesus, this God-man, God condemned sin when He took our flesh. He bore our condemnation, became our substitute, and paid the penalty for us. That’s the very essence of the Gospel: Jesus died in our place. And if we run to Jesus and put our trust in Him as the only refuge there is for sinners, God pronounces us righteous and adopts us into His family. Not only that, He begins to transform us into the likeness of Christ. All we have in Christ is the result of the mercies of God, and these undeserved blessings from the hand of God should motivate us to live our lives day by day for Him and not for ourselves. Could it be that our resolutions are so quickly abandoned because we have forgotten the mercies of God? No wonder we’re so irresolute. But it’s God’s mercy that draws out our commitment to Him.
2) Present my body unto God. Not only my “spirit” or my “heart.” God wants the whole of me, including my body. The New Testament knows nothing of the Greek disparaging of the human body. We are embodied spirits, and our bodies are vehicles through which we love and serve and find our pleasure in God in the midst of all our earthiness and physicality. God has given us feet to go places. He’s given us hands that can create and paint and caress and serve and cook and clean and play musical instruments with. And even if our hands can’t paint a beautiful picture, our teeth can.
God has given us ears by which we enjoy music and listen sympathetically to one another and find pleasure in the sounds of nature and the cooing of a newborn baby. God’s given us eyes with which to see His handiwork in creation and in each other’s faces. And I am to present it all to God for His direction, blessing, and control. Have you ever done this? Have you ever examined your bodily parts and asked God to direct, bless, and control each one? When and if we learn to do this, it will result, says Paul, in the true worship of God. The question is, “What am I going to do with this body of mine today?”
3) Pray that God would help me not to be conformed to this world but to be more and more transfigured into the likeness of Christ. The fashion of the world never loses its allure. It will always pull us away from God and seek to direct our lives. Will we live according to the will of God or according to the pull of the world? This question presses upon us every day. The world says, “Get.” God says, “Give.” The world says, “Get even.” God says, “Do not repay evil for evil.” The world says, “Seek to be first.” God says, “If you want to be first, you must become the slave of all.” The world says, “Greatness is measured by one’s accomplishments.” God says, “Greatness is measured by one’s service.” The world says, “Don’t let anybody push you around.” God says, “The meek will inherit the earth.” We have to choose. None of us can serve two masters.
So there you have it. Each morning my desire is to 1) thank God for His mercies, 2) come to Him in prayer and present my body to Him and say “Take all of me as a living sacrifice,” and 3) ask Him to protect me from a world that is determined to squeeze me into its mold. I know this sounds simple. And it is, in theory at least. It’s putting it into practice that gets tough. As I wrote this morning, I believe the greatest work of God in our lives is not in the occasional burst of the miraculous but in the day-in and day-out testimony of Christian living in the mediocre and mundane and monotonous. The Holy Spirit has been given to us to make all this possible, every day of our lives. The Bible teaches that our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked and that our carnal minds are in rebellion against God. Hence we must seek His grace if we are to see His power released in our lives.
In Rom. 12:1-2, Paul begged his readers in Rome: Present your bodies to God and allow yourselves to be transformed by a renewed mind. Thomas Schreiner believes that these verses encapsulate the themes of all of chapters 12-15: “If all the exhortations contained here could be boiled down to their essence, they would be reduced to the words: Give yourselves wholly to God; do not be shaped by the old world order, but let new thought patterns transform your life” (Romans, p. 640).
The Holy Spirit dwells within but we have the power of choice. We can obey or disobey Him. But if we obey Him, there is not bondage but glorious liberty. The Christian who accepts Christ’s daily control is under no cold dictatorship. For our God is also our loving Father.
1:12 PM Last week in Greek class we learned some additional pronouns, including the possessive pronoun/adjective emos. This word is perhaps the most emphatic way of saying “my” in Greek.
Here’s an example from our textbook.
The speaker is Jesus. Not only does He use a form of emos here, but He postpositions it, which tends to add even more emphasis. We had lots of fun in class trying to come up with a way of translating this nuance into English. “It is My judgment that is just” came in a close second. But the class’s favorite was, “It is My judgment, and Mine alone, that is just.”
I thought of this during our communion service today. Here’s the text of the Lord’s Supper from 1 Corinthians 11.
Notice how Jesus uses an emphatic form of emos when He refers to eating and drinking “in remembrance of Me.” Hence my scribble, “Jesus is the focus!”
Friend, we don’t come to the Lord’s table to remember our sins. We come to remember our Savior. We come to remember His mercies. I say this because I grew up in a church in Hawaii that asked everyone to examine themselves before the Supper to see if they were “worthy” that day to partake of the bread and the cup. But Jesus never invited anyone to His table. The word “Do” in the expression “Do this” is in the imperative mood. Besides, no one is worthy to take the elements. That should go without saying. What Paul is referring to here is eating and drinking in an unworthy manner — in this case, eating and drinking before the whole body has assembled, including the poorer members.
Could not our Lord’s Supper observances — where Christ is front and center — be a weekly occurrence in our churches, as they apparently were in the churches of the New Testament (see Acts 20:7)? When Paul insisted that Christ have the preeminence “in all things” (Col. 1:18), I wonder if that included the times when the church was gathered. Our Lord certainly deserves to have the preeminence, but He is a gentleman and will not demand it of us. We must offer it to Him willingly. Are our churches eagerly granting Him the “first place” when we gather as His body? We can and we should.
7:45 AM Happy Sunday! Let’s sit down over a cup of coffee and get caught up. I think we all have a tendency to see life in polar opposites. We are either weak or strong, healthy or ill, rich or poor, successes or failures, etc. We often look at the person with the largest portfolio or the biggest church or the most publications or the bulging muscles as a hero. I’m beginning to think that the opposite is true. I believe weakness is our greatest asset in life. Let me explain.
Not too long ago I was invulnerable. Nothing could slow me down. I was able to schedule dozens of races every year, and I never once had a DNS (Did Not Start) or a DNF (Did Not Finish). I won some age group awards and took home lots of prizes. Running brought me joy and pleasure, even though it wasn’t (and still isn’t) the biggest part of my life.
Then I was struck down with an infirmity after my last marathon. I still don’t exactly know what the problem is, but I’m almost positive it’s an overuse injury. I’ve had to cut back on my running. In fact, right now I can only engage in walking until my body begins to restore itself through rest and healthy eating. What once brought me so much enjoyment is now a source of frustration.
An injury will humble you. It will make you realize that you’re not invulnerable. It will force you to look inside for a source of strength you realize you don’t possess. You begin to understand what Paul meant when he said, “When I am weak, then I am strong.”
Last week, in our NT class, we talked about miracles. I suggested to the class that God’s primary means of displaying His power in this age is not through the overtly miraculous (although He’s certainly capable of healing us miraculously) but through perfecting His strength in the midst of our weaknesses and infirmities. Rather than focusing on the external, it is far better to cultivate inner strength. The thought occurred to me that right now, this very moment, I have everything I need to handle whatever life throws at me because I have Jesus. My strength is nothing less than my vulnerability.
I recall Joni Earickson Tada once being interviewed on a Christian TV show. The interviewer asked her, “Why are you still in your wheelchair? Don’t you have enough faith to be healed?” I wanted to scream, “You fool! Can’t you see a miracle even when it’s staring you in the face? Which is more miraculous — Joni standing up and walking, or that big smile on her face while sitting in her wheelchair?”
My friend, you have that same strength inside of you right now. You don’t have to wait until you’re injured or broken to experience it. Going through times of testing and divine discipline make us stronger. Alas, that’s a truth I need to relearn time and time again. You would think that as a New Testament professor I should know better, right? I am ever so human, but residing within me is all the strength and hope that I could ever need. Vulnerability and humility are two traits I don’t want to live without in my senior years. If we could only see what setbacks are giving us, we would appreciate them more.
As you know, I’ve been working hard at eating decently. I’ve recently made several gignormous changes, including cutting out all junk food and unhealthy sacks. No donuts, no burgers, no fries, no chips, no cookies. For snacks I eat veggies. I have no huge plans for weight loss, but the doctor did suggest I lose 10 pounds to attain my optimum BMI. In a couple of weeks I’m going in for a treadmill stress test so that I can have a better idea of what my VO2Max is before I start running again. I’m trying not to eat out, but when I do dine in a restaurant I try to pick healthy food choices like Korean. I fully understand that if I want a permanent change in my body I have to make permanent changes in my attitude. It’s a long, steady process, but I’ve already seen movement down the scale. “Slow and steady” is my motto for sure. I started my exercise journey just after Becky died 5 years ago, but I still have a long ways to go.
Some things grow mellow just before they spoil. I don’t want to make that mistake as I grow older. Paul kept fighting the good fight of faith to the finish. We should grow easier to live with as time goes by, but we must not mistake gentleness for apathy. It’s so easy to say, “I’ve had my day. Let the younger generation take care of everything.” But I have not “had my day” until my day is over. No Christian is retired from duty to God and others as long as he or she is still on planet earth.
For me, Paul is the best example of this truth. He did not live for fame, pleasure, or success. He sought the “Well done” of his Master. A true Christian is conformed and not merely non-conformed. We are transformed by the renewing of our minds to prove the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Let me say this again: Don’t be afraid of your vulnerability. Thank God for the crisis of faith you are now going through. Suffering does not allow us the luxury of self-pity. Continue believing in God. Even if suffering makes belief in God more difficult, at least for a time, it can give us the security of knowing that He is in control, even when we are not.
Saturday, April 6
8:12 PM I am slowly putting together my agenda and weekly worksheets for my next race. Today I walked as part of my marathon training. This morning I walked for 1 hour, and this evening I walked for 3/4 of an hour. I plan to walk 1 hour every day for the next 30 days. Today I listened to the Monkees while walking. Their music is so timeless. You start listening to A Pleasant Valley Sunday or Daydream Believer and before you know it your hour is up. Walking has been proven to:
Reduce excess weight.
Improve balance and coordination.
Reduce body fat.
Increase your lifespan.
Boost your immune system.
Improve your memory.
Increase your lung function.
Improve blood lipid levels.
Reduce your risk of cancer.
Improve respiration.
Increase your HDL (i.e., good) cholesterol.
Improve your circulation.
Trim your waistline.
Manage high blood pressure.
Clearly, I enjoy running. But I’m coming back from a pretty nasty bout with bronchitis, so I’m going to begin by walking regularly. Overall, it’s a plan my doctor would be proud of.
Do you enjoy walking?
Do you listen to music when you walk?
Do you vary your walking routine?
Just had to add this:
7:45 AM The theme of my lectureship at Piedmont International University next week is “Proclaiming the Faith.” This was the theme given to me by the administration, and I’m utterly delighted with it. I’m determined to stay within the 30-minute time limit I have for the Thursday and Friday sessions, though I do have an entire hour to speak over the lunch break on Thursday. In due course I’ll post my Power Points here. I think one of the best ways we can nurture young Christians is through missions training. It enables them to share in the spreading of the Good News and see it take deep root in their own lives. But it needs to be modeled in their own churches and in the lives of their pastors. All Christians are called to serve the Lord, whether in the land of their birth or in ministry overseas (or both). It’s in serving the Lord through serving others that we develop spiritual muscles. We can serve Him through deeds of compassion or cheerful acts of helpfulness in the workplace or through undaunted witness but mostly, I think, through conforming our lives to His. Love shows itself in a myriad of ways. But if it’s going to attract anybody to the Master, it must embody that practical care for others that characterized the life of Jesus.
Just a brief word about my lecture last week in my NT class, which centered on the history and theology of Pentecostalism and the question of the sign gifts and their use (or nonuse) today. As I mentioned in class, I’m not fond of the term “Charismatic Movement” for the simple reason that all evangelicals — whether Charismatic with a capital “C” or not — are or ought to be charismatic in the sense that we all believe the Holy Spirit is given to equip us for service and mission, for love and worship. The Holy Spirit can’t be muzzled or contained. He blows where He wills. And we should celebrate that. The Charismatic Movement is a challenge to unbelief and intellectualism in the church. A true movement of the Holy Spirit always combines intellect and charism, knowledge and power. Not some but all are called to serve. We all have a ministry to perform. And, as the Book of Acts shows, the Spirit is given primarily for witness-bearing. All Christians have a story to tell, and the Holy Spirit is given to fuel our story-telling until we become enthusiastic witness-bearers. Even if we believe, as I do, that the “baptism with the Holy Spirit” refers to our initial encounter with the life-giving Spirit of God, we still need His love and power for continued witness and service. I know from sad personal experience that it’s possible to possess the Spirit of God and not be led by the same Spirit. One example will suffice, and that is prayer. Prayer is the believer’s lifeline to God, but prayer is impossible without the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives (Rom. 8:26-27). We can’t achieve anything in the service of God unless we are open to the living God acting and working in our lives, and yet how abysmal is my prayer life so often. I don’t know about you, but at least once a day I have to invite the Holy Spirit to full me afresh with His power for holiness and service.Any believer who does not do that regularly is doomed to powerlessness and ineffectiveness. I fear that much of our trouble goes back to over-intellectualism in our classrooms. A radical reform of theological education is one of the most urgent tasks of the church if it is to provide leaders whom people are willing to follow.
Meanwhile, I don’t plan to kill myself training for my next marathon. I want to be sensible, and that means an easy workout today. I simply don’t want to find myself not being able to run ever again. I figure I can make good progress if I can remember to 1) exercise no more than 4 times a week, 2) get adequate rest/recovery, 3) listen to my body, and 4) get a massage every day (I wish!). Plus, if I can continue to avoid junk food and cook for myself, I should be good to go come race day. I feel like I’m firming up everywhere and I know I’m getting stronger. So we’ll see.
Happy Saturday!
Friday, April 5
8:10 PM A few pics from the ETS meeting at Liberty:
1) The university’s Scriptorium didn’t disappoint.
2) Greg Lamb, who’s finishing his Ph.D. at Southeastern, speaking on the pneumatology of Philippians.
3) Nathan Ridlehoover lecturing on the structure of Matt. 6:19-7:12.
4) Chuck Quarles delivering his keynote address.
5) Me doing what I like best.
All in all, an amazing time.
P.S. My Power Point ishere in case you have nothing better to do than click on some boring slides.
9:20 AM I’ve got some time before I have to leave for Lynchburg, so what should I blog about?
Here’s the heart rate chart from my Garmin for my last marathon. It’s crazy.
Pushing so hard at the end is just plain stupid, but, you know, sometimes stupid is my middle name. I’m competitive by nature, so it’s hard for me to hang back when everyone at the finish line is cheering for you. Seems I always want more. Seems I am never satisfied with my effort. This annoys me no end but it’s just my temperament. But the truth is, I have to change my running habits if I’m going to be fit and healthy at the same time. If you haven’t done a marathon, you may not realize just how competitive it is. And even though you’re 66, you push yourself because you feel like you’re 40. (You know the old saying: “Old is always 10 years older than I am now.”) Soon I’ll begin my 67th trip around the planet. Hopefully I’ll keep running. And swimming. And climbing. And cycling. I keep telling myself that speed is not everything. I know what running does for my mental health, so I’ll be out there (Lord willing) regardless of what pace I go at or how far I go. I just have to learn not to be so hard on myself. You get what you give to your body!
On a completely unrelated note, I got a news article in my inbox this morning about the mass of people who are leaving Hawaii because of the high cost of living. I’m not surprised in the least. Many young people of my generation left Hawaii for the mainland (“The Big Big Island”) and still live here. A couple of years ago my cousin who owned a medium-sized house in Kailua sold it for a million dollars and moved to Oregon, where he could buy a mansion for half that price. Housing costs, cost of living, food and gasoline costs, and lack of good paying jobs are forcing people to say “aloha” to their home state. And don’t get me started on the traffic congestion. I once thought about buying a condo in Kailua because I travel there every year but I was shocked at the prices. Studio apartments started at $750,000. The other day I watched “Seattle Is Dying” on YouTube. There are many similarities with Honolulu. One study published last month says that Hawaii is ranked as the worst place for doctors to practice. That’s right. Hawaii is expensive even for well-paid professionals. People are being priced out of paradise.
I’m glad I grew up in Hawaii. Back then I could surf to my heart’s content. Beaches like Pupukea and Pipeline weren’t crowded or territorial. Single-income families could make it financially. Much of that has changed. Today, many residents need to have two jobs, or even three, to make ends meet. Of course, Hawaii is still considered to be the happiest of the 50 states, despite thecost of eggs and milk. So if you live there, congratulations. I’ll have to be content with an occasional visit.
With one of my pastor buddies in Kaneohe.
And on that note, I need to leave for Lynchburg. Let’s see if I can make it through my presentation without a couching spell.
Thursday, April 4
9:20 AM Big news. I just pulled the plug on Netflix. As in, cancelled it. Haven’t watched it in months and when I did watch Netflix it was mostly a big waste of time. I never once watched House of Cards (whatever that’s about). Plus, I was I got agetting ads from them daily via email. If I want to watch a movie, I’ll stick with Amazon Prime.
6:35 AM Since no one reads blogs before driving to work, hello to all two of you. Here are some random musings on what’s going to be a knock-dead gorgeous April day in sunny Southside Virginia.
1) Here’s this weekend’sETS Eastern Region program.
The venue is Liberty University’s Rawlings School of Divinity. My colleague Chuck Quarles is one of the keynote speakers. Eager to hear him. (If you can’t make it to my session, I’ll post the Power Point here as soon as it’s finalized.)
2) Easter plans? I’m flying to Birmingham to visit my daughter and her family then driving to Fort Benning to visit with another daughter and her husband. I get to witness his promotion to sergeant. Pretty cool.
3) I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but nothing is more interesting to me than reading the Gospels in Hebrew.
Right now I’m in Markos. That’s right. You gotta get used to some different spellings: Ya’akov, Yochanan, Shim’on, Andrai, Sons of Zavdai, Yeshua, Yerushalayim, Mashiach, Notzri, Chalfai (Alpheus), Shabbat, Prushim (Pharisees), Galil, Benei Regosh (Sons of Thunder), Ba’al Zevul, etc.
4) So grateful this morning for my health, the ability to make a living, my family, my farm, etc. I don’t take good health for granted any more. I am SO thankful that 4 years ago I began being active.
5) The link betweenFacebook and depression. (FYI: The main danger is one of constantly comparing ourselves to other people.)
6) Enjoyed lunch on Tuesday with one of our visiting scholars.
Steve Booth is dean and professor of New Testament at the Canadian Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He’s an expert on all things Johannine and will be the guest lecturer in our NT class in 2 weeks, when the theme is The Gospel According to John.
7) Do you even care what I’m reading right now? Probably not. But in case you do: The Killer Angels, The Great Omission,Knowing God, Growing in the Spirit, and Evangelical Is Not Enough.
8) As you know, I’ve cut out all sodas from my diet. All. That’s a new habit for me. Someone has said that creating a new habit takes 21 days. Sounds simple, but really, it can be tough. What does eating healthy mean to you? Do you have a new fitness goal? If not, why not start with ridding yourself of soda pop? You have to make a conscious effort to do it, of course, but it will eventually become a habit. You’ll feel a lot better and it will also help you lose weight.
P.S. Another habit I’m trying to establish? Doing things in moderation. I’m pretty terrible at this. I do everything 110 percent, even getting sick. The key, I think, is making very small changes. I’m starting with eating smaller portions at mealtime. This goal is basic, manageable, and simple. The trick is not to get side-railed.
9) We started translating 1 John in my Greek classes this week. What’s the theme of this epistle, you ask? “Doing the Truth by Living in Love.” The letter is predicated on two attributes of God: He is light, and He is love. Morehere if you’re interested.
10) Less than 2 weeks to the Boston Marathon. No, I won’t be there. But I’ll be watching. Boston is a symbol of hard work and determination. My hat’s off to everyone racing that day. As a solid pack-of-the-packer, I’ll never get in, but I appreciate the joy of those who do. Hope the weather is better this year than last.
Wednesday, April 3
7:30 PM Well, it’s definitely the sick season. Some of my kids and grandkids are sick. Many of my students are sick. I’m still sick. Be interesting to hear what the doc says tomorrow. I think once I get over this bout of bronchitis I will know how much it has set me back in terms of my training. Personally, one thing I will never do again are back to back marathons. It’s been so hard to recover. When it all comes down to it, you’ve got to know your body and what it’s capable of doing. Listen to your body. Take care of yourself. Lay off of running for a while if you need to. There are always other races. It’s been two weeks since I’ve run and I don’t really plan on running any time soon. It’s disappointing and frustrating. But I truly am grateful for the strength God gave me this week to teach my 4 classes. Right now, more than anything, I’d like to take a long walk. That’s right. A walk. Not a run. Not a bike. Just a simple walk to experience the freedom that comes from walking, even if it’s a short stroll, throwing off the cares of life. Walking is such a simple joy. Walking mean being outdoors in the fresh air. “Outside” is no longer a transition between house and car but a destination in and of itself. Outdoors is my element. One foot in front of the other, finding your rhythm, being a pedestrian, nothing more. I love to walk alone, buried in nature, where everything talks to you — trees, flowers, steams, the wildlife.
Well, hopefully this weekend. Or maybe next week. No running for a while, but walking? I’m so ready for it. The body is made for this movement.
Monday, April 1
6:12 AM According to Mark continues to speak powerful to me. It’s awesome. I’m in chapter 5.
1) A man with evil spirits is healed by Savior (that’s the name I’m using for “Jesus” in this blog post; the name “Jesus” means “The Lord is salvation” or, more simply, “Savior”). This miracle took place on the eastern shore of Lake Galilee. Becky and I once stood on this very spot, as I know many of you have (our guide called it the place where “The First Swine Dive in History” occurred). The demons enter the pigs. The pigs drown. The man is healed and is “clothed and in his right mind.” The people of the region ask Savior to leave. As He is getting into the boat, the man who had had the demons begs him, “Let me go with you!” Savior replies:
Go back home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how kind He has been to you.
This might well be the first instance of the Great Commission in the ministry of Savior. The man did as he was told. He went through the Ten Towns and told everyone what Savior had done for him. And all who heard it were amazed.
Someone has said that Faith stands for “Forsaking All I Take Him.” We are to let go of ourselves, our sins, everything, and rest in Savior for salvation and all that goes with it. We must 1) lay hold on eternal life (1 Tim. 6:12), because salvation is not ours until we take it. We must 2) hold fast to what we have received (Rev. 3:11), lest we lose our testimony and our reward. And we must 3) hold forth the life-giving word (Phil. 2:16), because the Good News is not something to be hoarded but to be heralded.
2) A synagogue official named Jairus begs Savior to heal, not his “daughter” (so Matthew and Luke), but his “little daughter.” Remember, According to Mark is comprised of the words of Peter, an eyewitness of all that Savior had said and done. “Little daughter” is known as a diminutive. In Greek 3, we study diminutives. Donald Swanson, in his JBL article “Diminutives in the Greek New Testament,” shows how rare diminutives were in Attic prose. But in Koine Greek they were widely developed. In High German there are two diminutive suffixes: –hoch and –lein. If Tisch means “table,” Tischlein means “little table.” The Swiss, instead, use the suffix –li, and boy do they use it a a lot. The German Heftchen (“little book”) becomes Heftli. Very sonorous. Sometimes –li isn’t a diminutive suffix at all. It’s an expression of endearment. Both of our pet parakeets in Basel had names ending in –li, and everyone who’s lived in Switzerland calls their spouse Schätzeli (“precious treasure”). Hence Jairus’s words:
My precious daughter is sick.
Powerful. To add even more pathos to the scene, the girl is described as being 12 years of age. Can you imagine the emotion the readers would have felt at this point? A girl on the verge of womanhood!
This, I believe, is the heart of the Christian experience. Dead in our trespasses and sins, we are now made alive with Christ to walk in newness of life. We go down to go up. Savior meets us in our infirmities (whether physical or spiritual or both) and we are changed in a moment. I think of General Booth of the Salvation Army with his single worn-out uniform but living a thousand lives in the souls he rescued.
People today are looking for another Savior, another Messiah to set their hopes on. There will indeed be another. He is called Antichrist, and many will believe his lies. Modern political rallies that work up mere optimism and positive thinking only further deceive us. Sin is our trouble, and we are left in a worse state than ever when we are given less then the cure — a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Our tender Lord dealt with the sick and sinful immediately and compassionately. This is the message I’m taking away this morning from According to Mark. It’s easier, I think, to write a check to send the Gospel across the sea than to take it across the street. While we are helping to send missionaries, let’s be sure we are one to the needy all around us. I am stunned by the goodness of Savior. Today, may we embrace His Gospel over infighting and God’s glory over our own.
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Sunday, March 31
8:20 AM I love the Good News Bible. But you already knew that. Even the introduction is ingenious.
Here are a few examples:
1. Notice the words The Gospel according to Mark. Not “The Gospel of Mark.” There is only one Gospel, in four different versions.
2. The introduction continues: “…begins with the statement that it is ‘the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.'” I love that the translators bring out the force of the objective genitive: “about Jesus Christ” instead of “of Jesus Christ.” Well done!
3. “Jesus is pictured as a man of action and authority.” Yep. Remember this: Actions count. And remember this too: Jesus has the ultimate authority, not us. Our authority as leaders, if we can claim such, is always a derivative of His. I have great confidence in some human leaders, but I have every confidence in Jesus. He’s always the wisest mentor and strongest mile marker. He’s the best example. So let’s give our children and our grandchildren Jesus.
4. “The two endings to the Gospel, which are enclosed in brackets, are generally regarded as written by someone other than the author of Mark.” This is brilliant. The translators are not arguing for or against the longer (or shorter) ending of Mark. They’re just stating a fact. I also liked the fact that the footnote to verse 1 states “Some manuscripts do not have the Son of God.” Not, “Some manuscripts add” or “Some manuscripts omit.” Footnotes should be neutral.
Having read the excellent intro, I began reading According to Mark in English. I didn’t need the Greek text in front of me because I practically have it memorized. Here are a few passages that jumped out at me:
1:12: “At once the Spirit made him go into the desert….” This handles the Greek verb ekballō quite nicely. “Compelled him” might even be better.
1:14: “Jesus went into Galilee.” Instead of “came.” The Greek permits both renderings but only one can be true. It all depends on your viewpoint as the reader. Are you in Galilee? Then Jesus comes into Galilee. Are you outside of Galilee? Then Jesus goes into Galilee. Incidentally, the Greek has the Galilee. This isn’t surprising. The Hebrew is also Ha Galil — the Galilee. Hence the question: Should we use the definitive article “the” when referring to Galilee? If you think the use of a simple three-letter word in front of a place name is insignificant, think back to Barack Obama’s famous faux pas when he referred to the Ukraine in a speech in 2014. Former U.S. ambassador to that country, William Taylor, said, “The Ukraine is the way the Russians referred to that part of the country during Soviet times…. Now that it is a country, a nation, and a recognized state, it is just Ukraine. And it is incorrect to refer to the Ukraine, even though a lot of people do it.”
Sidebar: I was born and raised on an island in the Pacific. The common word we use for this island is Oahu. But the modern spelling (which is actually more accurate) is O’ahu, which uses what it called an ‘okina or glottal stop (like the sound between “oh-oh”). This is not a name change but a spelling correction. However, both Hawaii and Hawai’i are “correct” — for now.
1:16: “Lake Galilee.” Nice touch.
1:17: “Come with me, and I will teach you to catch men.” I like this better than “fishers of men.” Of course, Jesus meant “men and women,” but the GNB was published before people thought much about using gender-inclusive in Bible translations.
1:40: “A man suffering from a dreaded skin disease came to Jesus ….” Biblical leprosy was probably a much broader illness than the leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) we know today.
1:41: “Jesus was filled with pity ….” The footnote reads, “some manuscripts have anger.” Bill Mounce discusses this varianthere. “Anger” is found in only one Greek manuscript and a few Latin manuscripts!
I need to get back to my reading. Listen, just because you know Greek doesn’t mean you can’t read your English versions. Don’t you love the Good News Bible? The NLT? Obviously, no translation is perfect. No surprises there. So let’s use the translations God’s given us, but use them wisely.
Yes, I do write in my Greek New Testament.
5:44 AM What a rich time in God’s Word I’m having this morning. I’ve been reading According to Mark. (Yes, that’s its title. More on that in my next post.) But before I share with you some of the gems I’ve been reading, a brief excursus on this verse from Proverbs:
A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
That’s the NLT. The Message is even better:
A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks; a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered.
Even Jesus talked about “the prudent” (Matt. 11:25). What is meant?
Prudent people exercise self-awareness. They don’t walk blindly into trouble. Prudence is the opposite of clueless. It’s the student who sizes up his or her ability realistically before applying to college. It’s the mom who follows her gut instincts and ignores “what everyone else is saying.” It’s the young person who confronts face-on the landmines and trapdoors in life. It’s the athlete (you knew I’d be getting here) who makes sensible choices about where to run and for how long. And it’s the Greek prof who is honest enough to admit that he can’t do it all.
Cook at home? Can’t live without it.
Answer emails from everyone who wants to pick my brain? Sorry.
Have lunch with friends and colleagues? A must.
Repair leaking faucets? That’s what sons-in-law are for.
The lesson Jesus is driving home to me during my burdensome and baffling bout with bronchitis? Stop trying to be amazing and instead be wise. The lifestyle choices you make today will affect you for the rest of your life. Use your common sense, for crying out loud. And when you run out of discernment, you can trust God’s. Folks, it isn’t our mental deficiencies that make us fools. It’s our inability to make sensible judgments.
So here was my prayer this morning. Maybe you can identify with it.
Some people are so dumb, Lord! And I lead the pack. Help me to be honest with my own struggles when I have to learn something. Give me wisdom and discernment that pairs judgment with understanding. Help me to see my current situation correctly and respond with faith. Show me through Your Word and through Christian counsel what I should do going forward. Take away the pride that keeps me from getting help. Encourage and strengthen me through Your Holy Spirit so that I can be a source of encouragement and strength to others. Amen.
Saturday, March 30
12:24 PM It’s hard to believe, but it’s been 31 years since I published my Novum Testamentum essay on the text of Matt. 5:22. I’ll tell you this: Researching and writing that article was one of the most enjoyable things I think I’ve done in my entire 43-year career as a Greek teacher. In some ways, textual criticism is the story of my heart, the arc that I often find most revenant and vital in a good number of Scripture texts. I suppose, in the name of fairness, I should clarify that I am by no means an expert in this field, even if I have (*cough, cough*) written the definitive 79-page book on the subject. My point is, while textual criticism can’t occupy all of our mental space, it’s not an unimportant topic.
If you live in the greater Lynchburg area, I’ll be reprising this variant next Friday during the regional ETS meeting at Liberty University. Looking backward, I think I can better identify the tension that lurks at the edges of this saying of Jesus about human anger. After all, anger is one of the seven Deadly Sins. So it’s important to know: Did Jesus, or did He not, forbid all anger or only “causeless” anger? And does what He say here affect our understanding of Paul’s and James’s pronouncements on this subject?
So anger is totally in my head these days. And Jesus. All all the New Testament writers. Because the thing is, these are all saying the same thing. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus rolled out a whole new teaching. We have a new life and a different life and a unique orientation linked to the way Jesus lived and died. I know, you’re probably one click away from going “Blah, bah, bah,” but it is remarkable to witness the revival of interest in all things text-critical among my students these days. It takes a lot of work to study and teach the New Testament. I want to embrace the adventure, don’t you?
I’ll forever remain grateful to Harry Sturz at Biola, who introduced me to the art and science of textual criticism in 1976. He worked his fingers to the bone trying to get his students to leave the class with an absurd enthusiasm for the subject matter. It was his teaching and example that kept me going. And now I get to pass on the joy.
6:12 AM I can’t articulate my gratitude about the fact that I’m feeling oh, so much better this morning. Lately, Jesus has been wrecking my comfortable Christianity, and one of the ways He does this is by sending me on a journey that brings me to the end of myself. It will be good to start the week without a constant cough, Lord willing. If you had to throw off every weight that besets you, how long would it take before you could run again? James commands us to submit ourselves to God and draw near to Him. If you are plagued with a nagging illness or a difficult relationship or a financial hurdle, get down on your knees and thank God. He has blessed you with this conflict. You and I may be content with checking boxes as we go through life, but He isn’t. So expect changes to occur. Regularly. They are part of life. The good news is that God is there, right in the midst of all of our changes. We can follow Jesus into all the dark, scary places of our life because He is a good Savior and we can always trust Him.
As I think back on this past several days of bed rest, I’m reminded that I’ll still on a journey and that I’m still in the process of becoming what God wants me to become 56 years after I first met Him. As with my running, I’m learning that the finish line is not the destination but the journey itself. I’m dead serious about getting this Christianity thing right. I am a bumbling, awkward sojourner, but I’m willing to wade through some murky waters if that’s what it takes to become a man who is driven by God’s vision of the world.
Friday, March 29
10:14 AM You’d be super proud of me. I’m here at my computer sipping green tea. Yep, tea. I used to hate tea. Now I love it. It’s all part of my new “diet.” No, I’m not talking about the “diets” you and I normally think about when we use that word. Diets like that simply don’t work, as this book I read yesterday reminded me.
I’m referring to the kind of diet that allows you to eat healthy foods and that makes you a better athlete. But first, let’s talk about all the things I’ve cut out of my diet. Fast food. Soda. Donuts. Desserts. Popcorn. Chips. Fruit juice. And as much processed food as possible, which is hard when the only local grocery store isn’t Whole Foods or Sprouts! This is what I prepared for supper last night: butter chicken curry with jasmine rice.
And today I went grocery shopping and brought fresh corn, Brussels sprouts, and two jars of roasted cashews for snacks. (Nuts are fatty but not fattening.) I’ve been adding more and more of these super foods to my diet. My kids have been giving me great encouragement, too. I’m just trying to east wisely and well, to eat foods in their most basic form, and to eat more often and smaller portions.
I’m feeling much better today, by the way. I think my bronchitis is finally winding down as a result of the constant bed rest I’ve been getting. Of course, rest, for me, has never been easy. I’m trying, however, to make it a long term commitment. Same with eating. It’s more about the quality of the food we eat than the quantity. I’m not a vegan so I do eat meat. But very little red meat any more. All about balance, you know! And I allow my sleep pattern to be a normal one (no alarm clocks). This means I’m usually asleep by 9:00 pm and wide awake at 5:00 every morning.
Sorry, I have to have my morning coffee. Two cups in fact. And I do love a good sirloin from time to time. But I don’t want it grain-fed. When we raised Angus we never “finished” our beef. They were grass-fed only. In fact, when I would cook hamburger meat made from one of our beef cattle, I would have to add oil to the frying pan because the meat was so lean. I consider myself healthy in the general sense but I struggle with moderation (both in terms of exercising and eating) and with eating the right kinds of food. As a single man, it’s really hard to avoid the temptation to eat out at every meal time. It makes me sick to think of all the people where I live who don’t even think about what they put into their mouths. Of course, I do allow for special eating “excursions” (like at birthday parties), because I’m not a robot.
The most important lesson I think I’ve learned on my health quest is that exercise has only marginal benefits in terms of weight loss. It must be used as an adjunct to dietary change. I thought that, because I was so active, I could pretty much eat anything I wanted to. What was happening was that I was undoing the caloric deficit induced by a 30 minute run by eating chips and dip that evening. That said, I’d call myself a “flexitarian” when it comes to diet. I prefer to eat plant-based foods, but if you put a lobster dipped in an ungodly amount of butter in front of me, I’ll eat it. By the way, my new cookbook, The Runner’s Guide to Healthy Eating, should be out by May 1. Just kidding. Please don’t take anything I say about diet as gospel truth because I’m not — meh — a doctor. I do know I need to lose some weight. I also know I can stand to eat better. It’s hard altering one’s eating habits.
My biggest, most humongous goal for 2019? Return to injury-free status and stay there. I have a lot to live for, not least my precious grandson Chesley.
6:12 AM This morning I opened my eyes and, before getting out of bed, grabbed my favorite Bible translation of all time. It’s the Bible I used when, at the age of 16, I “fell in love” with the Scriptures for the first time. (Remember when that happened to you?) The Good News Bible had just come out. Three things about this translation struck me. It was readable. It had nifty line drawings (I’ve always enjoyed good art). And it had a glossary of terms.
My text this morning was Galatians 6, and here I saw an interesting connection between v. 2 and v. 9. See it?
When we help each other, we obey the law of Christ. And when we do good (for others), we reap the harvest of eternal life. In Basel, theology was divided into two parts: dogmatics and ethics. The Germans might say Glaubenslehre and Sittenlehre, what we believe and how we live. Christianity involves knowing the good, but it always involves more than knowing. Ethical theory is quite worthless without ethical practice. The Christian life involves knowledge and action. Can Jesus be Savior and not be Lord? Those who think so need not bother themselves with ethics.
God’s Word is a songbook. Did you know that? His mandates are melodies. Today’s church suffers from a double malady. Some of us have the statutes without the song. Others of us have the song without the statutes. But we must have both words and music. Joe Aldrich used to tell his evangelism students at Biola, “Don’t say the words without playing the music.” I grew up in a church that prided itself on its strict orthodoxy. But it didn’t sing. The joy of one’s salvation, the first love, the sacrificial caring for others — these were scarcely evident. There were statutes but no songs. Other churches in Kailua tried to sing the song without the words. To be sure, they could whip up a synthetic joy, a simulated happiness, but it wasn’t grounded in God’s Word. After all, truth doesn’t matter as long as we feel good, right?
A true Christian will always have the right music and the right words. Evangelicals who care about social justice aren’t becoming liberals. They’re simply trying to be faithful to their biblical heritage. A frustrating thing about God’s character is that He always expects us to act on what we know fairly quickly. He first captures our hearts, but soon after He captures our hands, as James puts it. You see a need? You can’t just say “Best of luck!” Roughly two-thirds of unchurched adults were formerly churched. They’re not necessary anti-church. They just see the church as irrelevant to the real, hurting world in which they live.
Please hear me. I’m not saying “Go Right!” or “Go Left!” Today, American politics is utterly bankrupt. And it always nets zero converts. Did you read the news this morning? I did. Our politicians are willing to kill with words and insults. I came to Christ at the age of 8 not only because of the truth of the Gospel but because a man named Rudy Ulrich was willing to lay down his life for me. No one cared about me more than my pastor. As for me, I’m going to gamble on the fact that Jesus is calling me to do the same. Yes, I’m a truth-lover. I’ve even written a few books about the Bible. But if I’m going to err, I’ll err on the side of mercy and let Jesus sort it all out on that Day.
Maybe it’s because I grew up at the bottom (socially, economically, emotionally) that I have a bias toward people at the bottom. In his book Simplicity, Richard Rohr says “We cannot think our way into a new kind of living. We must live our way into a new kind of thinking.” Too many of us have become hyphenated Christians who build a false wedge between evangelism and social action. James makes it unmistakable that if a person is a Christian he or she will be something else too. We’re not talking about perfect Christians. There are no such Christians, but there can be no avoiding our responsibility to the least of these.
I think it was F. F. Bruce who conjectured that the word “Christians” was derived, not from Christos (Christ) but rather from the very similar-sounding chrestos, “good/kind.” (Both words may have been pronounced identically in the first century.) Followers of Jesus were known (and mocked) for being “Goody-goodies.” This is how serious the Gospel challenge is. “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me” (Matt. 25:40). If our God could set aside privilege and power for the love of humanity, can’t we?
I truly believe that the evangelical church can stand on truth and at the same time share the Good News of Jesus Christ with a hurting world regardless of social status, political affiliation, and ethnicity. The unchurched want both the words and the music.
Thank you, Father, for all those who have shared good with me so sacrificially through the years. Thank you especially for those special friends, loved ones, and family members who give without question or hesitation. Please help me to do the same. Amen.
Thursday, March 28
11:24 AM If you’ve been running for any length of time, you know the feeling. You are injured. Something has gone whacko in your body. Just what that “thing” is doesn’t matter. You are sidelined. You are back-shelved. You’re an athlete who can’t exercise. You miss the endorphins. You become a research freak and spend all of your time on sites like WebMD. You want to find that elusive “cure.”
In short, you want to crawl into a hole.
As I sit here writing this post, I think I’m injured. I can’t put my finger on the problem. I’m seeing our local cardiologist next week and a Duke sport’s physiologist the week after that. When I first started to run marathons almost 3 years ago, instead of trying moderation, I went full bore. But running can be hard on your body. Extreme long distance endurance races can put extreme demands on your cardiovascular system. When the heart endures extreme stress over and over again, you face the prospect of the scarring of the heart. Here’s the irony, my friends. At the same time that you’re building stamina, strength, and muscles, you are increasing your risk of decreased maximal heart rate, decreased stroke volume and cardiac output, fewer blood capillaries, decrease in your maximal oxygen uptake (V02 max), decreased muscle mass, and changes to nerve functioning. There’s not a lot that aging runners like me can do about decreased V02 max. That’s pretty much inevitable. But there are plenty of things I can do to manage the risks of endurance running. My next marathon is in Cincy in five weeks. Between now and then, I am going to try and get some perspective on my running. In addition to having another stress test (I had one when I first started running 4 years ago; I had a treadmill stress test which, praise God, I passed with flying colors), I want to try and do other things such as:
Have a cardiac MRI to be sure there aren’t any underlying health issues causing my slowdown.
Balance my running days with weight training, cycling, and plain old-fashioned walking.
Take all the rest days my body tells me to take.
Strive for quality over quantity.
Consider working with a running coach who understands my goals and limitations as a 66-year old runner (soon to be 67).
Make sure my future races have long cut-off times so I don’t feel pressured to run too hard or too fast.
I read recently about a cardiologist whose heart convinced him to stop running after finishing his 54th marathon. He had decided that the risk of injury to his heart was just too high, due to anywhere from 3-5 hours of volume overload on both the atrium and ventricle. I do understand that there’s a fine line between exercising too much and exercising too little. But the truth is, I think I’ve lost the objectivity to know what’s best for me at this stage of my running life. I’ve been in this situation before. A couple of years ago I developed a bad case of planter fasciitis. It hurt like the dickens. I had to back way off of my running and I began to see a sport’s therapist. Eventually the problem resolved itself, as do so many of our aches and pains. Being injured reminded me that running isn’t my life. It isn’t even the biggest part of my life. Being focused on one thing is stupid. There are many others ways to keep active — swimming, cycling, walking, etc. My value is more than the number of marathon races I’ve completed. One thing about life you just have to get used to is the fact that it’s constantly changing. If you don’t like your current normal, a “new normal” is just around the bend.
So I know I’ll be fine. My body just needs some time off. As in weeks. Or months. After my last marathon I stopped running. At all. I haven’t run in 11 days. I think my body is reacting to running two marathons practically back to back, plus teaching 3 weeks of J-term, plus teaching 5 classes this semester, plus teaching from 8-5 every day for a week during spring break. I just need to be patient. “Do less to go farther” sounds a bit oxymoronish to me, but it’s true. I truly believe the Lord is trying to teach me, among other things, to slow down. And wisdom. And that it’s okay to miss a race or two. Clearly, I still have some work to do in these areas. But through the prayers and advice of my family (thank you, everyone!), and through getting some good medical attention, I hope to be able to plot out a strategy for my running that will allow my body to react properly to all the changes I’m asking of it. In all of the uncertainties of life, I’ve found that running is a great stress reliever. But it can also cause stress. You’ve got to pull back to make progress. My goal now is to be healthy enough to exercise without hurting my body. Moderate activity should leave me free to carry out my other responsibilities in life. I think I just need to allow my body time to catch up. One thing I have definitely learned is that everything in life requires patience. Even if I have to stop running for several weeks, this doesn’t mean I’ll lose fitness. There’s always the gym, or a walk on the track.
I have never been one to have a pity party when things in life didn’t go my way. As long as I keep my eyes on the Lord — and on the big picture — I can remain optimistic. Most running injuries are temporary. In the meantime, I’ll try to focus on those things in my life that are outside of running, like eating better and resting more. Hopefully, this current episode will be nothing but a blip when I’m 80.
If you’re currently injured or facing a significant health challenge (boo hoo), here’s to a quick recovery. But don’t try to rush your rebound. You rest to become stronger. (Said the pot to the kettle.)
8:50 AM The sun shines brightly this morning, and Sheba and I have been enjoying the sunshine while sitting on the porch.
Being sick is a good time to reflect on the goodness of God. Jesus reverses everything. For Him, the first is last and the last first. I used to think that the best years of my life were the first ones. College and seminary degrees, with a doctorate thrown in for good measure. Marriage. First child. First book in print. But God saves the best for last. “You have kept the best wine until now,” said the steward while the bridegroom looked on. The last wine can be the most exhilarating. One example. In exactly one month, a conference that I have worked hard to organize (along with my colleague Ben Merkle) will take place. I will savor that wine. It will probably be the best of the four conferences I’ve had the honor and joy of organizing on campus. Whether it comes early or late in life, the most essential thing is Christian love — serving others in the name of Jesus. It’s easier to grow older if you are neither boring nor bored. If we take time to look inward, we may well be surprised at our own creativity. What rebirth of creativity does God have planned for you? What newfound gifts are you enjoying? What latent or buried talents is He rekindling? Many find in old age the creative person they always knew they were. How old are you? Instead of revealing your age in terms of years, let your life, your creativity, your service to others, show your real age. We count our years not by how long we’ve lived by how well we’ve lived. Isn’t that how the Psalmist viewed life? “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” David wasn’t a young man when he wrote Psalm 23. But looking back on his days as a shepherd, he had a positive attitude toward the future. When people look at me they see gray hair and wrinkles. But “God does not see as human beings see; they look at appearances but Yahweh looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7, NJB).
When my children and grandchildren remember me after I’m gone, what matters is how I lived, not what I acquired or did.
Wednesday, March 27
5:40 PM Right now I sound as if I smoke 40 packs a day. On Monday I was diagnosed with bronchitis and that has now turned into a full-blown chest cold. (Try not to be jealous.) I just sat on the front porch to enjoy the sunshine. It felt good to be outdoors. But there’ll be no exercising for me in the near future. If you’re facing health issues today, don’t be discouraged. You’re still healing. Just give yourself some time, at least a week. I’ll try and do the same. I find that down times are good opportunities to “clean out the attic” and dejunk my life, getting rid of waste material that’s been slowing me down. We need to realize that rethinking our priorities has spiritual value. When Jesus sent out His first disciples He told them, “Take nothing for your journey.” Travel light, in other words. Don’t let things encumber you. True life doesn’t consist in “the abundance of possessions.” It consists of who we are, our character.
Dear Lord, help me to be so wise that I realize that all we take out of this old world are our spiritual values and the person we’ve become. Life is more than things or even good health. Make me to be like the widow of the Gospels who gave everything she had for the kingdom. Amen.
Monday, March 25
7:20 AM Odds and (some really weird) ends ….
1)Would Jesus Have Written a Book?
2) The gentleman on my left is speaking in my NT class this Wednesday. He’s written the book on rite and passage in home and church. Oddly enough, the book is called Rite of Passage in Home and Church. (Go figure.) I wore this suit just for you, Kevin.
3) The dude on the left and I took Greek together at Biola. Now he’s some highfalutin world-class interviewer out in So-Cal. We had a blast together. If you’re fighting insomnia, you can access all of my interviewshere.
4) When you become old like me, you become nostalgic, like for the times when you used to play pickup ball in Watts. Those were the days….
5) So glad winter is over. It IS over, isn’t it?
6) By the way, my devotional They Will Run and Not Grow Weary needs a good “athletic” cover picture. I’m sending the publisher this one. Who would have thunk that yours truly was already a world class cyclist at the age of 3?
Make it a great week!
Sunday, March 24
8:48 PM “A Picardy Third! No way! He actually ended on a Picardy Third! How about that!!??” I tried to rein in my excitement as the organ concert at Duke Chapel came to a close this evening.
But I couldn’t believe my ears. Bach’s famous Prelude and Fugue in C Minor actually ended in a major chord. I was expecting the same minor chord that his even more famous Toccata and Fugue in D Minor ends with. But I was delightfully wrong. Here, by the way, was my view.
You say, “But where’s the organist?” You can’t see him. He’s actually playing behind the congregation. Ingenious! And you might also notice that the pulpit is off to the side, in deference to the altar. Whatever may be the problems with the doctrines of transubstantiation and consubstantiation (and there are many problems with both), you can’t say that the very architecture of a cathedral is not Christocentric! Incidentally, you music lovers might want to know what else was on tonight’s program. The theme was “J. S. Bach and His Predecessors,” the latter being none other than Frescobaldi, Pachelbel, Böhm, de Gigny, and, of course, Dieterich Buxtehude. “Dieterich, who?” Buxtehude was the church organist in the German city of Lübeck. He was the most prominent figure to emerge from the 17th century northern German organ tradition. When Buxtehude was in his 70s and Bach was in his early 20s, Bach walked more than 250 miles from Arnstadt to Lübeck to hear the venerable Buxtehude play the organ. He ended up staying there for 3 months to observe the aging master. Some have said that there would have been no Bach had there been no Buxtehude. That’s what I love about Buxtehude’s organ compositions. In every line you can hear Bach in utero. Bach took what Buxtehude had developed and made it famous. That’s why you’ve heard of Bach but never heard of Buxtehude. I like to think of myself as Buxtehude and my students as the Bachs. In a few years I will be all but forgotten. That’s how it should be. But maybe there will be some vestige of me that lives on in my students, whose lights will far outshine mine!
Prior to the concert I visited with my old friends at the Abyssinia in Raleigh and enjoyed some delicious kai wat in memory of Becky (that was her favorite Ethiopian dish).
Before that, Sheba took me for a long walk on the farm.
I simply can’t believe how green everything is. Why, in just a few weeks we’ll be getting up hay. Can’t wait. Yes, I know, come December, I will be sick and tired of haying. But right now I am gladly anticipating picking up bale after bale this spring.
So it was a good day. But the best part wasn’t anything I’ve already mentioned. While Sheba and I were chillaxing on the front porch and enjoying a nice, warm afternoon, I grabbed a book from my shelf that I hadn’t read in a very long time.
It’s a Christian classic. If I mention the author I bet you’ll know which book I’m referring to. James Packer. Well, I “just happened” to turn to the chapter called “Those Inward Trials,” where I read these beautiful words:
When we walk along a clear road feeling fine, both mentally and morally, and someone takes our arm to help us, as likely as not we shall impatiently shake him off; but when we are caught up in rough country in the dark, with a storm getting up and our strength spent, and someone takes our arm to help us, we shall thankfully lean on him. And God wants us to feel that our way through life is rough and perplexing, so that we may learn thankfully to lean on Him.
Take heart, my friend. You are of great value to God. He put you in your present position to perform a task that demands your keenest moral and spiritual abilities. But what the Lord requires, He also supplies. He is the giver of every good gift, the healer of our humanity. To Him be the glory in His temples, our bodies, and in His people, forever.
9:10 AM In the past few weeks, several students have asked me for advice about where they should do their doctoral studies. As everyone knows, I think we have an excellent Ph.D. program at Southeastern. And I have had the honor and joy of mentoring not a few students through it. I’m struck by the caliber of men and women who have graduated from our school with their doctorates. But you are probably also aware that I think there are certain advantages to getting a university doctorate over a seminary one.
Several years ago, during one of my 3 visits to Armenia, I was asked to lecture at the Baptist seminary there. The students came quite literally from all over Armenia, and many of them had made tremendous sacrifices to be there. At the same time, when word got out that I was in the country, I was invited to speak at the local university in Yerevan as well as the Orthodox seminary. My lecture at the university was held in the department of linguistics.
I was profoundly impressed by the students’ determination to learn. Of course, at the Orthodox seminary I was able to delve more deeply into spiritual matters.
I well recall how stern the students’ demeanor seemed to me at the time. Yes, Orthodox seminarians are serious people! Nevertheless, during our breaks I remember them being keen to have fun and ask questions.
I dare say that these invitations to speak came to me largely because of my doctorate from Basel — a so-called “secular” institution of higher learning. If you’ve read my book It’s All Greek to Me, you’ll know how I struggled with my decision as to where to get my doctorate. I finally decided on Basel because it was there that Bo Reicke taught. I have never regretted my decision. Another attraction at Basel was its emphasis on pure scholarship rather than on the “busy work” that so often accompanies the work one does here in the States. Professors did not have offices on campus in Basel. If you met with your Doktorvater, you met with him in his home. While there, Becky and I also met many expats who made a marvelous set of colleagues. We enjoyed each other’s company tremendously. It seemed as though we were a family, each with our own “Vater.” The library was an enormous magnet too. Remember, this was before computers came into widespread use. Above all, it was clear to me that Basel placed a giant emphasis on a student’s ability to be a self-starter.
One thing my Basel diploma has, without question, done for me is that it has enabled me to pursue my calling as a missionary of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in places that I would otherwise have not been able to minister in. Studying abroad will also test your faith. You have to be willing to take huge risks, trusting God for the big things, including large sums of money needed to live and study abroad. All this and more was invaluable. My studies in Basel were a time of fresh thinking and innovation, and it is always a joy for me to share about my experiences there whenever I’m asked about it by one of my students.
It should not be a surprise, then, that if you should ask me “Where should I study?” I will insist that you do not put God in a box in any way, shape, or form. Lay all your cards on the table and then let Him show you where you should study and, more importantly, under whom. Pursuing a doctorate is demanding and often frustrating work. But it offers rewards of tremendous joy and fulfillment to those who throw themselves into it with faith, prayer, and vision.
Saturday, March 23
1:20 PM I received this book not two days ago and I’ve already finished it.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:
You do the best you can and don’t let the setbacks defeat you.
Whether you’re having a good or a bad day, get to the finish line as best you can.
Running — and life — is never a solo project.
The way you go about achieving your goals will likely change, but the value of pursuing them doesn’t have to.
I was able to keep my career going at that point by listening to rather than fighting my body. I knew I needed to make some changes in my approach to account for the effects of aging. That’s not giving in, that’s being smart.
Marathoning and life aren’t binary. You can juggle multiple goals and still accomplish a lot.
Do what you can to minimize exposure to risks, but also accept that some things are out of your control.
Meb emerged from each of his 26 marathons a smarter runner and a better person. I think I can say the same thing about my 14 marathons. Every race had its challenges and triumphs that created a unique learning experience. Thanks be to God.
Here’s my favorite quote from the book:
We’re ultimately responsible for our results, on the race course and elsewhere, but we owe so much to others for their support in allowing us to do what we do.
My family has been there for me for my entire marathon journey. Thank you.
7:45 AM “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Prov. 27:17). This verse might well be the motto for our upcomingLinguistics and New Testament Greek conference. I realize that in its original context this proverb is about individuals. But it’s also true, I believe, about biblical exegesis and linguistics. Each method is a challenge to the other, for better or for worse. Simply put, there seems to be a strong correlation between the Bible and science, between Greek and linguistics. During the so-called Enlightenment, many abandoned the Bible for science altogether. But in recent years, the Bible and science have moved closer together. It became apparent that Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic were, in fact, languages just like any other human languages, even though God had used them to inscripturate His divine truth. If it is true that Koine Greek is a language, then the science of linguistics has much to commend it. The main alternative — viewing the Greek of the New Testament as sui generis, as a kind of Holy Ghost language — has in my opinion little evidence for it compared with biblical linguistics.
In the past several decades, the study of New Testament Greek has moved from viewing Greek as a special field of study to viewing it as a part of the broader science of how languages work. The shift began well before I published my book Linguistics for Students of New Testament Greek in 1988. It was essentially based on the groundbreaking work of 19th- and early 20th century scholars such as Moulton, Blass, Winer, and A. T. Robertson. Since then, biblical scholars have split over whether or not exegesis allows for the full integration of linguistics into biblical studies. Some evangelicals have felt threatened by this new approach to the study of the Greek of the New Testament. However, since we evangelicals believe that God is the unifier of the cosmos, we shouldn’t feel threatened by the various models of linguistic research that have become available over the past century. Among the branches of linguistics, historical-comparative linguistics proved to be the most interesting to biblical scholars of the past century. Robertson’s A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research — affectionately known to students as his “Big Grammar” — moved biblical studies in this direction like no other work that preceded it. Then discoveries in the field of semantics began to inform our discipline, resulting in groundbreaking works like Moisés Silva’s Biblical Words and Their Meanings and Johannes Louw’s Semantics of New Testament Greek. Currently it looks like the field has begun to burgeon far beyond anyone’s wildest imaginations, owing in large part to the tireless work of scholars like Stan Porter, Steve Runge, and Stephen Levinsohn. If we take semantics as a trustworthy approach, books like Biblical Words and Their Meaning become indispensable. Clearly our discipline could do without such exegetical fallacies as illegitimate totality transfer, etymologizing, and anachronism. With the rise of the field of biblical linguistics, evidence that the Greek of the New Testament is in fact not sui generis has risen dramatically, putting even more pressure on the claim that the New Testament is comprised of Holy Ghost Greek.
With this brief summary, we see that the field of New Testament Greek linguistics has made a number of discoveries that challenge evangelicals’ traditional approach to hermeneutics. It has also made others that challenge the methodological certainty of the scientific community. Unfortunately, evangelicals have not found as much common ground as we would like for a unified response to modern linguistic science. Yet all can (and do) agree that the Bible is God’s inspired Word, and that it is crucial that people recognize this. However, there is as of yet no agreement on the detailed model of linguistics that should prevail in our schools and seminaries. How is New Testament Greek to be pronounced? How many aspects are there in the Greek verb system (two or three) and what should we call them? Is the term deponency to be used any more? What is the unmarked word order in Koine Greek? These are basic and central matters that should not be overlooked in the midst of our intramural disputes.
The speakers at our conference hardly agree among themselves on many of these topics. We should not be surprised to find such disagreement. After all, evangelicals are not united in many other areas of interpretation, including the mode of baptism, the biblical form of church government, eschatology, and whether or not miraculous gifts are valid today. Despite our disagreements, however, we should not throw in the towel but should continue to seek solutions in all of these areas. In our conference, we hope that the papers will give us some helpful suggestions for making progress in relating the New Testament to the science of linguistics. For an evangelical, both nature and Scripture are sources of information about God. But because both have fallible human interpreters, we often fail to see what is there. Ideally, scientists (whether secular or evangelical) should favor the data over their pet theories. Hence we have asked each of our speakers to be as fair and judicious in the way they handle disagreements in their assigned subjects.
Many pastors and even New Testament professors in our schools do not think they are exegeting God’s revelation in nature when they do exegesis. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t. This is not to say that New Testament Greek linguistics has solved all the problems of relating biblical and scientific data. It has not. Further investigation and reflection, long after this conference is over, will be needed in this area. Our desire in organizing this conference is that, far from treating science as an enemy, we should all realize that science is simply the process of studying general revelation. Our hope is that God will continue to reveal Himself to us as long as we do not rule out divine inspiration in the process.
Linguistics is, of course, a large subject. No one can ever hope to master its entire scope. Nevertheless, it is obvious that students of New Testament Greek can and should have a working knowledge of linguistics the science of language.
One thing seems clear as we anticipate our conference. We who study and teach New Testament Greek cannot be satisfied with superficial answers. We must carefully scrutinize the pages of general revelation and consider how they may influence our current approach to Greek exegesis. If we need to be cautious in our handling of the scientific data, we also need to be hopeful and optimistic.
Friday, March 22
12:18 PM I just got back from the track. Although I haven’t been doing any running or cycling since my marathon, I’ve been walking for 1 hour each day. Yesterday I had to use the treadmill at the Y because it was raining, but today the weather was perfect for a slow walk around the track. But exercise isn’t all we can do for our health. “You are what you eat” is the old saying. But honestly, I’m often guilty of only giving lip service to that truth. Sadly, habits of poor eating are hard to break, especially if we’ve fallen prey to the Standard American Diet, also known by its acronym:
SAD.
So today I rummaged through my kitchen and threw away everything I know is unhealthy for me. This included my comfort foods: potato chips and Doritos. Those bags now reside happily in my trash can. My philosophy is a simple one: You can’t eat what you don’t see. You see, without attention to one’s diet, an exercise program will not result in optimum health. I support, therefore, any call for healthy eating (“clean” eating). It’s just that I’m not very good at it.
I know. I can’t expect to be in great shape simply because I’m on a good diet. But I can expect to have subpar health if I’m on a poor one.
8:18 AM Here’s a fascinating study of house churches in the early years of Christianity.
The author Roger Gehring often cites the work of R. Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture. Krautheimer suggests 4 periods of architectural development in the early church:
Phase 1: Christians meet for worship in private homes of wealthy members.
Phase 2: Some Christians begin to modify their homes for use either in part or exclusively for Christian gatherings.
Phase 3: A gradual transition toward larger buildings and meeting halls becomes apparent.
Phase 4: With the Constantian revolution comes the introduction of the Lateran Basilica.
Krautheimer also distinguishes between the “house church” (a private house that remained architecturally unaltered) and the “church house” (a private domestic structure that was adapted in order to meet the social or religious needs of the group).
Gehring then discusses:
The Use of Houses before Easter.
The Post-Easter Use of Houses in the Primitive Jerusalem Church.
The Use of Houses in Pauline Missional Outreach.
The Continuing Influence of Oikos Structures.
The Ecclesiological and Missional Function and Significance of House Churches.
Needless to say, this is a fascinating doctoral dissertation (accepted by the Protestant Faculty at Tübingen). Honestly, many of us need to take a good hard look at why we have church buildings and the purposes for which they are used. At the risk of oversimplifying things, I think the house church model is still relevant especially in places like Egypt and China. There are, of course, genuine limitations to the house church model (these are discussed in detail on pages 302-311 of the book). Despite these weaknesses, however, Gehring concludes: “By no means should the house church model be overlooked today as a viable option for church growth; it is a tried and tested approach” (p. 309).
Excellent book. Take up and read!
7:28 AM Heard of the Alameda Seven? Seems that back in the 1970s, researchers discovered that people living in Alameda County, California, lived long, happy, and productive lives.
Here are the 7 “rules” these researchers published:
1. Exercise regularly.
2. Eat a good breakfast.
3. Don’t eat between meals.
4. Maintain weight.
5. Don’t smoke.
6. If you drink, drink moderately.
7. Get a good night’s sleep.
People who follow 6 of these 7 rules live significantly longer than those who follow only 1 or 2 of them. Not only do they live longer, they’re less likely to be hospitalized and they’re more energetic as well. I’ll add my 2 cents. I see good physical health as based on a triad of:
1/3 = Exercise.
1/3 = Diet.
1/3 = Rest.
In other words: Balance.
So how to get into shape? Following the Alameda Seven is a good place to start. Be sure to get plenty of rest and to eat wisely, and that includes a good breakfast every day.
6:22 AM Here are my top 10 misconceptions about missions:
1) Missions requires manmade methods. Missions is not a method but a Person: Jesus Christ. Never let your method harden into a system.
2) Missions is an extra option for Christians who enjoy that sort of thing. Missions is the duty and privilege of every follower of Jesus. Three alternatives exist for the relationship of a Christian to missions: Either they are involved and passionate about missions in some manner; or they are not living out who God has made them to be in Christ Jesus; or they are not a Christian.
3) Missions is either proclamation or presence alone. The Gospel must be proclaimed and lived out or it will ring false and achieve nothing. Love is crucial.
4) Missions is a chore. Not so. When we are truly filled with the Spirit, we will inevitably participate in what the Spirit is doing, namely, missions. If the Spirit of God indwells and controls the believer, and if the Spirit of God is associated with missions (see Ezek. 36:242; Col 1:2429), why would the believer not participate in God’s mission?
5) Missions is easy. The opposite may well be true. The earliest Christians faced persecution, danger, and death.The modern world hates the Gospel just as much.
6) Missions is evangelism only. This is like saying that all that matters is birth. Post-natal care is as vital as birth. Moreover, it is like saying that the goal of missions is salvation from hell rather than similarity to Christ, the King. A great deal of modern missions is pathetically weak in follow-up and growth into the likeness of the Son.
7) Missions requires that the missionary be supported. Such support is often needed. But something is wrong when we do not even consider the possibility of becoming tentmakers.
8) Missions requires formal training. But a degree in missions is not required to be a missionary. In fact, no human book can teach us missions. We must look to the writings of the Old and New Testaments as authoritative in a way that no man-produced book is authoritative. We must learn from the prophets, Jesus, Paul, and the apostles not only why we should do missionary work but also how. The basis, mandate, and model for missions emanate from God and must be patterned after the example of Jesus Christ. Our desire, therefore, should be to follow the Scriptures, which stress the power of the Holy Spirit in Gods plan to gather his people and in the life of the church not organizations, methods, programs, or personalities.
9) Missions is a Western phenomenon. Wrong again. Theshift of the majority of Christians from Europe and North America to the Majority World (Asia, Africa, Latin America) has more than numerical significance. As Western missionary forces are shrinking in numbers (and influence), the role of Western missions will undergo a dramatic shift away from leadership to a more modest (and healthier) goal of assisting local churches in foreign countries.
10) Missions means going “over there.” From the perspective of churches in America, doing missions means traveling to another nation. But any individual among the nations is the goal of missions. Reaching Caucasians in Virginia is missions, reaching Hispanics in North Carolina is missions, reaching Italians in New Jersey is missions, reaching Jews in New York or Israel is missions. The list goes on almost endlessly, including those areas and nations often associated with missions. The mission field is anywhere in the world, including right where you live. The unnamed believers who took the Gospel to Antioch (Acts 11) were simply living out their Christianity in the midst of their daily existence. What better way to be a witness? What better way to be salt and light than to become enmeshed in the fabric of society by working alongside locals? We need to learn to view our employees, our co-workers, our fellow students as our mission field.
Thursday, March 21
7:55 PM I just now finished reading a book about running. It concluded with a quote from Irenaeus, an early church father:
The glory of God is man fully functioning.
This has also been translated, “The glory of God is man fully alive.” This quote seems to be a fitting conclusion to a book that calls us to perfect our minds/souls/bodies, to enjoy the magical benefits of running, to not merely survive but succeed in life, to live to a fit and healthy old age. Still, I wondered, is that what Irenaeus was talking about? I love studying the church fathers. But I’m often guilty of being content to read them in English without looking at the original Greek or Latin, of even quoting them out of context. But that’s the lazy person’s way out. We have to look at the quotation in its original context — and in its original language. Simple but not easy, I know.
So what does the Latin say here? “Gloria Dei est vivens homo.” Irenaeus didn’t really write “man fully alive.” The literal translation of the Latin is simply “living man.” In his book Irenaeus of Lyons, John Behr renders this as “For the glory of God is a living human being.” Here’s the quote in its context:
For the glory of God is a living human being; and the life of the human consists in beholding God. For if the manifestation of God which is made by means of the creation affords life to all living in the earth, much more does that revelation of the Father which comes through the Word give life to those who see God (Against Heresies 4.20.7).
Irenaeus is not describing “living life to its fullest” or “going for the gusto.” He’s describing the life that God gives to humans, and he insists that the goal of this life is not to be found in the perfecting of our minds/souls/bodies or in enjoying the pursuits and pleasures of this life but rather in contemplating the majesty of God. Such a full life can be experienced by us whether we’re active or confined to a wheelchair. Paul puts it like this in Philippians: “All I care about is knowing Christ, to experience the power of His resurrection and to share in His sufferings in growing conformity with His death, if somehow I may arrive at the resurrection from the dead. I press on, hoping to take hold of that for which Christ once took hold of me. Forgetting what is behind me, and reaching out for what lies ahead, I press toward the goal to win the prize that is God’s call to the life above in Christ Jesus.” As theold hymn puts it, “Christ is the path, and Christ the prize.” So adequate is God in this sense that in knowing Him we find ourselves fully alive, fully satisfied, needing nothing more than Christ. The focus of Irenaeus’s quote is not on the existential angst of becoming physically fit through exercise but on what Paul and Silas experienced as they sat in chains in the Philippian jail and began to sing.
This truth is so profound I hardly know how to do it justice. It’s as though Jesus Himself were whispering in my ear, “Dave, this is how I want you to live, constantly exulting in My adequacy in the face of your fears and any deprivations you may face. Those who know the Father through Me have found the secret of true living and true man- and womanhood. Here’s how you’ll know: service for Me will never again fall in the ‘have to’ category. It will be your joy and delight.”
I’ll not always be able to run and cycle and swim and race and climb. But true life doesn’t consist in any of those things. I have passed from death to life. There ought to be enough about that to keep my focus on Jesus. When the crowd came to see Lazarus, who’d just been raised from the dead (John 12:9), they didn’t find him giving a lecture on his sepulcher experience. He was simply standing there, a man once dead but now fully living — a vivens homo. That is what every born-again Christian is, and it ought to draw people to the Healer Himself.
6:24 AM I’ve decided it’s time to have another full body exam (including another stress test) in order to reevaluate my physical condition post-4 years of running. Being active as much as I am is like taking a car that normally drives to the grocery store on a trip to California. When you’re on the road you don’t want unexpected mechanical surprises from previously hidden problems. Training properly is essential. The fact is, you can become involved in the sport of running and never once think about its risks to your cardiovascular system, for example. Which is odd when you think about it. There are about 100 million total runners in the U.S. today (of all levels and abilities). 94 percent of us are college educated. And yet we can train, exercise, and compete and at the same time lose aerobic health. We never think about scaling back, going slower, or running just for the fun of it. We like to “conquer.” Running for us is a personal challenge. And there’s nothing in the world wrong with that. The problem is that we don’t always run wisely. For example, my tendency at the end of a marathon is to sprint the last half mile to the finish line. That’s actually one of the worst things you can do. Ever heard of the word “syncope”? Syncope is the medical term for blackout. When you run, your blood pools in your lower extremities. The blood vessels in your legs have to open up in order to carry oxygen-rich blood to your leg muscles. And if you push too hard at the end of a race or fail to keep walking after you cross the finish line, the blood collected in your legs means less blood available to your brain. The result can be “exercise-associated collapse.” Not good.Here’s another example. During several marathons I would take two Ibuprofen tablets about midway during the race. Little did I know that anti-inflammatory drugs like Advil, Ibuprofen, and Aleve have proven to be a risk factor for hyponatremia — low sodium level and high cellular water level. Another big no-no.
Like many of you, I’ve always been an ambitious goal-setter. I thrive on accomplishing difficult tasks and using Big Hairy Audacious Goals as stepping stones to another. But marathoners need to be grounded in reality. As I’ve often said, the Greek ideal was moderation. (The Greek saying is “Nothing in excess.”) It means adhering to a workout and exercise program that’s the best possible one for you. And the appropriate regimen is something that only you can figure out for yourself. Our fetish for fitness in America can lead to unwanted consequences. As with Aesop’s famous story about the tortoise and the hare, it’s all about being “slow” and “steady.” Runners may be fit, but we’re not invulnerable. Running injuries are not due to running. They’re due to subtle structural anomalies in your body. That’s why it’s time for me to do another round of testing. Are there structural weaknesses in my body that I’ve overlooked? Have I fallen prey to the overuse syndrome? Seeing a sports physiologist can help me answer the age-old question: How fast should I go and how frequently should the activity be performed? Exercise can guarantee fitness but it can’t guarantee good health. We can stay healthy only if we take care of our body as we would the cars we drive every day.
I’ve discovered I’m a risk-taker, perhaps too much so. Yes, I need to be challenged. I need to find out how much effort I can put out, what I can endure, if I measure up. But if a fitness program is to succeed, it must promote good health.
Wednesday, March 20
5:20 PM This afternoon I attended a funeral in our local community. Carl was 93. He and his wife Myrtle welcomed us with open arms when Becky and I moved into this rural farming community some 15 years ago. Carl’s farm had been in his family for generations. He took us — fledging farmers — under his wings. Carl’s homegoing celebration was a reminder to me: Fight the good fight. Finish the race. Keep the faith. Do it every day the Lord gives you health and breath. Do it joyfully. Do it with thanksgiving in your heart.
I am so thankful for the community in which I live. For 27 years Becky and I lived in La Mirada, CA. We had lots of neighbors but little sense of community. Our close friends lived elsewhere. Here, people live far apart (farms are just laid out that way), but we know each other, help each other, rejoice and grieve with each other. The local funeral home also took care of Becky’s service when she passed. Around here the ethos is: Be kind, smile, and help your neighbor.
Carl was a wonderful gift to our community. He was a fellow Southern Baptist. Even more importantly, he was a true Christian. A World War II veteran, he lived a remarkable life. Thank you so much, Carl, for all you meant to me and my family.
Gone, but not forgotten.
Sunday, March 17
6:55 PM Roger Bannister once wrote, “The marathon is the acme of athletic heroism.” Heroism? Either that or stupidity. Either way, people run marathons, and they actually enjoy doing so. Today I finished number 14. An ordinary person doing an extraordinary thing. Pretty cool medal too.
But my favorite event of the weekend was Saturday’s running in Ella’s Race, which I’ve told you about many times before. Ella would have been 16 years old this year — hence the 16 balloons released into the sky in her memory by a group of young women her age.
Very touching. The best part of the event for me was talking with Ella’s mom and dad. Here’s Renee and Mark, along with Chris, the owner and operator of the local Chick-fil-A, who sponsors the race.
All three are strong believers. This is the eight year of this event. Thus far over $225,000 has been raised for the Pediatric Brain Aneurism Foundation. May the event grow and prosper in the years ahead.
Today’s marathon in Cary was, like all the marathons I’ve done, challenging. By about mile 20 the legs are pretty much gone. You have to keep on pushing the throttle or you’ll never finish. Your supreme goal is to keep running, however slowly. “Just get ‘er done.”
This was my second year in a row running the Tobacco Road Marathon. I found this year’s event to be, well, pretty monotonous. After all, it’s an out-and-back. In fact, it’s 2 out-and-backs put together. There’s nothing I enjoy less that an out-and-back course, where you have to watch the same scenery twice. Then too, the course is a trail and there are absolutely no crowds. The silence is, in fact, deafening. The last stages of a marathon like this are, therefore, filled with a prolonged sense of doom. You have to train your mind to keep active or you’re a goner. Today I tried out a new “mantra.” Since my beginning Greek textbook has 26 chapters, I began reciting the names of the chapters as I reached a new mile marker. Let’s see … mile 3? That’s the present and future active indicative. Mile 9? Pronouns. Mile 10? The perfect tense. Mile 20? The participle. Mile 25, the penultimate mile? Mi-verbs. As in:
Mi want to be done with this race so bad!
Crossing the finish line is the exonerating act, like taking (and passing) your Greek final. You did it! Thank heavens I’ve done this race twice. This means I’ll have never to do it again. Not that it wasn’t fun or anything like that.
How did I do? As well as I could. The most demanding of all judges — myself — gives me a B. I put myself through purgatory and am feeling the effects tonight. But tomorrow I’ll be back to normal. I’ll feed the animals and teach my classes and go about my life as if nothing of significance happened over the weekend.
Except for countless acts of athletic heroism.
P.S. Jeff Galloway’s seminar was awesome and yes, I did get a selfie with the man himself.
Saturday, March 16
5:12 AM When the Roman poet Cicero had grown old, he wrote, “My soul seemed to understand that its true life would only begin after my death.” Since Becky passed away 5 years ago, I’ve begun to understand what the ancient poet was trying to say. To lose one’s wife after 37 years of marriage involves a death to self, to all the dreams you had of growing old together, to the intimate fellowship you enjoyed not only as husband and wife but as brother and sister in Christ. Her passing forced me to confront my fears and sense of helplessness. But it also enabled me to see the presence of God in that place of loneliness and sorrow. It is He and not running that has erased my grief and given me peace. But running, in small ways at least, has been and will remain a large part of my recovery. I’m not even sure how it all works. God simply uses the stuff of ordinary life to mold me into the man He wants me to become. Three changes come to mind.
First of all, I am more dedicated to taking care of the temple God allows me to live in day in and day out. Life is, or should be, a struggle against complacency and self-indulgence. Neither a high income nor a college degree is required to adopt a healthy lifestyle. You just have to stay active. When I run, I join the athletes of ancient Greece who found their creativity in similar if not identical circumstances. I’m able to say with the apostle Paul, as it were, “No sloughing off for me. I have a race to run, and I’m going to do my best to finish it.”
Secondly, I haven’t stopped loving. I have too wonderful a family for me to ever do that. Honestly, despite the pain of separation from Becky, I have found immense joy in taking care of my family as a single father. I hope to become better at it as the years go by.
Finally, by taking up the sport of running, I’ve been reminded that all of us are here on this earth for a purpose. Have I fulfilled mine? A race is a litmus test for life. Judging from my upcoming race schedule, I apparently still have a lot of living to do.
Off to the races,
Dave
Friday, March 15
5:58 PM Today I had a fantastic workout at the Y and then an enjoyable 5-mile run at the Tobacco Heritage Trail in South Boston. When I run my mind is always working overtime. Today, as I wended my way along the path, jumping over turtles and snakes, my thoughts were focused on a series of lectures I’m scheduled to give next month at a university in Winston-Salem. My first talk is on the subject of the Great Commission in Matt. 28:19- and how to best understand its more controversial parts. One issue is what to do with the first participle: poreuthentes. Some argue that it’s a participle of attendant circumstance and should be all means be rendered as an imperative: “Go!” Others think that such a translation robs the passage’s only explicit command (“Make disciples of all the nations”) of its unique significance and is best rendered “As you go.” Who’s right? Both are. Yes, the participle here carries imperatival force. After all, when the Lord Jesus assumes we are going, we had better be going! But, conversely, rendering poreuthentes as a command can’t help but detract, at least to a degree, from the force of Jesus’ main command, which is to disciple the people from every nation. Personally, in my talk I will focus on something else in this whole debate. I will talk about the “Essentials of Going,” and they are twofold:
1) The first essential of going is what I’m calling the open door of opportunity. For unless Jesus Christ, the sovereign Lord, takes the key that is His hand and opens the door of opportunity, the church cannot even begin to evangelize. A key is a symbol of power and authority. And it is Jesus Himself who opens the door for us to share His love with others.
2) The second essential of going is a church that is immersed in secular society, a church that refuses to become insulated from the world all around it. For if the church loses contact with ordinary people, with non-Christians, then it has no audience.
So firstly, as far as this matter of “going” is concerned, Jesus must open the door for us. It is He who determines where we go. Yet in the second place, even when Jesus opens the door of opportunity, still the church cannot evangelize unless there are people who are ready to listen to the Gospel. The church is meant to be in such close, personal contact with the non-Christian world that there are people whose ears and hearts and minds are open and who are prepared to listen. In reality, the church is a community within a community. It is a Christian community within a secular community. The church has been given to Christ out of the world, and yet it continues to live in the world out of which it has been taken. Thus the church is to be distinct but not socially segregated from the world. It is both holy and worldly at the same time. And it fails in its duty when it forgets its double identity either by withdrawing from the world into a comfortable insularity, or by becoming so immersed in the world that it becomes assimilated to the world and so loses its distinctiveness. Jesus never denied the Father by becoming assimilated to the world, but equally He never denied the world by a false pietistic devotion to the Father.
So, are we to go? Absolutely! We are to be a church immersed in secular society, a church serving secular society. Like Jesus, we are to heal the sick and feed the hungry and comfort the sorrowing and give ourselves in service and proclaim the Good News by life and lip. We are always to be on guard against becoming “ecclesiasticalized,” cutting ourselves off from the very world in which we are supposed to be immersed. In my own life, I have seen these two essentials at work. I have generally followed an “open door policy.” As Jesus opens a door of opportunity for me, my desire is to walk through it obediently. The “place” is totally up to Him. It might be here or it might be abroad. But only the Lord has the power to open the door. I have also sought to become less insulated from the world, becoming one with people in their need without losing my distinct Christian identity. I have, in fact, drawn considerable encouragement from people I know who are doing just that, like the student I know who graduated with his M.Div. and then opened a bike shop, where he pursues “fulltime Christian ministry.”
So …. are you going where the Lord sends you? Are you seeking to meet secular people where they’re at? We can argue about participles until we’re blue in the face, but we, the church, are to be a community within a community, sent by the risen Lord on a secular mission into the world. And we can surely depend on Him to show us the “where.”
Well, as you can see, I like to make running fun. It’s a time for me to be alone with the Lord and to enjoy His creation. But it’s also a good time to think about things He’s laid upon my heart. I can’t promise that any of this will become true of you if you should decide to take up running. But who knows — it might!
Thursday, March 14
7:50 PM Quick note on a busy day. Today I did a “Bike-A-Marathon.” 26.2 miles, thanks be to God.
And the weather was perfect for a long ride.
In fact, it was so warm I had to turn on the air conditioning in my van on the drive home from Richmond. I hadn’t used the AC since last year.
Right now I’m deep into taxes. It feels good to be getting an early start this year, at least early for me!
6:55 AM I love the book Running Until You’re 100, by Jeff Galloway. Here are a few quotes:
If exercise were a controlled medication, it would be the most heavily prescribed on record.
Running stimulates your body to improve overall physical and mental capacity.
I want you to take control of your running enjoyment and fatigue while staying injury free.
Unfortunately, many people over the age of 50 believe that they cannot, or should not, increase their level of exercise.
The evidence is growing that running and walking will bring quality to your life, increase longevity and will not harm your jointswhen done correctly.
Older runners can improve faster than younger runners.
One of the fastest growing age groups in many parts of the running world is the 80+ division.
In many ways, running is more important to older runners.
Many veterans find that they run faster while covering fewer miles per week, especially fewer days per week.
Walk breaks let you erase fatigue and damage to the legs and body.
Our bodies are designed to improve through a series of challenges.
Stress + Rest = Improvement.
All of these things seem so obvious to me now. Just a few years ago, it was all Greek to me. But life involves continual expansion. We learn to discharge what is latent within us. And each stage is an achievement.
Achieve well, my friends. When you reach a plateau, consider what you learned from that stage of life. And then unflaggingly pursue the next one with excellence!
Wednesday, March 13
7:56 PM My stars, what a beautiful evening it is. Got home from school, had a bite to eat, went grocery shopping, and now I’m ready to sit on the front porch with my puppy and do nothing but watch the goats grazing in the pasture.
It was a super busy time on campus this week, what with my four 3-hour classes, plus more meetings than you can shake a stick at. I enjoyed every one of them, but I’m glad to be back on the farm. This week I was able to get in one short bike ride — 7.2 miles — because everywhere you went the greenway was flooded.
Still, I’m so thankful to God that I could at least do that. Tomorrow, Lord willing, and by His grace, and if He gives me the strength, I plan to do a long bike before working on miscellaneous farm chores, then on Friday it’s back to the Y for another weight training session. Saturday morning I’ll be in Raleigh running in one of my all-time favorite fundraisers called Ella’s Race, Ella being a girl who died from Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma in 2012.
This will be my fourth year participating in this race to raise money for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Instead of doing the 10K as I normally do, I picked the 5K since I have the Tobacco Road Marathon on Sunday. On Saturday, after Ella’s race, I’ll pick up my bib at the host hotel in Cary and attend a 3-hour seminar on running with the one and only Jeff Galloway, who’s in town to run the marathon. Jeff Galloway is a former Olympian whose run/walk/run method has helped some 350,000 runners and walkers achieve their racing goals. I’ll hopefully be able to put some of his tips to good use in Sunday’s race. I’ll report back to you with what he said during his seminar. I may even try to grab a selfie with him if I can muster up the courage. I am a huuuuuge fan of the man and am planning on asking him to sign his books that I’ve purchased through the years.
But enough about running. Time to chillax on the porch and enjoy the “good” tired that only a few days on campus can produce.
Monday, March 11
6:54 AM Today starts my final week of training for this weekend’s Tobacco Road Marathon in Cary. Unlike courses in college, you can’t cram for a marathon. During your last week you should, in fact, be tapering. Strangely, the more I run, the more I’m willing to accept that things aren’t always going to go my way and that I can’t always train as hard as I want to before a race. About a mile into the marathon this weekend I’ll settle into my slow, childlike pace. Nothing of significance hangs in the balance because I’m out there running. Runners run because they are runners. It’s as simple as that. If everything works and I’m blessed enough to get to the starting line of this weekend’s race, my goal that morning will be to finish my 14th marathon by running one step at a time for 26.2 miles. In the end, there’s a peace that comes with running. There’s a quiet confidence that you’ve done the best you can. That happens every time I pin on a race number. Like the Greek warriors at Marathon, you stand there, ready to face the enemy, and that enemy is yourself. Alone, yet together with your fellow athletes, you confront your demons and defiantly prove to yourself that you can still overcome, despite your age. On that day, running will be about one thing and only one thing: giving into the joy of the moment as you push the body God gave you to its limits.
I realize that most of you are probably bored to tears whenever you read my posts about running. I also realize that I need to write about this part of my life if for no other reason than to remind myself how much running has changed my life. Each race, each competition, each finish line, is a chapter in the book that is my life. Out there, somewhere, I know there is a finish line. Out there, I know that yet another chapter of my life will come to an end like all the other chapters that preceded it. Some ended happily. Others didn’t end so well. But as I stand at the starting line of this weekend’s race I’ll know beyond the shadow of any doubt that there IS a finish line awaiting me in life and that, on that Day, I will win, no matter how fast or how slow I ran my race.
6:22 AM “The Imperfect Paul.” This is what we might entitle Phil. 3:12-16. I recall us having quite a discussion about these verses in last week’s Greek class. Here Paul seems to be employing a play on words. The Greek same word translated “perfect” in 3:12 is rendered “mature” in 3:15. His point? One can be mature without being perfect. All of us, however, must keep running straight toward the goal of perfection.
Bo Lane once asked,Why Do So Many Pastors Leave the Ministry? Leaders are so incredibly human. 90 percent of pastors work between 55 and 75 hours a week. 80 percent believe that ministry has negatively affected their families. 70 percent don’t have one close friend. 50 percent are are so discouraged they would abandon the pastorate if they had another career option. If pastors struggle with burnout, it’s only because they are human.
So what’s Paul getting at here? Be real. Be transparent. Paul was. We can be too. I’ve never met a perfect person. But I know plenty of folks who are on their way to wholeness. They make me and everybody who knows them want to love God more. They are honest people, struggling with truth and error, with reality and self-delusion, people whose love is not contrived but genuine. Paul, a mature and whole man, wants us to become mature and whole people. I told the class, “I won’t follow anybody who doesn’t have a limp.” Pastor friend, lead us not into the temptation of superstardomism, but deliver us from game-playing and phony living, so that together we may exalt the One who calls us to the life above. Under God, you are responsible to give us that kind of leadership. And under God, we are responsible to follow that kind of leadership. May we together, both leaders and led, want what God wants for us — to keep on striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won us to Himself.
Sunday, March 10
6:54 PM In our Philippians class, each student was asked to write both a literal translation and a paraphrase of every paragraph in the letter. I think doing this can be revealing. I’ll give you an example. In Phil. 2:3, are we told to consider others as “better” or “more important” than ourselves? Hitler was probably not a “better” person than most. Neither was Stalin. Paul apparently means “more important.” Humility in no way involves a denial of our authentic personhood. It is merely the absence of ego-centricity. It is seeing ourselves and others from God’s point of view. It is the attitude that motivates us to set aside our self-centered ambitions in deference to God’s work both in our own lives and in the lives of others. A strong sense of personhood comes from selflessness rather than self-absorption. The very definition of neurosis is when the focus of our thoughts and activities is on ourselves. “Losing” ourselves is simply setting aside our rights, including our ontological equality with each other, in favor of becoming expendable for the sake of the kingdom. “I am among you as one who serves,” said our Lord. Servanthood. A beautiful, redemptive word. And we can only serve with selflessness when we see ourselves as agents of Christ’s own activity in and through us.
P.S. Exactly 271 years ago, on March 10, 1748, John Newton was converted. He would later write the hymn Amazing Grace.
His testimony was, “By the grace of God I am what I am.” The Father needs only the consent of our will to release the flow of His grace through us, making us adequate for every contingency of life.
7:20 AM Imagine a coffee shop and bakery in Cary that will employ folks with disabilities who otherwise would have a very hard time finding employment. That’s exactly what my sister-in-law is planning to open this year! This new non-profit is calledEsteamed Coffee.
Now that’s a classic name! And get this: On Saturday, June 15, Fit & Able Productions is hosting aCharity Distance Festival that is allowing local charities to use their services for free. You simply pick your distance — either 1 mile, 5K, or 8K — and then choose the charity you want to support. It’s just that simple. The venue is the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. This is a fantastic cross country course. It’s actually where I ran my very first 5K race 5 years ago.
So here, at the beginning of a new running season, I’m challenging you to get involved, however the Lord leads you. Living life together in our communities is so liberating. So go to theEsteamed Coffee website and rummage around. The founders have an unbelievable vision. What a gift it will be to the town of Cary!
Saturday, March 9
5:38 PM This week in Greek we’re studying the formation and nature of the participle. I’m so thankful for participles. What would we do without them?
In Greek, they sometimes hold the key to the interpretation of a passage we’re studying. I think this is true of the warning passage in Heb. 6:4-6.
Then too, participles have given many interpreters a Charlie Horse between the ears. Think of the Great Commission in Matt. 28:19-. Did Jesus say “Go” or “Going”? Honestly, I’m not sure this isn’t much ado about nothing. Take a snapshot of the life of any person you know who is missional, and you’ll see they’re always talking about where they’re going to share Jesus’ love. Every conversation about the participles in the Great Commission should start with asking ourselves, “Where has God placed me to be on mission for Him?” In my own life, I’ve always adopted an open-door policy. If God opens the door, I go. And yes, from time to time that means going to the nations. I have many friends and colleagues who do the same. We come alongside the believers who live there and listen to them. After all, we’re the outsiders. We learn about what needs they have and how we might be able to meet those needs. From my experience, one of the greatest needs is for training in the biblical languages. The danger in missions is always to go a mile wide and an inch deep. I am suggesting this: Training the people from every nation to follow Jesus in obedience and love will take team work. There may even be a time when you need to bench yourself. That’s because our lives and our ministries for Jesus go through phases. Allow yourself to be human and God to be God. Let Him direct your steps. He’ll take care of the “going” part. Pick your “location” and invest with all your passion. Listen to local leaders with humility. And remember that ministry according to the New Testament is essentially from local church to local church. Battle every thought of “one and done.” Establish long-term goals. But remember that ministry is never stagnant and requires constant prayer and reevaluation. I’ll try to do the same.
Shabat shalom!
12:42 PM My training for next weekend’s marathon is going BLAH. I spent most of the week teaching, and then on Thursday I had a malaria flare up. Thankfully, today I woke up feeling 100 percent so I did an hour at the gym and then biked 10 miles between LaCrosse and Brodnax.
Even the locals don’t know where this is.
I keep forgetting to duck when I bike this section of the trail.
I have plenty more miles to put on this old bod of mine this coming week. I just hope I don’t bonk next weekend. To be honest, the last 6 miles of a marathon are crazy hard. I don’t think that “slow” runners like me ruin a marathon for everyone else, but at the same time, we plodders have goals too. There’s a certain amount of tenacity that you need to finish a 26.2 mile race. But we all have our own speeds. One person’s “slow” pace is another person’s PR. Running is not about pace. It’s about accomplishing a big goal. We all have to start somewhere. Saying that slow runners shouldn’t compete is kinda like saying people shouldn’t go to college because they’re not as smart as others. The more people participate in races, the more people will be healthy in America. I’m slow but I’m fine with it. I just don’t like to go into a race unprepared. But sometimes life gets in the way of training. Thankfully, I don’t need to go fast next weekend to be satisfied. The joy is in the journey.
Time for a power nap. Later!
6:44 AM In our study of Philippians this week we were reminded that of all the examples of selflessness Paul gives us in this book, none can match that of Jesus Christ Himself. We might even call Phil. 2:1-30 “The Imitation of Christ.” Of course, anyone who reads that title will see the allusion to a classic book from the 15th century written by an Augustinian monk, Thomas à Kempis.
It’s been in print for over 600 years. It’s been regarded as a Christian classic, and next to the Bible many people say that it has been the most important book about Christianity in the history of Christendom. The emphasis in it on suffering is a good reminder that adversity is the rule and not the exception of Christian living. In today’s feel-good culture, this is a helpful reminder I think. There are many things I don’t agree with in this book, but the main theme of dying to oneself is an incontrovertible truth of the Jesus Way. The so-called holiness of the cloister aside, this book urges a devotion to Christ that utterly ruins our over-love for self. I think that there’s perhaps a special blessing that comes from reading the works of authors from decades or even centuries past. Here I’m thinking of Barth and Bonhoeffer, Brunner and Cullmann, Zwingli and Calvin, Augustine and Origen. You needn’t read this book from beginning to end. But every Christian should read it, along with Pilgrim’s Progress. I can’t agree with the author’s view of the monastic life, but I fear that many of us have erred in the opposite direction. We are to imitate Christ, first in His humility, then in His generosity, and finally in His mission. For you see, we cannot live the Christ-life in splendid isolation from the world. We are to do with the body of Christ what Christ did with His own body — give it away.
This book is a treasure and contains some of the most beautiful words about Christ you will ever read. The prose is often beautiful. More beautiful still is the picture of God presented in it. Here’s one quote:
Thou art none the holier if thou art praised, nor the viler if thou art reproached. Thou art what thou art; and thou canst not be better than God pronounceth you to be.
But be forewarned: this book will make you uncomfortable as you read what following Christ really involves. It contains golden nuggets that will take days to absorb.
Friday, March 8
7:02 PM When I was a kid in Hawaii, I dreamed about being able to travel someday. After all, there’s not much you can do on an island that’s only 44 miles long and 30 miles wide. I did, of course, make trips to the Outer Islands (as we called them), but still, most of the traveling I did was of the imaginary type. Today I consider travel a normal part of my life. I’m the type who enjoys carefully planning my latest escapade. Almost every week I’m dreaming about my next trip. One of the most important lessons traveling has taught me is just how amazing this planet is. There’s a whole new world out there just waiting for us. I recently had a fantastic stay in the Phoenix area. I loved seeing the desert again. I loved being able to speak my incredibly poor Spanish again. I loved meeting new people at Mercy Hill Church and Phoenix Seminary. I’ve managed to make some great friends through my travels.
My Greek class at Windward Baptist Church in my home town of Kailua.
I love the sense that every day is a new adventure. More than anything, I think I love to travel because I love learning. Traveling allows me to see the world as maybe God sees it, in all its diversity and variety. Travel, they say, lasts forever, at least in your memory. I’m not sure how many more years of travel God will allow me to enjoy. But travel sure does keep life interesting.
My travel calendar for 2019 is filling up with good stuff. Where are traveling to this year? God willing, here’s my itinerary:
March 17, Tobacco Road Marathon in Cary, NC.
April 5-6, reading a paper at the ETS Regional Meeting in Lynchburg, VA.
April 11-12, speaking at Piedmont International University in Winston-Salem, NC.
April 17-22, visiting with my kids in Birmingham, AL and Fort Benning, GA.
May 3-6, Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, OH.
May 11-14, Dallas, TX, for the world premier of For All the Saints.
June 29, Farmville, VA, for the Night Train 50K race.
August 5-12, surfing in Hawaii.
October 11-14, Chicago Marathon.
I think my favorite travel quote of all time is: “We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” It’s amazing how powerful travel can be.
5:05 PM I am so excited. I just booked my flight to Dallas for the premier of a new arrangement of “For All the Saints” on May 12, which is both Mother’s Day and Becky’s birthday. Becky’s parents and I commissioned the piece last year. And now the world premier is almost upon us. For All the Saints is one of the greatest pieces of church music ever written. I am filled with joy whenever I hear it performed. I still tear up when I listen to it, just like I did after Becky went Home. The premier will include full choir and orchestra. Can’t wait!
4:40 PM “Jesus, I want so deeply to be like You.” I think every man who left our Philippians class today after a week of study left with that prayer on his lips.
I want to thank these guys — hard-working, dreamers, visionaries, thinkers — for being champions all week. They are the best and the brightest. This week the Holy Spirit leveled us and laid our motives bare. He grafted His genuine love in our hearts for the least of these. Something marvelous is happening in our churches, my friends. It’s a movement of defectors from the American Dream. Their dream is now, “God reign over me until there is only You. Give me a heart to expand Your glory and Your kingdom through anyone, anywhere.” We can simply stop spending so much on ourselves and use what we have to help people in need, while “holding forth the life-giving word.” It takes true grit to push back against the culture. But I sense that my students are more and more willing to say yes to Jesus. If the only thing that really matters is living as citizens of heaven in a manner required by the Gospel (Phil. 1:27), then this is what we ought to do, no ifs, ands, or buts. My stars, Philippians is so wonderful! How we were able to cover it only one week I’ll never know. I love what I do. I loved seeing this view every morning when I arrived on campus.
I love verbal aspect and discourse analysis and paronomasia and a million other things about Philippians. I’m just beginning to embrace the freedom that Paul talks about in this short letter, where I have nothing but Christ to cling to, where I leave the past behind (both my successes and my failures) and run the race of self-abnegation set before me. Read this epistle, and you’ll also be drawn into a thrilling chapter that God is writing in the American church, with both new and old themes. Because when Paul says “the only thing that matters,” he means “the only thing that matters.”
Monday, March 4
5:12 AM Spring Break has officially sprung! Yours truly feels like a child about to start first grade. I am a child wading on the shore of a limitless ocean. The New Testament is so wide and so deep, how can anyone plumb its breadth and depth? So what do we do in a weeklong course on Philippians? We consider attitude before action. We seek counsel from one another. We meditate upon God’s word. Psalm 104:34 says this is pleasing to God. The wrong attitude here is a prideful arrogance, that attitude that we are so important that we can do as we please. Adults are sometimes no better than little children. We fight and backbite and it leaves deep teeth marks. Euodia and Syntyche, are you listening? We can’t protect ourselves from God’s judgment when we act like this. “Be of the same mind, church!” How precious are those Christians who love each other in the bad times as well as the good times. Philippians is all about working together for something much bigger than ourselves. With the writer of Ecclesiastes we can say, “Two are better than one…. If one falls down, his friend can help him up.” It is not mental deficiency that makes a person a fool. It’s their inability to make sensible judgments and the refusal to base all of life’s decisions upon the wisdom of God’s word. Philippians has much to say about how we should live for others. And we are to do this together. Each of us is but a link in a chain that binds us to each other and one generation to the next. Philippians is a test of our priorities. God doesn’t test us so that we should fail. He tests us so that when we are under trial we can sort out the precious things of life from the worthless. In the choices of life, He wants us to choose wisely.
Father, I’ve been to school, and I realize that oftentimes without tests I’d never be motivated to learn. Thank you for the test we’ll encounter in the book of Philippians, which teaches us to choose what is best. Refine us, that we made be purged of impurities and truly live as good citizens of heaven in a manner required by the Gospel of Christ. This I ask and pray for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
P.S. For your reading pleasure:
Sunday, March 3
6:44 PM Tonight, as part of meal preparation for a long week on campus, I went grocery shopping and then got gas at Sheetz. While there, a guy at the next pump asked me, “Is your license plate the old hymn?” The plate reads:
ITIZWEL
“Yes,” I said. “It was my wife’s choice when she came down with cancer.”
Few of us have probably seen an actual battlefield. Christians do have wars to fight, however. The battle might be against heresy or for better and more equitable law enforcement or against an illness like cancer. When we fight our battles, we’re obligated to learn all we can about the enemy, and know how to fight him so we get results. But the victory all depends on the Lord. It is to Him and to Him alone that we must look for strength and wisdom. And in the end, the praise and the glory for victory goes only to Him.
In one sense, Becky lost her battle with cancer. But in another, greater sense, cancer was the loser. She never trusted in herself or credited the doctors with the victory. She honored the Lord with her lips and with her heart. And in the end, the joy and peace He gave her brought victory. Her confidence in her God grew quieter but stronger by the day. Grace was transforming her, and not only her. All who knew her were touched by her life. Becky’s suffering was undeserved, but so is His redemption. I have never felt more fragile and vulnerable as I do now, after Becky’s death. But through our cancer journey I found a source of love I could never find in myself. Truly, “It is well with my soul.”
9:12 AM Today at the Nerdy Language Majors Facebook page, the question was raised: Is the idiom to “cut a covenant” restricted to ancient Hebrew? The answer is foundhere. (See esp. p. 403.)
8:25 AM This morning I slept in until 6:30. I never do that. Must be a bit tired. Not just physically but mentally. Here’s the deal: Did you know that mental fatigue and physical fatigue are related? Studies have shown that performing mentally fatiguing tasks prior to exercise causes participants to reach exhaustion more quickly than when they did the same exercise when rested mentally. (Seethis study.) As you know, I’m teaching 5 classes this semester plus finishing up a book for publication, and while none of this seems to be too mentally challenging, just the number of hours I put into my work every week must be taking a toll. So this morning I am just resting and doing “light” mental work (like blogging). After all, this week (Spring Break) I have to teach Monday through Friday from 8:00-5:00. Overworking is for idiots. Sometimes, of course, you have to, but rest is as essential as exercise.
So this morning I whipped out my Good News Bible and read Philippians 1 just for the sheer pleasure of it.
It was pretty awesome. So many good takeaways (all of them non-mentally-fatiguing, I assure you):
1:1 “From Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus.” I love how the great apostle lowers himself to Timothy’s level (either that or he elevates Timothy to his). Paul delighted in receding into the group, to work as a team. Why shouldn’t we?
1:1 “To all God’s people in Philippi.” “God’s people” is so much better than “saints.” Plus you’ll notice how Paul is writing to all of them, including whatever factions might exist within the congregation (see 4:2). Paul is an equal opportunity greeter.
1:1 “Including the church leaders and helpers.” Pastors/elders/overseers are extensions of the church, not over it. In other words, shepherds are also sheep, though their spiritual gifts involve leadership.
1:3-5 “I thank my God … because of the way in which you have helped me in the work of the gospel from the very first day until now.” That’s it! The theme of Philippians! Christian unity in the cause of the Gospel!
1:12 “I want you to know, my brothers, that the things that have happened to me have really helped the progress of the gospel.” There’s Paul being selfless again. “Yes, I’m in prison. But the Gospel isn’t chained. As long as the Gospel is making progress, I’m happy!”
1:21 “For what is life? To me, it is Christ. Death, then, will bring more.” What a tremendous way to look at life. Do you know of anyone who has that attitude? I know several. One was my wife Becky. (Read her cancer essay:Life + Christ = Fine.)
1:27 “Now the important thing is that your way of life should be as the gospel of Christ requires, so that … I will hear that you are standing firm with one common purpose and that with only one desire you are fighting together for the faith of the gospel.” The Gospel! The Gospel! The Gospel!
1:30 “Now you can take part with me in the battle. It is the same battle you saw me fighting in the past, and as you hear, the one I am still fighting.” Notice how Paul describes Epaphroditus in 2:25: “brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier.” In other words, old Ep had shared the life, shared the work, and shared the danger. I love people like that.
When I began studying Philippians it was one of those times when my mission in life became very clear, very concentrated, very focused, very unambiguous. It’s almost like Paul meant to say, “Dave, why have you been living for things that will pass away when you can be spending your time loving others, stocking their kitchen cabinets, repairing their homes, and sharing with them the life-changing Gospel?” But there I go again, off on another tangent, imagining that when Paul said “the only thing that matters” (1:27 he actually meant “the only thing that matters” is living for others!
P.S. You Greek students will have fun with this. How would you answer these questions? They’re all taken from Will Varner’s commentary on Philippians.
1) In the Hellenistic period, the standard opening of a letter would contain the name of the addressee(s) in the _______________ case.
nominative
genitive
dative
accusative
vocative
2) “Paul and Timothy” (1:1) represent what use of the nominative?
subject nominative
nominative absolute
predicate nominative
nominative for vocative
3) In 1:7, which word is most likely to be functioning as the subject of the infinitive echein?
dikaion
touto
me
humas
4) In the prepositional phrase en tē kardia (1:7), the definite article is functioning as a
generic article
personal pronoun
relative pronoun
possessive pronoun
5) True or False: In Philippians 1:9, the hina introduces a clause denoting purpose. T F
Saturday, March 2
6:02 PM Today in Durham the annual Florence Forth 5K/10K race for charity was held. All proceeds went to an organization that was new to me.
With AE, the immune system actually attacks the brain. Ouch. I’d guess about 1,000 of us came out to support the cause. I left the house at 6:00 am for an 8:00 am race start. I picked up my bib and then sat in an idling car to stay warm. Even though I just ran a marathon 3 weeks ago I’m most certainly not in 10K shape.
In a 10K (or any “short” distance race for that matter) your mind kicks into overdrive and you run faster than you should. Anyhoo, I finished with a 1:14 time (11:50 pace), which is pretty normal for me.
It was great weather for running, but as soon as I crossed the finish line I started to get cold again.
I didn’t mean to stick around for long but I ended up staying for another 30 minutes in order to cheer for an 80-year old runner named Sharon as she crossed the finish line. Apparently she’s pretty well known in the North Carolina running community. There was a large crowd on hand to clap for her and give her high fives when she completed the 10K, and I was again reminded of why I love running so much — watching someone unknown to me but who feels like a long-lost relative. We runners are high achievers who always focus on doing our personal best. Sharon proves that an 80-year old can outperform a sedentary 40-year old. When President George H. W. Bush was jogging one day, he noticed he had an irregular heartbeat (it was atrial fibrillation). Senators suggested that perhaps Bush should learn to act his age. As a matter of fact, he was. Bush was doing what any fit 66-year old can and should do: exercise. He was bent on getting the most out of his 66-year old body. I can attest to the above. Running makes me feel better in every way. When I run I’m at the edge of all I can do. I run near the back of the pack with people who have never gotten a trophy and never will. Yet all of them are trying as desperately as I am to “win” their race. They are known as “runners” only to their closest friends and family members, and they’re okay with that. It doesn’t matter to us where we finish or how fast we are. Winning means doing our best — and that’s true whether we’re parenting or husbanding or studying Greek. I am just glad to be racing again.
Well, that’s all I’ve got for now. Tschüss!
Friday, March 1
2:38 PM Odds and ends:
1) Just before our SEBTSlinguistics conference, Dr. William Varner of the Masters University will be on our campus speaking on the topic, “How Discourse Analysis Changed My Approach to Scripture.”
The date is April 26. To sign up for his lecture, gohere. We’re really looking forward to having Dr. Varner on our campus. (I’m using his Philippians commentary in my Greek class next week, by the way. It’s an excellent work.)
2) Today my Baker Academic catalog arrived and it features two forthcoming books by my colleagues Ben Merkle and Chip Hardy.
Kudos, gents. Eager to get my hands on these books!
3) Just signed up forElla’s Race.
Ella was diagnosed April 29, 2008 with a Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma. This is a rare, aggressive, non-operable tumor located in the pons area of the brainstem. The prognosis for this type of tumor is extremely grim. There is no cure, no known effective treatment except for radiation-which, for some, provides only temporary relief of the symptoms. Ella saw the face of Jesus on Wednesday, February 8th 2012, while at home with her family.
I believe this will be my 4th time running this super race for a great cause. PLEASE consider joining us. You can do either a 5K or a 10K.
4) I wasn’t going to bike today but the rain let up for a couple of hours and so off I went. From the moment I got on my road bike I was relaxed. There’s something about cycling that’s so restorative. Plus, it’s always good to be out in nature. I grabbed some KFC on the drive home and then stopped by the Verizon store to see if I was eligible for the new iPhone X. Yessiree. Seriously, though, this phone isn’t a whole lot different from the one I have now. Big deal if it has face recognition and animated emojis. I’ll probably pass. Rituals of non-consumption can be just as fun as purchasing the latest everything that comes on the market!
Well there ya go. My latest update. Peace out.
7:58 AM I’m sure you’ve all seen the Movie Everest. Here’s something we never learned by watching that movie. It’s detailed in Lou Kasischke’s book After the Wind. Kasischke was there. He survived because he turned back just before the summit.
At noon that day, 28 climbers were on or near the South Summit of Everest — a mere 279 vertical feet from the main summit.
They were more than 2 hours behind schedule for reaching the top. Rob Clark had planned to reach the summit by 11:00 am. But precious time had been wasted in fixing ropes. And now, they were all bunched together. Within a few minutes, all of the climbers pictured below would have to negotiate the Hillary Step, a natural chokepoint that stalls climbing traffic even further.
Below, ominous clouds were forming. According to Kasischke, “So many climbers had never before been jammed together on Everest so high and so late.” Rob had set a 1:00 pm turnaround time, not only because of the danger of descending in darkness, but also because all of the climbers would almost certainly be out of oxygen. The time to turn around was right then — at 12 noon. They were out of time.
The year before, in 1995, Rob had done just that — turned his team around at the South Summit at 12:30 pm because the margin for safety needed to get back down had evaporated. But this was 1996. The forces for Rob to keep going were powerful: the competition with Scott Fischer’s team; the vying for future clients; the recognition and fame for setting a personal world record for ascents; expected magazine publicity. Three experienced climbers on Rob’s team had already turned back, including Lou Kasischke, who had already completed 6 of the famed “Seven Summits.” They were not under the same pressure of business competition. From Camp 2, veteran Everest climber Ed Viesturs asked, “Why aren’t they turning around? It’s going to be 3 or 4 pm before they get to the summit. Guys, turn around, turn around.”
They kept going.
When I climbed the Matterhorn two summers ago, I never summited. The weather was turning bad, and my feet were hurting badly. My guide agreed: It’s time to go back down the mountain. Two weeks later, two 67-year old Brits were caught out on the Matterhorn and forced to spend the night in the open. They weren’t prepared for the cold and froze to death. Neither had a mountain guide to tell them to turn back.
There is an old saying that truth hurts. Yet sometimes love requires us to speak the truth. Scripture, in fact, equates truth with love (see Ephesians 4). Life takes much wisdom and knowledge. A novice mountain climber like myself dare not go it alone. For every day I climbed the Alps in 2017, the cost to me was $640.00. Was my guide worth it? Every penny. I had promised my family that I wouldn’t take unnecessary risks. And I kept my promise.
There probably would have been no 1996 Everest disaster had everyone turned around at noon. If I had continued my Matterhorn climb I might not be here today. Life is like a jigsaw puzzle. First you assemble the outside frame — a relatively easy task. But then the puzzle becomes more difficult. Maybe you are at a confusing crossroads in your life, my friend. Take heart. Friends and counselors are a gift from the Lord. “It’s not good to have zeal without knowledge or to be hasty and miss the way” (Prov. 19:2). The proverb warns us against making hasty decisions. Over and again in the New Testament we are told that we are part of a body whose members should have equal concern for each other (see, for example, 1 Cor. 12:25). It’s within the body of Christ that we should seek advice about life. The counsel we seek is to be used for steering our situation. We have to take into account the various factors that can influence our decision for good or for ill.
“We need to go back,” I told my mountain guide. We returned to Zermatt, leaving me feeling defeated. But I was still alive. And the mountain will be there next year and the year after that and the year after that.
October-June 2017 Blog Archives
restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations
February 2019 Bog Archives
Thursday, February 28
5:56 PM Yesterday I had lunch with a good friend who teaches Old Testament and Hebrew at the seminary. He had me for Greek years ago. Now we are colleagues. We are alike in so many ways, but we are also different in our age, background, and research focus. I had asked him to lunch not only for the fellowship but also for some teaching tips. “What are you doing in your classes that can make me a better teacher in mine?” We had a great time as we discussed each other’s pedagogy. I was reminded of the old maxim that says if two people are exactly alike, one of them is unnecessary. We need the presence of opposites in our lives. Becky and I were like yin and yang. I imagine the same could be said about Priscilla and Aquila. As a married couple, you begin with what you have in common as believers in Christ. Then you allow God to use your different personalities and skill sets to accomplish your team goals.
Monday begins our weeklong study of Philippians. From the get-go, Paul exalts diversity in the midst of unity. “Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus.” No two people were perhaps more dissimilar. Think of Paul — strong, tireless, older, mature. And then there’s Timothy, who was known for his “years, fears, and tears” (see 2 Timothy 1). Yet they interacted deeply with each other. And together they became individually and corporately more effective.
One of the things I like to do in meetings is watch the Holy Spirit at work in a group of people with sometimes totally different ideas about how to do something, and see them all eventually come to one mind. We need people in our lives who are different from us. We need to be open to change. “Talent wins games, but teamwork wins championships.” So it is in all of life. Cooperation is vital because it helps people achieve a common goal. If we all contribute something to the project, we can accomplish something bigger than ourselves.
An artist’s conception of Paul and Timothy.
11:58 AM I may live in the middle of Nowhere-land but I’ve got civilization within a 20 minute drive of my house. Here’s my home-away-from-home in South Boston.
The Y has everything that a fancy health club has with a fraction of the cost. But note: Membership at the Y burns between 0 and 0 calories. You actually have to use it.Then it was off to the local high school track for a 5K run.
And no, you don’t have to check in with the main office. Everyone is fine with runners using the track, and that includes the local police department. How cool is that? Whether you’re 9 or 90, exercise can enhance your physical and emotional health. Why not give it a shot?
P.S. We have a leadership retreat going on at the farm right now. Peace and serenity reign here. So glad they’re able to enjoy Maple Ridge, our guest house. A retreat is a place where you pull back from the world and retool. I pray the retreatants leave this place more rested and clearer in their vision.
6:45 AM This week a bunch of us met up at the Neuse River Greenway for a ride but the trail conditions were not so good.
We made it though this section but turned back after we encountered 2 feet of standing water. I ended up returning to Wake Forest and got in 9 miles at a new trail (new for me, at least).
It’s the called the Dunn Creek Trail.
To access it you have go under Hwy. 98.
After that, the bike path becomes a pure delight.
Eventually it will connect with the Neuse River Greenway via the yet-to-be-completed Smith Creek Greenway.
I was amazed to find the daffodils in bloom, but it’s almost spring, right?
Finally, this was my view Tuesday morning as I walked to my class.
I never tire of the beauty of God’s creation.
P.S. Check out ourlinguistics conference web page. We just added the daily schedule of speakers. It kicks off in exactly two months. You won’t want to miss it.
Monday, February 25
7:35 AM News alert: We finally made it to contract verbs in Greek class.
They really aren’t all that bad. And thank God the vocabulary is arranged according to paradigm type.
I need to thank the author sometime. Here are some of the sentences we’re translating this week. Pretty cool if you ask me.
Now I’m back to training. The sun is shining and the sky is Carolina blue. Typically after a marathon I take lots of time to recover. But it’s been two weeks already. I plan to get in a ride today if my schedule permits. I plan to get hot and sweaty all in the name of fun.
That’s all folks. Have a great week.
Sunday, February 24
7:18 PM Starting a week from tomorrow, my Philippians students, one by one, will be walking the class through each paragraph of that magnificent book. Every time I teach an advanced course in Greek it’s a fascinating experience. I think we teachers get the best of it. Not only do we get to guide our students through the steps of exegesis, we watch them grow in their ability to handle the biblical text. My book Seven Marks of a New Testament Church stressed the fact that all Christians, not just some, are called by God to serve, and that there is no distinction between clergy and laity in their standing before God, although there are differences in their areas of ministry. Likewise, I think my Greek students are perfectly capable of tackling difficult tasks. Arguably, lectures and books are not the best way to produce Christian leaders. The New Testament method of apprenticeship has much to commend it as an aid to learning. There is real value in guiding our charges and giving them practical experience. After all, their fruitfulness in ministry is not going to be determined by how well they did on their exams but on how well they will relate what they learn to the actual training of the people in their Christian communities. The essence of our learning is that it must be shared with others. Having taught Greek in 3 different institutions the last 42 years, I’ve noticed some changes in the steps outlined below. I now consider a paraphrase of the text to be essential. I love the emphasis on units of meaning larger than words. And why should exegesis stop with interpretation? Shouldn’t it go on to application? Any attempt at exegesis that does not do that is doomed to irrelevance.
Here, then, are the 10 steps we will use. What are yours?
1. After reading the Greek text aloud, provide for us a literal translation of your paragraph.
2. Discuss any significant textual variants in your passage. Which reading is most likely to be original, and why?
3. Words are the basic building blocks of your paragraph. Do a lexical analysis of any words you consider to be significant or ambiguous.
4. Discuss the syntax of your text, especially ambiguous constructions. Which interpretation do you prefer, and why? Dont forget such matters as verbal aspect, word order, the presence of absence of the definite article, and special uses of the cases.
5. The clause structure of your text is very important for interpretation. Provide the class with a structural display (in Greek) of your paragraph and walk us through it.
6. Discuss any significant rhetorical features in your paragraph, where the medium is the message.
7. Tradition analysis is next. What sources (Old Testament or otherwise) did the author use in this passage? Does he quote from, allude to, or echo another writer? Discuss any parallels your text might have with other New Testament writings.
8. Now you are ready to provide an extended paraphrase in English of your paragraph that brings out, to the best of your ability and understanding, the meaning of your passage.
9. Offer suggestions as to how the text can be applied to modern life. Be specific.
10. Finally, provide at least three teaching/preaching outlines of your paragraph. These may be original with you or may be cited from other works.
6:38 PM If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that bad weather doesn’t usually stop me from running. Clouds and a light rain aren’t a problem. Ice? That’s another story. Today, after attending church, I got in a run at the High Bridge Trail, the scene of much past (and future) suffering, aka, ultramarathons.
Stop whining, Dave. You get to do this. Be grateful you can still get out there at your age. Even if the river is at flood stage.
Even if the roads are barely passable.
Even though you can’t dump the fence debris in the burn pile.
Be grateful you get to run in the cold and the rain. Be grateful for your new fence. (Ain’t she a beaut?)
Tomorrow’s gonna be bright and sunshiny. I dare you, Dave, to get in a long bike before you teach your night class. Double dare!
8:20 AM I don’t know how I missed it, but I read today that Michael Green passed away on Feb. 6 at the age of 88. As an actor yearns to play Hamlet, so I have sought to emulate the life and ministry of Michael Green in so many ways. Here was a high church Anglican who believed both in shared leadership and every-member ministry. Here was a prolific author whose main objective in writing was to equip “lay people” in their grasp of the simple truths of the Gospel. When I attended Biola in the 1970s, it was his book Evangelism in the Early Church that first got me thinking about the role that personal evangelism might play in my own life and ministry. Green loved both the church and the academy. For some reason he was able to navigate both spheres of ministry without becoming imbalanced in one direction or the other. It is said today that the Anglican church both in England and in the U.S. is stronger because of his life and work. When he was co-rector of the Anglican congregation in Raleigh, heworked tirelessly to “to clear the barnacles off of the Episcopal Ship and get rid of traditions that do not help.” Above all, he called the church back to its commitment to missions and evangelism. “Gospel preaching with love and joy is dynamic …. Who will step up to the plate?”
These things matter to me very deeply. It’s too soon to assess the value of my life’s work, but if anything good has come out of it I owe it in large measure to the influence of men like Michael Green. The ethos of a New Testament church is quite simple. It can be summarized under two headings: 1) ministry to one another through the Scriptures and the proper exercise of spiritual gifts, and 2) ministry to not-yet Christians through verbal witness and a sacrificial lifestyle. If all this seems too radical for traditional Baptists, let us learn from an Anglican churchman whose missionary heart was unsurpassed. I remember how amazed I was when I began reading his books or when I listened to him speak in chapel services. It would be a grave mistake to think that just because Michael Green could communicate to ordinary lay people he was a sloppy thinker. I have come away time and time again from his writings with a greater appreciation of the Great Commission and a deeper commitment to opening myself up to the powerful work of the Holy Spirit and to expect Him to be active in and through the lives of ordinary believers. We need more people like Michael Green in our churches and theological colleges. He was a brilliant theologian who always magnified the uniqueness and supremacy of Jesus Christ. He spoke widely and deeply in the world. I admired him for his passion for lost people and for his example of full involvement both in the church and the scholarly guild. Much of his life’s work was done here in North America, and for that we all can be grateful. All I can say is that it has been a great privilege to have known such a great Christian and humble man of God.
Saturday, February 23
7:38 PM Looking forward to my Philippians exegesis class in just two weeks. The book of Philippians changed my life forever. My study of it, published in Novum Testamentum, showed me what Paul lived for, and what the Christian is to live for. It is our privilege to stand together in one spirit and contend as one person for the faith of the Gospel (1:27-30). Paul’s language pictures an athletic team in which every team member has a job to do — a joint effort, not an individual one. It is a life of selflessness, of giving rather than getting. And it is costly. Kingdom service involves sacrifice. In the words of Corrie ten Boom, “I learned to hold everything with a loose grip because it hurt when God had to pull my fingers away.” Salvation involves more than accepting Christ as Lord and Savior. It must include a commitment to becoming servants in the world. The church of the New Testament does not merely “do missions” or “send” missionaries. It is missions. If we are to be the church we must go to all nations. Please do not learn this lesson as late in life as I did.
7:20 PM Just over a year ago, on New Years Day, 2018, I ran the New Years Double Marathon in Allen, TX. I had run the Dallas Marathon just three weeks prior to that. The course in Allen was interesting. It was paved concrete the entire distance. I had heard horror stories about running on concrete instead of asphalt, like we did in Dallas. Concrete is a very hard surface. That’s why so few races are run on it. Plus, when the race started, the temperature was a mere 1 degree Fahrenheit. Little wonder so few of the registrants showed up for the race. Out of only 44 runners who finished the marathon that day, I came in at number 43.
When I think back on race day, the one thing that stands out to me is not the soreness or the blisters or the cold. The one thing that stands out to me is the way I was applauded as I crossed the finish line.
I will never forget watching a volunteer come up to me and place my medal around my neck. It’s as though he was putting the cherry on top of a hot fudge sundae. I have never seen a bigger smile. My finish time was the slowest I had ever run a marathon in: 6:38:21. The winner’s time was 3:00:38. But for both of us the dictum was true: Winning is being able to say, “I didn’t quit.” Each of us did our very best that cold winter’s day in Texas. I was no different from the winner in terms of pain, effort, fatigue, shortness of breath, and joy. In every respect, everyone who ran that day was a hero. This is why every finisher warrants applause, perhaps especially those who are the farthest back. And this is why, when my race is done, I stand at the finish line cheering on my fellow runners. Not one of them has done less than their best.
My friend, what has God created you to be and to do? A teacher? Writer? Publisher? Mechanic? Farmer? Entrepreneur? “Let each of you discover,” says the head of Caius College, Cambridge, to the incoming students in the movie Chariots of Fire, “where your chance for greatness lies. Seize that chance, and let no power on earth deter you.” Eric Liddell was a missionary statesman. But he was also fast and claimed, “When I run, I feel His pleasure.”
What are you doing with your life that causes you to feel God’s pleasure? My prayer is that you will find it so that, in this short life, you can accomplish your task, fulfill your unique vision, bear your own distinctive fruit, and proclaim your own exceptional message.
12:15 PM Today I started something I should have started years ago. With the help of my personal trainer, I began using the lat machines at the Y. I don’t know why I avoided them for so long. Guess I was just used to the old-fashioned lat pulley system that gyms once had. Can you see it? Wow, I have a long ways to go. Talk about lopsidedness!
Frankly, there’s no sense in even thinking about climbing the Alps again this summer unless my upper body is in pretty good shape. So let’s just say I turned over a new leaf today.
On the drive there and back it did nothing but rain. I’m afraid the rivers and creeks are about to overflow their banks again, which means the roads will start washing out unless there’s a reprieve in the weather. Nate and I talked about the need to fertilize the fields but it ain’t gonna happen until everything dries out, which may take some time. Even if we pulled our equipment with the tractors, their wheels would likely get stuck. In years past, this would also be the time of year for me to get Becky’s garden beds ready for planting. Becky loved to garden. It all started when we lived in La Mirada, CA, where she rented a garden plot in the community garden. Then we bought a house on a third of an acre and began growing all of our own vegetables and canning our own fruit (we had 21 fruit trees). Today, one in three U.S. households grows food either in a garden or in a community garden bed. From patio tomatoes to raised garden beds, Americans are into gardening. I remember Becky getting up early during the summer months to weed her garden beds. And when harvest time came, we began picking. We discovered that August and September was the time of the year when yields were the heaviest. Canning had to be done immediately or not at all. Regular picking was also a routine around here. If not picked, our zucchini would go from slender cylinders to giant footballs within a few days. “He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son,” says the Bible (Prov. 10:5). When you and I neglect the garden of our lives, they began to sprout weeds. I wish I could get my gardens back to working order again, but my kids live too far away to use them, and I’m traveling too much to be able to care for them properly. That said, there are plenty of other “gardens” in my life I can tend to. Help me, Lord, to keep my part of the family garden in good condition, and make me the faithful gardener I need to be from spring planting to summer harvesting.
P.S. Becky once wrote about her garden in her poignant post calledGoing for the Deeper Joy.
7:32 AM This morning, in the midst of my chores and tasks, I paused to read a couple of sonnets written by George MacDonald, assembled for us in a magnificent booked called Diary of an Old Soul.
This one seemed particularly fitting to my circumstances:
Lord, what I once had done with youthful might,/Had I been from the first true to the truth,/Grant me, now old, to do — with better sight,/And humbler heart, if not the brain of youth;/So wilt thou, in thy gentleness and truth,/Lead back thy old soul, by the path of pain,/Round to his heart — young eyes and heart and brain.
Beautiful. Wonderful. I imagine even better if we could hear it in the author’s rough Scottish brogue, with all of its passion and faith.
6:20 AM Random musings ….
1) Not everyone agrees that all of the Prison Epistles were written from Rome. For a minority perspective, see Bo Reicke’s Caesarea, Rome, and the Captivity Epistles. Reicke was my Doktorvater in Basel.
2) We owe John Anderson a great debt for his sound advice on applying to Ph.D. programs.
3) Looks like I live in the gluttony capital of America.
4) This weekend I’m rereading a great book in German. It’s called Englisch für Fortgeschrittene (English for the Advanced). A great way to learn a foreign language is to study it backwards.
5) Check out Lee Iron’s Tips for Reading the Greek New Testament.
6) The best hiking trails in Virginia. #1 is still my favorite.
7) What’s in a president’s name?
8) A 360 degree view of the Breithorn summit in the Alps. Incredible. I stood on this peak not too long ago.
9) Should you start with internal or external evidence when evaluating a New Testament textual variant? The discussion continues here.
10) Quote of the day:
Our primary concern must be with the grammar of the original language, not the English translation, and for this we need to know the original Biblical language. A text simply CANNOT mean what the grammar of that text does not support.
Read (or watch) 7 Reasons to Study Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Greek.
Friday, February 22
7:55 PM I just registered for the Tobacco Road Marathon in Cary on March 17. I ran this marathon last year as well. That race was my 8th marathon since I began running marathons 8 months prior to that. That was an AWESOME weekend. I wasn’t super happy with my race performance, but it was a blast running in a “local” race. The course was fast and flat but I couldn’t really take advantage of that after I bonked at mile 20. I seriously think those last 6 miles mentally lasted as long, if not longer, than the first 20. This year’s Tobacco Road will be my 14th marathon and should be a good warm-up to the Flying Pig in Cincy (#15, Lord willing). For now, however, I’m taking it one day at a time and one run at a time.
6:54 PM Lunch with my daughter and her family, and dinner with my son and his family. I like my family — how we relate to each other, and how we’re there when we need each other. Now I’m off to read a new book about running. The rain is still falling here big time, so it’s fun to cozy up to a good read. Things are pretty simple at home these days. Love God. Love your family. Love others. The grandkids still talk about Mama B. “Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal” (from a headstone in Ireland). That, my friend, is a beautiful thing.
10:34 AM The rain today has given me the chance to get caught up on my reading. Thus far I’ve finished Muggeridge’s classic The End of Christendom — which is really a paean to Pascal’s Pensées — and Stott’s no less classic Christian Mission in the Modern World.
Muggeridge’s book is actually the Pascal Lecture on Christianity at Waterloo University in Canada. And the first thing he says is to pick up a copy of Pascal’s Pensées and read it — in French! — which is exactly what I did.
The first thing which will strike you about Pascal, and in French even more than in translation, is the extraordinary skill and beauty of his language, the luminosity of his words, as he attempts the task of producing an apologia for the Christian faith.
Then it was back to Stott’s magisterial work on what missions is from a biblical perspective. His main task is to tear down the wall between evangelism and social action, between the Great Commission and the Great Commandment, between serving in word and serving in deed. Stott sees a “synthesis between evangelism and social action” (p. 39). Social action, he writes, is a partner of evangelism. “Both are expressions of unfeigned love” (p. 43).
Our neighbor is neither a bodiless soul that we should love only his soul, nor a soulless body that we should care for its welfare alone, nor even a soul-body isolated from society.
He goes even further. Who is a missionary? The foreign missionary? Yes of course. The pastor who supports foreign missions? Yes indeed. But there’s more.
It seems to me urgent to gain a truer perspective in this matter of vocation. Jesus Christ calls all his disciples to “ministry,” that is, to service.
Indeed, “if we are Christians we must spend our lives in the service of God and man.” In two months, my daughter’s husband will be going to India on a short-term mission trip. He’s been there numerous times. Mind you, he’s not a professional missionary. He runs his own business in the secular world. But he is no less a missionary than the foreign missionaries we support through our offerings every year. The same is true of his wife, who will stay home and “hold the ropes” while freeing her husband to serve Christ in that faraway land. And who is to say that her “ministry” of taking care of their four children is any less a Gospel work than the ministry of her husband in Bagdogra? We are — those of us who follow Jesus in obedience — fulltime missionaries and in fulltime ministry. I love that sign over a kitchen sink: “Divine services performed here three times daily.” In the words of Stott,
To sum up, we are sent into the world, like Jesus, to serve.
And that means all of us. “The only difference between us lies in the nature of the service we are called to render” (p. 47).
I deeply believe this is one lesson the church needs to relearn today. Our generation is so hamstrung with the notion of professionalization that we no longer recognize God’s good gifts staring us in the face. What a loss. We very much underestimate the potential of the pew. Professionalizing ministry sets us up for short-term success but long-term failure. So I guess that means that each of us has to step up to the plate and join the cause of global missions. My kiddos get this. Such self-sacrificing service attracts their generation as much as arrogance alienates them. Trust in the Holy Spirit can’t be used as an excuse for personal apathy. What is forbidden us is self-reliance. Joel will go to India relying upon the Holy Spirit. And Kim will stay at home relying upon the Holy Spirit. That’s because mission includes both evangelism and social action, both going and staying, both preaching the Gospel and washing dishes.
Mission is simply the loving service that God sends all of us into the world to render.
8:12 AM Imagine someone who’s used to biking several dozen miles each week but can’t bike because of the rain. That’s me. This week I got in only 10 miles on Monday. Yes, I’m feeling withdrawal symptoms. Like with anything in life, you tend to get into a groove. Consistency is everything. Just think about the things you do every day. My list would include:
Waking up early.
Putting first things first.
Tidying up my bedroom.
Reading.
Exercising.
Eating well.
Visualizing my day.
Writing my list of things to do.
Checking the news and weather.
Blogging.
Feeding the animals.
Connecting with the outdoors.
Texting with family.
Answering emails.
Getting my work done.
Winding down.
Going to sleep at a reasonable time.
Biking’s not on the list, though if I could, I would bike each and every day. I love the sport. My body adapts quicker to cycling than to running. Running involves only certain muscle groups. But when you bike, you begin to create muscle tone in the most unexpected places. I have two triathlons scheduled for 2019, so cycling also falls under the “training” rubric. By the way, in 2018, I totaled 4,207 miles on my Map My Run app. That’s the distance between New York and Rome.
My weekly averages were:
Distance: 22.4 miles.
Time: 4 hours 9 minutes.
Workouts: 4.
Calories burned: 2,540.
About a third of those miles involved biking. I suppose nearly all of my rides have taken place at one of three trails: The Neuse River Greenway in Raleigh, the High Bridge Trail in Farmville, and the Tobacco Heritage Trail in LaCrosse. I’m so grateful to God for these trails. I never, as in NEVER, bike on roads. I may be dumb but I’m not stupid. The truth is, I’m scared to death of how people drive nowadays.
What else?
In about a month or so I’ll start gearing up for my next marathon, the Flying Pig in Cincy. The big day is May 5. It takes me about 3 months to train for a marathon. That includes weight training. Running requires upper body strength as well as strong legs. That’s because a big part of running involves pumping your arms. And in Cincy, your arms really have to chug-chug-chug when climbing Mount Everest (that’s what I call the 2.5-mile climb to Eden Hill). There is definitely a spectrum of difficulty with every race you run, but the Pig is famous for its sharp incline at around mile 6. All of this simply means that I will have to train harder and smarter if I’m going to PR. The greatest lesson I’ve learned through running is that you don’t have to be afraid of anything. That’s why a marathon is more than a bucket list project for me. It’s my way of giving myself an opportunity to take a giant leap into the unknown. While my body is running in one direction, my mind is sprinting in another. A race is one of the best ways to test your personal limits of ability. In life, no one knows exactly what the future holds or what is going to be needed to make it to the finish line. Running makes us athletes in all areas of our lives, trained in the basics of living and therefore hopefully ready for whatever comes our way.
Of course, life is far more than exercising. Everything in moderation, right?
Hang in there.
Dave
Thursday, February 21
7:55 AM Although it’s reductionist, I categorize most books as being either repetitive or novel. Last night I began reading Eugene Petersen’s Run with the Horses: The Quest for Life at Its Best. Already its tone troubles me. He begins with a rather lengthy (and pessimistic) quote by Robert McNamara.
My grievance with contemporary society is with its decrepitude. There are few towering pleasures to allure me, almost no beauty to bewitch me, nothing erotic to arouse me, no intellectual circles or positions to challenge or provoke me, no burgeoning philosophies or theologies and no new art to catch my attention or engage my mind, no arousing political, social, or religious movements to stimulate or excite me.
He adds:
There are no free men to lead me. No saints to inspire me. No sinners sinful enough to either impress me or share my plight. No one human enough to validate the “going” lifestyle. It is hard to linger in that dull world without being dulled.
For the love of Job! Sisters and brothers, may I inject some opinions here? I might actually believe what McNamara was saying if in fact my own existence bore it out.
No towering pleasures to allure me?
No beauty to bewitch me?
No intellectual circles or positions to challenge or provoke me?
No new art to catch my attention?
No religious movements to stimulate me?
No free men to lead me?
No saints to inspire me?
No sinners to share my plight?
No one validating the “going” lifestyle?
Bless my heart. Here is the truth. There is plenty of this all around us, if only we had the eyes to see it.
Towering pleasure: The Alps.
Beauty: Kailua Beach.
Intellectual circles: My faculty colleagues.
New art: Brian Piper’s arrangement of For All the Saints in memory of Becky.
Religious movements: Anabaptism.
Free men to lead me: Jacque Ellul and Vernard Eller.
Sinners to share my plight: Paul (Romans 7).
The “going” lifestyle: Too many friends and family members to list here.
What keeps me from pessimism is reality, the reality of God’s blatant goodness in our fallen world, the doggone irony of how our dull, monotonous lives are so often “surprised by joy” (C. S. Lewis). We invent a worst-case scenario and it muffles us. If stepping outside your mind to self-observe the highway of grace is impossible for you, come to my house and see the new fence my kids built for me out of pure love. Because that’s WJWD.
Yes, life can be mind-numbingly hard. Yet somehow, against all odds, we just keep plowing ahead, eyes fixed firmly on Jesus. It is possible to bend the universe too sharply toward our own fears and anxieties? Anyone who focuses on the world’s “decrepitude” is bound to become decrepit. A son showing sacrificial love toward his aging dad, a student struggling through failure to pass the course, a divorcee adapting to a new environment, hard work, failure, simplicity, gratitude, perseverance — there are too many virtues awash in our fallen world to even begin to list here. God’s faithfulness ought to melt our hearts and dampen our eyes. His goodness should lead us to repent of our morose thoughts about life. The passions of youth may subside, but we can’t spend our days by the casket of things past. There is a new day to be greeted and a new chapter to write. Indeed, if you take eternity into account, we are merely on the Introduction!
Wednesday, February 20
7:45 PM This and that (in pictures):
Having Mexican for lunch with some colleagues. Guys, your friendship is so appreciated.
A doctoral student of mine teaching my Greek students Tuesday night. Huss, you did a great job.
Thank you, Amazon Prime. ‘Nuf said.
While I was on campus, my son and his wife stopped by the farm and replaced my old cedar fence.
Thank you, Nate and Jess. It looks beautiful.
The boys helped, of course, especially by taking good care of Sheba.
Need I say more? This is exactly my life, and I love it. Seriously, my thanks to all who have made my week so special.
Bring on the next race!
Monday, February 18
8:42 AM Does running in one ultramarathon make you an ultramarathoner? If it does, well then, I guess I’m an ultra runner. Barely. My 50K ultra last year was the longest, hardest, and most challenging race of my life.
I definitely started out faster than I should have. After the 16 mile halfway point people started passing me. And passing me. I was feeling great for a while and then reality set in. The second half was much harder than the first. Plus the trail conditions weren’t all that great. Still, it was an INCREDIBLE experience. Although I contemplated quitting on several occasions, the Lord kept allowing me to muster energy from somewhere. The final road to the finish was a slight uphill. I ran with all my heart to get there. When I finally crossed the finish line the race director himself was there to shake my hand. That had never happened before. I couldn’t wait to hang out at the refreshment table with my fellow runners and bask in the sense of accomplishment we were all feeling.
The question today is: Should I try and do another ultra this year? Upon reflection, I’ve learned that ultras tax your strength and endurance to the limit. Only my stamina and hardheadedness got me through. But my lack of raw physical strength really held me back. Still, I’m insanely grateful to God for the experience. The ultra runners welcomed me with open arms. It’s the humans you connect with along the way that make running so worthwhile. At the end of the race you’re tired, but it’s a good tired if you know what I mean. It’s like how I feel after getting up hay bales. Farming is hard work but it’s good work. It puts you to bed at night with a good tired. So right now I’m in uncertainty mode. I still need to find balance between my running life and the other lives I live. An ultra is all about survival. It’s all about moving forward. Run if you can. Walk or crawl if you must. I want to do this. I love watching people push themselves beyond their limits. There are two races I’m looking into as both are fairly close to the farm. The first is held at the Tobacco Heritage Trail between LaCrosse and Lawrenceville, VA. It’s called theThoroughbred Races. The second race is held on the same trail where I ran my ultra last year: the High Bridge Trail in Farmville. In this race you run at night, hence the nameNight Train 50K and Half Marathon. Both seem to be very well organized. This is not to say I won’t be doing road marathons this year. On deck are the Flying Pig in May and the Chicago in October. But I would like to do another long run this year.
Any advice?
That’s all I’ve got for now. Time to put on my teacher’s hat!
8:04 AM This is a great book.
Someone needs to translate it into English. (Not me.)
Sunday, February 17
7:10 PM I’m warning you: This post is long and boring and I won’t be offended in the least if you leave now. In the Greek classes I teach we discuss words and how they take on meaning. It’s all part of an effort to make classes practical and motivational. At the same time, there’s nothing easy about lexical analysis. Much of it is undoing damage. Take the well-known and much-discussed fallacy of etymologizing determining a word’s meaning by its parts. For example, some insist that a New Testament church is “called out” from the world separate, if you will based on the etymology of the Greek word ekklesia, which is comprised of two partsek, “out of,” and kaleō, “I call.” Hence the church is a “called out” organism. It is to be different from the world. And believers are to separate themselves from the world.
In New Testament usage, however, the word ekklesia never quite had this meaning of “called out ones.” Normally it was used to describe a group of people that had something in common. At times this group met, and then it was an ekklesia. At other times it wasn’t meeting per se, but even then it was an ekklesia. This term was used in contrast to ochlos a term that describes a group of people that have come together and have nothing in common. Ochlos is often glossed as “crowd” in English, and that is indeed a very good rendering. How, then, should we translate ekklesia into English? When I pose this question in my classes, I usually get several excellent responses: “gathering,” “assembly,” “congregation,” and the like. All of these are fine, but none of them in my opinion captures the essence of what a New Testament ekklesia is. I prefer the term “community.” Church is not simply a group of just any people, and it is most certainly not a building. Instead, I like to think of a church as a space in which all of us are ministering, praying, preaching, teaching, singing, caring, loving a family if you will. Our motto might be: “We’re all in this together. So let’s do it together.” This is the community to which we, as followers of Jesus, are giving ourselves with our whole hearts. This is our “church” a diverse, global, caring paean of praise to our Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, Lord, Master, and only true Senior Pastor.
As you know, in recent years I’ve become part of a similar community, one known simply as the “running community.” The similarities between this community and the “church” are legion. As soon as I began running competitively, I knew I had joined the ranks of hundreds and thousands of other runners. From my very first race this sense of community became instilled deep within my psyche. Even as a novice runner, I knew I was not alone. Every experienced runner remembers when they were a beginner just like you, and so they are eager to reach out to the newbies among them. You soon have a group of running friends you look to for advice where to buy the best running shoes, how to train properly, how to avoid injuries, how to handle anxiety before a big race. Being part of this community helps each of us become a better runner. As runners, we value what we can become and not simply what we look like. We are not defined by our age, our t-shirt size, our weight, or our medallions (or lack of them). We are all fiercely independent and pursue individual goals, and yet paradoxically we truly believe that we are all in this together, and it shows. Just show up to any race and observe the runners.
I’m not in the least surprised, therefore, to find similarities between a running community and a community that defines itself on the basis of the traditional creedal values of faith, hope, and love. Both runners and Christians have a lot in common. For one thing, we both ask silly questions. A Christian in a bookstore asks the salesperson: “I’m looking for a Bible for my mother, but I’m not sure who the author is.” A novice runner asks you, “How far is your next 5K race?” As you can see, both novice runners and novice Christians have a lot to learn. We are people who pursue excellence and who seek to be dedicated to something wholeheartedly and to give ourselves to some project without any reservations whatsoever. Our actions are always impelled by some good we want to attain. And to achieve our goals, we often have to endure suffering and pain. An athletic race is a place where we discover strength and faith and courage we never knew we possessed. We are runners. It doesn’t matter how fast we run or how far we run. It doesn’t matter whether we are running in our very first race or have been running for fifty years. During a recent 5K race I met an athletic-looking young man who was pushing his infant child in a stroller. We had finished the race about the same time. I knew he could have run much faster had he not been pushing a baby carriage. He told me something I’ll never forget. He said, “Sometimes having the best time at a race has nothing to do with how fast you ran.” I will remember that until the day I die. I wish I could have given him “The Worlds Greatest Runner Award” that day. Folks, the Christian life is a race we run together. It’s no different in the running community. “Hey guys. I’ve got a hip labral tear. Anybody had any experience with this?” Or (in the church), “As a mom, I have a tremendous sense of responsibility to teach my children about truth and grace and God. Should I make my children read the Bible? What do you think?” The point is: We are there for each other.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found my priorities changing. I find myself wanting richer, more intimate and complex relationships with my family and friends. Like women, men have a primal need for closeness. We were created for relationships. Men discover that as they move into middle and older age they also move from competition to connecting. The best corporate managers are those who foster networks of connectivity. The best professors, too, prize being hands-on guides and mentors to their students, and not only disseminators of information. Before Becky died, she was the one who did most of the connecting with our kids on an emotional level. But as I’ve come into my own as a widower, I’ve come to a realization that emotionally connecting with my kids and grandkids is deeply enriching. One of the things that my loss of Becky did for me personally was to make me value and cherish my family more. It’s like taking the barnacles off. Now is the time in life to enjoy my family. The real ideal of manhood here is “servant-leader” in which we men discover our nurturing side. The apostle Paul had a lot to say about love. He knew that love is not blind. Nobody is perfect, least of all those closest to us. What is necessary in love is the ability to see others as God sees us. And to love others correctly, we must first love ourselves. The self must first be strong and whole before we can offer true and lasting love to others. Love is a positive sum game where both sides can and should win.
Which brings me back to the notion of community. An athletic team has goals that far surpass the aspirations of its individual players. And that’s true of all of life. As I look forward to the winter of my life, I want to be a man who joins the “I” to the “we,” whether that’s in my family, my church, my profession, my mission work, and even my hobbies. Saying I want to do this is quite easy. Becoming the self I want to become is quite difficult. But every healthy relationship at least makes an attempt to meld the “I” with the “we.”
Well, that’s the end of my ridiculously long blog post. If you’re not bored to tears, then clearly you’re a blog junky like me. If you made it to the end, you deserve a cookie!
5:14 PM William Varner (Philippians, p. 38) on Paul’s “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”:
This is Paul’s soliloquy as he faces either martyrdom or further missionary labors. Paul weighs blessings against blessings and chooses the lesser blessings in pure unselfishness. While the aged apostle would rather die than live because he will be with the Lord, he would also rather live than die before his work for the Lord is done.
Spoken beautifully.
8:58 AM In just 3 weeks my Greek course on Philippians begins. I’ve asked the class to listen to the entire book using myaudio files. Why not listen along?
By the way, I use the so-called Erasmian pronunciation. Other pronunciation schemes are used nowadays as well. Which is the best? So hotly debated is this question that we’ve asked Randall Buth to lecture on “Pronunciation” at our upcomingLinguistics and New Testament Greekconference. Randall is flying all the way from Israel to join us. I hope you can join us too.
Speaking of Greek, I’m sure you’re all familiar with the legend of Pheidippedes. He was the runner who announced to the Athenians that the Greeks were victorious over the Persians at the Battle of Marathon. The distance between Marathon and Athens was about 25 miles.
As the legend goes, upon arriving in Athens, Pheidippedes announced
and then promptly died. My question for you: How would you translate this Greek verb?
“We have won!”
“We are victorious!”
“We win!”
Alas, this goes to the heart of the debate today over the significance of the perfect tense in Koine Greek. Addressing this topic at our linguistics conference will be none other than Mike Aubrey, who edits the website Koine Greek. Yet another good reason to attend.
P.S. On the tomb of the Athenians in Marathon is an epigram by Simonides:
Do you like the English rendering? To me, the second line is somewhat of a loose paraphrase. How would you render the Greek?
Saturday, February 16
5:02 PM Phil. 1:27-29 in the Dave Black Version:
Now the only thing that matters is that you become established as leading evangelical scholars, so that, whether or not I’m able to go and see you, I will hear that you are standing firm with one common purpose to advance your academic careers and that with only one desire you are fighting together for your particular solution to the Synoptic Problem. Don’t be afraid of liberals; always be courageous, and this will prove to them that they will lose their Amazon rankings and that you will win, because it is God who grants you such popularity. For you have been given the privilege, on behalf of Christ, not only of acquiring doctorates from prestigious European universities but also of being invited to give scholarly lectures throughout the world.
What Paul really wrote:
Now the only thing that matters is that you live as good citizens of heaven in a manner required by the Gospel of Christ, so that, whether or not I’m able to go and see you, I will hear that you are standing firm with one common purpose and that with only one desire you are fighting together for the faith of the Gospel. Don’t be afraid of your enemies; always be courageous, and this will prove to them that they are going to be destroyed and that you are going to be saved, because it is God who grants you the victory. For you have been given the privilege, on behalf of Christ, not only of believing in Him but also of suffering for Him.
Lord, forgive me. The head should not grow when the hands and feet shrink.
11:32 AM I recall once reading about a church in Africa that baptizes new converts in the ocean. The candidate is literally thrown into a wave “in the name of the Father,” at which point he or she is washed back to shore. (Can’t you just picture that?) But it gets even better. The church leaders quickly pick up the now drenched convert and throw him or her into another wave “in the name of the Son.” This is repeated a third time, “in the name of the Spirit.” (Interestingly, as a lifelong surfer I’ve noticed that waves often come in sets of three.) The point apparently is not simply to emphasize the name of the Triune God. In baptizing people this way, converts are given a tactile baptismal experience that initiates them into the struggle of the Christian faith. “Hey, follow Jesus if you want to, but man, it’s going to cost you!” I’m reminded of Pauls famous “encouraging message” to the believers in Asia Minor. After urging them to stick with their new-found faith and not give up, he said, “Anyone signing up for the kingdom of God has to go through hard times” (Acts 14:22).
I can’t resist the temptation to draw yet another analogy to running in a race. In many ways, that first race was your easiest. After all, that’s where you got your very first PR (Personal Record). Now that you are a “runner,” however, the real struggle begins. Some days you just can’t get out of bed to do it. You struggle with willpower, with sore feet, with aching quads, with lack of motivation. I’m not proud to admit it, but I have these struggles almost every day. As Unknown once said, “My sweatpants smell like give up.” Life can be hard. Actually, life is hard. On race day my legs often feel like they weigh 200 pounds each. You have to learn to push the doubts aside and just keep on going. And I will. Because I’m hooked. Even with all my self-doubts and infirmities, I am a dedicated runner. My race times might not make salacious headlines, but for me they are symbols of victory. I’m overwhelmed by the joy of it all, despite all the “hard times.” Racing, like life, is just plain tough work. But the task is made easier when I consider that everything I have is a gift from God, freely bestowed, so I should freely give it back in return (Matt. 10:8). I never want to back off from doing something because it looks too hard or because I don’t want to “fail.” Fact is, Jesus helps us in our Christian walk, and He’s always there to pick us up should we fall.
Baptism means death. It means, “Hello! Ready for a fight? Ready to face temptations that blitz you daily? Ready to be a Christian in a non-Christian world? Ready to love your neighbor as you love yourself? Ready to exercise love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control the marks of a true Christian?” No one is ever ready to do that. But you have to start somewhere. You get saved, you get wet. Baptism is your public pledge of total and complete allegiance to your Lord and Master and Savior and Redeemer and Best Friend. And, as a Spirit-filled Christian, you should be able to keep on running your race to the glory of God.
Awaiting baptism at Kailua Beach at the age of 8.
8:42 AM To continue our discussion of internal evidence. This morning I was studying Mark’s account of Jesus’ temptation. As everyone knows, Mark uses an unusual verb to describe the way the Spirit “sends” (ekballei) Jesus into the wilderness.
Some have latched onto this verb as evidence for Markan priority. They callekballei a cruder term than Matthew’s “Jesus was led” or Luke’s “the Spirit led Him.” Then they ask: If Mark came after Matthew and Luke, why would Mark have taken perfectly normal diction and changed it into acruder form of expression? My own sense is that Mark’s ekballei is vivid rather than crude. Note also the fact that it’s in the present tense. Mark loves the historical present. In other words, I see nothing in Mark’s language to suggest that his account is either prior or posterior to the accounts of Matthew and Luke. Mark’s language is simply different.
Yes, the verb ekballei is a very strong one, but there’s nothing crude or inferior about it. That translators have difficulty in rendering the verb into English is no argument for its priority either. Every Gospel writer has his own idiolect. (Take John’s habit of using synonymous words synonymously, as with agapaō and phileō). I had two translations open before me this morning. The Good News Bible renders ekballei as follows:
And here’s the new Delitzsche translation:
I think both miss the point. For ekballō I might prefer “thrust.” Or perhaps “compel.” One thing I value greatly about my Greek students is their willingness to grapple with really difficult issues of translation. Too much in our American educational system is based on lectures and final exams. There’s not a lot in the way of reading texts as texts and then struggling with the best way to translate these ancient texts into understandable and idiomatic English. I find that our system of education does not encourage independence of thought as much as the system I was used to in Basel. There’s a large gap between classroom and church. That’s one reason I began a Greek class in a local church in my home town of Kailua a couple of years ago. I also hope to do the same in Phoenix shortly. I want my students to see how utterly practical Greek is for their understanding of everything about the Christian life, including our understanding of something as basic as theGreat Commission. (This subject will comprise one of the three talks I’ll be giving at Piedmont University in April.) Today, I am intrigued to note that there is a movement toward returning biblical education to the local church, the place where I suppose it all began two thousand years ago. The essence of the Christian Gospel is that it establishes local communities of Jesus followers who contend intelligently for the faith. No one can become a medical doctor without clinical experience. The preparation of Jesus-missioners languishes a long way behind because practical training is often discounted in favor of a more formalized education. That’s one reason I’m so excited when one of my Greek students tells me he or she is teaching Greek in their local church. The goal is to take what we learn in seminary and pass it on to others. I call it hands-on Christianity.
The remarkable thing about my time in the Word this morning was how simple it was. You just grab your Bible(s) and a cup of coffee and go to work.
Any of us can do this. Call it a “devotion” if you want to. But getting to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings is a goal that will keep us occupied from here on out!
Friday, February 15
6:40 PM Today I read a delightful essay calledWriting on the Tough Days. The author is very insightful. I really didn’t want to write today, but here I was, making one last pass through my latest book before sending it off to the publisher.
Michael Green once called himself a writer by mistake. I could say the same thing about myself. My first passion is the classroom. I hit the ground running in 1976 and it really took off. Books, however, occupy a good deal of my time. Mostly reading them. Sometimes I write them. Not many. And not necessarily the books I set out to write. My beginning grammar and my second year grammar, for example, were invitations from the publishers. Later on I wrote even more textbooks. At first I wrote as though I was writing. Nowadays I write like I speak. With all of my books, the publishers did a splendid job. Me? I’m an okay writer I guess. If there’s one discernable theme in my writing, I suppose its simply the attempt to write for normal, everyday people who want to address serious scholarly issues but who feel intimidated by scholarship. This latest book of mine almost wrote itself. I don’t expect it will have a far-reaching circulation. I wrote the book mostly because I needed the encouragement as a runner. They Will Run and Not Grow Weary stresses the fact that we, as Christian runners, are called to serve the Lord through our running. Running is an act of worship, since worship, according to the New Testament, is something we do 24/7 and not just on Sunday (see Rom. 12:1-2). Running, therefore, is a ministry for me — an attempt to care for the temple the Lord has given me. The temple, by the way, is feeling a wee bit run down today. Nothing major — just a few sniffles and some sneezing. Trying to run with cold symptoms is usually not a very good idea. I’m not (too) disheartened. I know I will heal up. I’m just fatigued. Which is why I went out for dinner tonight. I just couldn’t bring myself to cook. Besides, they’re running a special on arroz con pollo.
This was my way of rewarding myself for the accomplishments of the past week — and for buttoning down and getting some writing done today. If I’m actually sick, I’m probably not going to run or bike for a few days. I can’t “push through everything” like I once did when I was younger. I know this is the time of the year for colds. If you’re suffering from one of those colds, I hope you’re on the mend soon.
Okay. Time for another Airborne … and a good movie.
9:15 AM In one of my talks at Phoenix Seminary I quoted the Scottish proverb that says, “Greek, Hebrew, and Latin all have their proper place, but it’s not at the head of the cross, where Pilate put them, but at the foot of the cross in humble service to Jesus.” Oh, I do hope the message came through loud and clear. Seminaries do not exist for scholarship. Yes, we need to study the Bible, and study it carefully. But the goal of the careful study of the Bible is not the careful study of the Bible. The goal is to become obedient Jesus-followers who feed the poor and open our homes to strangers and share Jesus with the lost and live lives characterized by scandalous love for our enemies. Show me a New Testament teacher off mission, and I’ll show you somebody who has no concept of what the New Testament is all about.
8:45 AM There is something wonderful going on the world of New Testament textual criticism these days. I was reminded of that fact this morning when I found myself perusing these websites:
One name you will often see in these sites is that of Peter Gurry, a scholar I had the honor of meeting last weekend in Phoenix. Peter, it seems to me, represents a growing trend of those who are willing to acknowledge the value of the Byzantine text even while questioning some of the tenets of the Byzantine Priority Theory. In his essayThe All-or-Nothing Problem with Byzantine Priority, he puts into words a concern I’ve had for a very long time, namely, the highly subjective nature of arguments for or against a certain reading based on the internal evidence. For me, the internal evidence — be it when we are discussing textual criticism or the Synoptic Problem or the authorship of a New Testament writing such as Hebrews — is not probative but corroborative. I emphasized that point last week in my NT class when we were discussing theFour-fold Gospel Hypothesis that I espouse. Matthean priority, in my view, is based solidly on the external evidence, but it can also be corroborated by the internal evidence (for example, the “zigzagging” effect caused by Peter’s following now the scroll of Matthew, now the scroll of Luke). Likewise, as far as textual criticism is concerned, I argued in mylittle book on the subject that the reading “in the prophets” in Mark 1:2 is unlikely to be original because it is found in only one of the three major text types. Here the Western and Alexandrian texts (“in Isaiah the prophet”) combine against the Byzantine. One could argue additionally that the internal evidence supports the reading “in Isaiah the prophet.” I’ve heard it said that since the passage actually quotestwo prophets, Isaiah and Malachi, the change to “in the prophets” makes perfectly good sense. A Byzantine priorist, however, might demur by arguing that “in the prophets” was original but was changed to “in Isaiah the prophet” because, in actuality, there’s only one direct quote in the passage (from Isaiah); the Malachi text is only alluded to. I get that argument. It seems unlikely to me, but that’s a possible reading of the internal evidence.
Peter Gurry argues that the Byzantine Priority position would be “more consistent if it said that ‘transmission considerations’ (i.e., external evidence) is decisive and that the internal evidence is only needed secondarily for large splits in the Byzantine witnesses.” He adds:
Byzantine manuscripts are very good overall. But that doesn’t mean they’re always right.
My own view is very close to Dr. Gurry’s. Hence I’ve argued for the originality of Byzantine readings in places likeEph. 1:1,Matt. 5:22,Mark 6:20, andJohn 3:13, not because they are Byzantine readings per se, but rather because these readings enjoy a greater geographical distribution than their competitors. To return to the tune I’ve been playing: To me, the external evidence seems to be probative in almost every instance, while the internal evidence seems to be corroborative.
Anyhow, I hope you’ll bookmark the three websites I linked to above. Each takes a stuffy, somewhat complicated subject like textual criticism and makes it palatable.
P.S. In my book on the kingdom (Godworld), I’m having to work through a first-class textual variant in Matt 6:13. Do the words “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever, amen” belong in the text? I’m finding Jonathan Borland’sessay very helpful!
Thursday, February 14
1:14 PM Goats are always full of surprises. Anyone who owns goats will tell you that they are incredibly smart. They’re always looking for greener grass too. Goats will go over, under, or through at the drop of a hat. Here’s the view I had as I was driving down my driveway this morning.
“Lookie here! We’ve escaped! Yay!”
Goats rub on fences and buildings, and today my goats managed to open a hole in the barn siding. Out they merrily went! I kid you not. (Awful, I know.) Ya gotta give ’em credit, though. They did manage to escape. However, here at Rosewood Farm we have a non-escape policy for all of our animals, including the Boers. Needless to say, it took a bit of coaxing to get them back into the pasture, but my persistence eventually paid off.
People raise goats for all kinds of reasons. Some for their meat (we did this for many years). Some for their milk (we never had milk goats). And some just because they make wonderful pets (except when they’re in escape-mode). In case you’ve never noticed, I love animals. As in really, really love them. Who needs TV when you can watch the goats and your other farm animals doing their thing? But I don’t want them getting out and walking down to the road, where they could cause havoc (assome goats did recently in an Idaho suburb). Plus, I’d really like to remain on good terms with my neighbors.
I’ll close with some (lame) goat jokes.
What do you call a lazy goat? Billy Idle.
Why was the farmer angry? Because someone got his goat.
Why did the ram run over the cliff? Because he didn’t see the ewe turn.
What do you call an outlaw goat? Billy the Kid.
Say whaaaat!!???
8:30 AM When was the last time you had a good, long rest? My mind is fried from teaching and speaking so much and my body is tired from being on the go for so many days in a row. I just sit here at my desk with a wild smirk on my face that resembles one of those “You’re weird” emojis. I can’t help but laugh at myself. “Remember, Dave, you did this to yourself.”This morning I got out my old Good News Bible (oh, do I love this translation) and read John’s Upper Room Discourse.
The Greek is even more interesting, of course. Many questions arise. In 14:1, does the Greek mean “Believe in God; believe also in Me” or “You believe in God; believe also in Me”?
In 14:14, does Jesus say, “If you askMe for anything in My name” or “If you ask for anything in My name”?
In 14:17, does Jesus say about the Spirit, “He remains with you and is in you” or “He remains with you and will be in you”?
See how relevant Greek is? But what struck me the most from my reading this morning was the use of the so-called “first class condition” in 15:18: “If the world hates you [and IT REALLY DOES!], just remember that it hated Me first.”
Hear this: Persecution is alive and well on this old planet of ours. Just this week I received news of extreme persecution in a country I’ve visited 17 times. Tumultuous waters are everywhere. Opposition to Christ is a stream that has become a current that is turning into a raging flood. At the same time, the body of Christ is mobilizing in unprecedented numbers to deal with the crisis, not through military might but by fearlessly proclaiming liberty to the captives. I think that the sooner we untether from the American Dream and the trap of “more,” we as a church in America will truly be able to speak truth to power and overcome evil through loving deeds of towel and basin ministries. As I hear stories of courage in the face of enormous persecution, I applaud my brothers and sister in these lands. Honestly, no one can be sure what the future of the church in America will look like. But our baseline as a community of Jesus-followers never changes: Love God, love others. This is everything.
Today, as I “rest,” I’ve got a long list of tasks to complete, including reading a Ph.D. prospectus, working on the quizzes for my Philippians class (which starts in a couple of weeks), and working on my 2018 taxes. My next marathon isn’t until May (this race) so I’m going to take a long break from marathon training because it’s such a huge time commitment. Right now my body feels like rubber, and I’m not good for anything except to lie around the house munching on donuts. I also want to start incorporating recovery weeks into my training schedule, not just recovery days. I want to do as much cross training as I do running, and I want to manage my life better. I have no idea what living out the kingdom might look like for you. You have an entirely different set of factors in your life. There isn’t a list we all have to follow. I just want to say, I’m on your team. I’m pulling for you every bit as much as those dear folks along the sideline at last Saturday’s marathon were cheering us runners on. We can rest in Him without becoming lazy or unproductive. The goal is to cultivate a quiet heart in the midst of a crazy world.
Rest. Recover. Carry on.
Wednesday, February 13
7:10 PM Wowsers. This has got to be the longest I’ve ever gone without blogging. Well, probably not. But it feels like the longest. Why? Because I’ve got so much to share with y’all. Where should I start? I don’t really know. So I’ll let my pictures do the talking. Sorry for the photo dump, but be grateful you aren’t being treated to all 5 million pictures I took on my trip to Arizona.
1) Welcome to the definition of urban sprawl, aka Phoenix. This was my view as I landed at Sky Harbor Airport last Friday afternoon. Get the picture?
Recently Phoenix edged out Philly to become the fifth largest city in the U.S. and the quickest-growing city in the nation. The end results are swaths of brown homes fading into the brown desert — plus highways that are moving parking lots.
2) After landing I picked up my rental car and headed straight to the race expo at Riverview Park in Mesa.
Note: My Airbnb was in Tempe, the race was in Mesa, I preached on Sunday in Phoenix, and I taught on Monday in Scottsdale. Not that you would know you were in four different cities. Like I said, the Greater Phoenix Area is now one huge megalopolis, much like L.A. is (and I don’t mean Lower Alabama). At the expo I was a bit shocked to find out that they had somehow misplaced my race registration and so there wasn’t a race bib waiting for me. Not exactly a good way to start your marathon experience. Thankfully, the race director personally made everything right (that you, Darrell!), and I finally got a race number, which was a very close call because the event had sold out a week before I arrived in Phoenix.
3) By now I was starving and needed to fill my tank before heading to my home-away-from-home to get to bed on the early side. After all, I had to get up at 3:00 am the next morning. Fuel is a key ingredient for a successful run. Like gas is to your car engine, so food is to your body. I decided to stop by the Olive Garden and fuel up with some high-octane gas.
I needed to replenish my stores of carbohydrates, and I find that spaghetti almost always fits the bill.
4) The next morning I devoured two pancakes and downed two cups of coffee at Dennys before driving back to Riverview to catch a bus to the starting line. The Phoenix Marathon is a point to point race with no runner drop-offs at the race start, so everyone has to ride the bus. Traffic, parking, and the lines for the busses were nightmares, so I’m glad I got there early. I stood in this line for 50 minutes before finally boarding my bus.
5) Upon arriving at the start 45 minutes later, there was another long line for the porta-potties, but after 35 minutes or so, I was finally ready to head to my place in the pack.
6) At 6:30 sharp we were off.
The weather was perfect for a marathon — in the 40s with overcast skies. I probably didn’t need to wear as many layers as I did, since your body temperature increases while moving, but I knew that I could always throw off a layer or two along the course if I needed to (and thus help Goodwill at the same time).
7) Once you get going you really come alive and your heart is beating and your legs are churning and you are beginning to enjoy the race and the natural beauty all around you.
Despite the overall downhill nature of the course, I wasn’t expecting to accomplish anything memorable at this race. My goal was to finish well under 6 hours, and to do this I adopted a run-walk strategy of 1:1 (30 seconds of running and 30 seconds of walking). I didn’t want to run continually as I normally do for the first half of a marathon. By using the walk-run method, I was able to endure the impact of the constant jarring on my knees and to complete the race without pain. I discovered that alternating running and walking made the time go by quickly.
8) I began to really enjoy the “feel” of the Arizona desert and the sense of accomplishment that marathoners have when they find themselves out there on the course.
9) I managed to get to mile 13.1 (the halfway point) without any cramping and discomfort in my feet. I was pleased with my first half split even though I had taken time to get fluids into my body at every aid station.
10) At one point I began to wonder if I would ever complete the whole distance. During every marathon you reach the place where you think running 26.2 miles is impossible. The key is to break the distance down into bite-sized chunks. When you do that, the race doesn’t seem so hard. In the end, the goal for every racer is to take that one last step across the finish line.
11) As a volunteer hangs a medal around your neck, you realize that you actually accomplished your objective of finishing the race strong and unassisted.
As I sit here tapping at the keys of my computer, thinking about my first marathon only two and a half years ago, I can feel the hair on my arms stand up. In one single step across the finish line at the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati in 2017, my life changed forever. I may not be in the top tier of my age group, but I am fitter, better trained, and more disciplined than I was three years ago. Somewhere along the way, the Lord allowed me to discover the joy of running, and I haven’t looked back.
12) Sunday morning arrived early for me (there’s a two hour time difference between the East Coast and Arizona), so I decided to attend two different church services before I was scheduled to speak at Mercy Hill Church. As you know, I’m writing a book called Godworld: Enter at Your Own Risk, which is about what the kingdom of God should look like as well as about various manifestations of the kingdom through church history and in different expressions of Christendom. I started my day at the local Episcopal Cathedral, and then I stopped by New City Church. Eventually I made my way to Mercy Hill where I met up with some of the finest elders you’ll ever know.
13) My message to the congregation was a simple one: We’re in this kingdom thing together. It’s time we as followers of Jesus minister, disciple, preach, pray, teach, evangelize, love, care, sing, and sacrifice together.
I was preaching to the choir! Mercy Hill (in cooperation with St. Mary’s Food Bank) distributes food to over 1,500 people every week, and its affordable housing units offer 20 apartments for seniors and others in need of transitional housing. What is there to do, church, but to open our doors to the needy all around us? It was such a great honor for me to have met the people at Mercy Hill. I like being with these kinds of people because they are following so closely to Jesus and that’s simply contagious.
14) That evening I was eager to meet the owners of the Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant in Tempe. The food was incredible, and I was able to leave a copy of Becky’s book with their daughter Fasika.
15) Arizona, oh Arizona. What would you be like without cactus? Before I flew out on Tuesday I made sure I got in a good long walk in one of the state’s many desert parks.
16) Arizona has a wide diversity of plant and animal life, including more than 11,000 insects, 4,000 plants, 475 birds, and 90 reptiles. Vegetation alone consists of Joshua trees, creosote bushes, barrel cactus, prickly pear, agave, and saguaros. Suffice it to say you really need to visit this place.
17) After my hike it was time to drive to Scottsdale where I had been invited to speak at Phoenix Seminary.
18) Here’s Phoenix’s Dynamic Duo — John Meade (Old Testament) and Peter Gurry (New Testament).
19) Peter was so gracious to give up an hour in both his Greek class and his New Testament class for me to speak. Just an amazing group of students.
So there you have it. My Arizona adventure. I get asked a lot: How do have time and energy to do all you do? My answer is always the same. Stop being a baby. Don’t overthink everything. Just get out there and DO. I realize that I’m the type of person who always likes to be active. But I’m not always the wisest in knowing what to do and when. The bottom line is that I’m committed to being as healthy as I can be for as long as the Lord allows it. I think the absolute worst thing is to just not do anything. So, while I do have aches and pains from all of the exercising I do, I keep my eye on the prize: the ability to maintain enough strength and stamina to teach and write and travel and do all the things I believe God wants me to do before He’s done with me.
Friend, I hope you do something you love every day. No, it may not be running. It may be something else. But we all need to do something to keep ourselves active and engaged.
Great rest of the week to you all!
Friday, February 8
4:58 AM Off to run the Phoenix Marathon tomorrow, Lord willing. It’ll be a piece of cake. (Sarcasm.) Sunday I preach. Monday I lecture at Phoenix Seminary. Busy, busy, busy. And yet I crave activity. There is nothing like it. Getting to the starting line of a marathon takes a lot of planning and preparation. But the actual race is always a shot in the dark. My philosophy? Be kind to yourself on race day. Enjoy the sights and sounds of the event. Give it your best effort. And if you don’t achieve your goals, it doesn’t mean that your race was a failure. In the end, the race matters only to yourself. Sure, your family and friends are supportive. But they’ll be proud of you regardless of when (or even whether) you cross the finish line.
Thursday, February 7
12:15 PM Just finished my final pre-race run. Tomorrow I’ll give the old legs a break. I’m eager to start the marathon. This is one activity I LOVE.
P.S.Running is good for you. Who knew?
6:45 AM Did Jesus forbid all anger, or only unrighteous anger? Common sense tells us that what Jesus says should trump what we think about the matter. Let’s discuss this today, just like we did in my NT class yesterday. Our text is Matt. 5:22. Either Jesus is saying,” If anyone gets angry with their brother or sister, they will be liable to judgment,” or “If anyone gets angry with their brother or sister without a good reason, they will be liable to judgment.” See those words “without a good reason”? The Greek here is actually a single word, eikē. The former rendering has a kick-you-in-the-teeth quality about it. “Anger? Never!” The latter reading has a bit more nuance to it, wouldn’t you say? “If you do get angry, make sure you have a very good reason for doing so.”
Let’s examine the evidence for and against this little adverb eikē. Newsflash! There’s no consensus today among New Testament scholars as to the best way of resolving textual variants. I’m exhausted just thinking about the possibilities! I personally like the approach that asks us to examine both the external evidence and the internal evidence. So let’s start with the external evidence, that is, the evidence provided by the Greek manuscripts, the ancient versions, and the early church fathers. Take a look-see:
I’ve got two takeaways here:
1. Both readings are early.
2. The disputed word eikēhas greater geographical distribution. I might summarize the evidence as follows:
As for the internal evidence, that is, the evidence provided by considering such matters as an author’s style or a scribe’s propensities, here’s what Bruce Metzger wrote in his Textual Commentary:
Metzger’s conclusion has been followed by a great many commentators, including Don Carson (in both his book on the Sermon on the Mount and his Matthew commentary). Do I agree with them? Yes and no. I agree in the sense that the word eikē could have been added in order to soften Jesus’ statement. But here’s the problem I have with that suggestion. A change in the exact opposite direction is also possible. If so, then why isn’t this second alternative mentioned? It most certainly should be. Let’s assume for the moment that the word eikēis in fact original. How then would we account for its omission? This is a no brainer. A scribe could have easily omitted the word because it made Jesus appear to be too soft on anger. In other words:
After a 45-minute discussion, I felt I could make the following argument with my class:
1. Examine the textual evidence for yourself.
2. Even if you do conclude that the shorter reading is more likely to be original here, be aware that some people in your congregation might be using an English translation (e.g., NKJV) that includes “without cause” in this verse.
3. Be thankful that we haven’t lost a single word of the New Testament. It’s just that we’re not always sure whether the original reading is printed above the line in our Greek New Testament orbelow it (i.e., related to the textual apparatus).
4. Finally, if a Bible translation is going to refer to textual variants in its footnotes, it might be helpful to the reader to use less question-begging language. Saying “Some manuscripts insert” or “Other mss add” prejudices the reader against the longer reading here. In my opinion, it’s far better to say simply, “Other mss read” or “Some mss have.”
Let me close with a caveat: Despite the plethora of new books being published today on New Testament textual criticism, I don’t think we’re any closer to arriving at a consensus among scholars as to the best method for resolving textual variants. I am adopting the proverbial “We’ll see” (or, for the Christian, “We’ll pray about it”) before concluding that the latest fad in textual criticism is really going to help the church. Exegesis, however, floats down a different river. My friend, you can’t avoid textual criticism when you study the New Testament. Merely adopting the reading of whatever English Bible you happen to be using is so very un-Berean. For the love of Moses, get into the text yourself. If you need some help getting started, read myprimer. If you’d like to go deeper into the text of Matt. 5:22, read my Novum Testamentumarticle. This means –brace yourself — no more merely quoting an expert but actually digging into the text for yourself. My land, do we have far to go! But it’s worth the effort. Why? Because God has given us His spectacular word, and we value it.
P.S. The answer to yesterday’s question: Which step of exegesis is missing in each of these textbooks? Here’s youranswer.
Wednesday, February 6
7:52 PM Which step of exegesis is missing in each of these textbooks? Answer tomorrow!
7:45 PM The three steps in mastering a foreign language:
1. Learn the language.
2. Use it.
3. Keep on using it.
That’s it. Simple but not easy.
7:34 PM I did it. I managed to get in a long (20-mile) bike yesterday. The weather was absolutely perfect. Who would have thought you could take a bike ride in early February in 70 degree temperatures?
I should have worn my snazzy cycling shorts.
Truth be told, I was in hog heaven. I mean, you could not have asked for a better day to get in some training. I really pushed myself, which I both hate and love at the same time. I hate not being able to breath. I love it when I look at my Garmin afterwards. What else did I do? Taught my four classes. Had a Bible Area faculty meeting. Had lunch with the director of our East Asia Leadership Initiative. Packed up some of my books to give away in a drawing at Phoenix Seminary on Monday.
Tomorrow I’ll do a medium run to shake out my legs before flying to Arizona on Friday. I’m not sure what’s harder on your body: running in a marathon or flying in airplanes. So now, it’s on to my biggest race of 2019 thus far. I’m ready to get this thing started.
Oh, did I tell you the temp tomorrow here in Southern Virginia is supposed to be 76 degrees? This is crazy.
Monday, February 4
7:55 AM Please tell me I’m not the only one who obsesses about the weather before a race. Here’s the forecast for Phoenix for the rest of the week, including race day (Saturday).
The Lord’s been working overtime on the weather, as you can see. Conditions on race day are perfect for a marathon. I haven’t seen what the humidity is supposed to be but, come on, this is Phoenix, right? Dry heat and all that. This week in the Forest of Wake conditions are just as pleasant.
Which means that I should be able to get in another training workout tomorrow. (Today is rest day.) I still pinch myself whenever I think that I’m actually doing this. What motivated you to start exercising? Why did you get involved in running, or biking, or mountain climbing, or hiking? I started running because I was looking for something to do to get my mind off of other things. I loved the challenged it posed, and I loved how great I felt afterwards. Running is me time, God time, time to enjoy fresh air and to work through stress. I keep running because I’m amazed at what this old body can do. Running has helped me to stay in shape. It’s provided an avenue to help out some charities. Granted, I’m slower now than I used to be, but I can still go long.Fauja Singh ran the Toronto Marathon at the age of 100. He took up running when, at the age of 83, he watched his son be decapitated in a freak accident. He ran for the mental health of it.
I love the fact that anybody can be a runner. At almost every big marathon you see them: people of every size, shape, and talent level. They are part of the “second running boom,” the first being limited to elite racers. Everyone is welcome today. Just hang out at a race and see for yourself who is running, walking, and crawling across the finish line. This Saturday will be no exception. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of lining up at the starting line of a 26.2 mile race with no other goal than to make it to the finish line. Every mile that ticks away on your Garmin watch is another giant “No!” to all the “I can’ts” in your life. Don’t believe me? Try it. Running doesn’t define me. There are more important things in life. But running has built up my perseverance and reminds me that I don’t have to fit into anybody’s caricature of aging.
That is why I run. You?
Sunday, February 3
5:35 PM This week begins my taper before Saturday’s marathon. However, that doesn’t mean I’m idle. After church I drove to Charles City, hopped on my bike, and set off for a long training session. Unbelievably, the day was so warm I could actually wear a tank top.
The Virginia Capital Trail is nothing new to all of you. I’ve reported on it several times. It’s mostly flat and fast. The conditions today were pretty good when you consider how badly hit this part of Virginia was during December’s flooding. For the most part, things looked like this.
But there were some wet spots.
And in some places, the pines had fallen across the trail and had to be cut up.
Kudos to whoever takes such good care of the trail. I ended up doing 26.2 miles today. My goal was to try and beat 2 hours for biking that distance. That had never happened before, until today. I managed it, but barely.
That’s all I’ve got time for right now since I have to cook my meals for the week. I am tired and a bit saddle sore but nothing a good night’s sleep can’t cure. In less than a week I have to run the same distance I biked today. I feel ready for it. All I have to do is keep on training and ignoring the logic of this ridiculous sport.
7:46 AM In his book A Touch of Life, Arthur Gordon writes about the time he stumbled upon an ancient cemetery in an oak grove in the Deep South. One of the gravestones marked the resting place of somebody’s wife who had died of a fever in 1865. Beneath her name were these words:
Ever she sought the best, ever found it.
Gordon writes:
Eight words. I stood there with my fingers on the cool stone…. A century ago this woman had been living through a hideous war. Perhaps it took her husband away from her, perhaps her sons. When it ended her country was beaten, broken, impoverished. She must have known humiliation, tasted despair. Yet someone who knew her had written that she had always looked for the best, and always found it.
The process of grief recovery begins when we realize that nothing can reverse what has happened. No one can bring our loved one back from the grave. What has happened has happened. So you simply move ahead. You let God be God so that you can be normal again and learn that He is there even in the dark times.
As I look back now, I see that all of my bewilderment after Becky’s passing was pushing me inexorably toward God. At the same time, I can never forget what a blessing it was to have known Becky Lynn Black. Occasionally memorializing her life is something I’d like to do until I myself go the way of all flesh. Therefore, last year I commissioned a world class pianist and musical director to compose an arrangement of one of my favorite hymns — For All the Saints — in memory of Becky and in honor of the Savior she loved and served. Anybody who knew Becky will attest to one thing: She always sought the best, and more often than not found it. In the words of the hymn:
Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;/Thou, Lord, their Captain, in the well-fought fight;/Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light –/Alleluia! Alleluia!
Last night I got the exciting news that the world premier of this hymn arrangement is set for May 12 in Dallas. I could not think of a more appropriate day for this event seeing that it’s both Mother’s Day and Becky’s birthday. What a day of celebration it will be. My prayer is that it will fill all who attend with hope and gratitude. I want to preserve the heritage Becky passed down to her children and grandchildren and strengthen that heritage if I can. Since her passing I have found a life that is truly wholesome and good. I know that would make her happy. Indeed, her memory continues to play an important role in our family. Becky’s death will always remain a dark chapter in my life. But I have a sense that the whole book will be a very good one in the end.
P.S. Here’s the powerful version of For All the Saints that I listened to countless times after Becky went Home. If nothing else, it dares us to trust God and offer ourselves to Him as living sacrifices. Speakers up!
Saturday, February 2
6:20 PM I spent the morning at my daughter’s house watching the boys put together an M1A1 tank model. Two thumbs up, guys!
Then I helped Nate and Jess load up another hay delivery before cooking supper.
Nice day for working outdoors.
As always, I labored under the watchful eye of Sheba.
Most Shelties have two floppy ears. Sheba has only one. No conformist is Miss Sheba!
Bruce Cameron once wrote, “When we adopt a dog or any pet, we know it is going to end with us having to say goodbye, but we still do it. And we do it for a very good reason. They bring so much joy and optimism and happiness. They attack every moment of every day with that attitude.” I grew up in a world without dogs or cats or pets of any kind. Then I married Becky Lynn Lapsley. Before I knew it, I was caring for horses and donkeys and chickens and goats and sheep and angus. The dog is different, however. There are 900 million of them worldwide, 80 million of whom live in the U.S. One of them makes her home with me. If you’ve ever become best friends with a canine, you know how gratifying it can be. A walk with a dog makes the world seem right.
There you have it. Psychology 101. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to fill up Sheba’s water bowl.
7:45 AM Already this month I’ve read four books. Two of them were good but two of them were meh. You can’t win ’em all. Today I’m reading this massive tome (592) pages.
It’s the author’s doctoral dissertation at Macquarie University in Sydney. His goal is to unravel “the vexed question of the funding of Paul’s mission.” So far I’m enjoying it. I’ll eventually turn my reading pleasure into a book review for Filologia Neotestamentaria. Every once in a while I remember to step back and count my blessings. This morning was one of those times. It’s so easy to miss all of the blessings that are right before our eyes because we’re so distracted by the gazillion things we have to do today. Giving thanks should be a regular part of our life. And I mean giving thanks even when the world is a jet plane in a massive uncontrolled dive. There are two ways to read a novel. You can either read the whole story from beginning to end, or you can turn to the last chapter and find out how the perpetrator is unmasked. The Scriptures predict a departure from faith in the last days. “They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn to fables.” Everything is being leveled in preparation for the revealing of the man of sin. A comfortable lethargy is an outstanding mark of this age. It’s even possible to be doctrinally sound and sound asleep. The only answer to our apathy is an awakening, and this will not happen until we seek Him with the whole heart. I am the worst of sinners in this regard. How often do I honor Him with my lips but my heart is far from Him. How many times have I payed Him formal respect on Sunday only to live the rest of the week in my own way. How can I enjoy His creation without due regard for His nature? God despises ritual without reality. Profanity isn’t just cussing. It’s entering God’s presence with a backslapping familiarity. During my days in the Jesus Movement (1960s), Jesus was our buddy and our pal. We called Him Jesus, not Lord. Then I read the Gospels. There I discovered that the people closest to Him never once called Him Jesus. For us Jesus freaks, the good (acceptance of Jesus as our Savior and Friend) became the enemy of the best (following Him in obedience and love). We majored on the minors when all along He was exhorting us to put first things first. Friends, let’s not let the good become the enemy of the best. Conversely, let’s not let the best become the enemy of the good. There’s no perfection in this life. Like you, I have my ideas of what the church should look like. I call it my paper perfect church. But the fact is, it’s a dangerous thing to move only in the abstract. We can’t rejoice in the ideal church and not serve the local church. If we wait to join the perfect church before we do His will, we’ll never do His will. God’s will is done perfectly in heaven. But it’s done imperfectly down here. So let’s cut each other some slack. This is no excuse for not doing better, but we don’t start out serving the Lord perfectly.
I’m so ready for Jesus to come back. Only the return of our Lord will make things right. Until then, let’s be clear. Politics holds no hope. Neither does religion. You can’t carve a brotherhood of man out of the putrid wood of unregenerate humanity. Let’s “fight the good faith, finish the race, keep the faith” (2 Tim. 4:6). Paul wrote those words and then walked out to his execution on the Appian Way. Let’s keep sowing good seed. Then, in due time, we will reap.
I know I’m a broken record. But the Lord’s soon return should remind us not to waste time. Let’s make sure we’re loving and caring for those around us, starting with our families. If you see a need, help out if you can. Make things right with others if you need to. Major in the majors, like doing small acts of kindness every day. Call Him Jesus, yes, but don’t forget to make Him Lord as well. Coming to Jesus makes the believer. Yielding to Him makes the disciple. We are not true Christians if the first step fails to become a daily walk.
I’m sorry for this unbelievably disjointed post. When I started this blog back in 2003, it was kind of on a whim. I thought I’d have fun with it for a few years. When Becky died, the blog became my therapy. Today I’m not really sure what it’s morphed into. So thank you for reading it even when it doesn’t make any sense.
Friday, February 1
7:20 PM Any time I go some place new I do tons of research beforehand because I don’t want to miss out on something good. So after my 10-mile bike this morning I came home and began researching cool places to visit while I’m in Phoenix. It’s not like I’m completely unfamiliar with this city. I must have been in Phoenix at least 10 times in my life. As for the State of Arizona, I know it pretty well since Becky and I lived next door in California for all those years and we’d often take our vacations in the Grand Canyon State. In case you might be making a trip there someday, I list here my 10 favorite places to visit in the great State of Arizona.
10. Lake Powell. This lake serves as water storage for several states, including California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico. Camping on the shore is wonderful because when the weather gets hot you can always “go jump in the lake.”
9. Hoover Dam. Be sure to take the tour of the inside of this concrete dam located on the Colorado River.
8. Canyon de Chelley (pronounced Canyon duh shay) is probably the least known State Park in Arizona but it was always fun to camp here, though you do have to watch out for flash floods in the valley.
7. Petrified Forest National Park. This park is famous for its petrified wood. I can think of no more beautiful and colorful park in Arizona except for the Grand Canyon.
6. Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. This is a great place to camp during the summer because of its elevation. Be sure to explore its cinder cone.
5. Tombstone. Yes, that Tombstone. The original courthouse is now a museum.
4. Kaibab National Forest. We always camped here when visiting the Grand Canyon. If you’re willing to rough it, primitive camping is allowed.
3. Winslow. This ghost town is located on historic Route 66. We stopped here every time we drove through Arizona to get a feel for what the old days must have been like (and because it’s mentioned in the Eagles’ song Take It Easy). Be sure to eat at the Falcon Restaurant.
2. Meteor Crater National Natural Landmark. This park is privately owned but is open to the public. Take a tour and explore its rim.
1. Grand Canyon. No words can describe your first visit to this mother of all National Parks. Both rims offer lodging options.
As you can see, Arizona is chockablock full of interesting places to visit with strange names (my spell check just went bonkers). Who other than a Creator could have been responsible for all of this natural beauty? You may ask, “What’s it like to live in Arizona? How do people handle the heat from May to October?” I don’t know since I’ve never lived there. Overall, though, I love this State. I’ve even got the Rim-to-Rim run at the Grand Canyon on my bucket list!
7:44 AM Today, what with the warmer weather, I’m going to try and get in a long bike. What do I think about when I’m cycling for miles and miles? What do you think about when you’re exercising? I usually think about my short terms goals (write the introduction to our collection of papers from the linguistics conference, read a doctoral prospectus, pack for Arizona, check up on my sick grandson) and about my longer term goals (plan my trip to the Alps, arrange another fund raiser for UNC Cancer Hospital, plan my race schedule). This year I’ll see my 67th birthday Lord willing. It will be a time to look ahead to what God has in store for me in the future. This week someone asked me, “Dave, where do you see yourself five years from now?” I replied without skipping a beat, “Teaching, if that’s what God wants.” But birthdays are also times to look back, for deep introspection. The last thing I want to do is become so focused on the future that I forget all of the blessings of yesteryear. Life offers so many rich and varied seasons. So, for what it’s worth, I’m going to sit here at my pooter and try and give you a succinct account of the seasons of life that God has allowed me to experience in my teaching career. I know, succinct I am not, but I’ll try.
As I look back on my teaching ministry, the one thing that stands out is the way I have always sought to find new channels to express my passion. I’ve discovered a “new self” through the years. These years have witnessed, perhaps, three major phases.
The first began when I graduated with my D.Theol. What I loved most about being a freshly minted doctor from Basel was serving the academy. I began doing all the things young scholars are expected to do — write book reviews, publish journal articles, and produce books. Becky was my greatest cheerleader.
With the enthusiastic backing of my mentor at Biola (Harry Sturz), I published my first journal article in the Grace Theological Journal in 1983, the year I graduated from Basel. That led me to begin writing for other evangelical journals (JETS, CTR, WTJ, etc.). Then I began pushing into a new culture, that of the international peer-reviewed journals such as Novum Testamentum, New Testament Studies, and Biblica. That was an exhilarating change for me: I had neither planned not precipitated it. It was, I suppose, my preemptive strike against sameness and burnout, breaking out into the broader scholarly world without leaving, of course, my evangelical roots. If you continually introduce new learning situations into your life and put yourself at some risk, even mid-career scholars can sprout new foliage and make new connections. What’s more, if you’re going to be invited to lecture here and abroad, it’s probably a good idea to reach out and make new friends. And so I became ever more attentive to ways I could serve the scholarly community, whether by writing, lecturing (Oxford, Leeds), or being involved in scholarly societies (ETS, SNTS).
Gradually, something happened to my life. I seemed to be entering a new phase of my teaching career. The older I grew, the more passionate I became about identifying and shaping young talent. As I told my friend the other day, this is one of the reasons I went to SEBTS in 1998. Becky and I weren’t unhappy living in La Mirada, CA. I had, in fact, made my residence there for 27 years. I was content teaching at Biola/Talbot. Eventually, however, a couple of east coast institutions began contacting me about joining their faculties, and I began to ask myself, “If I’m going to make a move, where do I really want to go?” I learned that the president of Southeastern wanted me to come out and explore the possibility of teaching there. What attracted me to SEBTS, at least initially, was the fact that it had just started a Ph.D. program. This was important to me because I had decided that if I ever left Biola it would have to be to teach in a seminary where I could mentor doctoral students. (At that time Biola did not have a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies). And so off we went to the tobacco fields of Granville County, NC, bringing the horses and goats to our new ranch near Oxford. My days were full of firsts again. I felt young. And I noticed something else. I noticed that the focus of my publications was beginning to change. I was writing less for the academy and more for the classroom. I began to be approached by publishers to write textbooks. This started a whole secondary line of publications, including a beginning Greek grammar, an intermediate grammar, an introduction to Greek exegesis, a “solution” to the Synoptic Problem, a primer on New Testament textual criticism, and two books I co-edited with David Dockery on how to interpret the New Testament. I noticed something else too. My books were becoming shorter. Anyone who’s published a book knows that writing goes through stages, from the amoeba stage to the bloated manuscript that needs shrinking until it says what it was meant to say without any unnecessary verbiage. I am indebted to my editors at Baker Academic for allowing me to put my thoughts on the bottom shelf for my students. Thus the road I had begun at Biola had turned a sharp 90 degrees. Of course, transitional periods are often unsettling, and there were some bumps in the road to be sure. But eventually I settled into my new life as teacher-mentor to hundreds of students and, thankfully, I never felt that my batteries were wearing out.
That brings me to the third and final phase of my teaching career. If the first stage focused on the academy, and the second focused on the classroom, I believe the third stage can best be described as an attempt to impact global Christianity. A crevice seemed to fall open, one that I could not get out of. And that was the happy crevice of serving Christ’s worldwide church. A new model of personal existence — post-American man — was in the process of forming. It’s not that I hadn’t already travelled fairly widely in my thirties and forties. But invitations began coming my way from the most unexpected of places. Youthful exuberance was being replaced by the conviviality of shared experience. I began to tap into springs of meaning, love, and self-sacrifice. I was making a leap into 21st century discipleship — a global partnership with the church universal. This is my serving zone, I said to myself. How could I pass up offers to teach in South Korea (6 trips), East Asia (13 trips), Ethiopia (17 trips), Ukraine (3 trips), Armenia (3 trips) and so forth when the churches there felt I had something to contribute to their life and growth? I readily admit, I didn’t always have this global perspective. My own identity as a Great Commission Christian was shaky at best. But when I realized that I could serve beyond the borders of the U.S., I discovered a real passion.
As I’ve gone through these three phases of my teaching career, I’ve come to realize that much of life is learning how to exercise parts of yourself that were ignored earlier. It’s absolutely essential that we assume the humble role of learner if we are going to retrofit ourselves as the years go by. Perhaps the best approach is not to cut yourself loose suddenly from the previous stages but rather to open a parallel track as you develop new roles that allow you to contribute to the church and to society. Since Becky died, I’ve had to ask myself, “What new projects and activities could replace the challenges and satisfactions of marriage?” I don’t want someone to give me a higher handicap just because I’m stepping onto the 16th green. No one has the right to smother someone else’s passion. As I previously stated, the secret in negotiating the passages of life is finding your passion and pursuing it. The more you let go of the past, and the more you let your imagination soar, the easier it will be to find satisfaction in the changes that come with aging. When I started running four years ago, I had no idea that today I would have finished 12 marathons, 17 half marathons, 4 triathlons, and a 31-mile ultra. For me, aging has released a new energy along with a renewed commitment to improving my health for the long haul. When I lost Becky, the sadness was so searing that it took months before I could sleep though the night. I was brokenhearted. But Becky had given me the kindest of gifts. “After I’m gone,” she said, “you’ll still have someone to care for: our children and grandchildren.” She was so right. Life today is full and secure. I follow the same disciplined work ethic as always, but I am intentional about spending time with family. Personal disappointment cannot deprive me of purpose.
Jonathan Swift once wrote, “Every man desires to live long, but no man would be old.” Today, at the age of 66, my mission is to explore every new frontier God places before me. Americans today are living well past 70, and more and more of them are remaining healthy, frisky, and optimistic enough to face the trials of life with resilience and a stalwart faith in God. If and when I “retire,” I don’t want to be comfortable. I want to be active, useful, engaged, and thinking about how to pursue my passions tomorrow. I will continue to write because God has called me to this ministry, but writing is not, in fact, something I place as the highest priority in my life. Man does not live by brains alone. Each human being is imbued by the Creator with a soul that has a unique ability to relate to other souls. My mentoring responsibilities are not done. Neither are my duties as a father and grandfather. To me, life as a 66-year old means integrating all the serial identities that have served me so well through the years of early and middle adulthood. I am who I am. And so are you. It’s never too late to pour new meaning into your life.
Paul said, “To me, to go on living is Christ.” I could not have expressed it as well as he did, but I share his confidence as I look to all the tomorrows of my own life.
October-June 2017 Blog Archives
restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations
January 2019 Blog Archives
Thursday, January 31
7:04 PM A year ago I did this Via Ferrata climb in West Virginia.
You should try it. One can never have too many fun challenges in life. This was only the second Via Ferrata I’ve done, the first beingin the Alps in 2016. It took me about 3 hours to finish. I’m not great at vertical rock climbing but quitting is never an option. I enjoy challenging myself physically and mentally. I have a dream of doing this into my 80s. If I get enough recovery and rest days, I just might be able to.
P.S. I hired a mountain guide throughNROCKS Outdoor Adventures. I’m sure glad I did. They were great.
12:10 PM Hey folks. Just helped Nate and Jess load the hay trailer.
Before that I had a great workout at the gym. Right now I’m washing and ironing my clothes. Then it’s Chinese stir fry for lunch. I might get a run in this afternoon if it gets over 30 degrees. Trust me, I need the exercise.
6:55 AM Odds and ends ….
1) My thanks to Stan, Stephen, Randall, Thomas, Mike, Rob, Con, Jonathan, Michael, Nicholas, and Steven for their willingness to participate in our April conference and open several cans of worms at once. Incidentally, theconference fee goes up tomorrow (from $50.00 to $75.00), so registertoday.
2) Shout out to my hardworking Greek 2 students. This week they finished the indicative mood. Next week we’ll have a thorough review. Then it’s on to the participle, infinitive, subjunctive, imperative, etc.
One of my three sections of Greek 2 taking their weekly quiz.
3) My training stats for January:
Not exactly earth shattering, I know. But praise the Lord, I still managed to get in over 100 hours. I wanted to run today but it’s too cold outside. So the Y will have to do.
4) Lord willing, a week from tomorrow I fly to Phoenix. My cynosure right now is the marathon there. I’m using this time as an excuse to eat. Which is fine as long as you maintain a proper ratio (protein/carbs/fat). While there, I’m scheduled to speak here:
And here:
Really looking forward to getting back to the desert of Arizona. My hugest, biggest, most gignormous goal for the marathon? To return home healthy and injury free.
5) Quote of the day (Peter Gurry):
6) Lunch yesterday with two of the best encouragers you’ll ever meet.
That’s it for now. I’m a schedule kind of guy, and on my schedule right now is to eat breakfast and then get in a workout. After that, who knows. In the meantime, I’m setting manageable life goals and working my tail off to achieve them. One of those is to tell at least one person each day what I appreciate about them. Another is to not sweat the small stuff in life.
What are your goals for 2019?
Monday, January 28
6:10 AM I woke up this morning to the soft lowing of the neighbor’s cattle. I can’t translate “moo” into English, but it sounded to me like a mama was looking for her baby. That’s right. Mama cows and their babies can recognize each other’s voices. I thought to myself, “God’s creation sure is full of wonderful surprises.” Birds communicate through calls and songs. Foxes have 20 different vocalizations. A gibbon’s system of communication has 3 subsystems, one for signaling danger on the ground, another for signaling danger in the sky, and a third for signaling danger in a tree. The animal kingdom turns out to be a noisy place indeed. Just ask my donkeys, who bray every time they see me with a carrot in my hand. We humans have roughly 6,500 spoken languages. (The most widely-spoken is Mandarin Chinese.) I happen to teach one of those languages, and this week will be a watershed in my classes because we will finish the entire active voice in the indicative verb. That’s right: unlike most Greek classes, we cover the entire indicative mood before touching any of other moods in Greek. We also cover the entire active verb before dabbling in the middle and passive. We study the second declension before the first declension because it’s easier and because most New Testament nouns belong to the second declension. Make sense? This week we’ve only got one new morpheme to learn. I call it the passive voice morpheme and it’s marked in dark yellow in the paradigm below:
Let’s look at the first person plural form, eluthēmen. This word has four morphemes (just like “unfriendliness” is comprised of un, friend, li, and ness).
e = past time morpheme.
lu = lexical morpheme.
thē = passive voice morpheme.
men = person-number morpheme.
Hence the translation, “We were loosed.” Easy cheesy!
The one thing my beginning students must absolutely come to grips with is the fact that the word is not the minimal unit of meaning in language. The morpheme is. That’s why I think it’s valuable to teach basic morphology even in a beginning Greek class. I find that when you understand how something works, it stays with you longer. When I was trying to learn Mandarin a few years ago, I was told “Ni hau ma” meant “How are you?” Okay. Got it. But the way my mind works, I wanted to know what every word/morpheme in that sentence meant. And here’s what I learned:
Ni = You.
Hau = Good.
Ma = Question indicator.
“You good?”
This became very helpful to me when I encountered the word “good” (hau) in other contexts. If you’re learning Spanish, breaking a word down into its morphemes can be very helpful. For example, nouns that end in –dad tend to be feminine (e.g., felicidad). In German, on the other hand, feminine nouns tend to end in –heit, –keit, –schaft, and –tät. Of course, German nouns resist being grouped into neat little categories. Still, patterns do emerge.
Ditto for Greek nouns. For example, the case-number suffix –os is frequently masculine in Greek (as in nomos, Christos,apostolos), but hodos and erēmos are feminine. That’s why it’s vital to learn the article (the word “the”) with every noun you’re learning in Greek so that you can tell its gender (ho nomos versus hē hodos).
When speaking German, I sometimes have to think about a noun’s gender before saying it. That never stops me, of course, from conversing in the language. After all, I’ve got a one-in-three chance of getting it right. I tell my students who are learning French or German for their doctoral programs: Learn to speak, not just read, the language. Sure, you’ll make plenty of mistakes. But you’ll learn from your mistakes (Germans are happy to help you out and correct your grammar). Who knows, maybe in time German nouns will become standardized (as they are in English) and grammatical gender will become a thing of the past. Until then, be sure to learn the gender of your nouns.
And never forget your morphology!
Sunday, January 27
1:45 PM Been a great day so far. Church. Grocery shopping. And a nice long walk on the Ringgold Rail Trail — a 25-acre trail system built on an abandoned railroad bed.
A red caboose sits at the western end of the trail.
I had to drive about 45 minutes west on Hwy. 58 to get there. As you can see, the trail was real crowded today.
I used to bike this trail, but that was a few years ago. Today I noticed several improvements. One is that the trail now has mile markers.
Another are these historical markers every mile or so.
Be aware that parts of the trail are in disrepair owing to the major flooding we had last year in Southern Virginia. This was an especially bad part of the trail.
Otherwise, we’re talking about a safe, seamless, and scenic pathway through some of the most beautiful parts of Virginia.
There’s only 13 days left until Phoenix and I’ve got to keep putting miles on these old legs of mine if I want to do well in the marathon. I plan to do 60 miles of training this week, including walking, biking, and running. Not bad for a skinny kid from Hawaii who used to do no exercise at all except for surfing.
Wish me well!
6:10 AM Good day to you, fellow Jesus freaks. My study this morning was in Gal. 5:16-25, “The Works of the Flesh Versus the Fruit of the Spirit.”
Here in Galatians, Paul has been teaching Christian liberty. But he’s aware of the tendency to exchange true liberty either for legalism (5:1) or for license (5:13). The question is: How can we avoid fleshly living? And the answer is the Holy Spirit, who enables us both to fulfill the Law of God on the one hand and who causes the fruit of righteousness to grow in our lives on the other. When Paul refers to the “lusts of the flesh,” he’s not referring to sexual sins alone. Here “flesh” refers to the fallen and rebellious sin nature we inherited from Adam that is perpetually antagonistic toward the Holy Spirit. Paul then lists the “works of the flesh.” I might paraphrase them as follows:
What our human nature does is obvious to everyone. It reveals itself when people are immoral, filthy, and indecent, when people worship idols and engage in sorcery and witchcraft, when people become envious and fight with each other, when people become jealous, angry, and ambitious, when people divide into parties and cliques, when people become envious and murderous, and when people get drunk and have orgies and do other things like these.
The nine-fold fruit of the Spirit then follows. What struck me today was the non-inclusion in most of our English versions of the word I translated “murderous” in my above translation. The word is spelled phonoi in Greek. The word just before it is spelled very similarly: phthonoi. So the question is: Was “murderous” part of the original/initial text of the New Testament or not? I think most New Testament scholars would answer no. One authorwrites:
Although it is easy to see how a few Alexandrian copyists might have overlooked “murder” when their eyes jumped from the end of “envy” to the end of “murder,” a majority of the UBS Textual Committee felt that “murder” might have been borrowed by other copyists from Romans 1:29.
You’ll notice that the reasoning here seems to be based mostly on what scholars call internal evidence, that is, matters having to do what a scribe would more likely have done with the text. But we also have to look at the so-called external evidence, that is, the evidence provided for us by the Greek manuscripts, the ancient versions (e.g., Latin, Coptic, and Syriac), and the early church fathers. And here, it seems to me, the preponderance of the evidence clearly favors the inclusion of the disputed word phonoi, unless one is inclined to automatically follow the early majuscules Aleph and B. As for the internal evidence, the omission of phonoi can probably best be accounted for by what scholars call parablepsis — a jump from one set of letters to similar (or identical) letters further along in the text.
So why am I mentioning this? For two reasons. In the first place, we’ll be discussing the art and science of textual criticism in all of my classes this semester. As we can see here in Gal. 5:21, this step in exegesis can’t be avoided if we are to teach the Word with integrity and credibility. Secondly, I think that this verse is a good example of the two basic approaches to textual criticism among evangelicals today. On the one hand, we can speak of the Alexandrian Priority view. This is the approach followed in the standard Greek New Testaments in use today, including the UBS5 and the NA28. (Here I would also include the new Tyndale House Greek New Testament since its text is largely the same as the text found in the standard texts.) On the other hand, we have what might be called the Byzantine Priority view, one of the chief defenders of which is my colleague Maurice Robinson. You’ll notice that here in Gal. 5:21, the shorter reading is an Alexandrian reading, whereas the longer reading is a Byzantine reading.
There’s a third view I’ll expose my students to, since it happens to be my own. I’m not persuaded that we should follow either the Alexandrian text or the Byzantine when deciding between variant readings. I tend to move more in the Sturz circle. Harry Sturz was my teacher and eventually my colleague in the Greek Department at Biola. (You can read about Harry Sturzhere.) He believed that both the Alexandrian text and the Byzantine text pushed into the second century, arguing that the latter text was unedited in the Westcott-Hort sense. He therefore preferred the reading that was the more geographically widespread. Moreover, he often found that the Byzantine text least often stood alone. It usually sided with the Western text against the Alexandrian text, or else it sided with the Alexandrian text against the Western. Gal. 5:21 is a good example of this. Personally, I don’t prefer the longer reading here because it’s supported by the Byzantine text per se. In other words, I am not a Byzantine priorist. It’s the consensus of witnesses — the Greek manuscripts, the ancient versions, and the patristic evidence — that has me convinced that the longer reading is probably the original/initial text.
The key question (or at least a key question) today, therefore, is this: How shall we treat the Byzantine text? And that question will occupy a good deal of our time in Greek class this semester. I hope you’ll follow our discussion on this blog in the coming months. In the meantime, here’sone of the Power Points I’ll be using in class. I hope you find it interesting.
P.S. Southern Seminary’s Rob Plummer, who is one of the speakers at ourlinguistics conference in April, has posted an excellentreview of the new Tyndale House Greek New Testament. I hope you’ll watch it. Rob recommends that you acquire this Greek text and use it alongside your UBS/NA Greek New Testament. Also, Dirk Jongkind’sAn Introduction to the Greek New Testament: Produced at Tyndale House, Cambridge will prove to be extremely helpful when it’s published in May. (I just wrote a strong endorsement of the book for Crossway.)
Saturday, January 26
6:12 PM It was 7:00 am this morning. I needed to make up my mind. I had paid good money to compete in today’s 5-mile trail run. Would I cash in on it? Good grief. The morning was freezing. “Don’t think, Dave. Just do it.” So I drank the Kool-Aid and figured, “Why not just go for it?” I made it to the race venue about 10 minutes before the 9:00 am race time. I found myself surrounded by a bunch of ridiculously fit people telling stories of their races. Then we were off.
I said to myself, “I’m not nearly as experienced as these guys but that’s not going to hold me back. I’ll run as hard as I can.” Did I say “run”? How about slip, slide, slosh, slither, skid, and slink. I finally got into a rhythm at about mile 2, where I fell in behind some 30-somethings who paced me to the finish.
By having them do the pacing and me the running, I could keep my eyes on the trail without having to find every odd turn as the course meandered through the forest. The last mile was brutal. But finally, the finish.
Truth be told, I’m kinda glad the trail was muddy.
I’m trying to learn to take whatever the course throws at me. Still, it’s really hard climbing on a single track with tons of people. You’re either passing or being passed, sometimes by the same runners. But I’m so thankful that I finished the race without any major incidents (or accidents). Once I left the house this morning, I knew I would push through to the end. It’s my temperament, I guess. The most important thing was to keep moving forward without losing your concentration.
So, another race in the books. Thanks for joining me, you guys. Now go and sign up for a trail run near you.
P.S. Finishing times out of 195 runners:
First place: 37:23.
Last place: 2:08:33.
Me: 1:19:21.
6:44 AM This week in NT 1 (my Gospels class) we’re slated to begin our discussion of New Testament Christology as a subset of the doctrine of the Trinity (or, better, “Trinunity,” German: Dreieinigkeit; Korean: sam-wi ilche).
I’ll begin with a question: Is our theology balanced? Specifically, if we have a doctrine of the Son (Christology), and if we have a doctrine of the Spirit (Pneumatology), why isn’t there a doctrine of the Father? We can’t use the word Patrology because that term is used for the study of the church fathers. Some have suggested “Paterology.” I like that term even though it really doesn’t work because the formation needs to be based on the genitive (not nominative) of patēr. Nomenclature aside, I propose that we stop viewing Paterology as an afterthought. It deserves a category of its own instead of being subsumed under “Theology Proper.” Here’sone attempt to do just that. I think it’s a very interesting approach.
P.S. I love this quote from Bonhoeffer:
The child asks of the Father whom he knows. Thus, the essence of Christian prayer is not general adoration, but definite, concrete petition. The right way to approach God is to stretch out our hands and ask of One who we know has the heart of a Father.
6:20 AM Martin Luther:
Ein Christenmensch ist ein freier Herr über alle Dinge und niemand untertan. Ein Christenmensch ist ein dienstbarer Knecht aller Dinge und jedermann untertan.
I can think of nothing truer. Its meaning is unpackedhere. So this is my dream for my students. Follow God, not man. Serve others sacrificially. That’s about it. If you follow God and His word and love and serve other people in His name, everything else will fall into place. Students, I believe in you. I am so excited to watch how God will use you this semester. When I am 90 years old I will look back on my teaching years and say, “I had such a good time.”
6:12 AM My favorite rendition of this great worship song.
Thestory behind it is unbelievable. Dear kids. You’re missing out on so much. Music like this comes around only once every century. I hope you will rediscover it.
Friday, January 25
7:22 PM Hmm … ya think my toenails need clipping?
Yes, this is the look all professional athletes aspire to have. My toes never cease to amaze me. Earlier, I had a short 10-mile bike ride.
I stopped after getting nearly frostbitten and hypothermic. I have better things to do than freeze to death. Still not sure about whether or not I will run 5 miles around Lake Harris tomorrow morning. The race director emailed me today to say the race was a cross between a mudder and a trail run. At least he’s being honest. There are some things I don’t like, and one of them is slipping on a trail. Here’s a few others:
I don’t like pineapple on my Banzai Burger at Red Robin. It just makes a good burger soggy.
I don’t like it when people minimize their giftedness.
I don’t understand all the hype around movies like The Passion of the Christ. (Don’t hit me.)
Please don’t ask me to applaud in church.
Fad diets don’t do a thing for me.
I don’t like all the chatter at the Y. What are people doing in there?
I don’t care for Keurig. I’m probably not the only one.
I don’t care for reality TV of any kind.
I’ll stop there lest you think I dislike more than I like. If I do head down to Raleigh tomorrow I plan to stop by the REI store in North Hills to try on a pair of new climbing boots for the Alps this summer. A guy named Nick talked me into it on the phone today. He promises me that he has something for my 13-wide boot size. I’ll believe it when I see it. I am becoming really picky about what I put on my feet now that I’m a runner. At 66, I know my body pretty well. I’ve learned that if your feet aren’t happy, nothing is.
In the meantime, time to wind down and get a good night’s sleep.
7:20 AM Up early this morning reveling in the Word. Thank you, Greek New Testament. Your ability to excite and convict takes my breath away, literally. If we were having coffee together this morning, here’s what I’d share with you based on my morning meditations. Steve Runge, in his outstanding workDiscourse Grammar of the Greek New Testament, has a chapter titled “Metacomments.” “Metacomments look forward to what is coming,” he writes, “commenting on it in a way that does not substantially contribute to its propositional content.” His first example is Rom. 12:1-2. Here Paul could have commanded his readers as follows: “Present your bodies as living sacrifices,” omitting the preceding metacomment, “I urge you, therefore, on the basis of the mercies of God ….” Instead, Paul chose to use a mitigated form of command, as if to say, “Look, because God has been so merciful to you, you should, in response, present your bodies as living sacrifices to Him. Make sense?” The appeal seems to be directed more to his readers’ mind/logic/reason than to their will.
I’ve noticed this kind of mitigation throughout Paul’s writings, but especially in Rom. 12:9-21. Notice how often the Greek imperative mood (in red) is mitigated by the imperatival use of adjectives (green), participles (blue), and even infinitives (yellow):
Let’s take a closer look. At first, Paul doesn’t use a single verb in the imperative mood, and yet each of his propositions has an imperatival force: “Love must be sincere … Abhor what is evil … Cling to what is good …, etc.”
All this changes in verse 14. Here we find Paul’s first explicit commands (red), and we even find the infinitive mood being used imperatively (yellow), along with imperatival participles (blue):
Finally, Paul ends the chapter with the use of direct commands (red):
What should we make of these mitigated commands? And how can we indicate their significance in English? Neva Miller once suggested that the adjectives and participles in this passage contain the idea of “You should.” That is, Paul is appealing to his readers’ sense of logic. The infinitives, on the other hand, appeal to his readers’ sense of moral duty or obligation: “It is necessary to ….” And finally, Paul uses the imperative mood per se when he wants to appeal to his readers’ volition. Logic, duty, volition — it’s all here. Neva came up with a fabulous means of expressing these distinctions in English. See if you don’t agree.
Now here is what struck me. Once again we see that Paul is keen on coupling doctrine with duty, belief with behavior, creed with conduct. He insists on the practical implications of his theology. Without doubt, the theme of “love” dominates this passage. “Your love for one another must be genuine,” says Paul. Yet, ironically, the very first thing that love involves is hatred. Love abhors every kind of evil and clings like glue to every form of goodness. It’s a great mistake to suppose that we can walk in love, actively and purposefully, without first crucifying everything we know to be sinful in our lives. We must take our old sinful nature, with its lusts and desires, and nail it to the cross. In the words of Jesus, we must take up our cross daily. If there is a secret to loving one another unhypocritically, it’s the decisiveness of our repentance. And so we must repudiate, daily, what we know to be wrong in order that we might be able to love other people as we should. Our task is to take time each day to tell the flesh, “You are crucified; you are nailed to the cross where you belong,” and to tell the Lord, “I belong to You; Your Spirit indwells me, and so I shall this very day set my mind on the things of Your Spirit and walk according to His rule from moment to moment.”
Well, that was my main takeaway from my time in the Word this morning. (Sorry it took me so long to get to my point). To love sincerely, we must forsake all of our other “loves.” It won’t be easy. (See also 1 John 2:15-17.) But it’s a choice that true love demands that we make.
P.S. In case you’re interested, my Power Point on Rom. 12:9-21 can be foundhere.
P.P.S. The day is absolutely gorgeous. Hope to get in a long bike today.
P.P.P.S. Steve Runge, whom I quoted earlier, will be one our speakers at ourlinguistics conference. Why not come and hear him in person?
Thursday, January 24
12:42 PM To run or not to run. That is the question. This Saturday’s 5-mile UGTB Trail Run at Lake Harris takes you along the lake shore through a variety of habitats including pine stands and oak hardwoods. I know how tough this course is because I ran it 2 years ago in good weather. The winning time was 33:54. The last place finisher clocked in at 1:24:40. My time was 1:03:56. This year the conditions will be wet and soggy. The race will require sacrifice from every runner. There will be risks. No one is guaranteed not to fall or stumble or grow weary. In other words, the race will be a lot like life. But off we go because we weren’t made to stand still. We were created to run, each one of us. When I ran this race 2 years ago I felt lost. The course meanders and unless you’re familiar with it you can forget covering the distance at any speed. Thankfully, about 2 miles into the race I fell in behind a guy in his 40s who had competed on the course several times. He paced me the rest of the way and we finished side by side. I realized how important it is in life to have a coach, especially when you’re facing new challenges. There’s only 16 days before the Phoenix Marathon and I could use some trail running to complement my running on asphalt and crushed gravel. I hate to trot out another tired cliché, but I’m just going to listen to my body and my common sense and make my decision tomorrow night.
Earlier today I saw my dental hygienist and then cranked out a 1-hour workout at the Y. Tomorrow the sun is supposed to shine again and I’m hoping against hope to be able to get in another long bike. Right now I’m voting “yes” for Saturday’s race, but if the conditions are too wet I’ll probably stay at home since I really can’t afford to sprain an ankle (or worse) less than 2 weeks before Phoenix. So it’s all a bit unclear.
7:55 AM Language lovers, gather ’round. Let’s have a little fun in the text this rainy morning, shall we? Look at how the Hebrew New Testament translates Matt. 28:20. Instead of “I am with you always” it has “I am with you all the days.”
Look at the bottom line.
I’m impressed. That’s exactly what the Greek has.
Of course, when I memorized the Great Commission, I memorized “I am with you always.” But when I did the base translation for the ISV New Testament, I demurred. It puzzled me why the English versions had “always” when the Greek had “all the days.” Could it be because “all the days” isn’t an English idiom? That’s possible. Or perhaps the Greek pantote and the Greek pasas tas hēmeras were considered synonymous (and they may well be). On the other hand, check out these versions:
French:
German:
Latin:
Portuguese:
Spanish:
So in the ISV, we ended up going with the English idiom “each and every day.”
There’s something so “daily” about the Christian life, isn’t there? It’s easier, I think, to meet God on the mountain top or in our extremity, but it takes a lot of grace to handle the ordinary, day-by-day grind of life. Perhaps that’s why the New Testament has a lot to say about the “daily.” Jesus calls us to take up our cross daily. The earliest believers met daily as a group in the temple. The Lord added daily to their number. Paul said, “I die daily.” We are called upon to exhort each other daily. Our prayer is “Give us today our daily bread.” And, as we see in our text, Jesus promises to be with us “all the days” — day after day after monotonous day. I don’t know about you, but I need God’s grace daily.
There is meaning in the mundane, folks, and grace for the grind. I’m grinning right now. Hope you are too.
Wednesday, January 23
6:36 PM I’m not sure I know why I’m feeling so tired tonight except for maybe the fact that I taught three classes back to back (almost) and had constant meetings on campus. By far the best part of my time on campus was meeting new students, or at least students I hadn’t had in class before.
Welcoming new students during convocation.
Overall, it’s been a great two days at school and a reminder that:
I love the classroom.
I put too much pressure on myself when I teach.
My students love me despite the fact that I talk too fast and I talk too much.
My colleagues are the greatest (even you, T. M.).
I work in the greatest institution in the world.
I know I’m spoiled. But really, I am. It’s all grace, of course — nothing but undeserved blessings from the hand of the Giver of all gifts. If ever there was a time to be excited about teaching, it’s today. Students are open and questioning and challenging and kindhearted and just plain super. Yes, my work may get tiring sometimes, but it’s the price you pay for doing what you love.
P.S. These were on my desk when I arrived at the office yesterday.
I can’t thank my good friend Jesús Peláez (of Córdoba, Spain) enough for sending me his new book on lexicography. Andrew Bowden was the translator. Andrew is my former personal assistant. Right now he’s in Germany getting his Ph.D. in New Testament. So grateful for the work you are doing, Andy.
Off to read a good book and then sleep for 10 hours.
Tuesday, January 22
6:10 AM Let me tell you why I teach Greek. It’s simply this. God has a plan for individuals. And He’s communicated this plan to us in His Word. Our God is a communicative God, and He has made known His will to us through those who penned the Scriptures. Biblical truth is just that: truth that is communicated in and through the Bible. It’s truth that is at once “inspired by God” and “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man [and woman] of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” What all this implies is that if we are to move from the classroom to real life we will have to prize what we learn and view it as a life skill and not merely as an educational attainment. Of course, this isn’t easy. Almost all of us feel tremendous ambivalence as we wrestle with the question of just how to apply what we learn in the classroom to the real world. Yes, knowledge of Greek is essential if we are to have a firm foundation upon which to build our exegesis of the New Testament. On the other hand, I must say forcefully that facts, no matter how brilliantly taught or diligently acquired, are nothing more than the raw building blocks of life. How we put them together, and for what use (and whose glory), is another matter altogether.
It will be an exciting week in Greek 2: the aorist middle plus the imperfect middle/passive. I’m convinced that my calling in life is not to be just a Greek teacher (or even a just Greek teacher) but to be a Christian. In that spirit, I’m praying hard for my Greek students. Theirs is a daunting task, but God is able!
Monday, January 21
6:55 PM I finally got in my 5-mile run tonight even though it was freezing. An undershirt and four layers did the trick, however. But just barely.Spring is just around the corner, right?Sometimes I don’t feel like running, but not today. The sun was shining, my Garmin was charged, the animals were scattering hither thither and yon, and I knew I needed to get in a good run if I was going to compete in a 5-mile trail run in Raleigh this Saturday.
If only I could lay my grubby hands on that groundhog or his shadow!
12:24 PM Tomorrow the new semester kicks off with convocation and my first class. Today I was able to get to the Y (yes, it was open) for a workout. Afterwards I planned on running but it was too cold (20 degrees). Yes, I wimped out again. Maybe I’ll try again when we reach today’s expected high of 29.
Earlier I spent an hour or so at Bojangles sipping coffee and working on a lecture over Matthew. God in His providence has given us a fourfold portrait of Jesus. There’s still only one Jesus, but He’s viewed from 4 different angles. There’s one fabulous diamond with four brilliant facets, one person with four faces. This is why “Redaction Criticism” is so very valuable. It helps us to see that the authors of the Gospels weren’t merely compilers or biographers or diarists. They were theologians in their own right. Each had their own theological emphasis they wanted to convey. So we had better ask ourselves, “What are the particular emphases of the four Gospels?”
For Matthew, the key word seems to be “fulfillment.” Matthew portrays Jesus as the personal embodiment of centuries of Old Testament expectations. Rather than destroying the Law and the Prophets, Jesus brings them to completion and fulfillment in Himself. Matthew has meditated long and hard on the life of Jesus on the one hand and the Old Testament Scriptures on the other. And he has found a remarkable correspondence between the two. Jesus didn’t see Himself as another prophet. He presented Himself as the fulfillment of all the prophets. That’s one reason Matthew is placed first in the New Testament canon. Matthew forms an indispensable bridge between the Old Testament and the New. That’s why we can never unhitch the Old Testament from the New Testament. If you don’t understand the Old Testament, you don’t understand the Scriptures, and if you don’t understand the Scriptures, you will never understand who Jesus is. It’s as simple as that. Thus Matthew traces Jesus back to Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation. As the seed of Abraham, Jesus is the one through whom God’s promises to Abraham and his seed come to be fulfilled. The Old Testament is the story of the covenant family of God. And Matthew insists that Jesus is the seed of Abraham — the posterity of Abraham — in whose person God’s promises are fulfilled. The real descendents of Abraham, therefore, are those who share his faith, including the Gentiles as well as the Jews — people like the Magi who came to Jesus and offered Him their worship as harbingers of millions of Gentiles like ourselves who are the children of Abraham by faith and not by blood. And through the Gospel, God’s kingdom of shalom is on the move, day by day.
For the sake of this Gospel, I’m praying that Jesus might get hold of my students as never before. We are on a mission together, men and women, young and old, Republicans and Democrats, homeschoolers and government schoolers, joining in God’s great rescue mission. Our misguided hierarchies have no place in this kingdom. If the Sovereign Redeemer is moving in a downward path, then we must move in the same direction.
“Aslan is on the move,” wrote C. S. Lewis. Won’t we join Him?
Sunday, January 20
6:42 PM I feel pretty good about my mileage for the week.
Never mind. Who am I kidding? This is peanuts compared to most of the runners I know. Still, my workouts ran me into the ground today, or least into my bed for a nice long nap. So I took the day off from any form of exercise whosoever save for my mandible.
Right now I’m watching the blood wolf moon rise. The real fun starts at 10:00 pm. It’s already too cold to sit outside so Sheba and I are enjoying the view from the library window. She hasn’t started howling yet but I expect her to begin any minute now.
1:28 PM This and that ….
1) I get tons of questions from my readers, but no topic comes up more frequently than questions about textual criticism. Probably because I’m no expert on the subject, nobody hangs on my words. Occasionally I’ll drag you, my reader, into a conversation I’m having in my own mind, like this one: “Why in the world would the editors of my Greek New Testament make a chapter break here of all places?”
The French call these mots crochets (or something like that). Having all that white space, plus a new chapter number, kind of ruins the connection, don’t you think? While we’re in John 2 (where we were in this morning’s sermon at church), I noticed something I had never seen before, and that is Mary’s command to the servants at the wedding at Cana: “Do whatever He tells you.” I said to myself, “Self, this is the entire Christian life in a nutshell. You just do whatever Jesus tell you to do. You go wherever He tells you to go. You say whatever He tells you to say.” I’ve read John 2 a billion times but that statement of Mary never struck me before. If Jesus says it, why in the world would we not want to do it anyway?
2) What an eerie photo I took this morning.
It’s certainly not your normal sunrise picture. I think the sky was in a funk today, not knowing whether to rain or to clear up. And sure enough — it started to rain not long after I snapped this picture, and then the day cleared up beautifully. Which is a reminder that the weather in Virginia is bonkers. We’ve had tornadoes, winter storms, tropical cyclones, torrential rains, nor’easters, and even anearthquake. One day it’s warm and pleasant, and the next day it’s freezing cold. Today’s high will be a comfortable 51. Tomorrow’s high will be a mere 30 degrees. Wild, weird weather seems par for the course, but it sure makes life interesting.
3) If you were the first to top out on Everest, wouldn’t you want the world to know it?
Not so with Hillary and Norgay.
“It’s amazing how much can be accomplished if it doesn’t matter who gets the credit” (attributed to Harry Truman but who really knows?). My mind goes to the anonymity of Hebrews. Of course, I believe Paul authored the book (regardless of who the penman may have been), but if he did — or whoever did — it takes an awful lot of humility to omit your name in the opening. Edgar Allan Poe originally published his Tamerlane and Other Poems anonymously. Mary Shelley did the same with Frankenstein. The Federalist Papers were originally published under the pseudonym “Publius.” And can you tell me who authored Beowulf? Nope. I have not accomplished anything in my life — not one single thing — without the help of some really wonderful people. You know what I love? Working together as a team. I love team-teaching our LXX class. I love co-organizing our linguistics conference with one of my colleagues. I love working with my publishers. Of course, working together with our brothers and sisters in Christ isn’t always easy. I can’t think of a group that requires more grace. But at the end of the day, it really is amazing how much more we can get done if it doesn’t matter who gets the credit for it. So thank you, 5th grade Social Studies teacher at Kainalu Elementary School, for turning me on to Spanish. Thank you, Ms. Sarenchok, for allowing a Kailua High School flunky to organize an assembly. Thank you, Eurocorps Brass Team, for letting me play trumpet with you for 3 months in West Germany. And thank you, Becky, for being a partner with me in the Gospel for all those years. Although I’ve been on this planet for 66 years, I still have a lot to learn about team work. So thank you, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, for showing us the way.
7:30 AM Here’s my Power Point on theLeading Solutions to the Synoptic Problem.
I also co-edited with David Beck a book calledRethinking the Synoptic Problem thatcame out of a conference we had on campus in 2000 called Symposium on New Testament Studies. Contributors are Craig Blomberg, William Farmer, Darrel Bock, Scot McKnight, and Grant Osborne. You can see that I think this is a pretty big deal. It is sacred work and it counts very much. So here is my invitation to establish your own SGRC (Synoptic Gospels Research Center), and I’m even willing to help. I’m doing a drawing for a free copy of Rethinking the Synoptic Problem. Be sure to send me your mailing address when you write. I’ll contact the winner tomorrow at this time.
And remember: Ad fontes.
6:58 AM It’s taken me decades to come to grips with the difference between the Gospel and the American version of the Gospel. That’s why I’m eager to begin another section of NT 1 this Wednesday. In this class, we cover the Four Gospels. For me, the Gospels have become my biblical benchmark. If it can’t be corroborated by Jesus, then it probably isn’t true. I noticed this when I read the book of 1 John this morning in its entirety before even getting out of bed. John the apostle wants everything he says to match the life and character of Jesus the Messiah. “Whoever says he remains in union with God should live just as Jesus did” (1 John 2:6). This is perhaps one of the most difficult verses in Greek that you’ll find in 1 John, but its meaning is plain. We either look like Jesus or we don’t. Ah yes, the Jesus paradigm. Good reader, I don’t mean to vilify your attempt to live the American Dream because I share your desire to live comfortably. Rather, I want to loosen some of the chains we bind ourselves with. In many ways, the perception of American evangelicalism is that it’s a calling to a life of luxury and privilege, authenticated by a 501c3 and a nice salary. Hence we value education and financial stability. We go to work, and we try to be the best workers we can be. And that’s certainly part of our calling, because the Gospel is perfectly demonstrated through the daily grind of working and parenting. The Gospel is rarely big or famous work. Our generation is so hamstrung by the notion of bigger, better, and more famous. What a tragedy. It’s time we learned how to celebrate ordinary life, to live in the present and joyfully, to say yes to the kingdom through perfunctory kingdom acts of goodness and meekness.
This is what the Gospels, I hope, will teach us this semester. It’ll be a whirlwind of a course. Here’s our weekly schedule:
Introduction to the Gospels.
Textual Criticism.
The Synoptic Problem.
Backgrounds to the Gospels.
The Four Gospels.
Jesus’ Birth and Galilean Ministry.
Jesus’ Judean Ministry and Final Week.
Matthew.
Mark.
Luke.
John.
The Message of Jesus.
For our basic textbooks, we’re using Strauss’sFour Portraits, One Jesus: An Introduction to Jesus and the Gospels and myThe New Testament: Its Background and Message.
The work of teaching isn’t just disseminating information. It’s shaping future dads and moms and professionals and disciples. It’s noble work with the potential for mega outcomes. Jesus is the only Person we can follow. So let’s give students Jesus and trust Him to lead them into all truth even if we don’t see the results for years. Unfortunately, progress in the Christian life is always uneven, like the mountain trail I biked yesterday.
There are lots of ups and downs. But if you wait until everything is perfect in your life to begin pursuing the downward path of Jesus, you’ll likely wait the rest of your life.
Saturday, January 19
7:30 PM Today I swapped out my road bike for my mountain bike and drove 2 hours to the Pocahontas State Park near Richmond, which is famous for its numerous biking trails. I rode 5.38 miles and had a blast.
As I rode among the trees, I contemplated the passages of life — how throughout the years we see the grace of God revealed even in the midst of difficult circumstances, and how He delights in taking saplings and transforming them into weathered and beautiful trees. He is doing that for me, and for you as well, but the transformation is still ongoing and will continue to unfold until His work is complete. Yes, Lord, I will love You completely. I will surrender my will to Yours. I will relinquish the mask that shields my deepest emotions and hurts. I won’t try to mold You into my image. I will seek Your highest calling for me until Your work in me is done.
7:24 AM This is the place where my interest in Gospel studies began. It’s the Theologisches Seminar at the University of Basel.
The last thing I ever intended to do upon arriving in this beautiful city on the Rhine was to study the Synoptic Problem. My interest was in Paul. But my Doktorvater had specialized in the Gospels, and I greatly admired the work he had done on synoptic origins. I could see the value in synoptic studies, but I had no idea it might be for me. Later on, however, I found myself being drawn inexorably towards the Synoptic Problem, especially as my interest in the Greek of the New Testament grew.
This morning I was rereading Mark’s account of the temptation of Jesus.
As I read, I remembered that Stan Porter, in his bookLinguistic Analysis of the Greek New Testament, had a chapter called “Verbal Aspect and Synoptic Relations.” So, what had Stan said about this problem? I’m certain I wasn’t expecting what I found. For Stan actually seems to be defending Markan posteriority in his discussion of Jesus’ temptation — a view I espouse in my bookWhy Four Gospels: The Historical Origins of the Gospels.
I was curious to see that he took the shift from perfective to imperfective aspect as possibly pointing to Mark’s account as being later than both Matthew’s and Luke’s.
Of course, I imagine Stan would be the first to admit that such evidence is not probative. This is exactly what I tell my students. The Synoptic Problem, in my opinion, will never be solved on the basis of the internal evidence alone. Which is why in my book on the subject I devoted an entire chapter to the writings of the church fathers, providing my own fresh translations from the original Greek and Latin. I’m struck by the unanimity of these ancient writers that Matthew was our earliest written Gospel. I’m less infatuated, however, with arguments for Matthean priority based on the internal evidence. The latter is simply far too subjective for my liking. But that a scholar with the stature of Stan Porter should suggest that the Markan priority position might be wrong, at least in this one instance, bodes well, I think, for the future of our discipline. The more important matter, as I see it, is the way the external evidence is ignored by scholarship in general. This is frankly disastrous. So is the absence of competent grappling with Greek grammar, as Stan notes in his essay. I am intrigued to note that our own doctoral students, when taking their comps, are frequently asked questions about the order of the Synoptic Gospels, and in giving their answers they more often than not seem open to solutions other than the consensus view. This revolution has not come about because those in authority have told them to change their minds, but because they began to examine the primary data themselves. There is real value in such an effort, as I discovered long ago in a 13th-century building on the Nadelberg in Basel. No wonder I’m optimistic about the future of New Testament studies. In my classrooms I hope to inculcate a disposition of respect for the evidence, all of the evidence. Such is the position I adopted from my earliest days of teaching. I’ve not had occasion to regret that decision.
P.S. You can hear Stan Porter in person at our upcoming conferenceLinguistics and New Testament Greek.
Friday, January 18
6:36 PM Today I got on my road bike. It was definitely nice to be outside again. It got up to 58 degrees. Felt almost like summer. Cycling is easier than running. You can go much farther, too, with less energy expended. Today I biked 26.2 miles.
I love cross training. I love my bike. I think getting into triathlons was the best thing to happen to my running. Afterwards I “rewarded” myself with a trip to KFC. I can’t believe I’m admitting that.
Biking on a day like today is so much fun. It helps me forget about all the stupidity going on in our nation today. For me, the best combo in the world is family + teaching + travel + ministry + exercise. That’s one reason why I’m really praying about going back to the Alps this summer to celebrate my 67th birthday. I will say, though, that surfing in Hawaii in August will be almost as enjoyable. You may have noticed that the older I get, the more my Wanderlust kicks in. Okay, maybe I’ve always loved to travel, but knowing that your traveling days are numbered gives you a sense of urgency to get out there and be active. I would love to compete in marathons into my golden years. Who knows, maybe I’ll even outrun my grandkids.
Here’s to a long life of running (or whatever you’re passionate about)!
Thursday, January 17
7:42 PM Confession: I love to lift weights in the gym. Yes, I also love to run and bike and swim and climb, but there’s nothing like a good workout at the Y. I go to the Y instead of a fancy health club because:
I am cheap.
It has all the equipment I need.
The use of trainers is free.
It’s convenient.
I don’t go to the Y to meet people necessarily, although I’ve met a number of great individuals there through the years. It’s simply too easy to waste time chatting when you should be exercising. If you don’t believe me, go to gymhappyhour.com, a website that doesn’t exist. The only exception, of course, is taking selfies. That is perfectly acceptable.
I like to get in, work hard, and get out. I like to move quickly from one workout to the next instead of lollygagging. Then, when I’m done, I can go back to whatever I was doing before and feel like my time at the Y was efficient and beneficial.
After my workout today I mulled over a question that had been nagging me all morning ever since I read John 8 in my new Hebrew New Testament. Here’s the section I was reading.
And here’s what Jesus says in John 8:58.
Why, I asked myself, would the Hebrew translators have Jesus saying this? Let’s see. The French versions have “Je suis.” The German reads “Bin ich.” And the Spanish? “Yo soy.” Here’s the Greek.
I’ve been discussing this with a couple of my Hebrew teaching buddies and I look forward to more interaction with them. Here’s the rub for me: Either this verse is an allusion to the Divine Name in Exod. 3:14 or it isn’t. If it is, I’m okay with the oddball rendering (using all caps) “I AM.” The good news is that the future of mankind does not depend on me solving this puzzle.
Today, by the way, I neither ran nor biked. I’m trying to take my own advice and rest between workouts. Many fitness websites tell you that cross training is essential. So tomorrow I’m going to try a long bike. Actually, although I’m not very good at it, I enjoy bicycling. I enjoy triathlons as well. Well, I’ve only done 4. But they were great fun. Be honest. Are you getting enough exercise? I believe there’s a way to push yourself without going overboard or sacrificing your health. I know one thing. I am my own worst enemy. I either train too much or I train too little. Sometimes I stare at my Garmin when I should be listening to my body. There seems to be a fine line between hard and too hard. Even with my fair amount of experience, I still make stupid mistakes. I think it just takes time to figure out what your body can do and what it can’t do. But it’s definitely hard to find that balance.
Oh man, I totally want to learn how to do this exercise thing!
6:20 AM Today I’m giving this book to my horse-loving granddaughter, whose family has both a horse and a pony on their farm.
This book is an all-time children’s classic. I found it while rummaging around in my office this week. It’s narrated by Black Beauty himself so we get to see the world from the perspective of a horse. The author, Anna Sewell, said she wrote the book to awaken love and sympathy for animals. Although the book depicts the cruelty of man, the story has a happy ending. Throughout his struggles, Black Beauty maintains a positive and persevering spirit. I love how the author tries to get into the mind of her animals. I’m pretty sure that’s what I’ve done with the goats and sheep and horses and donkeys and cattle and dogs I’ve owned through the years. I actually try to see life from their point of view.
As an equestrian and an educator, I can say that this book is truly an amazing work of fiction. But here’s what struck me the most. This was the only book Anna Sewell ever wrote. And she composed it while she was an invalid and could hardly get out of bed. She died a mere 5 months after it was published but providentially was able to see its success. Today, over 50 million copies of her book have been sold worldwide. Heartrending and educational, it’s one of those books I think most every child could benefit from by reading it. It preaches without being preachy, if you know what I mean. I hope it will have pride of place on my granddaughter’s bookshelf for many years to come.
P.S. Amovie was made based on this book.
Wednesday, January 16
7:25 PM Random musings after a very full 3 days of teaching:
1) This was my view this evening as I completed a 5-mile run at the Tobacco Heritage Trail in South Boston, VA.
And this was my view as I completed a 12-mile bike yesterday at the Neuse River Greenway in Raleigh, NC.
I am slowly introducing my body back into marathon training and it’s going surprisingly well. I’ve enjoyed some really peppy workouts and anticipate a few more before I leave for Phoenix in 3 weeks. The concept is simple. Get outdoors and enjoy this great big world that God created for us to enjoy. As for tomorrow … well, I hope to lift at the Y, have lunch with my daughter and her family, and then rest up before attempting a 26.2 mile bike on Friday.
2) After I ran this evening I decided to eat at a Mexican restaurant that Becky and I used to frequent before she got too sick to dine out. I hadn’t eaten here in over 5 years, but I decided that tonight was going to the night to rectify that omission. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, memories swept over me. I could visualize myself opening the car door for Becky and I could see us, hand in hand, walking into the restaurant. She would order what she always ordered — chimichangas — and I would usually order arroz con pollo — which, by the way, just “happened” to be tonight’s special.
Becky loved Mexican food, and she would often cook burritos and tacos at home. I think she drew inspiration from her Texas background. Odd isn’t it, how food soothes our souls. Tonight, as I ate alone (no — the Lord was with me), I felt a sense of peace sweep over me, touching the anguish of my soul and giving me comfort and rest. I was reminded of how Becky’s death changed the trajectory of life in so many ways. It’s not surprising to anyone who’s experienced a painful loss to find themselves inspired by that loss to dedicate themselves to some worthy cause or greater purpose. I’d have never climbed the Alps for charity or started running for various causes had I not experienced the loss of my wife. I find myself thinking more than ever about what the new heavens and the new earth will look like — how life will be for the whole creation when Jesus comes back and sets everything in order again. In the meantime, you and I have our own stories to live out, our own traditions of faith and virtue to pass down to our children and grandchildren. We find meaning in loss even as we affirm life in the midst of death. All this — and much more — occurred to me while I chomped down on my rice and chicken. Hope is so much more than a passing feeling. It’s the light in the deepest darkness, the unwavering promise that no matter how bleak things may appear to be, He is always near. Is it any wonder Jesus calls Himself the light of the world?
3) This book came today.
It’s an absolute treasure. This particular edition is extremely attractive.
The Hebrew text was translated by the great Hebrew scholar F. Delitzsche, and a new English translation has been provided that is a vast improvement over the version that used to accompany the Hebrew text.
I always find it interesting to compare the Hebrew with the Greek, especially when I’m in the Gospels. Don’t you?
So there you have it. Right now I have nothing else to say but a prayer of thanks to God for giving me such a fantastic Greek class for J-term. Students, you were terrific. It’s a privilege to be truth-telling and to do some exegetical rabble-rousing with each of you.
I am so grateful.
See you next week!
Monday, January 14
5:10 AM N. T. Wright addresses the issue of church and state (i.e., the kingdom of God versus the kingdoms of this world) in this YouTube. I link to it because much is being said these days about why evangelicals should become involved in political activism. I am not against activism per se. I do have some concerns, however. I will probably not support a so-called “conservative Christian” political agenda if its proponents:
1) Give the impression that they are more “moral” than other people. If Paul could consider himself “the very worst of sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15), it will not help your cause if you pit “moral people” (like us) against “immoral people” (like homosexuals, prostitutes, and abortionists, etc.). Jesus’ holiness did not repel sinners. He did not go around promoting “faith, family, and freedom.” He attracted tax collectors and prostitutes while the Pharisees kept their distance.
2) Think it will “bring America back to God.” America has never been a Christian nation.
3) Identify the church with any human institution or political party. God is not a Republican or a Democrat. Please do not suggest that agreeing with your particular political position is a precondition to belonging to the kingdom of God. It is not.
4) Fail to submit to God’s reign in every area of life, including Jesus’ command to love sinners. Nonconformity to the world means more than opposing social evils such as abortion; it includes a humble, peacemaking, servant-like, self-sacrificial love. It means revolting against everything in our lives that is inconsistent with Gods kingdom, including the temptation to grab Caesar-like political power.
5) Claim that their position is the only “Christian” position out there. We must always be on guard against the seductive lure of a kind of hubris that implies that all “sincere” and “godly” evangelicals share the same view about controversial political actions. They don’t.
6) Imply that “inalienable rights” and “the pursuit of happiness” are biblical concepts. They are not. I love democracy. I’d much rather live in a democracy than in a dictatorship. But nowhere is democracy or political freedom elevated to a virtue in the New Testament.
The Gospel is a beautiful and powerful grassroots kingdom movement. No, it does not rule out political activism. But the truth is that the kingdom does not look like the thousands of social movements abroad in the land today. The heart of Christianity is simply imitating Jesus. What is needed, then, is to develop a Christian mind on these matters and that means informing ourselves about contemporary issues, pouring over the Scriptures, voting in elections (as the Lord leads us), sharing in the public debate (to the degree, again, that we are led to do so), giving ourselves to public service if that is our divine calling, etc. At times the church may be led to go beyond teaching and deeds of mercy and take corporate political action of some kind, but we must not do so without making every effort to study an issue thoroughly and seeking to reach a common Christian mind.
Sunday, January 13
5:30 PM I’ve got the rice boiling while I prepare my dinners for the next few days on campus. My body is here in Virginia but my mind is in Phoenix, where I’ll be running in a marathon in less than a month. I truly believe that there’s hardly a person on Planet Earth who couldn’t run a half or a full marathon if they decided to do it. Every person is already a potential long-distance athlete. It comes down to tenacity more than talent. I should know. Entering my first 5K as a 63 year old male was a turning point in my life. I had switched from running for recreation to running as a racer. I took whatever God-given talent I had (not very much), trained as hard as I could, and then went out and raced. At first, 3.1 miles seemed impossible. Since then, every new distance has seemed like a milestone. 6.2 miles. Then 10 miles. Then 13.1 miles. Then 26.2 miles. Then 31 miles. The marathon has become one of my top life experiences. It has challenged me like nothing else. Of course, I’ve had a lot of encouragement along the way. (Thank you, family.) But when you get to the starting line, you’re on your own. Nobody else can take one step for you. It is you and you alone who has to make up your mind to keep on going. Like Greek scholars, long-distance athletes are made, not born. When I completed my first marathon, I walked away from the finish line knowing that I could accomplish anything in life. I’ve learned that with everything in life, tenacity is more important than talent. I see that same tenacity in my Greek students. Some have an aptitude for languages, others don’t. Yet there they are — mastering a very difficult language in a very short period of time. Everyone can learn Greek, and everyone can become a long-distance runner. For me, racing is not about setting new PRs. It’s about starting a race and then finishing it, knowing that it was the Lord who gave me the strength to do both. Let’s face it. I’m just hard-headed. But without determination, how can you accomplish anything that’s worthwhile in life? Like studying Greek, you’ve got to be all in, dude.
And so it goes. I’ve got a marathon to run in 3 weeks. My students have a Greek class to finish in 3 days. I think most people — runners and students alike — would say they do what they do in order to become better people, people who can make a positive contribution to this old world of ours. We like the sense of accomplishment it gives us when we finish a tough race or ace a Greek exam. Whenever I think to myself, “Dave, you’re crazy to run in marathons,” I remember that running has made mentally tougher, more determined, and so grateful to God for the blessings He gives me each and every day.
If you have a passion like that in your life, thank God for it. It’s a pure gift from Him.
1:44 PM Just did my weekly grocery shopping at Food Lion. The weather has improved greatly even though the ice storm just to the north and west of the farm caused numerous power outages, as you can see from this outage map.
The trees in South Boston were covered with ice, but ours were ice-free. The difference a mile or two can make! Because of the good road conditions, I was able to get to church and hear a message from Luke 3 on the baptism of Jesus. Again, I noted a first-class textual variant. Did the Father say “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased,” or “You are My Son, today I have become Your Father”?
Thankfully, I had immediate access to Wieland Willker’s online textual commentary and so I could read what Augustine had to say about this variant. The rest of this afternoon I’ve been making preparations to visit a couple of my kids and their families during Easter break. Matthea’s husband is pastoring to the east of Birmingham and Karen’s husband is stationed at Fort Benning, so I know I can make this work. This means that so far in 2019 I’ve booked trips to Phoenix, Birmingham, Cincinnati, Chicago, and Honolulu. I’m also working on another mission trip internationally. My motto whenever I travel is “Pack lightly and keep it simple stupid.” I love running when I travel. It’s great to run in a new place with new scenery. And the food? I’m definitely looking forward to having some excellent sushi in Phoenix!
7:45 AM Here’s a picture of our weather conditions in Southside Virginia and North Carolina.
In Raleigh they’re getting rain, while we’re experiencing freezing rain and further north they’re getting snow. These conditions are supposed to last until late today and even into the wee hours of Monday morning. So today, other than reading and studying my Bible, I’ll be trying to get some writing done, beginning with this blog post. I just realized that although I’ve often spoken to you about why I think studying overseas is such a great experience, I’ve never described the cultural differences you encounter when living in, say, Germany or Switzerland. Since I lived in the former country for 3 months and in the latter country for a much longer period of time, I’m hoping I can offer a few insights for any of you who might be thinking about doing your doctoral studies in Europe.
People often refer to “culture shock” when living in a strange and foreign land. After living abroad, I think the term “shock” may be a bit of an exaggeration. The first thing you must realize when you travel abroad is this: When you live in a foreign country you can’t expect everything to be just like it is at home. A different country is just that: a different country. Some things you will like very much. Other things you will not like so much. But I was never “shocked” by what I saw or experienced while living in Europe. In fact, I would say that one of the strongest reasons Becky and I decided to live abroad was because of the differences we knew we would encounter. We would sometimes tell our Swiss friends that we wanted to live in their country “um Land und Leute besser kennenzulernen” (to get to know your country and people better). Now I hasten to add that if you live in Basel you can find plenty of opportunity to spend all of your time with American expats. You can speak English, attend an English-speaking church, and associate with people who are (for the most) just like you. I suppose this is what it’s like if you are stationed on an American military base in Germany, for example. In Basel, I met several Americans who didn’t even try to learn German. They didn’t need to. Becky and I decided our approach would be the opposite. Yes, we had American friends with whom we spoke English. But the great majority of our friends and acquaintances were German-speaking Swiss. We faithfully attended, week in and week out, die Baptistengemeinde Basel (the Baptist Church of Basel), and there I was privileged to preach in German on several occasions. At the university, German was the official language, and all lectures were held in that language. Of course, even if you’re able to speak quite good German, this doesn’t guarantee an ability to detect all of the subtle nuances that are hidden in a language. For me, this meant that I was always learning how to improve my spoken German, not just my High German but my Swiss German as well. Americans are often considered arrogant by Europeans, and I think there’s some truth to that perception. The philosophy that Becky and I adopted went something like this: We need to try and fit into the country where we’re living and not the other way around. Because of that philosophy, I can say that our stay in Basel was, for the most part, a joy and a delight. We were stretched to the max culturally, of course, but that’s one of the reasons we wanted to live there in the first place.
So now on to the things we noticed about life in Basel:
1) You’ll do a lot more walking than you do here in the States. The entire infrastructure is designed for pedestrians and cyclists. Becky and I would maybe take the train or the tram or the bus when we needed to go long distances, but mostly we would walk to church, to the uni, etc.
2) We found that most supermarkets close early in the evening and are closed completely on Sundays, though this was not universally true. If you needed something, you could go to the SBB (train station). But as a rule of thumb, stores closed early so that people could go home and rest and be with their families. Also, the stores are very small as compared to our grocery stores, but this is perfectly understandable when you realize that the Swiss generally buy their food fresh and almost daily. As for shopping bags, we discovered that there aren’t any free ones, but you could usually purchase a shopping bag from Migros when you shopped there. Then you simply reused that bag on your next visit. I would say that food quality was higher in Switzerland than in the U.S., at least when we lived there. But that was back when we didn’t have Whole Foods or Sprouts.
3) I recall that Basel was basically a cash economy and that we hardly ever used a credit card when we shopped or dined out. I think, though, that this has changed. When I spent 8 days in Zermatt two summers ago, I used my credit card to pay for everything, from my hotel to my meals to my lift tickets. Still, it’s probably a good idea to carry a wad of cash wherever you go.
4) When we lived in Basel, I remember that there was a lot more cigarette smoking than what we were used to. It was tough to adjust to that, especially when you had to endure secondhand smoke in restaurants and even in my seminars at the uni. I well recall taking a seminar with Markus Barth. I’m sure I was the only non-pipe smoker in the room!
5) No refills on your coffee, and you can forget about getting ice with your soft drink. Free water is definitely not the norm, though if you begged and pleaded for “Leitungswasser” (tap water) your waiter might be kind enough to indulge you. I got so used to going without ice that even today I ask my server to “hold the ice” when ordering a soft drink. By the way, eating out was much less common in Basel than it was in California (where B and I were living at the time). Dining in a restaurant was considered something of a luxury (prices were very high), and the fast food craze had not yet caught on (there was only one fast food eatery in Basel and it was the MacDonald’s on Barfusserplatz in the middle of the city).
If you do eat out in Europe, don’t expect your server to hover over you. It was expected that if you wanted something, you’d call your server who was never far away. Otherwise, I think the idea was, “Let’s leave diners alone to enjoy their meal and their conversation.”
6) Public politeness was pretty much taken for granted in Basel. Before engaging with someone you would usually say “Hello” rather than just blurting out whatever you wanted.
7) Most people behaved as though they lived in a very safe environment. I don’t remember there being much of a drug problem in Basel at the time, and schools were completely open and the children were free to leave campus and take their lunch breaks at home. Becky and I also noticed how independent the kids were and how friendly they were. We would often see them playing with each other with no parents in sight.
8) Loud conversations did not take place in public. Children were expected to be controlled. Even in restaurants you couldn’t hear the conversation taking place at the table next to you.
9) What about housing? As I recall, about 99 percent of our friends in Basel lived in apartments (Wohnungen). There was only one family at our church who could afford to live in the country (he was an engineer). Becky and I were stretched financially so that at the time we could only afford a one-room apartment. We couldn’t control the heat for our room (it was controlled by the landlord). We weren’t permitted (by city ordinance) to take showers or baths after 10:00 pm. We had a teeny tiny bathroom and an even smaller kitchenette. But our happiness didn’t depend on physical furnishings. We had youth and we had vigor. Most of all we had the Lord. Of course, my professors enjoyed a lifestyle commensurate with their status. The first month I lived in Basel I stayed in the three-story house of my Doktorvater Bo Reicke while I was looking for an apartment for Becky and me to live in (she was still in California at that time). I felt like I was living in a mansion. Why, they even had a “garden.” At first I thought they grew their own vegetables, but the German “Garten” simply means back yard. When the Reickes spent a week at their chalet in the Alps, I was asked to mow the “Garten” with their electric lawnmower (the Swiss have always been pretty green).
10) What else? Oh, cleanliness. The Swiss must sweep their streets 40 times a day. You will never see trash ever. That’s a huge contrast to where I live currently.
Okay, I should stop for now. I hope you have a better idea of what it’s like living abroad when you’re earning your doctorate. Of course, just because I lived in Basel doesn’t mean I understand what it’s like to live in Switzerland at large. It’s like someone saying “I know German culture because I know Bavarian culture.” You couldn’t be more wrong. Or it’s like saying “I know America because I’ve lived in New York.” The one thing I’d like you to take away from this blog post is this: Don’t be afraid to live in a different culture. Sure, there will be differences, some of them huge, like when I ate donkey meat in China or dog meat in Korea. Generally speaking, however, what we call “culture shock” is usually just bad preparation. With Dr. Google, all the information you need is at your finger tips.
The young Doktorand and his bride in 1980 in front of the city cathedral.
Saturday, January 12
4:26 PM Interested in questions of Bible translation? Here’s thepage from our Greek Portal on that topic. This essay caught my eye:Why theEnglish Standard Version (ESV) Should not become the standard English Version.
11:45 AM There are no excuses not to exercise. You’re never too busy. You’re never too overweight. You’re never too old. It’s never too cold or too hot. Then again, there are always exceptions. Today I planned on biking 20 miles but quit after 10.
Both my hands and my feet were frozen solid, plus my circulation had stopped. It’s not that I hadn’t dressed appropriately: two caps, four layers of uppers, heavy pants, wool stockings, inner and outer gloves, and a thick fleece neck warmer. The problem was the temperature. The cold literally penetrated to my bones. I feel proud and grateful for pushing through to 10 miles but I feel like a wimp for quitting before reaching my goal of 20 miles. Suffice it to say, the weather beat me today. Hawaii/California guy here so I guess that should be expected from time to time.
Here’s how dismal everything looks.
The ice is expected shortly, followed by snow and rain. I do hope I can make it to campus on Monday. That might be wishful thinking at this point, however.
Stay warm and dry wherever you are.
7:48 AM Sweet, sweet time in Gal. 5:13-15 this morning.
I read the text. Then I meditated on it. Then I consulted Stott’s commentary.
He outlines the paragraph as follows:
Christian freedom is not freedom to indulge the flesh.
Christian freedom is not freedom to exploit my neighbor.
Christian freedom is not freedom to disregard the law.
As usual, his summary hits the nail on the head. The freedom for which Christ has set us free (5:1) “is freedom not to indulge the flesh, but to control the flesh; freedom not to exploit our neighbor, but to serve our neighbor; freedom not to disregard the law, but to fulfill the law.” As for me and my house, we will try and put this into practice.
Off to bike in the cold. Yes, I can be slightly insane.
6:12 AM Haddon Robinson was one of my favorite preachers. He wrote “the” textbook on homiletics as far as I’m concerned. (Only John Stott’s Between Two Worlds can match it.) I heard Haddon Robinson preach many times in Dallas at Grace Bible Church, where Becky and I were married in 1976. He is famous for asking, “Some people preach for an hour and it feels like twenty minutes, and some preach for twenty minutes and it seems like an hour. I wonder what the difference is?”
Well, I think Dr. Robinson answers his own question in this commencement address he gave at DTS.
His words have a glow to them. Clarity and crispness are in every sentence. It is a fine-honed masterpiece of conciseness. He makes every second of his sermon count. Clearly, Haddon Robinson had mastered the art of delivering truth in a creative and compelling way.
I once heard a homiletics professor say that the three greatest sins of preaching are lack of truth, lack of content, and lack of interest. Even if you’re sinless in the first two, you can still drop the ball in the third. I get so tired of hearing myself and others making excuses for our boring sermons. Preaching, like anything else, is a decision. If you’re going to do it, do it well.
Sermons to put you to sleep?
Friday, January 11
7:10 PM What a crazy week it was. I taught two chapters from my grammar today. Ditto for yesterday. This is the new reality — an 11-day J-term instead of the 15-day session I’m used to. Still, the students seem to be handling it well and I’m so proud of them. Then, the registrar asked me to add another section of beginning Greek to my schedule for the new semester that starts on Thursday. That means I’m teaching 3 sections of baby Greek in the same semester — something I haven’t done in a very long time. That makes my total course load for the spring semester 5 classes, which of course I’m happy to teach. I love researching and writing, but my heart is in the classroom.
After I had returned to the farm and done my chores, I drove into town to get in a workout at the Y and a run at the track. There were long lines to get gas and groceries — yes, we’re expecting another snow/sleet/ice event this weekend. It was a frosty 36 degrees while I was running this afternoon and I had to really layer up. Admit it, you think of a warm fireplace when you’re out braving the frigid temps. Is it spring yet???!!! Tomorrow I’m bound and determined to get in a long bike before the weather sours. You know: heart racing, legs burning, sweat dripping. The wind in your face. The sun beating down. This is what I live for. To be out there enjoying the great Creator’s handiwork. I have never done a run or a bike and regretted doing it. I can even put up with my ugly toes because I know I’m working on a goal that I will never attain. But if you know me (as I think you do), you know that I’m not one to give up very easily. I am nothing if not persistent. I am thrilled beyond words to be an amateur athlete. I hope you will join me on this journey! There’s no substitute in life for hard work, as I told a student I had lunch with today. Pick the hardest Ph.D. program out there, not the easiest. Study in a foreign language if you can. Yes, your fears might say “no,” but you can’t entertain that thought. You can and will do this. And He will be with you every step of the way.
Thursday, January 10
5:05 AM Here’s a question being asked: How long should a sermon be? The question, I think, is irrelevant. If you’re an interesting speaker, people won’t even look at their watches. But you’ve got to know your stuff. Which means speaking without notes and maintaining eye contact with your audience.
Wednesday, January 9
6:30 PM My doctoral students can take heart from this statistic:
The longest doctoral program in the nation is the music program at Washington University in St. Louis, with a median length of 16.3 years, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Unbelievable. I completed my doctorate in 3 years, but that was B.C. (before children). Still, I don’t think I could have lasted 13 years. In fact, I know I couldn’t have lasted 13 years.
2:22 PM Chores are done. Helped Nathan load a trailer. How much fun. #threegenerationsoffarmers.
12:52 PM Did you hear about the race between a lettuce and a tomato? The lettuce was ahead and the tomato was always trying to play catch up. Bad, I know. Fact is, I’ve got racing on my mind again, mostly because in exactly 30 days I’ll be running in the Phoenix Marathon, Lord willing.
The course, as you can see, is mostly downhill, which means a lot of people will qualify for Boston.
I won’t be among them, but I’m still hoping for a good finish time. For training, I biked 15 miles yesterday at the Neuse River Greenway in Raleigh.
(Disclaimer: I am a slow cyclist. An average speed of 13 mph on a bike is nothing compared to “real” cyclists. In fact, I was passed numerous times. I’m also a slow runner. Personally, I don’t think “slow” runners ruin marathons. But I also don’t think there shouldn’t be cut off times. Most marathons have a generous 6.5-7 hour cut off time. Phoenix has a 6. I’m a plodder, but I’m going to do my best. I don’t care if you run, walk, or crawl, if you finish the race within the cut off time, you’re a marathoner in my book. I’m 100 percent behind anybody who wants to participate. Honestly, I would probably drop dead of shock if I did a sub-5 hour marathon.)
This will be my 13th marathon in the past 3 years. I’ll let you know how it goes. Unbelievably, the temp yesterday was 68 degrees. And they’re calling for snow this weekend. Go figure. Right now I have to get caught up on my farm chores.
Monday, January 7
5:55 AM Henry Neufeld has written a thoughtful post called Why Not to Tithe. Henry says he’s always been against tithing in a legalistic sense, even before he published David Croteau’s book on the subject. (Croteau is a Ph.D. graduate of SEBTS.) Yet he was afraid to tell others he didn’t believe in tithing. He was afraid that people would give less than 10 percent if he did. As it turns out, I share that fear. If I were to teach pure grace (as I indeed do teach), people might assume that I didn’t think giving was all that important. Actually, grace giving ought to be the easiest type of giving of all, but instead it can be the most difficult. It takes maturity to know when to give, how much to give, to whom to give. Giving is an abstract subject. There is no black and white. For when Christ enters a person’s life, it is always on the level of grace and never on the level of legalistic morality. Tithing reduces all decisions to one simple decision, and there is no struggling with the Holy Spirit. When, however, we come to understand and accept the place of grace in our lives and love relationships, it becomes easier for us to grasp the theological doctrine of grace giving. Somehow we must learn to love as God loves and give as He gives. Our giving should be watered with tears and bedecked with affection. For now is the time to give, now is the time to be generous, before the opportunities have passed and it is no longer an option.
5:46 AM Three quotes for your reading pleasure:
“The Bible was never intended to be a book for scholars and specialists only. From the very beginning its was intended to be everybody’s book, and that is what it continues to be.” F. F. Bruce.
“Missions is ravenous in its hunger to please God. It knows no other purpose for its existence. It lives for the single pleasure of hearing God say, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave’ (Mt 25:21). You have told the truth in a false world, you have turned the iron key of liberty in the steel door of hell, and the captives are freed (Lk 4:18)! For this liberation you have been called ‘missionary.'” Calvin Miller.
“My heart is singing for joy this morning. A miracle has happened! The light of understanding has shone upon my little pupil’s mind, and behold, all things are changed.” Anne Sullivan, referring to her student Helen Keller.
Sunday, January 6
5:42 PM From time to time I’ll visit churches pastored by former students. Today I was at Clearview Church in Henderson, NC, where my former personal assistant, Abidan Shah, pastors.
His message was titled “Resolved” and it was based on the story of Caleb in Josh. 14:10-12.
You’ll recall that Caleb was the 85-year old who refused to believe he was old. “I’m just as strong today as when I was 40,” he exclaimed with a heart full of faith. Abidan brought out three points:
You’re never too old to fulfill God’s promises.
You’re never too old to prove God’s power.
You’re never too old to find God’s grace.
Have you ever asked yourself the question: In a world without mirrors, would I be old? I am as young as I ever was.
It’s only when I look in a mirror that I feel old. Regardless of chronology, we can still serve the Lord, we can still pray, we can still be active, we can still develop our physical strength. My health has never been better. Even more importantly, I have a new zest for living. As Abidan put it, “Don’t let your children tell you you’re old!” (I won’t, and they don’t.) The body I have, whatever length of time it’s spent on this earth, can still push and coast, reach for new peaks and lie down in peace and security. Whether you’re 6, 16, or 66, you can’t live your life backwards. If we are to outwit old age, we’ve got to learn how to outwit youth and middle age as well.
Afterwards I got in a 20-mile bike.
By doing so, I am slowing the toll on my body taken by time. By how many years? Only the Lord knows. But daily I demand performance of myself. And not only physically. My brain is no more a passive instrument of God’s grace than my body. “I never knew an old man,” wrote Cicero, “who forgets where his money is hidden.” We put our effort into what we value. At the Bible Hub website there’s asermon by A. Maclaren called “Caleb — Youth in Old Age.” Maclaren says of Caleb’s life four things. It
Was built on God’s promises.
Bears being remembered.
Preserved a youthful vigor to old age.
Was still eager for further enterprise.
“The buoyancy, carelessness, hopefulness, cheerfulness of youth,” he writes, “are not far away from the aged heart, which lives by faith, and therefore dwells at ease, and is glad and secure, though the shadows of evening be falling.”
Sometimes we older people say, “We’ve earned this rest. Let others do the fighting.” Caleb said, “I’ve earned my spurs. I’m still a warrior to be reckoned with. Don’t even think of mustering me out of the ranks.” The major campaigns in our lives aren’t over with yet, regardless of one’s age. We have yet to face many of them.
At the age of 60, British author John Powys wrote, “My life’s about to begin.” Today and tomorrow hold the opportunity to be better and become more. We only need the faith of Caleb — and His God.
6:12 AM Sorry for another language-y post this morning. This one concerns the so-called Semitisms/Septuagintalisms in the Greek of the New Testament. These include:
Redundant pronouns (“A woman whose little daughter of her had an unclean spirit,” Mark 7:25).
Redundant use of prepositions (see the repetition of the preposition apo each time it occurs in Mark 3:7-8).
The use of the positive adjective (“good”) for the comparative (“better”) or superlative (“best”), as in John 2:10, “You have kept the best [lit. good] wine until now.”
Redundant use of “saying” (see Mark 8:28: “They said to him, saying ….”).
Introductory “It came to pass” (and aren’t you glad it didn’t come to stay?).
The use of the so-called “Hebrew genitive” (see Phil. 3:21, where Paul refers to our “lowly bodies” [lit., “the bodies of our lowliness”).
The frequent use of idou (“Behold!”).
Behold!
Generally speaking, the more foreign a form is to Greek, the more difficult the expression will be to translate. At times, a word-for-word rendering of the Greek original can misrepresent the meaning of the underlying Semitic idiom. In this case, it’s appropriate to translate the Semitic idiom into a suitable idiom in the receptor language (as NEB’s “He began to address them” for “He opened His mouth” in Matt. 5:2; cf. my essayThe translation of Matthew 5.2). At other times it may be best to leave certain words or expressions untranslated, as with the introductory “and” (kai) in narrative discourse, where it simply indicates the beginning of a new sentence (much like the capital letter with which an English sentence begins). But we must be careful. Frequently the verb archomai (“I begin”) is used redundantly in the New Testament (e.g., Mark 1:45; 5:17; 6:7), but it’s clearly not redundant in a passage like Acts 1:1 (the book of Acts continues what Jesus literally began to do and teach).
It should be obvious that a translator with a knowledge of the biblical languages, including Hebrew, has an advantage over one who has no training in Hebrew or Greek. That’s why I encourage even my students who concentrate their efforts on the New Testament to study Hebrew. Some excellent Hebrew grammars are:
Futato, Beginning Biblical Hebrew.
Page Kelley, Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar.
Gary Pratico and Miles Van Pelt, Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar.
Russell Fuller and Kyoungwon Choi, Invitation to Biblical Hebrew.
Brian Webster, Cambridge Introduction to Biblical Hebrew.
Allen Ross, Introducing Biblical Hebrew.
If I were teaching Hebrew, I’d probably use the latter textbook. But I’m not smart enough to teach Hebrew.
P.S. I own two Hebrew New Testaments which I purchased when I was studying in Israel. This one is by Delitzsche. Which reminds me: I need to read Philippians again in Hebrew.
Saturday, January 5
5:50 PM Here’s why I don’t ask students to memorize the vocative case in Greek.
The vocative is almost invariably set off by commas in our Greek New Testaments. Examples include, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you” and “Teacher, what should we do?” I see no need to memorize a form that is obvious. Besides, with many Greek nouns, the forms of the vocative and the nominative are identical. So when it comes to teaching grammar, sometimes less (memorization) is more. Here’s another example. If you’re learning the present and future tenses in Greek, you may as well learn them side by side.
I never ask students to memorize the future of luō for the obvious reason that the only difference between the present and future tenses is the future time morpheme sigma. This is just another example that if we are deliberate, we can accomplish more with less. The German expression is:
“Less, but better.”
Working harder isn’t always the best way to go about learning a foreign language. Working smarter always is.
2:14 PM Today I drove to LaCrosse, VA, to get in a 10-mile run.
It was a beautiful morning. This is what my drive there looked like.
And here’s the lovely trail.
However, my body was not itself today. I had a cramp in my left calf almost the whole time. I never have cramps and I don’t recommend it. I get impatient when something messes with my running, but I think my body was trying to tell me to slow down a little bit. Today a cramp may have derailed my ambitious plans, but that’s okay. I’ll be fine tomorrow. A bad run is still better than no run at all.
Of course, I didn’t run the whole way; walking was a necessity for part of the distance. Yesterday I brought this book home from the office.
I think I bought it in 1987 but I hadn’t read anything in it in years. The book “just happened” to feature an essay by Robert Banks called “‘Walking’ as a Metaphor of the Christian Life: The Origins of a Significant Pauline Usage.” Straight up: This is a great essay. Banks calls Paul the “walkabout missionary” and concludes that Paul’s use of “walk” to describe the Christian life is more than a sidelong glance at Jewish Halakah terminology. To wit:
It is also possible, though more difficult to prove, that in some measure his actual practice of walking contributed to his choice of terminology and the ways he shaped some of his metaphorical formulations.
Like Paul, I do a lot of walking. And not just down memory lane either. I use walking as part of my cross training. And I use walking as a break when I’m running a race. Many runners report significantly faster times when they take walk breaks during their races. When you shift back and forth between walking and running, you distribute your work load over a variety of different muscles, not just the same ones. I often tell myself during an event, “Only one mile to go until your next walk break,” though I’m not usually locked into a specific ratio of walk breaks. I adjust as needed and usually discover that I recover more quickly that way.
People should never feel guilty about taking walk breaks.Never. I think the same thing can be said about the Christian life. Sometimes life is a stand. Sometimes it’s a walk. At other times it’s a run. We stand in grace and in the liberty with which Christ has set us free (Rom. 5:2; Gal. 5:1). We walk in newness of life and in a manner worthy of our calling (Rom. 6:4; Col. 1:10). And we run the race that is set before us so that we may obtain the prize (Heb. 12:1; 1 Cor. 9:24). I’m just beginning to embrace the liberation that only exists in knowing when to stand, walk, and run. It doesn’t matter how slow or how fast you are. Be as patient with yourself as God is. The one thing you and I must never do is become complacent. I need to obey God when He says press on, stay the course, never give up to discouragement, and never give in to sin. All told, Paul’s concept of “walk” offers a pretty good perspective on life. If we’re not careful, we can miss the metaphor by translating the Greek term “walk” (peripateō) as though Paul had used the word zaō (“live”) instead.
So for now, I’m going to kick my feet up and take a nap and then get back to my daily walk with the Lord. Correction: Napping and resting is part of my daily walk with the Lord. And I hope that I’ve learned that the daily victories and defeats I have out there on the trail are only as important as I make them out to be.
7:02 AM 5 eyes. 5 arms. 4 legs.
Welcome to Congress, gentlemen.
6:20 AM Did you know that some ski slopes in Switzerland now have speed limits? The hope is to reduce the number of skiing accidents (some 60,000 each year).
However, I’m a bit confused. “Keep the speed of 30 km/h” is not exactly the same as “Versuche 30 km/h zu fahren.”
Both languages imply that the speed limit is 30 kilometers per hour, but neither language actually uses the word “limit.” In fact, you could also interpret the sign as meaning, “30 km/h is the minimum speed limit on this slope.” As a skier might put it, “Wenn alle gleigh schnell fahren ist der Verkehr am Flüssigsten.”
All of this goes to show just how difficult translation can be. That’s why I politely turn down requests like this: “Dr. Black, will you please give me the Greek words for _________ for my new tattoo?” I well recall the story of NBA star Shawn Marion. He thought his Chinese tattoo spelled out “The Matrix.” It actually means “Demon Bird Moth Balls.” Not good. Automated translation software is hardly the answer.
Yesterday in Greek class we discussed the Great Commission in Matt. 28:19-. How should we translate the Greek for “Make disciples” (mathēteusate)? Does the participle “Going” (poreuthentes) carry imperatival force? And how about the idiom “All the days” (pasas tas hēmeras), normally rendered “always”? The teacher’s fallback line “The context will decide” very often works, but not always. Genuine ambiguity can slow down or even disrupt the translation process. An English example might be “Flying planes can be dangerous.” I’m not saying that we can’t know what a speaker means. Any American who’s studied German knows exactly what is meant when a native German speaker says to his waiter in English, “I am here since an hour. When do I become a fish?” I do wonder, though, whether we as Bible translators should work harder at recreating the ambiguity in the original text. An example might be “You can learn writing.” The question here is a basic one of grammar: Is “writing” a gerund or a participle? Is the idea “You can learn to write” or “You can learn while writing”? A New Testament example might be the adverb anōthen in John 3. Did Jesus mean “You must be born again” or “You must be born from above“? Clearly Nick heard it as the former. Was Jesus being intentionally ambiguous here? In fact, was He even speaking in Greek at all? If not, does the word play work in Aramaic? Personally, I struggle to make my own translations properly ambiguous. (Can you spot the ambiguity in that statement? It was intentional on my part — in which case it’s called equivocal language.)
These kinds of questions about translation can help keep your Greek classes fun and interesting. After all, why take the plaisir out of language learning? Why not let yourself enjoy the learning process? If you go at your own pace and saveur every moment, you’ll probably find yourself wanting to spend more temps with the language, whether it’s French or German or Spanish or even Greek.
Happy language learning!
5:55 AM Enter a drawing to win a free copy of Wheelock’s Latin grammar. Please send me your mailing address when you write. I’ll contact the winner tomorrow at 6:00 pm.
Friday, January 4
5:50 PM I haven’t done any exercise for 3 days and I’m feeling it. Lethargic. Energyless. Apathetic. I feel like a couch potato, you know, the kind who says “Running isn’t good for your body” or “You can die doing a marathon.” In fact, fit men are half as likely to die of a heart attack than unfit men. I think what we’re really saying is “Exercise is too hard” while we’re filling our shopping carts with sodas and processed foods. I hate excuses for anything in life. Anyhoo, it’s back to running for me tomorrow if the rain ever stops. The biggest risk in running is doing too much — a problem I haven’t had in the past few days. The tradeoff has been the joy of teaching these wonderful students, shown here taking their quiz over the present and future active indicative.
Wow, they’re doing good. I told them that learning Greek is like running a marathon. I said, “Set your goal to finish and take the time to enjoy every step.” Each step they take is new. But if I can go the distance, so can they. It’s like anything in life. Aim to progress gradually and you will attain your goals.
I’m not going to blog in depth now because I have too many chores to get caught up on, but I did want to confess that this week I darkened the doors of a Panera Bread restaurant for the first time ever and discovered — Man, I’ve really been missing some great food. I decided to try it out because someone had sent me a gift card, and I’ve already been twice. I will forever be grateful to that friend. I had two of the Pick Two combos.
The service was superb and the place was super clean. The staff was friendly and the food came out hot and tasty.
There was a little bit of a wait but that’s because I was there at the height of the lunch hour rush. Let me reiterate: I’m not a health food junkie. You will never hear me talk about the latest fad diet. I don’t think my diet is too bad but I can always do better. Plus, what’s not to like about homemade soup and fresh sandwiches? Problem is, I also have a sweet tooth, and Panera looks like they’ve got some amazing pastries. I really need to try that awesome looking Bear Claw.
Meanwhile …
Tonight I’m rereading this little book I got in Basel years ago.
It’s amazing how a book written in 1675 can be so relevant today. I’m finding it to be an easy read and super well organized. Spener isn’t interested in winning arguments. Like all Pietists, he emphasized a personal (rather than merely a scholastic) relationship with God and evangelism of the lost. The emphasis on missions has a resounding echo in my own heart.
Denn eine intellektuelle Einsicht und das Überzeugtsein von einer Wahrheit ist bei weitem noch nicht der Glaube. Daraus wird klar, dass Disputieren nicht genug ist, weder um bei uns selbst die Wahrheit zu erhalten, noch um sie den noch Irrenden beizubringen. Sondern dazu ist heilige Liebe Gottes vonnöten.
This is awesome.
So what’s in your secret book drawer?
Do you like to read books on Pietism?
Would you rather watch TV or read?
Wednesday, January 2
5:58 AM As I begin a new Greek class this week, I thought I’d jot down a few thoughts about education. You should be warned that I offer no help to anyone who’s looking for the “Seven Keys” to successful teaching. Jesus alone is the Master Teacher. But, for what they’re worth, here are the rules of the road I strive to follow.
Christian education is likeness education. We teachers impact our students more by our character than by our communication. Isn’t it true? People learn best by example, not by direct instruction. “Actions speak louder than words.” This is how the Savior taught He chose 12 men to “be with Him,” then He poured His life into them. As a teacher I must move from being a mere dispenser of information to a mentor and organizer of the learning process.
My job is to serve my students, not vice versa. My goal is to meet my students’ needs, not for them to meet mine. Effective teachers understand their pupils and discern what causes their difficulties. Now this has several important implications, not least that we should be more student-oriented than subject-oriented. Classes must be interesting each and every one of them. As someone once put it, “There’s no such thing as a boring teacher. If he or she is boring, they’re not a teacher.” Students have a right to want to come to class, to be dismissed on time, to have their papers graded by their prof (and not by a proxy), to get their work back promptly, to be trusted with take-home exams, and to have teachers with open door policies.
Strive for life change, not just knowledge. The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation every word, everywhere. Let’s focus on learning and not just on teaching.
Less is more. How true this is! We can “talk much” and “teach little.” If this is so, why not concentrate on the essentials? Far too many of us teachers engage in “content dump.” Even Jesus said, “I have many more things to say to you, but they are too much for you now” (John 16:12).
Emphasize relevance over rote memory. Much of my studying in seminary had one goal: to pass the next test. As soon as the test was over, the information I had “learned” was quickly forgotten, of course. There’s nothing a student hates more than busywork.
Challenge students to think for themselves. The fill-in-the-blank approach to learning tends to produce students with simplistic answers to complex questions. In my own college and seminary experience I was, more often than not, taught what to think rather than challenged to think for myself. A wise teacher gives students the tools necessary for their own personal reading and study of the Scriptures.
Above all, students need to see in us “the meekness and gentleness of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:1). The key to effective teaching is an incarnational model, based on Phil. 2:5-11. May we let Christ’s mind be our own and in humility count others as more important than ourselves. Whenever we teach let’s keep in the forefront of our minds the infinite worth of our students and the tremendous privilege it is to serve them.
The Magi said, “We have seen His star.” But they also did something about it. They came to where He was. Likewise, we must come to Him all of us, whether teacher or student in repentance and faith and love. Just as the Wise Men worshipped Him, so we must bow down before Him and confess Him as Lord and give Him our very best gifts academic and otherwise.
Tuesday, January 1
6:24 PM Got to see 9 of my grandkids today. #happygrandpa. Off to bite into my burrito.
6:55 AM Remember when you decided to do something really simple like replace the air filters in your house and, voila, they’re done? No problem. I wish everything in life was that simple. Tomorrow it’s back to the classroom for me, the Greek classroom of course, where I’ve been busy teaching nouns and participles for some 42 years now. What I’ve realized after all these years is that there’s nothing easy about teaching — or learning — Greek. Sure, the subject matter is relatively straightforward, depending on your teacher and textbook. Greek makes sense. It’s absolutely logical. The grammar has mathematical precision, as do all languages. Even the exceptions have explanations. (Why does the future of echo have the rough breathing mark? Easy!). The challenge is how to meet all those unexpected twists and turns you encounter along the way. You know, like how the Greek verb works. (Hint: It doesn’t work like an English verb works.) Or how about third declension nouns? (Torturous, to say the least.) And whatcha think about that crazy learning curve, which just seems to get curvier and curvier? Fortunately, a good textbook (and a few extra hours of study) are usually sufficient to overcome despair. Still, no matter how much you “plan,” there will always be seemingly impossible hurdles to overcome. There are so many factors at play when you’re trying to learn a foreign language. I recall arriving in Basel in 1980 thinking, “Good thing I already know German.” Ahem. High German, yes, but except in the classroom everyone was speaking a completely different language called, well, German. (Swiss German.) Who woulda thunk? This is the point at which you go to a local bookstore and buy a Basel German grammar (which I did). “Nicht mehr” becomes “nümm,” while “etwas” becomes “öbbis.” Rather than saying “Ich ging,” Swiss German has “Ich bi gange” or even “I bi gange.” Oh, did I mention that German (both High and Swiss ) has two completely different ways of speaking depending on whether you’re talking to someone you know well or someone you don’t know so well? (“Thanks, don’t mind if I ‘Du’!”) And did I tell you that German has a singular “you” and a plural “you”? (Hey y’all!) Then there are some verbs that have a vowel change when you make a command (the stem of essen is ess– but the command is Iss!).
But back to my subject. Once you know you are really interested in learning how to read New Testament Greek, you don’t just start shoving information into your brain haphazardly. You eat an elephant one bite at a time. (I made that up but I’m sure it’s true.) Whatever your big audacious goal is, you have to break it up into chunks. In my textbook, we have 26 chapters. (Think of a marathon.) That’s 13 chapters per semester. We do, on average, a single lesson each week. After a while you get into the rhythm. But it takes time. “I can do it quick.” “I can do it well.” Which one do you want? Now, I’m not saying that my textbook is for everyone and for every situation. What I’m talking about is facing something you think is overwhelming with a systematic plan of action. Proceeding methodically will make things go much quicker and more efficiently. It’s pretty simple. Just cut the elephant into big chunks.
Students, as we begin our Greek studies tomorrow, may I ask you to please take time to pray? Ask God to help you. For many Greek students, things go well for a few days or weeks. But as soon as a little difficulty comes our way we say, “Forget it. This is impossible.” That’s when we need to go to God in prayer. John wrote, “This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will we know that we have the petitions we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15). Prayer is our lifeline to God and our only source of strength. So let’s take advantage of it. Those of us who want to master the Greek language must grow constantly in our knowledge of grammar. If we’re going to learn Greek we’re going to have become a perpetual student of the language. I’m sorry, but there simply aren’t any shortcuts, no easy solutions. We can’t skip third grade and go right into high school. To master Greek means to be patient with yourself. You put one foot in front of the other. It’s a steady gait, not a sprint. As I said above, the only way to get the job done is to stick with it.
I know that Greek can be tough. If anyone ever experienced a sinking feeling while studying this language, it was me. I dropped out of my beginning Greek class at Biola after only 3 weeks. (Sometimes life just knocks the wind out of you.) Thankfully I went on to take Moody Bible Institute’s correspondence Greek course and, by God’s grace, aced it. I needed an awful lot of help, and guess what? God supplied it.
Remember what Peter’s problem was when he was walking on the water? He took his eyes off the Lord. And that just about says it all.
To all: Happy New Year, and Happy Greek Study!
October-June 2017 Blog Archives
restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations
February 2010 Blog Archives
Sunday, February 28
9:59 PM Breaking news from Chicago: Margaret Mitchell will assume the position ofdean at the University of Chicago Divinity School. Mitchell’s Paul and the rhetoric of reconciliation: An exegetical investigation of the language and composition of 1 Corinthians is one of the best books I’ve read on the discourse structure of that book. I think it’s most remarkable and deserves wider recognition than it has achieved.
9:47 PM What happens when atheology student gets angry.
9:31 PM Over at Theological German, Herr Mark has added a very useful link called the Bonhoeffer Index. Perhaps my favorite link is the last one,On the German Language, in which Bonhoeffer admits that German can give even a native speaker a painful charley horse between the ears.
Below: Historical distribution of German speaker in the U.S. (note the Hill Country of Texas!).
8:59 PM My favorite quote from Allan Moseley’s sermon this morning on head coverings (1 Cor. 11) was this gem: “We should dress to amplify our witness for Christ.” I have heard a good many messages from this difficult text but none better than this one. To listen to brother Allan’s message entitled “His Way,” gohere.
7:57 PM Although I have been highly critical of the policies of former President George W. Bush in these pages I have nothing but praise for his post-office demeanor and his willingness to assist the current president with his Haiti relief efforts. I am also glad that he feels his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ sustained him throughout his presidency. According to AP Texas News,
“I don’t see how I could be president without prayer,” he told the crowd of more than 1,100 at the Fort Worth Christian School event at a downtown hotel. “The prayers of the people … sustained me, comforted me and strengthened me in a way I could have never predicted before becoming president, and for that I am extremely grateful.”
Mr. Bush, I wish you every blessing and look forward to reading your memoirs.
7:43 PM The president apparently still struggles with hissmoking addiction. God bless the man for trying to quit!
7:17 PM Markus Barth audio fileshere! I had the wonderful opportunity to hear the man himself lecture on baptism while taking a course from him on Mark’s Gospel back in 1981. A treasure trove indeed!
6:34 PM Eric Carpenter has been readingThe Glorious Cause by Jeff Shaara, a novel about the American revolution. I too enjoy reading the Shaara novels, including my all-time favorite, Killer Angels, written by Jeff’s late father Michael.
The key point to remember, however, is that these books are novels. The dialogues are purely fictional and imaginary, and it would be fruitless and perhaps even dangerous to draw any conclusions about the individuals portrayed in them. Imagined conversations are just that — imaginary — and therefore are only moderately instructive. Or at any rate they are to be read with a grain of salt. As much as I like Martin Sheen and the movie Gettysburg (based on the Shaara novel), I must certainly read history if I am to be accurately informed, say, about Lee’s conduct and strategy at Gettysburg.
So if you do read Shaara I might suggest you place him in juxtaposition with the works of historians.
6:12 PM We were delighted to be able to make a personal acquaintance with our prayer partners at Christ Baptist Church this morning. Here’s Becky sharing with these precious 5 and 6 year-olds about the faithfulness of God.
She spoke for about 20 minutes and then introduced a Christian “catechism” of sorts. It was wonderful.
Becky: “Is God in control?”
Children: “Yes, God is always in control.”
Becky: “Is God loving?”
Children: “Yes, God is always loving.”
Becky: “Is God just?”
Children: “Yes, God is always just.”
She also asked the children to clap while reciting their catechism as an expression of their joy before God and their confidence in His unchanging character. After that the children placed their hands in the hand prints they had made on a new blanket and prayed for a 3-year old who is suffering from lung cancer. How precious!
Becky, of course, is so very pleased with the prayer blanket the class sent to her. It was such a pleasure and an honor for us to visit with our prayer partners today!
We then drove to the Abyssinia restaurant in Raleigh where we enjoyed a monstrously good meal of kay wat, tibbs, and assorted Ethiopian vegetable dishes. I was extremely pleased with both the quality and the quantity of the food. After dinner our waitress Meskerem went way beyond the call of duty and brought out Ethiopian fandisha (popcorn) and authentic Harar coffee! I had, of course, mentioned to her previously that we were there to celebrate the end of B’s radiation treatments, but still this was a wonderful and unexpected touch. Of course our Amharic began to return to us in droves, and even I was surprised how easily certain expressions came to mind. I am now fat and happy and eager to get back to Utopia (we leave in less than 3 weeks, if the Lord wills). The Abyssinia is a remarkable place and one we highly recommend. I have spared you more lyrical effusions about the restaurant in the hopes that you might pay it a visit yourself.
We have now come to the end of one chapter in our life (chemo #1 and radiation) and soon will begin another (chemo #2). How we praise God for His goodness in opening our spiritual eyes to see that He is always in control, always loving, and always just. It is our continuous prayer every day before God that He might use us and our testimony to draw people to Himself, whether they work in a hospital or in a restaurant. I myself am completely bowled over by the beauty of the Lord. I want to be like Job who lost everything and yet was still able to worship God! Becky and I are learning a great truth about the Christian life: everything we hold in our hands must be held loosely and must be invested gladly in the salvation of souls and the furtherance of the Gospel. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for each and every day you grant us in which to praise and serve you!
Restaurant pix (of course):
6:52 AM Hawaii “dodged the bullet” and the tsunami never fully developed there. This was Ala Moana Beach yesterday — deserted on a busy Saturday.
I have memories of waking up at night in Hawaii to the sound of the tsunami warning sirens, which for many was just another reason to do nothing. Our family did what so many people did yesterday in Waikiki — moved to higher ground.
6:46 AM More good audio from my former colleague at Talbot, J. P. Moreland. Thank you, Geoff, for the links!
6:40 AM Here are thespeakers at the April Wheaton Theology Conference featuring Tom Wright. Should be quite interesting.
Saturday, February 27
9:20 PM The name Karl Barth may not be on everyone’s lips anymore, but Tyler Wittman says that open season on the good professor may not be over yet. His essayBarth and the Fundamentalist “Man-Eaters” is a reminder (to me at least) that Basel as a center of European culture has had and probably always will have a difficult time understanding American evangelicalism.
I had a little cache of friends in Basel who were very Barthian in their view of the Word of God, and I should not be surprised if they thought I was off my theological rocker for holding to the doctrine of the verbal-plenary inspiration of Scripture. High comedy at times, let me assure you! I think the whole matter of misunderstanding between American and European theologians shows a pretty state of imbecility; it’s not pleasant to think of the sheer folly of grown men talking past each other when they could be enjoying a good Jägerschnitzel and moping over topics of substance.
8:21 PM Allan Bevere posts hisfavorite Methodist blogs of the week. Very helpful resource, Allan!
7:10 PM I snapped this pic of Mr. Nolan at Bethel Hill a couple of Sundays ago.
He’s being spoiled by “Aunty” Stacey. Bec and I will miss being with our Hillian family tomorrow. We’re visiting Christ Baptist Church in Raleigh to say “thank you” in person to the 5 and 6 year old Sunday School class that has been praying fervently for Miss Becky during her illness. I may even surprise my Abasha wife and take her out for Ethiopian food afterwards.
6:06 PM Just enjoyed a barbecue sandwich for supper. Becky made it from lean hormone-free beef, compliments of Rosewood Farm, Virginia. Nothing better.
Off to feed the beef!
5:08 PM Everyone who knows me knows my passion for the church to move beyond popular Christianity and embrace a lifestyle of evangelism and selfless deeds. We are the Body of Christ on this earth. “He alone is the Head of the Body, the church,” writes Paul. All who believe in Christ are the church. All of us are His hands and feet — not just certain “specially called” people. “As He is, so are we in the world,” says 1 John 4:17. Jesus’ glorious ministry on earth is now ours as we make His interests known in every country on earth.
The latest essay on my home page deals with this issue. It’s calledWho Does God Use? For the Christian, the decision to become a servant is life-changing. If this “job description” makes you feel a bit uncomfortable, join the club. Living a submitted and surrendered life is not a natural thing — it’s a supernatural thing. But the fact remains: Christ wants us to live and operate in the same mysterious authority and power that characterized His earthly ministry. Peter and John were uneducated fishermen, yet see how God used them! And He can use you too.
4:23 PM I know, I know, this is silly, but I had a few spare minutes on my hands today.
Greek 23
A Psalm of David
My textbook is my guide, I am never in need.
It makes me learn the conjugations,
It leads me beside the declensions.
It restores my confidence in grammar,
It guides me along the paths of exegesis
For its publisher’s sake.
Even though I face the scourge of participles
I will fear no evil,
For you are with me.
Your appendices and charts,
They comfort me.
You prepare an answer for me in the presence of my teachers,
You anoint my mind with wisdom,
My soul bursts with pleasure!
Surely my textbook will follow me
All the days of my life,
And I will remain a Greek student forever.
Friday, February 26
9:50 PM No news here. After doing my farm chores I cooked supper for B and me (Chinese food — all vegetarian tonight), then worked on THE CHAPTER. A few minutes ago I read the link that is all the rave of the blogs this evening and I am very glad I did: anexcerpt from P. T. O’Brien’s Hebrews commentary (.pdf) in the Pillar series.
From what I have seen this is a good book. But on the other hand I expected a more even-handed treatment of authorship issues and at least a passing nod to those obscurantists (like myself) who have the audacity, naiveté, or stupidity to have attempted to defend the Pauline authorship of Hebrews in writing. But I had better leave the matter there. O’Brien has a very clear, hard, and acute intelligence and a considerable knowledge of his subject. He is about as good a commentary writer as one is likely to find anywhere (comparable to the series editor, Don Carson). But for me the most critical issue is situating the book in early Christian history, and the consensus view in the Eastern church that the letter was Paul’s continues to haunt me. Well, at least Peter doesn’t misquote Origen!
Becky’s meeting on solar power went extremely well, by the way, in case you were wondering. It is a tiresome business but one to which Becky is better suited than I am. I am the ultimate electronics klutz — prodigious technical difficulties enclosing a beach bum core. Please accept my sincere gratitude if you joined me in praying for the meeting. Thank you once more.
3:05 PM Jeff over at Scripture Zealot has someadvice on making Greek vocabulary cards. You would, I think, enjoy reading it.
2:48 PM All I can say is,“I agree!”
2:42 PM George Hillman writes a fitting tribute to his colleague at Dallas Seminary,Dwight Pentecost, whom he calls “a real cornerstone.”
Two years ago a student here at SEBTS transferred to Dallas, saying he had always wanted to study personally under two men — Harold Hoehner and Dwight Pentecost. Can’t say that I blame him. Dr. Pentecost, by the way, co-officiated at my wedding at Grace Bible Church in Dallas in 1976.
Speaking of seminaries, wasthis recent photo taken at DTS or Gordon-Conwell?
2:26 PM I have been having great fun on my chapter. It’s a beautiful day to write outside, though a little chilly (44 degrees currently). It’s amazing to me how a book written about 3,000 years ago can still be relevant. I am delighted to think that I will have an opportunity to make my thoughts on the subject available again after all these years. Writing suits me, though I think I’m an average writer at best. Makes one thankful for small mercies.
1:52 PM Richard Hall praises his local book store. He writes, “I’m still a fan of Amazon and the like. But there really is nothing like good local service.” Richard makes a very good point about brick-and-mortar bookstores. I’ll never forget finding used books in the shops in London’s Piccadilly Circus that I could never find online in the States. The service was terrific and the booksellers were very knowledgeable too. Reminded me a lot of the famous Archives Bookshop in Pasadena which I frequented while teaching at Biola/Talbot. You gotta love knowledgeable bookstore owners!
1:40 PM Photo of the day:
For the story behind the photo, gohere. As one contestant put it after the competition was over, “I don’t know if I want to surf for a while.” I know what you mean, I know what you mean!
“But I don’t know if I want to surf for a while,” fifth-place finisher Carlos Burle said with a smile. “I took three heavywipeouts today. I hurt everywhere. My body’s all twisted.”
Read more:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/13/SPBQ1C1FN9.DTL#ixzz0gfVEvYzN
“But I don’t know if I want to surf for a while,” fifth-place finisher Carlos Burle said with a smile. “I took three heavywipeouts today. I hurt everywhere. My body’s all twisted.”
Read more:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/13/SPBQ1C1FN9.DTL#ixzz0gfVEvYzN
“But I don’t know if I want to surf for a while,” fifth-place finisher Carlos Burle said with a smile. “I took three heavywipeouts today. I hurt everywhere. My body’s all twisted.”
Read more:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/13/SPBQ1C1FN9.DTL#ixzz0gfVEvYzN
But I don’t know if I want to surf for a while,” fifth-place finisher Carlos Burle said with a smile. “I took three heavywipeouts today. I hurt everywhere. My body’s all twisted.”
Read more:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/13/SPBQ1C1FN9.DTL#ixzz0gfVKA8rj
But I don’t know if I want to surf for a while,” fifth-place finisher Carlos Burle said with a smile. “I took three heavywipeouts today. I hurt everywhere. My body’s all twisted.”
Read more:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/13/SPBQ1C1FN9.DTL#ixzz0gfVKA8rj
1:23 PM Quote of the day #2 (Near Emmaus):
In the face of death Polycarp declared that Christ his King had never done him wrong in nearly nine decades of service. For some, like me, I think Christ has done me wrong if I am struggling financially or not feeling well. But Polycarp was correct, our King does us no wrong. May we be loyal to him in the face of those things that scare us but that are usually much less fearsome than death.
12:16 PM I have a couple of Greek students who are currently researching the problem of “deponency” in the Greek verb system. If that includes you, might I recommend this excellent essay (.pdf) by Carl Conrad calledActive, Middle, and Passive: Understanding Ancient Greek Voice? Be sure to check it out.
11:15 AM Nate and Jess, this one’s for you. I just LOVE your farm! I can see Nolan now playing in these fields.
11:10 AM What do you think about this comment made onthis post?
At the same time, very few seminary graduates know Greek and even fewer know Hebrew.
Sadly, I must agree. The main challenge I have as a Greek prof is not teaching Greek but motivating my students to use (rather than lose) what have worked so hard to acquire. Something seems to break down between graduation and life.
That’s one reason I wrote a little book calledUsing New Testament Greek in Ministry. I’d give my right arm to see graduates of seminaries reading or at least constantly consulting their Greek New Testaments. How foolish to think that God will not hold us accountable for putting our knowledge to use in His service!
10:13 AM Quote of the day (Wayne McDill):
An evangelism that ignores the experience of the individual person is not consistent with the gospel of Christ. People can sense our motives. They know when we are attempting to manipulate them for our own purposes. They know when we are out for their good only, and when we aim only to fatten our church rolls and our offerings at their expense. They know when we really care, and when we see them only as objects on which to unload an evangelistic pitch. They know when we are actually listening, and when we only wait impatiently for a chance to continue our canned presentation.
ReadJesus’ Communication Strategy. By loving other people, they meet Jesus Christ, even though at first they don’t know whom they met!
10:04 AM According to Hansung Kim, “Acts 6:1-7 may provide some valuable insights for the cross-cultural conflicts between Western missionaries and Majority World missionaries.” I hope that everyone interested in cross-cultural missions will read this fine essay.
9:30 AM For my newest Greek students: Here are theGreek vocab cards I mentioned in class this week. They are keyed to our textbook. I find it rather disastrous to fall behind in vocabulary.
9:21 AM Poison or potion? I’m talking about those church signs one sees everywhere while driving. Carola Vyhnak enters the controversyhere. Peu de nouvelles ici.
9:11 AM At 9:30 this morning Becky has an extremely important meeting to plan the installation of solar power at several churches in Burji this summer. I am praying for an excellent meeting and for good mutual understanding of the work that still needs to be done. Will you join me?
9:06 AM Over at AmCon magazine, British journalistRod Liddle opines that we can expect nothing to come out of the so-called Chilcot Inquiry on the Iraq War.
He writes:
The complete reverse of the argument is the truth. It may well be that invading Iraq was, in the long term, the right thing to doalthough I would disagree, and so would many others over here. But it is beyond dispute that the government dissembled, it exaggerated, it distorted. It misled the British Parliament and the British people. Its reasons for invading Iraq were simply not those that it stated at the time. Instead of commissioning intelligence reports to ascertain the nature of Iraqs threat to either the West or to neighboring Arab countries, it made up its mind and twisted the intelligence to suit that conclusion. This was pretty clear shortly after the invasion, and it is even clearer now. But dont expect our Chilcot Inquiry to conclude such a thing. It is not there to apportion blame.
We are all against war I suppose. But it doesn’t seem to do much good to record that fact unless we are willing to do something to stop it in the first place or else to mitigate the results of war in some particular case, accompanied by a theory as to the best way of creating conditions in which the commission of such wars can be less frequent in the future. The prosecution of the Iraq War was terribly misguided in the first place, but it is not by proclaiming this fact in a loud voice that this particular habit of human beings will be stopped.
The British “inquiry,” it seems to me, is somewhat like fiddling while Rome burns.
8:48 AM It’s official! Robert Cole and I will be team teaching a freshly-minted course on the Septuagint this fall semester. The prerequisites are a year of Hebrew and Greek each. I expect it to be a large class. This is, I do believe, the first team taught course in the history of the seminary. Three cheers for teamwork!
8:12 AM This week I received a complimentary copy of the latest issue of the Christian Research Journal. You absolutely must get a copy and read it. Why? It provides a thorough reassessment of the “Local Church” movement of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. Titled “We Were Wrong,” this issue publicly acknowledges that the Christian Research Institute — one of America’s leading discernment ministries — had misunderstood the LC movement and had wrongly characterized it as cultic.
On p. 3 we read this amazing statement:
The coauthor of the first published critique of the LC in America explains how it was possible for researchers and ministers with well-earned reputations for accuracy to get it so wrong when it came to LC.
And on p. 62, Hank Hanegraff, president of CRI, concludes:
On the basis of a six-year primary research project represented in part in this Special Edition of the JOURNAL, the Christian Research Institute has concluded that the local churches are a genuine expression of authentic New Testament Christianity.”
He adds:
While we will continue to debate secondary issues this side of the veil, I have no doubt that we will spend an eternity together growing in the kingdom of the One who saved us by grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone.
My hat is off to CRI and its president for its gracious acknowledgement of error. How easy it is for us to mischaracterize others in the one Body of Christ with whom we might disagree. Perhaps there is a salutary lesson here for us all. We can brag all we want about belonging to a “doctrinally pure” church, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Bible clearly says, “If you live after the flesh, you will surely die.”
7:34 AM Yesterday Alan Knox posted alengthy quote from Markus Barth’s commentary on Ephesians. Barth was one of my New Testament professors at Basel. He was both an outstanding lecturer and an excellent writer. Although I greatly appreciate Harold Hoehner’s commentary on Ephesians (which he wrote after a lifetime of teaching from that book), I still am of the opinion that Barth’s two-volume Anchor Bible commentary on Ephesians is unsurpassed.
Of course, we all eagerly await the release of Thielman’s Baker Exegetical Commentary this year, which Matthew Montonini takes note of today in a fine post calledWow, What a Lineup!
7:23 AM Today I am rewriting chapter 4 of Paul, Apostle of Weakness. Only two chapters to go and the book will be ready for the publisher.
7:18 AM Ars Technica reviewsWindows 7. I couldn’t be more pleased with the new operating system, which (in my opinion) leaves Vista in the dust.
Thursday, February 25
9:55 PM A quick note to thank all of my Greek students for doing such a great job on their first exam of the semester. No 110s this time around, but there were a couple of 109s. Don’t despair, you still have two more tries at a free book. However, what REALLY makes me happy is the desire I sense among my students to be Christ-like and to eschew “convenience store” Christianity. I have already talked to many who are willing to share in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings wherever He leads them. And something else. They are willing to do the hard work necessary to prepare themselves to serve Him with the greatest impact. If Jesus Christ had to learn obedience through the things that He suffered, how dare we try to squirm out of accepting difficulty and hardship? Today, God is calling out an army of students who will accept the call to live a life of radical Christian obedience. I am privileged to be able to teach some of them week in and week out. Words cannot express how joyful that makes me.
8:04 PM If you’re as disturbed as I am over our government’s assassination policy (American citizens are NOT exempted), you must listen toRon Paul’s House speech. Paul believes it’s his pesky duty to point out to his colleagues that such actions are un-American and unconstitutional. Ditto for secret renditions and secret imprisonment. We’re told the trade-off is our security, but has anyone ever traded away something and kept liberty?
7:40 PM Just back from feeding the cows in two different pastures — in the dark. Since we’re enjoying a full moon, I took the dogs with me. I know I talk too much about my bewilderment with animals, but aside from the great joy I find in my family and my work, my animals are always of special interest. I took this picture earlier today.
I can’t just feed the cattle any more. I have to pause and watch them. Did you know that animals have emotions? They must have. I can see it on their faces. What a life — filling yourself up with the joys of farm labor and farm animals. God’s temple is brightly adorned with them, and I never tire of enjoying their company.
6:10 PM “Southern Religion and Its Effects” is the latest essay by my colleague Alvin Reid. The article is a good one, much enriched by Alvin’s own experience of growing up in the South. You can read ithere.
5:56 PM I forgot to mention yesterday another reason why I love Koreans so much. South Korea is the world’s second largest source of Christian missionaries (behind the U.S. but ahead of the U.K.). Koreans are in over 160 countries, from Africa to East Asia to the Americas, many serving as tentmakers. During my 6 trips to South Korea I’ve had the privilege of teaching many choice servants of King Jesus whose one goal was to take the Good News to the nations. May God bless our Korean brothers and sisters as they set the pace for the rest of us!
9:18 AM I just finished posting an essay calledMissions As Partnership. It is the first in a series of essays about our upcoming trips to Ethiopia in March and July. Speaking of the March trip, Becky spent an hour on the phone with Oshe yesterday. Oshe is a church leader in Burji, where Becky grew up. There are 33 churches in Burji and each is longing for Becky to visit them. Oshe had originally suggested that each church send two representatives to greet Becky in the main town of Soyama. When the people heard this they were quite insistent: “We all want to see her face to face!” So we are to go out to the churches instead. Oshe has chosen five different churches in five different locales for us to visit. All the people from the surrounding villages will come and greet their beloved Mama Becky personally. Isn’t that sweet? Becky has always been a Burji and always will be. They are her people and mine as well (though I have been adopted into the family!). And no one has prayed more fervently for Becky during her illness than the Burjis. What a grand reunion that will be!
Wednesday, February 24
4:56 PM Ken Schenck engages in some quixotic jousting in his aptly titled postPerfect Arminianism. His conclusion:
What this verse clearly states, as does the image of the wilderness generation it talks about, is that one’s continuance as a partaker of the Christ is contingent on holding fast, on going all the way to Canaan. Those who disbelieved in process, they did not make it, did not persevere to the end.
What do you think?
4:50 PM I’m eager to post a link to an excellent book on German:The Big Yellow Book of German Verbs.
A Ph.D. student of mine who is reviewing his German showed it to me today. It is a fantastic tool. Not only does it conjugate the verb but it gives you umpteen examples of it being used in actual sentences. Thank you, Michael, for turning me on to this resource!
Let me add here a word of appreciation to all of my doctoral students who are working so hard to master their modern languages.
4:43 PM I am encouraging all of my Greek students to purchase a Hebrew New Testament. I want them to be aware of the Semitic flavor of the Greek New Testament, including the four Gospels. I am glad to see another writer join me in my assessment. Michael Marlowe’sThe Semitic Style of the New Testament is well worth your time.
4:37 PM I just loved the ambiguity in the title of Matt Evans’ postInterview Fee. Matt, of course, was referring to money, not Gordon Fee. Hence his is a case of unintentional ambiguity, as, I think, are most of the cases in the New Testament. It also illustrates the fact that ambiguity is context-dependent, so that what is ambiguous in one context might not be ambiguous in another. Because most Greek words are polysemous, the context is usually necessary to disambiguate the meaning of an ambiguous lexeme or syntagmeme. On the other hand, some instances of ambiguity in the New Testament are obviously intentional (e.g., anothen in John 3:3, 7). This is all the more reason to encourage our Greek students to move away from word bound exegesis!
Below is an example of visual ambiguity:
4:23 PM The great A. T. Robertson writes (p. vii of the Big Grammar):
From one point of view a grammar of the Greek New Testament is an impossible task, if one has to be a specialist in the whole Greek language, in Latin, in Sanskrit, in Hebrew and the other Semitic tongues, in Church History, in the Talmud, in English, in psychology, in exegesis. I certainly lay no claim to omniscience. I am a linguist by profession and by love also, but I am not a specialist in the Semitic tongues, though I have a working knowledge of Hebrew and Aramaic, but not of Syriac and Arabic. The Coptic and the Sanskrit I can use. The Latin and the Greek, the French and German and Anglo-Saxon complete my modest linguistic equipment. I have, besides, a smattering of Assyrian, Dutch, Gothic and Italian.
To the good professor I offer my heartfelt thanks for the reminder that the languages are of absolute importance even though some Ph.D. students might be more inclined to give him a heartfelt raspberry (“unvoiced linguolabial trill,” for you purists out there).
4:19 PM Paul made a deliberate calculation to accept sacrifice and suffering to follow Christ. So had the Thessalonians. That truth stuck me when studying 1 Thess. 2:1-8 yesterday in our Intermediate Greek class. Our distorted Madison Avenue ideas of the good life don’t quite square with that, do they? I am stunned by the way Paul eschewed throwing his weight around (that’s what the Greek expression means in 2:7). Today we have substituted a religion of status and wealth for one of humility and poverty. The reason is simple: comfort is king. Paul gives us an example of what missionary service should look like: no false motives, no greed, but selflessness and sacrifice instead. God forgive me for ever having worshiped the idol gods of popularity and comfort!
4:14 PM Over at the Telegraph, Gerald Warnerblogs about the strange case of the German homeschoolers who are seeking asylum in the United States.
In case you’re coming late to the story, the German crackdown on illegal homeschoolers has become so draconian that Uwe Romeike and his wife Hannelore now teach their children at home in Morristown, TN. Amazing to think that we now have a new breed of immigrants educational asylum seekers.
4:05 PM Been mulling over names in the New Testament. I mean names like Silvanus (“Forest”) and Paul (“Paltry”) and Philemon (“Lover”). Should I take these as live metaphors? After all, my name is Black and I am white. And could any of these biblical names have had derisory connotations? I think of Epaphroditus. “Dedicated to [the goddess] Aphrodite” is its meaning. Yet no one in the New Testament was more unlike a pagan goddess than he. English examples include Boyd (“sickly”) and Kennedy (“helmet head”). My favorite is perhaps Goldwater, which originally was a synonym for urine. So, back to Paul. Was he trying to imply anything by preferring his Roman name to his Hebrew one (Shaul “asked of God”)? We know he enjoys word plays involving names (cf. Onesimus in Philemon 11; Onesimus means “useful”). I don’t know I’m just thinking out loud.
3:55 PM One of my doctoral students is the son of missionaries in Japan. We often mull over Japanese words that are taken from English. Today I mentioned a few of these loan words to see if I got them right: Erebata, nekutai, bata, sarada, remon, chiizu, bifuteki (Elevator, necktie, butter, salad, lemon, cheese, beef steak). I recall once hearing a German refer to “Die Teenagers,” and in Ethiopia “Okay” is as ubiquitous as its Amharic equivalent, “Ishee.” English has become a world language, and along with it American culture has become influential wherever you travel. This is not, in my view, necessarily a good thing. In Ethiopia, the only nation in Africa (other than Liberia) never to have been colonized, Western values such as materialism and immodesty have become more and more noticeable in recent years. The Ethiopians themselves have an expression for this: “cultural colonization.” Some think it’s a good thing; others are not too sure. I belong to the latter category. In the churches in Ethiopia, for example, I have witnessed a typical Western phenomenon: a growing attachment to educational status symbols. In the kingdom, of course, titles and position and degrees and earthly honors mean nothing. In the kingdom I am not “Dr.” Black with certain special privileges because of my educational attainments. I, like you, am simply a servant. Whatever Jesus asks me to do I must do it, be it simply to distribute protein bars to hungry evangelists in Alaba or open the Bible and teach from it verse by verse. Earthly rewards don’t matter either when you’re a slave of Christ Jesus. This notion that status doesn’t matter is so difficult for us to accept in our world of man-pleasing. That’s why it’s so important for us to decide right at the get-go to be nothings like Jesus, making ourselves of no reputation. We must make a conscious choice not to place any value or trust in worldly status symbols. We must decide that the only life worth living in one of radical Christian servanthood.
I am afraid that the Ethiopian church has fashioned for itself a Western yoke. Such yokes are always tiresome and painful to bear. Whether we live in Boston or Burji, God wants us to lay aside our plans, our schemes, our status, our schedules and learn to serve Him in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Simple but not easy, right?
3:42 PM A huge thank you and shout out to the Korean Students Fellowship at SEBTS for putting on the luncheon of a lifetime yesterday in the Ledford Center. That was so very gracious of you! I could eat Korean food each and every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner — and I am being serious!
Tuesday, February 23
7:11 AM Quote of the day:
We believe Greek study has been and will continue to be the downfall of Protestant Fundamentalism.
Where did I find this amazing quote?Here. Thanks for pointing it out, Craig. Even Mu is teary-eyed!
7:05 AM In case you were wondering, yes, I was glad that Ron Paul won the recent CPAC straw poll. I have a lot of appreciation for the man. He respects the U.S. Constitution and so do I. I resonate deeply with his message of liberty and limited government.
But political power corrupts. Always. It doesn’t matter who is in power. Kingdom people aren’t interested in changing society through political means. They are too busy creating another society on another foundation.
In short, I have no faith in politics. In no way can the kingdom be imposed by power, which is what government is. At the same time, we are to prayfor the authorities, not against them. And, I think, we are to pray especially for their salvation.
Monday, February 22
4:22 PM Tomorrow’sthe big day!
4:22 PM Last week I spoke with yet another student who wants to do a Ph.D. in New Testament yet who had never seriously considered studying abroad. “I could never study at Oxford in a million years!” I told him that we don’t test the matchless resources of God until we attempt the impossible. I urged him, “Never put God in a box in any way, shape, or form.”
Friend, we insult God whenever we tell Him of our inadequacy and then ask Him to settle for less than best. That’s like accusing the Creator of the Universe of shoddy workmanship!
God never created a “nobody.” So AIM HIGH — you’ll never reach higher!
Below: Regents Park College, University of Oxford, England.
4:08 PM Quote of the day (source):
Dont let people pigeonhole you. Dont let them create false either-or choices. What matters is not what is emergent versus what is traditional. What matters, all that matters, is what is Scriptural.
3:53 PM Well, I see that yet another fine blogger has squandered his precious time byreviewing one of my books. Seriously — thank you, Jason! My favorite quote from the review:
In the introduction, Black explicitly states that he will be shamefully neutral in his presentation. However, in example four, John 3:13, Black spends the greater part siding that Jesus was in heaven when talking to Nicodemus. What happened to being shamefully neutral?
Ouch!
3:45 PM Just back from UNC. Today Becky had her last high intensity radiation treatment. (Yes, we rang the gong last Thursday, one treatment early, but only because it was the one day we could get the whole family together.) And, thank God, it was relatively pain-free! Now that is one huge answer to her husband’s prayers!
Believe it or not, we will miss our friends at theUNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. And you know what? I think they will miss us too. These were lots of hugs today as everybody said goodbye to Becky. We have been SO pleased with the care we’ve received. Today I hand delivered letters to the top administrators of the Center simply thanking them.
Wherever I go, I’ve noticed that workers of all stripes need to feel that their work is significant, means something, and is appreciated. Often we see neither the importance of gaining such significance nor acknowledging it when we see it in others. Soooo, if any of you UNC health care workers just happen to be reading this:
THANK YOU
from Becky and Dave!
7:03 AM A few words for my Greek students this morning. I realize that your study of Greek is hard work — exceedingly hard for some of you. I know that many of you struggle with interruptions on every hand. Others of you are procrastinators. Some perhaps wish you were studying another language! You may be tempted to think that you are expending second-class time when you are reviewing principal parts or parsing verbs. What you need to realize is that you are working every bit as hard as my son Nathan is when he is sharpening the blade of his chain saw.
If you want to grow in your effectiveness for Christ, if you want to be a sharp tool in His hands, you must be engaged in the growth of your mind. We grow when we pursue the discipline of study. I budget time for it daily. I have learned the importance of feeding my mind on truth that will better enable me to serve Jesus. If you are not studying regularly, then chances are you are not growing!
Sunday, February 21
9:32 PM These three are for Caleb, Isaac, and Micah. Do you boys recognize this house? Yep, it’s Papa B and Mama B’s home. I think you boys need to come and visit us again real soon. After all, we’re long overdue for another Henny, Jenny, and Penny story, don’t you think?
I know your daddy makes the very best pancakes in the whole wide world. But Papa B’s aren’t too bad either. I made some for your Mama B and me tonight for supper. They sure tasted yummy!
Finally, here’s your cousin Nolan riding in his mommy and daddy’s truck. Your Aunt Jessie sent me this picture with her cell phone this afternoon. See how Nolan loves playing with his toes? You boys are too old for that I bet. Or maybe not?
Well, know that your Papa B and Mama B love you. See you real soon.
Nite, nite!
2:45 PM Reading this BBC report makes me want to take a nice long nap. Good night, everyone!
2:20 PM Brother Jason’s excellent message from Acts 7 today about manmade traditions got me thinking. Have you noticed just how many missionary “methods” and “strategies” have developed over the past few years? I simply can’t keep up with them — or their fancy-sounding acronyms. Each claims to be a “new” approach, but are they really? I once read that Thomas Edison felt he could claim only one invention — even though he held over a thousand patents. All of his other “inventions,” he said, were merely adaptations of other people’s insights!
It would do us a world of good, I should think, if we in the church would begin to see the Scriptures as the sole basis for all we do in missions. For example, if in fact there is only one kingdom, then we must all work together for its spread. The consequences of this idea are enormous. For Becky and me, this means that our mission work must involve coming alongside and assisting the existing evangelical churches in Ethiopia, rather than planting our own churches made in our image and according to our likeness. Many Christian missionary agencies come dangerously close to giving the impression that they alone can do the work of the Gospel. This is partly because they lean heavily on a few elite missiologists or strategy coordinators. The result is too often a steady drift away from basic principles of Scripture. How easy it is for us to innovate purely for self-aggrandizement or to develop programs that promote only our denomination or missionary organization!
There came a time in my life when my study of Jesus made me deeply desire the capacity to follow His simple principles of living. Perhaps there would be some practical benefit to us if we placed on moratorium on all of our manmade methods and strategies and returned to reading the pure milk of the Word. I know I need to do this. How about you?
9:10 AM Off to The Hill. Becky’s energy is great!
9:02 AM What a beautiful morning for feeding the cows. Here’s my home sweet home. I never tire of this view of Bradford Hall.
This is our newest hay barn. Nate and I built it from scratch, and I mean from scratch. Looks old, eh?
Our Angus love our hay. I think I would too if I were a cow.
Nate and Jessie’s home place. Unlike Bradford Hall, this house is really old. As in 1820. Love it!
My little helpers. They run interference for me wherever I go. Of course, they always have to be in the lead. After all, they own the farm!
Have a good one!
7:22 AM “We’re co-laborers for God.” I guess that might have served as our theme for yesterday’s orientation meeting at Bethany Baptist Church in Rougemont, NC. Here met 22 stalwart souls who are determined to go to Ethiopia this summer come frog or freezing rain. Our meeting began with getting everybody’s “mug shots.” Here Alan Knox poses for the camera. Alan is one of our “green” team members — this will be his first trip with us. The pictures of our team members will be sent on to Burji and Alaba so that the believers there can begin to match names with faces and we won’t seem like such strangers when me meet face to face.
Here veteran Jason Evans is reciting his memory verses to the people at his table. We each had to memorize a passage of about 10 verses from either the Gospel of John or 1 John. The theme was love.
Then each table had a season of prayer, realizing that only God can give the increase in our work for Him.
Afterwards Becky led us in a marathon 6-hour meeting to discuss, among other things, our individual giftedness, our place on the various teams, travel and medical details, and cultural issues. Lunch was graciously provided by our host church (thank you, Bethany!).
Co-laborers work together, sharing the burden and the resources. With prayerful expectancy, your Ethiopia 2010 team is raring to get on with the work to which the Lord Jesus has called us. Please pray for and with us that His will and His will alone might be accomplished in and through us!
7:13 AM Moody Bible Institute (Spokane campus) announces an opening inNew Testament and Greek.
7:10 AM Greek students, Matthew McDill has just publishedA Discourse Analysis of Hebrews 10:19-25 (.pdf). And that’s not all! Gohere for more good stuff.
7:06 AM Not too sure what to make of this chart. Churchianity does not necessarily mean Christianity.
7:00 AM Haven’t watched any of the Winter Olympics and don’t intend to. This does not mean that some very good things can’t come out of the Olympic Games. Eric Liddell, who ran in the 1924 Paris Olympics, is a good example. I really like this quote of his:
I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.
The man who spoke those words died on the mission field serving Jesus. It was he who said:
We are all missionaries. Wherever we go, we either bring people nearer to Christ, or we repel them from Christ.
Yes, yes, yes!!We are all missionaries — or ought to be!
6:55 AM Been there and done that. That’s what I thought when I saw this awesome photo of Mavericks.
Nothing worse than a wipeout on the face of a huge wave. You are sucked under, tossed around mercilessly, then spit out (hopefully) just in time to grab a quick breath before being slammed by the next wave in the set.
Serving Jesus is a high and holy calling — and an exceptionally difficult one. I don’t know about you, but I always feel like I’m barely treading water. Truth be told, wherever we serve Jesus, we’re overextended by design. That’s what faith is. It’s a response of obedience to an impossible task.
How exciting is the Christian life! Breathtaking in fact! I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
Saturday, February 20
9:04 PM If B and I were prepped up and prayed up earlier, now we are pumped up! What a wonderful meeting the Lord Jesus gave us. We sensed the sweet presence of the Spirit as we made plans for the trip. Remember: If the Lord appoints, the Lord provides. He never calls us to do something without enabling us to do it. As iron sharpens iron, so our team members sharpened each other today. We’re especially grateful for the way the “veterans” jumped in and helped. Thank you, guys and gals! I’ve got oodles of pix but am too tired to post any this evening. After all, we left the farm at 8:30 am and got back at 8:30 pm! The hungry cows sure were happy to see us!
All I can say is this: There’s something about mission work that brings all of life into focus. Values change. Love deepens. All goals, all choices in life are colored by the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus. My only regret is that I didn’t get serious about discipleship earlier in my life!
Until tomorrow,
Dave
8:15 AM Well, Becky and I are prepped up and prayed up. Off to orientation!
8:13 AM In our study of 1 Thess. 1:6-10 last week in Greek class we were reminded that the nascent church in Thessalonica had endured severe tribulation. One immediately thinks, of course, of all the places in the world today where Christians live in daily fear of repression and persecution. Where Becky and I work in Africa Christians are often harassed, arrested, imprisoned, and even murdered for their faith. Even though there is little of this kind of persecution in America, we should remind ourselves that we belong to a suffering family, and that when one part of the Body suffers, all suffer with it. Unless we recognize this inescapable truth, Christianity collapses into just another clique.
Friday, February 19
7:56 PM There’s plenteous food for thought in this essay calledHow (not) to be an American Missionary in Scotland. Here’s my favorite part of an essay that is well worth reading in its entirety:
The key to work in Scotland is for the American Presbyterians/Baptists/Pentecostals to come and partner with us. Scots must resist the temptation to think that we do not need help and we must also resist the temptation to see the American Church as some kind of cash cow that we have to woo or sell the vision to. We must also avoid any kind of cultural or spiritual superiority or snobbery (we need to take the beam out of our own eyes before the take the spec out of our brothers).
Americans on the other hand must avoid seeing us as a project. And they too must avoid cultural or spiritual superiority. It does not really matter if Europeans did not think that George W was the best thing since sliced bread or do not want to eat hormonised beef. American missionaries are not here to defend or proclaim American culture they are here to proclaim and live Christ.
Right on! There is one kingdom, and it has nothing to do with nationality or denomination. The sooner missionaries learn this truth, the better.
4:46 PM Today Bob Cornwall wrote an interesting post entitledCalling God Father — Meaning? He notes the continuing debate over the correct interpretation (and translation) of the word Abba in the New Testament. The fact is that there is a great dearth of material on the whole concept of the fatherhood of God. Consider this fact: Our systematic theologies have sections on Christology and Pneumatology, but where is the corresponding section on “Patrology”? It’s simply not there. The topic of fatherhood is usually relegated to the chapter on “Theology Proper.”
Our theology will never be balanced until we have a proper understanding of God as Father.
4:13 PM Ever heard of a Winckler? A Winckler was an Anabaptist who dared to preach or teach without the call or commission of the magistrate. Wincklers were subject to arrest — and worse — from both Protestants and Catholics alike.
I’d like to introduce you to a Winckler by the name of Melchior Rink. One day in 1531 it seems that the good mayor of Bacha informed Landgrave Philip that “we conducted a search at places that were suspect and found Melchior Rink (whom they call ‘The Greek’) with twelve others … gathered together; we learned that they had preached specifically on the passage at the end of Mark, where Jesus Christ our Savior instituted baptism, explaining it in the way customary with their sect.”
Two things are remarkable to me about this vignette from the lives of the early Anabaptists. (1) They apparently knew their Bibles. In fact, Melchior Rink was known as “The Greek” because of his proficiency in the Greek language. (2) They seemed to love the ending of the Gospel of Mark because it taught that believing goes before baptizing. Yet, despite their exegetical ability and their commitment to sola scriptura, they were hunted down like dogs.
The Anabaptists never made peace with the magistrates partly because they refused to go along with a sacralist view of ordination. Today our First Amendment officially repudiates such sacralism, and yet one still hears pastors referring to the “authority vested in me by the State of ______”! In recent years the Lord has been teaching me a wonderful truth from the lives of the Anabaptists. The call to walk in the way of the cross is the call to become Jesus’ suffering friends. Indeed, it is out of our friendship with Him that we are privileged to embody His sacrificial love.
Thank God for the Wincklers of this world!
3:55 PM While it’s on my mind:
Where does a mission trip to Ethiopia begin?
It begins with a burning desire to be completely kingdom-oriented in all that we do.
It begins with a commitment to follow the Scriptures and not manmade ideas about missions.
It begins with a goal of seeing the flag of the kingdom planted in territory at present occupied by other claimants.
It begins with a willingness to validate Jesus’ whole kingdom agenda — good works plus intentional evangelism.
It begins with a commitment to doing everything in the power and with the weapons of the Holy Spirit (prayer and fasting, truth and righteousness, the Word of God, etc.).
Some of our Ethiopia team members find their chief desire is to do medical work. Others find that their initial interest is teaching or preaching. Still others are led to do basic construction work. But wherever we start, we can’t be so focused on our private ministries that we forget the most important “mission strategy” of all — love! Missions, in fact, is not about programs or ministries or facilities but about people. Ultimately, it is only when we have the cross before our eyes, and when we realize how great God’s grace is, can we talk about doing missions.
We do not go to Ethiopia as crusaders with a view of imposing our ideas on others. Africans have had quite enough of that. We go to pray and work with our Ethiopian equals for God’s kingdom to be expanded and for His ways to be followed in each of our countries and indeed the whole world!
3:45 PM We’ve been busy as beavers today, and that includes Miss Becky Lynn, who has been organizing tomorrow’s meeting. This, by the way, is the farm’s nerve center.
It’s where blogs get blogged and essays get essayed and trips get planned. Here are just SOME of the handouts B has prepared for our orientation tomorrow.
As thou canst seest, it promiseth to be a very full day! Becky worked 6 straight hours this morning sitting in that chair, and I think she deserves a big round of applause for her perseverance!
Meanwhile, Master Nathan and I have been busy unloading and sorting these gorgeous boards he got from a local lumber mill.
Solid oak too. What we don’t use for our own buildings we’ll end up selling.
Right now Becky’s resting, Nate and Jessie are finishing up a painting job at a nearby town in Carolina, and I’m doing some writing. Tonight I’m cooking — did you guess it? — Chinese food for supper. Can’t wait!
7:51 AM Full day today: prepping for our 6-hour meeting tomorrow with our Ethiopia 2010 teams, helping Nate stack lumber, cleaning house, etc. Today’s high will be an unheard-of 51 degrees. Spring, are you finally coming?
6:58 AM This is the passage I will recite tomorrow at orientation. I reproduced it from memory:
After Jesus had washed their feet and put on his outer clothes, he took his place at the table again.
Then he asked his disciples, “Do you understand what I’ve done for you? You call me ‘Teacher and Lord,’ and you’re right because that’s what I am. So if I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you must wash each other’s feet. I’ve given you an example that you should follow. I can guarantee this truth: Servants are not superior to their owners, and messengers are not superior to the people who send them. If you understand all of this, you are blessed whenever you follow my example.”
Jesus said, “I will still be with you for a little while. I’m telling you what I told the Jews. You will look for me, but you won’t be able to go where I’m going.
I’m giving you a new commandment: Love each other in the same way that I have loved you. Everyone will know that you’re my disciples because of your love for each other.”
6:50 AM Quote of the day (J. Gresham Machen):
I see with greater and greater clearness that consistent Christianity is the easiest Christianity to defend.
6:34 AM I’ve got 80 Greek students doing a take home exam this weekend. Verb morphology is the subject. Praying for them!
Thursday, February 18
9:10 PM In the Old Covenant sacrificial system, sheep and goats died so that others could live. In the New Covenant, believers are called living sacrifices. To be a living sacrifice is to die to self and to be willing to gives one’s physical life for others if necessary. This, I think, is the thrust of Lionel Wood’s latest blog post calledWho Am I Responsible For? Prioritizing in the Kingdom. To be a living sacrifice is to choose inconvenience over convenience, and risk over safety. This is how I want to live my life. It is all the more difficult because I am not a servant by nature. I don’t like to wash feet. That’s perhaps why Paul said, “I make myself a servant” (1 Cor. 9:19). In other words, serving is absolutely essential, for without serving Christianity is a farce. It becomes Mere Doctrianity. Thank you, brother Lionel, for reminding me that “I am responsible for everyone God puts in my path and I have the resources to meet such needs. This is Kingdom responsibility.”
8:15 PM If God is willing, Becky and I will leave for Ethiopia in exactly 4 weeks. We’ll be with family again. We are one in Christ — not Americans and Ethiopians, but blood-bought brothers and sisters in Christ.
It’s good to remember that God has no favorites. How easy to conclude that we American evangelicals have the inside track, that we’re God’s favorite kids.
Newsflash:
We ain’t!
It doesn’t hurt to remember that whenever you travel abroad.
8:01 PM “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). Rosewood Farm is a “lonely place,” but is it a place of prayer? Lord, make it so!
7:45 PM Here’s another reason why I love Zwingli so much:
Nothing grieves me more than that at the present I have to baptize children, for it ought not to be done (Quellen, VI, pp. 184f.)
Amen, brother Huldreich! Little wonder it has often been said that infant Anabaptism was born on Zwingli’s doorstep. Unfortunately, Zwingli went on to say, “If however I were to terminate the practice then I fear I would lose my prebend.” Seems like a believers’ church was too radical a step for the great Reformer.
What steps are too radical for you today? For me? Why do we drag our feet when the Scriptures are so clear? To go against the grain is no small thing. If you do so, you will be accused of being divisive. Friends, “Scripture plus tradition” is the most dangerous heresy the church has ever known!
If we are going to proclaim sola scriptura, then we had better live it too.
7:16 PM What a wonderful day it was! We passed out the goodies and the letters, then it was “photo op” time. Here we are with Miss Crystal, Becky’s lead radiation nurse, who was a pure joy and delight to work with.
And here’s our family with Dr. Varia, Becky’s outstanding oncologist.
Then it was time to ring the gong. The first one to hold the mallet was, of course, Becky herself.
Then each of the boys had their turn. Here’s Caleb (loud):
Then Isaac (louder):
Then Micah (loudest):
And last, but certainly not least, Nolan (assisted by Micah):
At supper Nate and Jess presented Mama B with a beautiful tea cup and saucer set.
Becky is now sound asleep. We rejoice in the goodness of the Lord to us. We are eager to see how the Holy Spirit will use Becky’s written and unwritten testimony in the days and years ahead. As we were leaving UNC one person told Becky that hers was the kindest letter she had ever received in all her years of working in the hospital. May the response to the Gospel message be just as positive!
10:22 AM Matt Evan’s latest interview — this time withDan Wallace — is simply superb. Dan is absolutely right that one of the continuing controversies in biblical studies over the next few years will be the debate over the recoverability of the “original” New Testament text. Dan, by the way, spoke at our SEBTS conference on the ending of Mark a few years ago. The conference papers were publishedhere.
Kudos to Matt for the interview and to Dan for his stellar contributions to the field!
10:05 AM Alan “Knox” it out of the ballpark again! ReadAs simple as knowing, hearing, and responding.
Better yet — don’t just read it, do it!
9:59 AM Here’s another installment of “Let’s revise our language.” My suggestion this time? That we use “Christ-like care” instead of “pastoral care.” We must go beyond the traditional understanding of “pastoral” as describing only a position or an office. Yes, Christian leaders are to exhort and admonish believers with patience and love — see 1 Thess. 5:12-13. But it is also true that the responsibility to exhort and admonish does not belong solely to them — see 1 Thess. 5:14! All of us as believers are to have the eagerness and humility to serve one another through exhortation and comfort. All members share equally in diakonia (Eph. 4:11-13).
Amen?
9:40 AM Good morning, friends!
Through the years I’ve learned to gauge the spiritual health of a Christian by noting the presence or absence of a complaining spirit. Whenever we grumble or complain as Christians, we have obviously failed to grasp the great truth of 1 Thess. 5:18 — “In everything give thanks.” Everything in our lives — everything! — has been sent for a divine purpose. 1 Thess. 5:18 is a nuclear reactor intended for every Christian. Let’s remember that the mark of a Christian is the ability to praise God no matter what the circumstance. This is the power of grace.
Let me be very frank with you. As we ring the gong today at UNC, it is not to celebrate anything that man has done. It is to celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today — and, yes, forever! His character never changes. He is always the same. He is always the God of peace. He is always the Great Shepherd of the Sheep. He is always the God of mental health and stability. The mightiest demonstration of His power is not a blast of radiation but the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We talk about “conquering cancer,” but the greatest conquest ever made was when the Lord Jesus Christ conquered inner space by entering the hearts of simple men and women like Dave and Becky Black.
Please pray for Becky today. She has baked cakes for all of the radiation staff — doctors, nurses, techs, receptionists, and parking lot attendants. More importantly, she has written a letter to each one. Through these weeks of treatment Becky has had the opportunity to speak with many of them about their souls. This letter is her testimony to them of the life-changing power, not of religion, not of church membership, not of earthly relationships, but of Jesus.
For me personally, Becky has been a living example of Phil. 4:13 — “I can handle anything in union with the One who gives me strength.” What a wonderful, brave wife I have! What a great God we have been allowed to serve together for 33 years! In Him is a full supply to carry us through. This will be the theme of our “gong show” celebration today.
Our gracious Father,
A cancer hospital is a witness to the uncertainty of man’s reasonings and man’s hopes. But the sureness and security of the one who believes in you can never be shaken. We are so grateful, Lord, that by grace you have led us to this day. You have tested us, and we know you are faithful. Now help us to show others who you are. Help them to see that you can be trusted, be it through difficulties and trials, through heartaches and tears. May they come to the place in their lives where they look unto Jesus and find in Him their Savior and Lord, just as we have done.
This is my prayer in Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Wednesday, February 17
9:48 PM Just released: Photos of theWinter White House in my home town of Kailua, Hawaii.
9:32 PM Ph.D. students! Test your German:
Die chinesische Mauer ist das größte Bauwerk der Menschheit. Ihren Ursprung hat sie vor über 2.200 Jahren und heute gehört sie zu den sieben neuen Weltwundern.
Were you able to translate this simple prose? For more, gohere.
9:23 PM N. T. Wright for Everyone:Part Two.
8:59 PM Quote of the day (Aussie John):
Theological education and knowledge, or conviction, will never convince anyone if not accompanied by a humble awareness of one’s own propensity to be pridefully wrong.
How right you are, John. And I am the chief of sinners in this regard.
7:44 PM Matt Evans gives Adam Winn’s The Purpose of Marks Gospel: An Early Christian Response to Roman Imperial Propaganda an A-.
Thanks, Matt, for these wonderful reviews!
7:36 PM Christianity became “Doctrianity” during the Protestant Reformation. So argues David Bercot in his book Will the Theologians Please Sit Down, which is reviewedhere. If you’re a fan of Luther, Calvin, or Zwingli, hold on to your hats!
6:54 PM I got a question for all of you Greek students out there. It is something that has been on my mind for a very long time. The question is this:
Do you believe that the rhetorical level of language is a significant level for receptors?
I realize that language operates on many different levels. But is the rhetorical level an important one? And if so, should we not attempt to reflect this level when we are translating from the Greek New Testament?
Unusual word order in Greek is a good example of what I am talking about. Let me offer some passages from the book of Hebrews for your consideration. The following translations reflect the Greek word order:
2:9 — “but we see him who has been made a little lower than the angels — Jesus”
7:4 — “to whom Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils — the patriarch”
13:8 — “Jesus Christ, yesterday and today the same — and forever”
Typically these verses have been rendered as follows:
2:9 — “but we see Jesus who has been made a little lower than the angels.”
7:4 — “to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils.”
13:8 — “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
The problem with theses renderings (in my very humble opinion) is that the separation of words that naturally belong together is often used in Greek to indicate emphasis. Thus in theISV you’ll find these passages rendered as follows:
2:9 — “But we do see someone who was made a little lower than the angels. He is Jesus…”
7:4 — “Just look at how great this man was: Even Abraham — the patriarch himself — gave him a tenth of what he had captured.”
13:8 — “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today — and forever!”
I could cite other passages as well:
1:4 — “a superior (than theirs he has inherited) name”
4:8 — “not about another (he would speak later) day”
10:11 — “the same (he would repeatedly offer) sacrifices”
10:12 — “one (for sins he offered) sacrifices”
12:3 — “such (he endured from sinners against himself) opposition”
This feature, by the way, is sometimes called hyperbaton.
So, back to my original question: Are literary devices such as these a part of the meaning of the text? And if so, should we ignore them?
What do you think?
P.S. I’ve discussed these examples in my essay “Literary Artistry in the Epistle to the Hebrews,” Filologia Neotestamentaria 7 (1994) 43-52. If you’d like a copy, let me know and I’d be glad to send you one gratis.
4:51 PM This email came today:
HaPpY GoNg DaY EvE!!!
Sent With Love, Hugs, High Fives, and
PRAYER
Isn’t that wonderful!
4:40 PM Ken Starr’s new home hastwo openings in religion.
4:38 PM Heartiest congratulations to my colleague Tracy McKenzie on the publication of his new bookIdolatry in the Pentateuch. This work is Tracy’s doctoral dissertation written at SEBTS under the supervision of John Sailhamer. Way to go, bro!
4:26 PM For a great report on Darrell Bock’s recent visit to Liberty University, gohere. Darrell’s topic? Justification (à laPiper and Wright). This part was especially good:
I appreciated Dr. Bock’s reminder of the real message of the Gospel and our tendency to make it something far less than it really is. Salvation is more than a transaction, and the Gospel is an invitation to live the new life that God has made possible through our becoming a new creation in Christ. It is impossible to truly believe this message about Jesus and not be changed.
Amen to that!
4:20 PM Again I’m indebted to a blogger for reviewing one of my Pulitzer Prize losing books, in this caseThe Jesus Paradigm. Thank you T. C.!
4:15 PM The latest issue of the Biola Magazine offers an essay calledDispatches from Abroad: How a Change of Scenery Can Enliven Our Faith. The author notes:
Movement and travel have always been part of the Christian experience. So many of the giants of the faith have been travelers from Abraham (whom God called to “leave your country” Gen. 12:1) to Paul to the itinerate evangelists of the 19th century. And, of course, there is also Jesus himself, who from birth was a bit of a roving exile, frequently homeless and dependent on the hospitality of others on the routes he traveled.
I am always interested to see the reaction of our Ethiopia team members when they travel abroad, many of them for the first time. It can be an enriching, terrifying, and humbling experience all at the same time! A fusillade of thanks to Biola for this excellent reminder of why it is so important for us to step outside of ourselves and our own cultures.
P.S. Again, I strongly urge all of my students to prayerfully considering earning their doctorates abroad. You get two educations for the price of one, and you learn, as the author of this essay points out, that our God is truly a global God.
4:10 PM So, guess what killed King Tut? Yep.Malaria. What a painful way to go.
4:04 PM Arthur Sido says that reformation is not enough. We need anew radical reformation. I have described what such a radical reformation might look like inThe Jesus Paradigm. A growing number of people believe, as I do, that it is not enough to cry “biblical authority!” Jesus, in the power and presence of His Holy Spirit, wants to change us completely so that we live on the principle of explicit revelation and implicit obedience. As Arthur says, Jesus preached the Gospel of the kingdom on a much broader canvas than we do today.
Tuesday, February 16
5:50 AM Hey guys, remember that idiotic ’70s television series called The Gong Show with emcee Chuck Barris?
Only talent of the most dubious sort was featured, and if you were particularly awful the judges would strike a large gong and you were ushered offstage. Often the audience would sense when the gong was about to be struck, and their anticipation built to fever pitch as the judges gleefully waited to administer the coup de grâce.
Well, that can’t even begin to match the mood of anticipation here on the farm as we look forward to gonging the mother of all gongs on Thursday, if the Lord wills. Makes me so happy I may surprise everybody with a Gene Gene the Dancing Machine act. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
5:43 AM Who are the great intercessors in your life? Right now Becky and I are enjoying a number of intercessors who pray for us on a regular basis and especially for our journey with cancer. You can spot them a mile away. They email, write, and call. They carefully ask questions about the issues we’re facing. Their prayers provide a protective curtain around us, shielding us from the fiery arrows of discouragement and fear. A major part of their intercession is that we might not grow weary and that we might be constantly renewed in our inner being. Humanly speaking, we depend on them to help us make it through this season of life.
I want to say a big thank you to all of our prayer partners who are traveling this road with us. Thank you for picking up part of the load and for comforting us with your concern and kindness. I’m prepared to say that we have been reassured of the steadfast love of the Lord because of you.
We appreciate you!
Dave
5:38 AM Lionel Woodsloves the church. So do I, bro!
5:35 AM Forthcoming book announcement from Energion Publishers:The Character of Our Discontent: Old Testament Portraits for Contemporary Times. The author is Allan Bevere.
Monday, February 15
9:23 PM Great movie! Love a show where the camera is not always moving and the music is performed by an actual orchestra. Course, any movie about my favorite animal has got to be good. Here’s a pic of Cass Ole, whose white markings on his forehead and pasterns had to be died black for the movie.
Did anyone else notice that a Thoroughbred is substituted in the final race scene for Cass Ole, an Arabian? But enough nitpicking. The music, the camera angles, the acting — all make the movie simply unforgettable.
In case you’re suffering from insomnia tonight, this essay about my horses will put you sound asleep! It’s calledMy Horses, My Teachers.
7:12 PM Becky’s up and about again. Tonight we’re gonna watch The Black Stallion together and just gel — the two little love birds that we are!
7:08 PM I am amazed at how often we let unimportant issues get in the way of our working together for the Gospel. It’s interesting that the only use of “yokefellow” in the New Testament is preceded by Paul’s request that fellow laborers who are alienated from each other “agree in the Lord” (Phil. 4:2). Amazing and wonderful, isn’t it, how the Gospel changes everything in our lives, even our ability to work with those who are different from us! This is the work of the Spirit of God as He comes to us in the Word.
3:41 PM Andy Bowden writes:
1. Paul 2. 1 Thess. 3. original 4. Matthew 5. in a Hebrew style
Of the emails I’ve received, Andy’s was the first to answer all 5 questions correctly. (Many of you got tripped up on Galatians.)
Some of you will cry foul because Andy is my personal assistant. In Andy’s defense, I must say that he started working for me only two weeks ago, and he and I have never personally discussed these matters. So congratulations Andy on a job well done!
By the way, Andy blogs here. My thanks to all who played along!
3:10 PM Pastor friend: You can’t care for the flock yourself. The demands are too many. The needs are too diverse.
Pastor friends (note the plural; I am referring to a church that has multiple elders/pastors): You can’t care for the flock yourselves. The demands are too many. The needs are too diverse.
Whether your church has a single pastor or several, the message is the same: Every-member ministry will begin when you start to accept the limitations of your love, energy, and giftedness.
2:01 PM Greetings, July 2010 Ethiopia team members! Don’t forget that you must have your New Testament passage memorized perfectly by this Saturday’s orientation meeting #2. I’ve chosen the John 13 passage. It started coming easily as soon as I started rapping it! Becky has begun working on the agenda for the meeting and I can say that you are in for one great time!
Remember: You have been “set apart” by your local churches to represent them, so represent them well — even at the orientations!
1:23 PM Reviewing 1 Thess. 1:1-10 for tomorrow’s class. Every pastor claims to be a “servant.” The question is: Are you a “servant with the serving” or a “servant to be served”? A biblical leader is a player-coach for lay ministers!
1:12 PM It’s Contest Time again! A free copy ofUsing New Testament Greek in Ministry,The Jesus Paradigm,It’s Still Greek to Me, orChristian Archy to the first blogger who can correctly state (or guess!) my views on:
1) The authorship of Hebrews (Paul or not?)
2) The earliest Pauline epistle (Galatians or 1 Thessalonians?)
3) The disputed words en Epheso in Eph. 1:1 (original or not?)
4) The earliest written Gospel (Mark or Matthew?)
5) The meaning of Papias’s words hebraidi dialekto (referring to Matthew’s original language [i.e., “in the Hebrew language”] or to Matthew’s writing style [i.e., “in a Hebrew style”]).
If you’ve read my works, you’ll know the answers!
Note: contest open to bloggers only. Yes, I’m being biased this time!
12:39 PM We’re back. B is washed out from the procedure. I just put her to bed. Thank God for caring doctors and nurses!
6:57 AM The momentum is building! We’re coming down to the wire and Thursday is still set as “gong day.” Caleb, Isaac, Micah, and Nolan are ready and eager to help Mama B strike the bell of freedom. This morning B will have another high intensity radiation treatment, so I’m asking for your special prayers. We enter the week feeling confident in the Lord’s provision, grateful for His love, and eager to serve Him in the midst of our weaknesses.
Sunday, February 14
8:14 PM Beginning Greek students, this week we will review the entire indicative verb system. Yes, we have come that far! So please be prepared to explain the morphology of any verb you come across in your text. In class we’ll remind you how to do that before sending you home with your first exam of the semester. This is a very significant step forward in our study of New Testament Greek and opens the door to the remainder of the grammar. I want you to know how pleased I am with your progress, but we haven’t arrived at the goal yet. So…
FULL SPEED AHEAD!
7:45 PM The perfect ending to a perfect day — Nate, Jess, and Nolan stopped by for a hot fudge Sunday. Enjoy the pix!
4:42 PM Okay, I’m gonna be right up front with yall and warn you that what follows is another photo essay! If you’re bored to death viewing my pictures (and I wouldn’t blame you one bit if you are), then stop by again later. Otherwise, I invite you to read on.
We spent the afternoon visiting Matt, Liz, and the boys in beautiful Charlotte Court House.
I never tire of the architecture in this fair city in the only county in Virginia that boasts an absence of traffic lights. Patrick Henry once stood in this very square in 1799 during a debate. The place reeks with history.
When we arrived, Liz had waiting for me a very special gift: pistachio nuts. (Thank you, Liz!) So the boys and I had a “pistachio party.”
Caleb reads the Greek New Testament!
Papa B volunteered to cook supper, Caleb serving as associate chef.
The meal, I think, was enjoyed by all. We call it “Papa B’s Goulash.”
Then it was off to town for a bit of sledding. The photo below shows Caleb and Isaac taking off. In the biggest competition of the day, a tandem race to the bottom of the hill, Caleb and his Papa B barely lost to Isaac and his dad. Well, they lost by a mile.
Isaac enjoys helping Mama B with her sewing.
Here Caleb shows off his excellent portrait of a crab. A happy one too!
Then we drove back to Rosewood, tired out but happy. Right now Becky is sleeping and I’m about to shovel manure. More rain/snow is expected tomorrow, so “never put off to tomorrow what you can do today.”
Cheers!
Dave
3:50 PM This has got to be theworld’s best Valentine’s Day heart ever:
Nothing says “I love you” like a half-mile wide heart made out of manure…. His wife, Beth, said it’s the biggest and most original Valentine she has ever received. She said some people might think it’s gross, but she says it’s cute and “Why not do something fun with what you got?”
Three cheers for skubala!
8:36 AM The author of the travel guide Europe Through the Back Door discusses the blessings of international travel inthis essay at The Christian Century. You will perhaps not agree with all of his perspective (I certainly do not), but the essay is worth reading if only for the reminder of how ethnocentric we Westerners can be when traveling to places like Africa. For indeed, there is a huge difference between being a tourist and being a traveler:
You could go to Africa and take in all the finest golf courses and come home having learned nothing. Or you could go to Africa and drink tea with local people, help them out in different ways and gain empathy for them. You’d come home changed. That’s being a traveler.
I trust that our Ethiopia team members will read this essay and take it to heart. But I also hope that all of us will remember that even as travelers (and not mere tourists) our job is bigger, and more important, than merely developing a sense of empathy and solidarity with the poor.
8:18 AM Kingdom people will want to read this essay by Brian Fulthorp:on the nature of incarnational ministry. The money quote:
I believe the Lord calls us to be incarnational for the sake of the gospel (evangelism is the goal, incarnational ministry is the vehicle) or that we may have opportunity to tell people about the story of Jesus and the freedom and new life they can have in him.
Becky, by the way, has published an essay that deals with this same issue. Please take a moment and read herThe Role of Humanitarian Aid in Building the Kingdom. She concludes:
Ultimately the decision is a matter of choosing masters. Do we strive in our ministry for material things? Do we pursue the praise of the masses? Do we aim for the blessing of governments? Or do we pursue the Commission that salvation is to be offered through Jesus alone to each individual, and His way taught so that the life is changed to the Saviors.What is our focus?
The Evil One has been substituting his way for a very long time. He cares not what the substitute is. In fact, often good things make better substitutes; people go to sleep spiritually if they are involved in doing and funding good things.
These are critical times and crucial issues. I for one want to be absolutely certain that the Gospel message remains primary in all that I do for King Jesus.
8:05 AM From The Times Online: Prince Charles lauds ‘encouraging’ evangelical Alpha movement. If you are unfamiliar with Alpha, gohere.
7:48 AM As the Vancouver Winter Olympics gets underway, I’ll be rooting for a country that is near and dear to my own heart.
7:22 AM From the Houston Chronicle comes this editorial:Happy Singles’ Awareness Day (SAD). The key quote:
If you are single, never forget that God loves you. You have a Father in heaven who loves you and desires a relationship with you. Enjoy His love today.
Amen!
7:15 AM Quote of the day (Karl Barth):
In the Church of Jesus Christ there can and should be no non-theologians.
7:10 AM At The Times Literary Supplement, A. N. Wilson reviews William Oddie’sChesterton and the Romance of Orthodoxy. The review is pungent at times:
It could be said, truthfully as well as Chestertonianly, that he was never deeper than when he was being superficial. Many of his wisest remarks are the throwaways, but you do not necessarily preserve the truth of a throwaway remark by patching it together with other throwaway remarks to construct a Summa. Chestertons observation about angels that they can fly because they carry so little weight applies to his own writings.
But Wilson is quite right. How often do you find someone’s “throwaway remarks” to be among their wisest sayings?
Truly, the “prince of paradox” is well worth reading, and not merely for his verbal legerdemain.
6:45 AM In the latest issue of Theology News and Notes, Glenn Hinson asks,
Have Baptists, Baptist churches, shaped saints? Have they shaped people whose lives are irradiated by grace, who seek not to be safe but to be faithful, who have learned how to get along in adversity, who are joyfilled, who are dreamfilled, who are prayerful?
This is an appropriate question for an essay calledTrends in Baptist Spirituality. Think back for a moment over the names of people in your own life who have exemplified what Hinson is describing. We are called to run the same race. I can say without fear of contradiction that, in my own life, Becky has been among those few “whose lives are irradiated by grace, who seek not to be safe but to be faithful, who have learned how to get along in adversity, who are joyfilled, who are dreamfilled, who are prayerful.”
Faith dares. It pays no attention to impossibilities. Think of Sarah. Here was a woman who was 90 years old. No gynecologist alive would have given her a chance to have a child. But she pressed on anyway. You can see that kind of daring faith in Becky.
This very day, I am called upon by God to dare to do the impossible against all the silky arguments of the world. Lord, grant me the simple faith to trust your Word and to live according to it!
Saturday, February 13
9:15 PM Our new Ethiopia team members might want to check out thisseries of photos at the National Geographic site. Fantastic! (Amharic = “Gobus!”)
9:05 PM One of my colleague’s latest books has received a very positive review.
This volume should be in every pastor’s library. If you are preaching on John’s Gospel, or intend to preach on it in the future, this volume should be on your desk and read alongside Kostenberger’s or D.A. Carson’s commentary on John. This book will act as a necessary biblical-theological supplement to your exegetical work. The book will also serve as a fine textbook for a course on John’s theology in seminary or college. I highly recommend purchasing this volume.
The book isA Theology of John’s Gospel and Letters, and the author is none other than Andreas Köstenberger. Kudos, Andreas!
8:53 PM Becky and I just watched an episode of the Waltons featuring a crazy Baptist preacher who tries to frighten everybody into the kingdom. Livy, of course, is on John’s case to get baptized. The story ends happily, however; John Walton worships his own god in a sincere way, and that’s all that matters in the end. Becky put it well when she said, “The Waltons is all about the primacy of the family and doing good to each other.” She’s right. Don’t look for the Gospel on Walton’s Mountain.
6:42 PM This is certainly an idea whose time has come:
You’ve committed your life to Jesus. You know you’re saved. But when the Rapture comes what’s to become of your loving pets who are left behind? Eternal Earth-Bound Pets takes that burden off your mind.
*Smirk.*
P.S. Sorry, Alvin, looks like snakes are excepted. You’ll just have to take Maximus up with you.
6:32 PM Bec’s been sewing a couple of new dresses for Ethiopia. She finished the first one today.
Here’s a close-up:
Sweet-tastik! If the Lord wills, we leave in just 5 weeks.
5:59 PM More on Melville Cox, the first American Methodist missionary to Africa. He volunteered for service even though he knew he had tuberculosis.
He wife and child had just died. He himself would perish within four months of arriving in county. In this short span he founded a church and a school.
“If you go to Africa, you’ll die there,” warned a student at Connecticut’s Wesleyan University.
“If I die in Africa, you must come and write my epitaph,” retorted Melville Cox. He felt that it would be no loss to die far from home (as long as Christ were with him) but hoped that his death would spur forward the cause of mission work. Even his epitaph should reflect that spirit.
“What shall it be?” asked the student.
Melville’s reply became a blazing torch to kindle Methodist enthusiasm for missions. “Let a thousand die before Africa be given up!” he exclaimed.
Exemplary, truly exemplary. And the irony is that he would probably have been turned down for missionary service today.
For more on this humble saint of God, gohere.
2:56 PM Back home after doing farm chores on this beautiful winter day. Nolan was the chores supervisor.
Here are some of our bulls enjoying their locally grown, naturally fertilized hay.
And here’s a load of lumber Nate brought home yesterday. Got it at a bargain price too. Nice going, son. We’ll unload it just as soon as we find a place to put it!
It wouldn’t be a farm without chickens, now would it? Chickens were our first “pets.” Had gobs of them in California.
We’ve started nailing up old odds-and-ends on the side of the hay barn. Neat, huh?
I don’t believe I’ve ever introduced you to the farm cemetery. Well, here it is, with Nate and Jess’s 1820s farm house in the background.
Anderson Boyd, the former owner of the farm, is buried here, as are his two wives (the first one died and Mr. Boyd remarried.)
Wife #2 didn’t have a headstone, so Nate had one made.
After working we loafed around for a bit, just enjoying the outdoors. We weren’t the only ones. Sheba and Dayda love the snow.
And Nathan loves his puppies, including little Miss Daisy.
Last but certainly not least is Sheppie, the only male dog on the farm. He is Dayda’s pop.
Hard to believe, but we’ve owned the farm now for about 10 years. Seems like we’ve always lived here. I’m grateful for each and every day I get to spend at Rosewood.
12:25 PM Guess who just sent us a Valentine’s Day card? That’s right. Our little grandson himself. And he included a couple of pix along with his card. Care to see them?
Thank you, Nolan! We love you!
11:40 AM Three thoughts from my morning devotional from 1 Cor. 12:4-6:
1)”There are different gifts but the same Spirit.” I do not ask God for my gifts. I discover them. Then develop them. Then use them.
2) “There are different ministries but the same Lord.” Every believer has a “ministry.” At least one, if not several. The Lord Jesus is the one who determines what these are. Wherever He plants me in ministry, there I must stay.
3)”There are different results but the same God who produces everything in everyone.” I don’t have to worry about the results if (and that is a very big “if”) I am exercising my gifts in the place of the Lord’s appointment. This relieves me of ever having to compare myself with anyone else.
Now, let’s apply these three principles to blogging:
1) Publishing an online diary/weblog is an ability given to us by the Spirit. Yes, it is an ability that can be developed. Yes, there is always room for improvement. But one is either a blogger or not a blogger just as one is either a singer or not a singer. How will you know if you are a “gifted” blogger or not? I don’t have the answer! It’s probably a combination of desire, satisfaction, commitment level, etc.
2) The purpose of a Christian blog, it seems to me, is to be ministry. At least that’s how I view DBO. I want this site to encourage, comfort, and challenge (see 1 Cor. 14:2). I want people to be uplifted when they come here. I want them to be drawn closer to the Lord God and encouraged to follow Him in greater and greater obedience (as He leads them).
3) All bloggers are interested in their web stats, number of hits, visits, etc. But in the end all of that is irrelevant. The results of what we publish are up to God the Father, who is the one who “works all things in all.” If you are a gifted blogger who is using your blog to serve others, leave the results up to God. If only one person ever leaves your site spiritually refreshed and challenged to greater love and obedience, then you are a “success” in my book!
11:12 AM Over at the Evangelical Textual Criticism site, Mike Holmes has a great post abouteditorial corruption which, as an editor myself, I take to heart. The editor’s infraction in this case involved substituting the active voice for the passive, apparently because the original sentence broke a cardinal rule of “good writing.” Oh, you know the rule:
“The passive voice is to be avoided.”
Yeah right. That’s almost as silly as the rule that tells us to never split an infinitive or the one that requires us to always avoid the apt of alliteration.
Grammar Police, take a hike!
10:48 AM Alan Knox provideshis own translation of Phil. 1:7-11, and a fine translation it is. Read it for yourself and see if you don’t agree.
So, it is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I hold you in my heart all of you who are my partners in grace when Im in chains, when Im giving a defense, and when Im confirming the gospel. God knows how I continue to long for all of you with the deep affections of Jesus Christ! So, this is what Im praying for you: that your love will keep on growing and growing by insight and experience so that you can approve the things that really matter. Then you will be pure and blameless when Christ returns while being filled with the things that righteousness produces, that is, things which bring glory and praise to God.
1) “partners in grace” — yes!
2) “that your love will keep on growing and growing” — that’s what the verbal aspect certainly implies!
3) “insight and experience” — perfect!
4) “while being filled” — I dunno. The participle is in the perfect tense. How about “because you have been filled”?
5) “the things that righteousness produces” — love it!
Oh, Greek students out there — have you read your Greek New Testament yet today!??
10:22 AM Good news, fellow bloggerites! Becky’s series on suffering is now being translated into Spanish. I’ve just posted the first installment. I’m delighted to be able to make it available to our Hispanic readers out there in cyberland. May all glory go to King Jesus!
10:05 AM Fluffy flakes have been falling all morning long, leaving the impression that God took out His powdered sugar dispenser and shook it cheerfully.
How beautiful! How great our Creator-God!
7:51 AM Interested in Greek discourse analysis? Then gohere. You won’t be sorry.
7:18 AM The inventor of Frisbeehas died. If only the rest of us could stumble upon ideas like that! Ill never forget one of our Burji team members trying to introduce the Frisbee to some children a couple of years.
The kids got the throwing part down pat. But Danny forgot to tell them what to do after the thing was launched. The first throw ended up smacking a young man right in the nose! At any rate, Mr. Morrison’s invention drew quite a large crowd for our evangelistic puppet show that day.
7:14 AM Brewton-Parker College announces an opening inChristian Studies.
7:12 AM Interested in some basic principles of word studies? Then have a gander atthis fine essay (.pdf) over at theMcMaster Journal of Theology and Ministry. The discussion of the Greek word apostolos is simply outstanding. If I understand the author correctly, he concludes that the term apostolos is about the closest thing we’ll encounter in the New Testament for a term that can mean “missionary”!
7:08 AM If you travel or work internationally, you might want to take a look at theCorruptions Percentage Index. A regional index for Sub-Saharan Africa may also be found there. As you can imagine, I have a deep interest in this part of the world.
7:00 AM I see the debate over the “Camel method” of evangelizing Muslims hasmade news again. I am not a big fan of that method or of any method of evangelization for that matter. I once asked a man in Ethiopia what he and his fellow believers were doing to reach their neighbors for Christ. (They live in a village that is almost 100 percent Muslim.) His answer was simple and to the point. “We live holy lives before others,” he said, adding, “And we love and forgive them when they persecute us.” Mind you, these were the words of a man whose 8 year-old daughter had just been beheaded because her father was a Christian. Love borne of faith and the Spirit effects a breakthrough of the boundary between the two kingdoms!
6:55 AM When Lionel Woods says thatpastors ought to work jobs like the rest of the men in their congregations, I think he’s on to something very important. He does a good job of answering what is perhaps the most frequently raised question: Who will lead the church if our pastor is out in the workaday-world earning a living for himself and his family? The answer, of course, is to be found in the concept (and practice of) shared leadership. Lionel, of course, is not thinking about a church with multiple salaried staff members. Not at all! He writes:
Depending on how many are in your local fellowship, bring other men, with the help of the church, before the church to set more aside. This alleviates any need for one man to prepare hours upon hours for teaching every week. The alleviates any need for one man to be visiting and it alleviates the pressure of this “vision” hocus pocus that is so prevalent today! A plurality of elders just isn’t the right thing, it is the best thing, the most healthiest thing, and most stress relieving thing, not to mention Holy Spirit wise thing to do!
Lionel, allow me to give an example of what you are trying to teach us. I’ve been reading a short book on the history of Grace Bible Church in Dallas, Texas. This was my wife’s home church for many years. Becky and I were married there in 1976. It was there that such men as Dwight Pentecost and Chuck Swindoll served, and where men like Harold Hoehner were ordained. In 1976, Dr. Pentecost decided to retire from the pastorate of the church, and the church, instead of hiring one man to do all the preaching and teaching, selected three men (who also happened to be Dallas seminary professors) to preach on Sundays. The question immediately arose: Who will do the visitation, counseling, etc.? Here’s the answer they came up. The congregation realized that visiting needed to be the responsibility of all the church elders and indeed of the congregation itself.
Behind Lionel’s essay is perhaps a deeper issue, one that has to do with the very nature of the church. What is “the church”? May I give you one possible definition? A church is a group of people who have learned to live their faith in mutual concern for each other and the world. When we view church in this way, all members will be involved in some aspect of kingdom service in church and community. Leadership will be home-grown and shared. All will identify themselves as fulltime “ministers” with one common goal. Teaching-learning will not be assigned to only one person. Reformation of this sort is never easy. The Reformers found themselves trapped by traditions many centuries old. They were tied into a hierarchical structure. “Ministry” was assigned only to ordained men. They found it very difficult to break away from this pattern just as we do today.
A final thought. Recently I received an email announcing that one of the churches in our regional association is holding a service “to ordain So-and-So to the Gospel ministry.” Might I suggest that our churches hold a similar service, not to ordain one man to the ministry but every single believer? Call it a “Church-Wide Ordination Service” if you will. It may be a small first step toward building churches that develop God’s people into living, working, witnesses to the Gospel.
Just a thought.
6:45 AM In Greek 4 we’re going through 1 Thessalonians. The last line on this page of my Greek New Testament is 1 Thess. 1:5, where Paul says “You know what kind of people we were among you for your sakes.”
These two brief prepositional phrases pack a wallop: “Among you,” “for your sakes.” What a vast area of thought that opens up! This was Paul’s missionary method and motivation. He did everything “among the people,” not from the outside (or from above). He did everything on their behalf, not for his own benefit. I must learn from Paul. I must live among the people when I am in Ethiopia — not above them or beyond them. And I must make sure that they know I am there to serve them, not myself.
It is here, at the grass-roots level, that we are called upon to demonstrate the reality of the Gospel.
6:35 AM Hey there music fans! Nate and I had a blast at the concert in Raleigh last night. We grabbed a bite to eat at the downtown IHOP, which boasts “all you can eat” pancakes. Nate, as usual, took advantage of the offer. Here he is with his firsts!
Then we drove two blocks to the church …
… where we met a lot of nice folks, including the church organists, one of whom is playing a concert next month. He tells me he is going to feature Marcel Dupré, who is perhaps my favorite French organist. The organ itself was phenomenal. Here it is in all its glory.
We thoroughly enjoyed the music, the acoustics, the repertory, and the organist who, like most performers, had a flair for the eccentric. During intermission I wandered outside and snapped this photo.
Please note the date when Mr. Cox left for Africa and the date of his death. He died in Liberia serving Jesus. I need to read more about Melville Cox, but what I do know is that he valued service to our Lord greater than life itself.
We drove home in a snowstorm. What greater excitement can you ask for!All in all, it was a wonderful evening of food, fellowship, entertainment, chewing the fat — and stuffing ourselves with pancakes.
Friday, February 12
6:43 AM Good morning blogging buds,
I thought some of you might be interested in an update on the book I’m currently working on, a revision of Paul, Apostle of Weakness. I’ve rewritten the introduction and chapters 1 and 5 and will be adding a new prologue and a lengthy epilogue designed to bring the discussion up to date. Quite surprisingly, the core of the book has not changed since it was first published in 1984. Throughout the years I’ve had dozens of requests for the book so I really feel it’s the right time to complete this project and get the book re-released. It’s been coming together nicely. Today I will begin rewriting chapter 2. I hope to have the book finished and sent to a publisher by the end of summer 2010. If you feel so led, I’d appreciate your prayers as I work on this project as well on my other books (Godworld, Paul and Hebrews Compared, etc.).
Thanks a million.
Dave
Thursday, February 11
10:51 PM Tonight I listened to Brahm’s German Requiem while reading my WW II escape story, Free As a Running Fox. I know, that’s like having catsup on ice cream. But that’s me.
Good night….
6:53 PM Hey there, music lovers. Check out this magnificent pipe organ. Not too shabby, eh? It boasts a mere 5,447 pipes!
Its home is the historic Edenton Street Methodist Church in Raleigh. Tomorrow night at 7:30, Mr. Peter Richard Conte, organist of St. Clement Church in Philadelphia, will perform the music of Bach, Brahms, Kreisler and others on the 97-rank organ designed and built by the Létourneau Company of Quebec, Canada. This is one of the largest pipe organs in the southern United States. Nate and I will be attending. You’re welcome to join us if you live in the RDU area. And guess what? The concert is FREE!
More information: go here.
5:50 PM Just back from feeding the cows and taking our dogs for a walk. They needed it, having been cooped up all day in the back yard. They encountered a skunk last night and have been excommunicated from the house until the smell dissipates. They enjoyed traipsing along the farm paths, and so did I. What a beautiful evening it was, wouldn’t you agree?
And lookie here! I ran across Mr. Blue Eyes himself, who was out for a stroll with his mama.
I think he was excited to see his grandpa, don’t you? I know I was excited to see him and his mom!
And so the day draws to a close.
4:56 PM How’s Becky doing? Glad you asked. We had a great day today. We left the house at 7:30 so that Becky could get to her class on ultrasound in Wake Forest. Then it was off to UNC for her radiation treatment. Know what? Only 4 more to go! You know what THAT means, don’t you? Becky gets to ring
THE GONG
The radiation oncology department at UNC has this nifty old gong, and when you have completed all of your treatments you are allowed to give it one giant wallop. If all goes according to schedule, we anticipate the BIG DAY will be next Thursday. We’re inviting the whole family to attend this stellar event, and we’re going to ask the grandkids to help Mama B make a noise loud enough to be heard in California. Afterwards Papa B is inviting everyone out for Mexican food and we will CELEBRATE the Lord’s great goodness to us. Can’t wait!
Thanks for asking, and thanks for praying.
4:44 PM This email just arrived from my father-in-law in Dallas:
Can you believe it! We’re buried in SNOW!! And — the puppies love it!
Be careful out there, dad.
4:41 PM Quote of the day (Geoff Smith):
If we want to do what God is doing, try to make Jesus most honored. Above church government, above nationality, above individual fears and self-obsessions, above our denominations, above our local churches, above our jobs, our traditions, even our families and personal success.
Amen and amen!
4:17 PM Highland Christian Fellowship in Boone, NC, announces a “Making Friends for Christ” seminar with Dr. Wayne McDill, Professor of Preaching at SEBTS. Dates are Feb. 26-27. For more information, please gohere.
4:12 PM Once again, Alan Knox veers from the status quo by challenging our concept of church “membership.” He is correct to do so. Nothing is perhaps more championed in our churches than the number of names we have on our church rolls. There’s a joke where I live that goes something like this: “There are more Baptists in Mecklenburg County than there are people.” It may be a joke, but I’m not laughing.
In all fairness, not all Baptist churches jump on the membership bandwagon. Mine is one of them, for which I am extremely grateful. But here’s the problem. Posts like Alan’s are likely to be read and glossed over without any of us changing the way we “do church.” Our zeal for reform flags somewhat when we are confronted with entrenched ideas about church membership. Alan’s is just one of many progressive voices for reform. The question is: Are we listening? Here’s what I’m discovering. The evangelical faith that nurtured me as a child has so distorted the New Covenant teachings of Jesus that it bears scant resemblance to the Gospel the good news of Jesus Christ. Even the secular press has begun to mock our inflated membership statistics, and rightly so. Frankly, we fetish numbers.
How did we get to this point? And how we do we return to the simple patterns of the New Testament? The point here is not that the Bible is unclear about church membership. It is not. The biblical teaching on our being “members of one another” is an unambiguous as its teaching about Christian unity (e.g., John 17, Phil. 2:1-4). Alan’s radical notions about church membership do not comport very well with most church leaders’ agendas. And that is the truly the saddest fact of all.
Folks, like it or not, we’re called to live in the mode of Christ’s prayer in John 17. It is not for us to impose upon Scripture our preconceived notions. Let’s simply obey!
P. S. If anyone is interested, I have tried to address these matters in a couple of publications, including:
“On the Style and Significance of John 17,” Criswell Theological Review 3 (1988) 141-59.
“Paul and Christian Unity: A Formal Analysis of Philippians 2:1-4,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 28 (1985) 299-308.
If you’d like a copy, just let me know.
4:04 PM This isn’t grey’s anatomy is a medical blog from the front lines in Haiti. Be prepared for some heart-wrenching stories and some stomach-churning photos. But this is real life folks! Thanks, Jen, for these updates. My prayers are with you and your team.
3:55 PM Bitsyasks, “What makes for a good, long-lasting marriage?” My answer?
“I am sorry.”
Three short words. Four simple syllables. Plain and to the point. Powerful. Healing.
3:43 PM My beginning Greek grammar has been in a lot of different places, but Justin has gone so far as to take the book with himwhile deer hunting. Now that’s a first! Thank you, Justin, for taking the time to review the book. May our Lord Jesus richly bless you and your Greek studies!
3:40 PM Currently I’m reading through Rachel Shain’s master’s thesis entitledThe Preverb Eis- and Koine Greek Aktionsart (.pdf). It is an excellent work. Thank God for the younger generation of Greek scholars!
(NOTE: Shain is correct to give the nod to Fanning rather than Porter. Just my opinion.)
7:03 AM Mark Strauss of Bethel Seminary West gets it right when he says:
There is a huge gap between popular Bible study material and true scholarship. There is so much fluff and nonsense out there. Good scholars need to write in a popular vein and make their material accessible.
Read Matt Evan’s interview of Markhere.
6:51 AM A recent study is reporting that fake universities in the UK are offeringbogus degrees by the thousands. These include phony doctorates. To be honest, I have mixed sentiments about such degrees. On the one hand, I have known people who have received doctorates from accredited and even respected universities yet whose opinions I consider to be utterly worthless. On the other hand, I’ve known people who are simply brilliant yet who have received their degrees from diploma mills. In the final analysis, degrees say little about one’s intellectual acumen in my opinion. That said, I would much prefer that my students go on to earn their degrees from respected (by the world’s standards) institutions, if only because it will help them in terms of employment. The obverse is also true: why anyone would proudly claim to possess a degree from a diploma mill escapes me.
Tragically, the report also notes that the US has even more fake schools than the UK. Now that is truly shameful.
6:45 AM A hearty “Congratulations” to Dr. Craig Williford, who will be installed next week as the new president of Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois. Like all true scholars, President Williford is ablogger. Actually, he co-blogs with his wife Carolyn (now there’s an idea!). Carolyn’s post about temptation calledWords of Denial is an example of the excellent writing you’ll find at their site.
Kudos to you both!
6:36 AM Klaus Fielder has written a thought-provoking essay in which he argues that a definitive history of German-speaking evangelical missions needs to be written. He is so right. In Basel I became acquainted with the stellar work of the Basel Mission. Hundreds of missionaries from all over Europe were trained at the Basel Mission and sent to faraway countries, many in Africa. But it was when I taught a 2-week course at the Freie Hochschule für Mission in Korntal (near Stuttgart) several years ago that I became convinced that German missions is one of the world’s best-kept secrets. The subject would make an excellent doctoral dissertation.
So, with Klaus, I ask: Any takers?
Wednesday, February 10
10:18 PM A big “Thank You” to Henry Neufeld for doing such a splendid job withThe Jesus Paradigm website. Henry is a cyber whiz if ever I’ve known one!
9:57 PM B and I enjoyed watching a couple of episodes of the Waltons tonight. Clean entertainment at its best. In one story a traveling salesman sells the family a set of books, promising them entry into a whole new world. I can recall the similar magic that books had for me growing up on a small island in the middle of nowhere. By reading books (especially the Hardy Boy series) I traveled throughout North America and beyond without leaving the shores of Hawaii. I would read late into the night and often dream about faraway places after falling asleep. I’m an avid reader today partly because of those childhood books. What pleasant memories were evoked by watching the Waltons tonight!
6:57 PM BREAKING NEWS:
Looks like they’re coming home!
6:46 PM This is definitely THE quote of the day (Arthur Sido, again!):
I agree that the formation of America was done under God’s sovereign rule. So was the creation of Liechtenstein and Zimbabwe.
6:34 PM To all of you beginning Greek students who have just joined my classes: Be sure to check out thevocab cards that Richard Sugg has created. They are a great asset to our course. Forgive me for not mentioning them to you earlier!
6:20 PM I’d like to offer a brief follow-up to Lionel’s discussion ofseminaries in the role of the church.
The denominational seminary has a vital role to play today. It can either reflect and teach a one-man ministry pastorate, or it can reflect and teach that pastors/elders are equippers and strategists and catalysts seeking to revive the ministry of the so-called laity so that North American Christians can carry on a peoples ministry as seen in the book of Acts. Titles, formalities, and traditions often hinder the latter approach. But in fact many seminary professors are leading the charge in recovering the priesthood teaching of the New Testament. They do not call into question the existence of elders in the New Testament. They do, however, challenge the elders in their classes to work toward a more strategic use of their pastoral skills in the deployment of the entire congregation for the fuller exercise of every believer’s God-given priesthood. In my opinion, this should be the blueprint for education whether in the seminary or in the local church. Unless elders take seriously their charge of equipping, the church (and the seminary) will retain a much too exclusive concentration on the church as a clerical and sacramental institution.
If we really want to be like Jesus we’re going to have to insist on full participation of all Christians in the edification and evangelism ministries of the church. No pastor can fulfill the responsibility Christ gave to each believer. This gives our generation the gigantic task of continuous reorientation.
6:12 PM Interested in the work of Tom Wright? Then you must read Nijay Gupta’sguide to Wright’s thought. I’m asking my doctoral students to take a look at it.
6:06 PM The first annualSociety of Vineyard Scholars Conference is being held this week in Houston. The theme is “The Theology and Practice of the Kingdom of God: Justice, Power, and the Cross.” For a copy of the conference program, gohere (.pdf). I see that Jason Clark, a doctoral student at Kings College London, will bereading a paper this year. I wish him and the conference well.
6:00 PM Alan Knox has just received the news that his Ph.D. thesis prospectus has been approved. Congratulations, Alan. For his thesis title and an outline of his work, gohere. I anticipate a very positive and constructive dissertation.
5:53 PM Bert Watts shares his reflections oncancer, suffering and the gospel. Bert notes:
Most, if not all, of us know of men and women, old, young and in between, who have battled or are battling cancer in many forms. What do we need, whether we are facing cancer ourselves or are the family members of those in the fight? We need the gospel of God’s triumphant victory over death in the death and resurrection of Christ. We need the hope that the Bible brings of a God who is in control in the midst of suffering, a God who promises to never, no never, leave nor forsake us, a God who delivered Daniel safely out of the lion’s den and delivered Stephen safely through martyrdom. We need this God to cling to and to offer, and no other.
I too take this faith position about healing. I stand upon “God’s triumphant victory” with my eyes wide open. The malady of our times is not cancer or any other disease but rather our paltry thoughts about God His power, His love, His character, and His promises. Thank you, Bert, for reminding me to see the victorious cross as the center of all of life.
5:44 PM Nick Norelli pontificates on the “correct” pronunciation of the wordSeptuagint. This is blogging at its best.
5:38 PM Congratulations toDr. Chris Tilling.
5:35 PM Azusa Pacific University announces an opening inTheology. (We Biolans had a huge rivalry going with APU, but it’s still a good university!)
5:31 PM I’m pleased to announce that yet another Southeastern Ph.D. graduate has published his dissertation. If you’re at all interested in the issue of tithing you must give David Croteau’s work a look:You Mean I Don’t Have to Tithe? David teaches at Liberty University.
Incidentally, when John MacArthur was asked, “Does God require me to give a tithe of all I earn?” this is how he responded:
Two kinds of giving are taught consistently throughout Scripture: giving to the government (always compulsory), and giving to God (always voluntary).
The issue has been greatly confused, however, by some who misunderstand the nature of the Old Testament tithes. Tithes were not primarily gifts to God, but taxes for funding the national budget in Israel.
Because Israel was a theocracy, the Levitical priests acted as the civil government. So the Levite’s tithe (Leviticus 27:30-33) was a precursor to today’s income tax, as was a second annual tithe required by God to fund a national festival (Deuteronomy 14:22-29). Smaller taxes were also imposed on the people by the law (Leviticus 19:9-10; Exodus 23:10-11). So the total giving required of the Israelites was not 10 percent, but well over 20 percent. All that money was used to operate the nation.
All giving apart from that required to run the government was purely voluntary (cf. Exodus 25:2; 1 Chronicles 29:9). Each person gave whatever was in his heart to give; no percentage or amount was specified.
New Testament believers are never commanded to tithe. Matthew 22:15-22 and Romans 13:1-7 tell us about the only required giving in the church age, which is the paying of taxes to the government. Interestingly enough, we in America presently pay between 20 and 30 percent of our income to the government–a figure very similar to the requirement under the theocracy of Israel.
The guideline for our giving to God and His work is found in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7: “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
MacArthur’s answer may be foundhere.
Meanwhile, our responsibility is to be faithful stewards of all that God has given us, no matter what our income level may be.
5:22 PM Drew Tatuskowrites:
For those studying theology, it should be clear that sociology and biblical studies need to be more integrated as a way to gain a richer and deeper understanding of those social forces that have shaped doctrinal histories.
I agree. A very significant factor in biblical studies is the integration of sociology and theology. When I prepare my doctoral students for their comps I always ask them to read an essay by Robert Mulholland of Asbury seminary called “Sociological Criticism” (inInterpreting the New Testament). Examples and resources are also suggested. Can this method by misapplied? Of course it can. But neither should it be ignored. There needs, however, to be a push for sociological critics to standardize their nomenclature and methods but this is true in many other areas of scholarship as well (e.g., linguistics and biblical interpretation).
5:18 PM Michael Halcomb reviews Ben and Ann Witherington’s new novelRoman Numerals.
5:14 PM The disturbing trend continues:
Christians are fatter than other Americans. One of several studies revealing this, published by a Purdue University team in 2006, found that 30 percent of Baptists are obese, followed by 22 percent of Pentecostals and 17 percent of Catholics, compared to only 1 percent of Jews and 0.7 percent of Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. According to the Journal of the Southern Baptist Convention, health screenings were given at the SBC’s 2005 annual meeting: Over 75 percent of its 1,472 participants were found to be significantly overweight.
ReadThe Newest Diet Trend: What Would Jesus Eat?
5:10 PM Check out the Brook Hills College and itsInstitute for Disciple-Making. This is an idea whose time has come! As the site says:
One of the umpteen reasons I am humbled to be a part of covenant community called The Church at Brook Hills is the The Institute for Disciple-Making (IDM). The Institute was birthed out of a biblical conviction that the best context for the training of Gods people to fulfill Gods mission is the local church.
5:04 PM Greek students, I greatly appreciated this email. With the permission of the author, I share it with you:
I recently read the article on your blog entitled Greek Student: Quo Vadis?. I would like to second what you said in that article. Please encourage your students to keep up with their Greek.
I took two years of Greek in college in the late 70s. Then I let it lapse for five years while I entered the Navy. The result was I had to retake Greek in seminary in the 80s. I let it lapse again while I was in the ministry. I could only do simple word-studies with helps.
Anyway, the Lord has convicted me of my laziness. Although my best days are probably behind me, I have decided to brush up (re-learn is probably closer to it).
Right now, I am about halfway through Dobson’s Learn New Testament Greek (I thought a quick start-up would encourage me to keep on). When I’m done with that, I plan on using your Greek text and then your It’s Still Greek to Me book. I’m also taking my Reader’s Greek Testament to church services and trying to follow along.
How I wish I had kept up! If I had been consistent with my Greek since the late 70s, I’d have like 30 years of Greek under my belt. As it is, I’m still in Dobson’s book. Yikes! I’m frankly ashamed.
Maybe the Lord will be gracious and give me a few more productive years in which I can use my Greek.
Keep warning your students. Let them learn from my bad example. If you’d send up a quick prayer for me, I’d appreciate it.
God bless.
5:01 PM (Funny) quote of the day (Chris Heard):
I appreciate all of you who post regularly on your own blogs; thanks to the iPhone, you provide some of my favorite bathroom reading (was that too much information?), even if I dont comment frequently.
Chris, I think this bathroom may have been designed with you in mind:
Monday, February 8
5:58 PM Arthur Sido asks, “What does a real man look like?” His answer:
What the Bible shows us is incredibly counter-cultural. A man is someone who is humble, meek, loving and yet a leader, strong, a provider for his family. Men who love their brothers and are not afraid to say it and who love their wives and are not embarrassed by it. The church is called to recognize as leaders men not based on who is strongest or the best educated or who makes the most money. In other words, we are not called to follow the example of the world in our leadership.
ReadBeing a Christian dude. Well done, Arthur.
I’ll just add this: Godly manhood always focuses on Christ. It takes the initiative in building friendships. It radiates the fruit of the Spirit. It has firm convictions but is never overly-critical or condescending. It has a joyful, warm, and friendly spirit. It is other-centered. It is willing to risk rejection and censorship even from the Body of Christ.
A godly man is a walking miracle.
5:37 PM Quote of the day (Stephen Young):
When anything other than Jesus gets into the description of what the church is or what the church does, something has gone wrong.
5:21 PM Matt Evans is translating through the Gospel according to Mark. You can track his progresshere. This is the ONLY way to keep up with one’s language skills!
3:14 PM Brother Lionel continues to think outside the box, big time! Here he ruffles feathers with a post calledWho Should Train Pastors??? Seminary in the Role of the Body. As one of my deans once put it, if local churches were doing what they were supposed to be doing, there would be no need for seminaries. Amen!
By the way, as soon as Becky is better I plan on continuing to hold classes at my local church. I’ve already taught Beginning Greek. I’m thinking I’ll teach New Testament Introduction next time around. Or maybe the book of Philippians. Or maybe basic theology. Or maybe ….
2:58 PM Continuing to pray for an “impossible” conversion. With God all things are possible.
2:51 PM Is an ad like this the best way of reaching out to atheists with the Gospel?
I think there’s a better way. Try going out of your way to befriend them. If you don’t know much about their lives, ask them. After all, that’s what friends do. The cumulative weight of all of these encounters builds momentum toward the cross. You will feel awkward at times and wonder if you’re compromising the truth of the Gospel. You may be attacked by others for befriending an “enemy” of Christianity. I say, “Take the risk anyway!” Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors. At the very least that means being warm and friendly to them!
Many people reject the Gospel because they’ve been chewed on once too often. Let’s not be guilty of that when we can be guilty of scandalous love!
2:28 PM The faculty just received this invitation via email:
Allow us the pleasure of inviting you to a Korean Luncheon as a token of appreciation and expression of our gratitude. We encourage all of you to come and enjoy the taste of Korean food and fellowship with our Korean Students.
When: February 23, 2010, 11:15 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.
Where: Multipurpose Room, 2nd floor, Ledford Center
Thank you and God Bless.
By His grace,
Korean Students at SEBTS
I’ll be there, I’ll be there!!!!
2:20 PM In a recent post,Seth Ehorn quotes Don Carson as saying:
What I’ve learned in 35 odd years of teaching is that students don’t learn most of what I teach them. Instead they learn what I’m excited about.
Truer words were never spoken. God help me never to rust out as a teacher!
2:07 PM We’re back! Becky did exceptionally well throughout the procedure, even though there was considerable discomfort and pain. Right now she’s asleep.
As we were driving home from UNC my mind went back to a drive Becky and I once made through the beautiful Hill Country of Texas. Every so often we would see a road sign with the warning “Hill Ahead,” meaning, of course, that one could expect a steep downhill grade ahead. Most of these so-called “hills” were nothing but slight descents. However, we’ll never forget seeing the “Hill Ahead” sign, cresting the top of a giant mountain, and then wondering if we would ever arrive at the bottom of the hill, the decent was so steep. We survived the plunge, looked at each other, and said “Now THAT was a hill.”
My analogy may be a bit trite, but it seems to me that we have crested the hill of Becky’s treatments. We’ve only got 7 more radiation treatments to go out of 35 (2 of which are, however, of the high density variety like she “enjoyed” today), then only three more chemo treatments. I feel like we are racing down the other side of the mountain — frightened and exhilarated all at the same time.
So sleep, my darling, sleep. Thanks to the goodness and grace of the Lord Jesus, we’re almost to the finish line.
Übrigens, ich lieb’ Dich sehr.
6:20 AM Off to UNC Chapel Hill with Becky, rejoicing in the Lord’s goodness and trusting in His provision. Wherever we go and whatever we do today, let’s confess our need of God, willingly submit to His agenda for our day, and express to Him our desire to walk empowered by His Spirit. Let’s also thank Him ahead of time for His awesome, amazing, and enabling grace.
6:13 AM Over at the Baptist Bible College Blog we find a reminder of the importance of having a good roommate in college. At Biola my roommate was a blind Indian from the jungles of Brazil named Rubens Marshall.
I chose him as a roommate because I thought he needed help, but it was I who was blown away by his kindness, helpfulness, and Christian walk. We spent 4 years rooming together in the dorm. He taught me Portuguese and I taught him Hawaiian. We attended church together. We both loved music and played piano duets in the Biola chapel services. He was the best man at my wedding in Dallas.
Today he serves Jesus in his home country of Brazil. Even though he was completely blind from birth he played clarinet in the band and was an excellent classical pianist. He went on to earn a masters degree in Romance Languages and Linguistics from UCLA. I tell you, his zest for life put mine to shame — royally. The “health and wealth” boys would have been greatly embarrassed by Rubens’ incredible faith despite his so-called “handicap.” He had a light that could burn through hardened steel and far greater vision than I will ever know. I’ll never forget him.
Sunday, February 7
7:09 PM Just prayed for a lost person I know. Every soul is vulnerable to prayer.
7:06 PM Aviation history will be made tomorrow morning at 10:00 am whenBoeing’s new 747-8 takes off from Everett’s Paine Field in Washington State on its first test flight. I’m a bit partial to this airliner since a good friend of mine pilots a 747 between Chicago and Beijing twice monthly. I can recall flying in the first 747 some 40 years ago from Honolulu to Los Angeles. Back then we were treated to plenty of leg room and even a passenger lounge with free refreshments. Profitability issues soon put an end to all that comfort. Boeing claims that the new 747-8 will have 16 percent more cargo capacity and 17 percent lower fuel costs than the 747-400. I can’t wait to ride on it.
6:26 PM Greek students, just a friendly reminder that your Greek prof stands ready to help you any way he can this semester, whether by personal appointment or by phone or by email. My contact information is on the syllabus, and my door is always open. I am so excited to see what the Lord Jesus is going to do in our lives this semester as we begin translating His precious Word together. Luther once said that reading the Bible in translation is like kissing your bride through the veil. Well, that may be an exaggeration, but he has a point! So I would encourage all of you to begin now to dedicate yourselves not merely to gaining an understanding of what the Bible says but to obeying it. For if our “walk” backs up our “word,” we will have a powerful two-edged sword for evangelism. No matter how much book learning we may acquire, we are never to lose our visibility as lights or our flavor as salt!
6:20 PM Right now I’m praying for this little guy who is a bit under the weather. Mr. Nolan, your Mama B and Papa B love you very much and are asking the Lord Jesus to make you well real soon.
3:54 PM Okay, you knew it was coming:
Sixteen Reasons Not to Watch the Super Bowl.
3:32 PM Did you know that Western Seminary in Portland has a blog? Well, they do. And a fine one at that. Gohere to read it.
3:25 PM A religious revival in secular New England? Chris Armstrongthinks it is possible.
3:19 PM What’s a box for scarves doing at Bethel Hill Baptist Church?
We’re collecting them for the sisters who so faithfully serve alongside our team members whenever we go to Ethiopia. Need I say anything about the importance of co-workers in the Lord’s vineyard? This is at least a small token of our appreciation for their labor of love.
The collection is open through June.
2:34 PM What a blessing to watch 4 young people being baptized this morning! The soul of each one had been bathed in prayer. They were loved on in very specific, tangible ways. It was largely the Body of Christ being the Body of Christ that they were drawn to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I thank God for each one of them!
Before the baptism brother Joel reminded us all of the significance of what it means to make a public profession of faith in Christ. As he put it, in many places of the world today this simple act of obedience can lead to imprisonment and even death. Thank you, pastor Joel, for reminding me and all of us that true discipleship is always costly. No, there’s nothing salvific about the act of baptism. But done in the name of Christ and for His glory, such actions become Spirit-powered weapons that are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Now it is incumbent upon us as a church to hold these precious young people accountable for their pledges, to love and encourage them in the faith, and to see that they never walk the Christian pilgrimage alone.
8:32 AM Quote of the day #2:
While Christian apologetics, the rational defense of our faith, can certainly be utilized in an expressly evangelistic context (as this verse is often cited as a command to that end), our very patterns of daily life as Christians need to present the gospel naturally and organically through basic interaction with others. We need to be unusual and question-provoking – being in the world, but not of it so that others might ask us “why are/aren’t you [blank]?”
Read the entire essay calledLeading Winsome Lives. You will never view 1 Pet. 3:15 in the same light again!
8:22 AM Quote of the day (Dallas Morning News):
“He has such a depth in his preaching, and yet can put the cookies on the lower shelf so everybody can understand and apply God’s word,” said Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas.
Mr. Jeffress is referring to my wife’s former youth pastor in Dallas and current pastor-teacher at Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas. I love that about Charles Swindoll: His teaching is simple without being simplistic. In multos annos, brother Chuck!
8:04 AM Speaking of the weather, the sun has risen from its long slumber, the roads are clear, and our church fellowship is meeting!
8:00 AM I liked Obama’s neologism, didn’t you? He used “Snowmageddon” when referring to the snowstorm that shut down DC.
Reminds me of another neologism I encountered recently: “Karmageddon.” It’s like, you know, when everybody has REALLY bad vibes, you know, about the future and, like, when everyone’s afraid that the world will, like, EXPLODE. A real bummer, man.
7:48 AM Good news! The Ethiopian Airlinesflight recorder has been retrieved from the Mediterranean. The discovery should help investigators determine the cause of the crash.
7:42 AM More thoughts from Paul, Apostle of Weakness:
As members of the same spiritual family, the body of Christ, Christians are to live together in a spirit of mutual dependence and unity, serving each other in love (Gal 5:13) and in oneness of soul and purpose (Phil 2:12).
It is because of this corporate aspect of the church that Paul time and again speaks out against every form of spiritual individualism, particularly the more refined form that crops up in regard to standards of spirituality in the church.
The Corinthians, for example, had turned Pauls preaching of freedom into the libertarian axiom, all is permitted to me (I Cor 6:12), in order to justify their individualistic application of Christian liberty to the eating of meat offered to idols. Although Paul gives due recognition to Christian liberty on the one hand, he emphatically warns the libertarians against abusing their freedom in Christ by giving the weak an occasion to sin (1 Cor 8:9). If the strong wish to assert their liberty without the restraints of love, they will be sinning against the spiritual head of the church, that is, against Christ himself (1 Cor 8:12). Pauls teaching is not against the expression of Christian liberty per se, but that Christians must exercise their liberty before God on the basis of what is good for the entire community and not only for themselves.
Similarly, Paul warns the stronger Christians in Rome against the same abuses of liberty, for the liberty wrought by Christ is to be tempered by love, concern, and respect for the brother and sister for whom Christ died (Rom 14:15). In all things the strong are to seek after that which is mutually beneficial and edifying (Rom 14:19).
7:15 AM Energion Publications announces its first annual Bible Study Path Award. You can submit your nomineehere.
7:12 AM This was too good not to link to:
After the first three weeks of the beginning Greek class, 20 percent of the students are unfortunately conked, casualties of the masculine nouns of the first declension. Others are DOA thanks to the pronoun autos. The find that the autos monster can mean three altogether different things (“him/her/it/them,” “-self,” or “same”), depending on both its case and its position in a sentence. Students do withdraw from an introductory Greek class before they taste Plato or the Gospels, these bored, annoyed, and exhausted ninteen-year-olds, those very prospects who you once hoped would go on to Thucydidesand perhaps be one of the 600 each year in America who still major in Classics. They slide now across the hall to squeeze into the university’s over-enrolled Theory of Walking, Rope Climbing, and Star Trek and the Humanities, which will assuage and assure them that they are, all in all, pretty nice kids, classes that will offer the veneer of self-esteem but will guarantee that they will probably lose what little sense of real accomplishment they had carried within to begin with. You can nearly hear those doctors of therapy, those professors of recuperation at the lecture-hall door: “Come on in, you wounded Greeklings. It’s not your fault. They had no business subjecting you to all that rote; we do things a lot differently here. Relax, sit back, breathe deeply, and tell us how you feel.”
ReadCome On In, You Wounded Greeklings.
7:07 AM Scott Thompson asks, “Why shouldn’t church leaders make use of social media?” You can join the discussionhere.
Saturday, February 6
8:45 PM Here’s a newbook I’ll be ordering:
We were one of the first families to move to Kailua from Honolulu in 1955. Kailua was a small town back then. Today it is Hawaii’s second largest city.
It was my home until I left for college in California. The town is nestled along the shores of one of the most beautiful bays in the world. Kailua is a surfer’s paradise with a shore break, reef break, point break, and even island break.
The view of the Pali Mountains from my home was simply spectacular. Featured on the book’s cover is the famous Mount Olomana, a hiker’s dream.
It was in Kailua that I came to Christ at the age of 8 and was baptized.
It was there that I first fell in love with the Word of God and the local church.
It was there that Becky and I spent our honeymoon. It was a wonderful place to grow up, and my mind often wanders disobediently back to its quiet shores.
7:36 PM Farm chores:
4:25 PM Becky has 8 radiation treatments left. Three of them will involve high intensity radiation through an internal probe. She is scheduled to have her first such treatment this Monday at UNC. It will last 3 hours.
The doctors have been very up front with us. The procedure will be painful. I am praying that the techs will allow me to be with Becky during the treatment.
Becky, as you know, loves Jesus. She cheerfully faces the challenges life brings her. We trust the heart of God completely. We cling in faith to His promises. He will be present with her in that treatment room even if I am not. My prayer is simply:
“Jesus, Thou joy of loving hearts,” please fill Becky with your presence on Monday and make her more consciously aware of you than her pain!
Will you, dear friend, join me in so praying?
3:58 PM Good afternoon, thoughtful bloggerites! Got time for a brief introspective post?
For me, the computer is an inky and mysterious world. It is in this strange and awesome abyss that I spend many hours each week blogging, writing my books and essays, and reading what others are saying. I am constantly made aware of the small knot of people who read my words and who, for whatever reasons, use my blog as a foil by which to silently grapple with the deeper issues of life. I feel as though I am constantly teetering on the edge of ineffectiveness. It takes only a few dashed expectations before one is tempted to give up reading certain bloggers. This, in fact, happened to me recently. A blogger whom I once delighted in reading suddenly became arrogant, puffed up with success. I simply lost interest and made other sites my chief targets of interest.
I can’t help but wonder how many good bloggers have utterly failed because they began to operate on the treadmill of writing from a spiritually dehydrated condition. Is this not the very condition that we face in blogging?
From an examination of my heart, I conclude that much of what I have done in my life has been crudely ambitious. I have constantly desired praise rather than wisdom and admiration rather than equipment for service. I have known what it means to be an empty shell. I have known what it means to wonder what people think of me rather than what they think of my Lord. I realize that people visualize public figures in evangelicalism as indestructible, committed no matter what, determined to serve others. I am driven in pain to conclude that I just as susceptible to hubris as the next man or woman.
Funny, these feelings of inadequacy. Am I alone in having them? And what, if anything, can I do to handle them when they come?
Amy Carmichael, whose biography, as you know, I have been enjoying immensely, has impressed me as a woman filled with godly wisdom. I have a feeling that we have run very similar races in life, that even our service for Christ takes on twisted motives we find it difficult to sort out. We pray that the glory of God alone would be seen in our efforts, yet we are conscious that the approval of others is often of equal importance. I’d like, then, to leave you with what Amy called her “confession of love.” I have always been convinced that reading missionary biographies can cut to the quick of our over-complicated lives. Amy’s words have done just that for me. I trust that her confession may be as comforting to you as it was to me.
Enjoy!
Confession of Love
My vow: Whatsoever Thou sayest unto me, by Thy grace I will do it.
My constraint: Thy love, O Christ, my Lord.
My confidence: Thou art able to keep that which I have committed unto Thee.
My joy: To do Thy will, O God.
My discipline: That which I would not choose, but which Thy Love appoints.
My prayer: Conform my will to Thine.
My motto: Love to live, live to love.
My portion: The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance.
Teach us, good Lord, to serve Thee as Thou deservest; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for any reward save of knowing that we do Thy will, O Lord our God.
11:49 AM “It is through many tribulations that we must inherit the kingdom of God.” So said Paul in Acts 14. It’s a message that many evangelicals are unwilling to accept, according to this study: Theologian: Most Christians Infected with Prosperity Gospel. The study concludes:
“We have to fight this infection in the body of Christ,” he emphatically told pastors at the Desiring God conference in Minneapolis.
But the blame for the rampant “disease” shouldn’t fall on the TV evangelists, Storms noted.
“I want to lay it (the blame) at our feet,” he said.
“It’s the pastors and leaders of the church today who fail to explain from the biblical text how hardship and tribulation are actually used by God to expose the superficiality of all the human material props on which we rely,” he explained. “We failed … to show … how hardship and persecution and slander compel us to rely on the all-sufficiency of everything God is for us in Jesus.”
That failure has left most professing Christians unable to grasp “the simple truth” that “infinitely more important and of immeasurably greater value than our physical comfort in this world is our spiritual conformity to Christ,” Storms noted.
How very true. I recall reading Larry Crabb’s book Finding God and being amazed at the revolution that took place in his thinking about suffering once he personally experienced a “severe mercy.” He concluded that God was under no obligation to take his problems away. Rather, his problems were there to help him find God.
I am amazed in my own life how often God wishes to reveal Himself to me in the tragic moments when there is pain and hopelessness. That is one reason why I feel I need to republish my book Paul, Apostle of Weakness, for it contains a truth that I am slowly beginning to fathom: My weaknesses are not simply to be tolerated; they are to be considered my greatest badges of honor, because they identify me with my crucified Savior.
11:22 AM Quote of the day #2 (Bob West):
When we focus on Christ and his word, the highs will far outweigh the lows.
11:01 AM Here’s a tweet I just saw :
Went to a killer 60 RPM Spin class this morning.
Huh! You think that’s a workout? Well, try spreading a trailer load of manure. In the snow!!
I love farming!
9:39 AM The Old Geezer finally comes clean. Read Who wears the pants in your family?
(By the way, it’s nice to see that I’m not the only old geezer out there who blogs.)
9:24 AM Quote of the day (Brian Fulthorp):
We can certainly talk of weakness in relation to the theology of Saint Paul in that when we are weak then we are strong because God is strong in us and through us, but make no mistake: Jesus was not weak (at least not in the modern sense, e.g., hes so weak) rather,he was meek. But dont continue to be confused:meekness is not weakness.
Good point.
It seems to me somebody ought to write a book about Paul’s theology of “weakness.” Ahoy, mate! Somebody already has!
9:12 AM Mr. Obama’s favorite theologian?Reinhold Neibuhr. It makes sense. As I note on p. 115 ofThe Jesus Paradigm, if there is to be today
a new politics of faith based on the cross of Christ, it will have to meet critically the issues raised by Augustine and Neibuhr.
In my opinion, the work of a genuine Christian peacemaker must be to call civil governments to account and help limit the violence when conflict is actually in progress. At the very least there is never any reason to glorify war or to utter blatantly warmongering statements such as were made by candidate John McCain in the 2008 presidential campaign. Kingdom-minded people will reject the mindset of Western imperialism and refuse to support the notion that Christian mission benefits from the spread of empire. They will always place love of enemy at the heart of the Gospel rather than at its periphery. They will affirm allegiance to Christ that transcends national boundaries or roles. Above all, they will live lives of radical discipleship and be willing to suffer in the spirit of the cross and undergo a literal baptism of fire if need be.
Obama’s politics are much too bellicose for me. As Laura Flanders noted three days ago in The Nation, military spending will increase dramatically under the current administration. Perhaps the president would do well to read another German theologian of a slightly different stripe, one who wrote,
The command, “you shall not kill,” and the Word “love your enemy,” are given to us simply to obey. Every form of war service, unless it be Good Samaritan service, and every preparation for war, is forbidden to the Christian…. Simple obedience knows nothing of the fine distinction between good and evil. It lives in the discipleship of Christ and does good work as something self-evident.
This theologian is, of course, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and his book is called No Rusty Swords.
Of course, I could be completely wrong about my beliefs! Moreover, my views certainly do not represent “the Christian position.” In fact, there is no distinctly “Christian” position on this matter. Neibuhr and Bonhoeffer disagreed with each other, and so can we. But what we cannot do, what we must not do, is think that our main calling in life is to resolve political disputes. Inevitably we’ll disagree about many of these matters. But we cannot allow our polarizing positions to mar our kingdom fellowships or distract us from our main job. The hope of the world is not in politics but in King Jesus. If our allegiance is to the reign of God, then it cannot be to anything else, including government!
8:16 AM This is one of my favorite ashtrays. I like it because it is a good illustration of the sanctimoniousness of so many of our attempts to “put in a good word for Jesus.”
Christians fail in evangelism because they are not building relationships, because they’re not loving and praying for others. God says, “Love your neighbor.” If you must chose between loving a lost soul and expressing your disgust about cigarette smoking, I’d say go with the lost soul! After all, I really can’t see Jesus putting out an ashtray like this one, can you? Or maybe you could!
8:12 AM I was listening to a sermon online last night by the pastor of a church that has several satellite campuses throughout the Triangle. “We’re one church that meets in several different locations,” he noted as he began.
That’s a wonderful truth! The church of Jesus Christ is ONE church. This means that “my” home church, Bethel Hill Baptist Church, is not the ONLY church to which I belong. And, in fact, our pastor could legitimately get up on Sunday and say, just as truly as the pastor of the church with satellite campuses could say, “We’re one church that meets in several different locations.”
Several years ago I discovered a brutal truth about myself. I realized that I rarely delighted in what was happening in other people’s churches or in other seminaries. I felt somehow that someone else’s success was a threat to my own. That was a rather frightening personal flaw! The competitive spirit was a poison that I had allowed to destroy the joy of working together for the Gospel.
So I have a question for you. Does “church” mean to you only your church? Or your denomination? Or your small group? Or you and your satellite churches? Or are you able to rejoice when you hear of others in concert with the Spirit of God who are committed to the expansion of God’s kingdom?
Think about it.
8:03 AM Love this picture of horses running in the snow.
Mine used to romp and play on snow days. Boy do I miss Cody and Traveler!
Friday, February 5
9:58 PM Am listening to Becky speak with her mom and dad in Dallas. Mostly laughter. They have a great relationship. So grateful for mom and dad and their testimony of faithfulness to the Lord. They’ve been super supportive during our journey with cancer.
9:48 PM Read this in anobituary today:
Donald Wiseman was a great enthusiast and encourager of others….
All too often our lives and calendars make little room for others. Most of us would be tempted to think that encouraging others is something we do over and above our regular work. This obituary of Donald Wiseman highlights what I would like others to remember me for: an enthusiast and encourager of others. That’s my goal even though I’ve got a long ways to go!
9:18 PM Our ministry in Ethiopia is very much a team effort. This is true in Gondar, where we are working with the evangelical churches in the city to reach the rural communities for Christ. What kind of team players are necessary to get the job done? There are several positions on the team, if you will, that need filling. Here are the leaders of the Evangelical Churches Fellowship of Gondar. It was they who invited Becky and me to come and help them send out evangelists two by two into the province.
And here I am teaching the Bible in one of their churches.
Again, each person you see here is a special teammate.
They represent the supporting churches who are responsible for the daily welfare of the evangelists who are serving on the front lines. “A Christian fellowship loves and exists by the intercession of its members for one another,” writes Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book Life Together. These churches are our intercessors, generating a constant flow of praise or concern for the teams they have sent out. During my stay in Gondar I often have the privilege of addressing these churches, encouraging them to raise up a powerful and passionate people to expand Christ’s kingdom. Note the eagerness with which the youth are eager to listen and learn. I love to see people with open Bibles on their laps! Lord willing, in a few short weeks Becky and I will gather with these saints again in northern Ethiopia. We will also meet with our 6 evangelists. What a reunion that will be!
Paul often referred to his “fellow soldiers.” He realized that he could never operate without partners. He shared information on the movements of his co-workers, and it is very clear that he did not like to be without partners in his work. So it is with Becky and me. We love our partners in Gondar. They are working hard to spread the Good News. They are ordinary people — men and women whose lives, like yours and mine, are routine — making a special place in their hearts for the lost. Praise God for them!
6:31 PM From a friend:
YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2010 when…
1. You accidentally enter your PIN on the microwave.
2. You haven’t played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don’t have e-mail addresses.
6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen
8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn’t even have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )
12. You’re reading this and nodding and laughing.
13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.
14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn’t a #9 on this list
6:23 PM Elizabeth Elliott’s A Chance to Die has Amy Carmichael writing the following about mission hospitals (p. 291). It think it’s a good reminder of why the spiritual must always be central in what Becky and I do in Ethiopia.
The devil does not care how many hospitals we build, any more than he cares how many schools and colleges we put up, if only he can pull our ideals down, and sidetrack us on to anything of any sort except the living of holy, loving, humble lives, and the bringing of men, women, and children to know our Lord Jesus Christ not only as Savior but as Sovereign Lord.
12:22 PM The snow has now changed over to freezing rain, and we’re expecting rain this evening, then more snow tomorrow. No doubt about it, the long-expected severe winter everyone was anticipating has arrived!
12:19 PM How large was the second temple? Clickhere to find out. (Simply brilliant, Dr. McGrath).
11:32 AM Kudos to the Swiss for granting two innocent Guantanamo detaineesasylum. Mr. Obama should be thankful to have such friends in Europe.
11:10 AM Am I a radical?
It all depends on how you define the term.
If by radical you mean a scholar who denies the orthodox tenets of Christianity, I am hardly a radical. But if you mean someone who tries to get to the root of the matter, I would hope I quality for the epithet!
Tom Wright once suggested in The New Testament and the People of God that so-called “radical” criticism has not been radical enough. It has been content to sit on modern hypotheses except, perhaps, for tweaking them now and then. If we are to create new hypotheses or — is it even possible? — to return to old ones, everything must be questioned. And to do this it is vital that we return to the primary sources.
It would not be much of a caricature to say that evangelical Christianity has suffered recently from a lack of radicalism. For me, it is not sufficient to believe in the inspiration of Scripture (as I do). The purpose of Jesus’ coming was not simply to bring redemption but to show us the beautiful kingdom He is working out. If today there is to be a new wave of seriousness about Jesus, it will have to begin with a new commitment not only to what He says but to living out His radical ideas.
It is a residual weakness of evangelicalism that we tend to highlight one aspect of our faith at the expense of another. There are huge issues at stake here, which I hope to point out in my book Godworld: Enter at Your Own Risk. To put it bluntly, we have been shadow-boxing with the text and using scholarship as a convenient excuse to evade developing a kingdom mindset. I suggest that authentic Christianity has nothing to fear from sound theology, but theology is not to be separated from Christian praxis. This unwarranted division is the fatal flaw the ultimately vitiates all of our cries for people to get “back to the Bible!”
Maybe if we lived the kingdom instead of just talking about it, the world would sit up and listen to what we had to say.
Go ahead, be a radical!
10:21 AM The snow is coming down again and is beginning to stick, we we’ve canceled our radiation treatment today. I don’t want to even think about what the roads in North Carolina look like today. Be warm and safe wherever you are!
10:16 AM Becky writes:
Since my diagnosis 6 months ago, I’ve been trying to get some things done that have been waiting years for my attention. One of those projects is the framing of Grandmommee’s rug. Grandmommee was my grandmother on my father’s side. Born in 1891, she weighed only 2 1/2 pounds at birth. The doctor said “Forget about her…let’s try to save the mother.” Her grandmother took her home, stuck her in the oven to keep her warm…and in the providence of God, she lived 105 years! Another proof that the gift of life is in the hands of our Lord, and He determines how He will use that gift. There is much peace & joy if we will live by this Truth.
Grandmommee was orphaned at age 12. Her father had served in the Confederate Army, so we grandkids got an almost first-person account of the War. After the War, her father became a medical doctor and printed the first medical journal in the State of Texas; it was printed on the bottom floor of their home. Grandmommee’s grandfather also served in the Confederate Army as a chaplain. After the War, he was an itinerate preacher in Texas, and also helped to start Texas Wesleyan University. As a young lady, Grandmommee wrote out all his sermon notes; this labor of love gave her a strong foundation in the Scriptures.
Grandmommee began teaching Bible school at age 13; she gathered the children who were playing around the burial places of her parents. She taught them weekly near the cemetery. As an adult woman, she helped to start Child Evangelism Fellowship in Dallas and she had weekly women’s prayer & Bible study groups in her home. One time Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer came to her women’s group & presented his vision of a non-denominational seminary in Dallas. At that meeting, one woman pledged the funding of all faculty salaries for the first year, and another woman offered the use of a building. So we jokingly say that Dallas Theological Seminary started in Grandmommee’s living room!
She continued these weekly women’s prayer & Bible study meetings in her home until age 102. She taught the Schofield Bible Course (a 5-year program teaching thru the Bible).
Spiritually, she impressed me a great deal. One of her favorite hymns was “Jesus led me all the way”, and I loved to play a special arrangement of the hymn for her. When I was younger, she often reminded me of the counsel Proverbs 3:5-6, and as she reached the centennial mark her favorite verse was 3 John 4: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” As my children have grown up & started their homes, this verse has echoed through my own heart. Another spiritual impression is how she wholly trusted the Lord to hear her prayers. If she & I prayed over a matter, and I brought it up again later, she would say “Now, BeckyLynn, we’ve already left that with the Lord.” How thankful I am to the Lord for the rich spiritual heritage I’ve been given. May He grant to me the wisdom & energy & focus to pass along a similar heritage to my “children” (blood or adopted).
In the 1940s, Grandmommee made this rug. It is made of small strips of her dresses, and the dresses of her daughter Jane. As I look at it, I’m reminded of the challenge to have a Kingdom focus, as Grandmommee did.
10:08 AM Ted Gossard was kind enough to post not one but two entries on his blog about my bookChristian Archy:
Thanks, Ted. I am truly honored!!
9:55 AM This came in an email today:
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the first and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it wouthit a porbelm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?
Now my students will think that correct spelling is no longer important!!! Ugh!!
9:47 AM Free download:The Authority of Elders in the New Testament by Matthew McDill. Matthew argues:
The thesis of this work, based on exegetical and theological investigations, is thata body of elders has authority to care for a local congregation primarily throughleadership and teaching. This thesis may also be explained more explicitly using thesemantic distinctions made above. (1) Elders have authority de jure in that they hold a
particular position that carries with it certain rights (which may be better described asresponsibilities). (2) Among the responsibilities of elders is leadership, but notgovernment or control, in the sense of authority to make decisions for the church. (3)Elders do not have authority de facto in the sense of power to enforce their will upon thechurch. (4) The elders of the church should have authority de factoof personal influencebased on respect that is earned in accordance with the character, skill, and knowledge prescribed in Scripture for elders (1 Tim 3:17 ;Titus 1:59), without which theirauthority de jure is made void. (5) Elders are to lead as a group by consensus, without alead elder who has more decision making power among the elders.
Matthew, by the way, is an elder at Highland Christian Fellowship in Boone, NC.
9:32 AM It’s been a while since I bored my patient readership to death with umpteen pictures of farm and family. So I thought I’d rectify my deleteriousness this morning!
Thursday, February 4
8:45 PM Our thanks to Richard Sugg for setting up our brand new pooter this evening. May God richly bless you for your kindness to us!
4:08 PM Before I forget: The doctor said that Becky is doing great. She has only 8 — count them! — radiation treatments to go and then she’s DONE! Then get this — her blood counts are holding steady. Now that is a huge answer to prayer. Finally, the doctor says that her symptoms should abate by the time we leave for Ethiopia next month, so that, Lord willing, Becky should be symptom-free while we are traveling. Thank you, thank you, thank you for praying to the Lord on our behalf. He is at work, and we stand amazed at His great goodness to us!!
Speaking of Becky, I can’t resist posting this photo of my dear wife when she lived in Ethiopia. Once a Texan, always a Texan I guess. Ain’t she sweet? Ride ’em cowgirl!
3:55 PM Heartfelt thanks to brother Jon Glass of Cresset Baptist Church for allowing Becky and me to speak in two of the chapel services at Cresset Christian School this morning. I thought our message was extremely well received. And what message was that?
Our focus today was on our Bible memory program. This is an idea that God gave Becky several years ago. The program is very simple. We seek to provide Amharic Bibles for Ethiopians who could never afford to buy a Bible in a million years. In fact, even if you had a million dollars you could still not buy a Bible because they are simply not to be had in rural Ethiopia. The program goes like this:
1) You receive a copy of 9 passages of Scripture in Amharic.
2) You memorize perfectly each of these passages.
3) You then recite each of these passages to your church elders.
4) Once you have completed your memory work, your name is added to a list of those who will receive a beautifully designed, hardback Amharic Bible.
Thus far we’ve distributed I’d guess about 7,000 Bibles, and not one of them was passed out “for free,” if you know what I mean. Of course, these Bibles were not free in the sense that somebody had to purchase them. And that’s where many of you enter the picture. Each Amharic Bible costs no more than 5 U.S. dollars. Imagine that — the cost of a Big Mac Meal! Through the generous gifts of God’s people this program has been a huge success. And as I type these words several hundred more people are working hard to complete the memory program before our team returns to Burji in July.
Incidentally, there was no literacy in Burji until fairly recent times. In fact, Becky’s father, Brad (“Tex”) Lapsley, built the first school in Burji back in the early 1960s. Before then nobody could read or write. Today, almost everybody is literate but they still lack the Word of God. What an amazing to honor to watch them receive their Bibles and then sit down and read them.
Now, let’s be honest. Most of us have more Bibles than we can shake a stick at. Is that good stewardship of the Lord’s resources? I am as guilty as anyone else.
There is no greater joy for Becky and me than to watch children and even older men and women hold their new Bibles for the first time and then turn the pages until they find the passages they worked so hard to memorize. I’m sooo grateful to the Lord for having given Bec this idea. And I can’t wait to get back to Burji to pass out more Bibles this summer!
6:34 AM Off to IHOP with my sweetie pie!
6:16 AM Conclusions #18-19 (from Paul, Apostle of Weakness):
#18: Concerning the influence of other writings upon Paul, the apostle’s concept of weakness must be finally understood against the broad context of his own message and mission. Paul cannot be said to have borrowed Hellenistic concepts, though Hellenistic influences are discernible in his usage of the root for physical weakness and for powerlessness in general. It is possible to detect some informal and non-literary relationships between the teaching of Paul and the writings of the OT. For example, the association of asthenein with skandalizein is strongly reminiscent of the OT prophetic use of asthenein to denote the fate of the ungodly. However, OT parallels with Pauline thought do not necessarily indicate direct literary dependence. All we can say with certainty is that OT Greek, while not a source for Paul’s thought in that it supplied him with exact modes of expression, did provide Paul with a perspective from which to interpret the nature of human weakness. Although the idea of God’s power revealed in weakness is not wholly absent in the OT, the concept of “weakness, the showplace of Gods might” as such, is found fully developed only in Paul. Furthermore, the christocentric emphasis that the apostle gives the words distinguishes his point of view from that of the OT. For Paul, weakness is rooted in the death of Christ. This may explain why the apostle quotes the OT in extenso when developing a concept regarding weakness.
#19: Paul teaches that humanity as a creation of God is weak; yet God desires to reveal his own strength through the infirmities of human existence. He therefore chooses the weak in order to confound the strong. This he accomplishes by what the world considers foolish and feeble, namely, the cross of Christ, which is nonsense to them that perish but the power of God to those who are being saved. By his death Christ proved that God’s weakness was stronger than human strength. Therefore, Christ has become the example that Christians are to follow. By bearing his cross and dying daily with him, they become participants in the weakness of Christ. This identification with their Lord enables them to glory in their weaknesses, not merely endure them. In addition to this positive truth, there is a negative aspect of weakness that is expressed by a weak faith and a weak conscience. Yet there is a place in the church even for weak believers, who must be accepted by stronger Christians on the basis of their election and Christ’s love for them.
6:12 AM Becky just shared with me something she heard on BBN this morning:
“The reason a dog has so many friends is because he wags his tail instead of his tongue.”
Love it!
5:55 AM Quote of the day (David Nelson):
It’s time for our attention to be gotten. And it’s time for us to awaken to the commission of Jesus to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth. The accomplishment of that mission, the mission of God, does not rest on lavish buildings in the US (trust me, they really are lavish), nor immense state convention structures, nor grander buildings on seminary campuses. That mission will be fulfilled by sending laborers into the international fields. And if we have any sense about us and, lets be honest, real devotion to our Lord, we’ll put our greatest amount of resources into the places where there is the greatest amount of need. And that typically isn’t in our stateside ministries.
5:47 AM You simply must watch Danny Akin’s convocation message from Tuesday’s chapel service. It is titled “Marks of a Healthy Community of Faith.” You can find it here. Incidentally, we are welcoming a huge incoming class this spring. Very grateful for each student God sends our way.
5:30 AM This morning I intended to write something profound about education, but I’mbrain dead. (Don’t worry, I’ll recover soon.) Today’s gonna be a busy one. We’re speaking about Ethiopia twice at Cresset Christian Academy in Durham, then it’s off to UNC for (a) blood work, (b) radiation, and (c) meeting with B’s doctor. Then it’s back to the farm to meet up with one of my students who is helping us set up our new computer. Before all this kicks off, however, I’m kidnapping Becky and taking her to IHOP.
Have a good one wherever you are, and please be safe on the roads.
Wednesday, February 3
8:34 PM Last week I said goodbye to my grader for the past three semesters. Enoch Kwon hails from South Korea and has done a fantastic job helping me with my various writing projects. Enoch will be spending his final semester at the seminary leading the Korean students’ fellowship. Enoch, you will be sorely missed!
In the meantime, my new assistant is Andy Bowden, an up-and-coming Greek scholar who will also begin his Th.M. studies with me in the fall. Andy’s main job will be to help me collect anything written about Paul and weakness in the past 25 years as I prepare my revision of Paul, Apostle of Weakness. Welcome to the astheneia team, Andy! Andy, by the way, writes an excellent blog calleda Bowden Blog. Check it out when you can.
Let me end this post by saying how blessed I feel to serve in a seminary that allows each of its faculty members to have an assistant every semester. My helpers have saved me countless hours of grunt work in the library, for which I am eternally grateful!
8:10 PM If you’re a brand new student in my beginning Greek class and have heard the word “morpheme” for the very first time, you may be feeling like this right about now:
I want you to know that I feel your pain. After all, I’m the one inflicting it! As I said in class: I realize that a morphological approach to the Greek verb is more difficult at the beginning of your studies. But if you will just hang in there, I promise you that our approach will pay high dividends. You will not only be able to master Greek paradigms, you will understand how the language works — and that is worth every drop of sweat invested now. So please do not despair! Simply remember that although the word might be the smallest free form in a language (an item that may be uttered in isolation with semantic or pragmatic content), the morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning. Never, ever, look at the word as the minimal unit of language again!
7:44 PM We had a wonderful faculty meeting this morning, the first of the new semester. I was reminded of why I love serving and teaching here at SEBTS so much. It’s really very simple: The Great Commission. That’s what we’re all about. “Your objective, gentlemen, is to harvest a crop,” Jesus said to His disciples. And we are to do it by loving on others until they ask us why.
God isn’t asking us to back unbelievers into a corner so that we can mash them with our mental machinery. Yes, we must discuss Christianity. Yes, we must preach the Good News. But not by pulling up our theological dump trucks, yanking the lever, and then pulling a wheelie out of the parking lot. We are to bring men and women to Christ by living out His cross-love.
My friend, once you fall in love with Jesus, you will do everything in your power to introduce others to Him. He’s a wonderful, magnificent, all-powerful, humble, and loving Lord. To do that, we’ve got to get involved in the lives of others. I sense that desire among my students. I sense that desire among all of my colleagues. I know that this is the heart beat of our magnificent administration.
Let’s unleash foot soldiers for Jesus. Let’s be foot soldiers for Jesus! Amen?
7:31 PM Conclusions #16-17 (from Paul, Apostle of Weakness):
# 16: In the Pauline ethic, a firm conviction of monotheism is of less importance than the love of one’s Christian brother or sister. Paul insists that strong Christians should hold their liberty in check in deference to their weaker brethren. Moreover, the duty of the strong is not only to avoid placing stumbling blocks before the weak, but also to remove them.
#17: The translator should recognize that the uses ofastheneia, etc. in Paul are not homogeneous, and there is no single English root that translates all of them with equal success or precision.
Today, by the way, I began revising chapter 1 of the book. I’m having more fun than a barrel of worms. I never dreamed that I would be rewriting this book 28 years after I first set pen to paper!
7:17 PM This great quote from A Chance to Die reminded me that soul-winning is the work of God from beginning to end (p. 51).
One day as the two were driving a gig along a country road they came upon a stone breaker. Pulling up the old horse, Charlie, the D.O.M. [Dear Old Man] turned to Amy. “Which blow breaks the stone?” he asked. Then, pointing with his whip he said, “Thee must never say, thee must never even let thyself think, ‘I won that soul for Christ.’ It is the first blow and the last, and every one in between.”
Could it be that there are times when we think that we are the only ones who are indispensable to the salvific work of God? I think so. But salvation is the work of God. If you want to be a redemptive person, you must remember that it is the responsibility of the Redeemer to draw all people to Himself, and that He often uses many different “blows” in the process!
7:12 PM Just cooked pancakes for Becky and me. We both had a huge sweet tooth tonight.
6:23 PM God “so” loved the world adverb of degree (“God loved the world so much“) or manner (“God loved the world in this manner“)? See Jeff’s fine discussionhere. (I tend to agree with theISVs rendering for obvious reasons.)
6:20 PM Quote of the day (Eric Carpenter):
I wonder why we Christians so often get angry at atheists. If we really believe that we are saved only by the grace of God, then why do we get so upset when people who do not know God claim that He doesn’t exist? Just because they deny the existence of God, this does not make it true. They have not (yet, we hope) been saved by God’s grace. Instead of being so angry, why not love them?
Love them? You’ve got to be kidding. Why, they’re our enemies and the enemies of Christianity. (*Sarcasm.*)
Folks, Eric is right. So I have a suggestion. It’s a crazy, kingdom-focused idea. Rather than telling atheists what a friend they have in Jesus, why not tell them what a friend they have in you? Folks, bumper stickers and hateful blog posts aren’t gonna win the world for Christ. Remember: The medium is the message! Or at least a big part of it.
Oh, I almost forgot. Eric’s thoughtful essay is calledGod Doesn’t Believe in Atheists.
6:06 PM Hey, fellow bloggerites! Check out a brand new e-zone that was launched today. It’s calledBible Study Paths and is the work of Henry and Jody Neufeld (Henry is one of my favorite publishers). Everybody who knows my work can see why I would be so excited about a website that encourages personal Bible study. The battle we’re in can’t be waged with the “weapons of this world.” Our sword is not an earthly weapon but the Word of God. Now, if you’re like me, you think of Bible study as being a very difficult task. Indeed it is! Whenever we’re involved in a faith enterprise we’re overextended by design. That’s why we need to approach the Bible with great humility and allow it to be its own interpreter as much as we possibly can. I’m up for the challenge. Are you?
By the way, you can check out the good stuff Henry publisheshere. (Insider’s scoop: Look for more good stuff shortly.)
Monday, February 1
12:53 PM Speaking of non-conformity (or maybe that be should be obscurantism), someone just emailed me with an interesting question: Does anyone else hold to yourviews about synoptic origins? I had to answer, quite honestly, something to the effect of “Not that I’m aware of. At least not in print.” And that’s fine with me. As I tell my students, I may be wrong, but I’m not afraid to publish my views for everyone to see (and ignore)!
12:38 PM Guess what? Apparently Robert E. Lee was a nonconformist. General Lee? Yes, the good general himself. He was constantly upsetting the apple cart as an educator. He refused to establish unnecessary regulations at Washington College. His motto was “Make no needless rules.” He pushed as hard as any educator in the nation for electives. Let the students have a say in their own education, he argued. When the Lee chapel was built he made attendance non-compulsory, much to the surprise of the student body. Finally, there’s this (Lee: The Last Years, p. 156):
Whenever the students and faculty of V.M.I. and Washington College marched in a joint procession, to the sound of a drum, Lee made a point of marching out of step.
Isn’t that great? Gives the rest of us non-conformists hope!
12:26 PM Today Becky is sewing not one but two dresses for Ethiopia. The fabrics are gorgeous. It’s just like my wife to make the most of her time, to be cheerful always, and to look to the future with joy and anticipation. Which sounds to me a lot like Amy Carmichael. To quote from A Chance to Die again (p. 30):
Being of an acutely sensitive nature, Amy must have felt deeply the loss of her father. The happy, peaceful, predictable routine of her home life was profoundly shaken. If she had been born a hundred years later, she would very likely have been encouraged to be angry, told she had a right to express her anger and her sorrow and her bewilderment and her rage, and generally to disintegrate.These were not the expectations of her friends and family. Nothing could have been further from her expectations of herself. Instead, she threw herself into serving others.
Remember, these words were written by a woman whose husband was martyred and who knew something of the loss she describes here.
I cannot see Elizabeth Elliott holding a pity party for herself, can you? Neither can I see Becky doing that. How I thank God for such women. The Lord must love me very much to have given me a wife whose worth is far above rubies.
10:30 AM Someone once said, “We tithe to ourselves,” meaning that much of our offerings goes to improving physical plants, paying salaries, etc. We do indeed tithe to ourselves. Which makes Arthur Sido’s latest blog post all the more important:What would our church budget look like if Jesus was on the Budget Committee?
Arthur, I wish I could say that people will listen to you and that churches will reexamine their priorities in terms of their giving. Obviously what you’re saying calls for initiative on the part of people, especially church elders (or “deacons” as we often call them in our SBC churches). Our misplaced priority system is wrong. The New Testament calls it wrong. It is anti-Scriptural, anti-Christian, and against the love command of God. This is so practical that I would like to pin-point it with a question: Will the elders/deacons of local churches, many of whom I know read this blog regularly, take this admonition practically and seriously? Otherwise, what good does it do to “rant” (as Arthur admits he is doing)? Elders, am I putting you on the spot? You bet I am!
9:41 AM David Lee reviews Alexander Strauch’sBiblical Eldership. It’s a fine review of a book that all of us should read at least once in our lifetime.
Here’s a quote from the review that I’d like for you to ponder:
The discussion in this section of biblical eldership as servant leadership was particularly humbling. As a young pastor, this is the qualification that I most often disregard in my own personal self-assessment. Far from being a sort of religious despot, the elder exists to serve both his fellow elders and his flock. Strauch wisely points to the Lord Jesus Christ as the paramount example of such servant leadership: To discover how a plurality of elders works together, look and listen to Jesus Christ (86). When relating to one another, elders must be able to work together with love and humility, readily regarding others as better than themselves (Phil 2:3-5). Similarly, elders must not wield the authority given to them in a heavy-handed way (97), shepherding the church with great gentleness.
Isn’t this wonderfully simple? Isn’t it beautifully scriptural? Isn’t it time we asked the Holy Spirit to implement it in our churches? Oh, the Body of Christ! Oh, to see it operating as the Head intended!
9:22 AM Interested in learning more about the biblical principle of every member ministry? Check outDavid Roger’s excellent piece by that title. Here’s a teaser:
On the basis of these passages, I hold that an overriding concern of biblical ecclesiology, and one that should exercise a priority influence over the way we choose to structure our churches and organize our church activities, especially whenever faced with any degree of ambiguity on what Scripture actually commands or prohibits, is that of every member ministry. As a matter of fact, it seems quite clear to me that our level of growth and maturity as a church, and the degree in which we successfully fulfill the Lords purpose for us, will be commensurate with the degree in which we help each and every member of the Body of Christ to be actively involved in ministry, exercising the spiritual gifts the Lord has given them. In other words, for general purposes, church structures and activities that better serve to facilitate every member ministry are more biblical than those that do not.
9:10 AM This just arrived via email:
I certainly concur with your “Sacerdotalism or Every Member Ministry?”. This is a subject which is dear to my own heart, of which I became convicted many years ago, that it was a destructive problem right across the evangelical church scene, and working to the devil’s advantage.Far too often, what is called multiple eldership is still a one man band, functioning with a hand-picked mutual admiration society who would never dream that the pastor might be fallible, and occasionally make a mistake, or, perish the thought, wrong.
Here is a point I wish to make crystal clear. As individuals, the writer correctly points out, each of us is going to make mistakes. This problem can be alleviated to a great degree by receding into the wisdom of the group. Nonconformity to the world must certainly, in my opinion, involve leadership that is both plural AND nonhierarchical.
Once again, may I humbly and respectfully ask those of you who are senior pastors and who thus set yourselves apart from the eldership to reconsider your position in light of 1 Pet. 5:1-4?
8:51 AM So Prince Harry isthrown from his polo pony. I wish I had a dollar for every time I had an “unplanned dismount” from one of my steeds.
8:02 AM The CSMonitor does it again. Read More airport security won’t do much to stop terrorists. Leaving the Middle East would. The final paragraph is the best.
7:45 AM Do you spank your children? Or engage in any kind of discipline with them? Amy Carmichael was the disciplinarian at her home for children in India. But with an interesting twist (A Chance to Die, p. 213):
One little girl who lied habitually had her mouth inked and was kept out of school for a day or so. After the second or third time she was taken to Amma’s [Amy’s] room. “I was shaking. She sent me to the bathroom for the strap, took me on her lap in front of the mirror, and read to me from Isaiah 53 — ‘He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities …. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.’ Then she beat her own arm instead of mine and explained salvation to me.”
Once in a while I run across a passage in my reading that is so sublime, so beautifully expressed, so amazing, that it defies commentary and I simply must quote it. This passage is one of those.
7:38 AM Michael Palmer has added two more books to his excellent Greek linguistics bibliography. You can check them outhere.
7:34 AM Diglotting offers a review of Richard Young’sIntermediate New Testament Greek A Linguistic and Exegetical Approach. Always glad to promote the author of a Greek textbook!
7:24 AM Conclusions #14-15 (from Paul, Apostle of Weakness):
# 14: Paul is defensive of his own infirmities only because a misunderstanding of weakness leads to error concerning the nature and acquisition of divine strength.Paul is strong, but only because he is “in Christ.”
#15: Integrally connected with the understanding of Paul’s concept of weakness is the antithetical concept of strength. In some cases this background is brought into focus and the concept of strength is explicitly mentioned, whereas at other times the contrast is only implied. Paul specifically connects weakness with the opposite idea of power in 1 Cor 1:25, 26; 4:10; 15:43; 2 Cor 10:10; 12:5, 9, 10; 13:3, 4, 9; Rom 4:19; 5:6; 8:3; 14:1, 2; 15:1, passages that show the importance of both words in Paul’s vocabulary. The emphasis is often upon the fact that the powerful apostle is also the weak and suffering one; Paulus potens is at the same time Paulus infirmus.
You can see that we are leading up to a grand conclusion!
7:18 AM Our latest Spanish essay has been published. Please feel free to share it with all of your Hispanic friends. It’s called La Gran Comisión del Matrimonio.
7:12 AM Listening to Becky play “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” on the piano. What a blessing.
restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations
Daves Latest Book Is Now Available
Dear DBO Reader:
My latest book, Why I Stopped Listening to Rush: Confessions of a Recovering Neocon, is now available. Its my way of challenging all Americans to return to their biblical and constitutional foundations. Heres the Table of Contents:
Preface
Notes
The Declaration of Independence
The Constitution of the United States
The Bill of Rights
The Barmen Declaration
To order Why I Stopped Listening to Rush at a discount price, please go to the publishers website.
And thanks for reading DBO.
Sincerely,
Dave
June 16, 2004
David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.
restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations
August 2005 Blog Archives
Wednesday, August 31
6:56 AM The lottery in North Carolina is now inevitable, despite weighty objections. It only remains for the governor’s signature, which it will get because “we need more money for education” has become a sacred cow. Yesterday was a tragic day in the Tarheel State.
6:50 AM The latest addition to our home page is called To Blog Or Not To Blog?
6:45 AM North Carolina Baptists at their very best.
6:42 AM When I read this story about a new cleft palate surgery I thought of our precious little Midnight who was born with his lip connected to his nostril. By the way, both he and Snow Ball have now joined their friends in the pasture and are doing fine. We are still bottle feeding them three times a day, but they have begun nibbling on grass.
6:39 AM An email we received from Ethiopia yesterday made our day. It reminded us that the Lord Jesus is still very much at work in the largely Muslim province of Alaba. Here’s a snippet:
Ahmed and Nigussie have come back from Alaba with a Wonderful News. It is a story of Gods Miracle. I am not sure whether they have already informed you about it. During their short stay in Alaba they would show the Jesus film in different places. One day they were showing the film in the place where Ahmeds father lives. After having seen the film,
over 30 people have come to the Lord. This is something incredible. Winning even one soul from among the Muslims is very amazing let alone this many. That is the evidence of the Lords move in Alaba. Everything is possible with the Lord! I was praising the Lord for the wisdom that he gave you to bring the Laptop for Nigussie. The Lord knows how he does his job with his children who listen to him. You have a great part in this miraculous work of our Lord Jesus. Praise be to our Lord. The film could make the Gospel much easier for them to understand the Love that the Lord has for them. Ahmeds father was there watching the film with other Muslims but he could not be one of those fortunate at this time. The Lord may win him for himself some time in the future. I hope that Ahmed and Nigussie will tell you the description of this Great Story in full detail.
Below: Becky and I presenting Nigussie with his laptop during our stay at SIM headquarters in Addis Ababa.
6:35 AM If you think Calvinism is anti-evangelistic, think again. Here’s the point in a nutshell:
If Calvinism is an enemy to missions and evangelism, it is an enemy to the Gospel itself. The Great Commission and the task of evangelism are assigned to every congregation and every believer. The charge that Calvinism is opposed to evangelism simply will not stick–it is a false argument. The Doctrines of Grace are nothing less than a statement of the Gospel itself. Through the substitutionary work of Christ, God saves sinners. The great promise is that whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
6:30 AM I did a lot of snorkeling in Hawaii but nothing that even remotely resembled this:
6:26 AM You might have expected C. S. Hayden to publish a review of David Bakan’s book Adolescence in America.
6:22 AM Christian yoga: oxymoron.
Tuesday, August 30
6:57 AM We just received word that one of our Ethiopian “sons” is now an official member of the faculty at the Evangelical Theological College in Addis. Fasil will be teaching New Testament and Greek. Everyone there is excited, and so are we. Congratulations, Fasil!
6:38 AM Yesterday was one of those end of summer days that one simply savors. It began with an exciting early morning email stating that Bereket had just been released from the hospital and was being cared for at the Mennonite College in Addis. Then it was off to the goat barn to bottle feed my babies, who are almost big enough to spend their days in the pasture with the big girls. I cooked eggs and toast for the family, then it was off to work. Nate and I spent the day working on fencing — using woven wire with one strand of barbed wire at the top — and actually got quite a bit done despite the humidity. No lunch, though I did have a delicious homemade chocolate cupcake as a snack. At 7:30 pm we were ready for a gargantuan supper, and Becky did not disappointed us — pot roast with farm fresh taters, maters, and corn on the cob. What better way to top off the day than to read a good book while snacking on pop corn, along with my doggie, of course. Like I said, it was a day to savor.
Monday, August 29
7:18 AM I actually found gas for 2.47 this weekend.
7:15 AM What do these words have in common: academy, democracy, economy, history, and pandemonium? They’re all borrowed from this language.
7:13 AM When I taught at Biola University our students learned classical Greek before they were introduced to New Testament Greek. This was both chronologically and logically sound, even though the classical language is more difficult to learn. Anyone learning only the Greek of the New Testament would do well to know how classical Greek differs from the Koine, and here’s a good place to get that information.
7:10 AM Isabel Lyman, erudite educatrix, is an expert on the homeschooling revolution, as this chapter from her book shows. As she notes, the question is no longer “Why homeschool?” but “Why not homeschool?” If you’re still a g-school fan, check out her essay. Izzy also maintains a great website.
7:05 AM We are expecting this to be a busy week here at Rosewood Farm. Despite the rather daunting nature of the work, my son and I will be setting cedar fence posts today in preparation for establishing a new pasture (rotation of same being a key to successful livestock raising). With the ground as hard as rock it may take us a long time.
7:03 AM There is a rich and growing supply of wit and wisdom at the Dow Blog. Darrell, welcome back to the bloglesia. You were gone too long.
7:00 AM Strange things are afoot in New Testament Gospel research, not least in the area of Q studies. But there is hope. Now if we could only get scholars to read the church fathers again on the topic of Gospel origins.
Sunday, August 28
8:55 AM I gave this quiz to my Richmond class yesterday. See how well you do!
Saturday, August 27
9:32 PM Just got a nice email from a friend of ours named Tesfaye, who is from Jimma in Ethiopia. He is a very tall gentleman to whom we sent some shoes a few weeks ago. He just informed me that they fit. That is so coooool!
9:29 PM Already the response to our list of projects to help the Ethiopians has been overwhelming. More on this later: I am a bit too moved to talk about it right now.
9:21 PM My son, the organ proficionado, found this essay about the world’s largest organ. Amazing!
9:17 PM A big Saturday shout-out to Jerry, Tom, Jeremy, Dennis, Chris, Lisa, Matt, Clint, Preston, Les, David, and Clinton — my Richmond students. This weekend we covered such topics as the origins of the Gospels and textual variation in the New Testament. Next time we’ll cover supposed “contradictions” in the Gospels, the deity of Christ, and Jesus’ age-twelve and age-thirty transitions, among other things. Keep up the great work, guys and gal!
Friday, August 26
11:50 AM I’m sure glad to have Becky by my side. Makes life wonderful.
Below: Greek Exegesis of Mark just getting underway with students enjoying home-made blueberry muffins lovingly prepared by Becky.
8:37 AM Several of you have asked how you might help the work of God in Ethiopia. Here is a list of ideas Becky typed up. Feel free to join us as the Lord lays a burden on your heart.
Projects to Help the Lords Church in Southern Ethiopia
The following projects are being funded and administered by Dave & BeckyLynn Black, in conjunction with the churches in the Alaba and Burji districts in south-central Ethiopia.
The Alaba church is a group of 10 churches in an aggressively Muslim area. These churches are currently suffering severe persecution, as people in the area burn their churches, ransack their homes and kidnap/murder their children. The church is strong spiritually but is in great need of material support and encouragement.
The Burji church is in the far reaches of Ethiopia. It is far away from medical help, stores, etc., so they have precious few visitors to come help them. There are 26 churches in this group. The people are all farmers, and they are suffering economically because the Tsetse fly is killing their oxen that they use for plowing. The average income of these people is $300-350/year for a whole family. As their fields have suffered, their offerings that support their evangelists, etc., have declined. The Burji church is sending evangelists into the nomad tribes along the Ethiopia/Kenya border. Because of tribal warfare, missionaries will not go into this area, but the Burji people are going!
How can we help?
Dave & BeckyLynn have already been to these churches in person. The needs are real. The people are precious ones who sincerely are trying to work with what they have to reach their areas for the Kingdom of our Lord. In December, 2005, a third missionary trip will be made to this country. Relationships of accountability have been well established, and specific needs established. When we return in December (just a few months away), we would like to take the following with us to help them.
Bibles for children: 500 children in Burji and 200 children in Alaba are memorizing 10 large passages of Scripture. Upon completion of the memory work, each child will receive their own copy of the Bible in their national language. They want to finish this memory project by the time we visit, so that they can get their Bible directly from us! Each Bible costs $3. We have already made arrangements with the International Bible Society in Ethiopia to have 700 Bibles ready for us in December; we will pay $2100 for these Bibles.
English/Amharic Testament and Study Book for Youth: 200 youth in Burji and 100 youth in Alaba are memorizing the 10 passages of the children, plus an additional 10 passages. Upon completion of the memory work, each youth will receive his own copy of a diglot New Testament and a book on how to study the Bible. These items were originally produced by BeckyLynns father, a retired missionary, and the publisher is giving us a 33- discount. We will pick up the books in December and will pay $900.
Childrens Evangelism & Teaching Tools–Flannelgraph: There is absolutely NOTHING available to assist teachers in working with children. They have only their mouth & their hands to reach these young ones for Christ. Over half of the population of Ethiopia is under age 35; the numbers of children is HUGE! BeckyLynn has taught Bible lessons to classes of over 150 children; the children sat attentive for over an hour as she used flannelgraph pieces to help tell the story. Afterward, the children themselves retold the story to each other, using the same flannelgraph BeckyLynn had used, thus re-enforcing the lesson! We are taking 2 sets of flannelgraph, one for Alaba & one for Burji. We will divide each set into 8 sections and prepare lesson plans for each section. These sections can then be rotated among the churches. Each set is about $250; we will order these now so we can cut them and create the sections. The total cost is estimated $500. We would appreciate any help in cutting these set out!
Childrens Teaching AidsFlip Charts: We have found a ministry that has created picture clip charts and audio cassettes in the Ethiopian language! They have also made a hand-driven cassette player that is suitable for the back areas of Ethiopia where there is no electricity or batteries. The cost of the sets and 2 players for each district is only about $250.
Eyeglasses: There is absolutely NO vision care available to these people. As the people age, their vision fails as they struggle to read the Scriptures by the firelight in their huts. We have already taken some eyeglasses to the Burji church and they are ecstatic beyond words to be able to see well again to read their Bibles. We would like to collect 200 pairs to be divided between the districts. Although prescription eyeglasses are OK, the most valuable glasses are the non-prescription reading glasses available at Dollar Tree and other inexpensive places. Dollar Tree charges only $1/pair! We will package each pair in a small zip-lock bag, along with a cleaning cloth. Unless we are able to get a bulk quantity directly from the manufacturer, we expect to pay about $225 total for this ministry.
Books for Ministers: Each district has a small Bible school with about 20 students. The students & teachers are able to read simple English, but they cannot afford any books. We are asking for people to give us any Bible study books that they have. Commentaries, Bible dictionaries, atlases, Study Bibles and English dictionaries are especially beneficial.
Laptops: The evangelists in these districts are usually alone, separated from their families. They have had a very basic Bible education. They travel between villages by foot usually. They sleep anywhere they can, and return to the district office every few weeks. We are collecting used laptops and buying new ones at the best price we can find. We are buying extra batteries, word processing programs, the Jesus Film, and CDs with a library of books in Amharic and English. Already we have given one laptop to a young man in Alaba; he is using it to prepare Bible study notes, show the Jesus Film, and read Christian library books. It is a TREMENDOUS help to him! We would like to gather or buy at least 4 more. If they are taken into the country with us (or friends) then there is no customs fee. Naturally, we will teach them how to use the laptops during our visit in December. A friend has found some good quality but outdated laptops for $400 each. Total cost is about $1800-00.
The Conclusion of the Matter
In Luke chapter ten, a self-content man asked Jesus about getting right with God. The man knew that he should love God thoroughly and love his neighbor as much as he loved himself. But he didnt want the inconvenience, the discomfort, the cost of putting that into practice. So he tried to play a game of philosophy with Jesus by asking And who exactly is my neighbor? Jesus answer: Anyone who has a need that you have become aware of.
On the other side of the world our brothers & sisters are suffering through no fault of their own. Except for the grace of God in our lives, we would be in their place and they in ours. Dave & BeckyLynn cannot turn away. Do you also want to join in the giving and blessing? There is an indescribable, mystical link between sacrifice and blessing, between sharing and receiving, between faith and works. Those who sacrifice receive an extra measure of blessing; those who share what God has already given them somehow receive more from Him; those who have genuine faith always demonstrate that faith through works.
If you want to join us in this venture of service, you may send checks payable to BeckyLynn Black at Bradford Hall, 2691 White House Road, Nelson, VA 24580.
No tax-deductible receipt will be given, but you will receive a thank you from us and the Ethiopians. And you will receive a Well done from our Saviour.
8:27 AM I leave today for Richmond to teach a course in “Jesus and the Gospels” this evening and all day tomorrow. I always try to avoid the freeways whenever I can, so Becky and I will be driving the back roads and thus enjoying the beauty and historical sites of Southside Virginia on the way.
8:20 AM My life has gone through several periods, but this week was an exclamation point. A mega Friday morning shout-out to all who made my week so unforgettable: President Akin and Dean Bush for their gracious presentation in chapel on Tuesday; Mrs. Cindy Bush and her helpers for the wonderful faculty luncheon they provided yesterday; my dear colleagues for their friendship and encouragement; my wife Becky for spending hours in our kitchen baking goodies for my students; and especially my students themselves for already bringing me so much joy by their passion for learning and love for the Lord Jesus. I commend all of you to the grace of the Lord with these words by Jim Elliott:
“Wherever you are be all there, and live to the hilt whatever you are convinced is the will of God for your lives.”
Most of all, praise and glory and honor be to the Lamb!
8:16 AM My friend Scot McKnight of North Park Seminary honored me by contributing to works I edited on interpreting the New Testament and on the synoptic problem. Although we are light years apart on certain issues of interpretation, I have nothing but the greatest respect for Scot’s scholarship and so was overjoyed to see that he has started blogging. At least he shares my hairline and my passion for German.
Thursday, August 25
6:59 AM The latest addition to our home page is called Followers of Jesus.
6:55 AM I heard this story about the Penguin Classics on my drive home last night. Seems Amazon.com is offering more than 1,000 titles of classic literature for under $8,000. Not surprisingly, the complete list of “classics” lacks the Holy Bible. I was glad to see this book on the list, though.
6:46 AM Help! We’re thinking about installing some cattle guards here at the farm. But does anyone know if they work for goats?
6:43 AM The BBC has an interesting story on an incredible discovery: a new Einstein paper.
6:36 AM For the most part, our model of church today is warped, becoming a nursing ward to provide life support for carnal believers (Heb 5:11-13). We accept carnal believers as the norm, rather than confront them and help them deal with unrepentant sin as our Lord gave instruction (Matt 18:14-22). We mold ourselves around the lowest saint’s level en masse, dooming the whole body of saints to feebleness, requiring a professional clergy. The carnal believers, inexperienced themselves at the difficulty and cost of discipleship, then hold these clergy to unreal expectations and ask them to fulfill an impossible role. This breeds a whole cycle of unhealthiness and co-dependency in themselves and those they ask to lead them. A growing number of believers in churches that offer such poor example of radical commitment and little opportunity for genuine discipleship, are no longer satisfied within those constraints. Read more.
6:32 AM I heard the irrepressible John Lofton give this speech in Valley Forge. It’s a classic and parallels, to a degree, my own pilgrimage. Read: John Lofton, Recovering Republican.
6:30 AM James Packer, in his classic book Knowing God, writes:
It is our shame and disgrace today that so many Christians — I will be more specific: so many of the soundest and most orthodox Christians — go through this world in the spirit of the priest and the Levite in our Lord’s parable, seeing human needs all around them, but (after a pious wish, and perhaps a prayer, that God might meet them) averting their eyes, and passing by on the other side.
How can we explain the outpouring of love and prayer for Bereket, now recovering from eye surgery in Ethiopia, other than on the basis that the spirit of the Good Samaritan — indeed, the Spirit of Christ Himself — fills the hearts of so many of our readers? Friends, I cannot thank you enough for interceding on behalf of this young man who was in the gutter of life and whom our gracious Lord has redeemed spiritually and is now healing physically. Praise ye the Lord!
Wednesday, August 24
6:21 AM Is 7Q5 the earliest New Testament papyrus? What’s the hoopla all about? Dan Wallace of Dallas Seminary has some answers. (By the way, Dan and I took Dr. Harry Sturz’s New Testament textual criticism class at Biola back in the mid-70s. There were a grand total of five of us in the class, if I recall correctly. We learned to read von Soden and Tischendorf, and to collate Greek manuscripts. What a blast!)
6:18 AM Over at Covenant News Chuck Baldwin is making Makaha-sized waves again, this time suggesting — correctly in my opinion — that America is heading down the same road Germany went in the early 1930s.
6:15 AM My wife and I had an interesting discussion the other day about the reasons Americans are so compulsive about keeping their yards mowed immaculately (residents of Rosewood Farm are a notable exception). According to Bret Rappaport, mowing is not only a waste or time (and fuel) but can be deleterious to our yards. Viva natural landscaping?
6:12 AM Steve Atkerson of the New Testament Restoration Foundation just sent me the latest edition of his book Ekklesia, a wonderful overview of the New Testament church. Many thanks, Steve, for this gracious gift, and I pray that this book, which contains several weighty essays, stirs our churches to a renewed commitment to being biblical in all we practice.
6:09 AM Yesterday’s convocation service in our seminary chapel was packed to the gills, and we were treated to the best message I have ever heard on the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13. Becky Lynn and I are ordering several copies for friends, but you can hear this outstanding expository sermon by going here. In all of his chapel messages Dr. Akin, our president, is a stellar role model to our students of how to preach in a vibrant and interesting manner while being absolutely faithful to the biblical text. I cannot commend his messages highly enough.
Tuesday, August 23
6:47 AM STOP THE PRESSES! Bereket’s cornea transplant was a success!
Hi, Becky,
I just returned from the hospital. Bereket had his surgery and it went good. Dr. Yonas was the one who did the transplant surgery. Bereket is doing okay. I took him fluid (‘atemet’ Ethiopian soup) and real soup. I will check with him this afternoon.
One of the MK College students who came from Gondar is attending him. Class will begin next week. The Lord is so good in arranging all we needed. The timing is perfect for this guy to be with Bereket. He stays with him the whole day (day & night).
I will keep you update. I have read the things (you sent me last time) he needs to be aware of before he went to the hospital and he has that list with him so that Mulugeta (the MK College student) will be reading for him.
God’s blessings!!!
This is wonderful news. “MK” stands for “Meserete Kristos” — the name of the Mennonite College where Bereket will be recovering. You may recall that this is where he found salvation during his first operation last year. Many thanks for praying for our dear “son” in the Lord.
6:40 AM If by some miracle we were able to produce accurate membership statistics in our churches, we would be doing the cause of Christ great good, in my opinion. I’ve long suspected that Reformed Baptists would have to take the lead in restoring some sanity in this area, and Tom Ascol is proving me right with his latest blog entries.
6:34 AM I will be back in Richmond this weekend. On one of our trips there I hope to revisit this museum that features a man whom I greatly admire for his courage, character, and faith.
6:23 AM The latest addition to our home page is called Why Evangelize?
6:20 AM A big Tuesday shout out to my friend Dr. Rick Melick and his graduate students — Tim, Mike, Josh, Aaron, and others whose names I’ve forgotten– at Golden Gate Seminary in Mill Valley, California, with whom I passed a delightful 45 minutes yesterday in a phone interview. We talked about discourse analysis, etymologizing, New Testament lexicography, and other topics. They had just read two of my books on linguistics. I think doing an interview with an author is a great idea and I hope to implement it in my own classes this year.
6:15 AM I never cease to marvel at just how different our animals are — from our tireless Shelties to our rambunctious goats to our imperturbable cows to our powerful horse to our beautiful hens. It’s just pure entertainment, that’s what it is. Pure entertainment!
Monday, August 22
7:55 AM According to Dr. Patrick Johnston, Ohioans can do something now to stop aborticide in their state. He is referring, of course, to House Bill 228. To read the bill, go here.
7:50 AM Please continue to join Becky and me in praying for the political situation in Ethiopia. Here’s the latest (along with some helpful links) from the BBC.
7:46 AM We just received some photos of the farm taken by Jonathan and Ashley Erdman, a young seminary couple who spent a few days with us at Bradford Hall last May. They stayed in our most popular guest room, the Renn Room. Here’s Jonathan stoking its cozy fireplace.
Guests have the entire upstairs porch to themselves. The view of pine forests and pastures is lovely.
Visitors are always welcome to lend a helping hand if they like. Here Ashley bottle feeds one of our calves.
Jonathan did me a favor and snapped some shots of my Thoroughbred.
Thanks, Jonathan and Ashley, for sending us these wonderful pictures. We thoroughly enjoyed your stay with us.
7:30 AM Just 5 days until my New Testament class in Richmond begins. It’s been several years since I taught in Richmond and I look forward to meeting the students there.
7:18 AM Monday morning shout out to all our wonderful friends at Meadowview Nursing Home. It was fun singing for yall yesterday. And don’t worry, Miss Davis. Nathan will be back with us next time.
Sunday, August 21
8:23 AM If you’re at all interested in New Testament interpretation you’ll want to check out Exegetitor. A hearty DBO welcome to the blogosphere, Mike. I am currently writing an essay on the Greek word for “elder.” I think you’ll find it interesting — should I ever get around to publishing it.
8:20 AM At the Orange County Weekly, Jeremy Rosenberg notes that Dr. Schuller’s daughter has a view of creation that is, well, interesting to say the least. Welcome to the Church du Soleil.
8:15 AM Those of us trying to master French have our work cut out for us, especially when it comes to correct pronunciation. But there’s help, and here’s a sample of it.
8:12 AM At Vern Poythress’s website we find a bold article dealing with helping boys become men. Even restaurant owners have this one figured out. No ordering from the children’s menu after you’re 12!
8:10 AM House churches are not a panacea, writes Adam Graham in a good piece over at The American Daily. But then again, no church is. The real question is: Is there a biblical pattern for a Christian assembly? I think a person is much more likely to have genuine Body Life in a house gathering than in your typical institutionalized and professionalized church. It’s not impossible, just harder. But the main thing to remember is that there are no “holy places” under the New Covenant. My church is not “the house of God.”
Saturday, August 20
7:53 AM Just added to our home page: American “Values.”
7:46 AM Let’s see, I leave for Africa weighing 229 pounds and return weighing a slim and trim 202. The key was eating only one large meal a day. Guess I won’t need this after all.
7:41 AM Maybe if I were younger….
7:36 AM Dennis Rowan over at Through the Working Chute has published some pretty thought-provoking essays. Here’s a sampler. Dennis also runs the Psalm 23 Camp, where church, school, and college groups can develop a closer relationship to God while serving needy families. Kudos to a fine friendly fellow farmer!
7:30 AM A writer responded to our essay Whose Church?
I just read this excellent article. I am often troubled as I drive by church
buildings that have signs indicating the name of the pastor……..who
cares? I think it is very distasteful.
I recall J. I. Packer once describing a letter he received with the following letterhead:
Church: [Name of the church].
Minister: The members.
Assistant to the Ministers: [Pastor’s name].
Not a bad idea. Enter to Serve, Depart to Worship.
7:23 AM In 1 Cor. 1:10 Paul writes “that all of you agree.” The term “agree” literally means “say the same thing.” The expression is found on a first-century grave stone of a married couple, indicating a harmonious relationship. This does not imply that the husband was a yes-man or that she was a door stop. Harmony is not unison. Different people can live together in harmony even though they retain their freedom to express their own convictions and insights.
Acquila and Priscilla worked together in this manner, and I would like to think that my wife Becky and I do so as well. At least we travel together frequently — a distinctive characteristic of the ministry of Acquila and Priscilla! They had lived together in Ephesus, Corinth, and Rome; and Becky and I have lived together in La Mirada, Basel, Oxford, and now Bradford Hall. Sure, the journey has been bumpy at times, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
And now, as Becky and I enter the fall season of our lives, we do so living, laboring, and sacrificing together for a cause much large than both of us. It’s a lot of work, but a lot of fun. I couldn’t think of a better way to honor the Lord Jesus through our marriage than by serving Him together. We “agree,” as Paul would put it — which is a pretty amazing thing for two people who couldn’t be more different in background, temperament, and personality.
I love you, darling.
Friday, August 19
5:41 PM Update: Becky Lynn spoke with Bereket today. All is set for his trip to Addis tomorrow and surgery on Monday. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have prayed for this day. We now wait upon a gracious Lord for the outcome.
1:06 PM Ethiopian Summer Final Part: Below is our Ethiopian “daughter” named Emebet (right). She is orphaned and lives in a children’s home in Addis where Becky taught last October. She and Emebet struck up an immediate and lasting friendship. In her hands is a missionary prayer card dating from 1954 that features my in-laws and, in the middle, a cute little blond baby named Becky Lynn.
Below are four of our seven Ethiopian “sons.” Nigussie (left) and Ahmed (right) are from the province of Alaba, where the church has been experiencing severe persecution of late. They are students at the Evangelical Theological College (ETC) where I taught last October and again this summer. Their passion is to reach Muslims for Christ. To Becky’s right is Samuel who hails from Hadiya, Becky’s first mission station as a child. Samuel is just beginning his studies at ETC. To Becky’s left is Fasil, who is teaching New Testament and Greek at ETC. Fasil is named after after his ancestor, Emperor Fasiledes of Gonder. Here they are proudly displaying the neck ties we gave them at Becky’s going away dinner. (You will recall that Becky had to leave four weeks before I did so that she could harvest and can our vegetables.)
These two “sons” are from Becky’s second and final mission station in Ethiopia, a place called Burji. Worku (left) was my student at the Dilla Ministry Training Center last November. Burge (right) is a full time evangelist and works among the nomads in Southern Ethiopia. Next year he will begin his studies at ETC. By the way, none of these men is married, even though three of them are in their thirties. Very few young ladies in Ethiopia want to marry men who lack a large income. These men are all content to serve the Lord Jesus in their singleness.
I met this gentleman at the SIM Guest House the night before I returned to the states. He is showing me his left ear, a portion of which was sliced off when he was a baby. His mother’s previous two sons had died in infancy, so the village witch doctor told them that if they ever had another son, the boy would live only if they “ate” him. So when he was born his father sliced off a portion of his ear, wrapped it in bread, and gave it to his wife to eat. They dressed him in girl’s clothing and gave him a girl’s name until he was twelve, lest the evil spirits discover he was really a boy and kill him. This man is now a pastor in Addis and has a wonderful Christian family.
Below is our seventh and final Ethiopian “son.” And I have some very important news about him.
We just received word that Bereket has been called up to Addis for his cornea transplant this Monday!
Please pray that we can arrange the air transportation in time. Moreover, as there is always a danger that his body will reject the transplant, I know you will join us in praying for a successful operation. So, our Ethiopian Adventure continues! Stay tuned….
Thursday, August 18
7:46 PM If you’ve got the time or inclination, please tune in tomorrow for the final installment of our Ethiopian Summer series.
7:43 PM DBO is truly honored to have been included in the top ten blogs at Irish Hills. Thank you, Miss Gracie!
7:40 PM Novum Testamentum calls our attention to the top five bookstores in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. From personal experience I can assert that his number one pick is definitely # 1!!
7:36 PM Facts versus fiction in the Da Vinci Code.
7:30 PM Next Tuesday begins my course on the Greek text of Mark. A participant in the study of this great Gospel is a site called kai euthus. It’s worth a look-see.
7:24 PM I usually hate to make such judgments, but this website on New Testament Greek is simply phenomenal.
7:21 PM My New Testament colleague Ben Witherington observes that John Wesley had a great deal to say about the use of money:
I would urge every Christian to read his famous sermon “On the Use of Money”. It has three main points: 1) make all you can by moral means
(not engaging in non-Christian ways of making money such as gambling, selling harmful products like cigarettes etc.); 2) save all you can; and 3) give all you can. Wesley says if you do the first two but not the third, you may be a living person but you are a dead Christian. He would be urging us to de-enculturate ourselves from the values of our society when it comes to wealth and conspicuous consumption.
You can read the entire essay here.
Wednesday, August 17
7:55 PM Only a few years ago very few conservative evangelicals were questioning America’s do-goodism at the taxpayers’ expense. Politicians are, after all, very good at disguising their ambitions. According to this piece by Sheldon Richman, the unwisdom of our “generous” foreign aid policy is actually keeping African nations in poverty.
7:51 PM Here’s a good thought-provoker from Chuck Baldwin. Those impatient to confirm Judge Roberts would do well to remember that his record still needs close scrutiny.
7:49 PM At Vintage Faith, Dan Kimball tackles the issue of church hopping. Here’s a good blurb:
So, we slowly go back to our original church that we at first felt good in because of the overall vision and mission that drew us to it in the first place. We find that the leaders do admit freely to you there are weaknesses and flaws and mess ups and ego issues, but still try their best to blend both the bigger meetings and smaller home meetings for the purpose of the mission. They try to be organized, without being “Organized”.
All this to say, I suppose, that there is no perfect church.
7:46 PM I am currently writing a major paper on what it means to be a “follower of Jesus.” Anyone who is inclined to do so might pray for me.
7:43 PM Do I work too much? Not when I compare myself with the apostle Paul. He worked “night and day” as a tentmaker. In Ephesus, he apparently reserved 11 am to 4 pm for his ministry of the word. Compare this with the description of his daily lifestyle contained in his farewell address to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:18-35) and in his Thessalonian correspondence (1 Thess. 2:4) and the conclusion is inescapable — Paul maintained a rigorous daily schedule for a man not obviously blessed with the best of health. Christians, says Paul, are to redeem the time because the days are evil (Eph. 5:16). He does not mean merely that the times in which we live are full of troubles but rather that they are morally corrupt. I must therefore seize every opportunity that may present itself to serve Him. With the darkness comes greater opportunities!
All this to say to my students: My door is always open, I am NEVER too busy to assist you, and your progress in faith and love means very much to me. May this be your best semester ever!
Tuesday, August 16
9:45 PM Our precious little Snow White is now drinking eight ounces of milk at each feeding. Both babies are now getting regular outdoor exercise in preparation for weaning. They will eventually join the rest of the herd.
7:47 PM Do you love teaching as much as I do?
7:35 PM My, what a polite beggar!
7:32 PM 16 things that annoy web users.
7:25 PM The ESV translation has an interesting blog.
7:22 PM With all the happenings at the farm lately, this subject has been on my mind.
Monday, August 15
7:19 PM The latest addition to our homepage is called Moody’s Thirst for God.
7:15 PM Tonight was Justice Sunday II, hosted by Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville. “God Save the United States and this Honorable Court!” This announcement that is made when the Supreme Court sits in session was the theme for JSII…. These kinds of events strike me as David trying to combat Goliath by using Saul’s armor. He had sense enough to realize that it wouldn’t work. Many evangelicals seem to think that encouraging churches to engage in political activities in order to attain desirable moral goals is a wise strategy. I think it is wrong-headed and self-defeating. Read more.
7:05 PM The Christian one-room schoolhouse.
Sunday, August 14
5:17 PM Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce to you two very special residents here at Bradford Hall. The first is the little lady of the house, Miss Snow Ball (formerly Snow White). She is slightly larger than her baby brother and certainly much more rambunctious. She takes very good care of him and is never out of his presence.
And here is Midnight, all black except for one white spot to remind him of his mommy’s coloring. Midnight laughs at anyone who refers to him as handicapped. “I can do EVERYTHING my big sister does,” he says cheerfully. Midnight has become my best friend and tries to jump up on my lap whenever I sit down. I think he’ll be just fine, don’t you?
Snowball and Midnight are one week old today, so, if you’re ready…. One, two, three:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Well, if you’ll excuse me, my babies are reminding me that it’s supper time.
Saturday, August 13
9:47 AM In many ways, Grant Frederick is just as ordinary as the next 13-year-old boy. He loves hanging out with his friends and watching television. But the fact that he is also his church’s pianist and shuns much of youth pop culture in favor of Southern gospel music and Andy Griffith, and one notices that the McCalla, Ala., boy is an out-of-the-ordinary teenager. Read more.
7:40 AM Our baby goats are becoming very active. I may have to get them some of these soon.
7:35 AM Our county in Virginia is noted for its historic homes. Here’s an overview.
7:29 AM Another reason why I love J. Gresham Machen.
7:25 AM They’re home schoolin’ in Switzerland.
7:20 AM “Pastor Niemoeller,” the chaplain said, “why are you in prison?” Niemoeller stared back at him and asked, “Why are you not? Read more.
7:18 AM A former student of mine in California has put together an outstanding encyclopedia of New Testament textual criticism. Kudos, Rich!
7:15 AM I am resting up today in preparation for preaching tomorrow and school starting up next Monday and Tuesday with faculty workshops and then my first class on Thursday. Though it’s only been three weeks, I can hardly wait to get back into the classroom. In case you’re interested, my course syllabi have been posted here.
Friday, August 12
7:07 PM The latest addition to our home page is called Whose Church?
1:48 PM Here’s an interesting email and my response:
Hello Mr. Black,
Thanks for your recent article on Short Term Missions.
I have a question about your sentence: For my part, I preached every Sunday in various churches (Baptist, Mennonite, Pentecostal, Reformed Orthodox, etc.), taught Beginning and Intermediate Greek, and ministered to the persecuted believers. I have never heard of “Reformed Orthodox”. Is this an Orthodox church that believes in the doctrines of grace? or something else? Thanks very much. Bryan D.
_________________________________________________
Thanks, Bryan. Sorry for the confusion. These are born-again believers who came to faith while still in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church but were forced out and thus formed their own congregations (called “Reformed Orthodox”). They tend to be more Arminian than Calvinistic in their soteriology and their churches contain a very large Pentecostal element. They are a wonderful group and I immensely enjoyed my teaching times among them. With warmest regards, Dave
1:10 PM Just returned from the doctor, who says I have either bronchitis or pneumonia. While I was gone we had a very interesting visitor at Rosewood Farm — the grandson of Corporal Anderson Boyd, the former owner of the farm who served in the 59th VA Regiment and is buried in our cemetery.
Thursday, August 11
4:18 PM Don’t say it can’t happen here
What happened in Germany can happen in any nation where men reject God and His rule. We see advancing atheism within our own civil realm. This book is a wake-up call to sinful men and societies in need of Gods
grace. It is well written and full of factual information. Stein does a masterful job of interweaving Niemoellers reflections of how Germany had reached that low point in its national life with his own historical account of life as a prisoner.
3:32 PM Mr. Matthew McDill’s latest essay is an excellent discussion of the long ending of Mark (.pdf). Congratulations, Matt!
3:28 AM Corey Keating has produced a helpful discourse analysis of the book of Titus (.pdf).
3:25 AM Sincere thanks to Stephen Dray for his review of my book on the Gospels and to Eric Sowell for his review of my book on linguistics.
3:18 AM Ancient pool is located in Jerusalem.
8:44 AM The latest addition to our home page is called How’s Your Garden?
7:23 AM This morning I’m rushing around taking one of our pregnant nannies to the vet to get her blood checked out. We suspect CEA but pray it is something much less serious.
7:21 AM Cincinnati Christian University has some recommendations to make if you’re wanting to expand your library of Greek textbooks.
7:18 AM So you think you know German?
7:17 AM Central Baptist Seminary is featuring a conference on the Da Vinci Code.
7:15 AM Phil Newton has made available several of his excellent sermon series on biblical books. Go here for a listing.
7:12 AM Your prayers for one of Floppy’s surviving kids (named Midnight) would be greatly appreciated. He was born with a cleft palate and runs the risk of aspirating whenever we bottle feed him. Once he is weaned we believe he will be fine. Right now he and his little sister (Snow White) are resting comfortably on our breakfast room carpet.
7:04 AM Here’s another interesting letter (a portion of my response follows):
Dr. Black,
A friend of mine has recently moved and is looking for a local church. He shared with me some of the frustrations he has with program driven churches. I shared with him several articles from DBO on the church.He answered, “I totally agree with all of these articles. So let me ask you a question…what does Joe Churchgoer, who is in agreement with Dr. Black, do? In my case, if we go out looking for another church, what church do we look for?”
Perhaps you could help me answer him. As you know, very few churches practice these principles….
Thank you for your ministry through DBO, SEBTS, and I am sure countless other ways. Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
T. B.
___________________________________________________________
Two thoughts:
1. It’s easier to give birth than raise the dead. New church plants are, I believe, much more successful at this.
2. Sometimes a church can have new wineskins but old wine. I have seen churches with a fairly biblical ecclesiology that are sorely lacking in doctrine or genuine Body life….
Remember the heart of a biblical church: Is there sound teaching, genuine sharing, an emphasis on the Lord’s Supper, and mutual prayer (Acts 2:42)? If you can get two out of four, you’re probably doing good in this day and age!
Thank you so very much for taking the time to write. With warmest personal regards, DB
7:00 AM From the mailbag:
Dear Brother Dave: I have just read your wonderful article entitled, “Why We Must Preach Jesus As Lord”. My heart has been very heavy concerning the “easy believism” that is being dished out in the church today. Even the Independent Baptist churches (of which I am a member) are giving watered down altar calls. I really do not see anything in the scriptures that suggests that altar calls are needed. If I read the accounts of the preachers that were preaching during the “great revival” times correctly, they preached such a strong message of following the Lord that the Holy Spirit convicted the sinners to the extent that they grabbed onto their pews to try to keep from going forward to give Him their hearts.
I wonder what would happen today if one of our preachers gave a sermon like Jonathan Edward’s “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”? He would probably be tarred and feathered and run out of the church. He certainly would be labeled unloving and judgmental. When a preacher says, “every eye closed and no one looking around – I won’t come back to embarrass you but if you feel convicted come to the altar” isn’t he giving the sinner the idea that it is an embarrassment to come to Christ. Christ said, “For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my Words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:26) I believe that there are many who have been told that they are saved who have never really invited the Holy Spirit to come into their hearts and change them As you so rightly said they have accepted Jesus as their Savior but not their Lord.
I praise God for men like you and you colleagues Al Cronkite and Paul Proctor who have a true zeal for God and are bold enough to speak out on issues that most preachers are too timid to address from the pulpit. May God continue to bless and use you for His kingdom until Jesus Christ our Lord comes again in Glory!!!!!
In His Love, T. G.
Wednesday, August 10
5:29 PM Becky and I would like to thank all of you who sent us condolences on the passing of Floppy and her baby.
5:05 PM Ethiopian Summer Part Three: Our weekend dash to the southern province of Alaba, which is 95- Muslin, saw several roadside stops for “drawing” evangelism — I would draw the portraits of the children and my Ethiopian friends would pass out gospel tracts in Amharic and speak to the adults. The portraits were great ice-breakers, and we felt no hostility whatsoever toward us from the followers of Islam.
Upon our arrival in Alaba I met with the believing father (middle of the photo) of an eight-year old girl who had been murdered, her headless body having been thrown into the river. The family comes from a village that has been experiencing intense persecution in recent weeks.
Later in the day we visited an outlying village where we showed the Jesus Film in the local meeting hall of the handful of believers who live there. Many Muslims were in attendance.
After the movie I met with the Christian family of an eighteen-year old young man who was murdered last December. We all gathered around this precious family and prayed for them. They are determined to remain in the village as a witness to the love and forgiveness of Christ. The young man’s killer, Mohamed, is serving a 12-year sentence. On the way back to the town of Alaba I noticed some lights in the distance. “What’s that?” I asked. “The prison,” was the reply. “Is Mohamed there?” “Yes.” I determined then and there that I would somehow visit Mohamed before I left Alaba.
The next day I preached in the main town church of Alaba, where Becky and I have offered to present a free Amharic Bible to any child under 12 who memories ten passages of Scripture (not individual verses!) by next December. The first passage was Psalm 23, and every child that successfully recited the psalm (word perfect) received a portrait from “Abba Black.”
Before departing Alaba the elders were able to arrange for me to visit the prison where Mohamed is incarcerated. Upon our arrival I was taken to the chapel and asked to wait there until I could be escorted to Mohamed’s cell. Slowly the prison chapel began filling with curious inmates (“Who IS this foreigner?”), and when I was asked to speak I turned around and found the chapel filled to overflowing. I preached the love of Jesus for about 15 minutes, and as the prisoners slowly filed out I noticed one young man still sitting there, weeping uncontrollably. It was Mohamed. A guard had brought him to the chapel and he had heard the entire gospel. I spoke with him privately and presented him with a blanket I had purchased for him in town. It turns out that I was the first Christian to visit Mohamed — but not the last. The elders now visit him regularly to minister to him both 
physically and spiritually.
Who are the least of Christ’s brothers? They are the lowly of the earth — the hungry, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the prisoner. Show them love and you show love to Christ. When the Good Samaritan helped the battered Jew by the side of the road, he cared for him in a physical way — he bound up his wounds, fed him, and provided for his needs. This has nothing to do with the modern purpose-driven or health-and-wealth gospel, with its emphasis on temporal happiness, but simply reflects Jesus’ concern for the body and soul of a person. Prosperity preachers are false prophets, and they have led many astray; but we must never forget that believers are to be known not only for their doctrinal purity but also for their practical charity.
In AD 361 the Emperor Julian complained, “The impious Galileans [Christians] support not only their own poor but ours as well.” We who profess the name of Christ can do no less today.
Tuesday, August 9
8:21 PM The latest addition to our home page is called Why We Must Insist On Every-Member Ministry.
7:25 PM Floppy has always been our favorite goat. She had a mother’s warmth but cuddled with you like a helpless baby. If any of our goats would have made a perfect mama, it was Floppy. You could see it in her smiling blue eyes. And the Lord blessed her with not just one or two kids, but with triplets.
This morning at 9:00 am Floppy died.
Her infection was too much for her body, weakened from a traumatic childbirth, to fight. At 11:00 am, my son and I buried her, along with one of her babies who also did not make it.
All Rosewood Farm mourns the loss of Miss Floppy and her beautiful child.
Monday, August 8
8:46 PM Good evening from beautiful Rosewood Farm in Virginia. It’s been quite a day. My son and I got the posts in and the basic framing done on a new shed extension for storing one of our balers…Floppy took ill and required a visit from the vet (she has a serious uterine infection that we are treating with strong antibiotics)…repaired the lawn mower but still trying to figure out what went wrong with the weed eater…Becky baked several cakes for friends of ours…I am in the process of writing my sabbatical report…trying to catch up on emails from Ethiopia…a pastor from Illinois is visiting Bradford Hall for a week on a personal retreat and we having many wonderful conversations around the table…still praying for rain as our ponds are very low and pastures very dry.
Coming to the end of a day like this makes one extremely grateful to know a Lord who “rests” the weary. I hope all of you had a wonderful day in the Lord also.
8:41 AM This just in. I’ll check into it ASAP.
Dave,
I just noticed that http://daveblackonline.com/ is working fine, but
http://www.daveblackonline.com/ is not working.
UPDATE (8:44 PM): My web host informs me that if you’re still not able to access DBO you may need to wait 24 hours for your ISP to update. Also, pressing the Refresh Button may help. Thank you for your patience, and please inform me if you are still having difficulty accessing our site.
Sunday, August 7
5:28 PM The latest addition to our home page is called The Value of Short Term Missions.
3:31 PM It’s that time again….
3:16 PM Early this fine Sunday morning Floppy had her babies — triplets no less. Mother and children are doing fine, thank you.
It’s amazing how perfectly formed these babies are — and less than a day old!
Saturday, August 6
8:55 PM I’ve been collecting our eggs this week in my son’s absence (he’s been renovating an old farm house about three hours from us). The young ladies have been overly generous with us this week. Yesterday, for example, I gathered a grand total of 26 — count them, 26! — eggs. Alright you homesteaders out there. Can any of you beat 26 eggs in one day this past week?
Don’t you just love your chickens!!!???
8:51 PM This wonderful email made my day:
I have hesitated to say hello and welcome back because you don’t know me and I don’t have a blog. I decided to say hello anyway because you both are such a blessing to me via the internet. I love hearing about your missionary work, your beautiful animals, your faith, the surf , theology etc. etc….The picture of you two at dinner is lovely. Happy Anniversary and may God give you many more years together serving Him and loving each other. Sincerely and in Christ, J. W. PS I will be looking for old laptops!
“This is true love to any one,” said Tillotson, “to do the best for him we can.” This is what God has done for Becky and me — the best He can, which always brings with it incalculable blessings, far more than we could ever deserve. May He do that for you, dear unknown correspondent, today and every day!
8:49 PM Our server was down all day. Glad to be back.
Friday, August 5
8:34 PM Join us in welcoming to the world Miss Daisy’s baby. She surprised all of us by giving birth this afternoon at about 5:00 o’clock, before Floppy! This is the closest we could get to her and her baby.
Below: The proud father, Rusty.
Traveler joined us in watching in open-mouthed amazement at this miracle of God.
7:23 PM Persecution of Christians in Eritrea (a neighbor to Ethiopia) continues.
7:17 PM Dead Man Blogging has a great post on biblical separation here. (Be sure also to read the comments section.)
7:04 PM The latest addition to our home page is called Church Business Or Kingdom Business?
6:11 PM PHOTO OP: My wife and I enjoying a meal at Ruby Tuesday’s this afternoon. We spent much of our time planning our upcoming trip to Ethiopia this winter and reminiscing about this summer’s adventures. In one month we will celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary. How I thank God for my wonderful bride!
2:40 PM Laptops needed for Ethiopia! 
If you have a used laptop you would like to donate for Ethiopian pastors, Becky and I will see that it is put to good use. A CD reader is a must. Entire theological libraries are being put on CD, and a single laptop will provide a rich source of Bible study tools for these leaders. We can take several laptops with us this December when we return to Ethiopia, and others we can send with friends and returning missionaries. If you can help, just write and let us know.
9:13 AM Chad Degenhart has a good column on our fiat money. Here’s a snippet:
Precious metals and savings offer only temporary protection, while returning to a sane way of life provides more safety for a family than even a large stash of gold and silver. Dont take that to mean that I dont think its important to have real money – I do. I just think that most people would find greater benefits in planting gardens, raising a milk cow, and in general getting away from the typical pattern of working all our hours away from the home as a specialist for a wage with which we purchase all of our goods form others.
8:40 AM Whether it’s visiting a nursing home or mowing the neighbor’s yard or doing this, it’s refreshing to see families thinking of others and not only of themselves.
8:17 AM From this morning’s mailbag:
Dear Mr. Black,
I am a regular reader of your blog, but knowing you were out of
the country, I notice you were not posting, so I would only pop in on
occasion to see if you where back Today I popped in and saw that you
were back and found I had a lot of catching up to do Glad you and the Mrs. are back and look forward to reading about your trip!!Blessing,
A. K.
*******************************************************************************
Dear Dr. Black,
Welcome home!
I’m sorry that you feel that your confessions of a recovering neo-con was ineffective. I started re-reading my copy on Monday! I was curious to see how your observations have played out. Do not be discouraged.
Yours, D. S.
8:10 AM Jim Rudd, editor of Covenant News, just emailed me this notice:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4739369.stm
Oldest known Bible to go online
A manuscript containing the oldest known Biblical New Testament in the world is set to enter the digital age and become accessible online. A team of experts from the UK, Europe, Egypt and Russia is currently digitising the parchment known as the Codex Sinaiticus, believed originally to have been one of 50 copies of the scriptures commissioned by Roman Emperor Constantine after he converted to Christianity. The Bible, which is currently in the British Library in London, dates from the 4th Century.
8:01 AM Quote of the day:
You know however that our duties by no means depend on our hopes of success, but that it behooves us to accomplish what God requires of us, even when we are in the greatest despair respecting the results.
John Calvin, letter to Philip Melanchthon, March 5, 1555
7:58 AM When “You’re welcome” mutates into “No problem.”
7:50 AM Added Rarick, “Sure, Tahiti has gnarlier waves, and there are more perfect waves in Indonesia. But Pipeline is still the wave that all other extreme waves are measured by.” To which I say, Amen.
7:40 AM A must read.
7:35 AM Even though my Greek students are learning the ancient, not the modern language, it is still helpful to know some modern Greek expressions. Here’s a few for starters.
Καλημέρα!
7:32 AM Not everyone accepts Roe as the settled law of the land.
7:30 AM Kids, take the USA Map Quiz!
Thursday, August 4
8:04 PM ROSEWOOD FARM UPDATE: It’s catch-up time on various farm projects, including repainting these chairs:
We’re almost done with the new/old horse barn. Nathan put the tin roof on while I was gone. Doesn’t the barn look like it’s been here forever?
Floppy is ready for motherhood. She is about to pop!
All 8 of our females are pregnant. My wife is tracking this website closely.
6:28 PM The Bikehiker has some incredible photos of his “surprise” lilies.
6:03 PM Need some reasons to home school? Here’s 20 of them.
5:44 PM The Backwater Report has an interesting discussion of the politics — and theology — of the Constitution Party.
5:15 PM The latest addition to our home page is called Why We Must Preach Jesus As Lord. Coming soon: “The Value of Short Term Missions.”
11:43 AM I think tonight might be the big night — for spaghetti, that is. (Prepared by my wife, naturally.) I have already scarfed down my favorite snack: Doritos con salsa! Then my post-Ethiopia cravings will be o’er!
11:40 AM Lost in Germany: parental rights.
9:51 AM ETHIOPIAN SUMMER PART TWO (text by Becky Lynn): What a joy and special blessing from the Lord to be able to visit Bereket’s home! Their home is one room, with a small courtyard and garden. The only furniture in the home is a simple log bed. During the daytime, their 4 sheep and 1 donkey are grazing in the fields, kept by Ashageru, Bereket’s sister; at night, the sheep are brought into their home, and the donkey stays in the courtyard as a “watch dog.” Bereket’s mother, Enquahonich, gathers firewood from the countryside and takes it into the city of Gondar to sell; if it is a large load, she puts it on her donkey; otherwise she carries the wood on her back. They grow corn, potatoes, and a few other vegetables in their garden. (Bereket’s father died about 6 years ago.) Isn’t Bereket handsome in his new clothes? These were gifts of love from his Christian brothers and sisters.
Below I’m trying my hand at making injera. This is the national bread, made of soured tef and other grains. Enquahonich allows the tef mixture to ferment for 4-6 days. The injera is eaten at every meal, and is cooked on a large clay “frying pan” over an open fire. Making good injera is a skill that every Ethiopian young lady learns early.
Enquahonich is showing you her stack of injera. UMMMM, good!
Ashageru is Bereket’s 17-yr-old sister. She is a beautiful young lady! While Enquahonich and I were making injera, Ashageru was preparing coffee. No instant coffee is good enough! Ethiopians gave coffee to the world, and they are very particular about how it is made. First, Ashageru washes the beans in a little water brought from a river nearby. Then she roasts the beans over a charcoal fire in her home. After they have cooled, she grinds the beans to a very fine powder. Then the powder is boiled gently until it is just the right strength; it is often served with spices and course sugar.
The coffee cups are handle-less, like Chinese teacups. Note the plastic and large clay water pots to the right; Enquahonich brings water from a river about a mile away. The plate to the left has boiled beans. The charcoal stove is in the foreground.
What a joy to share life with Bereket and his family! Here we are enjoying injera and cooked cabbage — delicious! We are sitting on a built-in mud couch; Bereket sleeps on this couch when he is at his mother’s house.
Saying goodbye was hard to do. These are such precious people! While in their home, we showed the Jesus Film on our laptop. It was in their native language and is probably the only movie they will ever see in their lives. Although Bereket has some Jewish blood, his family is now Ethiopian Orthodox. The Orthodox church dates to about 400AD. It is a mixture of Judaism/OT Law, NT doctrine, superstition, church hierarchical mandates — very similar to Roman Catholicism in the West. Notice that over the door are sacred things, including a bottle of “holy water” designed to protect their home. After the Jesus Film, Bereket said to me, “I like my new religion! Jesus loves me, and I love Jesus!” He was all smiles! Our Lord Jesus has exchanged the dead ritual and superstition of the Orthodox church with His living, resurrected, loving self!
Bereket is still helping his friend sell tourist things in the Falasha Village, just like when we first met him. But he has a whole new life. Now he is faithfully attending one of the 6 Protestant churches in town, and three times a week he takes a horse cart to the home of a teacher, where he receives both academic and spiritual instruction. We are getting very favorable reports from many people about Bereket’s spiritual growth. “He is so happy!” “He is growing spiritually!” “He is so smart!” By our Lord’s grace, that’s our son! Words cannot express our deep thankfulness to God for His marvelous work of grace in this young man, and to you for your prayers and love toward him. Any day we are expecting a call from the Menelik II Hospital in Addis Ababa, and Bereket will go to have his cornea transplant surgery. Please continue to pray for him, and also for the salvation of his friend, his mother, and his sister.
Wednesday, August 3
7:34 AM Some pithy quotes from TTL.
7:23 AM Tom Ascol, Executive Director of Founders Ministries, now has his own blog.
7:20 AM More and more homeschoolers are studying Greek.
7:15 AM Some reasons why blogs are so popular.
7:05 AM ETHIOPIAN SUMMER PART ONE: My first official duty upon arriving in Addis Ababa was to attend the graduation banquet for the Evangelical Theological College and to deliver the commencement address the next day at their beautiful campus. Here I am at the banquet with a young man named Ermias (left), one of the students my wife and I had the privilege of supporting.
The text of my address was Philippians 1:9-11, Paul’s prayer for abounding love among the saints. It was a day of joyful celebration and remembrance of God’s faithfulness toward these hard-working students during their years of schooling. Ethiopians enjoy warm hugs and plenty of kisses.
The following Monday I began teaching my Intermediate Greek class at the Meserete Kristos College (the Mennonite seminary in Addis). The student in the red shirt came all the way from Canada to study with us. We used my It’s Still Greek to Me as our basic text, supplemented by Using New Testament Greek in Ministry and New Testament Textual Criticism. These men were outstanding students, each one.
Our first two Saturdays in Ethiopia were spent speaking to the leadership of the Addis Kidan (“New Covenant”) church. This group was founded by Southern Baptist missionaries in the 1990s. Becky’s topic was the role of the pastor’s wife, and here she is with her class.
I spoke on “Growing the Church — God’s Way Or Ours?” and tried to emphasize the priority of the Bible in all we do as the people of God.
A week and a half into our trip my Beginning Greek class started at ETC. The course was based on our text Learn to Read New Testament Greek. We hired a professional videographer to tape each session, and we will edit the footage into DVDs for distribution this fall to anyone interested in studying Greek.
Next Update: Our visit to Gonder in Northern Ethiopia to visit Bereket and his family.
6:49 AM Wednesday morning shout out to the Engstrom family. Yes, I do wish that I could attend your conference, but I have agreed to teach a New Testament course in Richmond, VA, on the 26th and 27th. By the way, I’m still patiently waiting for that homemade spaghetti, but in the meantime my wife has cooked for me such delectables as chicken and dumplings and pork roast. Boy did I miss her cooking!
Tuesday, August 2
5:05 PM The consequences of our decisions. Thank you, Mrs. Austin, for this powerful reminder.
11:43 AM A brother sent me this very kind email in response to our essay on the needs-based church.
Bro. Black: Read your commentary. I say, Amen, amen, and amen. Needed to be said. Should be broadcast all over the world. Thank you for eloquently expressing what I believe. T. M.
11:26 AM The latest addition to our home page is called Controversy for the Truth.
Monday, August 1
6:58 PM I have really missed spaghetti — home-cooked by my wife, that is. I agree with this rule from Mama K’s Kitchen:
Number One Rule: Don’t open up a jar.
6:25 PM Our family’s next Civil War reenactment will take place in Alamance County, North Carolina on September 10-11. The event includes battle reenactments, an 1860s baseball game (blue v. gray, of course), and a period dance (called by our son Nathan, aka Stonewall, pictured below). Come one, come all!
6:20 PM Southern Baptists discover home education.
5:58 PM Becky and I would like to thank all of you for your prayers during our absence and for the kind emails we received welcoming us home. God has called my wife and me to work in Ethiopia. We don’t know why. We do know that here is a work that is far beyond our ability to do. Yet nowhere else have we experienced the victory of Jesus Christ in such a wonderful way. God’s power is demonstrated in our weakness. What grace! Thank you all, and God richly bless you. Dave and Becky Lynn.
(Above, Becky Lynn and Ashageru, Bereket’s sister, in their village outside of Gonder. Report on the marvelous things God is doing in Bereket’s life coming soon!)
5:23 PM Our friends over at Two Talent Living have this wonderful quote from A. W. Tozer on their site:
We Christians must simplify our lives or lose untold treasures on earth and in eternity. Modern civilization is so complex as to make the devotional life all but impossible. The need for solitude and quietness was never greater than it is today.
How right he is! Last Thursday, having departed Frankfurt airport two hours late due to engine trouble, I missed my connection to RDU and had to spend the night in the Hyatt near Washington/Dulles. My first impression (other than the ubiquitous paunches!) was one of incessant activity and noise — the TV blaring in the hotel restaurant (ESPN was featuring a stuff-your-face-competition from Las Vegas), people with I-pods, beer-sippers trying to act happy….
My activities this morning? Quiet devotional, followed by light breakfast prepared by my lovely wife. Update website, feed chickens, chicks, and turkeys. Feed and water our baby calf. Feed grain to pregnant goats. Weed the gravel sidewalk (why is it that during a dry spell everything dies but the weeds?), make a trash run, take nap, check emails. Below is the fellow I missed the most while in Ethiopia and who greeted me with a whinny this morning:
Chad Degenhart is right: where we live is a lifestyle choice. So is how we spend our time and energy. John Calvin once said, “The whole world is assigned to be reduced under the obedience of Christ, that by spreading the Gospel as widely as they could they might everywhere erect his kingdom.” The obedience of Christ — whether home or abroad — is all that matters. What a simple life pursuit! What an easy yoke! Free from restless, purposeless activity!
10:34 AM Europe remains the world’s greatest mission field. For more go here and here.
9:27 AM Monday morning shout-out to Lady Carmon, Miss Friedrich, and our good friends Jonathan and the Austins. We missed you too!
UPDATE: Thanks also to Mrs. Shepherd and family. Glad you are doing well!
Sunday, July 31
4:45 PM The latest addition to our home page is called Saying Goodbye to the Needs-Based Church.
4:40 PM On Sunday, August 14, Becky and I will be reporting on our trip to Ethiopia during the 11:00 service at our home church, Averett Baptist Church in Averett, Virginia. You are cordially invited to attend.
4:01 PM What a joy to be able to attend church together in Virginia after eight long weeks. Becky is wearing a beautiful traditional dress given her by one of our Ethiopian “sons.” In the coming days I will be sharing more about these seven young men whom the Lord has allowed us to mentor.
Saturday, July 30
9:19 PM The Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, ministers to women in need of obstetric fistula surgery. And it certainly does a wonderful job. Below is a shot I took of the post-op ward.
When I was visiting the church in Alaba, a village evangelist told me about a woman named Zemete who recently had two still-born children and needed to go to the Fistula Hospital for surgery but had no money for the bus ride. So we brought her to Addis where she successfully underwent surgery. She is a very quiet, humble farmer but a sincere believer in the Lord Jesus.
Zemete was actually more worried about her three children back in Alaba than she was about her own condition, so we had the evangelist provide food and clothes for them. But the most important event happened last Sunday afternoon when two of our students showed the Jesus Film in her village and her husband repented of his sins and trusted Christ as Savior and Lord. In a week’s time she will be reunited with her precious children and her Christian husband!
For more on the outstanding work of the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa and how you can help, please go here.
9:12 PM If you’re looking for online Bible translations here’s a site that will help. It includes a link to one of my all-time favorites: Williams New Testament.
6:24 PM I have a number of outstanding young Ph.D. scholars studying with me. One of them has his own website to which he has posted several excellence essays. Check them out when you have a moment.
6:08 PM Thank you, David, for the very gracious “Welcome Home.” It’s good to be back in the saddle (in both senses of the word!) and to be able to peruse sites like yours again. (By the way, I too don’t mind one iota being called a fundamentalist.)
5:40 PM On our way to Ethiopia my wife and I stopped off in Zurich to revisit various sites, including the ancient Minster Church where Zwingli once preached. It was a nice respite before beginning our ministry in Addis.
This evening at Bradford Hall we will be listening to a CD we purchased for our organist son featuring the Minster’s famous instrument. Incidentally, Zwingli banned organs from Zurich churches in 1524!
Zwingli was one of the first Protestants to abandon the use of instruments during worship services. In fact, Zwingli was so alarmed by the abuses to which music was put, in his view, that some of his services did not have
any music whatsoever. He found instruments to be an offense, quoting ancient fathers for support. He was attempting to return to a practice followed in most of the Eastern Orthodox churches even to this day, but exceeded them in his distaste for music per se, regarding it as a distraction from single attention to the preaching of the word of God. Much of the Reformed movement fell into agreement with the banning of instruments, although none followed the elimination of music. The organ in particular was denounced by leaders of the Reformed churches, as being a prominent example of what they meant by the corruption allowed into worship by the Roman Catholic church. Zwingli recommended that a better use for an organ would be to sell it and give the money to the poor. This Reformed aversion to musical instruments, first adopted by Zwingli, became at times a sticking point preventing cooperation with the musically rich Lutherans.
4:31 PM The latest addition to our home page is titled O, Ethiopia!
12:19 PM It’s official: we’re back from our trip to Ethiopia. New essays as soon as I unpack. Caution: My writer’s juices are flowing! With gratitude for your love and prayers, Dave. Meanwhile…
I am finishing an essay on the Constantinian Compromise. And, no, he did not proclaim “religious freedom.”
“Jesus is a cowboy and that’s why I want to be a cowboy, too, because I want to be just like Jesus,” says the Rev. Don Martin.
restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations
Bush and Abortion
If George Barna is to be believed, 86- of evangelicals will cast a vote for George Bush in November. Barnas data was recently confirmed by Ralph Zallow writing in the Washington Times. He wrote that Kerry and Edwards are losing ground to President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney among white evangelicals.
Meanwhile, numerous leaders of the religious right are lining up behind Bush. Jerry Falwell said For conservative people of faith [that about covers the religious gamut], voting for principle this year means voting for the re-election of George W. Bush. Pat Robertson spouted that Bush would win in a landslide and then added, The Lord has just blessed him. I mean, he could make terrible mistakes and come out of it. It doesnt make any difference what he does, good or bad, God picks him up because hes a man of prayer and Gods blessing him. Andrew Sandlin, president of the Center for Cultural Leadership, writes we should work faithfully with the historical options God has granted us. He has not placed us in a historical situation that permits us to vote for the ideal candidate (and perhaps He never will). So, God expects us to vote responsibly and thoughtfully for the electable candidate that most accurately reflects Christian conviction. And in the upcoming Presidential election, that candidate is George W. Bush.
Furthermore, after four years of largely ignoring evangelical concerns (which I will get to below and in coming days), the Bush political team is busily revving up the Christian conservative vote, going so far as to request that local coordinators hand over church directories to the campaign. As I have briefly discussed elsewhere, Evangelicals have, unfortunately, also been the largest constituency crying for the blood of Iraqis. Do I overstate the case? Read Cal Thomas defending the use of tactical nuclear weapons and Joseph Farahs bloodthirsty musings about the destruction of Fallujah and tell me who the fanatics are.
When Ive asked my Christian brothers and sisters why they intend to vote for Bush there is usually some innocuous statement about Bush being a man of faith and adhering to Christian principles. They say that he is a man of integrity and humility and that he is honest. But the Bible says that we know a man by his deeds.
When Bush was asked at a press conference if he had made any mistakes during his tenure, he hemmed and hawed, stammered a bit, and said You know, I just Im sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with answer, but it hadnt yet.
In Bob Woodwards book Bush at War, we see the President proudly and repeatedly declaring that he hates and distrusts the media, and for that matter he doesnt read the mail. The contrast with Ronald Reagan could not be starker. When Reagan passed away recently, I read that during his tenure he had written scores of hand-written letters to Americans that had written the White House. Bush would apparently rather watch Sports Center. Bush also tells Woodward that, Im the commandersee, I dont need to explainI do not need to explain why I say things. Thats the interesting thing about being the president. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I dont feel like I owe anybody an explanation. Maybe someone should suggest Proverbs be rotated into the Bush devotional schedule.
As for the honesty of the administration, the repeated deceptions and dissembling regarding Iraqi WMDs and links to terrorist organizations, lured the country, and a comatose, derelict press corps and Congress into a quagmire with no end in sight. Although less consequential, the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services has also confirmed that career staffers were threatened with disciplinary action if they disclosed to Congress that the cost of the prescription drug bill than under consideration was $134 billion more than originally thought. Shameless fealty to political expediency trumps fidelity to the truth for this White House.
But what about abortion? Isnt George Bush pro-life, and wouldnt John Kerry do everything in his power to advance the culture of death? Kerry was recently quoted as saying I oppose abortion personally. … I believe life does begin at conception. The logical implication is that every time Senator Kerry has voted to fund abortion with public money that he has voted to fund the killing of human beings. Kerry has also voted against legislation requiring parental consent or notification for a minor to get an abortion. Truly, Senator Kerry cannot be described as pro-life.
But what of the President? Andrew Sandlin says Bush has justifiably become a hero to Evangelical Christians because, He has been an unflagging champion of the pro-life position, and he eagerly signed Congress legislation banning partial-birth abortion (Clinton had twice vetoed it).
Pro-lifers like Sandlin point to the ban on partial birth abortion to burnish Bushs anti-abortion credentials. The cold, hard fact is that the ban has not and will not save a single life. As Jim Rudd and others have pointed out, the legislation, which will almost certainly be overturned by the courts, does not mention Intact Dilation and Extraction (D&X abortion). Since the act does not use this official medical term, the D&X procedure is not really banned by the legislation. Moreover, the very language of the ban encourages abortionists to kill the child in the womb with poison since the act only restricts activities performed on a living baby. So if an abortionist first kills the baby and THEN performs the D&X procedure, the ban does not apply.
Another piece of evidence proffered by Bushs pro-life supporters is that he re-instituted Reagans Mexico City policy thereby denying taxpayer dollars to organizations that promote abortion overseas. However, Bush soon began to lift those restrictions beginning in 2003. The LA Times reported on February 16, 2003 that In a major policy shift, President Bush has decided to allow social service agencies in Africa and the Caribbean to receive U.S. funds under his $15 billion emergency AIDS relief plan even if they promote family planning and provide abortions, White House officials said. As William Jasper wrote at the time, George Bush has out-Clintoned Bill Clinton. The Clinton-Gore team (or any other Democrat-controlled White House, for that matter) could not have come close to getting most congressmen behind such an enormous and outrageous pro-abortion, anti-family foreign aid scheme. But with the Bush White House fervently supporting this UN boondoggle and providing cover, congressional Republicans jumped on board the global gravy train, eager to burnish their compassion credentials.
In 2004, there is only one full-fledged pro-lifer running for the White HouseMichael Peroutka.
July 30, 2004
Darrell Dow writes from Jeffersonville, Indiana where he works as a statistician. A misanthropic Paleoconservative, Darrell is the husband of Kathy, and the father of Joshua and Andrew. To see pictures of the boys and get a small glimpse into the Dow house, visit the family website. Darrell also maintains a website and a new blog. Darrell can be contacted here.
