My former assistant and I met today in Henderson, NC, to discuss my forthcoming book How to Make the New Testament Come Alive!

Abidan Shah is an elder at Clearview Church and the host of the podcast Hoi Polloi. This is the 6th interview I’ve done with him. (Go here for the others.) He also invited me to teach a New Testament class at Clearview in the spring of 2022 as well as speak at their Apologetics Conference in the fall of same. Yes, and yes! Abidan is the author of an excellent book that has already elicited a number of reviews in such prestigious journals as the Expository Times. 

We also decided today to see Harry Sturz’s classic book The Byzantine Text-Type and New Testament Textual Criticism back into print. 

I spoke today with a publisher who is definitely interested in helping us do this. Stay tuned for more details.

8:44 AM Meet the Wake Med Soccer Park in Cary, NC. 

This is where I ran my first race — a 5K with my daughter. Since then, I’ve run dozens of races here, each time for a different charity. Tomorrow’s 5K is called Run for Liberty. All profits will go to the Amputee Coalition of America, the nation’s leading organization on limb loss. Come and join us at 8:30 if you can. You can register here. Great cause! 

6:50 AM When I arrived in La Mirada, Bill Carden was the Dean of Students. For some crazy reason he took a liking to me. It was he who arranged for me to attend Biola even though my high school grades weren’t exactly stellar. Peggy Russell was the head of Financial Aid. Together with Bill Carden, she worked tirelessly to secure for me scholarship aid. By the time I became a junior I was receiving a full tuition scholarship based on my grade point average. This scholarship came from a donor who wanted to remain anonymous. As I look back, I see how God brought all three of these individuals into my life at just the right time. Even though I worked in the college cafeteria to support myself, there was no way I could have attended Biola and then Talbot without a scholarship. 

Living the Christian life goes far beyond the “what,” “when,” and “how.” It hinges on the “who” of the people God brings into our lives. It’s about people who intentionally and sacrificially live out the gospel wherever they are. For those of us who are older, it’s about seeing the potential in every young person God brings into our lives and calling out that potential. Because of these people, my life was interrupted and changed forever. Without them, there would have been no B.A. degree or M.Div. degree or D.Theol. degree. Biola was the family of my dreams. It was the right place at the right time for this island boy. God has enriched my life with thousands of likeminded people through the years. 

I dare say that in your own life there is a great cloud of witnesses bearing the same weight. God loves us more than we ever dared to hope, and he does so through people.

Since this is the month of July — the last month I will enjoy as a fulltime teacher before retiring on July 31st — I thought I’d share a few personal reflections on a 44-year career that has been both richly rewarding and surprisingly happy. Dr. Harry Sturz — I’ll begin with him. You’ve probably never heard the name. Dr. Sturz was the head of the Greek Department at Biola when I arrived there as a freshman in 1971. I ended up taking him for first year Greek when I was a graduating senior — and promptly dropping the class. Greek was far beyond the ability of a kid from a beach in Hawaii. Or so I thought. When I heard that Moody Bible Institute in Chicago offered a very simple correspondence course in Greek (taught on a level than even a dumb kid like me could learn it), I enrolled in Greek 1 and 2, aced both classes, and a year later Dr. Sturz hired me to teach Greek at Biola at the ripe old age of 24. It was a “chance” opportunity but one that changed the course of my life. Dr. Sturz devoted his entire life to teaching Greek. He was committed with a capital C and refused to let anything interfere with his strict teaching and mentoring regimen. I’d never known anyone to work that hard for anything, least of all for peons like me. I was amazed by his drive and maturity. I was in awe that he knew what he wanted out of life and that he was determined to make the Greek Department at Biola the finest in the land. Before long, he had taken me under his wings. He must have seen potential in me, because I certainly didn’t see any potential in myself. He was responsible for completely changing my study habits. I got to know the beauty of the Greek language through his instruction. He was a kind and paternal man who cared deeply for his students. He infected us with his passion for Greek. He managed to get more out of me than anybody else had in my life. I was the kind of kid who was always making excuses not to do my best. But I liked Harry Sturz and was willing to work for him. He showed interest in me. That meant so much. When you’re young, you’re always looking for someone who believes in you. 

Dr. Sturz thought I showed real potential as a teacher. He would never chastise me or pressure me to be someone I wasn’t, but would always say things like, “You’d be a good teacher if you ever became serious about it.” And I did become serious. First my teacher and then my colleague, Harry Sturz became one of the most important people in my life then or now. I’ve never known anyone who worked so hard, loved so deeply, or cared so genuinely. I cannot imagine being where I am today without him.