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Saturday, March 24

8:08 AM Still hearing the “click of death,” this morning a friend of mine and I are planning on replacing our desk top’s internal hard drive. I have no idea if Front Page will transfer or not — and, as everyone knows, my blog is a dinosaur that still uses that now defunct program. So … if you don’t hear from me in a few days, or weeks, or months, you’ll know why.

8:00 AM Bruce Ashford (an esteemed colleague of mine — he asked me to say that) has published a helpful post called Seven Reflections on the Danger of Seminary. I double dare you to read all seven. And yes, Bruce, I have been and still am THAT GUY. Argh!

Friday, March 23

7:32 PM So Nigusse is about to hear Scott Hafemann give his plenary address at ETS, Becky is having dinner, and moi? I’ve been sitting on the front porch contemplating the Lord’s great goodness to me and mine. A nice serendipity is watching the duck family that has adopted our pond. Here’s the drake.

The hen is sitting on her egg on the little peninsula to the right. (Their egg, I mean.) Could this be the same family that visited us last year and left after a turtle snatched their eggs? If so, I do hope things work out better for them this year.

Honey, if you’re reading this, the whole farm sends you a shout out — including Mr. and Mrs. Duck.

7:06 PM I just re-read my 6:36 post and had to laugh out loud at my reference to the “resort” hotel where Becky is staying. I know of no one less “resorty” than my Becky!

6:54 PM In his essay Le Canon de la Bible, David Haines asks, Why do we have only 66 books in our Protestant Bible and why did the early church accept these books into its canon? Why did certain “gospels” fail to be recognized as canonical? Good questions all. He argues that canonical authority is found in the books themselves and not in the church.

Si les critères pour la canonicité de la Bible ne dépends pas de l’église, c’est-à-dire, si ce n’est pas l’église qui à inventé les critères pour la canonicité, alors l’autorité du canon se trouve dans les livres, et pas dans l’église. Ca veut dire que s’il y a de l’autorité dans l’église (par exemple, les enseignements ou conseils de ses dirigeants) cette autorité proviens de la Bible. Ca veut aussi dire que la Bible n’est pas autoritaire parce que c’est la liste autoritaire de l’église; au contraire, c’est la liste autoritaire de l’église parce que ces livres sont, en eux-mêmes, investi avec l’autorité de Dieu. L’église les à découverte en comparant des livres potentielle contre les critères de canonicité.

Do you agree?

6:36 PM Praise the Lord! Becky has safely arrived at her 27 acre resort hotel in Myrtle Beach, SC. The ladies are going out for seafood tonoight before their first session. They’re all looking forward to a walk on the pier tomorrow.

I am asking God to give Becky some good conversations this weekend. Larry Crabb once said, “In even the happiest of Christians there are deep pockets of incurable pain.” Being a wife and mother and servant of the Lord is not easy today. Yet I find that circumstances do not change souls. Our response to them does. May these precious women from Bethel Hill each experience a new place of yieldedness before Him who has planned their lives, from the God who has taken the ultimate defeat and turned it inside out, from the Creator and Savior who knows them and loves them and deeply understands each one of them.

5:34 PM Ben Witherington has written a fine book called Is There a Doctor in the House? An Insider’s Story and Advice on Becoming a Bible Scholar. I own the book and like it. Recently, Craig Blomberg of Denver Seminary reviewed it. One somewhat surprising comment stood out:

But if there is a widespread criticism of Witherington’s work in the academic guild, both within evangelicalism and outside of it, it is that he has written too much.  Even two-thirds of his current output would have been prodigious, but it would also have allowed him time to hone his own writing style more and leave less for editors to clean up (I have spoken with several of them!).  It would have allowed him to avoid linguistic gaffes that still haunt his writing.  

Blomberg quickly adds, however:

But I am saying nothing Witherington hasn’t heard many times before, and it is clear that he has made his choices for priorities in life.  Even if he does not slow down one whit, I pray that God will grant him many more good years to continue to bless the rest of us mortals with his writing.

Amen to that. As for me, I’ve also tried to do what the more prodigious Witherington has done. You can read it here. No doubt it contains some “linguistic gaffes,” which you are free to point out to me!

3:42 PM Is your church, like mine at Bethel Hill, moving toward a plurality of eldership and shared leadership? If so, you must read Matthew McDill’s latest post called Moses and Shared Leadership. Matthew, by the way, wrote his doctoral dissertation under my supervision at SEBTS. So proud of you, Matt. Keep up the good work at Highland Christian Fellowship. 

3:16 PM The Lonely Planet lists its top 20 Hawaiian vistas.  The Nuuana Pali (#11) is certainly my favorite, and not only because I saw it every day while growing up in Kailua. 

It’s also a very historic site. In 1795, Kamehameha’s Hawaiian troops pushed the Oahu fighters under Kalanikupule and Kaiana over the edge of the these cliffs and conquered the island. Ten years later, Kamehameha became the first king of a united Hawaii by capturing Kauai through diplomacy.

Today one drives through a pair of tunnels to pass through the Pali. When I was a small boy, we drove along the “old Pali road,” which was nothing but a dirt pass. In the picture above you are actually looking at the western side of a volcanic caldera, the eastern side of which has long since disappeared due to erosion. Which means that I was raised in the middle of an extinct volcano!

12:26 PM Both Sheba and Dayda are now as clean as a whistle. Saved me about $80 by doing it myself, money that can go for my mission trips.

11:32 AM Today’s to-do list:

• Register Nigusse for the ETS meeting.

• Mow the fruit orchard.

• Spray Roundup on the sidewalks.

• Go to post office.

• Finish grading exams.

• Weed garden bed.

• Prep for tomorrow’s Bible study.

I’ve finished the first 4!

9:07 AM Brother Jeff calls our attention to the correct translation of Abba in the New Testament. I quite agree. Abba was the term used by a son for a father in a home in which trusting obedience was at the core. “Dear Father” captures this thought nicely.

8:50 AM Jason Kees has some concerns about mixing politics and religion.

8:45 AM Bless his heart! Poor Jacob Cerone. Herr Cerone, who is about to read his ETS paper, has just discovered that someone has beat him to the punch. That someone is no less than Greg Beale. Ouch. You can commiserate with Jacob here.

Anyone claiming to have a “biblical understanding” of this or that is probably just repeating what someone else has already said or written. My own doctoral dissertation (Paul, Apostle of Weakness — to be reissued this year by Wipf & Stock in a revised and updated form) may have been the first book in history to have systematically treated astheneia and its cognates in the Pauline letters, but its conclusions probably did not surprise too many people. There is a great deal of “weakness” theology in the major letters of Paul. It all leads to a simple, practical conclusion. I deserve no special merit for having systematized this information.

(By the way, this is the problem I have with so many new introductions to hermeneutics. Rarely if ever is anything new said.)

I agree with Jacob. If we are to engage in genuine scholarship rather than posturing and proof-texting, it is important to gain a lay of the land. We neglect what others have said to our own peril. Good dialogue is always possible. True, we want to appreciate the Bible for what it is, but we must also take seriously what others are saying about the Bible.

8:27 AM Good morning, fellow bloggers!

As you know, I’m involved in writing projects up to my eyeballs. One book I am currently writing is called Godworld. (I think I’ll subtitle it something like Enter at Your Own Risk). Over the past few days I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this topic. Emerson once noted in his Journal that “Life consists in what a man is thinking of all day.” For many years a considerable portion of my time has been devoted to the problem of ecclesiology. Being stubborn by nature and a professor by training and education, I hold to the notion that the status quo is rarely acceptable. John Wesley wanted his movement to recover the full message and power of what he called “the Primitive Church.” He was an ardent student of early Christianity. Wesley also studied the Anabaptist groups and the Moravians. Wesley and his followers knew that awakening interest in the church without bringing people to pursue Gospel living was a waste of time. When pre-Christian people talk about “church,” unfortunately they often refer to people whose alien language and jargon have nothing to do with the real world in which these same people live. Christians dress and act in abnormal ways. Their traditionalist churchianity is a language no one seems to understand. The New Testament, by way of contrast, calls Christians to “exegete” the culture that God entrusts to them and to indigenize their faith — witness the 18th century Methodists who wrote Christian hymns to be sung to the tunes people loved to sing in the public houses. As for missions, the New Testament calls all of us — clergy and laity alike — to live out our faith in our mundane professions. (Few are called to seminary!) We are to penetrate the culture for Christ and thus fulfill the second commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself.” The love of which the New Testament speaks is not so much a feeling as a disposition of good will and service toward others, including people outside our own social networks, nationality, and race. We are to love others as God does. It is just as important that we love the lost as it is to believe that Jesus died for our sins. Growing into the likeness of Christ is essentially “downward mobility.” Because people matter to God, they matter to us. The goal is not mere conversion but bringing people to full devotion to Christ. Evangelism is therefore normative for God’s people. It is simply living and sharing the amazing good news about Jesus in one’s own sphere of influence. This is the process I want to be involved in. It is the process of entering this amazing Godworld — and doing so at our own risk! I want to be involved in this Godworld, not because I am a professor in a seminary, but simply because I am a follower of Jesus.

“Life consists in what a man is thinking of all day.” I would not pretend that I am yet consumed with a love for the lost as Jesus was. I have, however, begun to travel this downward path of Jesus. Just as all Christians have been joined to Christ and participate in His life, so all Christians are called to the ministry of witness and invitation.

Think about it.

Dave

8:10 AM Just saw Becky off. She is looking forward to some serious iron-sharpening-iron. No interest whosoever in shopping or chit-chat. I know she will be a huge encouragement to the other ladies. She’s also taking her face masks. Please pray that she doesn’t get sick while she is away.

Thursday, March 22

8:48 PM Brief update:

1) I tried Wal-Mart, Radio Shack, and two computer stores in South Boston today and only one had an internal hard drive for sale and it was way too big for our needs.

2) Nigusse just called from campus. This week he took three quizzes and two exams. I don’t see how he does it. I am, of course, one of his persecutors.

3) Becky leaves in the morning for her weekend retreat with the ladies of Bethel Hill. I am already missing her.

4) My Ed.D. student Thomas Hudgins is teaching Greek tonight —  in Spanish. The man deserves an A for guts alone. I’m so proud of you, Tomas!

5) Still reading and grading my essay exams. What a delightful task.

6) Do you use Kindle? If so, here are some Bibles you might like.

2:54 PM What a great quote from my former professor in Basel, Markus Barth:

Today, a man or document that sells mankind no better means of salvation than a kind of super-enlightenment should not expect to be welcomed as friend and helper in a world whose very existence is at stake and in a church that pays with the suffering of persecution when it is a true witness to Christ. Few, if anybody, would want to be evangelists, “shod with the gospel of peace” (6:15), if that ministry should really produce or imply a haughty, magisterial attitude toward those who are strangers to, or are estranged from, the church.

2:36 PM I continue to be fascinated by the synoptic problem. My book Why Four Gospels? examines different elements that play an essential role in resolving this question.

My position is based on two foundational pillars: the external evidence provided by the earliest fathers that Matthew was the first of the canonical Gospels, and the internal evidence that suggests Mark is a conflation of Matthew and Luke (Orchard called this the “zigzagging effect”). I have yet to see a refutation of the external evidence. Most scholars reject the patristic testimony as being of little or no value for source-critical research. Since the internal evidence can never be probative (it can never prove anything about the sequence or interrelationships of the Gospels), it would seem that Gospel scholars would be all the more willing to take the external evidence into account. Whatever option is ultimately preferred, the internal evidence ought to be supplemented by considerations about the empirical circumstances under which the traditions about Jesus were developed in the earliest church. It may be that future generations of New Testament students will perform this task. If they don’t, I predict very little progress in this great area of research. I would dare to hope that my re-examination of the leading church fathers will offer some helpful suggestions for the next generation of scholars.

If you would like to discuss with me the possibility of doing a doctorate under my supervision dealing with this neglect of the external evidence, please email me.

2:22 PM Just back from mowing. A perfect day outdoors. Back to my “other” life.

8:00 AM Talbot School of Theology of Biola University announces an opening in Old Testament and Semitics. Becky and I were associated with Biola for 27 years. You would enjoy teaching there. And Southern California is a great place to live except for the fires, floods, earthquakes, riots, and smog. (Just kidding.)

7:54 AM Becky updates us about her cancer in her essay At a Fork in the Road.

7:30 AM Odds and ends …

1) Becky’s chemo that was scheduled for 1:00 today has been postponed. Her counts are off. We’ll try again on Monday.

2) We ran the air conditioner last night for the first time this year. And it’s not even April.

3) My project du jour: grading these essay exams.

4) So proud of my students who are reading papers at this week’s ETS meeting on campus:

• Paul Himes (Ph.D.): “Strangers and Foreigners: An Examination of Social Identity in 1 Peter.”

• Jacob Cerone (Th.M.): “The Baptism of Jesus and the Fulfillment of All Righteousness: An Exploration of Jesus’ Relationship to Israel in Matthew 3:13-17.”

• Michael Rudolph (Ph.D.): “Gar When De Is Expected.”

Nigusse will be attending.

5) My assistant Matthew Myers continues his discussion of Bible translation with a great post called Biblical Censorship.

Wednesday, March 21

6:12 PM Greetings friends,

I have been thinking a lot about prayer lately. Right now I am praying for many things: wisdom for our Ethiopia team members, Christians in Ethiopia and other countries who are undergoing tremendous persecution, reconciliations, Becky’s white count, students who are struggling with sin and failure. The strategy I follow is to speak honestly with God. I’ve discovered that I have to set my face like flint or I will be overwhelmed by life. Jesus had flint-like dedication to the task God had called Him to. He moved with absolute resolution as He pursued that path with all of its demands, set-backs, and deprivations. Yet He went to Jerusalem filled with joy and gratitude.

One thing I’ve discovered is that people today lack this kind of resolution. Our culture produces wimps and weaklings. The way we respond to the problems in our daily lives determines our growth in holiness. Of course it is difficult for me to counsel others since I have my own failed relationships and disappointments. There is virtually nothing I can do about them except to pray – to literally lift up my palms toward Heaven as a physical act denoting my surrender, my acceptance, my trust, my thanksgiving. I realize that only the Father can resolve these issues. Christianity is not for the weak of heart, although the world would have us think so. We have a whole Bible full of suffering and death. Becky’s cancer is not a punishment. It is the result of living in a fallen world. My perpetually sore back reminds me that all of our physical aches and pains and diseases are the natural result of the curse on earth. The upside is that in the midst of our pain we get to see the power of the Light overcome the darkness. And it’s quiet persistence that often makes the difference. The energy of pain can mobilize us to be more redemptive in our lives. This is where Isaiah 40:3 comes into play: Wait for the Lord to act.

On a different note, I leave for my next mission trip in a week. I’m so glad I have a beautiful wife who lets me go on these excursions. I pray for the God of Reconciliation to do His powerful work in the great nation I’ll be in. He’s already begun, and it is beautiful to behold. To say that I am excited doesn’t begin to express my emotions.

Meanwhile, I hope that your eyes are fixed steadfastly on your own Jerusalem, and that you are full of joy as you move into the Easter season.

Dave

P.S. Becky has linked to a wonderful video. I trust it will lift you up as much it did me.

Tuesday, March 20

6:58 AM Excellent essay here: Analogy in favor of children in worship.

6:42 AM Our dogs are very special to us. For Scott Janssen, it took several rounds of mouth-to-mouth for him to realize just what role his sled dog Marshall played in his life. I listened to his story on Weekend Edition (NPR) while driving and almost lost it. Scott’s story is incredible, touching, and emotionally tumultuous. Be prepared to reach for the Kleenex.

Monday, March 19

5:50 PM Profound thanks to Thomas Hugdins for his review of Will You Join the Cause of Global Missions?

5:34 PM Greetings, friends! I just put 591 miles on the Odyssey driving up to DC and back, and it turns out it was to no avail, thanks to government red tape. We’ll still try and get Nigusse to Israel this summer, but if it doesn’t work out he can always take his class at Jerusalem University College at a later date. I came home to a clicking hard drive — everyone knows what that means. Becky and I will buy a new internal hard drive at Best Buy when we go to Chapel Hill on Thursday for her next chemo treatment. It may not be until Saturday morning that I can install it, however, so if you don’t hear from us in a while you’ll know why. In the meantime, a few pix for your evening entertainment:

1) Daniel and Lloyd with Nigusse during our dinner party this weekend. Both are missionaries — Lloyd went with us to Alaba, while Daniel stayed behind and held the ropes in prayer. Both are indispensable partners in the work.

2) Here’s a shot of Messiah Baptist Church on Sunday morning — the people, not the building, of course. Nigusse brought a powerful message from Phil. 1:27-30. I even remember the outline: 1) We must persevere in unity for the sake of the Gospel, and 2) we must persevere in suffering for the sake of Jesus. Ah, there’s that word perseverance again. It’s so easy to start something and so hard to finish it!

3) In Christ there is no East or West!

4) The DC area has no lack of good Ethiopian restaurants. We dined at Meaza’s in Arlington. Here’s Nigu with his good buddy Haile.

5) We took the Metro to Embassy Row where we happened to stumble upon this building while looking for the Israeli Embassy. Small world.

6) How was the traffic? you ask. Bumper to bumper from Richmond north on I-95. We got off the interstate and took surface roads up to our hotel in Falls Church, then we returned via Hwy 15 — with all of it historic homes and red bud trees. Purty, eh?

As I said, the plan is to continue chemotherapy this week, pending the results of Becky’s blood work tomorrow. This weekend Nigusse is looking forward to attending the regional ETS meeting on campus, while Becky will be attending a women’s retreat at the coast, Lord willing. I will do animal care and work on the pooter.

Sunday, March 18

8:15 AM As everyone knows, an Austrian sky diver is hoping to make the world’s highest sky dive this summer — from space no less. He just completed a test jump. Once again, man attempts the “impossible.”

I think of that student in my office last week asking me where he should go for a Ph.D. My first response is usually, “Well, you might try Oxford or Cambridge.” Reach high. You’ll never reach higher. You say, “I could never study abroad in a university like that!” No? Didn’t Don Carson? Didn’t Darrell Bock? Didn’t Buist Fanning? Didn’t Scot McKnight? Didn’t John Piper? One of my own Th.M. students is hoping to begin doctoral studies in Munich shortly. Am I minimizing our own doctoral program? Not at all. I accept Ph.D. students. We have a strong program, and our students have been placed as teachers here and around the world. I just don’t think you should automatically exclude foreign studies as if they were something “impossible.” Let’s not put God in a box in any way, shape, or form. Lay all the cards on the table, and watch Him sort everything out.

7:54 AM John Stackhouse just posted an excellent piece about the current glut of unemployed PhDs in biblical studies (referring to the “horrifying raw numbers”). The bottom of the bottom line? “If you’ve got what it takes, good colleges and universities will see that and hire you.” I agree. But I would like to take it a step farther. Have you ever considered becoming an academic missionary in a place like China or Lithuania or Hungary or Cambodia? I’m not talking about English teachers. I’m talking about professors of Bible or Old Testament or New Testament. If so, the IICS can help. They have helped placed hundreds of U.S. scholars in international contexts, scholars, in fact, of many different disciplines.

Note: I said “academic missionary.” I personally am a “missionary academic.” The difference is subtle but important. I have a permanent teaching post here in the States but use my vacation time traveling internationally to teach in other countries. I believe that all of us who teach in the field of biblical studies can be a missionary academic. An “academic missionary,” on the other hand, resides permanently abroad and uses his or her classroom as an opportunity to developed relationships with a view toward sharing the love and lordship of Jesus with their students. Whereas we have a glut of teachers here in the States (those “horrifying raw numbers”), teaching posts abroad remain unfilled. My small experience goes to support the claim that once a student begins to become concerned about overseas missions, and starts to pray earnestly for laborers to be thrust forth into the harvest, before long he or she begins asking the Lord, “Is it I?” I believe that all of us who teach in America can do a great deal to encourage this outward look, even in a small way, by spending at least one vacation each year ministering abroad. I believe that this sort of cross-cultural enrichment will strengthen not only the home church but also those believers in foreign lands.

Ph.D. student, will you pray about “moving from here to there” as the Lord guides you? If He says “No” to a teaching post here, then maybe He’s wanting to say “Yes” to one in a foreign nation. The fields are white unto harvest. The laborers are few. God is going to need a lot of help to reach the nations, not least from well-qualified graduates in biblical studies. Maybe that includes you?

Saturday, March 17

2:34 PM I do believe every able-bodied male in the great State of Virginia was out mowing their yard today. Including a few old duffers like me. I mowed, edged, and trimmed, before feeling led to come indoors and take a much needed nap. Got a big party tonight to rest up for!

11:25 AM Our study in Philippians went from 8:00 to 10:45. Rich. Felt like we were just getting started when we looked at our watches. “To get the full flavor of an herb, it must be pressed between the fingers. So it is the same with the Scriptures. The more familiar they become, the more they reveal their hidden treasures and yield their indescribable riches.” So said Chysostom. He was right.

7:15 AM Off to my Bible study in Philippians. Today we are studying the passage about Timothy. His example of selflessness shames me.

7:12 AM “We must be global Christians with a global vision because our God is a global God.” — John Stott.

Thus begins my little book on global missions. It ends with an invitation to sign a commitment statement. You can imagine, then, my delight when I saw this email today:

I read and signed your book 🙂 Thanks for the challenge!

Missions is not the task of professional missionaries alone. It is not an extra option for those who enjoy that sort of thing. It is the sacred duty of each one of us.

6:54 AM Good morning!

• Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly (Psalm 5:3).

• Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love (Psalm 59:16).

• Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love (Psalm 90:14).

• Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you (Psalm 143:8).

Amen!

Friday, March 16

6:44 PM Tonight I treated Becky and Nigusse to the best little seafood place in all of North Carolina.

It was a historic evening indeed. Here’s Nigu enjoying his very first bite of a hushpuppy. Food don’t get mo suthun than that, folks.

Of course, Becky and I were only too happy to join in the festivities.

When Nigusse asked where the word “hushpuppy” came from, we of course explained it to him. But a picture is worth a thousand words, I do believe.

Bye y’all!

3:26 PM Arthur Sido has begun blogging on the book of Hebrews, beginning with the opening prologue of 1:1-4 — the most beautifully constructed sentence in the entire Greek New Testament. I have likened it to the narthex of a great cathedral.

It pulls you in until there you stand — in the midst of a beautiful sanctuary of truth with all its symmetry, precision, magnificence, and sublimity. I call the book the “cathedral of Christianity.” The Westminster Theological Journal once published an essay of mine called “Hebrews 1:1-4: A Study in Discourse Analysis” in which I discuss this paragraph in minutest detail. Email me if you’d like to see it.

12:42 PM This morning, as he does every Friday morning, Nigusse was praying upstairs in his room. His prayers border on shouting. This is the Ethiopian way. It is very powerful. I thought to myself, “Why don’t I pray that way? It is merely a cultural thing?” Consider these verses:

• Matt. 27:46: “Jesus cried out with a loud voice.”

• Acts 7:60: Stephen “cried out with a loud voice.”

• Heb. 5:7: “During His earthy life, [Jesus] offered prayers and appeals with loud cries.”

Am I missing something?

12:35 PM Somebody needs to hit me with the stupid stick again. Two weeks ago I sprayed Round Up on Becky’s garden beds. I inadvertently sprayed a bed in which she had just planted some bulbs. Ouch! But I think I have redeemed myself — most of the bulbs I was able to dig up, and I will replant them this afternoon. Sure hope they survive.

12:22 PM Looking ahead:

1) Tomorrow night here at the farm we’re having a reunion of our missionaries who went with us to Alaba, Ethiopia in 2007.

2) On Sunday Nigusse is speaking about Ethiopia at Messiah Baptist Church near Wake Forest. One of their elders, Alan Knox, is an Ethiopian veteran. He went with us in 2010 as part of this team. Can you recognize him? He’s the tall, dark, and handsome one 🙂

3) On Monday I am taking Nigu to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, for his required interview before he can get a visa to study there this summer.

4) Next Thursday we’ve rescheduled Becky’s chemo treatment at UNC. If her counts are high enough, I will take my wife to a hospital and intentionally poison her. Such is life with cancer, which is the most irrational disease I know of.

5) On campus this week there was a great deal of discussion about whether or not we were going to hold our semi-annual Student Day at the farm. I mentioned to my students the concern I have about over-taxing Becky’s energies. I said I would talk to Becky about it — if I had at least 5 young ladies who would volunteer to come early and help Becky clean and set up. Well, more than 5 signed on the dotted line! So Becky has declared Saturday, April 28, to be Student Day at Rosewood Farm. We’ll combine food, fellowship, and fun with some work projects around the farm. Students, please mark your calendars now. We’ll gather from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

8:30 AM My dear wife just keeps churning out those essays. Her latest is called On Dealing with Reality. The conclusion of the matter?

The Evil One loves to trip us up in our thinking, but the Spirit of God is able to settle our minds and emotions, so that we can operate according to full reality. It takes work. It takes humility. But it is possible.

Amen.

7:59 AM Where does God live? In your kitchen!  

 

7:55 AM Chris White, one of my students, has been teaching beginning Greek in his local church and has begun publishing a few You Tubes of their experience. I thought you might enjoy watching one of them. Whether you’re a rank beginner or an accomplished scholar, I think you’ll greatly benefit from his manner of presentation.

7:50 AM Greetings to all of you out there in cyberspace! Grab a cup of coffee and let’s sit a spell, shall we? Here’s a quote I’d like you to ponder. It’s by one of America’s favorite theologians, Mark Twain:

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on those accounts.

He added:

Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.

In two weeks I’ll be traveling 7,000 miles to a country that is vastly different from America. This summer I’ll be co-leading a team of short-termers on yet another missionary trip to Ethiopia. Traveling is difficult but it opens up the greater world around us. Personally, it has helped me to overcome my ethnocentrism that makes me think that somehow America is the center of the universe. Make friends in other cultures and you will soon leave your stereotypes behind. The “call” to missions is nothing other than the call to step out of our world and begin to wrestle with the implications of the Great Commission in our own lives. God has called every Christian to missionary service. And the mission field is right where you are. In addition, every believer is to pray for the nations and support the cause of global missions, and even go if able. Each of us is to make Christ’s name known around the world. I have traveled in many countries and have known many missionaries, but I have never met a missionary who did not weep over the sound of pagan footsteps on their way to a Christless eternity. I have never met a missionary who thought that America was more important than the other 168 nations on this planet. I have never met a missionary whose love for politics or sports was more passionate than their love for the lost. Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision and Samaritan’s Purse, used to pray: “Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.” The Bible is perfectly clear: The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. In other words, a lost world needs Christ. And He is calling us – you and me – to take the gospel to the nations. The missionary call, just like the love you feel for your spouse, is uniquely personal. Seek to live the missionary call with all you are and with all you have. Engage in international missions as time and opportunity allow. What a joy it is to travel in the name of King Jesus! My prayer is that each of my readers will hear and respond to God’s call to global missions. Central to my concern in maintaining this blog is that the way missions has been outsourced over the last two generations is no longer an adequate model for twenty-first century missions. As the church advances into new cultural centers around the world, traditional sending structures will have to give way to new kinds of missionary efforts that transcend denominational and confessional entities. Don’t get me wrong. I am not referring to a type of ecumenism that sacrifices the essentials of historic Christianity. I am referring to a deeper ecumenism that accepts African and Asian Christianity as equal partners in the missionary task. Clearly, the time is ripe for Christians of every nation to work cooperatively to advance the cause of Christ. This will not happen until Christians in North America move from a “church-focused” to a “world-focused” emphasis. It will require the efforts of both clergy and laity, in fact, a general mobilization of all the faithful. An overly privatized view of salvation will have to give way to a view of the church as a redemptive community. “There is no participation in Christ without participation in His mission to the world” is how the 1952 Willengen Conference put it. Seminary curricula will have to be immersed in a thoroughly missional and ecclesiological framework. Students will have to learn how to become counter-cultural. A renewed emphasis upon intensive discipleship will have to permeate our churches. Missions will then become the natural extension of a dynamic community, the body of Christ. Christian ministry will be viewed through the broadest possible lens. Evangelism and social action will become every bit as connected as the two blades of a pair of scissors. Just as Jesus was sent out into the world to teach, preach, and heal (Matt. 9:35), so we have been sent into the world to continue to reflect Jesus’ ministry.

So then, my dear blog peeps, let’s get “on the road” for Jesus and out of our America-first myopia. I am convinced that diabolic nationalism keeps many Christians from fulfilling the Great Commission. The bottom line is that God plays no favorites. He is color blind, status blind, wealth blind, and nation blind. There are many loathsome aspects of the current presidential race, but none is more insidious than the notion that America has more value than any other nation. Let’s not be co-opted into becoming cheerleaders for the pro-America Jesus! I’m not saying that you shouldn’t vote. I’m not saying you can’t get involved in politics. But just don’t label your man the “Christian” candidate for “Christian America.” The only Christian nation God is building today is one comprised of blood-bought sinners.  

Blessings,

Dave

Thursday, March 15

8:42 PM Seminary update:

1) Our campus looked absolutely gorgeous this week. Spring has most certainly arrived. There is no more beautiful campus in North America, bar none.

2) This week both ATS and SACS were on campus for our 10-year reaccredidation visits. Which meant that the faculty were asked to wear matching golf shirts. (We’re Baptists, remember?) Lookie here: My colleague in the music department, John Boozer, wore the wrong color trousers. We placed him under arrest and sent him away to the local jail. Not to mention extending his days in purgatory.

3) I finished reading the following books while on campus this week:

• The Content and Setting of the Gospel Tradition

• What Is the Mission of the Church?

• The Missionary Call

• Engaging the Culture, Changing the World

• Called Or Collared?

• Encountering Theology of Mission

• Invitation to World Missions

• Doing More with Life

I was really hoping these books would shed some guidance on my calling as a missionary academic. Instead, I found myself questioning the logic behind several of these tomes. Oh well.

And yes, I do speed read.

4) Yesterday I lectured on the subject of New Testament textual criticism, a topic that demands our attention today as perhaps never before (think Bart Ehrman). My goal was to try and engage the most important aspects of textual criticism in a way that people who lack technical knowledge of the subject could understand it. As I prepared for my talk I realized anew just how little I have pierced into the intricacies of this subject. (In my book New Testament Textual Criticism I sought to communicate clearly and relevantly how the discipline impacts our understanding of the New Testament.) I want to thank my students for their attentiveness and unfailing courtesy and encouragement. Most of all, I want to thank God for preserving for His church the very words of Scripture. It is impossible to exaggerate the relevance of textual criticism for exegesis. The New Testament is without doubt the best attested document from the ancient world. Thanks be to God for this inexpressible gift.

By the way, during class my good friend Dan Wallace stopped by to pay us a visit via You Tube. He spoke about the 400,000 variants in the manuscripts of the Greek New Testament, most of which are, of course, completely insignificant.

To illustrate his point, Dan noted that the sentence “Jesus loves John” has at least 18 permutations in Greek, indeed many more than that. I sauntered over to Google to see if anyone had published a list with those words in Greek and, finding none, decided I’d put together my own list. I stopped at 96. Feel free to copy and use — and add some more to —  my list (which has also been published here).

’Ιησοῦς ἀγαπᾷ ’Ιωάννην.

’Ιησοῦς ’Ιωάννην ἀγαπᾷ.

ἀγαπᾷ ’Ιησοῦς ’Ιωάννην.

ἀγαπᾷ ’Ιωάννην ’Ιησοῦς.

’Ιωάννην ἀγαπᾷ ’Ιησοῦς.

’Ιωάννην ’Ιησοῦς ἀγαπᾷ.

ὁ ’Ιησοῦς ἀγαπᾷ ’Ιωάννην.

ὁ ’Ιησοῦς ’Ιωάννην ἀγαπᾷ.

ἀγαπᾷ ὁ ’Ιησοῦς ’Ιωάννην.

ἀγαπᾷ ’Ιωάννην ὁ ’Ιησοῦς.

’Ιωάννην ὁ ’Ιησοῦς ἀγαπᾷ.

’Ιωάννην ἀγαπᾷ ὁ ’Ιησοῦς.

’Ιησοῦς ἀγαπᾷ τὸν ’Ιωάννην.

’Ιησοῦς τὸν ’Ιωάννην ἀγαπᾷ.

ἀγαπᾷ ’Ιησοῦς τὸν ’Ιωάννην.

ἀγαπᾷ τὸν ’Ιωάννην ’Ιησοῦς.

τὸν ’Ιωάννην ’Ιησοῦς ἀγαπᾷ.

τὸν ’Ιωάννην ἀγαπᾷ ’Ιησοῦς.

ὁ ’Ιησοῦς ἀγαπᾷ τὸν ’Ιωάννην.

ὁ ’Ιησοῦς τὸν ’Ιωάννην ἀγαπᾷ.

ἀγαπᾷ ὁ ’Ιησοῦς τὸν ’Ιωάννην.

ἀγαπᾷ τὸν ’Ιωάννην ὁ ’Ιησοῦς.

τὸν ’Ιωάννην ἀγαπᾷ ὁ ’Ιησοῦς.

τὸν ’Ιωάννην ὁ ’Ιησοῦς ἀγαπᾷ.

’Ιησοῦς φιλεῖ ’Ιωάννην.

’Ιησοῦς ’Ιωάννην φιλεῖ.

φιλεῖ ’Ιησοῦς ’Ιωάννην.

φιλεῖ ’Ιωάννην ’Ιησοῦς.

’Ιωάννην ’Ιησοῦς φιλεῖ.

’Ιωάννην φιλεῖ ’Ιησοῦς.

ὁ ’Ιησοῦς φιλεῖ ’Ιωάννην.

ὁ ’Ιησοῦς ’Ιωάννην φιλεῖ.

φιλεῖ ὁ ’Ιησοῦς ’Ιωάννην.

φιλεῖ ’Ιωάννην ὁ ’Ιησοῦς.

’Ιωάννην ὁ ’Ιησοῦς φιλεῖ.

’Ιωάννην φιλεῖ ὁ ’Ιησοῦς.

’Ιησοῦς φιλεῖ τὸν ’Ιωάννην.

’Ιησοῦς τὸν ’Ιωάννην φιλεῖ.

φιλεῖ ’Ιησοῦς τὸν ’Ιωάννην.

φιλεῖ τὸν ’Ιωάννην ’Ιησοῦς.

τὸν ’Ιωάννην ’Ιησοῦς φιλεῖ.

τὸν ’Ιωάννην φιλεῖ ’Ιησοῦς.

ὁ ’Ιησοῦς φιλεῖ τὸν ’Ιωάννην.

ὁ ’Ιησοῦς τὸν ’Ιωάννην φιλεῖ.

φιλεῖ ὁ ’Ιησοῦς τὸν ’Ιωάννην.

φιλεῖ τὸν ’Ιωάννην ὁ ’Ιησοῦς.

τὸν ’Ιωάννην φιλεῖ ὁ ’Ιησοῦς.

τὸν ’Ιωάννην ὁ ’Ιησοῦς φιλεῖ.

’Ιησοῦς ἀγαπᾷ ’Ιωάνην.

’Ιησοῦς ’Ιωάνην ἀγαπᾷ.

ἀγαπᾷ ’Ιησοῦς ’Ιωάνην.

ἀγαπᾷ ’Ιωάνην ’Ιησοῦς.

’Ιωάνην ’Ιησοῦς ἀγαπᾷ.

’Ιωάνην ἀγαπᾷ ’Ιησοῦς.

ὁ ’Ιησοῦς ἀγαπᾷ ’Ιωάνην.

ὁ ’Ιησοῦς ’Ιωάνην ἀγαπᾷ.

ἀγαπᾷ ὁ ’Ιησοῦς ’Ιωάνην.

ἀγαπᾷ ’Ιωάνην ὁ ’Ιησοῦς.

’Ιωάνην ὁ ’Ιησοῦς ἀγαπᾷ.

’Ιωάνην ἀγαπᾷ ὁ ’Ιησοῦς.

’Ιησοῦς ἀγαπᾷ τὸν ’Ιωάνην.

’Ιησοῦς τὸν ’Ιωάνην ἀγαπᾷ.

ἀγαπᾷ ’Ιησοῦς τὸν ’Ιωάνην.

ἀγαπᾷ τὸν ’Ιωάνην ’Ιησοῦς.

τὸν ’Ιωάνην ’Ιησοῦς ἀγαπᾷ.

τὸν ’Ιωάνην ἀγαπᾷ ’Ιησοῦς.

ὁ ’Ιησοῦς ἀγαπᾷ τὸν ’Ιωάνην.

ὁ ’Ιησοῦς τὸν ’Ιωάνην ἀγαπᾷ.

ἀγαπᾷ ὁ ’Ιησοῦς τὸν ’Ιωάνην.

ἀγαπᾷ τὸν ’Ιωάνην ὁ ’Ιησοῦς.

τὸν ’Ιωάνην ὁ ’Ιησοῦς ἀγαπᾷ.

τὸν ’Ιωάνην ἀγαπᾷ ὁ ’Ιησοῦς.

’Ιησοῦς φιλεῖ ’Ιωάνην.

’Ιησοῦς ’Ιωάνην φιλεῖ.

φιλεῖ ’Ιησοῦς ’Ιωάνην.

φιλεῖ ’Ιωάνην ’Ιησοῦς.

’Ιωάνην φιλεῖ ’Ιησοῦς.

’Ιωάνην ’Ιησοῦς φιλεῖ.

ὁ ’Ιησοῦς φιλεῖ ’Ιωάνην.

ὁ ’Ιησοῦς ’Ιωάνην φιλεῖ.

φιλεῖ ὁ ’Ιησοῦς ’Ιωάνην.

φιλεῖ ’Ιωάνην ὁ ’Ιησοῦς.

’Ιωάνην ὁ ’Ιησοῦς φιλεῖ.

’Ιωάνην φιλεῖ ὁ ’Ιησοῦς.

’Ιησοῦς φιλεῖ τὸν ’Ιωάνην.

’Ιησοῦς τὸν ’Ιωάνην φιλεῖ.

φιλεῖ ’Ιησοῦς τὸν ’Ιωάνην.

φιλεῖ τὸν ’Ιωάνην ’Ιησοῦς.

τὸν ’Ιωάνην ’Ιησοῦς φιλεῖ.

τὸν ’Ιωάνην φιλεῖ ’Ιησοῦς.

ὁ ’Ιησοῦς φιλεῖ τὸν ’Ιωάνην.

ὁ ’Ιησοῦς τὸν ’Ιωάνην φιλεῖ.

φιλεῖ ὁ ’Ιησοῦς τὸν ’Ιωάνην.

φιλεῖ τὸν ’Ιωάνην ὁ ’Ιησοῦς.

τὸν ’Ιωάνην φιλεῖ ὁ ’Ιησοῦς.

τὸν ’Ιωάνην ὁ ’Ιησοῦς φιλεῖ.

7:30 PM A few odds and ends …

1) I just discovered a weblog called Standing and Waiting. I think you’ll like it. A sampler:

I’m increasingly convinced that preachers and Bible teachers need to do more than just explain what a passage means and what its implications are. They mustn’t do less than that. But they also need to help people answer the question:

Why should I care?

Yes indeed, yet another great blog from Down Under. No moronic pontifications here.

2) Paul Himes asks, If Jude is citing 1 Enoch, is that a problem for inerrancy? It begins with this “hook”:

Leave it to a Japanese developer to actually make a video game based upon the Book of Enoch! No, I’m not making that up. Last year the brilliant Japanese game developer Takeyasu Sawaki (of Ignition Entertainment) helped create such a game, where the player actually controls “Enoch” in his quest to defeat the 7 fallen angels responsible for the events of Genesis 6:1-4 and thereby prevent the Lord from having to send the Great Flood. The game received moderately good reviews and remains one of the more bizarre yet  creative examples of a video game’s exploration of Biblical narrative.

Don’t miss Paul’s peroration.

3) Here’s a really neat video, made just for my wife. Thank you for posting it, Thomas.

http://jpnee.blogspot.com/2012/03/post-for-mrs-becky.html

4) Matthew Myers takes on the traditional rendering of John 3:16:

Here is a comparison between the NKJV and my final revised translation. What would you do?

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his only Son so that whoever believes in him might not die but have eternal life.”

Which rendering do you prefer, and why?

5) Somerset Christian College announces an opening in Biblical Studies.

6) Enjoyed reading Jody Neufeld’s excellent Out on a Limb in a First Century Church.

7) Isn’t blogging a blast?

7:18 PM Once again, a blogger has squandered away precious minutes to write a hilarious review of my Why Four Gospels? If you’d like to learn why the synoptic problem isn’t really boring, do read what he says. You may even wish you had jettisoned Q and its cohorts a long time ago.

7:12 PM Last Monday, on a flight from Dallas to Raleigh, I had the very good fortune to sit next to a Shakespearean scholar who teaches at UNC Chapel Hill. Our conversation took many interesting twists and turns, not least into an area of study we both love, teaching and learning. Christopher Mead Armitage once studied under the famous C. S. Lewis and, what’s more, has written about that experience in a delightful essay called Smartened Up by Lewis (.pdf). How charming was this statement:

Intimidating as Lewis may have appeared to some in his audiences, his confident presentations were not egotistical. Clearly, to him what was important was the subject, not himself.

“The subject, not himself.” Well put indeed.

But can the two ever really be separated?

6:55 PM Ron Paul fascinates me. I like the man. Issues aside, his campaign has several aspects to it I think are downright admirable.

1) He’s durable. He’s already outlasted most of the other GOP contenders. Will he win the nomination? Of course not. The best he can hope for is a speaker’s slot at the convention. And he’ll get it because of his tenacity. (Are you listening, Sarah and Rick?)

2) He’s an underdog. I’ve always been an incurable infracaninophile. I realize that, to many people, Paul represents a “lost cause.” He’s considered eccentric at best, a self-deluded obscurantist at worst. But there is nothing wrong with thinking outside the box. I love people who espouse minority views. Sometimes they turn out to be right.

3) He’s an insider. That is, he works within the status quo in order to change it. Let others campaign under the flag of the Constitution Party. That’s not the track Paul is on. He seeks to reform the GOP from within. His message is a simple one: “The Constitution is the law of land. Why not obey it?” Good question, if you ask me.

4) This last point reminds me that Paul is a radical. He’s calling America back to her radix, her rootedness in a philosophy that limits government’s powers. He’s like one of those sixteenth century Anabaptists who not only espouses sola scriptura but practices it. Gotta love a guy like that.

5) Finally, Paul lacks charisma. Ever notice that? The man looks awkward in his ill-fitting business suits. His speech lacks polish. No one would claim that Paul looks like a winner. But could this not be an asset in life? The charlatan talks a good game, may even dress the part. But with Paul, what you see is what you get. I suppose he feels as uncomfortable in his “spit and polish” role as he does sitting in a Congress that is far more glitter than gold.

The Ron Paul Revolution hasn’t attracted arcane traditionalists. It never will. Support runs strongest among younger voters. Mathematically, his is a lost cause. The establishment practically ignores him. But I like him. I’ve always liked those constitutionalists who are ill-suited for straight-jackets.

Monday, March 12

10:24 PM Greetings to all of you cybernetic peeps out there. It’s been a while. Today I returned from the Big D and am ready to give you a brief update, if you can handle it 🙂

1) Mom and dad treated me to the # 1 Ethiopian restaurant in Dallas/Lake Highlands region — Sheba’s Ethiopian Kitchen. You MUST try it when you’re in the area the next time. The highlight? Calling Becky on dad’s cell phone and talking to her in Amharic. Igig betam ewodashalu!

2) On Thursday morning I pampered mom who is most deserving of it. We had breakfast at the Café de France in Plano. And can you believe it — the place had cloth tablecloths and napkins. Unheard of nowadays. It was a real taste of Europe. Mom tells me the crêpes she ordered were the best she’s ever eaten. She is one special woman.

3) The ETS regional conference at Southwestern was no disappointment. The papers were great, but the highlight was the plenary session in which my esteemed colleague Andreas Köstenberger waxed elephant about the biblical theology of the New Testament, a subject in which he is fast becoming a leading expert. I took gobs of notes, but his last statement was probably his best. Quoting A. Einstein, he stated, “Make everything as simple as possible, but never simple.” The dean of the school of theology (David Allen) and I went out for some REAL Texas barbeque for lunch on Friday, during which time I tried my very best to disabuse him of his erroneous and oddball views concerning the Lukan authorship of Hebrews, but to no avail. And I thought that I was an obscurantist.

4) The rains came down in buckets on Saturday afternoon but not before mom and I had planted her perennials and had rooted this rose bush that she had transplanted to Texas from her former home in Burji, Ethiopia. The idea is for mom to bring a root or two for us to plant here in Virginia when she comes in July to take care of Becky during my trip to Ethiopia.

5) Finally, this morning I met with Chris and Brady Clayton in Dallas to bring them up to speed on the July trip. They are the first Texans to join us in the Great Adventure and will add tremendously to our team. I gave them a brief overview of the work and had them sign our waiver. (Someday I might share that document with you.)

One more note: We had to cancel Becky’s chemo treatment today as her white counts continue to go south. Please pray that God gives her energy and strength to accomplish the writing projects she feels the Lord would have to complete.

Wednesday, March 7

6:50 AM Becky continues her vignettes of life in Ethiopia with her latest essay called The Evangelists of Gondar.

6:43 AM Tonight Mr. Lapsley (Becky’s dad) and I are planning on attending the Civil War Round Table of Dallas. The speaker is none other than Ed Bearss, Chairman Emeritus of the National Park Service and one of America’s most renowned Civil War historians. His topic is a doozy: “Civil War Medicine vs. WW II.” Bearss, now in his 80s, still leads as many as 200 battlefield tours every year.

I’m also looking forward to helping mom with her garden. She tells she even bought a brand new wheelbarrow just for me!

6:37 AM I am challenged by the idea of writing a short, simple, and non-technical book about the Anabaptists — one that would bring them into focus for those who want to know more about them. I’ll be working on this project during my visit to the Big D this week. If the Anabaptists had but one goal, I think it was this: “Let’s get back to the business of being the church!” They asked: What ought to be the goals of a local church? How do we get people committed to the right things? How can we prioritize missions?

You’re sitting there thinking, “Yes, and D-O-G spells ‘dog.'” These questions seem trite and obvious, I know. But I wonder if your philosophy of ministry — and mine — could use a jump start from time to time, one straight from the sixteenth century from a group of radicals who were emptied of self-sufficiency and who accepted the challenge of reaching the lost all around them. As we join them on our knees, perhaps we will see the power of God in our lives as they did.

6:33 AM Here’s a heartwarming story from my alma mater, Biola University: Brown Bag ministry serves homeless of Long Beach. I loved this part:

“We don’t just give them a meal, tell them Jesus loves them and then get out of there,” said sophomore music education major Andy Peeler about the first phase. “We sit down with them, talk with them, and develop relationships.”

When I was at Biola in the early 1970s, every student was required to have a “Christian service assignment” that got him or her out into the community, where the needs lay aplenty. I chose to play basketball every Saturday in a pretty tough neighborhood  called Watts so as to build relationships with the street kids and share with them the love of Jesus.

I often wonder what ever happened to those kids I played ball with so many years ago. Thankfully, God knows exactly where they are. He knows them. He loves them. He understands them. God bless you young men, wherever you are today.

Tuesday, March 6

5:07 PM I just finished feeding the animals and couldn’t help but snap this picture of our back yard. I mowed it today. Can you believe how green everything is? Spring is in the air again — that spunky season that makes you want to get outside and start gardening!

4:54 PM Today a student sent along a link to this Bible app:

http://www.youversion.com/mobile 

I just downloaded it. It is great. Thank you Jason!

2:24 PM I just made a trash run. Love it. Nothing like getting dirty and smelly. Reminds me that I am really nothin’ but a country redneck.

1:05 PM Want to check the progress of our intrepid missionaries to India as they return home? Go here:  http://flightaware.com/live/flight/BAW142. Their flight departs London at 5:30 pm EST.

1:02 PM Klutz Alert! It is now past one o’clock. I started fixing the flat tire on our old truck at 10:00. That’s three hours to do a simple task. The truck had neither jack nor lug wrench. The lug wrenches from my other cars didn’t fit. (The truck was built in the Pre-Cambrian Age.) I drove to town (not in the truck of course) to buy a four-way wrench. I then got the lug nuts off but the wheel was stuck to the rotor (rust). I tried everything and then, in disgust, kicked the tired (with righteous anger, of course). Guess what? The tire came loose. I just got back from having the tire patched at the local tire shop and replaced it. We’re good to until the next finishing nail decides to pay us us a visit.

And to think how much longer it would have taken to finish this job had I not been so gifted with my hands.  

9:45 AM Today in history: Friedrich Bayer trade-marked a new drug called Aspirin. And everyone said Amen.

8:59 AM Just added to our Chinese Essays: Becky’s Life + Christ = Fine (Mandarin version). Our heartfelt thanks to sister Kathy for her labor of love in translating this essay for us.

8:55 AM Allan Bevere says Make It Easy for Someone to Preach Your Funeral. The money quote:

One day someone is going to preach your funeral service. Are we living our lives in such a way, that when that day comes, and people gather together in one place to worship God and remember our lives, will we have been faithful with our days in such a way that we will make it easy for the pastor to preach our funeral?

7:32 AM Aren’t you amazed by the book of Acts? I am. Its principles for Christian ministry and church structure are so radically different from what is taught and practiced in so many of our churches today. (Can you really see Peter and his wife on a rooftop promoting their new book on sex?) Here’s the problem. It is easy to talk about New Testament church life. It is much harder to practice it. I am very grateful for pastors at Bethel Hill who have taught us the major themes of Acts, including biblical eldership. It gives me renewed hope that things can actually change. So what if we fail? It’s better to try and fail than to sit around and do nothing. Acts has so much to say about church planting, missions, evangelism, church polity, and so much more. No book is more relevant for our times. But with knowledge comes responsibility. Obedience to Christ must be wholehearted. Jesus cannot work through disobedient disciples. If we want to see a genuine Great Commission resurgence in our day, we must get serious about obeying our risen Lord. We grieve the Holy Spirit when we sin either by commission or omission and are not quick to repent. The first Christians sought not only to understand as much as they could the “apostles’ doctrine” (Acts 2:42) but to obey it, whatever the cost. If they were here today, I imagine they would be watching Bethel Hill Baptist Church very closely. They would tell us not to be afraid of the Holy Spirit, of His sensitive touch, of His guidance and power, of His desire to empower the church so that we might believe and obey. Their example stands like a lighthouse to us in our drifting. They would remind us that obedience is not a luxury. It is a top priority if a church is to grow and prosper.

7:02 AM Praying for this young man as he has surgery this Thursday. Andrew, we love you!

Monday, March 5

7:54 PM You’ll never guess what I cooked for supper tonight (wink, wink). It even included my secret ingredient. I do believe it’s the best supper I’ve had all day!

4:11 PM Looking ahead …

1) On Sunday, March 18, Nigusse will be the guest speaker at Messiah Baptist Church near Wake Forest, NC. This is where everybody’s good friend Alan Knox is an elder.

2) I’ll be taking, Lord willing, Nigusse to Washington DC on Monday, March 19, to get his Israeli visa. Hoping to stop here along the way:

3) My next international mission trip begins on March 29. Can’t wait!

4) If she is feeling up to it, Becky and I are planning on attending Danny and Charlotte Akin’s family life conference at SEBTS on April 13-14, along with other Bethel Hillians. I think this is the first ever marriage seminary we’ve attended. You’re never too old to learn how to be a better spouse.

10:46 AM This weekend’s ETS Southwest regional meeting at SWBTS should be a blast. I’m eager to hear these papers:

• God and Caesar: Examining the Difference Between Counter-Imperial and Post-Colonial Hermeneutics

• Education as Dispersion: The Migration Outcomes of International Students

• An Evangelical Evaluation of Charles Kraft’s Missiological Model for Contextualization

• “Bible Storying”: Bandwagon or Bandaid?

I am also looking forward to having lunch with Southwestern’s dean, David Allen, who has the nerve to defend the Lukan authorship of Hebrews. L‘audace, l’audace, toujours l’audace!

10:35 AM Rod Decker, thank you for making a distinction between the church and the building!

9:01 AM From time to time someone asks us if they can support an Ethiopian evangelist financially. Good question! The answer is found in Becky’s latest essay called Financial Support for Evangelists.

7:34 AM Confession time. I love my iPad. It was given to me while I was in Asia last year. Although I am a complete idiot when it comes to electronics, I can now swipe its screen with the best of them. I can check emails and listen to music and play scrabble all at the touch of a pixel or two. In fact, I can easily envision the all-iPad classroom. But come on — why the zany keyboard? And please, somebody stop the Apple pop-ups! And why can’t I open more than one window at a time? Did I mention it’s slow? And lacks a back button?

I realize that Paul said we are to do all things without grumbling and complaining (Phil. 2:14). But he never owned an iPad.

What do you think? Will the iPad 3 be any better?

7:18 AM Loved this essay by Paige Patterson on the SBC name change. I especially appreciated this:

I have just two requests of you my brethren.  First, let us seek God’s face with ardent supplication to see if the committee’s report is an amazing solution given by the Spirit of God.  Second, if at the end of the process, you do not agree, that is fine.  This is why you are a Baptist, a dissenter, and why I am not your bishop, cardinal or pope.  But may we agree that we will debate and decide the issue without recourse to a discussion of motives and intentions of the heart which only God can see and know.

Wise counsel indeed.

7:06 AM Five Ethiopian evangelists have now been adopted. Let the praying begin!

7:00 AM Check out these pictures of life in war-torn Somalia. Glad for a photographer who was willing to expose the situation to the world. “I’m drawn to places that most aren’t willing to go,” he said. Read that again:

I’m drawn to places that most aren’t willing to go.

That should be true of every one of us who claims the name of Jesus. It takes courage to be on mission for Christ. The courage of the Anabaptists is one of the reasons I love them so much (see, for example, Felix Mantz, Man of Conscience). It’s also why I love our missionaries to Ethiopia. They are going to hard places. Intentionally. Places others do not want to go. Not flippantly, of course. But they go. I praise God for them.

Are you going?

Sunday, March 4

2:10 PM There is nothing more enjoyable than to watch God’s people getting caught up in what is eternally important. The clear command of our Lord is to go into the world — whether that world be across the planet or across the street. Today brother Rick Godwin (an Ethiopia veteran) gave a wonderful report of the work Bethel Hillians have been doing in partnering with Rebuilding Hope in Henderson, NC.

Recently Rick and several others from The Hill helped build a handicapped ramp for a woman, and other projects are being planned for the coming months. I have seen wonderful spiritual renewal come to churches when they have united around a common cause, the cause of the Gospel.

Rick, your report made my day!  

1:52 PM Believe it or not, the Internet in India is working again, and today we received a wonderful email update from our son Nigusse. Both he and Joel spoke this morning at the Sunday service in Bagdogra. They just returned from the Bhutan and Bangladesh borders where they “visited many churches and shared the gospel with many people.” Nigusse goes on to say:

I am really overwhelmed with what the Lord has been doing here. The need of the gospel is real. Thank you for sending me here. I have learned lots of things.

He requests prayer so that they might “finish well and being glory to God.” You got it, Nigu.

1:43 PM Just saw an announcement for a cello and piano concert at our former church in Basel. Wish Becky and I could attend. Die Baptistengemeinde Basel welcomed us with open hearts and minds. It was but a short walk from our one room apartment on the Immengasse. What unforgettable relationships we had with our precious Baptist brothers and sisters in that storied city on the Rhine.

8:44 AM How should we do missions? By following the example of the four men who carried the paralytic to Jesus!

• There was a thinker: “Say, guys, old Simon over there needs help. What say we carry him over to Jesus?”

• There was an enabler: “Great idea! I’ve got a stretcher at home. Let me grab it!”

• There was the follower: “What are you guys doing? Can I lend a hand?”

Someone has to get the idea. Someone has to organize the work. And someone has to put his hand to the stretcher.

By the way, they must also work together. Imagine what would happen if they came to a crossroads and two of them wanted to go right and two of them wanted to go left? Or if three of them wanted to walk and the fourth wanted to sprint? Helping people get to Jesus takes teamwork.

Have you noticed? Missions is the perfect laboratory for testing our commitment to Christian unity.

7:56 AM Speaking of the UK, one of the most enjoyable things about researching my book Why Four Gospels? was discovering all of the used bookstores in London. If you are looking for that hard-to-find tome, check out Piccadilly Circus and you will not be disappointed. There I found Jimmy James’ escape autobiography that I had been trying to locate for years. (Jimmy went out in the famous Great Escape of 1944.) Naturally, unless you’re visiting London, this is impossible, but I thought I’d mention it anyway. I especially recommend Waterstones.

Do you have a favorite brick and mortar bookstore?

7:50 AM Required reading for our Ethiopia team members: How (Not) to be an American Missionary in Scotland. Note this:

The key to work in Scotland is for the American Presbyterians/Baptists/Pentecostals to come and partner with us.

That, of course, takes humility and a commitment to cooperation, but oh, the benefits!

7:43 AM If there is a heaven on earth I think I found it at last. We had a wonderful meeting yesterday as we met with those who are interested in going with us to Ethiopia in July. This is what they looked like.

So many nice people to get to know. Many of them are veterans of the work. I’m delighted about that. All can expect to apply themselves diligently between now and our next orientation meeting on April 7. The Gospel is an amazing thing, isn’t it? When it begins to weave its spell on a heretofore impervious mind, you had better watch out. It is impossible to do justice to our meeting, for it was simply a succession of great conversations and amusing incidents and questions and answers and food and songs and prayers. I wish you could have been there, I really do.

And how are Becky and I doing? I am feeling splendidly for an old man. (I think I’m the oldest in the group.) I am concerned, however, about Becky. She held up well during the meeting despite having much of the weight of the work riding on her capable shoulders. That will gradually change as more and more of the team members step into leadership roles. When you see her blow her nose and blood mixes with her mucus it makes you realize just how huge an effect the Avastin has been having on her body. I am relieved that she is agreeing to allow me to do certain things for her that she would otherwise insist on doing herself — such as driving Nigusse to DC to get his Israeli visa. I know this sounds paternalistic, but Becky is as active as ever, and I am in charge of making sure that she slows down so that she can accomplish her primary goals of writing. Becky is a woman in whom the years of life have blossomed into something beautiful — honest, sincere, courageous, caring, always seeking the best in life and giving the best. I don’t know why I should be telling you all of this other than the fact that it is important that we pursue the worthwhile life that Christ demands of us. Having tasted the stale cup of academia, I am determined to live out the rest of my days enjoying the rich practice of oneness in Christ that comes to those who consider serving others a priority in life. The last 6 or 7 years have been critically important in our lives, and I think we’ve really succeeded in enjoying spiritual tranquility without sacrificing our enthusiasm and passion. Can there be any greater joy in life that to work with people whose dedication should inspire in us the spirit of sacrifice? It never ceases to amaze me that God should make His appeal through people like me. He relies on us. We — you and me! — are given the privilege of telling other sinners about the Savior.

In our day missions is infrequent, clergy-dominated, and expensive — an exceedingly foolish way of going about fulfilling the Great Commission if you ask me. It is MY responsibility to work and speak for Jesus. And it is yours. If we really want to reach the world for Christ we must all become informal missionaries. This is how the kingdom expands. This is how the Gospel spreads. In a word, this is what our meeting yesterday was all about. However inadequate we may feel, we can all do out part. How can we do otherwise if, like Paul, we believe that there is but one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus?

Saturday, March 3

7:54 AM Yes, there are such things as international food etiquette rules. In India, Nigusse and Joel are eating with their fingers. In Korea, you receive a plate of food with both hands. And in Ethiopia? Come to our orientation today and find out. We’re going to undermine a lot of faulty presuppositions, one of which is the good-old American custom of being picky and choosy at the table. Our Ethiopian hosts work long and hard to prepare their simple fare over a wood fire. For us to refuse to eat what we are served is not only disrespectful but a poor witness. For the sake of love, we will be asking our team members — all of them — to lay aside their personal tastes and preferences. Eat and drink whatever is offered, and thereby emulate the unity and humility that marked the apostle Paul (see his “principle of adaptability” in 1 Cor. 9:19-23). Ministry without love is fruitless. But show love, and the rest falls into place. People are drawn in, as to a vortex. So yes, we will follow food etiquette rules. What a magnificent gesture this exercise is in community living!

Below: The women of Burji preparing a meal for our team. What precious fellow-laborers in the kingdom!

7:22 AM Newsflash, America! It’s not about the economy!

America has always been used to abundance, and the result is a society of extravagance and waste. The rest of the world deals with scarcity by preserving rather than wasting. “American exceptionalism” requires us to value “more” and “better,” but such talk is mere hyperventilation. No one really wants to give up their entitlements or their retirement benefits. America is in a mess, but it isn’t one that can be solved by a college education or a government bailout. WE ARE A NATION OF BLOATED CONSUMERS. That goes for evangelicals too.

A missionary I heard recently said, “We have a glut of training and education in our seminaries. Is it really worth the cost? Shouldn’t our vast knowledge be used to train pastors in Africa or Asia?” If you want to believe that America is still a superpower, go ahead. As for me, I think it’s time we bypassed all the partisan nonsense we call politics and honestly address the materialistic environment we are living in, and how Christians must adapt. I truly think that we, as the evangelical church in America, do not have the resolve to overcome our own self-interests. Paul calls us to equity (2 Cor. 8:13). In a flat world, where everybody is hyper-connected, achieving this equity between churches ought to be more possible than ever. It’s high time we jettison gerrymandering — and not just in the political arena. My prayer is that we may encounter the fresh wind of God’s Spirit that launched the infant church and that is ready and willing to work through us today if we would surrender the American Dream and make global evangelization a priority again. The only Christianity that will be an effective power for change in the twenty-first century is a Christianity that is moved by the sheer need of men and women, many of them without God and without hope in the world. How can we withhold from them the life-giving word?

We frankly do not believe in the power of the Holy Spirit or in the outward thrust of the Gospel. Christ called His earliest followers to the regions beyond. What about us? Christians in China and Ethiopia know exactly what persecution and privation look like, yet they venture out with the Gospel and risk. Christians in America who have the benefit of a good education should use that education to help “the least of these.” Christians who enjoy wealth and prosperity should take material needs very seriously as a part of their Christian commitment. Service and sacrifice — these are the vital ingredients in all great leadership. We could take this much further. I have tried to do so in The Jesus Paradigm. If we are to turn the tide of apathy in our generation, it will not happen without a fresh moving of the Spirit of God and a costly following of a crucified Savior. This is what the early Christians experienced. Why should it not happen to us?

Friday, March 2

3:55 PM Got time for a brief update? Today we drove to South Boston to get a CBC for Becky. We just got the results. Her counts are dropping (white cells, platelets). Good thing she wasn’t scheduled for chemo next Monday, as they would have had to cancel it (her counts are too low). Right now it’s a week by week proposition for us. Thankfully Becky’s energy has been good today. At one point she cried out, “It’s Oshe, it’s Oshe!” She was referring, of course, to the fact that Oshe was Skyping us from Burji. Here’s Becky showing him one of the Kidz Kards with Scripture verses.

He could read and translate it into English without a hitch. Awesome. Speaking of Burji, during tomorrow’s orientation I have the joy of coordinating the prayer time as well as giving the overview of life in Ethiopia (history, geography, economy, demographics, clock and calendar, religion, health, and other important issues). While Googling for some information I ran across a very interesting website called If It Were My Home. If Ethiopia were your home instead of the United States, you would:

• be 13 times more likely to die in infancy

• be 3.5 times more likely to get HIV/Aids

• have 3.1 more babies

• die 23 years earlier

• use 99 percent less electricity

All of this will make for some very interesting discussion tomorrow I’m sure. Right now Becky is resting. She’s told me she’s going to prepare one of my favorite suppers tonight: Sloppy Joes. Can’t hardly wait. Life is good. Family. Fun. Food. Fellowship. Kingdom work. Peace.

Thanks for listening,

Dave

10:38 AM We’ve already had two evangelists adopted. Praise the Lord!

10:32 AM Don’t forget to pray for our stalwart missionaries to India. Today they are traveling down country to southern West Bengal to visit some 20 different churches.

10:32 AM I’m still planning on attending the ETS Southwest regional meeting at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth next weekend. The focus will be on biblical theology. Hope to see some of you there.

9:40 AM Do you have a love for missions? Perhaps God has placed Ethiopia on your heart? If so, would you consider adopting an evangelist and his family for prayer? Here’s the scoop. As Becky writes:

Would you like to be involved? Discuss it with your family and then contact us at dblack@sebts.edu. Tell us a little about your family….where you live, number of kids, type of work, special things. It would be wonderful for you to attach a picture of your family as well. We will match you with an evangelist as the Lord leads us, and send you pictures and bio of him. We’ll “introduce” you via email, and then we’ll let you know what’s happening with your evangelist periodically via email updates.

Hoping to hear from you soon!

9:11 AM The T & T Clark blog is highlighting Michael Allen’s new book, Karl Barth’s Church Dogmatics: An Introduction and Reader. Readers in the U.S. can purchase a copy in May 2012.

It is definitely on my wish list. Barth was a giant in the history of theology. I admire him most for his writing of the Barmen Declaration, which rejected the Nazi Party and its Führer. Barth, a leader in the Confessing Church in Germany, was dismissed from his professorship at the University of Bonn for refusing to swear an oath to Hitler. Incidentally, you might not know that he was also a huge American Civil War buff and could not wait to visit Gettysburg when he lectured in the U.S. in 1962.

Barth was already deceased by the time I matriculated at Basel, but I did have the opportunity to study under his son Markus, whose 2-volume commentary on Ephesians remains unexcelled.

7:54 AM “We make our plans, but God has the last word” (Prov. 16:1). Good reminder with orientation coming up tomorrow.

7:50 AM Good post here about the style of Mark’s Gospel. It’s a topic I often discuss in my classes. As you ponder that question, ask yourself whether the answer might be found in the Papias-citation of EH 3.39. Papias’ testimony reveals that the “Elder” (John) was emphatic that Mark’s record of Peter’s memories was accurate but not “in order” (taxei), nor was it a literary composition (syntaxis). Instead, it was a collection of short stories and personal reminiscences (chreiai) about the Lord. Amazing explanation, isn’t it? Against this backdrop, the peculiar diction of Mark finds a ready explanation. It is the contrast between a colloquial record of Peter’s discourses on the one hand and the standard literary style of both Matthew and Luke on the other. In other words, Mark is simply a verbatim transcript of Peter’s speeches. Once again, the patristic evidence can be of great value in helping us to understand the circumstances surrounding the composition of Mark. We neglect it to our own disadvantage.

The fathers were unanimous that our earliest Gospel was Matthew’s. Markan priority and the statements of the church fathers are incompatible. You must choose one or the other. Tertium non datur.

7:40 AM Jesus was politically non-aligned. Perhaps He is an example for us today?

7:33 AM If you’re traveling to the SBL Southeast meeting in Atlanta this weekend be sure to stop by the Energion Publications booth and check out their latest books, including Robert Cornwall’s Faith in the Public Square.

Thursday, March 1

9:04 PM I’m about half way through my book The Great Escape by Paul Brickhill. Seems I’m not the only history fan who loves escape stories from Germany. The Telegraph once published a story about several historians who’ve built a model of “Harry,” the tunnel used by Roger Bushell and his airmen colleagues in March of 1944. Check it out here. The photos are phenomenal. What resourcefulness! What inspiration!

8:53 PM Becky Lynn and I just enjoyed another thrilling episode of Hawaii 5-0, filmed (in this case) on the Windward side of Oahu at a beach calked Lanikai. Oh, the fashions! And then there’s the scenery. One could see the Mokulua Islands and Mount Olomana in the background, along with Rabbit Island and the Mokapuu peninsula. To tell the truth, I could scarcely follow the plot line because my mind was focused on the huge waves breaking on the reef.

The reef at Kailua/Lanikai did not break very often, but when it did we couldn’t wait to paddle out and grab some good rides. The paddle was about a mile but worth the effort. Even if you’ve never touched a surfboard you can appreciate the wonder of the sport. Surfing is in my blood. Always will be. Even though the only surfing I do today is on my sofa.

6:51 PM Nobody drifts into the kingdom. You have to ask, seek, and knock before you can enter.

2:55 PM Jonathan Robie asks the question of the ages: Why not start with modern Greek when we teach Koine Greek? Indeed, why not? I’ll even up the ante. Why not have Greeks teach Greek? I wouldn’t learn German from a non-native speaker. Why should anyone want to take Greek from me?

So, from now on: Only Greeks teaching Koine Greek!

2:39 PM Don’t take yourself too seriously. Nobody else does.

1:58 PM Here’s a shout out and a huge “thank you” to my two assistants at the seminary, both bloggers of course (see Alien in This Land and Jesus + Nothing = Everything). I’ve been working them pretty hard this semester, and I do want them to know that their labor is greatly appreciated.

1:47 PM It is only March 1 and the high today will be 80 degrees. Which means it’s time for yard work and prepping the garden. I simply can’t believe I will have to mow this weekend. And take a look at B’s garden.

Pretty unsightly, don’t you think? I plan to get started on clearing out one of these beds for Becky today. Got to take advantage of this gorgeous weather.

So, how’s your garden doing?

12:16 PM Becky has been as busy as a bee getting us ready for our first Ethiopia team orientation this Saturday from 10:00 to 4:00. There are many particular matters that need to be thoroughly understood before anyone can go to Ethiopia with us. We are not trying to do our own thing. We are not trying to implement “our strategy.” We are trying to do Jesus’ thing, and do it together. That’s why orientation is so important. If you avoid fellowship in the Word and in prayer, you will soon lose your direction and your joy. We are to yield all of our plans to Him. We are called to serve Jesus, but the shape of our service will be varied. We are not drones in a beehive but worker bees. We can work for Jesus in so many different ways. There is plenty of work to be done, but it cannot be done without prayerful and careful preparation. Jesus asks us to please Him. He requires us to do missions His way. How can we know His way without spending time in the Scriptures?

Our orientations are required, not optional. It is through these gatherings that the Spirit guides us, teaches us, encourages us, and strengthens us. And it is to be emphasized: We do not work as mavericks. Our work is done side by side with the Ethiopian church. Unlike so many missionary organizations, our goal is to follow the pattern of the book of Acts by working church to church (e.g., the churches in Macedonia helped the churches in Judea). That is a thumbnail sketch of what kingdom living is all about. The Body of Christ must support each other. I cannot go to Ethiopia and make believe that a church doesn’t already exist there. I am utterly opposed to any method of church planting and evangelism that refuses to cooperate with existing like-minded churches in other nations. You cannot sit on the fence regarding this matter. You have to decide. Relentlessly yet lovingly, the Scriptures call us back to the book of Acts as the model of churches willingly cooperating with each other. That is what Jesus set us to do. May He continually challenge His Body not only to do missions but to do missions His way.  

11:12 AM Just posted: My Academic Journey: Confessions of a Limping Greek Teacher.

8:26 AM Odds and ends …

1) The Church Relevance website has listed 2012’s Top Churches to Watch in America. The whole article is worth pondering. I suppose if you enjoy reading about the techniques behind the “successes” of other churches, lists such as this one can be useful.

2) Good advice about writing from Alvin Reid:

Want to write? Start writing. No one has to read it. Well, maybe a friend who can critique it to make you better. And by no means does anyone have to pay you for it. The pay comes in the satisfaction that you are giving due diligence to fulfill your calling.

Another great essay from Alvin’s website.

3) William Jessup University announces an opening in Old Testament.

8:16 AM Michael Bird reports on his progress while writing a new book on the origins of the Gospels. Read Jesus, Eyewitnesses, and Memory. At this point it is difficult to know whether he will be dealing with the writings of the church fathers, but there is nothing is his brief post to suggest that he will. I do hope he does. Meanwhile, there are plenty of reasons why the fathers’ writings should not be overlooked. If you would like to get up to speed on their contribution to the question, I have published a short volume that retranslates their most important quotes about the Gospels from the original Greek and Latin (see my Why Four Gospels?). With regard to the matter of eyewitness primitivity and memory, I have argued frequently here that Matthew’s Gospel as well as John’s are eyewitness products, and that Luke and Mark were commissioned by apostles (Paul and Peter respectively) to produce their versions of the life of Christ. A helpful summary may be found in my essay “The Historical Origins of the Gospels” (Faith & Mission 18 [2000] 21-47). The basic thesis of all of my work in the Gospels is that the internal evidence alone is not adequate to explain their origins, and that the rejection of the fathers’ statements has led to confusion in New Testament scholarship – a view not dissimilar to that held by William Farmer, formerly of Southern Methodist University. At any rate, Mike Bird is an excellent scholar and writer. I look forward to reading his work on the Gospels with eager anticipation.

8:02 AM Heartiest congratulations to Dom Henry Wansbrough. The former Chairman of the Oxford University Theology Faculty has been appointed to the Alexander Jones Professor of Biblical Studies chair at Liverpool Hope University.

He deserves that honor for many reasons, but I remember him mostly for his convening the Second Ampleforth Conference on the Gospels in April, 1983. It was in this major conference that G. D. Kilpatrick observed that modern textual criticism of the Gospels relied almost exclusively on the Two-Document Hypothesis. Once again we see clearly the interplay between textual criticism and source criticism. I sometimes tell my students that should the Two-Document Hypothesis ever be falsified, it would necessitate the rewriting a good number of commentaries on the Gospels, as most of them presuppose the priority of the Gospel of Mark. I would argue that Kilpatrick was absolutely correct in his observation, but the reality is that all of us must proceed on the basis of some sort of source theory whenever we practice textual criticism. Unfortunately, many young scholars are taught to practice Gospel criticism in a sort of circular fashion: they are required to use a critical text of the Gospels that presupposes the priority of the composition of Mark, and then they are asked to form their own impressions of the history of the text, which by now has all the marks of harmonization. Now, I am not against our students using the critical text. It is just that we must be careful to remind them no text of the Gospels is an unbiased text for the simple reason that no modern scholar can remain “neutral” with regard to the synoptic problem.

In any case, mega kudos to professor Wansbrough, whose inaugural lecture “Was Jesus a Pharisee?” sounds very interesting indeed.

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   restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

                

Conservative Jabberwocky

 David Alan Black

I have come to the point, whenever I hear the word “conservative” – which means so much to me because of the historic significance of the term – of listening carefully because I have with sorrow become more afraid of the word “conservative” than almost any other word in the English language. The term is unfurled as a contentless banner, and our mindless generation is invited to follow it. But there is no rational, scriptural content by which to test it, and thus the word is being used to teach the very opposite things from those which it historically stood for.

Men are now called upon to follow “conservatives” with great frequency, and nowhere more so than in the New Conservatism that follows the New World Order Theology. For example, it is now “conservative” to support pro-abortionists and pro-sodomites if that’s what it takes to get a fellow Republican reelected – witness President Bush campaigning for Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania. As long as you are trying to conserve “your people” in office you are being conservative. We have come, then, to this fearsome place where the word “conservative” has become the enemy of the truth. We must despise this contentless banner not because we do not love conservatism but because we do love it. We must fight this contentless banner, with its deep motivations rooted in compromise and expediency, which is being used for the purpose of radical societal reform and control. And we must teach our children to do the same.

It is Humanism with a banner called “conservatism” to which these Neocons can give any content they wish. This emphasizes how discerning the Christian needs to be. For example, this past weekend a prominent evangelical called on “conservatives” to send a contribution in support of the Bush campaign. He wrote:

For conservative people of faith, voting for principle this year means voting for the re-election of George W. Bush. The alternative, in my mind, is simply unthinkable.

To the pro-life, pro-family, pro-traditional marriage, pro-America voters in this nation, we must determine that President Bush is the man with our interests at heart. It is that simple.

Then he added:

So the vote of every conservative is imperative. However, simply voting may not be enough. I believe it is the responsibility of every political conservative, every evangelical Christian, every pro-life Catholic, every traditional Jew, every Reagan Democrat and everyone in between to get serious about re-electing President Bush.

I want you to note the use of the word “conservative” in reference to supporting one of the most anti-family Republican presidents America has ever had. When we make statements like this we have, in effect, abandoned propositional truth. At the very least the door is opened for people to think that the word “conservative” can be used in any way as long as one uses it to support his or her political philosophy.

Our urgent need today in the church of Jesus Christ is to understand the significance of the duality – the dichotomy – that such statements promulgate. The evangelical Christian especially needs to be very careful because some evangelicals have been asserting that what matters is not setting out to prove or disprove propositions; what matters is support of the status quo. In our day, the sphere of objective reality has been placed in the non-rational and non-logical category as opposed to the rational and logical. The New Right uses connotation words rather then denotation words – words as symbols without any definition in contrast to scientific symbols that are carefully defined. “Conservatism” is unchallengeable because it could mean anything – there is no way to discuss it in normal linguistic categories.

I cannot understand how a Christian community can ignore these evils without at least asking the questions that need to be asked and without coming to at least some rudimentary responses to these questions. Perhaps the real tragedy that a discussion of this kind reveals is not so much that evangelicals of the present generation have misused words, but that so many believers do not even know that such a problem exists. Josef Pieper notes in his book Abuse of Language –  Abuse of Power that Orwellian Newspeak is nothing new. He cites 2,400-year-old examples from Plato’s Dialogues concerning the Sophists’ abuse of the truth function of language (pp. 8-13; 18-22). Likewise, George Orwell, author of the famous book 1984, noted in his essay, “Politics and the English Language,” that “the great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.” In other words: Sloppy language, sloppy thought.

So, as we consider the upcoming elections, we need to understand the linguistic jabberwocky that permeates the public square today and also understand the power of words and the need to treat them respectfully. This means that, whenever we hear the word “conservative,” we may just need to take it cum grano salis.

July 6, 2004

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com. His latest book is Why I Stopped Listening to Rush: Confessions of a Recovering Neocon.

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   restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

                

Enjoying Nature Without Worshipping It

 David Alan Black 

As I write these words I am looking out through the dense morning fog at the pond and pastures. The goats are barely visible through the mist. I have been thinking, Is it proper to enjoy nature as much as I do?

We need only look to the Psalmists for the answer. The Old Testament poets delighted in describing the natural world around them. This is partly because they lived much closer to nature than most of us do today. In going about their daily tasks they observed nature’s glorious manifestations, much as we do here at the farm. Not a day goes by when I do not consciously praise the Lord Jesus for puppies that love me, donkeys that bray when they first see me in the morning, goats that gleefully butt heads together. The Psalmists likewise observed the ways of bears and badgers, the turbulent waters, the glory of nature. In enjoying the natural world they had much in common with other poets in the ancient world – with two very important differences.

In the first place, their Middle Eastern neighbors not only waxed poetic about the trees and the birds; they worshipped them. The biblical poets, on the other hand, resisted the temptation to deify the environment. They enjoyed the natural world without worshipping it.

The second difference between the Psalmists and their neighbors involved the language they used to describe “nature.” For them, nature was specifically “creation.” This term expressed the belief that the world owes its beauty and splendor, not to its own power or genius, but to God. Read any creation Psalm and you will see that the real significance of the universe is understood only by the eye of faith. And this faith was not in some man-made deity but in the eternal God Himself. All creation depends on the Creator for birth, life, and sustenance. “You open your hand, and they are filled with good.” Even death is controlled by the Sovereign God. “You take away their breath and they die and return to their dust.” The point is that God has established creation, and everything God created is a gift from Him.

In some ways, the modern emphasis on “Easter” is simply a revival of the goddess cults of the ancient Middle East, replete with Easter Egg Hunts and Candy Bunny Rabbits. However, you will look in vain for any evidence in the New Testament for “Easter.” The early believers hadn’t even the faintest interest in celebrating nature in this fashion. I have no doubt that they took their cue from the ancient Hebrew Psalmists.

The Psalms teach us that we can enjoy creation without worshipping it. And we enjoy it because we first love its Creator. If we must observe a holiday every Spring, let us call it what it truly is: Resurrection Sunday. Better yet, why not do what the early followers of Jesus did: observe each and every Lord’s Day as a commemoration of His rising from the dead.

January 16, 2014

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com. If you would like to know more about becoming a follower of King Jesus, please feel free to write Dave.

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Are You a Missionary?

 David Alan Black  

Here’s a thought. If every Christian is called to be a witness, and if every church has a global mission at its door, why are only certain people called “missionaries,” and why do boards and agencies try to do the work of the local church? There is not a single hint in the New Testament that the early Christians saw evangelism as the responsibility of certain professionals. Of course, people and agencies that work with and through the local church may be said to be fulfilling their mission responsibility. But in reality, every one of us ought to be a “North American Missionary.” Weighty dissertations have been written by theologians on the “call of God” to missions, but every believer is called to missions – full time, I might add.

Jesus Himself was the ultimate missionary, and He entrusted to His followers world missions. And even if we cannot travel to a foreign field, the “uttermost parts of the world” have come to us. Just look at any college or university campus today. Missiologists call this “global missions in reverse,” but it is no less missions. That’s why I was so pleased and excited to hear that one of my doctoral students has been asked to teach communications at a secular university next fall. I imagine he will do more than disseminate information, too. I can see him giving himself in time-consuming acts of missional love simply because they are needed. After all, sharing one’s faith is simply helping anyone take a step closer to God.

I look back with awe at the mileposts God used in preparing me for my present responsibilities as a global “missionary” to Ethiopia, from meeting real live missionaries and missions-minded people while a child in Hawaii to missionary training in Wheaton with Greater Europe Mission’s Eurocorps team to sharing my faith as a student in Basel to preaching in such varied places as India and Korea. At the same time, I cannot and dare not lose sight of my “home mission field” of Mecklenburg County, Virginia, where the cultural and social barriers can be just as real as those in Ethiopia or India. A thrilling part of being evangelistic is seeing people of different citizenships becoming citizens of the kingdom of God and missionaries themselves. Think of a Bereket up in Gondar or Mohammed in an Alaba prison cell. I like to think that whatever work I do in my career as a professor and author, my ultimate task is to equip others to carry on Christ’s mission. And I mean all Christians, not just those who are professionally trained.

Are you, then, a true missionary of the Gospel? Are you creating cynicism or compassion by your actions? Are you heartbroken that countless people have never experienced the forgiveness of their sins? Or that their condition is wretched? Will you do whatever is needed in order to fulfill your commitment to God? In short, are you a missionary – locally, regionally, globally, even cross-culturally (see Acts 1:8)?

It’s a question worth pondering.

February 22, 2007

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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                        Chapter 8: Ministries Abroad

Becky Lynn Black  

In the last decade God has fulfilled my lifelong desire of ministry in Ethiopia. In 2004, after 28 years of teaching, my husband received his first semester of sabbatical from teaching. This was a time that his seminary allowed, with full pay, for academic rest and stimulation. I jokingly say that, even after 28 years of marriage, my husband did not understand me because he had not been to Ethiopia. In many ways that was a true statement.

Those of us who are TCKs (Third Culture Kids) are a social enigma. We have personality quirks and shifts in values and communication styles that are confusing to most people. They cannot understand us, and pity the poor man who marries a TCK. One of the great services I rendered to my husband was to talk him into going to Ethiopia with me 🙂  So in November of 2004 we traveled to Ethiopia, and for six weeks we ministered, we played tourist, and we visited sentimental places.

The land of Ethiopia is exceptional; it is an ancient land that is mentioned in the book of Genesis as well as in Revelation. It is steeped in ancient tradition not unlike the Chinese. It is the only country in Africa that was never colonized (though it was briefly occupied by the Italians during WWII). They say that the end of the era of colonization started in Ethiopia when Ethiopian warriors defeated modern Portuguese soldiers at the Battle of Adwa in 1888. Although we know of the Apostle Phillip’s introduction of the Gospel to an Ethiopian official in Acts 8, the roots of Christianity in Ethiopia are officially dated ca. 316 when two European brothers were captured from a passing ship in the Red Sea and brought up the mountains to the Ethiopian king of the Aksum Empire. They told the king of the Gospel, and the king and all his court were converted.

These two men, named Frumentius and Edesius, stayed in Ethiopia voluntarily to disciple the new believers. Then they requested of the Patriarch of the Coptic (Egyptian) Church to send priests to continue the development of the church in Ethiopia. All of this transpired in the decades immediately following the placement of Constantine as Emperor of the “Holy” Roman Empire. When Constantine came to the throne, the church was highly persecuted. He reversed that and instead took over the church himself, organized it into five divisions, and chose a patriarch to supervise each division. The Coptic Church was one of those divisions. The Patriarch administered from Alexandria, Egypt. As history would have it, in the centuries following Constantine the Roman division separated from the Eastern divisions. The Roman division became what is now known as the Roman Catholic Church. The Eastern division became know as the Orthodox Church. Each Orthodox Church has its own Patriarch. And each Orthodox Church has close ties to its country’s political system – for example, Russian Orthodox Church, Romanian Orthodox Church, Greek Orthodox Church, etc. Because of this close association between the Orthodox Church and their government, to be “orthodox” is to be “patriotic.” National identity and religious affiliation are closely tied. In the case of Ethiopia, the church came under the Patriarch of Egypt until 1958. Today, Ethiopia has her own Patriarch. My husband Dave met with the recent past Patriarch Abuna Paulos.

Abuna Paulos died unexpectedly in 2012, and now Abuna Mathias serves as the head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. In the United States there are branches of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. There are bishops and priests serving these churches, the same as in the churches of Ethiopia.

When Frumentius first brought the Gospel to the king, it was the true Gospel of the apostles.  But as with so many church affiliations, with the passage of time the Gospel became corrupted in these Ethiopian churches, such that today it is difficult to find the simple message of Jesus Christ who is alone the Savior of the world. In the far north of Ethiopia around the city of Labella, there are stone churches. These churches were carved from one huge boulder in the 1100s.

They were carved with primitive tools, yet they are perfectly symmetrical in every detail. It is amazing to see these churches with functional rain gutters, baptisteries, windows, doors, and steps, all in perfect harmony. Ethiopian lore says that these churches were built with the help of angels over a period of only 28 days. Many faithful Orthodox have traveled to Labella as a way of doing homage, and upon their deaths were placed in burial crypts. I remember in 2004 seeing skeletons and mummified corpses in open burial enclaves. Somehow they thought that to die at one of these churches and to be laid at rest in a stone opening next to the church would elevate their chances of reaching God in the afterlife. After our visit in 2004, the Ethiopian government removed all the corpses feeling that they were distasteful to the many tourists coming to the area. I feel sorry for those poor souls who relied upon their place of burial to secure their place with God.

In 2004, Dave and I had an opportunity to visit these famous churches as well as the Blue Nile (and Lake Tana, headwaters of the Nile River), and the ancient palaces in Gondar. I have always loved history, and it was exciting for me to see these historical places in Ethiopia.  Dave and I had no intention of an extensive ministry in Ethiopia when we went in 2004. But God had other plans. The night we arrived in Ethiopia, Dave laid his head on the pillow in the guesthouse and he said to me, “I love these people so much its hurts.” I knew at that moment God had answered a lifelong dream of mine. He had work for us to do in Ethiopia!

In the six weeks we were there, Dave taught in several Bible schools and I worked in a rural mission clinic. In addition, we visited my old mission homes (which were still standing).  It was really exciting to be received by the Ethiopian people. Everywhere we went, when they discovered that I was an MK (Missionary Kid), they embraced me as one of their own.

Many of them remembered my father and mother and they often said to me, “Your parents opened heaven to us,” “your parents are our father and mother,” “your parents gave us life.” This happened especially when we came to Burji, a little area in far southwestern Ethiopia. The people were so happy to see me. Since the Soviets had thrown out the missionaries from Burji there had been no effort by the outside world to help the struggling church in these mountains. No one in the capital city knew how we could get to Burji. “You can’t get there from here,” they told us. But I was determined to get to Burji, so we set out not knowing how we would get there. In the providence of God, where Dave was teaching the Gospel of John there was a student from Burji! This student promised to take us there. There was a rickety old bus that must have been 100 years old that traveled from the two-lane, pot-hole-filled road called the “Pan African Highway.” This Burji student got us seats on this bus. According to Ethiopian custom, we white people were placed in the front seats. I was so excited to be going home that I could hardly contain myself. Everyone wanted to know who we were and why we were all the way at the end of the world. I explained that I was Burgynia, and that I had grown up in Burji. They were amazed that I had returned. One man on the bus was an evangelist from Burji; he was so excited to hear that my father was Tex Lapsley. He had heard of my father, and he said, “Your father has the reputation of being a hard worker.” We gave this evangelist a book in Amharic that we had brought with us. Immediately he began to read the book; he was so excited at this gift!

We arrived in Burji unannounced and were taken to the guest house, which comprised a row of five mud walled rooms with two single beds in each room. No table, no chair, no rug. We lay down exhausted and were then treated to a wonderful tradition that still exists in Burji. Worku and some others brought a basin of water to wash our feet. It felt so good! It was very humbling and a great spiritual ministry to us. As news of our arrival spread, people came from all over to meet us. They gathered two mules to take us over the mountain from Soyama town to our mission station at Gambo. What a precious gift that trip was from these people and the Lord! For three hours we rode and walked in the back hills of Burji, finally arriving at the place I called “home.”

The school my father had built was still standing. It was being used by the government for a public school; though dilapidated, it was still functional after fifty years. My home was also standing, and it was in very good shape and was being used as the school offices. What a joy it was for me to wander through that home and to remember times of sweet blessing!

Two years later in 2006 I took my parents back to Burji for their last time. My mother had brought a rose bush from Nairobi, Kenya in 1963 and had planted it in front of our house. That rose bush had spread and spread and now comprised a large area. We dug up a cutting from that bush and today that Burji rose bush is now at our farm in Virginia, at my parents’ home in Dallas, and at my sister’s home in Houston. We left Gambo carrying rocks from the place. The Ethiopians thought we were crazy, that we would waste our energy hauling rocks. But today I have a little rock from my Burji homestead in my home at Bradford hall. I thank God for these little memories.

That six week trip to Ethiopia dramatically changed our lives. Both Dave and I had a renewed love for the Ethiopian people and had sensed that God had work for us to do there. This work began with a little boy named Bereket. (Actually his birth name was Azanaw, which means “sorrowful.” But after his rebirth in Christ we changed his name to Bereket, which means “blessing”). We had met Bereket in the last days of our trip in the Felasha (Jewish) village in Gondar. He was about 15 years old. He had corneal damage when his eyes became infected after ritualistic tribal markings were done on his eyebrows. Bereket was working in a little shop. He was intent on selling me a little lunch basket of woven grass and goat skin that had been made by hand. I was not interested in buying the basket, but I was interested in the boy holding the basket. I eventually bought the basket and he gave me an additional basket just for fun.

I did not want to be rude about his eyes, but I felt as a nurse that something could be done to ease his blindness. I got his name and his father’s name (he had no address) and I left that Felasha village, asking the Lord to show me how to impact this boy for Christ. Upon our return to the U.S., God guided me to a doctor in Gondar, who was willing to drive out to the Felasha village and find Bereket. Her evaluation concurred with mine, and by the grace of God she arranged for him to be evaluated by a transplant surgeon in the capital city. Over the next two years funds came in for Bereket’s transplant, and he was flown from Gondar to Addis. I thank the Lord for the Meserete Kristos Bible School that gave him housing and care in the weeks following the transplant. During this time, against the backdrop of love he had never experienced before, he accepted the Lord as His Savior. Though for a brief time he had perfect vision, eventually the side effects of anti-rejection medications created glaucoma and other problems such that his vision again deteriorated and nothing more could be done. We set Bereket up in a dairy business and today he still lives in Gondar running his business and attending the Meserete Kristos church in Gondar.

In 2005 Dave taught an 8-week Greek course at the Evangelical Theological College in the capital. We videotaped this course, and through the generosity of others were able to make it into a 24-DVD set that is now allowing people all over the world to learn the Scriptures in their original language.

Also in 2005 we began a Bible distribution program in Burji. When we had left Burji, the cries of the church elders were, “Don’t forget us!” To this day I can hear their pleas in my ears. Burji is so far away! There are no bookstores where Christians could obtain a Bible. Even if they traveled the long distance to a town large enough to sell Bibles, the cost of the Bible was prohibitive for them. As a result, very few individuals in Burji owned their own Bible. If a family had a Bible it was guarded very carefully. We felt it best not to give the Bibles freely but to give them as an award for completing a Bible memory program (like the BMA ministry of my childhood).  We selected nine passages of Scripture that were to be memorized perfectly and recited to the church elders. These passages included Psalm 1, Psalm 23, John 3, John 14, Romans 8:28-39, 1 Corinthians 13, and Phil 4:8-12.

Over the years it has been so pleasing to us to watch the Lord create in the believers in Ethiopia an eagerness for His word. Whenever we have gone to Ethiopia, or taken teams to Ethiopia, we have had the privilege of listening to them recite their verses and of presenting them their own Bible.

It is forever etched in my memory the first time we distributed Bibles. The people raised their Bibles over their heads and singing a happy song; they danced from one end of the church yard to the other and back again. Oh that we had this love for the Scriptures here in the United States! I purposefully have not kept count of how many Bibles have been distributed. God instructed to me the instruction of King David to not count the people. I did not want to count because it could yield pride and self sufficiency. My guess is that at least 10-12,000 Bibles have been distributed as a result of this memory program. The Bibles have gone to young people, to elderly people, to handicapped people, to nursing moms; all strata of society have embraced this Bible memory program. And the Bibles that have been given have been in their own language. The word of God that will last forever is now in the hands of thousands of people by His grace.

I remember the day when I was in my kitchen in America and I reached for a pair of reading glasses. As I reached for those glasses I thought to myself, “I wonder if they need glasses in Ethiopia.” So I went to the Dollar Tree store and gathered an assortment of non-prescription reading glasses for a dollar each. I made eyeglass cases and cleaning cloths, and we distributed them on our trip in 2004. I can still remember giving the last pair of glasses to a church leader in Burji. He literally broke down crying and he said to me, “Our evangelists have been crying out for glasses!” It is amazing how a simple one dollar investment can change the life and ministry of an individual. In the years since that moment, we have taken thousands of non-prescription eye glasses, and many women have joined me in sewing the eyeglass cases. We give these glasses free of charge after testing each person.

One time, in a village called Kalicho in Burji, I was testing a Muslim leader. My routine was to have people bring their Bible, and then I would place glasses of different strengths and have them read again. This man had no Bible, so we borrowed a Bible and I had him read from Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” What a joyful way to present the Gospel to a man blinded by Islam! I have always said, humanitarian work is wonderful but it must be done side by side with a presentation of the Gospel. We do not do humanitarian work in order to butter people up and make them feel good about us so that we can present the Gospel – No, No, No! We present the Gospel as we are doing the work. So while our hands are doing the work of giving glasses or food or clothes, at the same time our mouths and our eyes are presenting the Good News that a Savior has come.

In another village in Burji on another trip, I was in one-room mud-walled church distributing eyeglasses. The church leaders came to me and said that a Muslim leader wants a pair of eyeglasses. I will be honest with you, my heart cried, No! These are for my brothers and sisters! But God quickly convicted me, and I invited him to come in and sit down. He came in and sat looking straight ahead. He did not greet me; he did not even look at me. I went through my routine: I tested his eyes, I found a pair of eyeglasses, and I had him read for me. Then the Spirit of God said to me, Make sure he knows where these glasses came from. So I folded the glasses and placed them in the case, held them in my hand, and said to him, “I want you to know where these came from. These glasses did not come from the United Nations; these glasses did not come from a health organization; they did not come from the American or the Ethiopian government. These glasses came from people who love Jesus. Jesus knows you and Jesus loves you, and Jesus told people to send these glasses to you. And every time you wear theses glasses you will think of Jesus. He is alive, He is in heaven, He sees you, He knows you, and He loves you.” With that little speech I handed him his glasses. He never looked at me, he never said thank you, he remained as hard as when he had first sat down. I went on to the next person waiting for glasses. The church leaders told me at the end of the day that the Muslim leader stayed around the church for two hours and when he left he said, “I have never seen such love as in this place.”

Two years later we were applying to the government for permission to open a rural clinic in the vicinity of this church. It was known as a Muslim village and group of young Muslims did not want anything Christian in their village, even if it was something to help the people like a clinic. These young Muslims drafted a letter requesting the government not to give us permission. They brought the letter to their village leader to sign. The first person they brought the letter to was Mr. Eyeglasses man. He raised his right hand and said, “My hand refuses to sign this letter!” And then he explained to them: “No one loves us except these Christians. Our Muslim leaders only want to put money in their pockets. Our government does not care for us because we are so far away. The only people who want to help us are these Christians. I cannot sign this letter!” After his refusal, the other Muslim leaders also refused to sign, and within a few months we had a license to open our clinic.

Our clinic consisted of 3 dilapidated cement block buildings. Two buildings were housing for medical staff, one building was storage for medical supplies, and one building (six rooms) was the clinic. It had been abandoned from the Micah Project many years ago due to lack of funding and interest by the outside world. These buildings had all remained empty. We began the work of renovating the buildings, of installing solar power for electricity, of installing a water harvesting system with solar hot water, and of building a waiting shelter and a guard house.

We stocked the clinic with the items needed for basic medical service. In addition, we made the big expenditure of buying a long-bed Land Cruiser to serve as an ambulance. The clinic had a staff consisting of a pharmacist, a laboratory technician, two nurses, a registrar, two guards, and a house keeper.

The primary purpose for this clinic was not medical work but evangelism. So from the beginning we had a full-time chaplain named Solomon. In addition to the love and care of the nurses, every person that came to the clinic was introduced to Christ through posted signs about Christ, through a loudspeaker playing Christian songs and Bible teaching, and through the chaplain praying, visiting, and teaching (often using flannelgraph) to waiting patients.

On many days the clinic chaplain could be seen walking through the village discussing the Lord to people who had been to the clinic. A village leader (who was Muslim) strongly resented the fact that Christian work was in his village. One day he called a village meeting and prompted other leaders to say to the people, “We do not want this clinic; it is not helping us.” Immediately all the people rose up and said to them, “We do want this clinic; it is a big help to us!” On one of my trips to Burji, two men stood up in a public meeting to express their thanks to me and to all those who had sacrificed to give them an ambulance. They gave testimony of how the ambulance had saved their lives when the Gujis had attacked them. Many people have come to the Lord through the ministry of the clinic, and we praise Him for the opportunity to have done this work.

At this time, Burji had no electricity except some very unreliable current in Soyama town. God gave me a vision to establish solar power at various churches and with that power to establish interior lights for evening Bible study, a microphone for preaching, and a loudspeaker with a DVD player for music and Bible teaching that spread to the countryside around the church. By God’s grace we were able to establish this system in five churches in Burji. This represents about 20- of the Burji churches. I praise God for the expertise of Ed Johnson and Danny Chambers as they established these systems and taught Bange and Oshe how to maintain them. For the churches where we could not place these systems, God introduced me to a product of Global Network Recordings called the SABER.

This sturdy handheld recorder had an internal battery that could be charged by solar or by DC (direct current). Additionally, it could be powered by hand-winding. The player had an internal memory for permanent storage. It also had SD card capability. I purchased 25 of these SABERS and put the Amharic book of James on the internal memory. By the grace of God and the generosity of the Mekane Yesus Church in Addis, we were able to get the Amharic and Oromo translation of J. Vernon McGee’s “Through the Bible” study. Additionally we were able to get copies of radio broadcasts that SIM had done in Ethiopia. We established a library (similar to the one I had established at the College Church in La Mirada in 1978) with hundreds of messages. The messages were put on CD for broadcasting over the loudspeaker churches and on SD cards for use in the SABER churches.

God has used this ministry greatly. Let me tell you just two stories. One of the loudspeaker churches is Kilicho. One night the church was having a praise service, and it was broadcast over the loudspeaker. This is one of the villages that the Muslims claim as their own.

They began throwing rocks at the church. Several rocks broke through the tin roof, but thankfully no one was seriously hurt. The Christians called the Burji police to the scene, and the Muslims were told very definitively that the Christians had the right to worship any way they wanted and that the Muslims cannot dictate religion. That encounter brought on by the loudspeaker set the tone for peace in Kilicho, and the Muslims all across Burji settled down. In the village of Wordaya, the Christians were gathered listening to the SABER. The volume of the SABER can go quite high so it can accommodate quite a large group. Nonbelievers from the village gathered to listen. I do not know what passage they were listening to; perhaps it was from the Gospels where Jesus was healing people. But after the meeting a Muslim man came to the church elders and asked them, “Does Jesus heal?” They replied, “Yes!” The man then proceeded to tell them that his son had a bleeding disorder. He had spent his life’s earnings taking his son to numerous medical facilities, the witch doctor, and the Muslim imam, all to no avail. So he brought his son to the church elders, and they prayed over him. The power of Jesus healed him instantly. News of the healing spread, and soon many Muslim families were coming to Christ and a great revival broke out in that village. This is the same village where an elderly Ethiopian evangelist had been preaching many years before. Their hearts had been so hard against the Gospel. The evangelist planted a little tree and said to everyone, “This tree is a testimony, and when it is grown you will come to Christ.” That tree is now grown. We have been told that non-believers who work in the fields are singing Christian songs they have heard from the loudspeaker. We trust those songs will become the root of their rebirth.

In addition to Burji, Dave and I began working in a town called Alaba. It has always been a Muslim stronghold with direct ties to the Middle East. I could tell you story after story of God breaking through the darkness of Islam with the Gospel. I know several Muslim leaders to whom Christ personally visited who are now strong Christian leaders. And it has been our privilege to come alongside them in the work of evangelism. I was introduced to Alaba as a young child. We had to go through Alaba when we traveled on horseback to get to my mission station in Bobitcho, Hosanna. Even at that young age, I could sense a spiritual darkness. The inn where we used to stay is still standing. It is as real as my memories. Alaba town sits on the Bilatte River. The Alaba district lies in the Great Rift Valley. As such it is ridden with malaria and typhoid. At any point in time, one third of Alaba’s population is sick with malaria as well as with typhoid and typhus.

Our own work in Alaba began in 2005. For several years we had been sponsoring a student at the Evangelical Theological College (ETC) in Addis Ababa. This student came from Alaba. One day he wrote an email to us. It simply said, “We lost one.” This confused me, so I wrote back, “What do you mean by ‘We lost one’?” Then he explained that a young Muslim man had murdered a young Christian aged 19. Our heart was moved with compassion for the parents of the 19-year old as well as for the young Muslim man who had done the killing. So in the summer of 2005, while Dave was teaching at ETC, he and an Ethiopian friend of his took a weekend to go and comfort this family.

After visiting with the family, Dave went over to the prison to meet the murderer. His name was Muhammad. Each time we went to Alaba after that we always made a point to get to the prison to see Muhammad. We would bring him a blanket, a pair of shoes, or a shirt, even a Bible he had asked for. One day as we were getting ready to leave, Muhammad said to us, “I’m ready.” We asked, “What are you ready for?”  He replied, “I am ready to declare that Jesus Christ is Lord.” So in that prison he raised his hands toward heaven and before everyone declared, “Yesus Getano!,” “Jesus is Lord!” In Alaba, those are fighting words! Then he said to us, “My mother and father will forsake me, so now you are my mother and father.” We joyfully became his Christian parents!

Muhammad began a Bible correspondence course, the church evangelist met with him weekly for discipleship, and the Spirit of God began his redemption. The change in Muhammad was dramatic. On one visit I asked him how it was going with the other prisoners, meaning the other Muslims in the prison. He replied, “Oh, they want me to come back, but I am not afraid of them.” Soon the prison director was placing Muhammad in positions of leadership, and then he recommended him for early parole. Muhammad left the Alaba prison after serving only 75- of his term, a new man by the blood of Christ. Today Muhammad is living and working in Addis, the capital. We have the original copy of his pardon in our safe deposit box.

Our work in Alaba over the years has been very different from our work in Burji. The primary need was for assistance in building church buildings. In the Muslim mind, a building represents territorial control. In about 2004, one Middle Eastern country donated millions for the building of mosques in Ethiopia even where no Muslims existed. These mosques were placed in strategic locations along major roadways to communicate to everyone, “This is Muslim territory.” This had an intimidating effect and assisted greatly in the conversion of people to Islam. In Alaba, the rural Christians were meeting in private homes (huts), which had no significance to Muslims. So by the grace of God we built about 14 simple church buildings. As a result of these buildings, many Muslims who had been afraid gathered the courage to convert to Christ.

I remember one time being in one of these new church buildings. We were holding an agricultural workshop. We had invited people to come and listen to myself and Lloyd Williamson (who was an agricultural specialist in Virginia). We discussed the necessary ingredients of soil for maximum yield and the principles of water preservation and soil erosion. At the end of Lloyd’s talk, I distributed seeds. We asked the people to divide into groups and to elect a leader from their group. I gave a sack of seeds to each leader to distribute to his group. Before I gave the seeds, I said to the group, “I want you to know where these seeds have come from. These seeds have not come from the United Nations, or from the American government, or from the Ethiopian government. These seeds have come from people who love Jesus to help you.” As I was giving my little speech, a Muslim man, sitting on the first row, interrupted me: “Is this the last thing we have to listen to?” I sweetly replied, “Yes,” and I continued with my little speech.  In my experience, Muslims will always fight even over the tiniest seed. I did not like to be in such a confrontational atmosphere. Christians never argued, but the Muslims always discussed and argued. I left the church and went around to the hut in the back. This hut belonged to the Christian man who had started the church and had donated the land to the church. To my amazement, Mr. Interrupter followed me. We stood back there by the house and he said, “I think the way of Jesus is the right way.” “You do?” I replied. “Why?” He then went on to explain that he had observed the donation of the land for the church. He said, “You have left America, and no one is paying you to come to this poor place. It has cost you much money to serve us. I think the way of Jesus is the right way. But we Muslims make life difficult for Christians. My brother became a Christian and he had to flee far from here. We burn their houses, we burn their crops, we kill their animals, and we put them in prison.” I replied, “Yes, you do all these things, but Jesus is still with us. He does not leave us, and He gives us a joy inside that is stronger than anything you can do to us.” I continued, “Jesus said, ‘What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?’” The man looked at me and said, “Will you pray for me to make the right choice?” I do not know this man’s name; God knows who he is. But still today I am praying that this man will make the right choice.

This little story is representative of life in Alaba. Much of our work has been to encourage those who are persecuted, to help the very poor, and to facilitate the work of the evangelists. When we started working in Alaba, Osama bin Laden had just risen to fame. Huge posters with his photo were all over Alaba, and many Muslim men in Alaba grew beards at that time. When questioned about it they replied, “We want to help Osama hide.” As I have said, these Muslims have direct ties to the Middle East. Once, just a few days before we arrived, the Ethiopian military raided Alaba and closed down several terrorist training camps. For these reasons, most white people are afraid to go to Alaba. But God has removed all fear from us, and it had been our joy to stand side by side with these brethren in these past years.

The last place in Ethiopia we have been honored to work is in the Northern city of Gondar. As word of the Lord’s work through us in Burji and Alaba spread throughout Ethiopia, Dave and I were bombarded with pleas for help in other locations. One of these pleas came from the elders of the Evangelical Churches Fellowship (ECF) in Gondar. They had a heart to plant churches. This area (northwestern Ethiopia) is strongly Orthodox. The ground is very hard for the Gospel. Persecution by the Orthodox was high, and funds for evangelists were not available. So we signed a partnership agreement with five sending churches whereby we shared the salary to send evangelists into unreached villages. It was a three-year agreement, and each year we paid less and they paid more of the evangelists’ salaries.

Exciting stories came out of this work. Let me tell you three.

1) In the Orthodox Church there are many believing priests. Two of these (Dawit and Enetu) had worked undercover within the Orthodox Church by starting Bible studies and leading people to Christ. Twice they were discovered by the church authorities. Once they were imprisoned and once they were stoned out of town, but still they remained faithful; they just moved to another village and started again. In the goodness of God, those who came to faith under the nurture of these two men are still meeting today growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2) Muluken, an evangelist, arrived in a village and was going to visit the people. As he walked down the street, the witch doctor came out to greet him. The witch doctor hated the name of Jesus Christ, and by satanic power he called forth a swarm of bees to attack Muluken. All the people were watching, but without hesitation Muluken raised his hand and said in a loud voice, “By the power of Jesus Christ, I command you to stop!” Instantly the bees left. When a year later we visited the church planted by Muluken, there sat the witch doctor. He had come to Christ, praise God!

3) Fantehun was an evangelist who took an unreached area close to the Sudan border; he and his evangelist partner were building a house there. In that area of Ethiopia, houses are built with a mixture of branches and tall grass. It is very, very hot there. The walls are open for the breeze, and the roof is made of this tall grass. Fantehun had out his long scythe and was cutting the grass when a poisonous snake bit him on his bare feet. He was carried into the unfinished house and told, “There is no medical help here; we can only call the witch doctor.” Fantehun declared, “Never! I would rather die than to leave Jesus!” He was comatose for several days, but by God’s grace he was healed. He continued on with the work and saw many come to Christ in that area.

In summary, as you can see how God used the things early in my life to facilitate the things later in my life. Ministry simply means serving others as the hands and feet of Jesus. It simply means influencing others for Christ. It has nothing to do with formal education, official titles, or paid salary. I am so glad for the wisdom of God in arranging His church such that ordinary people become His ambassadors. In the last year we have partnered with the Peniel Gospel Team in India. This is a group of evangelists working in churches and orphanages and in a Bible school to advance the Gospel in a largely unreached area. It is in the “bridge” surrounded by Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. It is our great joy to join hands with them in this work. We are currently representing them to other believers through our website, and we are funneling funds to them according to designated gifts.

One of our great concerns at the moment is the building of a Christian school that will be a supply of funds in the future with this ministry. If the Lord keeps me here for more years, then I expect to have stories to tell about India just as he has given me stories to tell about Ethiopia. Our heart is turning to unreached people groups in this regard. Not only have we embraced India but we have embraced a new work in Burji – a laymen’s training center in the Suggen Valley that will not only develop strong Christians in the rural churches but will also send these believers into neighboring tribes along the Ethiopia/Kenya border, where they have not heard the name of our Lord Jesus. Will you pray with us that God would raise up an army of soldiers to march into Northeast India and Southern Ethiopia to win over these unreached people with love and with the truth of the Gospel? For more information and for current updates of this work, please visitwww.daveblackonline.com  See theIndia/Ethiopia Files as well as theBlog.

October 7, 2013

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Bush Is No Churchill

Bob Strodtbeck

Winston Churchill was no stranger to political dissenters – in fact he seemed to attract them. When he came under their attacks and scorn, however, Churchill proved his mastery of vocabulary, principle and wit.

When Lady Astor, the first female Member of Parliament and one of Churchill’s most diligent critics, once told him, “Winston, if I were your wife I’d poison your soup,” Churchill drolly replied, “Nancy, if I were your husband I’d drink it.” Clement Atlee, leader of the British Labor Party, was another nemesis whom Churchill described as, “a sheep in sheep’s clothing,” and, “a modest man with much to be modest about.”

Even as his political career approached its end Churchill’s timing and rhetoric was superior to that of his ambitious detractors. On his 85th birthday, an MP, thinking himself to be out of earshot, said of Churchill, “They say the old man’s getting gaga.” To which Churchill added, without turning to address the speaker, “Yes, and they say he’s getting deaf, too.”

Such stories add to the fabric of the man who used words to inspire his fellow countrymen to withstand insurmountable odds against the Nazi Luftwaffe through the Battle of Britain and eventual victory in WW II. This image is implied of the Bush Administration when its supporters label its words and deeds in the conduct of the War Against International Terror as “Churchillian.”

One must wonder, though, how Churchill’s reputation, or even his place in history, would have been affected if, in response to Lady Astor’s conjectured plot, he had blurted the vile epithet “**** you” that Vice President Dick Cheney hurled at Senator Patrick Leahy during the class photo session of the current U.S. Senate.

Or how would Britain have responded if Churchill, on the eve of the Battle of Britain, had defiantly told the Luftwaffe, with Bushian swagger, “Bring ’em on,” rather than encouraging Brits that their posterity 1000 years hence would look upon the approaching moment of defiance as “their finest hour.”

Seemingly neither members of the Bush Administration or its supporters possess Churchill’s mastery of rhetoric, biting wit, or joy of facing the intellectual warfare that should undergird serious political debate. On the other hand Churchill did not benefit from the guidance of an entourage of handlers, advisers, speech writers, focus groups, or pollsters as does the Bush Administration of 2004.

The words and actions of modern politicians are scripted for the sake of achieving a desired, optimum effect on the largest number of people. Such being the case it is entirely possible that more minds and intense research were invested in the president’s “Bring ’em on” invitation to Iraqi insurrectionists and the vice president’s coarse recommendation to Sen. Leahy than was devoted to any of the speeches that made Churchill admirable.

Is it possible that the Bush and Cheney quotes, as well as the countless others making the daily news sound bite cut, have been planned for a particular effect? Admittedly the timing for delivering the phrases have a certain emotional appeal, especially Cheney’s verbal slap of Leahy. After all, Democrats have made a hobby of rhetorically beating Republicans about the head and shoulders with all kinds of innuendo, conjecture, and outright lies.

Pandering to base emotional reactions is more a tactic of the Democrats, though, and was not a tool of Churchill. Churchill’s speeches and rhetoric were intelligent, principled, and well-researched. He never resorted to clichés; instead, some of his most famous phrases were years in the making. His most important speeches did not pander to a popular sentiment, but inspired nations to move beyond expectations.

The failure in the comparison of the Bush Administration to Winston Churchill does not end with the contrast in rhetorical skill. Churchill was a serious student of history, a scintillating writer, and a voracious reader. From these avocations he had the insight to predict WWII before the ink was dry on the Treaty of Versailles simply by understanding the reaction Germany would have to such an unjust assault upon its pride.

The president, on the other hand, has bragged about not reading newspapers (yet another shortfall in the attempt to be Churchillian). Furthermore, his administration is populated by advisors who have expressed the belief that America’s military technical fire power provides the thrust to lift the nation over the influences of history, heritage, or human nature. The combination of such leadership and advice forms an explosive mix that is choking out conservative and constitutional reasoning from analyses of government and replacing public service with global adventurism.

Consequently, the verbal gymnastics that the administration has applied to explaining its entire agenda has less to do with inspiration and more to do with manipulation. The difference there is as simple as a comparison between rhetoric and hubris.

July 8, 2004

Since 1993 Bob Strodtbeck has been writing commentaries for The Apopka Chief, a news weekly circulated in a community ten miles north of Orlando. His analyses investigate a wide range of topics from what he calls a “Christian pragmatic” view – that is to say, he considers that human interactions are largely driven by the human instinct toward self-service, which is traditionally known as sin. This perspective has given Bob great liberty to criticize governmental officials from both parties upon the standards of constitutional laws they swear to uphold and review cultural and economic phenomena from moral standards defined in the Bible. Bob currently lives in Orlando with his bride Pam and children Charlotte and Richard. He may be reached for comment here.

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December 2011 Blog Archives

 

Friday, December 23

 

7:15 PMPreachers: Beware of thoseiPhone toting parishioners who are checking out your every word!

 

6:09 PM Congratulations to Daniel Mynyk on the publication of his first book,Freedom to Give: The Biblical Truth about Tithing. I read about the release here.

 

5:38 PM This afternoon I pruned one of our backyard trees and then gave Sheba and Dayda a thorough grooming (brushing, bath, rinse, etc.).

 

 

They are now as clean as a whistle. Saved a bucket load of money too. Around here dog grooming goes for at least $40.00 a pop. Now everyone feels a lot better.

 

Tonight for supper I’m cooking Chinese stir fry again. Yes, I know, it’s an addiction. But I could eat rice 7 days a week and still never tire of it.

 

2:03 PM Who might you guess was the top selling religion author of 2011? Theanswer might surprise you. It did me.

 

1:48 PM While in my car I often listen to BBN (the Bible Broadcasting Network). Usually the Bible teaching is excellent, but sometimes you’ve got to be prepared for a Charlie Horse between the ears. Like today, for example. J. Vernon McGee was introducing the Gospel of Luke. In the opening verses he made special note of the words “eyewitnesses” and “ministers” of the Word. Of the former he noted that the word in Greek is autoptai from which, he said, we get the word “autopsy.” Luke, he insisted, being the physician that he was, had done a spiritual “autopsy” on the life of Jesus in his Gospel. The next word in Greek ishyperetai, which McGee interpreted as a nautical term referring to the rower in a boat, a lowly position best represented in English, he said, by yet another medical term: “intern.” Luke, McGee pointed out, was glad to be nothing but an “intern” of “the Great Physician.”

 

How we use words matters, folks. Word study fallacies, including the examples seen above, are all too common in our teaching and preaching. Unless we do our homework, our study of the text can actually lead to eisegesis instead of exegesis. All pastors need to read Carson’sExegetical Fallacies at least once in their lifetime — and then put its teaching into practice. For what it’s worth, I also spend an entire chapter on the subject in myLinguistics for Students of New Testament Greek. If I ever engage in such philological voodoo, please call me out!

 

1:34 PM If you’re ever in Southside Virginia you simply must visit the nature trail behind the famous Berry Hill Plantation, just west of South Boston. I walked it today and it was wonderful.

 

 

I witnessed lots of wildlife (rabbits, squirrels, deer) but not another human soul. Peaceful, secluded, quiet. I imagine this wall predates the Civil War and was built by the plantation’s slave population. Reminds me very much of the wall surrounding the seminary in Wake Forest.

 

 

Healthy hardwood stands are everywhere.

 

 

The trail ends at the mighty Dan River.

 

 

The Dan originates in Patrick County, Virginia, crosses into North Carolina, and then snakes back into Virginia and finally into Kerr Lake.

 

 

At the other end of the trail I found this cemetery but, interestingly enough, no grave markers. Presumably they’ve all been moved elsewhere.

 

 

Driving through the Berry Hill estate one sees many ruins, this one possibly being a former slave quarters (there were no markers).

 

 

I’ve worked up quite an appetite so it’s time to indulge in one of my favorite lunches — a hot dog smothered with mustard and relish, accompanied by a bowl of Ramen noodle soup.

 

10:53 AM My friend and colleague Alvin Reid justtweeted that he has lost 34 pounds since 2007. “Grateful to be healthier at 52 than I was in my 40s,” he writes. Congratulations, Alvin, and thanks for setting a great example for the rest of us. We Baptists seem to be the worst offenders in this regard. Obesity-related problems are the second cause of death in the U.S. yet we continue to over-indulge ourselves at the dinner table. Self-discipline is simply Christianity in action.

 

Incidentally, Clement of Alexandria, a second-century church father, wrotean entire essay about the sin of over-eating. His message was unpopular then and I imagine many will find it offensive today.

 

10:08 AM The story continues …

 

In 1976 I was married to a beautiful Southern lady in her home church in Dallas, Texas. Becky and I had known each other for years, having originally met in the cafeteria line at Biola (I had offered her a chocolate-covered macadamia nut). She was studying nursing, while I was a Biblical Studies major. Marriage was not an easy decision for me. I had come from a broken home, and I knew that God’s original blueprint for marriage was seldom followed or modeled, even in Christian homes. The picture is one of total unselfishness, two persons actively and joyfully fulfilling their duties to their partners. It involves mutual love and respect, a unity of purpose and goals. Is anyone ever ready for that step? Ready or not, we said our “I dos” on September 11, 1976, in a beautiful ceremony at Grace Bible Church, where Dwight Pentecost was pastoring. Becky was glowing in her lovely traditional wedding gown, while I wore a simple white shirt and trousers with a maile lei — the usual wedding garb for a man in Hawaii. Needless to say, a few eyebrows were raised in tradition-loving Dallas. While Dr. Pentecost participated in the service, our pastor from California (Robert Hakes of the College Church) performed the actual ceremony.

 

 

Marriage, as Peter Marshall once said, is not a federation of two sovereign states. It is a union of lives, the confluence of two tributaries that, after being joined together in marriage, flow together in the same channel, sharing the same joys and carrying the same burdens. This is the wonderful goal of a Christian marriage, but it comes at a high price. When two strong, independent people flow together, a lot of power is generated. The current can be very strong and difficult to handle. Rare is the husband who can come into a marriage understanding his wife’s needs. He tends to think his job is to provide a living instead of sharing a life. He lacks the tenderness and care that a deeply satisfying relationship requires.

 

In our marriage Becky and I have had to continually adjust, continually adapt, continually grow. But God has honored our commitment to each other. If I talk about my marriage it’s not because it’s perfect but because it’s the only marriage I know deeply. For 35 years we have learned how to survive and thrive, flex and forgive, using the principles of God’s Word. Our only claim is God’s amazing grace that enables us to keep on flowing together in an ever-deepening unity of heart and purpose.

 

(Next: My life as a teacher and how I ended up at SEBTS.)

 

9:36 AM Just spoke with my bride. Last night they went out for Ethiopian food — again! Those rascals. Today she and Nigusse are going to take a ride on DART (the commuter train) to downtown Dallas and do some sightseeing. They are staying “warm and well fed,” but I do miss them. I’ve asked Becky to give me a long list of household/farm chores to do so that I can keep busy until she returns.

 

Now, just where did I put that roto-tiller?

 

8:07 AM This morning I’ve been reading John — my favorite “Christmas” Gospel. It begins by presenting Jesus as the eternal Word of God who “became a human being and lived among us,” and it ends with the Great Commission: “As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.” Little wonder I am excited to have been asked to give a missions update this Sunday at my home church, Bethel Hill. What better day to focus on global evangelism than Christmas Sunday?

 

7:34 AM On a more serious note, our good friend Aussie John is recovering fromtriple by-pass surgery and needs our prayers. We love you, John!

 

7:26 AM Christmas trivia: The words of “Silent Night” inover 100 languages, including the original German. (Note: Amharic is conspicuously absent.) By the way, does it bother anybody that the English and the German versions of Silent Night are, in several places, like two ships passing in the night? The same is true of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” Both reflect more of a thought-for-thought philosophy of translation than a word-for-word one. “Purists” might demur!

 

Thursday, December 22

 

6:40 PM It’s official. My grading is over for the day. I declare a moratorium on all schoolwork for myself and for all of my readers. Take the night off and enjoy your families (or, in my case, your puppies).

 

6:32 PM Here’s an amazing BBC story about conjoined twins who were born in Brazil having two heads, two hearts, two backbones, but only one heart. Their names? Jesus and Emanuel. O Lord, please help and watch over these precious infants!

 

 

6:04 PM Check out thisholiday book sale at Energion Direct. Even includes one by yours truly.

 

5:52 PM I’ve just finished eating the simple supper I cooked for myself. Since I’m sitting here, bored to death, I might as well bore you too. I thus continue my “life story”:

 

I had never been trained in the science of linguistics. To tell the truth, I had no interest at all in the subject until I began doctoral studies at the University of Basel in 1980. I spent long hours, like graduate students today, in discussing Greek pedagogy with my peers. But I was more interested in pursuing my dissertation topic, which involved biblical theology. I wanted just then to grapple with ideas rather than any more grammar. Though I knew that a “D.Theol.” was a pleasant ornament to one’s name in a college catalog, I desired other things much more.

 

There was at this time, however, no diminution of my love for languages. I was spending long hours reading Greek, Latin, French, and, of course, German. What is more, I began reading what linguists were saying about language, and about how it works, and then applying this knowledge to my exegesis of texts. I was interested in allowing the author to be his own interpreter as much as possible. Thus it was that I began writing my book on linguistics, hoping fervently that someone more qualified would do the job instead. Upon graduation from Basel in 1983, I revived my courses in Classical and Koine Greek at Biola College. I craved for myself as well as for my students a greater mastery of exact terms, and I worked away at my book until Baker agreed to publish it in the late 1980s. Linguistics for Students of New Testament Greek was an immediate success, though I fear that linguistics professors objected to my infringement upon their traditional rights. All of us at Biola, I think, gained something from that training in acute observation and accuracy of description that linguistics affords.

 

In the meantime, my essays were being accepted for publication in such journals as Biblica,New Testament Studies, and Novum Testamentum. More books shortly followed. It is pleasant to remember now my first contacts with my editors at Zondervan, Baker, B & H, and Eisenbrauns. These were men who were willing to take a risk with a young buck. I grew very fond of writing, and am still at it today, though my interests have shifted considerably from the day I published my dissertation way back in 1984.

 

(To be continued….)

 

4:59 PM Wise words from Hudson Taylor:

 

 

God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on Him.

 

 

4:42 PM Greek students! I’ve got about 5 seats left in my J-Term Greek 1 class scheduled to begin on January 2. We meet daily from 9:00 to noon. If you’d like to get a semester ahead on your Greek studies, you’re welcome to join us.

 

3:17 PM The Marathon continues. Just passed Heartbreak Hill. Here are the results for the Philippians term papers:

 

A = 8

A- = 3

B+ = 4

B = 4

B- = 3

C+ = 1

C = 4

D+ = 2

 

The lowest score was a 77, while the highest was a whopping 110 (this paper was truly exemplary so I added on 10 extra points).

 

Up next: Grading independent study projects and reading more dissertation chapters. I also have a manuscript to edit for ourAreopagus series. Glad to keep busy; I don’t miss Becky as much!

 

12:44 PM On Dec. 19, the Pew Forum publishedthis report on the size and distribution of world Christianity. It is simply mind-boggling. Take this chart, for instance

 

 

Just a century ago Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa was 1.4 percent. Today it is 23.6 percent. That represents a phenomenal shift in gravity from Europe to the developing world. Small wonder the report states that

 

 

… five of the top 10 countries with the largest Christian populations are either in Africa (Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia) or Asia (Philippines and China). Moreover, the fastest growth in the number of Christians over the past century has been in sub-Saharan Africa (a roughly 60-fold increase, from fewer than 9 million in 1910 to more than 516 million in 2010) and in the Asia-Pacific region (a roughly 10-fold increase, from about 28 million in 1910 to more than 285 million in 2010).

 

Isn’t that amazing? I wish somebody would have pulled me aside 25 years ago and helped me understand these things. Really. Maybe that’s why I’ve become so fanatical about evangelizing the world’s neediest regions — the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

 

Again, missions isn’t complicated. It’s seeing a need and then doing what you can to meet it. There is, in that context, freedom and fulfillment rarely experienced elsewhere on earth. Without question, the fields are ripe for the harvest.

 

So, how will you get involved?

 

10:58 AM I have just completed grading all of my NT 2 essay exams. That’s 60 exams with four questions each. Overall quality: Excellent. I was delighted to see how many students elected to write one of their essays on Becky’s lecture on Christian finances from 2 Corinthians 8-9.

 

Now it’s time to knock out my Greek 3 term papers on Philippians.

 

10:44 AM Do you have a yearly Bible reading plan? Have you ever considered going through the Gospels in detail? Alan Kurschnershows us how:

 

Read a synopsis in one year by reading one pericope every day! By coincidence, the synopsis has 367 pericopes (That is, all four gospels combined contain 367 units.) If you read one pericope a day next year, plus two additional days (but it is a leap year), you will have read all 367 units of all four gospels in a full year.

 

Good advice if you ask me.

 

8:12 AM I see the First Lady and her daughters are in Hawaii on their annual Christmas holiday. The question in DC is: Will her husband be able to join them? After all, he grew up in the Islands, and Kailua is his favorite vacation spot. That’s the beach where I grew up, and it certainly is a relaxing spot.

 

 

But is it worth the4 million dollar price tag? Tax payers might not think so. Mr. President, I agree that you need some time off. I’ve got an idea. Why not call the family back home and spend a few days at Camp David like Reagan did, giving your secret service agents some time off for the holidays? Then on Christmas Day you could helicopter over to Bethesda and have Christmas dinner with our wounded warriors. Like the rest of us, think “austerity.”

 

Just a thought ….

 

7:45 AMNews item: Ethiopian Christians arrested in Saudi Arabia formixing with the opposite sex. Their real “crime” was holding a Bible study. God bless them all.

 

6:40 AM My thanks to sister Kathy for translating into Mandarin my essay called A Great Commission Marriage. It’s been added to my Chinese Essays page. Essentially, it’s an essay on what makes marriage truly Christian. I assure you, I am NOT an expert on the subject, but I am striving to follow Jesus in my marriage. He is worthy!

 

Wednesday, December 21

 

9:04 PM Just finished grading the final exam over Philippians for Greek 3. Now it’s on to the term papers.

 

6:50 PM Our Southeastern faculty members are becoming prolific authors — witnessthis great interview with my friend and colleague Heath Thomas about his new book Great is Thy Faithfulness? Reading Lamentations as Sacred Scripture (Pickwick). Says Heath:

 

Read the Bible…all of it!! Including the bits that are difficult to deal with like Lamentations. If we believe the Bible to be God’s Word, and a good word, that needs to be heard in the Church, then we must submit ourselves to all of its teaching. Lamentations has deep, vast, resources that will help and equip us for every good work in Christ Jesus.

 

I second the motion! A hearty congratulations Heath, and prayers that many will heed your excellent advice.

 

4:15 PM Alan Knox sent me a link to this article about anew vaccine for malaria. That would be good news indeed if a vaccine proved effective. Malaria is a huge problem in Ethiopia, where it contributes to 20 percent of under-5 deaths. Mortality rates of 100,000 children per year are not uncommon. Prophylaxis is usually effective in the adults we take with us to Ethiopia, but it is not foolproof (I can testify to that personally). Let’s hope that scientists win the fight against this dreadful disease.

 

4:06 PM This is the scene I encountered when I arrived at my office today. And I thought the “Wailing Wall” was in Jerusalem.

 

 

Exegesis papers, essay exams, and course notebooks all await the examination of yours truly. Yes, this semester I had two “graders,” but, of course, they never grade for me. That’s my job, and I do it gladly.

 

3:55 PM My thanks to John Mureiko for taking the time toreview my book New Testament Textual Criticism. 

 

8:06 AM Here’s wishing Arthur Sido a very happy40th birthday. Ad multos annos!

 

8:02 AM I lovedthis essay by Mark Stevens. Our good brother reviews his Christian past and concludes that his years in Pentecostalism were blessings, not a curse. Mark is determined to take a divine view of his past rather than a strictly human one. Mature adults have the ability to flex, accept, change, and shift. They develop a proper response to disappointments and loss. In a word: They grow. Wisdom leads to understanding. Is there something in your past you can learn a lesson from? Don’t be afraid to say so.

 

7:45 AM Steve Scott is suffering fromBlogger’s Cramp and asks for suggestions as to what to do. This is nothing new. If blogging isn’t fun, it becomes just another chore to get accomplished for that day. Quick little ditties are the best blog posts, and are fun to write. Blog about everything under the sun if you want to. Just keep it fun. (Here’s an example from Down Under.) If you get stuck in a rut, so what? Nobody is hanging on your words anyway. I’ve said it since I began blogging in 2003, and I believe it now more than ever. The happiest people on planet earth are not the getters. They’re the givers. Blogging means giving of yourself so that others might benefit. Fact is, sometimes we have less of ourselves to give. No sense in trying to patch up the externals if your internals are pitifully lacking. So take a break from blogging, Steve. When the Lord again gives you something to say, we’ll be the first to praise Him for it.

 

Tuesday, December 20

 

7:31 PM Whether you are a complementation or an egalitarian (or neither!), you will thoroughly enjoy and benefit from this blog post by Brian Fulthorp calledPhoebe the Expositor of Romans? I’m for all of us, male or female, to be in “fulltime Christian ministry.” In fact, I will say that I know of no one who works harder for the kingdom than my own Becky Lynn. Last Sunday, while “on vacation,” she spoke twice, once in a mixed adult Sunday School class at Grace Bible Church, and once at Murphy Baptist Church. Becky has never sought to be an overseer or a pastor. Such a step would not fit her theology, or mine. But if you get into a conversation with Becky, you had better be prepared to talk theology, and I mean deep theology, including some really great insights about church, family, and missions.Elsewhere I have already referred to her as my “Phoebe,” and there is no doubt in my mind that she is every bit as much a “deacon” (minister) of the church at Bethel Hill, North Carolina, as Phoebe was of the church in Cenchrea. Did Phoebe provide hospitality for visitors and strangers in her home? So does Becky. Did Phoebe provide material assistance to the needy in the church and elsewhere? So does my bride. This is not to put her on a pedestal. No one would detest that more than Becky! It’s just to say that even if women do not serve in the role of overseer or pastor there is still a good deal of biblical data to support the conclusion that women gave leadership within many of the church’s ministries and probably also a wide variety of other tasks that complemented and supported the ministries of the elders. My plea is that more and more of our evangelical churches would model the prominence of women that we find in the biblical record. This would include speaking and leading roles within God’s design of order in the family and in the church. I don’t know about you, but I need the help of my wife in almost everything I do for the kingdom. Her godly wisdom, deep Bible knowledge, and organizational skills are simply phenomenal. She has brought a genuine complementarity to our marriage. Truly, we are partners in the Gospel. And for that I say, “Thank you, sweetheart.”

 

 

 

6:53 PM Had a great talk with Becky and Nigusse this afternoon. They are thoroughly enjoying their stay in Dallas. Nigusse and Becky’s dad are going through all of the Amharic books and Bibles they have, and Becky is relaxing and working away at a jigsaw puzzle when not helping her mom with household things. Sunday’s meetings went extremely well. It looks like we may be taking our first Dallasites with us to Ethiopia in the future. Tonight the gang is going out for dinner at one of the six (!) Ethiopian restaurants in Dallas. I will not be surprised if they visit each and every one of them during their stay, so much does everyone love that cuisine. As for me, Becky has me well taken care of mealwise. Tonight I cooked up some stir fry. The dogs gave me an ecstatic grin of approval as they licked out the pots. Later in the week I’ll heat up some of Becky’s delicious stuffed peppers. Speaking of our puppies, here’s the “Sheltie Love Song.” Ain’t it cute? Shelties were definitely NOT made to be seen but not heard!

 

 

One final note. Students, I plan to be on campus tomorrow to work on my grades. You are always welcome to stop by if I can help you in any way. I’m in Stephens-Mackie 107.

3:56 PM A very Merry Christmas and Happy Anniversary to our good friendsPam and Kevin Brown. I know of no one who works harder for the kingdom. Blessings on you both. We love you and your family.

 

 

9:53 AM While I’m here holding down the fort, Becky and Nigusse are enjoying a few days in Dallas visiting her parents. Since this will be Nigusse’s first Christmas here, I thought I might offer him a few holiday eating tips:

 

1) Avoid the pre-meal snacks. Why eat carrot sticks when you can scarf down plate loads of ham and mashed potatoes?

 

2) Don’t hog the nog. If I could, I’d drink every last swallow of the egg nog. Christmas is a good time to exercise a little self-control. Save a drop or two for others.

 

3) Under no circumstances refuse seconds when offered. You’ll offend the cook.

 

4) Have a strategy. Plan in advance which foods you will avoid and which you will splurge on.

 

5) Take a long walk after supper. This way you’ll have plenty of room in your stomach for leftovers.

 

6) Remind yourself as often as you need to, even as you are putting on all those extra pounds: “I can always lose weight next year.”

 

7) Remember why you’re doing what you’re doing. You’re celebrating family, food, and the American way. (What’s that you say? Christmas has something to do with Jesus?)

 

9:08 AM Quote of the day:

 

Thanks to the personality (i.e., the personableness) of the patriarch of Denver Seminary for so many years, Dr. Vernon Grounds, many people came to know him simply as “Vernon.”  This has spawned a culture in which all successive presidents have been known to their fellow administrators and faculty simply by their first names—Haddon, Ed, Clyde, Craig and now Mark.  As I travel, I’m reminded of how rare this is at other American institutions.  But it’s so refreshingly healthy and biblical.

 

ReadOh Yes, He’s the Right Reverend Doctor So-and-So! by Craig Blomberg of Denver Seminary.

 

8:46 AM If you’re at all interested in New Testament textual criticism, Douglass Petrovich send me a link to his defense of the shorter reading in Ephesians 1:1.

 

 

You can read ithere. Oddly enough, we both wrote our masters theses on this variant under the same professor, Robert Thomas, and we both came to opposite conclusions! 

8:26 AM Glad to see that my (former) Th.M. student Andy Bowden isblogging again. So sorry I had to miss your graduation service, Andy!

 

7:45 AM Odds and ends …

 

1) Snapped this photo earlier today. I sorely missed the pines and beautiful sunrises here at Rosewood Farm. One sees little of nature in a city of 6 million.

 

 

2) Mark Stevens recommends theNIV Study Bible App for IPad. Can you believe it — somebody gave me an IPad 2 during my trip. Thanks for the tip, Mark. I’ll check out that App.

 

3) Arthur Sido isashamed of John McCain, as well he should be.

 

4) Nick Norelli puts in a good word for my colleague Maurice Robinson’sThe New Testament in the Original Greek.

 

5) Finally, while I was away, CCML Publishing Group in Taiwan sent me copies of their Mandarin translation of my bookNew Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide.

 

 

All I can say is:

 

谢谢你

 

 

6:52 AM I did a good bit of writing while traveling. My latest essay is called Creditor or Debtor?

 

Monday, December 19

 

11:57 PM Hello blogging buddies. Just back from my trip. I had hoped to blog something interesting tonight but I’m brain dead. My teaching went great, thanks to your prayers. T. S. Elliott once said, “The years between fifty and seventy are the hardest. You are always asked to do things, and you are not yet decrepit enough to turn them down.” That describes me perfectly, I think.  Actually, I’m finding in my fifty-ninth year more fun and a new freedom to serve the Lord that I didn’t have in my earlier years. I sure am exhausted but at least I am ALIVE!

 

Talk to you tomorrow.

 

Dave

 

Monday, December 5

 

7:42 PM Soon I’m off to regions beyond. This means no blogging for a while. You needed the break anyway. Thanks for your prayers.

 

Joyfully serving the King,

 

Dave

 

7:34 PM Check out the latest additions to ourAreopagus series:

 

1)“In the Original Text It Says.”

 

 

2)The Questioning God.

 

 

12:26 PM Last night Becky gave me a long overdue haircut. This astonished Nigusse. “Do wives in America actually cut their husbands’ hair?”

 

 

Some do. I do not go to a barber. Becky does a great job, and it saves us gobs of money. We figured that by having Becky cut my hair (what little there is of it — ha!!) we have saved about $5,000 in 35 years of marriage. That’s two round trips tickets to Ethiopia. Not bad, eh?

 

By the way, gray hair is highly respected in Ethiopia. So is old age. I qualify on both counts!

 

 

12:12 PM Last night after supper we opened these gifts from the church in Alaba. Becky received this gorgeous dress. Won’t she look beautiful in it?

 

 

I received a new outfit of all white, along with this Ethiopian banner. Can’t wait to wear it.

 

 

And here’s Nigusse with his matching outfit. Life father like son.

 

 

To all of our brothers and sisters in Alaba we say:

 

BETAM AMASAGENALIN!

 

11:14 AM Following in the footsteps of her daddy, Katy Brown describes herAdventure to Africa. She writes:

 

There is NOTHING like mission work, especially when it is in the “outermost parts.”

 

All I can say is a hearty Amen!

 

11:08 AM This morning we had a wonderful visit with the Blacks. Couldn’t help but take a couple of pix of Mr. Photogenic. Here he is with his Papa B:

 

 

And with his Mama B:

 

 

And, of course, here is Mr. Blue Eyes himself.

 

 

Boy will miss I Bradford and Nolan while I’m gone.

 

11:02 AM Kevin Brown just returned from taking two of his daughters to Ethiopia. You can read his post-trip reporthere. Note these words:

 

I will try to write over the next week or so about the experiences of the journey and the things the Lord has taught me and given to me and my family in this process. In doing so, perhaps vicariously you can somehow get a taste of the work. But, I must tell you that I have another motive. It is to place a seed of desire within you for mission work to reach beyond the comfort, security and pleasure of our own homes and even our own borders to reach the world with the Gospel. I hope the Spirit of God will place a desire in your heart to do “hard things.” I pray some parents will see that it is just as important to send your child on mission adventures as it is sports camps/weeks, summer camps or academic exploits.

 

Now that is one wise daddy speaking. Methinks the Kevin Brown family is indeed a Great Commission family. Can’t wait for the rest of Kevin’s reports.

 

Sunday, December 4

 

6:12 PM Congrats to the leadership of CCMC for putting up with me this afternoon. The Lord blessed our time in His Word as we discussed leadership according to the New Testament.

 

 

Next topic: How to teach the Bible simply without being simplistic. My approach has already been translated into Chinesehere.

 

6:45 AM The story continues ….

 

In view of my undergraduate training in Greek, I was hired to teach Greek at Biola College during my second year of seminary. The year was 1976. We used Chase and Phillips’ classical grammar for beginning Greek. It was designed to be covered in one semester at Harvard but we scraped by in two.

 

 

Students were obliged to translate and parse and endure quizzes and exams. I was closely supervised by the head of Biola’s Greek Department, Dr.Harry Sturz, a textual critic of the New Testament. No one was kinder to me, or more encouraging. I was bent, grimly and ferociously, on mastering every secret of Chase and Phillips. I must have succeeded, as I was hired again in 1977.

 

I think my chief intellectual adventure in those days was my interaction with Professor Sturz. His noble features showed little trace of the burden of years, and he had already been a legend for years on campus as a symbol of excellent teaching. “He taught as one having authority, as not as the scribes.” All of us recognized his immense intellect. Yet he was never dogmatic, never over-bearing. It was there at Biola in the 1970s, under the tutelage of this gentleman scholar as I said, that I honed whatever skills I possess as a Greek teacher.

 

6:15 AM Odds and ends …

 

1) Today I’m at CCMC in Durham. I love this Chinese congregation. My message this morning to the English-speaking group is on “The Forgotten Father.” Our church leadership workshop is from 1:00-4:00 pm. I actually plan on doing very little teaching. If there are any questions I’ll defer to the Scriptures.

 

2) My Ed.D. student Thomas Hudgins has some excellent thoughts oncross-cultural missions. Here’s a sampler:

 

Here’s the deal. We are expected, for the sake of the gospel, to enter these cultures as visitors. We are expected to not be a stumbling block for the ever-important gospel. We are to make nothing of trivial matters so that all the attention can be placed on the most important matter at hand.

 

3) “We are always thankful as we pray for you all, for we never forget that your faith has meant solid achievement, your love has meant hard work, and the hope that you have in our Lord Jesus Christ means sheer dogged endurance in the life that you live before God, the Father of us all” (1 Thess. 1:3). Grateful this morning for faith, love, and hope — each a gift from God. 

 

4) The suggestions are now pouring in: more on the optative, provide optional pronunciation schemes, add a Scripture index, etc. I plan on doing all of these — and more. Your thoughts?

 

Saturday, December 3

 

7:07 PM Just back from a hot date with Becky. Yes, we left Nigusse behind to brave the house all by himself.

 

11:53 AM Truly we have a Great Commission seminary. This weekend our president, Danny Akin, is giving the commencement address at theLiberia Baptist Theological Seminary. This is just one of several partnerships that SEBTS has around the world. So grateful for this emphasis.

 

11:34 AM A huge Saturday shout out and “thank you” to sister Aberesh of Alaba for sending along this delicious ambasha for Becky.

 

 

No, Becky is not sharing it with me or Nigusse. But that’s okay, as long as she bakes bread for us!

 

11:34 AM Congratulations to my former doctoral student Matthew McDill and his wife Dana on the birth of theirnew son Isaac!

 

10:59 AM An emailer asked me whether the Aussies say we Americans live “Up Above”?

 

10:26 AM Here’s more ….

 

As a student in Basel I was expected to speak German fluently, unless incapacitated by sheer terror, or by immovable obstinacy. Personally I owe my speaking ability in German to Paul Mittmann of Anaheim, California, who had emigrated to America after WW II, in which he had served as a German soldier. Even now I have flashbacks to the the hours we spent in his living room practicing German together. On Sundays he let me preach a few times in his church (a Lutheran Brethren congregation) in order to improve my diction and confidence.

 

The real difficulty arose in Basel. I had not been informed that the Swiss have their own particular dialect of German. I had no practice in Swiss German and was terrified of it. Fortunately, I managed to find a Basel German grammar in a local bookstore. All at once, things began to fall into place. The vowels were easy enough, but the consonantal shifts were perplexing. I soon found myself guessing, and of course I guessed wrong.Back to the grammar, I told myself. One could not help but be aware that learning Basel German made High German look like child’s play. I formed the habit of speaking dialect whenever the opportunity arose, though I was overwhelmed at first by the pressure it put on my tired brain.

 

My French was even more problematic. On outings into the Vosges I tried my best to speak the language, but I took some pretty hard knocks. Was I a philologist, and could I ever become one? My French interlocutors, I’m afraid, would have answered that question in the negative.

 

On visits to the Reickes I would sometimes hear them speaking on the phone. The conversation often took place in Swedish (their mother tongue) but just as often in English, French, German, or even Italian. I imagine they felt sorry for me because I was so linguistically challenged. As I said before, on Sunday mornings we would attend the (High) German-speaking Baptist church in Basel, and I preached there on several occasions. I know no one who did not sincerely appreciate my efforts at communicating in German. My accent left something to be desired, however. In Switzerland I was often mistaken for a German, and in Germany for a Swiss. As a result I began to work very hard on my enunciation and, for the most part, have succeeded in passing myself off for a German in Germany — which still surprises me.   

 

10:04 AM What? A pastor who holds toMatthean priority? What is this world coming to?

 

9:48 AM Last night I finished Ben Witherington’s book Is There a Doctor in the House? It was not what I was expecting. I was hoping for a more autobiographical approach. But there were many wonderful takeaways. One of the best: Do what God has gifted you to do. Refuse to feel guilty because you’re not a gifted teacher or a published author. God does not call everyone to a life of scholarship. Remember: He has a plan for you. Find it. Do it deliberately. Then stand back and watch your light shine!

 

Ministry begins with an inventory of our talents. They are a clue to where we fit in the Grand Scheme of things. Your faith in your co-laborer, God, is what enables you to dream God-sized dreams. Remember, if the Lord appoints, the Lord provides. If He has called you to an academic career, He will enable you to do it. Ben is sterling proof of that.

 

I hate for my books to sit around on my shelves, so I’m giving away Ben’s tome. Are you praying about a doctoral program in biblical studies and would like to have Ben’s book but have already blown your book budget for the year? Let me know. The book is yours. (First come, first served, of course.)

 

7:45 AM The saga continues ….

 

In Basel, Becky and I lived in a one-room apartment. To be more exact, we lived in the Parterre, which was about as low as you could get (both spatially and in terms of societal status). You might say that our life was primitive enough to have satisfied Rousseau. We were not permitted to shower or bathe after 10:00 pm (a city ordinance). Nor we could control our own heat (that was left to the landlord). We often had to take hot baths to stay warm during the winter. We had a tiny bathroom and an even smaller kitchenette. But happiness does not depend on physical furnishings. We had youth and vigor. Most of all we had the Lord.

 

Life was very simple. I toiled over my dissertation while Becky kept busy with her hobbies, including her piano practicing. On occasion, we entertained. One day Becky worked feverishly to prepare our table for the arrival of some very esteemed dinner guests — none other than Professor and Mrs. Reicke. The latter was a bit taken aback when she entered our humble abode. After all, most of her husband’s students hailed from Princeton and Harvard, not from a non-descript seminary called Talbot.

Professor Reicke was extremely kind to me. He gave me access to his personal library, and we enjoyed many pleasant conversations together — something perhaps unusual in a day and age when a student’s chair was not supposed to be cushioned with any intimacy. I took far too little recreation in that era. Still, we did a good bit of walking, despite the ease with which we could have traveled “mit ’em Dram.” Naturally I discovered many reasons for preferring Basel above the UK universities. It scarcely occurred to us Doktoranden that we should go anywhere else.

 

To be continued ….

 

7:10 AM A pastorbemoans her seminary education, partly because she was never taught how to raise money:

 

I never learned how to ask for money. Many seminaries are very good at building up a donor base, but they never teach their students how to do it. I have learned a ton from my friends who work in nonprofit management. They were taught how to fund-raise. Why weren’t we? Do seminaries not realize that it’s a huge part of our job? I know that we are supposed to build a sense of stewardship into our preaching and teaching. I realize that we understand good stewardship as a natural fruit that grows up from the Christian life. But sometimes the boiler busts, and we need to make the ask. Fast. How do we do it?

 

What do you think? Should a seminary teach fund-raising? Would the apostle Paul have agreed with her? I’m thinking especially about his teaching inPhilippians.

 

7:02 AM Jesus told us to “go.” But what did He mean? How do you know if you’re going? Becky’sanswers might surprise you. 

 

6:54 AM The suggestions keep coming in. The latest is to add a Scripture index (will do!). But nobody has said anything yet about pronunciation or verbal aspect. Rod? Daniel? Now’s your chance.

 

Friday, December 2

 

5:53 PM I’m already getting some great feedback about my grammar. Keep it coming!

5:23 PM Good evening, bloggers! Tonight I’m making the final preparations for the church leadership workshop I’m leading this Sunday in Durham. I am very excited about this conference. As you know, on this website we talk a lot about the church. We also talk a lot about taking the Gospel to the world. To go as a church to this world is not an option. So, even though I think it is very important that we discuss what the church should look like scripturally, it is even more important that we be about the Great Cause. Unity is not uniformity. Let me say that again: Unity is not uniformity. We can have diversity in how we do things as long as we have unity of heart and mind regarding our overall mission. On the individual level, this has meant for Becky and me maintaining a humble attitude of cooperation with brothers and sisters as we move into the spheres of ministry God has given us. So I’m suggesting that we continue the conversation about the church. But above all we must all pursue a missional mindset. If we, the church of this generation, hope to touch our generation for Christ, we must deploy as Christians into the world — together.

 

Blessings,

 

Dave

 

12:02 PM So you’re a Greek teacher but you don’t use my beginning grammar:

 

 

But you would if ….

 

I’m in the process of making a list (and “checking it twice” — how’s that for a nod to Santa?) of suggestions from you, my readers, as to how I can improve my textbook. In other words, what changes would it take for you to makeLearn to Read New Testament Greek a serious contender for first place in your heart — or at least in your classroom? Suggestions already received include:

 

Add English to Greek exercises

 

Revise approach to deponency

 

Expand discussion of third declension

 

Include a summary chart of contractions

 

Your thoughts? I promise I will take your ideas (even complaints!) seriously and turn them to the improvement of the grammar in its next incarnation. So here’s your chance to tell me what you think. Let me hear from you atdblack@sebts.edu.

 

Thank you!

 

Dave

 

11:10 AM My doctoral student Paul Himes gave us an incredibly practical introduction to Social Scientific Criticism in Wednesday’s NT 2 class.

 

 

His lecture derived from the significant research he is doing into the social background of the book of 1 Peter. His was one of the finest and clearest lectures I’ve ever heard on this much neglected letter. What encouragement! What inspiration! And, having his father John Himes give us an update on the church in Japan (where he and his wife Patti have served for over 30 years) was only the icing on the cake.

 

 

I’ve said it time after time, but I can’t help but marvel once more: there’s nothing like biblical scholarship when it’s working right — that is, when it’s placed at the feet of King Jesus and used for the building up of His Body. Beneath every evangelistic effort there must be a pure love of Christ and a wholehearted devotion to biblical truth. Thank you, Paul, for reminding us just how practical scholarship can be.

 

7:03 AM I have got absolutely the greatest students in my NT 2 class.  It’s always a joy for me to listen to them read their weekly interaction papers. This week’s theme was suffering in 1 Peter. After sharing in small groups I asked two students to read their papers to the entire class, and boy were we blessed. One of these students is named Marcus Twisdale.

 

 

Markus has published his essay at his website. His paper is calledSuffering for God’s glory. Please don’t miss Markus’s peroration. The other student presenter was Joel Gravely.

 

 

With his permission I have published his piece here at DBO. It’s entitled Suffering in 1 Peter 3:13-4:19. You could hear a collective gasp as Joel read these words to the class:

 

The other place of suffering is surprisingly in the church. Perhaps it is easier to forgive those who blatantly deny Jesus Christ as Lord.  It is much harder to forgive those who callously sin against you in the body of Christ.  These situations are much harder to swallow and often the pain can be immense.  I don’t think this text is only talking about those who live in a pagan society of extreme persecution for being a Christian.  I think it is also talking about theocratic societies where being a “true Christian” can draw immense persecution.  The Middle Ages were the most Christianized society in the entire history of Christendom, yet one of the most corrupt in terms of the gospel.  The leadership of many churches was so bad that to live a true Christian life often got you tortured or killed. 

 

How very true.

 

I hope you find these essays as edifying as our class did. And thanks again to my students for working so hard on these papers. 

 

6:55 AM Ten things I do to prepare for a mission trip:

 

1. I ask God to sovereignly guide the trip each step of the way.

 

2. I commit my home and loved ones to Him in prayer.

 

3. I define my goals beforehand.

 

4. I make sure I am well prepared for the work I have to do.

 

5. I pack lightly (I often fly stand by and so do not check any bags).

 

6. I plan a day of rest after my return.

 

7. I ask for prayer.

 

8. I make sure my will is current.

 

9. I see that I leave behind up-to-date contact information.

 

10. I pray with Becky before leaving for the airport.

 

Thursday, December 1

 

8:28 PM So Thanksgiving is over. Or is it? Here are a few things I’m still grateful for (other than the “usual” topics such as family, work, home, etc.):

 

I’m really, really thankful for a missionary who came to Hawaii in the late 1950s and planted First Baptist Church, Windward. His name was Rudy Ulrich. It was he who led me to the Lord when I was eight years of age. Eventually he returned to the mainland and we lost contact. But I will make a beeline for him when I get to heaven.

 

I thank God for my fifth grade teacher at Kainalu Elementary School. One day she began class with the strange words “¿Cómo está usted?” It was my first introduction to a foreign language (other than Hawaiian Pidgin). I knew then and there that language learning would be fun and interesting.

 

I’m really grateful for my Kailua High School civics teacher, Mrs. Saranchuk. She helped me look at the world through fresh and insightful eyes. I look back with appreciation for the way she allowed me and a couple of friends to produce a creative slide show about current issues in Hawaii and present it to the student body. Really got my learning juices flowing, and they haven’t stopped since.

 

 

I really appreciate pastors who have begun to shift dependency of church members from them to others. I am amazed at the benefits and pleased with the results.

 

I’m very grateful for the Anabaptists of the sixteenth century. What a gift they were to the church. I have learned so much from them and their example of costly discipleship. By marrying the ideas of sound orthodoxy and a humble, kingdom-oriented lifestyle, they have helped many Christians in a new way. My only regret is that I did not learn about them sooner.

 

I am very thankful for the love and prayers of Craig Bennett. He has been a faithful prayer warrior on behalf of my family and our ministry in Ethiopia. I am also enjoying hisblog. Craig has a way of stimulating his readers to think deeply. Your faith will be stirred as you read his posts.

 

I am so grateful for our friends in Basel who took us under their wings while we were “sojourners and exiles” in a foreign land. I think, for example, of Frau Schaub of our Baptist church there, who tutored Becky weekly in German. As a result, within three months B was speaking the language. What a sacrifice of love. Perhaps this is why Becky and I have so much room in our heart for international students.

 

Finally, I thank God for the horses I’ve had through the years. I once thought riding big waves was a challenge. But riding horses far surpassed that. They are thinking, feeling creatures. I felt a tremendous boost in confidence as I learned to direct a thousand pound animal through mental focus and a trusting relationship. Nothing is more satisfying than the nicker your horse gives you when he gets to know and trust you. I will miss them always.

 

 

So, what are you still grateful for?

 

5:56 PM Odds and ends …

 

1) This week I received an email from someone who linked to an essay critical of the “Roman Road” method of evangelism. The writer suggested I might want to link to it. I declined. I’m trying to encourage people to share the Gospel more with their world, not less, using whatever approach works best for them. We don’t need a few ideas; we need hundreds of them. Which method of evangelism works best? My answer is very simple: Any method that is bothspoken and shown to a watching world. This includes any honest approach to evangelism that you might use. I’m not about strategies. My aim is to stir up in the hearts of God’s people a desire to obey Him by sharing the Good News with those around them. Ecclesiastes 11:6 puts it this way: “Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow. Perhaps they all will!” I’m convinced that unless people feel God’s presence they’ll never be convinced of His love for them. That’s why Jesus calls us to love one another. The world instinctively recognizes something attractive when we demonstrate God’s love for all to see.

 

So don’t fret about methods. Demonstrate the kindness of God through some act of humble service and thus shine the spotlight on God’s kingdom. Doing humble acts of service causes not-yet Christians to notice our lives and to listen to our message. Evangelism is as simple as that.

 

2) Speaking of controversies, the war over church musiccontinues. And I remember whenKumbaya was radically new.

 

3) Kyuboem Lee offers some wonderful advice about becoming abi-vocational pastor. Here’s just one of the many excellent takeaways I found in this piece:

 

Often, pastors haven’t developed the other gifts in the church because… well, they didn’t have to. They could carry out the work of the ministry by themselves. When pastors become bi-vocational, however, they are forced to depend on others to carry out the work of the ministry, and leadership development becomes a priority. One of the battle cries of the Reformation was “the priesthood of all believers.” Bi-vocational pastorate may more fully realize that vision.

 

For what it’s worth, I agree heartily. Most churches today have an imagined role of the pastorate that is both unreachable and untenable. And the root of the problem is that churches have unrealistic and unbiblical expectations of their pastors. In the end, the so-called laity is often not prepared for works of service in building up the Body and is deprived of becoming the Lord’s instruments of meaningful service. The long-term health of the church depends on us getting this right.

 

4) This week in chapel we heard two excellent messages by Chris Wright of Langham Partnership International. LPI is a Christian organization founded in 1974 by John Stott that publishes Christian literature, provides scholarships for theological courses, and runs seminars to train pastors. Chris is the author of several great books includingThe Mission of God. I especially enjoyed these takeaways from his lectures:

 

“The doctrine of election is not so much about the arithmetic of heaven. It is the choosing of this people [Israel] so that all the nations might be blessed.”

 

“We are blessed in order to be a blessing to all the nations.”

 

“We are called upon to be a visible demonstration of God’s love for the nations.”

 

“The Great Commission begins with an indicative – with an affirmation of Christ’s lordship over heaven and earth.”

 

“Jesus’ Great Commission hands this off to us.”

 

Chris challenged us to read the whole Bible from the perspective of missions. Most importantly, God is building a work force to bring His love to the hearts of people who have yet been touched. Evangelism is really nothing but an overflow of our understanding of the Scriptures and our relationship with the God of the Bible.

 

5) Jesus told us to “Go into all the world.” Some of us have trouble with two words in this commission: “Go,” and “all.” Becky writes:

 

When we place qualifications on that little word “all” or that little word “go”, we are immediately out of obedience. Jesus did not make His command a conditional command, and neither can we.

 

Her essay is calledHow do you Know …? Do not read it unless you are ready to be convicted! Becky pulls no punches in exposing our silly excuses for what they really are: smoke screens.

 

6) Can spiritual success keep you from what’s best? Ryan Fullerton saysyes.

 

7) Finally, heartiest congratulations to my studentsMel Winstead andAndy Bowden. They passed their oral defenses on Monday and will graduate on Friday, Dec. 16. Mel’s dissertation is called “The Significance of Verbal Aspect on the Participles in Hebrews with Special Reference to 6:1-12.”

 

 

Andy’s thesis has the title “Interpreting Microstructure through Discourse Analysis, With Specific Application to the Text of James 5:13-18.”

 

 

Gentlemen, I’m proud of you both. My only regret is that I will not be able to attend your commencement this year due to my travels. But I will be with you in spirit. I know the process seemed long, but, as J. Oswald Sanders once reminded us, God is never in a hurry to prepare His servants:

 

God never seems to be in a hurry in preparing an instrument. He submitted His Son to a thirty-year training, in obscurity, for a ministry of three years. He so ordered events that two-thirds of Moses’ life-span was spent in preparation. We are in a desperate hurry to get on with the job, and would like to eliminate some of the training period. But we do so only at the cost of real effectiveness.

 

Again, congratulations and God’s richest blessings on you both. You were a joy and delight to work with.

 

5:32 PM Our wonderful team brought back this wonderful food so that we could enjoy this wonderful supper with our wonderful son.

 

 

Thank you, Martha!

 

 

4:56 PM Hello fellow bloggerites.

 

Well, I’ll start by saying I’m delighted that our Ethiopia team is home safe and sound after their trip to Alaba. They took up the cross … and, er, their cameras in the service of King Jesus. I hope to be able to link to their reports in the coming days. (You guys sure better blog about the trip!) Active love is contagious. When we care for other people, life is pumped into the whole Body. So I can’t wait to hear their reports. And I can’t wait to see how this will affect their congregations. As the old song puts it: “It only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around can warm up in its glowing. That’s how it is with God’s love, once you’ve experienced it.”

 

I’m jazzed about missions. Can you tell? Since the publication of my bookThe Jesus Paradigm, many of you have become aware of my conviction that the Christian life is more than becoming a successful Greek scholar and a good churchman. The New Testament calls on followers of Jesus to imitate Him by sacrificially serving others. It’s just that simple. In fact, I will go as far as to say this about the church: The church’s fundamental identity is that of servant, and this Christian identity directs us into the world in mission. How could it be otherwise?

 

Think about it. Identity and mission are two sides of the same coin. A church that has realized its biblical identity will automatically engage in missional acts. Next to the high call of following and serving King Jesus, arguing about who to vote for in 2012 is a distraction. Christian fellowship, when it is understood as identification with the Crucified, leads congregations into acts of social ministry on behalf of the least of Jesus’ brothers and sisters. Is that your focus? Is it mine? All too often seminary professors like me leave the impression that congregational ministry is an end in itself. The false dichotomy between what one does on Sunday and what one does the rest of the week must be rejected. Of all people, Christians are those who ought to see through the rationalizations used to justify our elevation of “worship services” to a place of preeminence. The church constantly requires re-spiration, that is, the continual outpouring of the Spirit of God to breathe new life into our lifeless congregations. Christian congregations are called upon to live in unity with Christians in other parts of the world with whom they form one Body. When our brothers and sisters in Ethiopia or China suffer, we suffer with them. When God blesses them, we too are blessed. The Gospel contains a built-in centrifugal force that thrusts the church into a universal mission. Christianity is inherently a missionary religion. The Gospel of Jesus Christ propels us into the entire world with a mission of uniting all tribes and peoples and languages into this Name. Even if we cannot go personally, intercession can be offered on a regular basis for the needs of the church in other nations. Even the use of artwork or décor in our church buildings can become a focal point of prayer. Here’s an example from Bethel Hill:

 

 

Every time I walked into the building and see this wall hanging I am reminded to pray for the persecuted church worldwide. Members of the congregation who travel abroad can be encouraged to make contact with believers in the countries they visit in order to deepen relationships between Christ’s people. Not least of all, Christians in other parts of the world need our encouragement and physical presence through our missionary trips. That’s why I’m so proud of our Ethiopia team. Each of them realizes that, although there may be security in treading familiar roads, the situation in which the church finds itself today calls for a renewed engagement with the Body of Christ worldwide. If we could only get a firm grasp on the identity of the New Testament church! Our congregations in America are uniquely situated to serve as centers for missions that carry forth the Gospel to their communities and beyond. Let’s get busy doing it!

 

I want to express my deepest love and appreciation to Cindi, Katy, Kandace, Abigail, Jason, Dale, and Kevin for reminding us that the way up is down. Here is the church carrying forth Jesus’ own ministry of extending the kingdom. Our team rediscovered the immeasurable joy of serving Jesus. Our age hungers after heroes. What is a hero? To me, a Christian hero is someone who demonstrates what it means to live a servant’s life. The history of the Christian church is replete with such witnesses, but none is greater than the simple believer who answers the call to obey and who follows the Spirit’s lead. To assume the role of a servant is to reorient one’s entire outlook on life. Genuine concern for others replaces self-concern. The energy once devoted to selfish pursuits is redirected on behalf of others. Servanthood means the surrender of all I have and all I am to the Master.

 

By the way, as some of you know I’ve been asked to minister several times this year in a nation far away from our shores. I’ll be leaving Tuesday on my next trip there. The beauty of God’s love on the cross continues to amaze and inspire me. Not that you need to go anywhere to live the kingdom kind of life. Insofar as we, as individuals and as churches, look like Jesus, we are manifesting the kingdom of God. Thanks to all who pray for me and our teams as we travel. It’s an honor to partner with you in the Gospel. Let’s keep on working to show people what Jesus looks like!

 

Your co-worker for the King,

 

Dave

 

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