Oh, the Beauty of Scripture!

   restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

                

Oh, the Beauty of Scripture!

 David Alan Black  

All my life I have loved sunrises and sunsets. I once painted them in oils as a youth when residing in the Paradise of the Pacific. One of my favorite scenes to paint was the sunrise at Kailua Beach, the most beautiful spot in the islands and the town in which I was raised.

And yet, with all apologies to nature lovers, I feel that nothing is more beautiful to behold than the Word of God.

I shall not be annoyed if this be called bibliophilia. The Bible is indeed to be appreciated, though it is not to be idolized. I do love it – its architectural precision, its symmetry and grandeur, its prose and poetry, its depth and its simplicity. I once published an essay in the Westminster Theological Journal in which I exulted in the opening paragraph of the book of Hebrews, which is perhaps the most magnificent sentence ever written in the ancient Greek language. I likened it to the narthex of a great European Minster such as the Cologne Cathedral.

It is a narthex that ineluctably draws – indeed woos – the visitor to enter the sanctuary itself. The Son of God shines brightly in the prologue of Hebrews, and the message it contains is truly breathtaking.

The colors that were once upon my palette are no less beautiful when I read them in black and white in the passages of my Greek New Testament. The first chapter of Philippians is a good example:

Its words, like a napier, pierce the heart. I can remember almost the exact instant when I discovered how much I treasured the Bible. I was a 16-year old surfer living in Hawaii. Since that day I have learned to love seeing how the Bible is put together, from phoneme to morpheme to syntagmeme to semanteme to discourse structure – where do I stop? There is no greater thing to be said of God Himself than that He has spoken to mankind. And, in perhaps an analogous way, I am now incurably afflicted with a desire to speak about the truths found in the very Book that God spoke into existence.

To me nothing could possibly be more satisfying than fellowshiping with one’s Creator and Savior and Friend through meditating upon His revelation. I cannot refrain from saying as much in my classes, for there is no greater need in teaching than to point one’s students to the Great Teacher and away from oneself. To the person who is satisfied with mere human words, the Bible must appear as a paltry substitute indeed. But for the man or woman who has not been despoiled by the ephemeral thoughts of men, the Scriptures are deservedly the most important writings ever produced in history.

Having littered the world with millions of printed words myself, I would be the last to say that English literature is irrelevant. Yet in a very real sense that is exactly what I am saying. Nothing in my Hawaiian paint box ever spread with such a conflagration of scarlet as the great crimson cloud of the sunset of God’s love, as revealed in a Book whose one message is that the Creator loves the world so much that His own dear Son was willing to die for it.

What matchless beauty!

January 7, 2014

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

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Of RINOs

   restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

                

Of RINOs, DINOs, and CINOs

Buddy Hanson

Many voters do not vote along straight party lines. Instead they vote along ideological lines, which usually includes candidates from both major parties. Such voters usually think that either liberals or conservatives hold the answer to our culture’s problems.

However, from a Christian point of view, society’s problems have been brought about because of both liberal and conservatives. The reason for this is that only God’s Word is true, which means that any candidate who does not conform his decisions to Biblical principles is making a faulty (untrue) decision. When viewed from this perspective there emerges three types of candidates:

RINOs – Republicans In Name Only (otherwise known as liberal Republicans)
DINOs – Democrats In Name Only (otherwise known as conservative Democrats)
CINOs – Christians In Name Only (from either party)

The difference between CINOs and RINOs & DINOs is one of intention. RINOs and DINOs know full well what they’re doing. They have determined that they are in a district where if they are going to get elected they have to belong to a particular party. Even though that party doesn’t reflect their agenda, they run under its name, get elected, then vote with the other party’s agenda. Everything is carried out by design and intention.

CINOs, on the other hand, don’t set out to intentionally disobey God. They make it a priority to obey Him inside their homes and churches, and in some cases even teach Sunday School. Unfortunately, they fail to give a second thought about applying His principles to their everyday legislative decisions. Because of their overall moral character they honor God when it comes to issues relating to the Second Table of the Law (don’t kill, steal, cheat, covet, etc.). The inconsistency in the legislative decisions comes when First Table issues are involved (worship no other god, don’t dishonor Him by belittling His name, keep the Lord’s Day holy).

While these Legislators are Christians, they legislate as though they are Christians In Name Only, with the consequence that their votes often conform to unbiblical principles (possibly without them realizing it). If their congregation and their church officers were obedient to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18, they would be counseled about such inconsistent behavior so they could correct it, but sadly most Pastors are more concerned about church growth than about consistently serving God by applying His principles to all areas of one’s life, yes, even those areas outside the church and home. If America’s original Pastors had the attitude of today’s Pastors, America would still be an English colony. King George would not have had to refer to “that Presbyterian Revolt,” because such self-centered wimpy Pastors would have sheepishly taught that there was a “separation of God and the State.”

There is no reason for America Christians to continue to live as though we serve a defeated God, or to act as though we should behave as second-class citizens. Our Lord, Savior and King has been “given the nations for His inheritance, and the ends of the earth for His possession.” (Psalm 2) He has further appointed us to bring about His will “on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6.10) May we be about the business of serving our sovereign God by campaigning and then voting for Christians, then not being hesitant to counsel them to legislate like “Cs” (Christians), not CINOs.

May 6, 2004
 
Buddy Hanson, President of Grace & Law Christian Policy Network (www.graceandlaw.com), is a frequent speaker for Churches and civic groups and has written several popular Christian books, including God’s Ten Words: Practical Applications From The Ten Commandments, Choose This Day: God’s Instructions On How To Select Leaders, Thy Will Be Done On Earth: Heavenly Wisdom For Down-To-Earth Living from the Prophet Isaiah, What’s Scripture Got To Do With It: Connecting Spiritual Dots For A More Meaningful Life, and is co-writing a seven-volume series on the Westminster Confession of Faith’s Larger Catechism: Fundamentals For Spiritual Leadership. He may be reached for comment here.

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Of  Sheepdogs and Christians

   restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

                

Of  Sheepdogs and Christians

 David Alan Black 

Yesterday I went out to the pasture to feed my horse Traveler a bucket of oats. Naturally, all the other animals came running to see me – goats ands cows alike. Suddenly, who should appear but our new Sheltie puppy, Sheba. Somehow she managed to skinny through the gate, and there she was in all her glory – gleefully barking and rounding up the goats, who were trying to run away.

When I told this story to my wife this morning, her commonsensical response was: “Well, Honey, I guess that’s why they call them sheepdogs.”

Looking back on more than a quarter century of preaching and teaching, the prevailing impression I have come to have of the contemporary church scene is of an ever-widening gap between the terms in which the Scriptures induce us to live and the reality of our existence as so-called “Christians.” There are many who claim they are not ashamed of their Lord but who are nevertheless ashamed of some things He said. They fail to obey them, practice them, stand for them in this modern day and age.

Here’s a question that begs an answer: Can you really call a Sheltie a “sheepdog” if it has never herded sheep or goats – if it has perhaps never even seen a sheep or a goat? Likewise: Can we call a person a “Christian” if he or she has never followed “Christ” in obedience? Jesus said some things about discipleship that never seemed to have registered with many church members. He has a great deal to say about loving one another, about forgiveness, about the way He wants to build His church, and above all about absolute loyalty to Him rather than, say, a denomination or a political party.

Jesus’ worldview is not very popular with this adulterous and sinful generation – at least with Christians who have never followed Christ. Today we need some teaching in our churches, in the very simplest language, on “Why do you pretend to be another?” (1 Kings 14:6). It is far too fashionable today to be two-faced and double-tongued, to call oneself a sheepdog, if you will, but have no desire for, no inkling about, herding sheep.

The New Testament, for the most part, was not written to unbelievers to warn them to get their act together. It was written to believers in Jesus Christ to warn them that a lot of sound orthodoxy may coexist with outright disobedience to God.

Am I a genuine Christian? Are you? There is no simpler way to prove it than to translate our doctrine into performance, and our position into practice.

April 5, 2005

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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Friday, October 27 

8:24 AM Well, folks. I have a confession to make. I’m feeling really lazy. As in Hawaiian-born-and-bred-loafing-style lazy. I intended to run 10 miles yesterday but instead lazed around the house in my flip flops. I did manage to book my flights to DFW for the Dallas Marathon on Dec. 10. I also made my reservation for the Omni Hotel in downtown Richmond for the Richmond Marathon — which is coming up in only two weeks. (Egads.) Last night I watched the movie Everest for the umpteenth time. I still can’t wrap my head around the hubris that compelled two experienced mountain guides to break their own turn-around times and keep ascending. Both lost their lives as a result. What would I have done in that situation? The temptation to keep climbing is almost irresistible, especially when you’re only a few hundred feet from the summit. You see, life is a series of choices between what’s important and what’sessential. It’s like what Paul said in the text we studied this week in Greek 3. You have to consider “everything a loss” because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ and making Him known. As Eugene Petersen puts it:

The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him.

Of course, this is hyperbole, pure and simple. I don’t think Paul’s saying that we actually have to shred our resumes and diplomas. The question is: What (or whom) do you boast in? Where do you find your identity? What tells you: “I’m in”? I’ve never hung my diplomas up in my office. The reason is very simple: I don’t want anyone listening to what I have to say merely because I’ve been blessed with a formal education. Goodness — we’ve all known people who were educated beyond their intelligence! I tell my students (and I really mean it too): “Don’t believe anything someone says merely because they have a Ph.D. after their name.” Paul is not saying that degrees and accomplishments are unimportant. Good grief — my Basel doctorate has gotten me teaching gigs in places abroad you would not believe, places where “religion” is taught but not Christianality (no, that’s not a typo; it’s a good word for what we practice, don’t you think?). Ultimately, Paul’s saying that we had better start clinging to Christ because one day all of this “stuff” will be taken from us. In the meantime, let’s leverage it for the Gospel. And by the “Gospel” I don’t mean conferences about the Bible or the cult of the speaker or filling our notebooks with Greek verbs. I mean finding ways to give aid to earthquake-stricken people in the name of Jesus and being generous sons and daughters of God. “Love God and love others.” This pretty much sums up the Gospel. This is what Paul tried to do and what I try to do. I have so far to go. Maybe I really should start by ripping up my diplomas. Actually, I have no idea where they are. That doesn’t mean there isn’t other noise and static in my life. I still have plenty of my own “kingdoms.” As I said earlier, right now I’m thinking about Becky. Life is sorta tough. My emotions are wacko. I don’t want to read. I don’t want to write. I don’t want to be productive. If I’m taking cues from many evangelicals, then I need to be out there marketing my “brand.” Politically, I need to be pom-pom waving because “our guy” got into the White House. Which reminds me: the church I spoke in last Sunday had no American flag in its sanctuary. None. It seems like such a simple thing, but it spoke bucket loads to me. Perhaps this is obvious, but the longer I walk with the Lord, the less trust I put in the power and wealth of America. Seems my only security these days is in Yahweh. This is a good time to tell you I take the writing of Jacque Ellul very seriously. Kierkegaard is for mere amateurs. I love how J.E. piles up metaphors, how his thoughts are anchored in a pre-Constantinian Bible, how he doesn’t have an agenda with his readers other than to get them to exalt Christ and rid themselves of their own “archys.” I’m so not here to tell any of you what to do with your own gods. I have too many of my own. But I am determined to address my own failings. I will start by driving up to DC and walking my daughter down the aisle. Then I’ll try and organize another fundraiser for the hospital where Becky was treated. Like it or not, I may even try and finish Godworld. With that little project in mind, I’ll close with this bit of wisdom from the pen of Malcolm Muggeridge.

It is only possible to succeed at second-rate pursuits – like becoming a millionaire or a prime minister, winning a war, seducing beautiful women, flying through the stratosphere or landing on the moon. First-rate pursuits – involving, as they must, trying to understand what life is about and trying to convey that understanding – inevitably result in a sense of failure. A Napoleon, a Churchill, a Roosevelt can feel themselves to be successful, but never a Socrates, a Pascal, a Blake. Understanding is forever unattainable. Therein lies the inevitability of failure in embarking upon its quest, which is none the less the only one worthy of serious attention.

Yep, you got this, old Malc. Paul was anything but an epic fail. But — thank God! — he “succeeded” in places where it mattered. Fine. Paul could that. He was an apostle, after all. Me? Things may get worse before they get better, but it is the way of healing.

Thursday, October 26 

1:58 PM After running a million errands this morning I decided to mow the grass one last time.

Funny how every spring I look forward to mowing and every fall I look forward to not mowing anymore. Yawn. I’m already boring you. But let’s be honest. We all like routine. I’m acutely aware of how quickly the seasons are flying by, the years too. But I’m reconciled to it. My identity isn’t in my age or my accomplishments. You know where it is. It’s on a hill far away. There my Dearest and Best awaits me when my earthly labors are done. And just what IS left to do? My tires may be old but they’ve still got a lot of tread left on them. I’ve got classes to teach and books to write and mountains to climb (literally — I haven’t forgotten about Mont Blanc next summer). Seasonal changes (like not having to mow the lawn any more) help me gain perspective. I remind myself that change is not unique to my experience. Lacrae recently experienced it — big time. My sweet daughter will experience it when she gets married on Saturday. (Hurray for Karen and Tino!) Generations of faithful Christians have gone before me and will come after me. This great cloud of witnesses knows that God can be trusted. They remind me that I’m part of a vast community of people who are learning to turn their pain into motivation to serve others. My life has been as rich as anybody I know, but the final story has yet to be written. Whatever years I have left are His. These days I find myself thinking a lot about heaven. The two hours or so I spent mowing today brought back into focus a verse I turn over and over again in my mind: “The universe itself is to be freed from the shackles of mortality” (Rom. 5:13). Where we would be if He had not risen? Letting go of what the world calls security is our only hope. Losing ourselves for His sake — even in a humble act like mowing the grass — is where our safety is found. We are all Lecraes to God. He knows our dark passages. And when we turn our eyes from the frightening things to Him, miracles truly happen.

Okay. Back to my chores.

8:48 AM Becky went home to be with the Lord on Nov. 2, 2013. On Sunday, Nov. 5 of this year, I will have the joy of attending a performance of Duruflé’s Requiem at Duke Chapel in Durham, NC. The composer dedicated the piece to the memory of his father. I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it. This is such a beautiful masterpiece it defies description. To my fellow grievers: A wonderful thing happens when we turn to the Lord, and to great sacred music. We find, as the psalmist found, that “all things serve Thee” (Psalm 199:91). The Lord who gave us the gift of pain knows intimately every situation we’re facing. Whoever is willing to obey Him will be shown the way forward.

8:32 AM Free copy ofLinguistics for Students of New Testament Greek to the first person to correctly identify the following figures of speech in Phil. 3:2-3a: Anaphora, paronomasia, alliteration, and asyndeton. Write me atdblack@sebts.edu and kindly include your mailing address.

Βλέπετε τοὺς κύνας, βλέπετε τοὺς κακοὺς ἐργάτας, βλέπετε τὴν κατατομήν.ἡμεῖς γάρ ἐσμεν ἡ περιτομή ….

8:15 AM Hello virtual friends. This morning I’ve been filling Greek DVD orders. Recent orders have come from Arizona, Missouri, Alabama, Louisiana, Kentucky, Washington, Nebraska, and Queensland, Australia. The vision to produce these DVDs of my Greek class in Addis was Becky’s, of course. She had the uncanny ability of seeing things early and connecting the dots. “The art of the possible” may well have been her motto. Her vision made a world of difference for those around her and even for those who’ll be receiving their DVDs in the mail this week.

Oh, since I lost three months’ worth of blog posts, including the speaker lineup for our Greek and Linguistics Conference, I thought I’d run it by you again. You won’t want to miss this event. The dates are April 26–27, 2019. Look for a registration link soon. The following papers are scheduled to be read:

Friday, April 26

3:30–4:30 PM

Stanley E. Porter: “Linguistic ‘Schools'”

4:30–5:30 PM

Stephen H. Levinsohn: “Discourse Analysis”

5:30–6:30 PM

Thomas W. Hudgins: “Electronic Tools”

7:30–8:30 PM

Randall Buth: “Pronunciation”

8:30–9:30 PM

T. Michael W. Halcomb: “Living Language Approach”

9:30–10:30 PM

Robert L. Plummer: “The Ideal Beginning Grammar?”

Saturday, April 27

7:30–8:30 AM

Constantine R. Campbell: “Tense and Aspect (Including Temporality in the Indicative Mood)”

8:30–9:30 AM

Jonathan T. Pennington: “Voice (Including Deponency)”

10:00–11:00 AM

Michael Aubrey: “The Perfect Tense”

11:00 AM–12:00 PM

Steven Runge: “Word Order”

12:00–1:00 PM

Nicholas J. Ellis: “Linguistics and Exegesis”

Wednesday, October 25 

9:32 PM The theme in school this week seems to have been skubala. If you’re having trouble with your priority system and have no idea where to start, and you can’t discern the next steps to take in life, begin with the skubala around you and see what miracles can happen when you consider all the religious trappings in your life to be mere “dog poop.” How refreshing to see students consciously tying to transcend the clergy-laity dichotomy in our churches, focusing instead on the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers and the New Testament emphasis on spiritual gifts. How refreshing to see the Gospel beginning to tear down the structures that perpetuate divisions among Christians and to see that same Gospel encourage solidarity between the races. How refreshing to encounter a living Message that provides a resounding negation to the underlying professional view of ministry so prevalent in evangelical circles today. Thank You, Lord, for students who are doing the hard work of thinking for themselves rather than merely adopting questionable principles and practices based on church tradition. Several times this week I had a kapow! moment when I looked at radical faith right in the eye and remembered what God can do if we approach Him and His word with simple faith and childlike trust. Christendom is dying a slow death, but dying it is. Gradually my students and I are developing an outlook on life informed by Christ Himself. Students do not exist to provide for the needs of their teachers. The converse is true. I, as a teacher, exist to develop the mind of Christ in my students by any and all legitimate means possible. There is nothing quite so liberating as assigning prominence of place to Scripture and supremacy to the lowly Jesus of the Gospels. The true place of the intellect is not to usurp the role of the Scriptures but to concentrate on the fear of the Lord. It takes God to reveal God. We can do no better than to ask God’s Holy Spirit to liberate us from our preoccupation with our petty concerns and personal agendas. Without genuine love of the brethren, including those who differ from us, academic knowledge is a positive detriment to spiritual growth. That’s why I was so thrilled to see my students teaching one another in my Greek and New Testament classes this week. Without such contributions from its members, the body atrophies. Being one body in Christ means mutual respect between its various members. It means rejecting pride and, even more so, a spirit of independence. The cross is the only corrective to a church that is consumed with instant results and status. Love receives the small person. It rejects unconscious racial bias. It listens to the other. If the spiritual know-it-alls at Corinth could not understand this, this is no excuse for us today to remain ignorant of the power of love over gnosis. In class this week I sensed that our badge was truly love. Even as the enemy seeks to divide us, the Spirit unites us all into one body. We evangelicals are finding our footing again despite the cultural mess we find ourselves in today. I don’t think this is accidental. It’s the work of God in our midst.

Students,

you are a gift to me.

Thank you for all you do,

but thank you especially for who you are —

beautiful human beings seeking the downward path of Jesus and reverse mobility.

Your legacy is far greater than you will ever know.

Thank you for being soul brothers and sisters,

gentle as doves,

and wise as serpents.

I love living and learning deliberately with you.

You are changing my life by your example and passion for the things that matter.

I love you.

P.S.  A few pix from the week thus far:

1) Taman leading his group in Greek 3 while doing the English to Greek exercises.

2) Here’s Tyler doing the same with his group.

I’ve found that a student-centered approach to instruction increases opportunism for student engagement that helps everyone become more successful.

3) Here my personal assistant and doctoral student Noah teaches a chapter from our Greek textbook.

4) I love watching his pedagogy-first approach to teaching.

5) Just got these in the mail today.

I was humbled and honored to have been asked to write an endorsement for my president’s latest book. Danny shows how in the book of Titus Paul continually ties doctrine to good/attractive deeds. Our works show others who we really are. For Danny (as for Paul), neither sound doctrine nor sound living can stand alone. I really, really commend this book to you. At 81 pages it’s ideally suited for a Sunday School class or for your small group.

6) Next week is the big event — the 4th anniversary of Becky’s victorious homegoing. I went to the Awazé Restaurant in Cary yesterday to arrange for our family celebration and while there just had to grab some authentic Ethiopian migib. Both Aseb and Eden have read Becky’s book and both have told me how her life has blessed them personally.

We are all hungry — you and I alike — for a place to tell our stories. We all want to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Marriage isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s pretty great. It afforded two people as different as Becky and me to create a union whose tendrils reached across continents.

Please pray for me. On the outside I am fine, but on the inside I struggle with Becky’s death. At the core of loss is the frightening truth that there is no going back to the past, only going ahead to the future. I so cherish life today — perhaps as never before. I long for Becky with all my soul, but I am content to celebrate her memory because I have found her loss to be the impetus to clarify my purpose in life. Yes, I grieve, but just as I can’t ignore this emotion, neither can I indulge it. A widower learns best not by denying the past but by taking ownership of it and allowing himself to be transformed by the loss. I thank God every night that I have a Savior who understands me perfectly, who feels the pain in my soul, who grants me the security of knowing that the Father is in control of everything in my life. Even as my soul increases its capacity for sadness, it increases its capacity for joy and hope. I’m so thankful that God has not allowed me to hibernate in a holier-than-thou aloofness. Aloofness was the hallmark of the Pharisees. I’m realizing that it’s okay to be solitary. Of all my Christian experiences I may truly say, with the unknown author:

They are but broken gleams of Thee/And Thou, O Lord, are more than they.

I can know Him better every day, and I can experience increasingly the power of His resurrection by entering more and more into the fellowship of His sufferings. I have experienced life at its worse. I have also experienced life at its best. I have never felt more fragile and yet I have never felt more need for community. I am still the Dave who wept at Becky’s deathbed 4 years ago, but I have more freedom and lightheartedness today. One thing I know: The whole of my life is becoming something good, something I never imagined it could become. I deeply believe God wants this freedom for everyone who has suffered loss. James enjoins us to live joyfully, resisting worry and casting our cares upon Him because He cares for us. I know I will never get those years back again. But my calling is today, as is yours. I have a place right now, and though it might not seem like much, God can still create a beautiful song out of loss.

Much love in the Lamb,

Dave

Monday, October 23 

4:38 PM Hey folks! Guess what I did on Saturday? I ran another marathon! To run a full marathon only two weeks after completing a 26.2 mile race is not usually advisable. Then again, I “just happened” to be in Baltimore during their annual Running Festival. On Friday I taught Philippians in Annapolis.

Then I made a beeline for the race expo in downtown Baltimore and got there about 2 minutes before it closed. I think I must have gotten the last bib number for the marathon. The next morning I arrived at the course at dawn and the scenery was breathtaking.

I was feeling good! I fell in with the 5:15 pace team because that was the slowest pace they offered. I tried hanging with the group but they were just too fast for me and I eventually faded.

At mile 14 or so I thought to myself, “Man, this is really, really hard.” I quickly realized that the course was extremely hilly. I would walk/jog up the hills and then, conversely, run the downhills, using gravity to help propel myself forward. If anyone wants advice on how to survive hills, send me an email. At this point I was pretty much running alone, deep in concentration. You had to really focus on the course because there were so many twists and turns.

I finished with an official time of 6:03:57, which is about 6 minutes slower than my finish at the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincy last May.

But I refused to quit! The first 3 miles were straight uphill but you didn’t notice it because your adrenalin was kicking in. Miles 3-5 took you through the Baltimore Zoo. Miles 6-21 were more hills. Thankfully, miles 22-25 were mostly downhill. Here the crowds did a fantastic job of cheering you on. At this point I saw two runners on the ground being treated by the medical staff. I said a prayer for them and kept pushing forward. Finally — the finish line!

I got my medal (a crazy cool one too!) and then rushed back to my hotel room to get cleaned up for the evening service at Riva Trace Baptist Church. All in all, it was a really fun race. Baltimore is a beautiful city, and the crowds were amazing. Believe me, I needed their support. There’s nothing harder than challenging your body to the max. Going into the race I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t have time to do my homework. I was hoping it would be an easy course. I was completely wrong. Here’s the elevation per my Map My Run app.

The hills were a constant challenge, as were the dizzying number of turns. The fatigue of uphill-downhill running did a real number on me. Although this was my slowest marathon to date, I’m not in the least disappointed. In two weeks I’ll be running the Richmond Marathon, Lord willing. Predictably, the jitters have set in, but I’m trying to face them head-on. Right now I’ve got 4 classes to teach this week — and lots of resting to do. Attitude is everything in life. As they say, “Life’s a hill. Get over it.”

P.S. Special thanks to pastor Dennis Gray for his kind invitation to minster among the wonderful people at Riva Trace this weekend.

What an honor and joy! Hope to see you all again soon!

Thursday, October 19 

11:36 AM I’d like to recommend my good friends’ book to you:With.

On twitter yesterday Alvin Reid wrote: “For years I tho’t of my influence based on the # of ppl in front of me rather than the few who walked with me.” Alvin is so right. That’s a huge paradigm shift for a teacher. It’s so easy to be deceived by crowds on a Sunday morning or in a seminary classroom. Jesus taught us that when people face His cross and self-denial, the multitudes will thin out pretty quickly. They wanted His fish but not His flesh. What Alvin is saying is that we need to read John 6 again and realize that Jesus never softened His teaching to hold a crowd. In the end, few had an appetite for His real mission and message. “Will you go away, too?” (John 6:67)?.

Well, the books are packed, and I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be for this weekend’s trip. My kids will be on the farm to watch everything and feed the animals. Again, thanks for visiting this page and don’t be bashful about letting me know how I can help you.

11:06 AM Rob Plummer onMark 16:8. Thanks for the shout out, friend!

11:02 AM Much is being made of the pulpit during Reformation month. Funny, because I just happened to run across a delightful piece about the “sacred desk.” Here’s an excerpt:

My church bought a new pulpit this year. Gun-metal grey, portable, yet solid, the design offers an understated utility. Suited to the contemporary ambiance of our architecture and worship style, the new pulpit is intended to provide minimal interference to the communication process while still offering preachers a handy place to rest their notes.

I don’t like it. Give me the old oak pulpit, oiled by fist pounding and stained with preacher sweat. Give me “the sacred desk” or give me nothing at all. None of these acrylic, see through podiums for me, thank you very much.

To read the whole essay, clickhere. Gimme the old oak pulpit! Gotta love it. Whenever I speak somewhere I always ask permission from the leadership to do two things if possible: sit with the congregation (instead of on the platform) before I speak, and teach from the floor. Almost always I’m granted permission to do so. I also, like this brother, teach without notes. That’s just me though.

9:42 AM Hello fellow thoughtful bloggerites. Some random reflections before leaving for the great state of Maryland. I’ve been completely and totally swamped this week. My three days on campus felt like performing brain surgery for a straight 72 hours. And then it’s back to the airport today. I can hardly keep up with my schedule. But I’m good, thank the Lord. Someone asked me in class on Tuesday how I felt the day after my marathon. I told him the next day I hiked Snow Canyon and went horseback riding, then the following day I hiked Bryce, and then the following day I climbed to 11,000 feet at Cedar Breaks. I’m so grateful for the undeserved health and strength God seems to continue to give me in the face of the pressures and opportunities of life. Next weekend it’s the wedding in DC and then the following week we’re commemorating the 4th anniversary of Becky’s glorious homegoing, followed by the Richmond Marathon on Nov. 11. And I haven’t even mentioned the “real” news I’ve been reading all morning long, like who said what when? (“I didn’t say that,” “Yes, you did!”. “No, I didn’t, and I can prove it!”). Oh my. What’s even funnier is watching evangelicals stumbling over themselves trying to invite the ambiguity of politics into the kingdom realm. The sad truth is that while evangelicals are fighting over what Caesar should or not do, the church continues to spend at least 95 percent of its resources on ourselves. That’s not giving. That’s pooling. The problem isn’t merely that we don’t get it. The problem is that we don’t know that we don’t get it. It’s just possible that evangelicals will come to see that we’re the ones who are actually on trial in our culture. If we ever did that, we’d begin to confess our sins and guilt and really repent, step down from our places at the table, and begin washing feet. I tell you, I’m so proud of my students. They’re beginning to reassess everything in order to advance a Jesus-looking kingdom. Are we imitating Jesus and obeying God? Those are the two questions I’ll be posing tomorrow when I speak to this group of pastors. Those are the standards by which we should judge ourselves, and believe me, they are anything but “normal” nowadays. This is why I have resisted, and will continue to resist, the temptation to speak out directly on this blog about politics or argue about what our nation should or should not be doing. It’s not my calling to resolve political problems. Sincere followers of Jesus completely disagree on many of the core issues. And why shouldn’t they? There is no real “Christian” position on matters so complex and ambiguous. My focus is on … staying focused. A lot more could be said (and will be said in my book Godworld), but I hope my main point is clear: followers of Jesus have one concern — to be about everything Jesus was about. We need to join Him in rejecting sexism and misogyny, we can’t prefer one race over another (and thereby use that to justify treating non-whites as inferior), we have to be about the Gospel Commission as never before, etc. We have a job to do and that is to keep the kingdom holy. I’m increasingly convinced that we serve Jesus best when we truly to commit to Jesus’ command to love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us. In light of this, I see no reason to get involved in the culture wars (though I did at one time). Life is so very, very short. It’s so full of wonderful things, and it’s so full of opportunities for the kingdom. I want to grasp this moment in time and leverage it to the fullest if I possible can. I noticed in our passage from Philippians this week (Phil. 2:19-30) how often Paul submits his travels “to the Lord.” He writes “I hope in the Lord” to do this or that. Paul was submissive to the Lord for his travel plans. Whether it had to do with Timothy or Epaphroditus or his own travel itinerary, Paul’s theology taught him that God rules sovereignly, while his practice led him to accept — with any question whatsoever — what the Lord ordained for his life. This morning I asked the Lord to show me clearly where He is sending me next in the world. Thus far he’s confirmed two international hot spots and a third is in the works. Ladies and gentlemen, believe it or not, at my age I’m still eager and willing to travel 12,000 miles if need be. I, for one, am very much looking forward to these trips. Right now I’m packing for Annapolis and am asking myself which of my writings I need to take for the conference book table. I can’t take all of them.

Will the pastors be interested in my Greek books? (I hope so.) Will they want a copy of Becky’s book for their wives? (They better!) Will any of them be interested in my non-Greek books like The Jesus Paradigm, Christian Archy, or It’s All Greek to Me? Maybe I should take a copy of each? But then how would I be following the Lord’s instructions to “travel light”? (Wink.) Anyhoo, I’ll take what I can fit into one suitcase next to my clothes. By the way, if you’d like to see the power point we’ve put together for tomorrow, you can gohere. You might especially enjoy the outlines of Philippians we’ve collected at the end. I used to call the theme of Philippians “Ecclesial unity in the cause of the Gospel.” I’ve since repented of such horrible verbiage. I much prefer something like “Working together as a team to love and serve others in the name of Jesus.” If a man likeBishop Wilson could pray for his tormentors in a prison camp in WW2 and then return afterwards to baptize some of them, how much more should I be able to love the enemies of the cross?

Well, I think that’s all for now. Let’s keep on walking in love, as Christ loved us, and keep on thinking and growing.

Dave

Wednesday, October 18 

8:15 PM Hey there folks! It’s been such a great week so far I don’t know where to start. So I’ll upload a few pix and I see if I can’t come up with some captions ….

1) Tonight we had the perfect weather for haying. I mean, as in PERFECT.

2) I just had to take this selfie.

One of the verses we studied in Philippians this week was 2:22: “You know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in sharing the Good News.” Yes, Paul, I understand you perfectly!

3) Here’s a dear partner in the Gospel. I’ve made 11 overseas trips to serve with him. Great to see you again, Rob. 

4) And here are some dear friends from India, along with my son Joel. Joel’s on his way back there soon with a team from Person County, NC. Proud of all of you.

5) This week our campus was as beautiful as ever. This was my view while walking to class last night. Wow.

6) As I said, we were in Phil. 2 this week.

7) Here are my class notes. I covet His mind in every issue in my life.

8) This week for the Page Lectures we were blessed to have on campus Timothy George of the Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, AL. (Almost asked him if he’d be interesting in running the Birmingham Marathon with me next February.) Timothy’s an expert in Reformation history and theology and was here to help us commemorate the 500th anniversary of the beginning of that auspicious event.

10) He quoted Luther. A lot. Here’s my favorite Luther quip, and it’s a doozy.

I told you it was good!

9) Here my friend and colleague Brent Aucoin is lecturing on race relations in our NT class. We were studying Philemon and slavery. He did a phenomenal job as always.

11) Tonight I’m sorting through my race medals.

What to do with these chunks of bling? They’re on a par maybe with preschool “graduation.” I think the apostle Paul would have appreciated my dilemma (see 2 Tim. 2:5). 

Well, that’s it for the pix (for now). Tomorrow, Lord willing, I leave for Annapolis to speak to pastors on Friday and then at a church on Saturday and Sunday. But I just can’t leave you without sharing a great quote I ran across while preparing my notes on Phil. 2:19-30 this week. It’s by Frank Stagg. You’ve never heard of him, but he’s one of my esteemed Southern Baptist predecessors who taught New Testament at SBTS from 1964-1978. (Who has never heard of his now classic essay in JBL called “The Abused Aorist”?) Here’s what he wrote in the Broadman Bible Commentary (p. 201). He’s referring to Paul’s reference to Epaphroditus as the church’s leitourgon whom they sent to “minister” to Paul’s physical and practical needs.

Paul sees services as ordinary as supplying material needs or looking after a brother in jail as a priestly or religious service. Nothing is secular when in Christ’s name one serves another at any level.

I told the class: We ordain the pastor, right? Then why don’t we ordain the church janitor? He or she is as much a minister (leitourgon) of the Gospel as anyone else. This is the truth Paul was so much at pains to try to instill into the minds of his followers at Rome and Corinth: No member of the body has all the gifts. This means that “ministry” is not the responsibility of the few but the prerogative of everyone. I must never limit God in the way He chooses to use other Christians. Epaphroditus took a gift to Paul in prison and then ministered to his everyday needs. That makes him a “minister.” Paul, Timothy, Epaphroditus — all part of God’s grand, harmonious design (1 Coir. 12:8). Yet this is something we are most reluctant to accept today.

Love and peace,

Dave

Monday, October 16 

9:52 AM ReadHow to Choose a Bible Commentary. Great advice here. Incidentally, though I’ve turned down offers to write major commentaries on Hebrews and Philippians, I’ve decided to make my brief musings on Philippians available in book form after the current semester is over. I’m going to call the Book Philippians Is For Friends. Friendship is one of those ambiguous words we throw around all the time. In the end, friendship for me means caring enough to do anything for your friend. Friends love at all times. They are more loyal than kith and kin. They even sacrifice themselves for their friends. Embedded in Paul’s letter to the Philippians is a lot of advice about friendship. Paul told the believers in Philippi to be compassionate, caring, kind, humble, forgiving, and to live at peace with each other — willing to meet the other half way (4:5). Above all, they are to work together for something bigger than their friendship. Our best friend will always be Jesus. Thankfully, He also grants us human friendships. Without them, life would be so mundane. True friends are there for each through thick and think. Think of Timothy and Epaphroditus. They went above and beyond what was expected. I don’t have a huge group of friends. My best friends are my kids. Then come my fellow workers in the Gospel. These are guys I can text any time of day or night and know they’ll be there for me. They stick with me even when I’ve given up on myself.

Well, I hope my little book will be inspirational and uplifting. It won’t replace any commentary out there. But I believe God has called me to write it, and so I’m trying to be obedient. If it ends up being dull and boring, may I be forgiven!

9:04 AM There are so many parallels between running a marathon and taking a course in Greek it’s downright scary. After all, is it just a coincidence that my beginning grammar has exactly 26 chapters? This week in class we’ll begin chapter 8, which means that we’ve covered about a fourth of the book. When the semester is done we will have reached the halfway mark: 13 out of 13 chapters. Did I say “halfway mark”? Ha-ha. As we were reminded during the clinic for last Saturday’s St. George Marathon, the halfway point in a marathon isn’t 13 miles. It’s 20 miles. In other words, the lady below (who’s run in all 41 St. Georgers) reminded us that 50 percent of a marathon runner’s energy is expended during the first 20 miles. The other 50 percent is needed to finish the last 6 miles and get you across the finish line.

That doesn’t sound very fair, but that’s the honest-to-God truth. Last week I sent my beginning students home with their first Greek review exam. It covered chapters 3-6. In running terms, I like to think of these review exams as “mile checks.” Every few miles you need to ask yourself, “How’s my form? Am I standing tall or beginning to hunch over? Is my stride good or am I overstriding? Am I thirsty? Do I need more energy?” Probably the worst mistake you can make in a marathon is not drinking when you should. I’m going to take a wild guess and say that many of you got sidetracked along the way when taking your first Greek class. You began to slow down. You got careless. You fell way behind. You forgot to pace yourself. I smile whenever I see students come to class laden down with a dozen supplements to our basic grammar. It’s almost as though having more books will help us make faster progress. I smile because I did this exact same thing when I was studying baby Greek. In running, you only need one pair of shoes for the entire race. Having 3 new pairs sitting in your hotel room will do absolutely nothing to help you make progress.

So what’s my advice for newbie Greek scholars? Don’t just think about it. Do it. Make a commitment to study hard every week. Set weekly goals for yourself. If you think you can make an A on that exam, make an A. Find a teacher who will motivate you to run to the finish. Begin reading your Greek New Testament as soon as you possibly can. And when you’ve finished first year Greek, the very best thing you can do at that point is to teach it to others. Teaching is the best way to master the subject matter, no matter what the subject is.

Running my race,

Dave

Sunday, October 15 

9:36 AM In a mere 18 days I’ll be commemorating the homegoing of my precious wife Becky. As I think back over the past 4 years (has it really been that long?), life becomes a series of small snapshots. Here’s one picture from my mental photo album. In August, 2015, the Becky Black Building was dedicated to the Lord in Bagdogra, India.

Many of you helped to fund this project. Here the students are being lined up before school starts.

And here’s my daughter Kimberly cutting the ribbon at the dedication service.

“Your” building houses both the Hebron English Day School and the North East Theological Seminary, which uses the facility in the afternoons.

I’m told that the seminary currently has over 80 students and the enrollment is constantly increasing. Praise God! If you’d like to teach a class there, write me and let me know. As the Head of the church, Jesus invites us all to get involved in what He is doing in this old world. He died for us, and He doesn’t want us to forget that act of pure love.

Tomorrow I have the joy of having lunch with Joseph and Moncy Mammen, who are traveling stateside for a few days. This father-son team leads the ministry there. Moncy is a graduate of our seminary and was one of my best students. Their focus is on raising up and training local leaders. I say “Amen!” to that.

It’s impossible for me to pack into one blog post the emotions I’m feeling right now. In every married life there are phases you go through, from dating and courtship, to the phase of jobs and careers, to the phase of having and raising children, to the empty nest phase and beyond. I used to think that the loss of one of the spouses in a marriage put a halt to all of that. I’m no longer so sure. Perhaps there’s a need to talk about the post-marriage phase of life, where one’s love for one’s spouse, though not diminished very much, is now redirected. I’ve been startled by the number of people who have said to me, “Becky’s spirit still lives on in my life.” I sometimes weep when I’m told that. Becky was, to all who knew her, an extraordinary human being. She truly was someone who shared the life, shared the work, and shared the danger (Phil. 2:25). Like every other widower, I miss her. But I’ve discovered that God is good at taking our losses and somehow bringing them back upon us in the form of a blessing. Surely the Becky Black Building is just such a delightful blessing. I wonder if the school kids ever ask, “Who was Becky Black?” “Why would someone name a building after her?” Becky’s death from endometrial cancer was completely beyond my control. But the way that I remember her death — the way in which I try to honor her life and memory — is completely within my hands. Maybe that’s why this building means so much to me. When knocked down and bowled over, you just get back up. Despite all of life’s hardships, life is still worth living. In fact, your loss may even fit into a scheme of things that will surpass what your imagination dares to think.

8:46 AM Consider how Paul describes Epaphroditus in Phil. 2:25:

  • My brother

  • My fellow worker

  • My fellow soldier

Paul loved the “rule of three,” as did the New Testament writers in general. There was a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. There were three temptations in the desert. There were three denials of Peter. We have Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. In the culture at large, triads weren’t unknown either. “I came, I saw, I conquered.” The following facts seem involved in Paul’s threefold way of describing the Philippians’ messenger named Epaphroditus:

1) In the first place, Epaphroditus was Paul’s fellow Christian. He shared the same life, as do siblings from the same womb. Christians call themselves “brothers” and “sisters.” Both terms could loosely be translated as “fellow believers.” When envy and strife tear at family harmony (as was happening in Philippi), it would do us good to remember that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. As such, we encourage one another (1 Thess. 5:11), love one another (John 13:34), pray for one another (James 5:16), speak truth to one another in love (Eph. 4:25), sacrifice our very lives for one another (John 15:13), forgive one another (Col. 3:13), and put one another first (Phil. 2:3).

2) In the second place, Epaphroditus was Paul’s fellow worker. Not only did he share life with Paul, he shared the work. Our walk should square with our talk. If we do not help and serve one another, how can we truly call ourselves brothers and sisters? Some Christians come perilously close to adopting such an attitude. But it’s not enough to say, “Go in peace. Be warm and well fed.” If we don’t actually meet the physical needs of others, “What good is that?” asks James (James 2:16). Some today dwell at length on the negative aspects of the charismatic movement. But if there’s one thing that movement brought to the awareness of the evangelical church at large, it is this: every member of Christ’s body has a gift and a place of service, not only the so-called ordained clergy. This has led to an enormous increase in the effectiveness of the church compared with the one-man mentality that often prevails in its place. How could a member of the church ever be inactive? No gift is irrelevant. Not all of us are meant to be evangelists and teachers — thank God for that! But we all have a story to tell and a work to do. Epaphroditus not only talked the talk, he walked the walk.

3) Finally, Epaphroditus was Paul’s fellow soldier. As Christians we are not called to instant success and glory. We live between the ages. Thus we are heirs to all the frailties and fallennness of this age. If the Master suffered, so shall we. Contrary to what we read in the news these days about evangelicals hobnobbing in the White House, there is nothing triumphalistic about a genuinely New Testament church. Its mark of authenticity comes only from suffering — from identifying with the poor and hungry and lost and those who are enduring mockery and persecution because of their faith. The dying of the Lord Jesus is reflected in their individual suffering if not also in their corporate suffering. I know. I have been there. I have seen this wretched persecution up close and personal in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. If a church cannot endure hardship, it has no divine right to exist. “A worker must needs be a warrior…,” writes Hendricksen in his outstanding commentary on Philippians (p. 139). Epaphroditus was glad to make any sacrifice necessary for the sake of others. Am I?

Beloved, we are all fellow Christians who share the same God-given life. Praise be to God. But how many of us share the work —  and the danger? Yesterday one of my daughters had a birthday. I gave her a present —  eagerly and generously. As Christians, we can give back to our Father in a way that is cold and calculating. “How much can I keep for myself?” “How much have others given?” But a daddy who loves his children never asks those questions. “I’m your daddy. I love you. This gift is a mark of my love.”

As brothers and sisters in Christ, may we give ourselves to the work of the Gospel as never before, and, yes, be willing to share whatever dangers come our way in our service to the Master, who gave His all for us.

Saturday, October 14 

6:14 PM Words matter. Take Phil. 2:22.

1) Note that Timothy had “served with” Paul in the Gospel ministry — not simply “served” Paul. Paul was not the object of Timothy’s ministry; the Gospel was. The little preposition “with” is all-important. Both men were, you will recall, “slaves of Jesus Christ” together (1:1).

2) The verb Paul uses here for “serve” shares the same root with “slaves” in 1:1 and “slave” in 2:8. The NIV has “he has served with me.” So does the ESV, the NASB, and the HCSB. But the metaphor seems to be a live one: “he has worked with me like a slave in the ministry of the Gospel.”

Once we have been brought into the body of Christ, we all become ministers of Christ. There is diversity in gifts but unity in their purpose: to work together as God’s slaves. Thus there is a subtle inter-weaving of themes in Philippians. It’s seen in many ways, not least in the “slave” sub-theme. Every Christian is a slave to the Master whose commands he or she obeys. We are, as Paul puts it in Rom. 8:16, “enslaved to righteousness.” We owe ourselves wholly to God. His commission becomes our commission.

Perhaps Paul is speaking a word to the church of today. I must never claim that I am the owner of my gifts and abilities. I will gladly serve in what is least in the kingdom since the Master is preparing me to take on greater responsibilities later. And I must never imagine that I can do all the work by myself. I need others in the body. Paul needed Timothy, Timothy needed Paul, and the Philippians needed both. I will remember that we are all fellow-slaves of the Lord Jesus. When Satan seeks to divide us through envy or jealousy, I will remember that the Spirit is the One who unites.

This is the way the body of Christ grows into maturity.

10:25 AM A group of church leaders from Raleigh is having a retreat on the farm this weekend. As I’m doing work in my office I can hear them having a Bible study in the library next to me. I’m loving it!

10:06 AM Okay, so here’s my final trip report. On Tuesday, since Zion was out of the question due to crowding, I decided to drive an hour and a half to Cedar Breaks National Monument.

This is actually a park I’d never been to before, so I was really looking forward to the visit. After driving uphill for about 10 steady miles you eventually arrive at the cutest little visitor center.

This rustic cabin was built by the CCC in 1937. Here I found two park rangers huddled next to a warm fire. After all, the temp was 33 and there was a cool breeze blowing outside. The elevation is over 10,000 feet. I thought the views were fabulous, comparable to those at Bryce. Here’s the famous Cedar Breaks amphitheater.

It’s 3 miles long and more than 2,000 feet deep. There were only 4 other cars in the parking lot, and I met only one other couple on the trail who were from Australia. Their goal was to spend 6 months in the U.S. camping in every national park. We swapped cameras and enjoyed the scenery together before I traipsed back to the parking lot.

Here’s a short video I took of the amphitheater. You might get a little queasy if you’re afraid of heights!

This is a park you’ll definitely want to visit some day. The entrance fee is only $4.00. The park is uncrowded and peaceful. A perfect day’s outing!

9:28 AM Odd, but I’ve never run a marathon in Raleigh. Three half marathons, but no 26.2 mile race. That’s about to change. This morning I signed up for the Tobacco Road Marathon in Cary, NC on March 18, 2018. The race starts at 7:00 am. Here’s the course map and elevation chart.

No hills! Plus, the race allows for a very generous 7 hour time limit. Woohoo! There’s a limit of 1,500 full marathon and 2,500 half marathon participants. Both generally sell out, so I’m getting in on the fun early. Now I’m looking for an April race. Boston maybe?

8:24 AM Here I am about to cross the finish line at last Saturday’s race. I had just run 26.1 miles.

Half the fun of racing is venturing into the unknown. Testing your limits. Taking on difficult tasks. Often the people who respond to my blogging are the 50-70-year olds. Why? Because they’ve seen and survived the world. They’ve faced great challenges and understand better than most that life is all too short. Yes, a 65-year old man can finish a marathon. It may cause you to question your sanity, but so can you.

Through Christ we can endure trials and overcome obstacles. We can realize our dreams. But it will take pain. Running a marathon empties you to the point where you can find peace and strength only by looking into the eyes of Another. Each race builds more resolve, more strength, even the courage to try and fail. Hal Hidgon calls the marathon “Everyman’s Everest.” The marathon lets you run to the outer limits of your endurance. I believe it was Jack London who said, “I would rather be ashes than dust. I would rather my sparks should burn out in a blaze than they should be stifled by dry rot.” He went on to talk about the difference between “existing” and “living.” “I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”

Running has made me look at life in a totally different way. I actually find myself smiling a lot. I feel good about myself and enjoy the freedom to let others be themselves. Friend, you can’t finish what you don’t start. It doesn’t matter whether you have a 5-minute pace or a 15-minute pace. Everyone crosses the same finish line. My joy is not attached to my Garmin watch. I savor my finisher’s medal because I prepared for and completed the event. I’ve gone farther than I ever thought possible. John Bingham says the miracle isn’t that we finish but that we had the courage to start. Each race is a challenge, a drama, a stretching in one way or another. A race puts life into perspective. Every hill during last Saturday’s race brought with it a little death. But with the downhill came the rebirth.

If that’s not what life is like, I don’t know what is.

7:22 AM In his book Luke 6:40 and the Theme of Likeness Education in the New Testament, Thomas Hudgins writes (p. 224):

Likeness education involves seeing and hearing the person of Jesus Christ. This takes place through the faithful exposition of the word of God. It also includes the faithful modeling of Christ-like character, specifically the embodiment of his teachings and his actions.

In Phil. 2:19-30, Paul is putting teeth to this truth. When he talks about Timothy and Epaphroditus, he’s not just talking about their itineraries — the mission of Timothy and the return of Epaphroditus. Paul, the optimistic prisoner, is showing in masterly fashion how each of these men models the unselfishness of Christ (2:5-11). Their character, rather than their talents, are the focus. He warmly recommends them both to the church in Philippi. Their selflessness contrasts sharply with the attitude of those in Rome who were preaching Christ out of envy. Epaphroditus, in particular, had almost lost his life in service to others on Christ’s behalf. Paul deeply appreciates both men. In the words of Walter Hansen (Philippians, p. 210), they were “ordinary people [who gave] themselves sacrificially to serve the needs of others as Christ did.”

Admit it or not, we interpret Scripture best through the lens of example. Perhaps, just perhaps, we miss the Gospel when we focus exclusively on doctrine. We’re missing the point if we think that Phil. 2:19-30 is simply a travelogue. Clearly, Paul wants us to examine deeply the lives he’s setting before us. We learn most when we’re seeing the Gospel lived out. We’re then able to offer our “You, first” to others. Mutual submission is the key to unity in our churches. When we follow the music of the Suffering Servant, we move together, one body, co-souled, all for the sake of the Gospel.

Dear church leader: communicate to your flock what counts the most. Do less. Empower more. Teach and then delegate. Recede into the group whenever you can (and that includes the titles you use to describe yourself). The average person sits in the pew weary of talk. They seek motivation. If you have rusted out, bench yourself for a while. And please, oh please, forget the superstar thing. You’re human. You struggle. Serve the Lord and others anyway. Show us what power in weakness looks like. My checkpoints for leaders have nothing to do with degrees. They are genuineness, integrity, transparency, and humility.

I’m still working on this example thing. Perhaps you are, too. Our actions really do speak louder than our words. You want people to follow you? Love others. Love them genuinely. Love them sacrificially. Love them generously. Love each other well, and the church will become the church, sweet friend.

Friday, October 13 

6:02 PM My sweet donks enjoying their evening meal. Love these critters!

5:28 PM Looking ahead …

1) Lord willing, next week I leave for Annapolis where I’m speaking at a pastors’ conference on Friday and then teaching at Riva Trace Baptist Church on both Saturday and Sunday. For the conference I’ve been asked to speak on how to exegete and teach the book of Philippians. It will be a 6-hour long marathon. My assistant and I are currently working on a Power Point that I’ll make available once we’re finished. Philippians can offer some pretty significant interpretive challenges. But for now I’ll continue to reduce and simplify, until I know what else to do. It doesn’t matter what I think in the end. The main thing is to let the letter speak for itself, both in terms of its structure and theme.

2) Looking forward so much to my daughter’s wedding in DC on Oct. 28. It will be on base at Fort Myer. Now let’s see … where did I put my tux?

3) My next big race is the Anthem Richmond Marathon on Saturday, Nov. 11. It’s the 40th running of what’s been called “America’s Friendliest Marathon.” I’ve already booked my Airbnb for Friday night. My goal will be simply to run a race I can be proud of and have fun.

4) The Dallas Marathon will be on Dec. 10. I’m really looking forward to this event. It’ll give me a chance to visit with mom and dad, plus the course takes me right around White Rock Lake, where I proposed to Becky in 1976. (I can still see the very spot in my mind’s eye!)

5) Already eager to attend the North Carolina Symphony’s performance of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018. No piece of classical is more powerful. Just after Becky’s homegoing I attended this same concert in Raleigh with two of my daughters, and I was so blown away by its powerful dénouement that I could barely get out of my seat. As the orchestra played “The Great Gate of Kiev,” my thoughts went to Becky’s triumphant arrival at the feet of her Savior, “through gates of splendor.” Makes me tear up just thinking about it. 

 

Right now I’m prepping for my classes next week. I’m reworking my translations of Phil. 2:19-24 and 2:25-30. Do you remember when you first read about Timothy and Epaphroditus? My goodness, what examples of downward mobility. Makes me ask myself: “What kind of leadership will the current generation of evangelicals offer the church?” Hopefully they will follow the paradigms set forth by Paul in Philippians — which will mean, I should think, eschewing self-help books, the megachurch mentality, and religious consumerism (how can we get the numbers?). We’ll see ….

4:08 PM So what were my plans for Monday? Very simple. A drive through Zion National Park to Bryce, where I would hike the Navajo Trail. Then I’d drive back to Zion and attempt to scale Angel’s Landing. I woke up at 4:30, had something to eat at Denny’s, then made my way to Zion. I was set on getting some pictures while making my first pass through Zion but the sun was just rising and the lighting wasn’t optimum. I did manage to grab a shot of Checkerboard Mesa, though.

Besides, if you want to see the main canyon you will need to park your car and take the shuttle. Bryce, on the other hand, was pretty incredible. The views are right there.

Thankfully the park wasn’t very busy and I was able to find a parking spot at Inspiration Point without any difficulty. Since Becky and I had camped many times in Zion and Bryce, I was able to find my way around the park easily. The scenery at Bryce can only be described as superlative.

Many people just stop at the overlooks, but if you have the time, there are plenty of interconnected trails for you to hike. I chose the Navajo Trail partly because it’s one of the most scenic and partly because it would allow me enough time to return to Zion to hike there as well.

The Navajo Trail is the park’s most popular hike. It’s short, steep, and (usually) crowded. The hike is actually a lollipop. Towering Douglas firs grow along the trail.

It took me about 40 minutes to complete this trail, and I wasn’t rushing either. Too many photo ops for that. Care to “take a hike” with me and my GoPro?

By the time I got back to Zion, the place was a mess. Parking was available nowhere in the park. Some people were even parking 3 miles from the entrance. So I said “Goodbye” to Angel’s Landing, which is the park’s most challenging and rewarding hike. One ranger put it to me this way: “People are beginning to shoulder — visit the park during the off months of April and October. These are now our busiest months.” Oh well. Maybe I need to return in February!

11:42 AM The marathon was on a Saturday. On Sunday, I felt absolutely great. No pain at all, no soreness, not even any toe issues. Nothing. This is solely due to the grace of God, pure and simple. He has arranged things in such a way that we can stay healthy and live longer only if we take care of our bodies as we would our automobiles. It’s up to us to avoid unnecessary illnesses. It’s our own decision to be active or sedentary. Because God has allowed me to live an active life for the past three years, I am at a point where I can begin to enjoy the benefits of exercise. Running is play. I enjoy running because my body is having fun. It’s adjusting itself here and tweaking itself there and telling itself to hurry up or slow down or use a different muscle group or to be sure to get its toenails clipped before a race. My body is becoming better and better at running because that’s what bodies do. So on Sunday, a day after the marathon, I set out to hike Snow Canyon, which actually lies right across the marathon route on Hwy. 18. As you can see, the views are terrific.

The canyon features red and white Navajo sandstone and 38 miles of hiking trails. The Butterfly Trail is the one I chose. This path is the shortest route to the West Canyon Overlook.

It later intersects with the Lava Flow Trail a few miles away. There are no water sources along this trail so you have to bring your own water to drink. I recommend at least 2 liters.

When you enter the park you’ll pay a day use fee of only $6.00. I could post many more pictures but I’m trying to be frugal!

Later that afternoon I switched gears and hired a local wrangler to take me to the top of the canyon by horseback.

The horses were quiet and my guide Mike regaled me with stories about his antics on Denali (Mt. McKinley) and Mt. Rainier while I told him about my own climbing experiences. But as dusk began to fall, the winds kicked up and the horses began to get spooky. Our normally calm mounts began to balk. Remember: Although I used to ride daily for about 15 years, I hadn’t been on horseback in years. Pizarro, the Dutch warmblood I was on, began to think he was stronger than me — which is true, of course, but that’s a little secret you’re not supposed to let a horse know. Normally, when a horse gets so out of control that you feel you can’t control it, it’s time to dismount. However, good old P and I never got to that point. The more I relaxed, the more he did. I began giving spoken commands instead of only leg and hand cues. By this time the wind was gusting up to 40 miles per hour and we started to head back to the ranch (about a half hour away). I once read a book called There Are No Problem Horses, Only Problem Riders. I knew that Pizarro didn’t act up consistently on a trail ride. I also knew that he was afraid of the wind. (So was I.) And I knew that once we got back to home base all would be fine. But those two hours made for some interesting riding. One thing you never do is try to control your horse by the mouth. That will only make him claustrophobic. The best solution is to keep him moving forward slowly, under your control. I wish there had been space to air the horses out at a canter or gallop. But at that elevation, and with those surroundings, that was out of the question.

Mike was a great wrangler. I enjoyed myself tremendously on the ride despite the antics of my frightened horse. Like I said, it wasn’t his fault. Who could have predicated a sudden wind storm?

8:14 AM I noticed two typos in yesterday’s blog post.

Yep, Dave’s blogging again.

So how do you begin to describe one of the most unforgettable weeks in your entire life? There’s so much to report — Saturday’s marathon, my hike into Snow Canyon, my adventure on horseback (and boy was it an adventure!), not to mention my trips to Bryce and Cedar Breaks National Parks. But first, a word about blogs. Having mine go down for several days got me thinking. What is it about blogs that I like so much? And why is it that I read so few? Blogging is something most of us do for fun. Not a few blogs, however, have nothing remarkable or helpful to say. Two blogs I used to read avidly have become conduits of ugly dissatisfaction with Obama or Arminians or anyone who doesn’t homeschool. The authors simply have no platform to be heard but are merely venting (and pontificating). Which means that there are only two or three sites I read on a regular basis, and these no longer include anything published at Patheos (too much click-bait for my taste). Sometimes a blog’s writing is poor (too many typos, for example — guilty!). The blogs I do read always have great content with very few exceptions. When it comes to blog design, personally I think less is more. Sidebars just don’t seem very relevant to me. And pop-ups? Hate ’em. Sometimes I’m asked why I don’t use a platform that allows people to link to my posts. I’m currently looking into that. The bottom line about blogging? Some people do it well. Some people don’t. I want to be one of the latter. Always feel free to email me your suggestions as to how I can make DBO a better website, one that not only allows me to express my personal thoughts and feelings but also “edifies, encourages, and comforts” (1 Cor. 14:3– my life verse as a blogger). And if I ever get too serious, please hit me over the head with an imaginary two by four. I think many of us evangelicals are still caught up in the grips of the old Puritan ethic that considers play sinful. The ancient rabbis had a saying that when a funeral procession and a wedding procession met at an intersection, the funeral procession had to give way. There’s still a lot of “little child” in me, and being old doesn’t mean we have to lose a healthy sense of humor.

But back to my trip to Utah ….

I left RDU Thursday afternoon at 4:15 and landed in Denver at 7:00 pm. There I missed my connection to St. George by about two minutes so I needed to get a hotel room for the night. Let’s see …. How about the airport’s Westin? Only $315.00 a night. Let’s try the Radisson. $69.00. That’s better. I managed to get on a flight the next day and finally arrived at the tiny little St. George airport at around 1:00 pm.

I loved being back in the desert. The St. George area is home to stunning red and white rock formations. The region is very hot and dry. During the summer the temps can reach 135 degrees. As I hiked, the only plants I saw were those that could survive in such harsh conditions — cactus, sagebrush, juniper, yucca, joshua tree. It’s a truly unforgettable experience to be part of this gorgeous nature. In my view, deserts are perhaps the most interesting and colorful creations on earth. The southwestern part of Utah is different from any other part of the state. It’s mostly desert with low mountain ranges. Water is extremely scarce. In fact, the average total annual rainfall for St. George is only 9 inches. Many people are surprised to hear that the city boasts the longest-standing Mormon temple in all of Utah. Seventy percent of its inhabitants are Mormons. Only .34 percent are Southern Baptists. This is a far cry from Virginia and North Carolina, needless to say. I sensed the lostness there during my stay. I saw not one water table or aid station manned by an evangelical church along the entire marathon route. Not one. One Baptist church I read about was having a men’s breakfast that morning. What a missed opportunity. Here you have a chance to literally share a cup of cold water in the Savior’s name with 7,600 people and you’re having breakfast instead? When will the church realize that the gathering only exists for the going? Remember, we’re His “body.” And what did Jesus do with His body? He gave it away for the world He loved.

As I said, I arrived in town on Friday and drove immediately to the race expo at the Dixie Convention Center in downtown St. George. Check-in was easy, and the weather was a pleasant 80 degrees. After purchasing the official race jacket I took advantage of their $10.00 spaghetti dinner to load up on carbs before getting back into my rental car and inspecting the course.

I drove 26 miles out of town to a little bump in the road called Central. Here the race organizers were busy setting up the starting line as well as the flags that would be flying the next morning. There were runners from 44 states and 16 foreign countries and the flags of each were proudly on display. The St. George Marathon is a point to point race. You’re bused 26.2 miles to the starting line and then you have to run back into town. I began my drive back into St. George along the route I would run the next morning. As I approached the dreaded Veyo Hill I took a big gulp. There’s no denying it: this “downhill” course had some pretty hefty ascents, three of them in fact. “Remember that tomorrow, Dave,” I told myself. Then I checked into my Airbnb and tried to get some zzzs but a loud party next door kept me up until after midnight.

I finally got out of bed at 4:30 and checked the air temp. It was a cool 35 degrees going up to a high of 78 — pretty nice weather for a race, I thought. I piled into my running outfit including a tech shirt and two sweatshirts that I knew I would be discarding during the race. I drove into town and caught one of the many busses they were using to ferry runners to the starting line in Central.

There we were met with hot chocolate, coffee, Clif Bars, and bonfires to provide both warmth and light (it was still pitch dark).

The place was crowded.

I decided to fall in with the 5:30 pace group even though I knew I probably wasn’t going to be able to keep up with them for the entire 26.2 miles.

Sure enough, at around mile 13 I began to fall behind. My legs were beginning to feel like lead, and though I continued to run it felt like I was merely walking fast.

My goal at this point was to maintain an even effort even if I couldn’t maintain an even pace. Finally the city came into view, and on one long downhill section I decided to rev it up into high gear, making mile 24 my fastest mile of the entire race.

My goal was to come in under 6 hours and beat my PR of 5:56. When I attended the newcomers clinic on Friday, I was told to run the first 10 miles with my mind, the next 10 miles with my legs, and the final 6 miles with my heart.

I dedicated 5 of the last 6 miles to the victims of the Las Vegas shooting. The final mile I dedicated to Becky. When I crossed the finish line and looked at my Garmin I couldn’t believe my eyes.

I had run a 5:41:40 marathon and had knocked 15 minutes off my old time in Cincinnati. I couldn’t conceal my joy. Thank you, Lord! But I was hungry, very hungry. There were misters there for the runners but as I wasn’t feeling all that hot I passed them to get to the grub line. Soon I was gulping down as much chocolate milk as I could handle and munching on ice cream bars. I was happy. I was feeling good. All had gone according to plan. I was on cloud nine.

Whenever I passed a race official I thanked them for their help. These were all volunteers. The race absolutely lived up to its reputation of expert organization. Everything was smooth as silk, from the expo to the bus ride to the incredible beauty along the course to the post-race amenities. Especially along the final 4 miles, the spectators turned out in droves to cheer you on — just when you needed it the most. I drove back home, showered and changed, and then went to one of the many local Mexican restaurants for a chili relleno and all-you-can-eat chips and salsa.

I’d give the St. George Marathon two thumbs up for sure. If you’re interested in running marathons, this race is an absolute must.

I want to thank my family for their undying support while I was away. Many were live-tracking me and, because I was carrying my iPhone with me, I could keep up with their texts.

Thanks especially to my wonderful daughters. You are my heart’s delight. I love being your Daddy. And Jesus: If I had an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, I’d smash it. I love you.

Up next: Hiking Snow Canyon, and the mother of all horseback rides.

Thursday, October 12 

8:22 PM Praise God! I think my blog is back! A million thanks to my friend Shannon who works in IT at Duke for spending hours with me tonight showing me how to use FileZilla.

Last Thursday before I left for the airport I had uploaded my blog twice, and at that time everything was working normally. When I went to make one last upload, however, everything went south, big time. The wrong “blog.htm” file uploaded, and readers were suddenly treated to “January 2014 Blog Archives”! How in the world did that happen? When I tried to make things better they actually got much much worse, and I was only able to post a brief note informing my audience (all two of you) that I would try to fix things when I returned from Utah. Well, it seems that that day has arrived, and I couldn’t be more grateful. When my blog was “taken down” (by whom or by what, I will never know), I had to get down on my knees and surrender the whole matter to God. “If blogging has become a god to me,” I told the Lord, “then You have my permission to take it away from me lock, stock, and barrel.” Them was hard words to say for someone who loves (and perhaps even needs) blogging as much as I do, in that I find blogging not only fun but cathartic. In fact, as I told the family, I would blog even if nobody read anything I had to say. Thank you to all of my readers for your texts and emails and especially for praying for me. Your thoughts and prayers are more far-reaching and significant than you will ever know. Thank you to Shannon and to my son Joel for sacrificing time away from their families this evening to help out a complete computer dunce. And thank you, dear Lord, for websites like FileZilla and even Front Page, which I have been using since 2003. Front Page hasn’t been supported for many many years and yet I was able to use it successfully (and easily) since I first started this blog 14 years ago. That it stopped working properly shouldn’t have surprised me. Thanks to FileZilla, it seems I can still use my Front Page (I love its ease and design) and simply upload my files through their website. The Lord has been teaching me a lot through this experience. God’s discipline doesn’t come without His presence. When we ask Him to control and direct our lives, we must be willing to surrender EVERYTHING to Him — which is much easier to talk about than to do. We need to follow our Good Shepherd to the low places as well as the high places, step by step, trusting His care and provision in each and every decision we make. I’m not saying there isn’t a place for honest questions in the Christian life. I’m not saying that the prince of the power of the air doesn’t attack us where we’re most vulnerable. I am saying that Jesus’ yoke is always easy and His burden is always light for He gives joy in the midst of sorrow and beauty for ashes. If, as appears to be the case, God is allowing me to continue to write these feeble reflections of mine, I pray that they will be found useful for anyone seeking to follow Jesus with their entire heart. When my blog went down, it struck me like lightening — I am not indispensable! As I enjoy my 65th year of life, I am all too aware of the need for spiritual direction. I hunger now more than ever for the eternal word rather than the words of mere men (and bloggers). In some ways I feel more alive today than I had when I was in my teens. Increasingly, I see new possibilities of serving Jesus. In fact, in some ways I am my own man more than ever before. The words of Robert Browning ring true: “Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be.” Growing older is simply a new leg on life’s long journey, and if we look hard enough, we might be surprised by the good God still has in store for us.

So thanks for caring. I know some of you have missed me, and I’ve missed you, too. Tomorrow, Lord willing (those words have new meaning for me), I’ll begin my Utah trip reports along with some fantastic pictures and videos. You won’t believe what happened at the marathon. It was more wonderful and glorious than I ever thought it could be. Blogging, for many of us, is a way of remembering events and people from our past and lets us claim and share ourselves with others. We don’t merely have these memories; we are these memories.

P.S. Last Thursday I lost three months worth of blogging — from July to early October. We’ve looked and looked for that file but it’s just not to be found. Hence the reference below to our June 2017 blog archives. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

June 2017 Blog Archives 

Thursday, June 29 

7:48 AM I get to run a 10K this Saturday. Woohoo! Then again, it’s only by the grace of God that I get to do ANYTHING. “What do you have that wasn’t given to you? Answer that! So if you’ve really received it all as a sheer gift, why take the credit to yourself?” That’s God’s word on the matter. My taking credit for being able to run is as absurd as my taking credit for my salvation. Not only the gift of running has been given to me, but the very air I breathe while I’m running has. “All good giving, as well as every perfect gift, comes from above, from the Father.” Just because God gives us things indirectly (such as the ability to work out or train or lift weights), that’s no reason to forget that He’s still the one giving it to us. Jesus said, “Beware of greed of every kind! Don’t be like the man whose crops yielded so much that he pulled down his old barns and built bigger ones, then said to himself, ‘Look at what I’ve done! Time to take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself, Dave old buddy old pal.” You guys, this is exactly me from time to time. I’m learning, ever so slowly, to give God the credit. The one who is reluctant to acknowledge that God is the giver of all his gifts is the one who will also be reluctant to part from them. And one day we must all “part from them.” Health and vitality  will be gone. God may even take our possessions from us. Okay. What then? Here’s Paul’s answer:

I count all these things as unspeakable filth for the sake of gaining Christ and finding myself united with Him. All I really care about is to know Christ and to be conformed to His death.

Alright. I’m not there. Still, I truly believe that life and light are greater than darkness. I also believe that humility is no excuse for being anything less than God wants us to be. (Yes, He actually might want you to be active and get in shape. According to the CDC, only 20 percent of Americans fall into the “fit” category. Care to join?) Clothes, food, health, money, houses, vacations, family: all are pure gifts from His hand. “All these things the heathen run after, but not you. Your heavenly Father knows you need all of them.” So there’s got to be a balance. He is the Giver. I am the steward. That’s about it. If we truly get this right, I believe everything else will fall into place.

Off to Dallas to visit mom and dad. Becky’s parents are precious saints who brought the Gospel to Ethiopia some 65 years ago. I like the Big D. Like, love it. So much culture and fancy cuisine. And all the 5Ks and 10Ks are FLAT. But mostly I enjoy just hanging with two very special people who were responsible (obviously) that I was able to marry their eldest daughter in the first place. Maybe we start here: Call your parents today and tell them “I love you.” Don’t text them. No emails either. Call. Or better yet, visit. This is holy ground. “Honor your dad and your mom.”

Thank you, mom and dad, for your love and prayers through the years.

I love you.

Wednesday, June 28 

9:06 PM So much to be thankful for tonight. Thank You, Lord, for our hay fields.

Thank You for our barns in which to keep our hay dry.

Thank You for all You’re doing in my kids’ and grandkids’ lives. Thank You for another grandson due in 3 weeks. Thank You for Food Lion and Siri and tractors and books to read at night. Thank You for a body that’s still ticking after 65 years. Thank You for I love yous and text messages and emails and Great jobs! Thank You for aluminum tubes that allow us to fly everywhere on this planet in a mere day. Thank You for coffee and Amazon Prime. Thank You for a whole new world that is waiting for me in heaven. Thank You for the messy soil of relationships. Thank You for moving and stirring in my generation.

Thank You for most of all for YOU! 

5:22 PM I’m taking the plunge — again. Just signed up for theRex Wellness Sprint Triathlon in Wakefield, NC on August 13. This will be just two days after I fly home from my 9-day surfing vacation in Hawaii. So far it looks like I’m thesecond oldest participant. #LifeIsAbsurd.

5:04 PM Takeaways from Ken Coley’s new bookTeaching for Change:

  • Where there is no change, no teaching or learning has taken place.

  • Students learn more when they actively engage with the content than when they sit, listen, take notes, and watch.

  • I have discovered the key to students’ learning is the short, but powerful word, engage.

  • Effective teachers recognize and respond to the need for diversity in their approaches.

Lots to learn about learning!

1:18 PM Inspired by last weekend’s triathlon adventure/exploit/escapade/feat, I decided to drive to a state park and swim some laps this morning. Who knows — I may do another tri soon!

P.S. If, like me, you are a newbie runner, you will be greatly encouraged by this wonderful essay:If You Run Slow, Who Cares? Of course, “slow” should be “slowly.” But who cares?

8:26 AM Have you read Robert Banks’ classic book on the church called Paul’s Idea of Community? It’s a call for believers to get our eyes off ourselves and onto Jesus, off our mission and onto His mission, to get rid of the clutter and return to the essentials. Banks is insistent: the apostle Paul did not admonish his converts to “go to church” for a “worship” service. Instead, he teaches that worship is 24/7/365 — an entire life of giving oneself away in deeds of service, not limited to special gatherings or places (Rom. 12:1-2). Roland Allen makes the same point in his work Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? Paul did not encourage his churches to form a Christian subculture. He didn’t urge them to retreat from the secular culture surrounding them. They were to live “sent” lives. “They” don’t have to come to “us.” We will go to them.

This is how grave the Gospel challenge is and why I’m going to harp on these truths in my classes this coming semester. There is no way around this. The gathering exists for the going. If I could, I daresay I would require my students to cancel their Sunday School classes one weekend and go and play basketball with kids in the inner city instead. Christ’s disciples are characterized by self-denial and love. When we do gather, it’s not to worship but to recharge our missional batteries to be sent right back out into the world. Let’s call it what Paul called it: an edification service (1 Cor. 14:26).

By the way, I crunched the numbers yesterday. I’ve got 34 students in one section of Greek 1 and another 34 in my second section of the same course; 19 students in my Acts through Revelation class; and 30 enrolled in my Greek Syntax and Exegesis class. This latter gathering will be especially exciting. We’ve got the skeleton. Now it’s time to hang some meat on the bones. We will go, verse by verse, through Philippians, fixating on Paul’s single theme: unity in the cause of the Gospel. Nothing matters quite as much to him (1:27)! We’ll work through my little book It’s Still Greek to Me and even rummage around in Linguistics for Students of New Testament Greek. Wait, what? You’re using your own textbooks? Can’t help it. For better or for worse, I tell my students they’re getting Dave Black in my classes. It’s a grand adventure, this foray into Greek language and linguistics. But it’s not about Greek in the end. It’s not about church either. It’s bigger than that. It’s about becoming what the Greek New Testament calls us to be: people who put hands and feet to the Gospel — our hands and feet. The Gospel is not just an idea to discuss, it’s a life to live.

Can’t wait to get started.

Tuesday, June 27 

9:20 PM Nate’s working late tonight, fertilizing the fields, while I “supervise.”

Meanwhile, Sheba and I enjoyed some Hawaiian sweet bread, toasted and buttered. Growing up in the Islands, we used to call this Portuguese Sweet Bread. The Portuguese also introduced malasadas to our cuisine — deep fried pastries that are out of this world. Of course, where we would be without that other great Portuguese invention, the ukulele. I grew up with friends named De Silva, Cravalho, and Medeiros. Love (and miss) the ethnic diversity of Hawaii.

Sheba, by the way, has decided to sleep in my upstairs bedroom. Back in the day, I had a strict no-sleeping-in-my-room policy. That went out the window as soon as the summer thunderstorms began. Sweet Sheba is scared to death of thunder and would slowly creep up the stairs and into my bedroom and I didn’t have the heart to tell her no. Dogs are like people in that they are pack animals and crave companionship. Reckon there’s no reason for her to be lonely at night. You’ll notice that she sleeps squarely on the air conditioning vent to stay cool. How cute.  

7:54 PM While scarfing down my stir-fry this evening (I am so stuck in a cuisine rut) I was listening to NPR’s Fresh Air and aninteresting interview with the author of a new book on the Donner Party. The author is Michael Wallis and his book is called The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny.

Only half the party survived the trek to California mainly because they were convinced to take a “shortcut” that never existed. It’s not that the travelers weren’t warned, however.

[Explorer James Clyman, a friend of James Reed, made] a visit to Illinois … and sat down over beverages that evening around a fire with members of the Donner-Reed Party and focused on James Reed and said, “Don’t take this shortcut! Lansford Hastings doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He, in fact, has never taken this cutoff himself. I advise you strongly, don’t take it. Stick to the known California trail. Don’t take this shortcut that’s going to save you time, becauseit won’t.” And unfortunately James Reed didn’t heed his old friend’s advice.

Classic.

Students: There are no shortcuts to learning, whether the subject is Greek or anything else. It’s a profound moment in our academic journey when we realize this. I suspect many of you will relate. I travel quite a bit speaking and am always amazed at how people expect a public speaker to be a prophetic voice who can answer all their questions. We are not prophets. We have opinions, as does everyone. To be sure, we try to be gentle guides. But there is no way we would think of ourselves as having the last word on any subject. That you’ll have to get on your own, through grit and determination. Friends, I’ve been teaching for over 40 years and I’ve never been more aware of my own ignorance (and arrogance). I’m sure I’m not the first to tell you: Your teachers are ordinary people who struggle with the same questions you do. When you agree with us, that makes us happy. But should you disagree with us, we will humbly and gratefully enter the conversation with you.

There are indeed no shortcuts in life. In teaching Greek, I cherish the hope that maybe I can inspire people to learn and live the example of Christ. I will write books that can perhaps guide you onto the right path. Half of me is thrilled that people seem to enjoy my writings. The other half of me is scared stiff that they will regard my books as replacements for their own study. God does His heaviest lifting when we get into the word ourselves. That’s one lesson I learned the hard way, but it’s a lesson well worth learning.

6:50 PM Odds and sods….

1) Zach Vickery’sHow and Why Pastors Should Study the Biblical Languages calls us to forsake exegetical shoddiness and to interrupt anything that gets in the way. A great read. Being missional is no excuse for sloppy thinking.

2) Forthcoming book:Greek Composition: A Greek Primer with English to Greek Composition Exercises and Answers. This book is sorely need. I never teach a Greek class without doing English to Greek composition. Never.

3) Saw this atNerdy Language Majors: “I failed Greek because of all the fake ννν.” What a hoot.

4) I see I’m not the only one who’s excited to be running in theAnthem Richmond Marathon this year.

5) What happens when you’re running a marathon and you’restopped by a train. Hilarious.

2:45 PM Sheba just took me for a walk.

We’ve started cutting our “Ripple Field.”

Just call me Chief Hay Inspector Clouseau.

The weather today is perfect for farming: 78 degrees and a cool breeze.

Hey Tolo Tolo!

Home again, home again!

1:58 PM Did a 5-mile training run just now. My splits were 14:45 (mile 1), 13:38 (mile 2), 12:58 (mile 3), 12:40 (mile 4), and 10:41 (mile 5). This brings my monthly total for June up to exactly 108 miles based on 25 workouts. I’m training hard because one of my sons-in-law is threatening to run with me in Birmingham and I don’t want a mere 40-something showing me up. By the way, I’ve been really emotional today. I discovered a birthday letter Becky left me. It was somehow overlooked when I was cleaning out her desk. There’s no way I could ever express to her my love and thanks. So Becky is totally in my head. And so is Jesus. I love them both soooo much.

10:32 AM I Hated Running, Then I Decided to Run. Just in case you’re considering becoming a runner.

10:15 AM Just added to my race calendar: TheMercedes Marathon in Birmingham, AL on Feb. 11, 2018. Sweet Home Alabama!

8:38 AM In recent years I’ve been inspired by saints and dreamers and visionaries. Jody and Henry Neufeld are some of the wisest and most committed Christian publishers I know. You have loved Becky and me in many tangible ways, not least through publishing our books in Spanish. It is such a privilege to work with people committed to the Gospel and passionate about evangelism. Should any of you want to read our books in Spanish, please see Henry’s latest post calledLa traducción de tres libros en español por Energion.

8:12 AM Did you know that students at the College of Charleston can take a class calledSport Physiology and Marathon Training? Bet you’ll never guess what the final exam is. You guessed exactly right. Running a marathon. I ask you humbly: How can students take “New Testament” and remain overfed, arrogant, and unconcerned? The U.S. spends more ontrash bags than almost half the world spends on all goods combined. This helps me better understand Paul’s teaching in 1 Tim. 1:5: “The goal of our instruction is love.” I like how The Message puts it: “The whole point of what we’re urging is simply love — love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God.”

I’m finally beginning to connect the dots. As an old Scottish proverb puts it: “Greek, Hebrew, and Latin have their proper place, but it’s not at head of the cross where Pilate put them, but at the foot of the cross in humble service to Jesus.” God is requiring from our New Testament students obedience. Not the kind that is little more than an hour of inconvenience on Sunday morning. The next time there’s a Run for Nepal — a 5K race in Morrisville, NC dedicated to raising funds to rebuild that country after its devastating 2013 earthquake — I hope hundreds of born-again Jesus freaks will sign up with me. “Broken and poured out for you” is the way Jesus, I think, would put it. Jesus left heaven to come to the foulest place in the universe only to be betrayed by His own. When His followers are asked to do the same thing, they can only hear and obey (hearken). I once asked God to send me to a closed country. I knew it was a dangerous prayer. But I meant it. And He answered. At the very same time, it was glaringly obvious to anyone who took the time to notice that my stateside priorities were far more about me and my scholarly reputation than about God and other people. Richard Rohr writes that “… power, prestige, and possessions are the three things that prevent us from recognizing the reign of God….” (Simplicity, p. 56). The pattern of ascent is so ingrained in our circles that it may be physically painful for some of us to reject it. But if I am to “take the lowest place” (Luke 14:10), I’ll need to get off my high horse.

τὸ δὲ τέλος τῆς παραγγελίας ἐστὶν ἀγάπη.

I hate this kind of simplicity. I hate asking to be countercultural, even as an academic. But that’s where I am, folks. I am so over upward mobility. I’m ready to join to Jesus at the bottom. And ask my dear students to do the same.

Monday, June 26 

7:54 PM Was a fun day today (except for the time I wasted in Raleigh visiting a doctor I was referred to by mistake). My assistant and I reflected on the shockingly beautiful kingdom and began making the changes to our course syllabus for NT 2 in light of the downward path of Jesus. As you know, true Christianity begins at the bottom, as Jesus (the founder of Christianity, duh) modeled for us. By the end of the course I want my students to be running toward the cross rather than avoiding it at all costs. Alas, how to motivate them? I suppose that’s one reason I orderedthis book today.

My friend and colleague wrote it. Ken is one of the best Christian educators I know. In many ways he exemplifies the teacher I hope to become one day. I dream of a classroom where students dream of being great not for their scholarship but because they had the humility of a servant. I want them to serve others selflessly and sacrificially. Mind … heart …. hands. If I didn’t grasp this in college, I do now. Jesus unpacks a whole new teaching linked to the way He lived and died. Oh may my students learn to love this broken world as they love themselves!

On an unrelated note, this is the map for the 10K race I plan to run in Dallas this weekend.

After the half marathon, the 10K is my favorite/preferred race distance. It’s not as demanding as the half and short enough to push the speed a bit. If you’ve only done 5Ks, the 10K is the perfect next step. Speed + Endurance!

Time to feed the donks some carrots. (I know. What a life, right?)

7:25 AM Last night around 11:30 a wonderful thought came to me. (Occasionally my brain gets an idea.) God is devoted to us. In fact, so devoted is He that He prophesied through Ezekiel that He would actually place His Spirit within us and cause us to walk in His statutes (Ezek. 36:26-27). He would inaugurate a “better” covenant with His people. In the Old Covenant, when God’s presence came, the earth shook. But when the New Covenant came, and God’s people were filled with His Spirit, they were filled with joy and boldness. I deeply believe that God wants this freedom for us today. I deeply believe that He wants us to live in the power of the New Covenant, in the power of the Spirit. In the New Covenant we have an abundance of promises that we often either overlook or take for granted. Our generation is so hamstrung with Old Covenant living that we no longer realize God’s gifts staring us in the face. As I labored over the syllabus for my NT 2 class this fall (Acts through Revelation), I fretted and agonized over the assignments. As I look at it now, I have to ask myself: If this class is all about New Covenant living, then why is the syllabus so heavy on extrinsic motivation to make the students get their work done? Friend, do you love the law of God? Do you delight in His word? I could cook a meal for days, but unless you want to eat it you won’t get any benefit from it. Just because I have a long list of requirements (a lot of “busy work”) doesn’t mean you want to do them. To be honest, some of my seminary courses back in the 1970s drained me dry. If only the professor had made ruthless cuts. If only he had majored on the majors. The balance beam was too crowded.  People, we learn what we love. Then we combine the best of everything we’ve learned and conclude: I want to be like that. Now hear me. This doesn’t mean that I’m going to throw out my assignments. You will still have to learn everything you need to know about, say, the background, date, authorship, purpose, and structure of Ephesians. But the assignments for which you’ll be graded will be much different than that. They will be based on living out the New Covenant-like life that God has called us to and has enabled us to live through His Spirit. Heaven help us if our students are studying class material only to get a grade. The course will still be challenging. You’ll get a decent handle on all of the controversial issues surrounding New Testament studies today. But we won’t look sideways as much. Our benchmarks will be simplicity and obedience — much like it was with the Anabaptists of old. Anne Dillard was right when she wrote, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives” (The Writing Life, p. 32). This is the biblical benchmark I want to use. The New Covenant is applicable everywhere or it isn’t applicable anywhere. We are called to this work of New Covenant living. It is rarely big or famous work. Most of the time it’s unplanned in fact. Not only can you do hard things for the Kingdom, you can encourage others to do the same by your example.

Here is the truth of the New Covenant (or “New Testament” if you prefer): Compliance to the will of God is by inner desire, not by external compulsion. God’s laws are implanted in the very hearts and minds of His people and not merely inscribed on stone. The Holy Spirit residing in each and every believer now provides the basic enlightenment for Christian living. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we no longer need teachers. (I happen to be one.) Rather, we teachers at best clarify and unfold the revelation of God that the indwelling Spirit provides through the word. This knowledge is at least possessed in germ form equally by all followers of Jesus. If you’re a student, may I suggest a starting place as truth seekers? Be in the word yourself. It is not your teacher’s responsibility to tell you everything you need to know about God and His ways. It is not their responsibility to fix every mess or answer every question. (Side note: I recall having lectured for an hour on Philippians in South Korea when a student raised his hand. “Yes, sir, do you have a question?” To which the student replied, “Who was Cain’s wife?”) In other words, make your front porch (or your bedside table or whatever) an altar to God. Be a self-starter. You can trust God to help you because He has given you His Spirit. Get to know the Book of books in great detail. Commit portions to memory. That way, when you come to class, what you get from us profs will be supplements to (not replacements of) your own time in Scripture. Begin to move away from the “Come to us and we will do it all for you — lead you, feed you, organize you” mentality of some churches. The more responsibility you take for your own spiritual growth (including growth in knowledge), the healthier you will become. Again, I don’t mean to minimize the importance of formal teaching. I’ll be doing plenty of that in my class. But under the New Covenant, remember always that you can live a Spirit-filled life without constant management from others.

So today I’ll begin tweaking my syllabus for NT 2. It will still be imperfect, I know. And I will still expect students to acquire a large modicum of basic knowledge about the writings of the New Testament. But I’d like to think that we don’t need to be babysitted. You and me — we are New Covenant people. When Jesus stood up in the synagogue and read the words of Isaiah aloud — “The Spirit of God is upon Me…. He sent Me to preach good news to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, announce freedom to all captives, pardon to all prisoners…” — the crowd was incredulous. But that’s the kind of kingdom I want to join. When we follow King Jesus, we desire to serve Him. That’s because He has put His Spirit into our hearts. Glory be to God.

Sunday, June 25 

6:14 PM Howdy pards! The triathlon in Wake Forest is now history, and I think I’ve recovered sufficiently to give you a post-race report. To say the race was grueling would be an understatement. I lost 10 pounds during the race. 10 pounds! The easiest part of the race was actually the part I had been freaking out over all week: the swim. But I should have known the old lifeguard instincts would have kicked in once I got into the water. I found myself passing swimmers in front of me at a pretty decent clip. To do this, I had to change from the crawl stroke to the breast stroke simply so that I could see who was in front of me and not stumble into them. (That’s a no-no.) The cycling part of the race was, on the other hand, hell on wheels. I mean, my three-inch mountain bike tires were laughable compared to the sleek one-inch tires of the fancy road bikes everyone else seemed to be using. One thing you should know about cyclists: they ride at virtually maximum intensity. Speed, not endurance, is their game. I can’t tell you how many times I got passed by cyclists half my size. Still, I gave it my very best shot on what turned out to be a pretty hilly course. Nothing broke down on my bike (I don’t think I could ever learn how to fix a bike tire), I had no major injuries, and the vehicular traffic seemed to be trying to exercise caution and patience (though one or two drivers must have hailed from Los Angeles). We cycled on the road, which I NEVER do. Too many drivers fiddling with their cell phones for me to ever feel safe during a road race. The cycling part did, however, have its great moments. I found that a flat-out sprint on a bike could actually be enjoyable — an experience in how fast I can pump the peddles and how much pain I can endure.

The last leg, the 5K run, would have been a cinch had I not already beaten my body to a pulp. Although my legs were nicely warmed up from the bike ride, they were also quite tired. To tell the truth, I was beginning to feel a little bit fatigued by that point in the race. I was, however, encouraged (in a sadistic sort of way perhaps) to see that I wasn’t the only runner out there who wasn’t a Lance Armstrong look-alike. Where I was running, most of us looked like everyday, normal people trying to push our limits and have fun while doing it.

My finish stats?

  • Swim: 06:25

  • Cycle: 1:02

  • Run: 36:02

This made my total time 1:50:02 (including transitions 1 and 2). I guess that makes me a “triathlete.” Crazy, huh?

Folks, if you want to try a triathlon, jump in. The water’s warm (literally). Simply find a race labeled “sprint triathlon” and you’ll be good to go. Once you’ve signed up (and paid the registration fee with your credit card), begin collecting your gear. Nothing fancy, mind you. All you’ll need is a good swimsuit, a pair of goggles (I bought mine last night at Wal-Mart), a bike and helmet, and a good pair of running shoes. That’s it. Believe me, you’ll feel like a kid again. Remember all the running, biking, and swimming you used to do when you were young? Go for it!

Pix:

1) Hauling a bike around can become a huge hassle unless you’re prepared. As you can see, one of the main reasons I bought my new Honda Odyssey was the ample room it had for transporting my mountain bike.

2) I showed up at the race site practically before anyone else did, I was just that excited. Someone snapped this pic for me and then I went about putting up my bike and getting my race numbers.

3) Proper body markings for a tri consists of your bib number on each arm. The numbers are written vertically and as legibly as possible.

4) In addition, your age goes on your right calf. Without question the purpose of this number is to humiliate us seasoned citizens. I actually requested that they write “30” on my leg but they insisted on scribbling my “real” age. Seriously, though, there is madness to their method. If you have a strong competitive spirit, you tend to go after the athletes in your own age group. Oddly enough, I don’t think I saw anyone older than me on the course, but that’s probably because all the “old guys” had long since finished the race.

5) This was a fun and very well organized event, thanks largely to the phenomenal efforts of race coordinate Rebecca. The swag and t-shirts were crazy good, and the night-before-the-race clinic was indispensable for all of us newbies. Rebecca, your “You can do this!” attitude and support made such a difference for me and I’m sure for many others as well. It gave me the confidence to go out and show everyone what I was made of. I loved it all: The volunteers, the cheering crowds, the “water cannon,” the super-organized transition area, and the munchies afterwards. A million kudos to you and your staff!

6) Before the race, everyone had to make sure their bikes were properly and securely placed on their assigned bike rack.

7) Some riders racked their bikes facing backward. I placed my bike facing forward with the handle bars and brake levers hooked over the bike rack. I made sure my water bottle was securely fastened to the bike and that my helmet and sunglasses were in a handy spot. It was here that I also left my Garmin during the swim portion of the race since it isn’t waterproof.

8) Here’s the last picture I took prior to the start of the swimming leg as I had to return my iPhone to my bike rack. Everyone sort of milled around and chatted for an hour or so before the race festivities began. It took about a good hour after the first swimmer started for yours truly to begin swimming his laps.

9) I’m almost too embarrassed to show you these stats because I feel I did REALLY poorly on the cycling leg of the course. I was very blessed that I didn’t come in dead last. Swimming is a sport in which technique is supremely important. With cycling, I think you mostly just race. But at least I did get up to 22.6 MPH at one stage in the race — a long downhill portion, probably.

10) Here are my two favorite parts of any race: the awards ceremony ….

11) … and the sponsors’ display booths. Trust me, these organizations are doing lots of good for people all over the world, and from what I heard today, a whopping $25,000 was raised today for this particular cause.

12) Well, if you’ve gotten this far with my post-race report, you’re probably thinking, “Maybe a triathlon ain’t so bad after all.” If so, I’ll be the first to say a hearty Amen. Perhaps for you, and for hundreds or thousands of other participants, the party is just about to begin.

Grace and peace,

Dave

Saturday, June 24 

12:24 PM Love cutting grass.

Ain’t nothin’ like a freshly mown lawn.

Also worked on my tan for my August Hawaii trip (hehe). Now I’m off to do some training for my event tomorrow. It’s a gorgeous day!

9:14 AM Just three weeks to go until I fly out to Chicago for my next half marathon. Which reminds me: I’m doing this for a reason. Not because I’m a glutton for punishment, but because of the space the Holy Spirit creates in me to keep moving forward with my life. I can no longer default to a couch-potato, mindless, thoughtless, inactive lifestyle. Not if my body is the temple. What does the Holy Spirit want to do with this aging sarx of mine? I really don’t know for sure. I do believe he wants me to try and climb Mont Blanc (the tallest Alp) next summer to raise more funds for cancer research. But I’m not going to box Him in. It’s one thing to make the decision to live a more healthy lifestyle. It’s quite another to act on that decision month after month after month. I told my Greek students (and I really meant it): “There’s only one thing worse than never having studied Greek, and that is to have studied it and then gone on to forget everything you learned.” As an adult-onset athlete, I have to choose my races carefully lest I overdo it. Like this weekend’s triathlon in Wake Forest. At this point I realize I have no idea what I’m getting myself into. Maybe I’ll love the event. Maybe I’ll hate it. I don’t have the foggiest idea what a “transition area” is or what I’m supposed to do in it. (Do bikes with luggage racks count?) For the swim leg I’m starting at the very back of the pack. No doubt that’s where I’ll end up too. Don’t matter. I feel this race is for me. I’ll pin on that race number and put myself on the line for the umpteenth time. If I’m tired, I’ll just have to find a way to keep on going. If I’m hot, I’ll have to figure out how to cool down. I will discover my own struggles, and maybe even breath a word of encouragement to others who are sharing those same struggles. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll get through the swim leg without drowning. I even took a picture of the pool yesterday so that I could study the lane configuration.

Oh boy. “Dear Hawaii: I miss you so much. Remember how you and I would swim together every day? Now it’s been years since I’ve done the crawl stroke.” It’s a good time to tell you I take my limitations seriously. That’s why I asked to be placed at the end of the swimming leg. Well, eighth from the end.

Which means there’s a likelihood that I’ll be last in the bike leg too. And the running leg. If you’re there, just look for the old guy babbling uncontrollably as he waddles across the finish line.

Folks, I can’t help myself. I have an inexplicable love for the sport of running. I’ve poured over websites, read heaps of books, celebrated the triumphs of marathon winners. Racing has become a classroom for me. I’m learning my limitations — and maybe even my potential. So I have a clear dog in this hunt. I am literally running for my life. If my kids bury me early, it won’t because I was out of shape. There is something noble about an assembly of people knocking themselves out for the sake of a cheap finisher’s medallion. The rules of racing are simple: Get to the starting line and do your dead-level best to finish.

Oh say, did I tell you that the Wake Forest Triathlon was the first triathlon to benefit Smile Train — the world’s largest cleft lip and palate charity? 100 percent of the athlete registration fees go to Smile Train, which provides free care to children in over 85 developing countries. It has performed more than one million surgeries since 1999. See if you can readthis story without tearing up.

There is nothing triumphalistic about this approach. Nothing arrogant. It has a simple authenticity that comes from suffering, from showing compassion to the poor, and from the generosity and involvement of donors from all the over the developed world. As Christians, our lips can’t proclaim one message and our lives another. These are humbling reflections. We are far too prone to see Christianity as something we do in a church building. It is far more than that. Giving of our time and energy for a cause like this takes us to the very heart of God. Magnetized by God’s great gift (2 Cor. 9:15), Christian donors joyfully do what little they can. Praise God for believers with generous hearts. The glory goes to Him. And we get the joy of honestly sharing the Gospel with others both in deed and in word.

P.S. My daughter Jessie sent me this photo earlier.

That’s her eldest son at the Farmer’s Market this morning. She now reports he’s already sold everything and is back home. Way to go Nolan!

Friday, June 23 

8:10 PM Recently I’ve received text messages from people who were grieving a loss. Grief is a lot of things. It’s usually not a fleeting feeling that’s here today and gone tomorrow. You can have outward jollity and still have grief. If you are one of these “grief-sufferers,” I offer you the following letter.

Dear __________. I am so very sorry for your loss. There is no quick fix to your problem. I say this because our culture has come to expect instant solutions to our personal pressures and daily trials. Maybe sharing from my own experience will be an encouragement to you.

I desire to live my life to the fullest, even though I don’t have life all sorted out. My life isn’t about “easy answers” or what I call “churchianity” any more. It’s all about Jesus and why I follow Him even when I can’t make peace with unanswered questions, even when I wrestle daily with all the weirdness and stupidity in the church, even though Becky’s passing caused the God I once knew to disappear like steam on a mirror, even as I sort through my own grief and memories. I’m under no illusion that coping with your loss will be easy for you. It will take a lot of rethinking the “promises.”

As you may know, I met Jesus during the 1960s. Back then life was simple. We sat around campfires singing “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” surrounded by the waves of the beach and fellow saints attired in mariachi sandals. All of us had long hair then. After all, we wanted to “look like Jesus.” Is it any wonder He loved us so much? Then at some point we grew up. Church became important to us again. The Holy Spirit was calling us back to our roots. To us Jesus Freakers, Christ was the glue that bound us together regardless of our church affiliations — EV Free, Grace Brethren, Calvary Chapel. We gathered with the people we grew up with because we had fallen in love with them again. Our leaving the institutionalized had been an act of defiance. We were determined to become a real New Testament church. So, of course, that’s exactly what we didn’t become. Later in my life, I began to move into culture — yes, the secular culture so despised by many in my evangelical subculture. I still listened to countless (mostly boring and ill-prepared) sermons in church, but I also listened to NPR and classic rock and Beethoven. I began to move into the mainstream of culture. Church became more and more of a burden to bear, a game people played, a system of professional advancement, programs to operate, superstardom to attain. There is something disturbing about watching a beautiful butterfly turn into an ugly wart. For years I elevated the Bible to being the fourth member of the Trinity. Not any more. Systematic theology can’t heal a wounded soul. In my house on the farm there are boxes of letters I can’t bring myself to read. There’s a bedroom I can’t enter. Becky’s things remain untouched. It’s all too much for my fragile emotions.

We Christians think that if we ignore our grief it will simply go away. Just when I think I’ve got my act together, Father’s Day comes, or her birthday, or Mother’s Day, or our anniversary. This is sacred ground — this losing someone you love. Now I realize that because Jesus died, all of life can be seen through the cross. I now have a higher view of Scripture than ever. I see light in the darkness, His Light. And in that Light I see hope for grieving Christians — even for grieving widowers. I have come to firmly believe that all of my life is His, including my heartaches. There is room for all of us in the house of grief. The problem is that we want answers now. We’re desperate for some spiritual “fix” that will numb our pain and drive away our tears. “It’s easy,” you say to yourself. “I’ll just read So-and-So’s book. Surely that will lift the fog of depression and frustration.” Yet the very things we turn to men for are the very things we ought to trust God with. He promises some day to rid the world of every tear, even of death itself. God knows and cares about you. And through your circumstances He’s making Himself known. What you can’t do, God will do. He’ll help you grieve, help you cry, help you to keep trusting Him — if for no other reason than He’s your Daddy. Unwanted grief is a dreadful thing. But each time one of our loved ones dies, surely God cringes. Do you believe He loves you? Well, do you? “Yes” is only a word, but sometimes it makes all the difference in the world. A tough decision? Oh my! But it’s a decision that He asks us to make. And whether we like it or not, it’s a decision we must make daily.

Want to know what I do when I don’t think I can take another step? Cry out to God. At any point God’s presence can be extended to us. Unable to do anything else but reach out to this God we blindly trust, He comes to us in our pain. Only Jesus can help us bear the sorrow of loss. All we have to do is take His outstretched hand.

Your friend in Christ,

Dave

3:30 PM Hola amigos! You thought maybe the rapture had occurred, eh? Not really. I’ve just been busy teaching Greek. I’ve encountered thousands of students over 40 years of teaching, but this summer school class has been one of the best I’ve ever taught. Their passion and curiosity about language are contagious. In the past 6 weeks there were good patches and bad patches and on occasion nothing went according to plan. In the final analysis, I’ve found that all learning is ultimately self-learning. We hear, memorize, and remember selectively. We must all find the path to ourselves with our own minds. But this can happen only if we’re willing to take the risk of moving off the spot we’re on. So to all my summer Greek students I say: You’ve done it, and I’m mighty proud of you. All it took to begin was a single step. You were willing to do the work. You were willing, to use an athletic metaphor, to put in the miles, to run in the rain or the heat, to learn to run one day at a time. And I know you will keep running because you know that every step you take is a step in the right direction of becoming more and more who Jesus wants you to be. I can assure you: you’re in for the race of your life.

A few pics from the week:

1) On Tuesday night some of my students invited me over for a dinner party. Imagine being offered three different kinds of rice dishes. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Thank you for the treat!

2) This morning I had a cuppa and some pastry at my colleague and friend Tracy’s coffee shop in Wake Forest. It’s calledBack Alley Coffee. Those who know me know I’m not a connoisseur of coffee. On the other hand, I know a good cup of coffee when I taste one. This place had just what I was looking for.

3) Ben Merkle and I are now in the penultimate stages of planning our Greek and linguistics conference. I think we Greek students tend to see Greek studies as something the experts have figured out. Alas, the subject is far more frail, far less adhesive than it seems. As Paul once exhorted the Corinthians, we need to constantly examine ourselves and check up on our progress. There is nothing triumphalistic about the Greek magisterium. “Look at me. I’ve laid aside deponency!” It’s more like a group of private detectives probing here, poking there. So stay tuned for an announcement about the when and where and who of our conference.

4) While we’re talking about conferences, here’s a blast from the past. It shows President Paige Patterson kneeling before the assembled sages at the first New Testament conference I ever organized on campus back in 2000. Bill Farmer and Eldon Epp are directly in front of the grand genuflector. Can you recognize any of the other scholars?

I am grateful to each of them, each in their own way, for helping me find myself. I love being a member of the academy. My life is richer, fuller, and more satisfying because of it. And the learning just gets better and better. I don’t believe I’ve lived my last, best days. My best days are still out there somewhere, and each and every day that I am alive is an opportunity to find it. The same is true for you, my friend.

Grace to you,

Dave

Monday, June 19 

7:24 AM Good Monday morning to you all! Everyone has their race to run this week. For my summer Greek class (which is in its sixth and final week), we’ve got the subjunctive and imperative moods to cover, plus 1 John. In addition, today we’re looking at the art and science of textual criticism. As for me, the Chicago Half Marathon is only 20 days away.

My heart is singing! I could spend hours upon hours sharing my thoughts with you about this race. There’s nothing more motivating for success than a huge challenge. After Saturday’s race I have a new-found confidence that I’m where I need to be right now.

This weekend, by the way, was tough on me emotionally, as holidays always are without Becky by my side. Today, though, I feel fantastic, so you can put those violins away. As with running, life keeps chugging along and you take the good days with the bad ones. This weekend the Father reminded me (again) that I’m not just another insignificant 8-digit code. Rather, my name (MY NAME!) is written in His book of life. A more wonderful thought is hard to imagine.

One last note. Einstein is supposed to have said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” Here’s a page from a book on the Greek perfect tense I was intending to review for publication.

I stopped when I saw what the author did with the Greek. I’m sure he must have thought, “No big deal.” Well …. In a doctoral dissertation, you had better use a Greek font if you want me to read it, simply because I can’t read Greek in transliteration any more than I can blog without mentioning running. Are you listening?

Sunday, June 18 

4:36 PM Yesterday I ran the “Race 13.1” Half Marathon in Roanoke, VA. I thought I’d share some of my photos and thoughts from the race since so many of you can’t wait for my race reports (ha-ha). Besides, this is about the only way I know how to memorialize my life for my great-great grandchildren who will be mightily bored when they read about my exploits. As you know, I started the month in terms of my marathon training by running in the Raleigh Half Marathon two weeks ago. I finished the race with a respectable time of 2:36 if I recall. Yesterday, the same outfit put on the race in Roanoke — which meant the same set up, the same DJ, the same music, the same style of bibs and medals, etc. I drove to the venue Friday night so that I could get up early on Saturday morning in time to grab my race bib and warm up for the race. I stayed in a very nice hotel that was located directly across the street from the course, which is always convenient. The hotel staff included a Greek receptionist named Ari (short for Aristotle) who was, I think, a bit taken aback that I could speak his own language with him. The course we ran is famous for its hills and stunning scenery along the city’s famous Roanoke River. It’s the longest distance I’ve ever “run” in my life — as in running without stopping to walk. Boy did that feel good. I couldn’t have done it without two things. First, I trained for the race ahead of time. I worked like a dog to prepare my legs and lungs for the rigors of the race, and yesterday I got to enjoy the fruit of my labor. At the starting line, I took a deep breath, relaxed my muscles, let go of all of my worries and cares, and focused entirely on the race. Secondly, I ran with a group of runners that kept spurring me on. I joined the 2:45 pace team that was led by a volunteer (and Marine Corps officer) named Mac. Mac constantly encouraged us to meet our goal of 2:45. In fact, near the end of the race I had just enough zest in my legs to push ahead and beat that time, though not by very much. Mac, as I said, was a great pacer. He had run the course before and knew where every hill and turn was, when we could expect the next water stop, etc. Running with him allowed me to focus on the present and not to obsess about mile markers, timing, pacing, etc.

Here are a few takeaways from yesterday’s race I thought you might enjoy reading:

1) Regular running builds discipline and character. In other words, success breeds more success. You’d be surprised to find out what you can accomplish when you take control over your mind. (Greek students take note!)

2) I can’t thank the race organizers enough for arranging plenty of water stops and the post-race pizza as well. The entire event was extremely well organized and full of energy, swag, and comradery.

3) Never underestimate the value of a mini weekend vacation. It was awesome to just gel in a swanky hotel for 2 days. It felt like I was a million miles from Wake Forest and the farm. The price of the hotel even included two home-cooked breakfasts.

4) “Slow and steady finishes the race.” You see, every part of my body has changed in the past few years through exercise. I’ve been working hard to develop muscular skills that allow me to walk, bike, hike, run, climb, surf, and even compete in long-distance races. I’m nowhere where I want to be, but I feel that yesterday’s race represented an important milestone in my progress that will help me set even higher goals for myself in the future.

5) Some of the best things I’ve accomplished in life have happened since Becky passed away. I so wish she were here to enjoy them with me. There’s a lifestyle change when you get involved in running. But the change is sweeter when it’s shared with others. If you don’t have an accountability partner, you will often fall victim to your own excuses, most of which are pretty lame. I’ve learned so much about myself through running, not least that (a) I’m a slow runner and (b) I have a hard time running in distance races (anything over a 10K). At the same time, I’m very stubborn, and being stubborn isn’t all bad. This is what drove me to do my second half marathon in the span of 2 weeks. With my focus and stamina improving monthly, I think next month’s Chicago Half will be a good test of my commitment.

6) Yesterday, when I woke up at an indecently early hour, I knew I was ready for the race. My finish time wasn’t a PR, but still I had a great time. Going into this race I tried to use my experience of running 5 half marathons to my advantage. Thanks to YouTube, I was familiar with the course. I was expecting a long downhill in the middle of the race — which meant, of course, that I’d be running back up that hill later. Maybe it was the cool weather and the overcast skies, but I felt better and stronger as the race went on. For the first time in my brief career as a half-marathoner I didn’t feel like I was dying after mile 8. The last mile was, in fact, the fastest mile of the race. Approaching the finish line, I was actually disappointed that the race was over. I ended up completing the race with a time of 2:43.

7)  Now that I have 6 halves under my belt, I think I might have some insight into how this “running” thing works. As I crossed yesterday’s finish line, I thanked my heavenly Dad that on this Father’s Day weekend I could reach my goal. I accepted my finisher’s medal, picked up my second place medal, chatted with my fellow runners, and realized once again that there’s no “secret” to long distance running, just as there’s no “secret” to mastering New Testament Greek. You can only run as fast as your training allows you to. I was happy with my efforts yesterday. I know I gave it all I had. I so want to live the rest of my days that way. I know I’ve made many mistakes along the way, both in running and in life, but I’ve got plenty of things to be grateful for.

Well, if you’ve had the patience to read this whole thing, you’re the one who deserves a medal! I close with a few pix:

1) My weekend pad.

2) Mac is da man!

3) Woohoo! Beat 2:45!

4) My mile splits. Go, Dave, go!

5) Roanoke’s famous “Star.”

6) The city and the distant Blue Ridge are lovely.

7) Roanoke is famous for its architecture.

8) Feels like I’m in Switzerland. 

9) I attended here this morning.

10) The first hymn we sang was “For the Cause” — which was commissioned for the Gettys by our own Danny Akin!

11) “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak” (Isa. 40:29).

Friday, June 16 

4:56 PM Photo Friday:

1) One of our grads is heading back to the Philippines. Her mom and dad are here helping her pack. Hope you enjoy the books!

2) Did almost 7 miles at Umstead Park in Raleigh yesterday.

3) Beautiful place to hike!

4) Today I finally bit the bullet and got a pedicure before tomorrow’s big race. As if they needed one!

Make it a great weekend!

Wednesday, June 14 

7:28 AM Too funny! Too true!

Tuesday, June 13 

7:48 PM I love work. I can watch it all day. Like, for example, when my assistant Noah taught our Greek class today.

Oh my! Participles! Yikes!

Or when my summer Greek student Adam helped us get up hay today.

(That was so fun.) Why, I even did some work myself today. (I need approval desperately.)

Right now it’s time to settle in with a good book and chillax. Which is hard work for me.

Later!

7:25 AM Yesterday Chip Hardy and I met at Red Robin to discuss the student evaluations of our LXX course last semester and we made several (we hope) positive changes in our syllabus for the next go-around.

I love teaching this class with Chip (Ph.D., University of Chicago). We both view the classroom as an altar, a place where we can provoke one another on to careful exegesis of the biblical text. And speaking of exegesis, I just finished reading Stan Porter’s marvelous chapter called “The Grammar of Obedience: Matthew 28:19-” in his book Linguistic Analysis of the Greek New Testament and will be sharing the results of Porter’s analysis with my Greek class today, where we’ve already argued that “Go” should probably be “Going” because this keeps the focus on the main verb, “Make disciples of all nations” and its concomitant modal participles: “baptizing” and “teaching.” As Stan so eloquently puts it, “The notion of going (to make disciples), rather than being grammatically prominent, is the background to the command to make disciples, realized by the finite verb in the Predicator of the primary clauses.” He then concludes: “The making of disciples involves the public witness of baptism followed by and mirrored in a life of Christian obedience” (p. 253). Think of it: In the book of Acts, you got saved and got wet. Baptism preceded instruction — unlike some places in Africa I’ve been where a long period of catechism and probation precedes the waters of baptism. Thank you, Stan, for reminding us of the importance of the first step of obedience in the Christian life — following Jesus in the waters of baptism as our public profession of faith in Him.

More on this later ….

Monday, June 12 

10:04 PM We worked from 4:30 to 9:00 this evening.

A student from my summer Greek class was a HUGE help by driving the truck for us while we picked up hay. A million thanks, Brett!  

If I were to pare my life down to the bare essentials, to what is good, what is beautiful, what is life-giving, I believe it would include working with my own hands. Thank you, Lord of the harvest, for this wonderful blessing.

7:12 AM Having reread Noah Kelley’s excellentoverview of the Greek perfect tense in recent discussion, I decided I had to purchase this hefty tome.

Now if I can just find the time to read it. Meanwhile ….

Today marks the beginning of our fifth week of Greek class. What does that mean? It means that students will be getting an earful of participles, infinitives, subjunctives, imperatives, and a healthy dose of 1 John. Phew! Here I thought that things were going to get easier! I think the class is a bit tired but we’re having fun. I often think back to my own experience in Greek classes at Talbot. What I experienced had a profound influence on my life and  ministry. One prof in particular was known for the combination of academic scholarship, evangelistic passion, and truly world-wide perspective. He was an inspiration and guiding light and I will never forget him. Oh to be that to my students!

This weekend my poor students were asked to read my little book called Using New Testament Greek in Ministry. I hope it will challenge them to emulate the passion of the great teachers of the church in years gone by. I have long ago lost count of the students, full of enthusiasm when they graduated, who became frustrated by a schedule that would not allow them to maintain a working knowledge of Greek. Everything is dictated by the tyranny of the urgent. This is a tendency so reprehensible and so far from the discipline required of a teacher that I have fought against it long and hard. What good, however, is it to study something and then proceed to forget it? Greek instruction is critical. But so is using Greek in one’s personal life and ministry. Dedicated students set their sights on nothing less, and it is happening, though not as often as I would wish. We will see how things pan out in the next half century. Of course, I won’t be here to see it!

Sunday, June 11 

9:35 PM Had a nice hike today in one of my favorite state parks.

The trail was deserted except for me and the wildlife.

Do you pronounce this “Am-phee-theater” or “Am-pee-theater”?

If the latter, then welcome toGrassmann’s Law! Afterwards I got up hay with Nate and then pigged out on Mexican cuisine. Now it’s time to settle in with Free As a Running Fox.

Bis Morgen….

7:28 AM Good morning everyone! First order of business: Report on the-best-birthday-party-I’ve-ever-had-in-my-65-years-of-living. It all started when two of my sons-in-law “kidnapped” me and drove me to the cemetery to visit Becky’s grave. We prayed, read Scripture, and reminisced. (Okay, one of us also bawled like a baby.) Then it was back to the farm, which by now had been magically transformed into a Hawaiian beach scene with slack-key guitar music, waving palm trees, tiki torches, and leis for the bunch. I was completely taken by surprise. I felt like I was at a hukilau!

I watched while my kids and grandkids bantered and played and got caught up. I loved it. I had a lot of happy and productive chats. This morning I jotted down some life lessons that occurred to me this past year:

  • Nothing beats a loving home atmosphere.

  • If you want to be happy, do good to others.

  • Always risk making a complete fool of yourself.

  • Remember that not getting what you want can be a blessing in disguise.

  • Worship can never be shunted off to a one-hour time on Sunday morning.

  • Every year, visit a place you’ve never been before.

  • Relationships are so very fragile.

  • Keep in step with the Spirit at all times.

  • Play hard.

  • Give more than you get.

  • Stop trying to fix the ones you love.

  • Avoid assumptions.

  • If you haven’t had a major crisis in life, you’re probably very young.

  • Do something you love with your life.

Well, it was quite a day yesterday, one I will not soon forget. I don’t feel old. I feel like a 30-year old. I’m committed to developing my body and soul to levels they’ve never reached in the past. My health has never better thank the Lord. I have a new zest for living. I am the me I have always been and perhaps even a better one. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family that loves me. It does no good to live in regrets for the past or in sadness about loved ones who have passed on. Life is the quest. We can have a rebirth no matter how old we are. My birthday this week is simply the beginning of the process — still ongoing — of becoming the person God wants me to be. All praise to Him!

A thousand thanks to everyone who made yesterday such a special day in my life. As I watched you cheering each other on and calling forth the best in one another, I realized, This is what families are for. We point each other to God and call out His blessedness. This is our life together. I love you so much.

Saturday, June 10 

2:50 PM Greek is humbling. We’ve had only 4 weeks of summer Greek and already we’ve touched on leadership, ecclesiology, the Lord’s Supper (not Snack), baptism, and a myriad of other topics. Leadership is not so much a status; it’s a way of life. The church is a New Testament concept; it can’t be based on concepts of holy people doing holy things in holy places. For all of our talk about the Lord‘s Supper, we miss its real import: to keep the gathering Christocentric (rather than pulpit-centric or anthropocentric). Paul warned the Corinthians what he warns us today: Take heed lest you fall. A truly apostolic church cares less about how to “do” church and more about obeying Jesus’ simple teachings. It honors and respects His commands. Thus Greek, if correctly used, affords us an opportunity to dig deep into the text and perhaps allows us to discover some long-forgotten truth. J. I. Packer makes this wonderfully plain in a quote one of my daughters shared with me this morning:

… anyone who deals with souls will again and again be amazed at the gracious generosity with which God blesses to needy ones what looks to us like a very tiny needle of truth hidden amid whole haystacks of mental error.

I’m already seeing this happen in my Greek class. Little lights come on, tiny needles are discovered. My prayer is that my students will ask the Holy Spirit to show them what they need to know in order to become lowly servants in His kingdom. Let Greek play its proper role in this process.

7:45 AM Whoa … words spewing out of my computer. Must mean I’m not exhausted yet from all the celebrating. It’s been a great birthday weekend so far:

1) The haying weather was perfect last night.

2) Then a late dinner with the Glass family.

3) Oh — please help us welcome “Chigger Yellem” (“No Problem”) to the farm. (All of our donks have Ethiopian names.) He was born on my birthday.

I absolutely love everything about my life. My zany family. The perfect summer weather we’re enjoying. My incredibly diverse interests. But what I’m most happy about is how the Lord gives me strength to face every new day with hope and optimism, despite some pretty hard blows in the past few years. I still sometimes reflect on Becky’s passing and know my life still aches without her. If your soul aches too, my friend, I believe your sorrow can increase your capacity to live well and love well. Losing Becky wedded brokenness and love together in my life. Her life was a pure gift to me. So was her loss. “Till our grief is fled and gone, He doth sit by us and moan.” These words were written by a Puritan after one of his children died. It’s what I believe, and what I will continue to believe until I go to the grave.

But enough of this introspection. Sheba, let’s go feed the donkeys some carrots.

Friday, June 9 

4:58 PM Today’s bricolage.

1) As always, it’s great to be back on the farm, but it was really special to drive up and find my daughter and her family at Maple Ridge. They drove all the way from Alabama.

2) In honor of my 65th birthday (today) and Global Running Day (Wednesday), I ran 32 miles this week. (That’s because I don’t feel older than a 32-year old.) Of course, that’s nothing compared to this:94 Year-Old Woman Breaks Half Marathon World Record. Inspiring!

3) Here I am crossing last Saturday’s half marathon finish line. The thrill of victory and the agony of de feet!

4) I like this pic even better. It shows our 2:30 pace team. I’m cracking up at all the jokes they’re telling. We were running an 11-minute mile pace. Tiring but manageable. Everyone is sopping wet.

I give pace team leaders a lot of credit. They’ve got tons of responsibility. We depend on them to help us reach our goal. We look to them for leadership. Carrying that “2:30” sign is a badge of honor. The Chicago Half Marathon is just 5 weeks away and the big question is: Should I race with a pace group again? I had a great experience last Saturday with one. The pacers were very experienced and superb leaders. They reminded us when to prepare for an upcoming hill, when to slow down or speed up, when to take a deep relaxation breath, etc. I think this time I’ll start with a pace group slower than my goal (2:45?) and use them to keep me going easy for the first 9 miles. If the pacers end up going faster than I want, I’ll just drop behind and run at my own pace. If, by mile 10, my tank is still somewhat full, I’ll try and sprint to the finish line. I’ll need to talk to the pacers before the race to see if they believe in even or negative splits, if they slow down and walk through the aid stations, if they’ve run this race before, etc.

5) Last night I read this 817-page doctoral dissertation! Ph.D. students of mine: don’t you dare get any ideas!

6) Parse this verb. (Hint: It’s an imperative.)

7) My friend Moisés from Santo Domingo likes our grammar in Spanish!

8) Checked this out from our library last night.

Lookie here.

Holladay nails Hebrews. Love it. Like, LOVE IT. The dam is beginning to burst, folks. History is about to reverse itself.

9) My next surf-cation is August 3-11. Not all surfing trips to Hawaii are winners. The waves can be flat, or the weather can be too stormy to catch anything but slop. That said, surfers are the most optimistic people I’ve ever met. Even if the ocean is completely flat, as in snorkeling conditions, we’ll sit on our boards and wait … and wait … and wait …. 

Even if a wave never arrives we can still say we “surfed” that day. Who knows, maybe we should have waited just a little bit longer ….?

10) Haying time!

Monday, June 5 

5:50 AM “This week in Greek”: Finish the middle and passive voices; review the entire indicative mood; move on to the third declension (easy cheesy), participles (no problemo), and the infinitive (to study or not to study the infinitive is not an option). The biggest mistakes students make are:

  • Failing to be able to read Greek aloud. (English pronunciation is much harder than Greek.)

  • Forgetting their paradigms.

  • Looking at the word (rather than the morpheme) as the minimal unit of meaning in language.

  • Believing that immersion means speaking Greek with a native Koine speaker. (There ain’t none.)

  • Getting frustrated when listening to the smart guys recite Greek. (Be yourself. Do your best. Race at your own speed. Remember 1 Cor. 12:6: “God is the one who works all things in all people,” so there’s no need ever to compare yourself with anyone else. Trust Him for the results.)

  • Believing that it has to be hard. (Greek grammar is actually very logical and perfectly learnable. It’s us teachers who most often get in the way.)

  • Failing to focus on the big picture. (As in: THE GOAL. It isn’t just using Greek to help you read a commentary. It’s to be able to read and understand the text without even translating it.)

Friend, if you’re struggling to learn Greek, you’re not alone. I lasted a mere three weeks in my beginning class at Biola before dropping. Way over my head! A year later, I was teaching 11 units of Greek at the same university. To master Greek, your brain is required to work in brand new ways, such as constructing new cognitive frameworks. Take a tip from an old geezer: Focus on your goals. Enjoy moments of fresh discovery. Get surrounded (there are many teachers who are using my grammar. Check them out on YouTube when you need a change of pace.) Make peace with your imperfections and/or lack of language aptitude. At the same time, no excuses! What matters in the long run is not aptitude but commitment!

Sunday, June 4 

5:34 PM We live in a culture that provides us with a multitude of opportunities to be active. Fitness is literally a moving target. Picking up hay, like I did today, is a good example of what I’m talking about. Out in the field it’s just you, your trailer, and your will. Haying is elementary, elegant in its simplicity.

And here’s the funny thing. Even though I did a 13.1 mile race yesterday, my legs never felt better — or stronger. They had no problem at all trudging from one bale to the next. That truly is the paradox of running, as every runner knows. The more you stay active, the more your body wants to be active. Of course, there are days when haying is easy and there are days when it’s harder. But today was pure joy and delight. Before getting up hay, I mowed. The day was perfect for it. Here’s my old mower.

But it’s never worked better. And that’s because I recently had new mower blades installed on it. Other people sharpen theirs. But everyone knows that unless you have sharp blades, your lawn will not look very good. At any level of life, we need to stay sharp. When we get dull, things don’t go as well. Greek students know what I’m talking about. How easy it is for us to allow our Greek to fall into disrepair and disuse. No amount of money or status can compensate for sloth or inactivity. Truth is, for many of us, it’s time to sharpen our “Greek blades.” And there’s many ways we can go about doing this. I see that Todd Scacewater’s offering aGreek review course. Michael Halcomb’sdoing the same. Or just grab any intermediate grammar and dig in. Sooner or later, you’ll get caught back up — if you are diligent.

Well, it’s time to cook supper and prepare my meals for the week. Just so you know that my life’s not all work and labor, here’s a picture of the classic car show that our fair city of Clarksville put on this weekend.

Can’t you just see me in this red convertible roadster!  

1:05 PM Do you enjoy what you’re doing? You can! Read my latest essay,The Joy of Running.

8:20 AM Miscellaneous thoughts before heading out for my Sunday activities:

1) Looking forward to another great week of teaching Greek plus continuing my training for the Chicago Half Marathon. The weather this week will be lovely — which means time for lots of yard work as well. My birthday is on Friday, and there’s a rumor floating around that my family is planning on “surprising” me with a party on Saturday. WOOHOO!

2) I want to give a word of thanks to all the volunteers who staffed yesterday’s race in Raleigh. These are some incredible people. The leaders of our pace team always allowed us to stop at the water tables (if for only 20 seconds) to wet our whistles and catch our breath. Badly needed, I must say! By the time we back-of-the-packers arrive, there’s usually more water than anyone knows what to do with, so it’s okay to take more than one cup. I always try and thank every one of the workers I can. We high-five each other as they shout encouragement. As I’ve continued to race, I’ve come to appreciate these selfless servants more and more. Thank you, volunteers!

3) Been getting gobs of requests these days for ourGreek DVD series. I’m so glad God is using these videos to help self-starters learn this fabulous language. The idea of recording my lectures in Addis back in 2005 was Becky’s idea, and she gets the credit. I’ll be forever grateful for her and her partnership in the Gospel during 37 years of marriage. 

4) My assistant and I spent an hour last week planning my new course syllabi for the fall, including a new syllabus both for my Greek Syntax and Exegesis course and for my New Testament 2 course. I like to think that I never teach the same class twice. I’m always trying to make improvements based both on student feedback and my own intuition. Noah’s insights and suggestions as a current student are invaluable in this process. I think you’ll enjoy the changes we’ve made. There’s a bit less busy-work and more student participation.

5) Across the Atlantic has been featuring a discussion of thestyle of Matthew’s Gospel and the relevance (if any) this has on the synoptic problem. Everyone who knows me knows that I believe that issues of style are moot when it comes to the synoptic problem. Mark’s stylistic peculiarities, for example, prove neither this Gospel’s priority nor its posteriority. It’s the external evidence that’s probative, friends!

6) Finally, THANK YOU for visiting my blog today. I know you didn’t “have to.” DBO is now in its 14th year. When we started blogging there was no Face Book or Twitter or Instagram or YouTube. My site has given me satisfaction plus lots of new friends. DBO is nothing fancy. It’s just me and my thoughts. Some people complain about blogging. Not me. Yes, it’s like having another part-time job. But you know the saying: Do what you like and you’ll never work a day in your life. So thank you, everyone, for your readership and support, and here’s to another post, and another, and another ….

Dave

Saturday, June 3 

4:48 PM Just checked my Map My Run app. Here’s the monthly workout summary for May:

  • Workouts: 21

  • Duration: 26.7 hours

  • Calories: 149,000

  • Total miles: 99.2

What a crazy month it was. Many days I couldn’t work out because I was haying (which is not a bad thing, of course). I also began teaching summer school. Still, I managed to get in a decent number of training hours. If I can maintain this schedule, maybe I’ll be ready for Mont Blanc next July (which, Lord willing, will be my next fund-raising project). Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps and definitely one of the hardest to climb. If you’d like to watch my mountain guide, Walter Rossini, climb this peak, gohere. It’s a beautiful setting!

4:30 PM Yesterday I was privileged to present a check for $7,000.00 to UNC Cancer Hospital. Here’s Victoria Bae-Jump (Ph.D. and M.D.), whose cutting edge research seeks to explain the relationship between obesity and endometrial cancer. She’s already put last year’s donation of $25,000 to good work in phase 2 of her study. What a joy to be able to leverage my Alps climb last year and my marathon this year for something so worthwhile. Go Tarheels!

4:22 PM Today I ran my fifth half marathon (since competing in my first one a year ago) and it was awesome! I trained carefully for this event by sticking to two or three running days per week. The conditions for the race could hardly have been better. We started out in about the 65 degree range at 7:15 this morning. And much of the course was shaded. In fact, everything about the event — packet pickup, aid stations, finish line festival and food — went smoothly and easily. As I said, my first half marathon was exactly one year ago, on this same course, so my goal today was to try and beat my course record of 2:48. After the race briefing and a warm-up, we were off. I decided to run with the 2:30 team, which was made up of mostly middle-aged women, some of whom were doing their first half. For the first couple of miles they bantered with each other (they were funny!), but eventually everyone quieted down as we knew this was serious business! I did fine until around the 10 mile marker.

At this point the 2:30 pace team began to pull away from me despite my best efforts to keep up with them. I was running just as hard as before but for some reason I simply began to slow down. At one point I started walking. Say what?? Legs, I didn’t say you could walk!! Eventually I began to shuffle again. I crossed the finish line with nothing left in the tank and a new PR on this course of 2:35! I can clearly remember the last hill. Ugh. It seems I have a knack for picking races that end up being hilly. Well, running sure keeps you humble. As for the race in general, I felt pretty controlled and comfortable for most of the course. I was really happy to be part of a race group that encouraged one another. Every time I hit one of the aid stations I was ready to cool off. I would take a cup of water and pour it over my head, then take two or three cups and drink the contents. I ended up racing about four minutes slower than I had hoped for, but I’m more than okay with the end result. There’s always something to be learned during a race, even on the not-so-great days. It was a grand event and definitely one I’d like to do again. Onward to my next half marathon in Chicago on July 16!

Friday, June 2 

9:54 PM The headline this morning on the WRAL website read: “Decreasing humidity, clear skies lead into pleasant weekend.” That’s really great news! Especially because I had to get hay up this evening and I have another race in the morning. Oh, did I tell you that my very first triathlon is now on the calendar? It’s in Wake Forest on June 25. I’m sure it’ll be more challenging than I can imagine. I have no idea what to aim for but I’m setting the (modest) goal of finishing the same day as the race. Here’s what it involves:

  • 250-meter pool swim

  • 12-mile bike ride

  • 3.1-mile run

In order to stagger the starting times, racers have to enter their anticipated time for the swimming leg when they register. I put down the maximum time allowable: 99.99 minutes! Believe me, for my first tri I’m happy to start at the very back of the pack. It’s not that I’m a terrible swimmer. Did tons of it while growing up in Hawaii and when I was a swimming instructor and lifeguard in California during my college days. But it’s been years since I’ve done laps in a pool on a regular basis. As for the biking leg of the race, I’m a bit more confident of my ability since I’ve peddled 26.2 miles nonstop on two different occasions. I imagine, though, that by the time the running leg of the event begins, I’ll be ready for the race to be OVER. I honestly don’t know why I’m doing this race. A triathlon was never on my bucket list. I guess you could say I signed up on a whim. After all, how awful can it be? (Well ….) I’ve heard that your first swim in a tri is the most nerve-wracking experience ever. Thankfully this leg of the race is in a pool and not in the open water. I’m 23 days out, which means that I still have time to go to the pool and get some lap swimming in. But I’m not about to go overboard and buy a TT bike or an Aero helmet. This is just a test to see if I like this event or not. It’s going to be another test of endurance for sure.

Speaking of exercise, I recently heard about a park in Wake Forest that’s been there forever and yet I’m just beginning to use it for my running. It’s called Joyner Park and is about a 5-minute drive from campus.

I can’t imagine a more convenient or beautiful venue for doing anywhere from 3-6 miles at a pop.

In other news, I’m so thankful for these endorsements that just came in for my forthcoming book Siete marcas de una iglesia neotestamentaria:

De ves en cuando se necesita ver la iglesia neotestamentaria para compararle con nuestras iglesias de hoy. Dave Black nos ha dado esa vista en su libro Siete marcas de una iglesia neotestamentaria. En una manera bíblica y clara nos hace ver la manera en que la iglesia neotestamentaria actua, y nos pone un modelo bíblico para nuestras iglesias. Aquí se encuentra lo más básica de la iglesia de Cristo, y nos ayuda para establecer y crecer iglesias bíblicas. Lo recomiendo como un libro principal para los que estamos como pastores y lideres du Su santa iglesia.

Alex Montoya, Pastor de First Fundamental Bible Church, Whittier, CA.

En estos días cuando la iglesia muchas veces se ha convertido a un centro de diversión, es muy importante de revisar las siete marcas básicas de la iglesia que vemos en Hechos 2:37–47. Este libro es fácil de entender con muchos ejemplos personales. Lo recomendó para estudio bíblico de grupos Cristianos en todas iglesias.

Dra. Aida Besançon Spencer, Profesora del Nuevo Testamento, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Thanks Alex and Aida!I hope you’ll tell all of your Spanish-speaking friends about this book.

Let’s see … what else shall I mention? Brain fade has set in! Oh yeah, on Tuesday I took the grandkids to Chuck E Cheese to help them celebrate their graduation from kindergarten (Caleb), first grade (Rachel), and third grade (Nathan). We all had a blast.

Well, I think that’s going to have to be the extent of my update for tonight. I need to get to bed as I’m dead tired. I worked until 8:30 tonight getting up hay. And I have a half marathon in Raleigh tomorrow morning at 7:15. Running is so much fun. It’s also good for you. It helps you lose weight, have a healthier lifestyle, relieve your stress, and lower your cholesterol. But mostly running is about discovering the joy you experience when you move your body with your own two feet.

Make it a great weekend!

Dave

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October 2018 Blog Archives    

Wednesday, October 31    

8:15 PM I so love it when we have guest speakers in my classes. This week featured two of my favorite colleagues and dearest friends: Matt Mullins, who teaches English, and Ronjour Locke, who teaches preaching. Dr. Mullins spoke to us about how we should read the Bible as literature.

Dr. Locke talked about “James and Justice.”

Both lectures opened the door to some wonderful discussions. How many times have you heard a really interesting lecture and just couldn’t wait to ask a question or make a comment? So a thousand thanks to these dear friends of mine for spending some of their uber-precious time with my students. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch (as they say) ….

I’m prepping for my trip to the great state of Alabama to visit family. On this, the fifth anniversary of Becky’s passing, I just couldn’t stay at home. I have no doubt that while my body will be in Birmingham my mind will very much be here at Bradford Hall, thinking about Becky and the 37 years we spent together as husband and wife. This has been a very lengthy time of adjustment for me, and while I’m still failing at aspects of it I think I’ve make good progress. I’ve noticed the following changes in my life:

Mentally: I can concentrate again. I’m more focused and can get tasks done quicker than the time right after Becky’s death. I’ve recovered my intellectual curiosity and have even been doing quite a bit of writing lately. I’m learning to use my brain power more efficiently again and to rest my mind when I need to by getting outdoors and losing myself in creation.

Physically: At age 66, I think I’m more aware than ever of the unused capabilities resident in my body. I feel like I haven’t yet reached my peak as a runner and athlete. My health has never been better. Unfortunately, I’m carrying more weight than I want to, but at least I have no double chin — yet.

Emotionally: I’m happier than I’ve been in a very long time. I still struggle with grief and sadness, but I believe I smile more than I have in a while and I find myself laughing out loud at funny things. I love having a lot of people in my life with whom I can share my feelings, and I spend every day trying to think up ways I can better love and serve them. I treasure the support system God has given me in my family and I enjoy showing them how much I love and appreciate them.

Spiritually: This is a hard one. Needless to say, I’ve learned a lot in the past five years about myself. I believe my life has changed for the better. The struggle in my soul is still not fully resolved, but God’s loving sovereignty is no longer a mere abstraction to me. I thank Him every night that He has answered my prayers for relief from those difficult days right after Becky died. While suffering has in one sense made my belief in God more difficult, and while I haven’t found an explanation for the loss that befell our family, I know beyond the shadow of any doubt that God is real and that He came all the way from heaven to earth to live among us and share our pain. I have made peace with God’s sovereignty, and I know He was there to welcome Becky into heaven. As strange as it may sound, I believe that today I am experiencing greater joy than I’ve ever had before, even in my sorrow. I’ve even had people tell me how grateful they were to find genuine community in the midst of their suffering because of something I said or wrote. I am terrified to think that my words might have that kind of effect, yet I cannot imagine not writing about my experiences. I’ve found in the body of Christ genuine community and great fellowship among others who are trying to make sense of their loss. It is very moving to me to hear their stories, and their testimony is a reminder that God delights to create and sustain community for broken people like me. I believe with the 17th century English poet John Dryden that “none would live past years again.” For me, the past isn’t all doom and gloom. My life has been pleasant and overall quite joyful. But I have no desire to live in the past because today and tomorrow hold the opportunity to become better and to become more. If aging brings problems, it also brings solutions. If I can’t remain young, I can remain fresh. In the September of my life, I am all that the past has taught me, and every year has become an asset. I may never be 36 years old again, but it no longer matters because I’ve learned that age doesn’t matter, it’s running your race that counts. Each one of us is unique in the eyes of God. Thus we make every day count for Him. To have a death worth dying, you must have a life worth living. Even at my age, I know there’s another chapter to be written, one that will not only allow me to do things that will bring me personal satisfaction but will also be of help to others. Whether it’s teaching my classes or fundraising to combat some disease or being supportive of my kids and grandkids, I know the Lord will show me ways to stay involved with the world and find a place of continued usefulness. Becky would have expected that of me, and that’s exactly what I expect of myself. The one thing I won’t do is sit at home and brood. The realization that the fifth anniversary of Becky’s death is here won’t keep me from celebrating the life she lived or from concentrating on so much in my life that is good. This is the message I hope to convey to anyone who reads my blog: Yes, Becky’s death has left a huge emptiness in my life, but I am strong, and as I continue to move through the stages of grief I hope that my life will give strength to others.

Monday, October 29    

11:54 AM Hey folks! Got time for a brief race report? As you know (if you keep track of all the stuff I do), I spent the weekend up in the DC area for the Marine Corps Marathon. I ran my first marathon in 2016. Before then I had done about 8 or 9 half marathons. But marathons have a certain appeal about them that halfs don’t. The event itself was seamless and pretty chill. As is my habit, I took the back roads to DC on Saturday morning. The weather was cold and overcast but that didn’t dampen my spirits. After all, I was about to run the Marine Corps Marathon! On the way up I stopped at numerous roadside historical markers. When I arrived in Port Royal on the Rappahannock I had lunch at the quaintest diner you will ever see. I got to the expo at Harbor City at around 2:00 pm. I was expecting the parking to be a nightmare but it was the opposite. I got in and grabbed my race bib then headed to Springfield and my hotel room and dinner (Mexican — scrumptious). Parking Sunday morning in Chrystal City went off without a hitch and I boarded a bus for the race start at the Pentagon. The gun (a howitzer, no less) goes off and we start running. Had I had a notepad with me, I imagine I would have jotted down thoughts like:

This climbing is killing me. The race is actually starting with a brutal uphill from mile 1 to 2!

Check out the crowd support. I can’t even begin to describe how amazing you guys are.

Mile 4 and my legs are still cooperating with me.

My goodness, the weather is PURFECT!

I love running. Who ever said running is hard?

Mile 6 and the course is still packed. I’ve never been in such a crowded race. I’m loving this!

Mile 10 and I’m still calm and laid back. This is FUN!

Mile 13.1, the halfway point in the race. I’m welling up with gratitude to be doing this.

Oh no. The Blue Mile. Picture after picture of the fallen. I slow down and read each picture, noting the names and dates of death. Too many young faces in these photos. Run strong, Dave, for those who can’t.

Is that really the Washington Monument?

The sun is now out. Most beautiful thing I’ve seen all day.

I am gulping down water. Seems I can’t enough of the stuff.

Mile 20. Can this please be over? Who ever said that running is easy?

Miles 21-25. Okay, one last push to the finish. You can do this, Dave.

Mile 26. So close! Going uphill again. Do not stop now. Do. Not. Stop. Why in the world do people run marathons?

I want to finish as strong as I can. I cross the line with head held high. I don’t beat Oprah’s time, but I’ll take what I got.

The Marines can’t wait to place a medal around my neck. I ask for a photo.

So, marathon #10 has come and gone and it’s time to move on. My feet hurt and I feel exhausted just typing that. They say that about 1 in every 100,000 people actually die while running a marathon. In a race with 30,000 people, this meant that about one third of a person died. That third of a person were my legs. In all honesty, there were some pretty hard parts to the course. Then again, the monuments were amazing. Not to mention the cheering crowds. I gave it 100 percent. I am at peace with the world.

Pix (of course):

Oh, the traffic in rural Virginia! And to think: I could have been stuck on the interstate.

Why we run. Lots of great and worthy causes out there.

The energy at the start of this race was so amazing. I was overcome by nerves by this time. Can I actually do this? The MCM was on my bucket list for some time. It was finally time to experience it!

Happy runners. There were 7,981 first time marathoners. Obviously, suffering loves company.

The Blue Mile — a highly emotional section of the course commemorating fallen service members.

Smile for the camera!

Oorah!!! Hundreds of volunteers holding American flags. At this point in the race you’re beaming with pride, chest puffed out a little.

I finished! Coolest medal ever. These guys and gals kept me going. At every aid station, they served with the devotion of a NASCAR pit crew.

The Lord providedthis restaurant not 10 minutes from my hotel. The food, service, ambience — everything was outstanding.

I left them a copy of Becky’s book. I hope it will be a blessing to them!

Thanks again for joining me on my journey. I’m sore and stiff but it was worth every mile. What an experience!

Saturday, October 27    

8:40 AM Alright. Marathon #10 is in sight. Oorah! Have I trained hard enough? How will the weather affect me? Will my toes hold up? Can I stay focused on hydration and fueling? Will I spread my energy evenly throughout the race? Folks, if you’re taking the risk of doing something as crazy as running a marathon, things aren’t always going to go your way. It’s inevitable. That’s why I love marathons. You never know how you’re going to do until mile 20. At that stage in the race, you have to focus on the mile you’re running at that very moment, and not how many more you still have to go. You will have to dig deep toward the end of the race. You’ll have to look into your soul for a level of perseverance you’ve never had to call on before. But it’s there. It’s all about relentless forward progress. The weird thing is, for everybody you ask out there on the course “How ya doing?”, the answer is always amazingly the same. “Great!” That’s because they’re focusing only on what is going right and not on what is going wrong. Optimism is prevalent, even rampant. Nobody is making us do this. It’s our choice to suffer. All races — including the race of life — have one thing in common: the finish line. All of us begin at the starting line, and each step takes us closer to home. Running a marathon is a crash course in gratitude, stamina, patience, suffering, and the rewarding feeling of knowing that, with God’s help, you’ve pushed through impenetrable walls and come out victorious on the other side. The point is, there’s no way to lose a marathon. Everyone who runs one wins. The medal they’ll put around my neck will be the same medal they’ll put around 30,000 other necks. Even if you don’t read my name in the news tomorrow after the race, it won’t mean that I didn’t win.

Thanks so much for following my journey. You also running the MCM tomorrow? If so, I’ll see you at the back of the pack, Lord willing!

Friday, October 26    

12:42 PM This Sunday is not only the Marine Corps Marathon but, just as importantly for a language nerd like me, the birthday of Erasmus of Rotterdam, who in 1536 was buried with great fanfare in Basel. (If you’re ever in Basel, you can visit his grave in the city’s famous Cathedral.) I’ll never forget, as a New Testament student in Basel, being taken to the subbasement in the university library and having Erasmus’s Novum Instrumentum Omne placed in my hands for examination up close and personal.

This was the very first Greek New Testament to be published. The year was 1516, and the place was Basel. With its second edition, the name was changed to Novum Testamentum Omne. With the third edition, the (in)famous “Heavenly Witnesses” passage of 1 John 5:7-8 was included. The Erasmus Greek New Testament formed the basis for most of the translations of the New Testament in subsequent centuries until it was replaced by other texts. In 2016, Houston Baptist University celebrated the 500th anniversary of the publication of Erasmus’s Greek New Testament with aspecial conference on their campus.

I’ve been particularly blessed to have been allowed to teach New Testament Greek for 42 years. During these past 4 decades, I’ve seen a great deal of change in the fabric of our society, including evangelicalism. It’s been an exciting adventure of faith. Perhaps the most thrilling part of my ministry is teaching Greek overseas. I’m very grateful for the work Erasmus (and his publisher Froben) did in seeing to it that the Greek New Testament was available to a wide reading audience. Most of all, I want to thank God for Erasmus’s successors in the field of New Testament textual criticism, who have worked tirelessly to see to it that students have at their fingertips the very words of the New Testament, disagreements as to which words are original and which aren’t notwithstanding. Having myself been a student in Basel is perhaps why I have a special fascination with all things Erasmus. Situated in a historic university city, I began to develop a deep love for the language of the New Testament that has never left me. I thank God for my professors there and the gracious way they treated a fledging scholar. To equip and then send students into a lifetime of service for Christ and their fellows is one of the most treasured privileges that has come my way in all my years on this earth. Soli Deo gloria.

11:30 AM Thisarticle in the New York Times made me smile. More and more aging Americans are entering marathons. To be honest with you, I want to run into my grave. So what if I’m an “older” runner? I’m actually just getting started. I enjoy and appreciate being able to run. I would love to keep running into my golden years. Actually, I’d like to run until I’m 100 if I can keep the injuries at bay. That way I can rack up the medals just be outlasting the competition! Yesterday one of my daughters and her 4 kids were here helping me clean the house. One of the kids asked me if she could put on my race medals. When I saw her with all those medallions I practically fell over.

For the love of Pheidippedes! Maybe I should join a heavy metal band.  

So why do I run?

Sustained exercise is the single most important thing you can do for your health as you age. Activity, not speed, is what counts. My race goal is simply to finish each race with a smile on my face. If I feel lousy, I don’t push it. After all, I didn’t start running until I was 62. Is that “old”? I don’t think so. After all, “Old is always 10 years older than you are now.” Even if I’m not very fast, my marathon times are extremely consistent. The other men in my age group massacre me at every race. That’s fine by me. I just want to age “race-fully.” This will sound boring, but on Sunday I’ll go out there and compete against the guys in my age group, and it will be a reminder to me that no matter how old we are chronologically, we are only as old as we feel. The 60s definitely bring a new perspective on life. Your goal is to see and do as much as you can, while you can. Plus make better choices than you did in the past and not let things stress you out as much. While running, I love the outlet of being within yourself, smelling the fresh air, and just thinking about your next step. I always feel better after a run. Always. If I can run, I can do anything. Running is cathartic and makes me feel free. I keep running because it’s therapeutic.

I love the words on this shirt. It’s true.

Running has made me more mentally strong and made me appreciate life so much more. I run to feel the wind on my face and to unwind and to remind myself that I have a great Creator God who made the beauty I see all around me when I’m running. Plus it’s a good excuse not to spend so much time in front of the computer. Running is now a part of who I am, like my balding scalp and my gray hair and my crooked teeth and my ugly toenails and my super outgoing personality (hehe). Running makes me very, very happy! My kids have run a few races themselves, which is super awesome. I continue running because I just can’t stop. I guess it’s in my blood. I’ve come to think of running as a gift from God. I especially like running because it’s hard, and I like hard. I learn a little more about myself every race. Running helps improve your life. I know that from experience. I had a great experience running my first marathon in Cincy to raise money for cancer research. Every marathon since then has been a great experience. Right now I am in misery until race start on Sunday. That is the power of the marathon.

No matter how much you think you may hate exercise, my friend, start out slowly and you will gradually realize how much it can improve your life. Always be grateful for every step the Lord allows you to take, even when it’s crazy hard and miserable and you want to keel over. The key is to keep moving!

9:20 AM I sometimes find myself regretting that I grew up on the windward side of O’ahu. The weather there was always predictable.

Daily temps, year-round, averaged 75. And unlike the leeward side of the island, where Honolulu is, it never got hot. You could expect a daily rain shower or two, but then the sun would return just as quickly as it departed. Sometimes it would rain while the sun was shining (we called this “liquid sunshine”). Even the “rainy season” (January to March) never got too wet. Plus, when it rained, the ocean got smooth and glassy, and the surf was magnificent. The weather here in Virginia is anything but predictable. You might call it wild and weird. It defies patterns and forecast models. Take a look at the daily historic temps and you’ll see what I mean. Sometimes there’s a 50 degree difference between record highs and lows. I have seen 80 in December. Last year we were getting up hay well into that month. NOVA is especially unpredictable. The weather for the race on Sunday is now predicted to be rainless, but I’m not holding my breath. A nor’-easter is brewing and who knows when it will be over. Again, there’s very little “normal” weather around here.

One thing I do know is that I’ll be driving up to the race expo tomorrow in the rain. Why they hold the expo so far from the race venue is anybody’s guess. It’s not near the start, finish, or any other part of the race. Packet pickup is being hosted by the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Harbor City. If you’re staying in Arlington you can take a shuttle to the expo from selected metro stations. Since I won’t be driving up there until tomorrow, I’ve decided to drive directly to Harbor City via I-85/I-95 and then catch Hwy. 301 north of Richmond, a drive that will take me through a very historic part of Maryland, including the sites where John Wilkes Booth stayed during his flight from the authorities in April of 1865. Once I pick up my packet in Harbor City, I’ll cross the Potomac on I-95 and find my way to my hotel room in Springfield. On race day my current plan is to drive to Arlington early Sunday morning and hopefully find a place to park near the Pentagon, where the race begins. I plan to give myself plenty of time to park and pass through security.

In other news, a week from today (Nov. 2) will be the five-year-aversay of Becky’s homegoing, and I plan to commemorate it in Alabama with my daughter and her family. While there we’ll attend my granddaughter’s chorale concert and do a 10K race together. It’s hard to believe it’s been five years. Five years ago I said goodbye to my wife of 37 years. Five years ago I ventured into the scary new world of widowerhood. Five years ago I was trying to sort through the good and the bad and the just-plain-confusing world I found myself suddenly thrust into. I could write forever about my feelings and experiences and emotions on that day and I still wouldn’t be able to properly convey to you how good the Lord was to me that day and every day since. Miracles don’t always look like a dead man coming out of a tomb or dozens of fish jumping into a boat. A miracle can be gazing into the future and seeing nothing but darkness and still believing that grace is available to you. It can be family and friends and neighbors and colleagues coming to a memorial service in Wake Forest to help you adjust to a severe trauma that swept over you like a tidal wave. It can be the realization that the death of a loved one can become grace discovered and grace experienced in the unfolding aftermath of that loss. Five years ago I knew that God was listening to my prayers. I knew that His heart was breaking with mine, and I knew He could do the miracle we all were praying for. My life, it seems, has come full circle. I’ve spent the past five years getting my feet under me again, learning the ropes of being a bachelor, gaining in confidence and even becoming comfortable with my new life. And while I hated to lose Becky to cancer, I’m holding on to the fact that healing doesn’t always occur in this life. I have found the courage to go on. Like the weather in Virginia, my emotions change on a dime. I have no power to control the circumstances that changed my life forever. But I can decide to trust God. And, as it turned out, I’ve found a new life that’s truly good.

I am now, more than ever, thankful.

Thursday, October 25    

8:45 AM Hear about this? An island in the Hawaiian archipelago has disappeared after being devastated by Hurricane Walaka. This is what East Island used to look like.

Not anymore. It’s gone. Then there’s this: A new island has formed off the Big Island of Hawai’i due to Kilauea’s recent eruption. Hilton will have to wait — the island is only 30 feet wide — but I guess in the island-making business, you lose some and you win some.

By the way, the name of the island that’s disappeared is Papahānaumokuākea. Why this name? Go here to read its interesting history. Did you know that Hawai’i is the only state to have two official languages — Hawaiian and English? Pidgin (which I can speak) is a third “unofficial” language. I love the Hawaiian language even though I am a rank beginner when it comes to its mastery. The language has only 8 consonants and 5 vowels. In addition, you’ll often see two special symbols when reading Hawaiian words: the ‘okina and the kahakō. The ‘okina looks like our apostrophe and functions as a glottal stop. So if you’re ever asked “How are you?” in Hawaiian (“Pehea ‘oe?”), the answer will be “Maika’i, mahalo.” Older books on the Hawaiian language would sometimes write the word maika’i as maikai, but saying “my kai” is incorrect. It’s “my ka eee.” The kahakō (macron) indicates a long vowel, as in kāne (kaa nay), meaning “male” or “man,” as opposed to kane (ka nay), which means “skin disease.” Today, there’s a great revival of interest in learning Hawaiian in the Islands. If I had more time, I’d love to master it. In the meantime, however, I’m content with Pidgin. Here’s a sampler from the Hawaiian Creole New Testament — just for fun! (“Puka” means “hole,” and “pau” means “finished.”)

7:50 AM Good Thursday morning! How do I summarize the Charismatic Movement, a topic so large that massive tomes continue to be written about it? My takeaways are so vast, I can’t find the words to bring my thoughts together. After reviewing the four major positions (see below), I asked my NT class, “What to do?” I realize some of you are hoping for a simple answer to a complicated question, something with aplomb, but that’s not where I am. Here are five suggestions I offered my students yesterday:

1) Try to locate yourself on the spectrum.

2) Be respectful of those who are at different places on the continuum.

3) Pray for greater unanimity among these four groups.

4) Seek to live more explicitly supernatural lives.

5) Read widely in this area of theology.

I offered the following short bibliography of works I think would be beneficial to anyone interested in this subject. At least one is written by a cessationist. Others by continuationists.

  • Clint Arnold, Three Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare.

  • Dan Wallace and James Sawyer,Who’s Afraid of the Holy Spirit?

  • Richard Gaffin, Are Miraculous Gifts for Today?

  • Jack Deere, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit.

  • Craig Keener, Miracles.

  • Gerald Hawthorne, The Presence and the Power: The Significance of the Holy Spirit in the Life and Ministry of Jesus.

  • Wayne Grudem, The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today.

  • Michael Green, I Believe in the Holy Spirit.        

  • Gordon Fee, 1 Corinthians.

  • Siegfried Schatzmann, A Pauline Theology of Charismata.

I might add this book to the list.

It grew out of a conference held at TEDS in 1989 in which representatives from among evangelical scholarship were asked to pour over a wide range of theological viewpoints. Robert Saucy represented Biola/Talbot. I came from Grace West in Long Beach. It was great to reconnect with many old friends: Bruce Demarest, Millard Erickson, Vernon Grounds, Wayne Grudem, Stan Gundry, Kent Hughes, Roger Nicole, Stan Porter, Ron Sider, Moisés Silva, Robert Thomas, Harold O. J. Brown, Harold Hoehner, Don Carson, and others. The purpose of this working consultation was to unite evangelicals in their commitment to the great truths of our faith. As I recall, the meetings were bathed in constant prayer for greater unity and amity in the body of Christ. We asked, “What can we affirm despite the many things that divide us?” Believe me, it was a joy to watch evangelical scholars of various stripes — dispensationalists and covenant theologians, charismatics and non-charismatics, Arminians and Calvinists — amicably discuss their differences and then unite around a commitment to evangelism, discipleship, and sacrificial service to a needy world. Love God. Love your neighbor as yourself. This is everything.

I wonder if such a conference might be helpful in today’s divisive climate.

Wednesday, October 24    

7:40 PM Odds and ends ….

1) We read Jason Meyer’sConfessions of a Functional Cessationist in our NT class today while discussing the history and theology of the Pentecostal/Charismatic Movement. Using Wayne Grudem’s helpful spectrum, we pondered the four major positions (Cessationist, Open But Cautious, Third Wave, Pentecostal/Charismatic). We also discussed Paul’s teaching about tongues in 1 Corinthians 12-14. The church at Corinth still has a lot to teach us about our contemporary church situation, that’s for sure. There are, I think, many advantages to espousing Jason’s view, including the corrective he issues in his essay. Read it and see if you don’t agree.

2) Yesterday I enjoyed lunch with a Korean student at the Seoul Garden in Raleigh and we chatted endlessly about the church in Korea.

Did you know?

  • In the year 1900 only one percent of the country’s population was Christian. Today almost one-third of South Koreans are Christian.

  • Religious restrictions in South Korea are lower than in the U.S.

  • Three-fourths of Korean Americans are Christian.

  • South Korea is second only to the United States in the number of missionaries it sends out across the world.

I’ve taught 6 times in Korea and can’t wait to get back someday.

3) Trivia: Neil Armstrong’s sons Rick and Mark have cameo roles in the movie First Man starring Ryan Gosling. See if you can spot ’em at Mission Control.

4) Today was the perfect day for a run or a bike but I was too busy to do either. (Raise your hand if you use the “I’m too busy” excuse too.) Try not to be too jealous of my sloth, however, for tomorrow I shall verily make all things right again. In the meantime, I think I’m a bit obsessive about this weekend’s weather. Okay, I’m very obsessive about it. Yesterday the meteorologist in DC was telling everyone we’d have rain on race day (i.e., Sunday). Today they’re a little more optimistic that the sun will peek through the clouds. I’ve lived in Virginia long enough to know that the weather can change on a dime. Right now I’m planning on running in cool (and possibly rainy) weather. Here’s the current weather map for Arlington, VA.

Let’s see what they say tomorrow. And on Friday.

5) #25888. That’s my bib number for Sunday’s marathon. Not that anyone is even faintly interested.

So, how’s your week going?

Monday, October 22    

6:45 AM I had just arrived in Basel. The year was 1980. I went to look for my major professor, Herr Professor Dr. Bo Reicke, in the library archives. We greeted each other warmly, exchanged some small talk, and then he said he’d like to go out for a cup of coffee. “Darf ich Ihnen begleiten?” I asked. “Darf ich Sie begleiten?” came the gentle correction, and off we went to sip coffee in one of those wonderful coffee houses overlooking the Rhine.

That little encounter reminded me that:

  • Europeans, unlike Americans, will correct your grammatical mistakes. 

  • My Doktorvater was a kind and tenderhearted soul.

  • I needed to improve my German.

German was the mother tongue of neither my professor nor me. Yet we spoke German with each other during my sojourn in Basel because it was the official language of the university. When I contemplated my mistake that morning, I asked myself, “How could you have made such an obvious faux pas? You know full well that begleiten takes the accusative case and not the dative for its direct object.” Then it dawned on me. I was speaking German but thinking in Koine Greek, in which the verb “follow/accompany” takes the dative. It’s just one of those “irregularities” of language you have to get used to. So when I saw that Rod Decker had published a list of the most common verbs in the New Testament that take the dative for their direct object, I knew I had to link to ithere.

I’d like to state the obvious. To learn a foreign language, you have to swallow your pride. You have to be willing to make mistakes. In public. And be corrected. In public. Toquote an expert on the subject of making mistakes in public (me):

The second essential quality needed to master a foreign language is lowliness of mind or humility. It is the opposite of pride and hubris. Take, again, my week-old German sentence, “Ich will sprechen Deutsch.” As anyone who has studied German knows, the syntax of my sentence was backwards. In German the object comes before the infinitive: “Ich will Deutsch sprechen.” I had gotten the words right but the word order wrong. And that was hardly the last mistake I made. But if you want to learn a foreign language you must be willing to actually use it, even if it means making mistakes and even if others have to correct you.

My hugest, biggest, most gignormous mistake in learning foreign languages? Being too much of a coward to try them out in public for fear of being corrected. Pussy cat! Why does anybody worry about something as silly as that? I say, I’m glad I’m trying to learn foreign languages. The thrill has been in the journey to get there. And know what? You never arrive. You will always be making mistakes. And hopefully learning from them.

6:04 AM “For me.”

With these words on my mind, I awoke this morning. They’re from one of my favorite verses in the New Testament:

I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself FOR ME.

Of all the names and titles of Christ —

  • Alpha and Omega

  • Almighty One

  • Advocate

  • Bread of Life

  • Cornerstone

  • Faithful and True

  • Bridegroom

  • Good Shepherd

  • Great High Priest

  • King of Kings

  • Lamb of God

  • Light of the World

  • Messiah

  • Savior

  • Son of Man

  • Resurrection and the Life

  • True Vine

“The One who gave Himself for me” may just be my favorite. As I lay on my bed praying this morning, I knew that Christ had ruined my life forever. He changed the rules of the game by saying He was the only way to God, and that anyone who follows Him would reciprocate His love and self-giving. “You know, Dave,” I said to myself, “Jesus loved you and gave Himself for you so that you might love Him this day and give yourself for Him.”

There’s no tremendously deep point to be made from this. If you have the faintest doubt that Jesus loves you, don’t. Christ was ridiculed, beaten, mocked, and killed — on your behalf. Knowing that my sin prompted such sacrifice and that Jesus feels the pain when I hurt others or fail to serve Him sacrificially, I am trying to adopt a more intentional attitude in my waking hours. “Lord Jesus, You’re at my side every step of the way. Your faithfulness knows no end. Without Your cross, I would get exactly what I deserve, a one-way ticket to hell. Your love is not based on feelings. It’s based on the historical fact You died for my sins, were buried, and three days later were resurrected. That’s the definition of true love. Because of the cross I can know that Your love will last with me always. Now please, Spirit of Christ, enable me this day to provide an inkling of what that love looks like to others. When it comes right down to it, I’m pretty lousy at loving others. Please allow me to love others at least as much as I love myself.”

You want something new? I’ll give you something new: Before you get out of bed in the morning, talk to God. Don’t just jabber off a few bless me’s. Worship the One who gave Himself FOR YOU.

Sunday, October 21    

7:16 PM One of the reasons I enjoy studying Greek so much is the way I keep learning new things about the language. So … cue to Granville Sharp!

Anyone who has had a couple of semesters of Greek knows that name. His “rule” helped to affirm the teaching about the deity of Christ found in the New Testament. But Granville Sharp was much more than a grammarian — a fact I should have realized because Dan Wallace published anentire essay on this subject many years ago. Sharp is best known as being a prime force behind the abolitionist movement in England. In other words, as a Christian, he had a strong sense of social responsibility. I have always felt that the Gospel Commission of our Lord Jesus must remain primary in all we do as followers of Christ. Yet it’s just as evident that the Jesus of the Great Commission is the Jesus of social compassion. The One who went about “teaching and preaching” (Matt. 4:23; 9:35) also went about “doing good and healing” (Acts 10:38). Our God wants us to love not only justly but to get our hands dirty in the service of the Gospel. In the past century and more, the commitment of evangelicals to social action has grown exponentially. Jesus’ kingdom, while not of this world, was and is a radically different social organization whose values challenge the political status quo. He expects us to get out into the world, which is the arena in which we are to witness and serve, suffer and die if need be for the sake of the Gospel. Just because I feel myself called to a teaching and writing ministry doesn’t mean I can claim to have no social responsibility. That’s one reason I love to run marathons for charity. Perhaps that’s also why our Lord emphasized the role of servant leadership and equated greatness with service. If all people are created in the image of God, then they must be served and not exploited. Herein lies one of the greatness dangers, in my view, of academic study and programs. People take precedent over projects and programs. We are to serve not our own interests but the interests of others. Although He was Lord of all, Jesus put on the apron of servitude. No study of Greek is authentically Christlike that isn’t marked by this same spirit of humble service. I find myself crying out to God to give me this vision. I pray that the Lord would give me eyes not only to see the billions of people who have never heard of Jesus but the further billions who are oppressed, alienated, poor, hungry, disadvantaged, those who are suffering from illnesses that might be curable if we all banded together and worked hard enough to find a cure, those whose babies are dying for lack of basic obstetric care, and so forth. Our Christian documents tell us that God wants His people to be enriched by their service to others. “But the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13). May God help us to grow in generosity and live in service to others in His name as did Granville Sharp.

8:10 AM Confession: Yesterday’s ride was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I felt about 80 percent instead of my normal 100 percent. It was a lot rainier than I had anticipated. My legs were tired and sore. But despite the rain, a flat, and riding in the dark, we pushed through and completed 52.6 miles before pigging out on Ethiopian cuisine. 

The trailhead in Jamestown (Mile Zero).

The motivation.

Right now I’m chillaxing and getting caught up on my reading. One site I check somewhat regularly isNerdy Language Majors. If you want to keep up-to-date on what they are saying about Greek, this is your clearing house. I notice there’s been a lot of discussion lately about such matters as verbal aspect, deponency, and pronunciation. This is as it should be. Each of these areas (and many more) is hotly debated today. One of the most notable movements in Greek studies in the past four or five decades has been the recovery of a linguistic perspective on the language of the New Testament. By now most of us are convinced that linguistics is not a threat but as asset to New Testament studies. Yet our historical neglect has put us far behind, and there’s a lot of catching up to do. My own contribution to the debate was my 1988 publication Linguistics for Students of New Testament Greek (Baker), which I was presumptuous to write if for no other reason than I hardly consider myself a linguist. Thankfully, the Lord seemed to use that book as an impetus to get other much more qualified voices into the debate. Since 1988, many people have assisted me in my thinking, including my friends Johannes Louw, Stan Porter, Randall Buth, Thomas Hudgins, and Stephen Levinsohn. All these — and several others (Michael Halcomb, Rob Plummer, Con Campbell, Jonathan Pennington, Mike Aubrey, Steve Runge, and Nicholas Ellis) — were invited by Ben Merkle and myself to participate in a conference on our campus next April called Linguistics and New Testament Greek: Key Issues in the Current Debate.

Need for this conference should be obvious. Topics to be discussed include verbal aspect, voice (including deponency), pronunciation, word order, the perfect tense, and discourse analysis. I express my cordial thanks to each of these scholars for agreeing to produce a paper for our conference. Ben and I will collect these essays and include them in a book designed for third semester Greek (the publisher is Baker). Throughout the book a distinction will be made between an author’s setting the scene and their own reflection and analysis. We thus hope that the need for a current overview of the field will be filled. You are cordially invited to attend the conference on April 26-27 (Friday evening to Saturday at 1:00 pm). To register you can gohere. Both dinner and breakfast are included, and there will be plenty of time to meet and greet the speakers.

I’m not going to blog in-death about it now, but the subject of mediocrity has been on my mind lately. Not sure why. Maybe because we’re halfway through the semester and students (and teachers) are getting tired. Once again, as we slogged out the miles on our bikes yesterday, I was reminded that God gives strength to the weary and that those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. It’s only as we stand in the shadow of the cross that we can keep our inner fires burning brightly. It seems to me that we need to repent of our mediocrity because it dishonors God and is incompatible with our Christian faith. To be sure, we can’t excel at everything. We are all well aware of our limitations and shortcomings. But we also believe in the power of God to change us. When I was in seminary, I had a prof who once told us, “Don’t ever settle for anything less than your God-given potential. Allow Him to stretch you in your service for Him and others.” We need, then, to seek His face and do His will with all the passion and energy He gives us. Only then can we expect to hear those most coveted of all words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I am forever grateful to that prof in seminary. He not only talked about excellence with his students, he modeled it. I want to do better at this. With God’s help, I will.

P.S. My toes have now been officially declared a Disaster Area. Federal funding is on the way. They look like they got into a fight with a lawnmower. Even the pedicurist can’t clip my toenails. They say they need a chainsaw. Missing toenails. Black toenails. Bunions. My feet are a mess. If I don’t do something and do it now, I will inevitably pierce the inside of another toe with a sharp nail during the marathon next weekend.

At any rate, my feet are apparently entertaining.

Saturday, October 20    

9:45 AM For some reason I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning. But it’s nothing a good cuppa can’t solve.

My friend Jason and I are still on for today’s ride from Jamestown to Richmond. Here’s the current weather.

All that should change by the time we start — partly sunny skies with only a small chance of rain. However, rain or shine, here we come. We’ve already paid for the shuttle anyhow. (I can pretty much concoct a good excuse for almost anything I do.) Right now I have to prepare for myself a hearty breakfast. On tap are eggs, potatoes, toast, and corned beef hash. I can’t live without my eggs. So satisfying and nutritious. That will be our last meal until we arrive in Richmond, where we hope to dine on some authentic Ethiopian fare before driving home.

Last night I reread this fantastic study of the “faithful sayings” in the so-called Pastoral Epistles. It was published in 1979, a year before Becky and I arrived in Basel.

At that time I was reading every doctoral dissertation I could get my hands on. When I ended up doing a study of Pauline lexicography, it was partly due to the influence of George Knight’s work. Just out of curiosity. Have you read his commentary on the PE? I hear it is very good (co-authored as it was with Howard Marshall).

Anyhoo ….

My calves are cramping just thinking about biking 51 miles. Wish us well!

Friday, October 19    

8:24 PM Just had a great time with Nate and Jessie getting up hay. We worked long after dark. Now it’s time for dinner and then a nice long sleep before I try to bike 51 miles tomorrow. Tonight my back is a little tight. Probably picked up too many bales. I have never had chronic back trouble and I don’t plan to start any time soon. For some reason, God’s blessed me with a fairly strong back. But it’s not invincible. Gradually, I’m learning to take care of my whole body. I keep it together by getting lots of rest, eating pretty well, and running my races at a reasonable pace. Huge believer in balance here. But I also don’t think you should pamper your body all the time. I can’t and won’t exist that way. Doing no exercise is bad for you. Doing too much exercise is bad for you. The same could well be said about anything else in life. Most of us are on the doing too little side of the equation. I suspect that “extreme exercise” isn’t a problem for many Americans. That said, a lot of injuries are overuse injuries. I may have overdone it a bit tonight. I need to do a better job of listening to my body. But in the end, I’ll take the risk of performing hard physical activity over a sedentary lifestyle any day.

No doubt, however, that it was a gorgeous evening to get up hay.

12:20 PM Today was going to be a rest day but that’s gone out the window, but I’m not complaining (much). Driving into town to run errands, I couldn’t help but take this picture of my neighborhood.

 

Love it! The scene set a wonderful tone for my whole day. It reminded me of why I enjoy country life so much. My first love is doing “city” kinds of thing like teaching and writing and running races. But there’s a country boy side to me that often surprises me. It’s like living in two worlds, if you will  — the Food Lion culture and the Harris Teeter culture. And, to be honest, I also miss the climes of the island I was born on. (Kailua, we need to get reacquainted soon.) My advice for you is to try and live in both worlds as much as you can. Both have a lot to offer, and each needs the other (in my humble opinion). If you’re anything like me, you’re often too busy to stop and smell the hay. Pick a destination, be it a park or a mountain, and go for it. Life is far too short not to. When I get so busy that I can’t enjoy a view like the one I saw this morning, then I’m simply too busy.

9:40 AM Sheba and I just enjoyed a walk on the farm on a crispy fall morning. The donks were so happy to see me! (Or maybe it was the carrots?)

Before going for a run I just have to say thank you to a few very special people:

1) My colleague Brent Aucoin, who lectured on “Race Relations” in our NT class on Wednesday. (We were studying Philemon and slavery.)

2) My OT colleague Mark Rooker, who spoke to our Hebrews class on the significance of Jeremiah 31 and Hebrews 8.

3) Alex Stewart, who’s visiting us for a semester from Tyndale Seminary in the Netherlands, who spoke in our Hebrews class on perseverance and the place of good works in the Christian life. (Alex is the author of an excellent book calledPerseverance and Salvation.)

4) My publisher at Energion for sending me copies of Becky’s book in Mandarin, which I’m giving away to practically every Chinese speaker I know.

5) The cooks at the Seoul Garden in Raleigh, whose squid dish almost made me call 911 it was so deliciously hot.

6) To my buddy Rob, with whom I’ve worked for many years. Your legacy is more far-reaching than you will ever know, my friend.

Thanks to all but thanks especially to Jesus for walking with me, always.

8:04 AM “Not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” With these words of JFK, the movie First Man ends.

But why, some say, the Moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? [Laughter.]

We choose to go to the Moon! We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard ….

As we saw last week in our Hebrews exegesis class, to live the Christian life is to choose “hard.” As in H-A-R-D. No one can expect to live a lifetime entirely free of disappointment and suffering, much less the one who chooses to follow the downward path of Jesus. You will have to endure the bad you do not deserve. But you will also experience undeserved grace. God gives life, even in the midst of the hard. I will say that in the past 5 years I have never had to dig so deep in my entire life. But I never once thought about quitting. I realized that pain and suffering aren’t reasons to give up but reasons to keep on going. Not just during an ultramarathon but in life. In a lot of ways, running mirrors life for me. It makes you stronger. When Becky died, death screamed at me. The pain was so great because it demonstrated the supreme value of what you lost. You wondered, “Will I ever hear any sound other than that scream of death?”

Today, that scream has become a whisper. But I never want to forget that scream of pain. God uses pain to reclaim us as His own, no matter how lost or lonely we may feel. This is the goal set before me as a blogger. I want you to read my words with your own life in mind. No matter what you’re experiencing, you are not beyond God’s reach. During the storm last week, many trees were blown over. But others remained standing, weathered and beautiful, alive in their newly-tested strength. Eternal life isn’t just something “up there.” It’s grace revealed in the here and now, in the storms of life.

My story — our story — is being gradually transformed into a weather-beaten and graceful tree. We keep going, not because life is easy, but because it’s hard.

6:55 AM Yesterday was a busy one, with trips to the post office, bank, store, gym, family, and the theater in Raleigh to watch First Man. I thought Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy did a stellar job of portraying Neil and Janet Armstrong.

I’ve read reviews that say the movie depicts both as too cold, their relationship as taking up too much precious film time. I couldn’t disagree more. The stresses on marriage today are the same as they’ve always been: selfishness, bitterness, unforgiveness, misunderstanding of each other’s motives. Nor can one bring back the dead to life (they lost their daughter Karen to cancer — a thread that is the most heart-breaking one in the film) — or recover the marital bliss perhaps you once had. As an astronaut family, once you make the decision to fly into space, there is no going back. You either face the future together or you don’t. Neil and Janet Armstrong reminded me that, however difficult it may be, marriage is one of the greatest blessings of the Lord.

The wordless ending to the film will leave you speechless as well — and shedding a few tears if not many. There is nothing like looking your spouse in the eye and, in silent communication, telling him or her you love them. This film is far more than a movie about our landing on the moon. It’s more than just impeccable cinematography. It’s an emotional gut-punch. See it as a married couple if at all possible, but see it you must. Films like this one truly remind me of just how much our nation (and families) are capable of when we put our minds and souls into something. I was 17 when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. I’ve been trying to walk on my “moons” ever since, thanks in part to the inspiration I’ve drawn from men and women like him. 

P.S. Jason Clarke as Ed White was magnificent. I kept asking myself, “Is this same the actor who played Ron Hall in Everest?” How can an Aussie have such a perfect American accent?! I guess that’s why they call them actors.

Thursday, October 18    

7:44 AM It feels soooooooo good to be back on the farm after having lived either on campus or in a hotel room for the past 11 days. Today I’ve got “normal” work to get caught up on — banking, grocery shopping (had to throw everything in my freezer and refrigerator away), post office, gym, check van tires, etc. Tomorrow we’re getting up hay, and then on Saturday a friend and I are biking the 51 miles of the Virginia Capital Trail. I’ve done this once before and it was super fun. You start out in Richmond, take a shuttle to Jamestown, and then cycle back to your car in Richmond, traveling through 400 years of history along the way. We may even stop at a couple of the plantations on our way. Next weekend, of course, is the historic Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington. This will be my first time running the MCM. I’ll be using the Galloway Method as I’ve done in the past: run and then walk, to a ratio of about 3:1. I know this race isn’t going to be a PR for me. It’s too hilly. But Phoenix might be (all downhill). However, in both races, I’ll run for the love of the sport and not for a record. At the MCM, you might even want to slow down at the famous Blue Mile. If I can finish proud and happy I’ll be satisfied. (Semper Fi!) Meanwhile, I’ve booked my hotel room for the Richmond Marathon in November and my flights for the Dallas Marathon in December, where I’ll be staying with mom and dad in Murphy (just outside of Plano). Between now and then I’ve got a race in Birmingham, AL, in which I’ll be joined by my daughter and her husband. It’s “just” a 10K (ahem).

Well, gotta go. I must be boring you something crazy.

P.S. What? Not bored enough? This will certainly do it!

Wednesday, October 17    

8:08 PM Hello everyone. It’s been a while. This blog has pretty much bitten the dust but not because I haven’t wanted to write an update. First, I was on campus teaching all last week. And second, we were without power from last Thursday night until yesterday. Hurricane Michael paid us an unwanted visit, and at least 7 tornadoes ripped through our area causing significant damage with pockets of catastrophic damage. 600,000 customers were left without service. Kudos to Dominion Virginia Energy for working tirelessly to restore power since Thursday. These guys and gals are heroes.

So, let’s start where I last left this blog….

As you know, the High Bridge Ultramarathon was my A-race for this fall. And on Saturday I ran it – and finished.

An epic, epic, epic race! I’m so happy and grateful to God. My ultramarathon experience actually started many years ago, when I knew I had to keep active after Becky passed away. So I signed up for the race and I’m glad I did. I parked in Pamplin and got on the bus and was driven 31 miles to the trail head in Burkeville.

Before I knew it, the race had started.

I found that there were two things going through my head when I began to get tired during the race. “Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” Boy did I need that verse. The other was, “There’s pizza at the end.” By the end of the race, I just kept telling myself, “You can make it one more mile, Dave. Just take it one mile at a time.” Unfortunately, right before the end there’s a long hill you have to climb. My legs started to cramp up on me. At this point I was just trying to finish. But I knew that if I was going to reach my race goal, I couldn’t slow down. All of a sudden there was a crowd of people shouting wildly. They were rooting FOR ME. I crossed the finish line so grateful to be done. (I could finally get that pizza I’d been dreaming about.) I was ecstatic with the outcome, despite the harsh trail conditions I experienced (remember, we’d just had a major storm and there were leaves and branches all over the trail).

I felt an immense sense of gratitude to God. After all, it was He who gave me the strength and will-power to finish. I drove home with the satisfaction that I ran the best race I could. It reflected the training I had put in and the level of fitness I’m in. Above all, I was uninjured. The weather was perfect. The race organization was superb. Whenever I experienced a really low moment, I would inevitably come to an aid station where the volunteers were bending over backwards to help you refill your water bottles and prepare a PBJ for you to refuel with.

I learned to be mentally tough and to keep going. In the end, I think I executed the best ultramarathon that was in my body. Thanks to all my friends who were sending me texts and emails during the race. Thank you, family, for your love and support. And thank you, Becky, for inspiring me to take up running. I may have been there physically running without you, but you were always there in spirit.

Overall, the High Bridge Ultra was a fairly flat and easy course for my first ultramarathon experience and I would recommend it to anyone. Do you have to be fast? Most emphatically, no! I’m not a fast runner. In fact, I do not even consider myself to be an ultramarathoner. Or a marathoner. Then why do I do these races? We live in a country where we are constantly being reminded of how unhealthy we are – our love for fast food, our laziness, and inactivity, etc. So if something comes your way that will help you to make your life better, why not try it? Running a marathon or an ultra is the ultimate “Take a hike!” to being unhealthy. Some of my family members have just started this journey to better health, and they’re discovering they can do more than they ever thought they could. At least they’re getting out there and trying. And that’s what this sport is all about. Yes, I suppose there are some runners who assume that marathons and ultras are to be run and not walked. What do I care? The last time I checked, you just have to cover the distance. And that’s true whether you’re running your first 5K (3.1 miles) or your first 50K ultramarathon (31 miles). I knew there was a cutoff time (and it only makes sense to have one), and yes, I knew I could be asked to stop running by the race director. But that’s just a chance you have to take. You’re a big boy. You can handle failure and disappointment. Thankfully, when I hit the 19-mile cutoff point, I was an hour and 40 minutes early. Sure, when I finally did finish the race, most everyone else had been dining on pizza and veggie burgers long beyond I arrived at the refreshment table. Nobody cared in the least. There’s plenty of room in the running community for slow runners like me. Run, walk, crawl – I’ll do whatever it takes, folks.

On Saturday, when I crossed the finish line of the toughest race I’ve ever been in, the race director couldn’t wait to personally congratulate me. He knew that every person who started the race that day had their own personal goals and the mere fact that you crossed the finish line later than others didn’t change that fact in the least. Your “fast” is probably someone else’s “slow” anyway. For me, running has never been about pace. It’s about covering the distance in the allotted time, accomplishing a big hairy audacious goal, and finishing the race upright and under your own power. In Saturday’s race, the last-place finisher came in at 9:39. That’s two hours slower than when I crossed the finish line. It’s all about personal achievement and individual goals. My goal was to finish in under 8 hours.

Maybe someone else’s was to finish in under 10. So what? I’m doing MY thing, not anyone else’s. The fact is, I’m friends with some really fast runners, and not one of them has ever been anything but encouraging to me. I think everyone who wants to try an ultra or a marathon should do so. Even if you fast-walk it. That’s far more exercise than most people get in a week. You know, there’s a moment right before water boils and water freezes. It’s an infinitesimal point at which a seismic change is about to take place, yet it still lies dormant, just below the surface. It’s a point at which you have one last chance to change things, for better or worse. So I think it’s wonderful that so many people want to experience a long distance race. I say to all, go for it!

In gratitude to God, who made my race possible, I made a donation to help fight lung cancer. It’s part of my fundraising page for the upcoming Marine Corps Marathon this month. If you’d like to join me in this effort, my LUNGEVITY page ishere. I’ve almost reached my goal!

Speaking of marathons, I’ve put together my marathon schedule for 2018-19. My philosophy? If there’s a race you know you really want to do, you better do it now before life gets in the way. I used to think my goal was to run 8-10 marathons every year. All that has changed. I probably would get burned out mentally or injured physically if I tried that. My goal now is a more modest one. I’m not interested in most of the “marathon majors” like Berlin or Paris or London. I’ve been to Europe many times and I don’t feel the need to return. Instead, my heart is set on competing in a few races that everyone raves about. So here’s my lineup (in its “current manifestation,” that is).

  • Marine Corps Marathon (Oct. 28, 2018)

  • Richmond Marathon (Nov. 10, 2018)

  • Dallas Marathon (Dec. 9, 2018)

  • Phoenix Marathon (Feb. 9, 2019)

  • Boston Marathon (April 15, 2019)

  • Flying Pig Marathon (May 5, 2019)

  • Chicago Marathon (Oct. 13, 2019)

I love marathons. Each time I line for up for a race I think of the many times I’ve stood there before. No matter how many lows I go through I know I’ll eventually come out on the other side. Each marathon I run shapes me into a better person, just as my many travels mold me. Whenever I run, I want to run because I love to run, because I love the challenge, and because I know God is granting me the strength. I know that one day I may never feel like running again. That will be okay too. Even if I never take another step, I will always have happy memories of my races. I expect that running will always be a part of my life, but even if it isn’t, I’ll always be a runner.

On a (somewhat) related note, here’s my “Greek Exegesis of Hebrews” class from last week, just after we had enjoyed lunch together at the Forks Cafeteria in downtown Wake Forest, thus culminating a fun (and arduous) “marathon” of study from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm every day, Monday through Friday.

If there’s one thing I took away from our study of Hebrews it’s the need to be constantly encouraging one another in the body of Christ, as Heb. 3:13 reminds us (“Encourage one another”). Especially when we see a fellow believer struggling to hold on to his or her faith, we need to come alongside them to support one another in the race of life. As we saw in class, Hebrews makes it abundantly clear that we need to give (and receive) encouragement from other Christians. And this is to be a habit of life, not something we do occasionally. See this couple?

I fell in with them during Saturday’s race and they paced me for several miles. Sometimes I would take the lead, sometimes they would. But we drew strength and encouragement from the mere presence of each other’s company. And as an added side benefit, you experience more clearly the “team” nature of the sport. Although each of us runs an individual race, in another sense we all run it together. My prayer for myself after teaching Hebrews for a week is that I will stop being so focused on myself and learn how I can become an encourager to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Who do you know who needs strength today? Encourage them! After all, Paul clearly says in Rom. 15:14, “You have all the knowledge you need and are able to instruct one another.”

Well, I know I’ve gone on way too long in this blog post. I’m really not one to yak forever about my running with the people I meet every day. Nobody has ever told me I talk too much about running. And if they should ever do so, that’s fine. I’ll talk to them about Greek instead. That will clear the room like nobody’s business.

Monday, October 8    

4:52 AM Yes, it’s really 4:52 am. It’s also a new week, which means it’s time to write down my weekly goals. Not just think about them. Researchreveals that you are infinitely more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. I learned this lesson late in life. Let’s face it. I’m a guy who grew up in Kailua, Hawaii. Nuff said. Shaka bruddah and all that. Time doesn’t exist in the Islands (the Hawaiian Islands, that is; Manhattan, Staten, and Ellis are different stories). Since then, however, I’ve become a huge fan of goal-setting. When you write down your goals, be sure they are realistic, challenging, and specific. Don’t just say “I want to run 2 marathons in 2019.” Write, “I want to run Boston and Chicago in 2019.” Doing this could actually change your life. Here are some of my goals for the week:

  • Survive this week of teaching.

  • Go the distance this weekend.

  • Stop putting off that decision.

  • Decide whether or not to accept an invitation to go to Cuba.

  • Decide between Honolulu and Dallas this December (marathon, that is).

  • Read through Hebrews nonstop 5 times.

  • Laugh out loud.

  • Eat Ethiopian food.

  • Wash and dry my clothes.

  • Eat 3 bananas.

  • Belch as loud as possible (when no one’s around, of course.)

  • Ask God every day to enable me to please Him.

  • Apply to run Boston and Chicago in 2019.

  • Adjust my goals as needed.

By the way, I have a phenomenalbook to give away. It’ll go to the first person who requests it. Or, if you don’t like book giveaways, you can go ahead and buy it yourself ($11.99 paperback, $1.99 Kindle). U.S. residents only.

Ciao!

Sunday, October 7    

4:42 PM Man alive. It’s only 6 days until my first ultramarathon. I’m getting oh-so-close. I hope I’ve got the momentum I need to carry me through. By now, it’s hard not to believe that I was once a spectator and not a participant in sports. The best advice I ever got after Becky died was, “Keep active, Dave.” Early on, that became my philosophy. Keep calm and plow ahead. Run your race. Stay the course. Don’t look back.

Running for a cause bigger than yourself is one of the sport’s greatest gifts to us runners. When I ran my first marathon that raised $7,000 for UNC Cancer Hospital, I thought to myself, “Now that wasn’t so hard.” This month I’m running the Marine Corps Marathon to raise funds to help beat back the awful scourge of lung cancer. I’ve never heard anybody say anything negative about charity runners, except perhaps those who run at Boston. Even then, you criticize a charity runner at Boston, you’re in the minority. Those of us who changed our lives for the better through running understand the need to run for a cause. No, I’m not running to change the world. (Only Jesus can do that.) I’m not running to heal the sickness in our political system that is broken perhaps beyond repair. This month I’m running to maybe, just maybe, ensure that a family might not have to go through what my family went through when Becky was diagnosed with cancer.

And so this month has become sort of a watershed for me. It’s the month I will attempt the impossible. So if you see me on the High Bridge Trail this coming weekend, plodding along at the back of the pack, digging deep to make it just one more mile, don’t be surprised at my persistence. For those of us who started running later in life, the sport of running transcends any single race. As runners we approach all of life with a new perspective and accept the demands and challenges of the sport as opportunities to become a better person. Moreover, if you’re a Christian runner, you can ask Christ to fill the empty place in your life and He will. What’s impossible for us is possible for Him. As Heb. 1:1-4 reminds us, He created a stunning universe and bathes it in His love. And now He whispers in our ears, “With my help and strength, all things are possible.” 

12:40 PM Hebrews, Hebrews, Hebrews. Been eating, drinking, and sleeping this writing for the past several days. I simply can’t get enough of this book — the only letter in the New Testament that is technically a “word of exhortation,” or a homily. By the way, have you ever read Hebrews in one sitting? Or listened to it all the way through as an audio file? I have. It takes about 45 minutes to listen to it in its entirety. Which, for you pastors out there who are constantly been told to limit your Sunday morning messages to 30 minutes, you now have indisputable and unassailable proof for the 45-minute sermon!

So then, I woke up early this morning with one thing on my mind — Hebrews, what else? — but I also had an insatiable craving for two of those marvelous pancakes you can only get at Denny’s, so I drove to Henderson in the great state of North Carolina where I inhaled my hotcakes in about two minutes and then put the final touches on my lectures over Hebrews for the week. Our course is not based on the English Bible but (as you might have guessed) completely on the Greek text of Hebrews, which means that rather than jumping head first into the exegesis of the text I’m going to ask my students to translate some practice Greek sentences into English for me as a sort of pre-test to see where they stand in terms of their proficiency in the language. This is necessary because everyone has had different beginning Greek teachers and textbooks and you can’t exactly assume that everybody has attained the same general level of proficiency. I’ll be focusing on participles for the simple reason that the New Testament in general and Hebrews in particular is, we might say, “participle-loving.” In other words, before delving into the text of Hebrews this week (which is the equivalent of running a marathon), we’re going to do some warm-up exercises and some “stretching” if you will. The book of Hebrews itself says we are to “train” our senses in order to move on to perfection (5:14), and in 6:1-3 the author doesn’t say “Let’s leave aside all the difficult subject matter and return to the basics.” On the contrary, he moves in the exact opposite direction. No more milk, y’all! Let’s go on to the meat! Take them Children’s Menus away! It’s time to order from the Adult Menu!

In addition, I want to remind my students that in class we’ll be taking a linguistic approach to the Greek language, even though I am hardly an expert in Greek linguistics, having never taken a a course on the subject. But I’ve learned tons from linguists and consider linguistics an absolutely indispensable tool to add to our toolbox as exegetes of the New Testament. Not all agree with me, of course, perhaps the most notable example being a dear friend of mine who used to teach in California. However, I agree with Moisés Silva that linguistics can and should be integrated with the so-called “secular” science of linguistics and that such integration works to our advantage and not to our disadvantage. Interestingly, the church father Clement of Alexandria, in discussing Heb. 1:1 (“God spoke in many forms and in many ways”), took this to mean that God has not only spoken through the Old Testament but also through philosophy (Platonism especially), although he did insist that Scripture is always to be the final criterion for truth. The following is taken from Clement’s Stromata, Book 1, chapter 5 (titled “Philosophy the Handmaid of Philosophy”). First the Greek:

And here’s the English:

Now let’s be clear about something. Being a linguist doesn’t mean that you speak many different languages. People who can do that are called polyglots. All polyglots are, in some sense, linguists, but not all linguists are polyglots. Linguistics is indispensable because it can help us speak and think more logically and systematically about how language works — all languages, including the Greek of the New Testament. That’s why, in addition to parsing verbs and looking up words in a Greek dictionary, we’ll be discussing such matters as verbal aspect, word order, rhetorical devices like paronomasia and alliteration, and the discourse structure of Hebrews. The use of linguistics in seminaries is continuing to grow, and is often cross-disciplinary in scope. Are all the questions about Greek linguistics answered? Of course not. But fear ye not: we’re holding amajor conference on this subject in April of next year, to which all of my beloved readers are most cordially invited.

Commentaries will also help us negotiate the waters of Hebrews this week. I’ve already mentioned my favorite commentaries on Hebrews. But each of them needs to be read with caution. Much of scholarship nowadays is simply repeating arguments that we may have picked up from another scholar or in seminary. In one major evangelical commentary on Hebrews I read this morning, I noted that the writer dismissed the Pauline authorship of Hebrews in a single footnote by citing such “evidence” as “the author uses different formulae to introduce quotes from the Old Testament” — an assertion that’s easily refuted (see p. 5 of my book The Authorship of Hebrews):

Moreover, the author’s characteristic method of introducing OT quotations (“he says,” or something similar) is paralleled in 1 Cor. 6:16; 15:27; 2 Cor. 6:2; Gal. 3:16; Eph. 4:8; 5:14, reflecting the preferred rabbinic formula indicating speech rather writing.

In other words, the use of “he says” would not be expected so much in a “letter” per se as it would be in a “sermon” that was delivered by Paul and perhaps recorded and published as a written text by Luke, as argued by Pitts and Walker (“The Authorship of Hebrews: A Further Development in the Luke-Paul Relationship,” Paul and His Social Relations, eds. Stanley Porter and Christopher D. Land [Leiden: Brill, 2013] 143-84).

So why am I telling you any of this? There’s a 100 percent chance you won’t post this to Instagram. I’ll tell you why I love Hebrews. Because it challenges me to grow up in my thinking. If Jesus is the heart of the new community, people are its building blocks, and the church can only be as strong as each individual member of the building is. Of course, this is holy territory. It takes more than linguistics and rethinking age-old arguments to make Hebrews come alive in the twenty-first century. But don’t let that stop you from trying. There is no alternative to careful study of the text. We may be imperfect, but we have a perfect Teacher and a perfect Textbook, thank goodness.

P.S. This morning I noticed that it was 32 miles from Denny’s back to my farm.

That’s the distance some crazy people will try to run next Saturday in an event called an ultra. Oh my. Don’t these people have any sense at all?

Saturday, October 6    

1:44 PM Three years ago I ran my first half marathon. Today I completed my 16th. That’s an average of one half marathon every 2.25 months. The crazy adventures I’ve had while running halfs keep me coming back for more. Whenever I start feeling lazy, or that I’m tired of all this running business, I remember how great it feels to finish a grueling 13.1 race. Plus, sometimes in addition to the finisher’s medal you get an accessory that says you won first place in your division. I am living proof that it really is possible to reach a big goal like running half marathons without being super fit, super athletic, or super fast. That’s when you realize what this running thing means in your life. Finishing a half marathon reminds you that you can finish what you start, to be strong, to not whine, and that God can make your personal dreams come true. Moral of the story: Even if you never liked to run growing up, running will embrace you anyway if you give it a try. And, once you start, you’ll be coming back for more. Just lace up and go.

A few pix:

1) At the starting line on a cool fall morning.

2) Now here are some really athletic-looking runners.

3) The first of two bridges over the historic Appomattox River.

4) I hadn’t gone 4 miles when the winner of the race comes flying by me. Everyone was cheering him on loudly.

5) Mile 12. Still pushing hard.

6) Nice swag.

To sum up: Overall I had a great morning and a reminder that:

  • Not every race is a PR.

  • I love Farmville.

  • Never start out too fast.

  • Always cheer for your fellow racers.

  • You can’t control how you feel on any given day, so just go out and enjoy the race.

  • If you have a family that supports your hobby, you are one blest person.

  • The sport of running welcomes everybody (and every body).

  • “The most effective way to do it is to do it” (Amelia Earhart).

  • Races bring people together (not a bad thing in our fractured political climate).

  • Hang around for the awards ceremony because it’s a great chance to celebrate each other’s personal wins.

I really had to dig deep during this race but I feel it was the perfect “long run” for me to do before I face the challenge of next weekend’s 31-miler. If you’re looking for a fun local race with gorgeous weather, this is the one for you.

Time to nap before getting up hay. 🙂

Dave

5:00 AM Off to the races. “For in Him we live and move and have our being.”

Friday, October 5    

7:32 PM This panorama captures only about half of the field we’ve been baling the past three days and we’re still not finished.

If it doesn’t rain tonight we can try and complete this cutting tomorrow. Then it’s off to the next field. Grateful for dry days after a long wet spell. Right now I need to grab some supper then turn in early since I’ve got to leave the house early in the morning.

Enjoy your weekend!

10:58 AM I just spent about 3 hours in Hebrews and 1 hour weight lifting. And I’m starved, even though I had a huge breakfast this morning. I have neither brain fatigue nor tired muscles, but I do have an insatiable hunger. Funny how mental exercise is as taxing on you as physical exercise is.

Off to mow. After lunch, that is 🙂

6:10 AM The weather at start time (7:30 am) for tomorrow’s half marathon is predicted to be 70 degrees with overcast skies but without rain. Winds will be light and variable. Dry conditions will prevail in our region until Thursday, which means we’re getting up hay every evening from now until the Second Coming. Bottom line is: Nobody really knows what the weather will be like save One. Runners run in all kinds of weather, including freezing rain (as in April’s Boston Marathon). Am I a little obsessive about the weather? Probably. You have to be when you spend so much time outdoors. Sometimes I’ll run a race in lousy weather, as I did on New Year’s Day 2018 in Allen, TX, where the temp was 1 degree. It was definitely my least favorite race but one I’ll talk about forever. 

The guy behind me is actually smiling.

I try not to use weather as an excuse not to run, though if the humidity is too high I might bow out of an event. The St. George (Utah) Marathon was hot but the humidity was practically nil. Lightening is another thing altogether. That’s a no-no. I am actually terrified of it — and we get lots of it in the summer. Any weather but thunderstorms. Otherwise, I run in every type of weather and will even run in the rain. Oh, one other surface I won’t run on is ice. It’s just not worth the injury. It’s pretty rare around here but we do get ice occasionally. I know some people who run in icy conditions and I just have to roll my eyes because that is dumb. My motto for the fall and winter is: “The temps may drop but my running won’t stop.” You just have to get out the front door before your brain knows what you’re doing.

The moral of the story is simple and basic: Don’t stop going outdoors just because the weather isn’t perfect. I’m ready for cool temperatures. One big tip would be, wear a hat. You won’t believe how it keeps your whole body warm.

Four additional thoughts for now:

1) Here’s another great quote from John Stott’s biography. Stott once wrote:

God’s purpose is to make us like Christ. God’s way of making us like Christ is to fill us with his Spirit. In other words, it is a trinitarian conclusion, concerning the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

I hope that encourages you. It does me.

2) From Craig Keener’s commentary (on Heb. 1:1-4, p. 93):

The elevated style of Hebrews’ exordium suits the grandeur of its subject matter: the exalted Son of God.

I’ll have much more to say about this in class on Monday.

3) Here are some of the “towel-and-basin” ministries my NT students are performing this semester as part of their grade.

  • Serving with “Hope Reins” (an equestrian ministry for abused children).

  • Working with recovering drug addicts.

  • Serving at an assisted living home.

  • Volunteering at a local elementary school.

  • Working at a local Share Shop.

  • Working with single moms through “Hands of Hope.”

  • Working with Sunday International Together (SIT) to serve international students.

  • Delivering meals to the home-bound.

Note: These are all voluntary ministries for no pay. I could say a lot more of why I’m requiring these works of service. It’s through serving the Lord that we develop our spiritual muscles. And there are as many types of service as there are tastes and abilities. The main thing is to show our love for the Lord by giving ourselves in service to Him. All Christians are called to fulltime Christian service. Without service there can be no growth into Christian maturity.

4) Finally, look what was published this week.

I am soooo blessed! God gives His people a special capacity to cope with their problems. He clearly did with this Becky. God may be seemingly not there, but He is actually always there, even at the moment of death.

To order Becky’s book in either English, Spanish, and (now) Mandarin, gohere.

Thursday, October 4    

7:50 PM Today I had the joy of having lunch in town with one of my sons (meat-lovers pizza no less).

Then I got up hay with another.

Those of us who live in the country may have our fast food restaurants and our fast cars, but everything else moves slowly, as in crawling. Even filling up the gas tank takes forever. This has to be the slowest gas pump in the state of Virginia.

But who cares? No one is in a hurry. When the truck battery died out in the field, I drove my car into town to get a new one and the guy at the register? My next door neighbor. We chewed the fat (of course) and then I drove back to the farm. And didn’t see another car. Think about that for a moment.

Life in the slow lane.

Living in rural Virginia is teaching me how to be happily unproductive, to embrace quality over quantity, to spend time with people, to slow down and enjoy life. Rural living is not just a lifestyle but a Weltanschauung. It’s where we live, to be sure, but it’s also the place we call home. Space between mail boxes. Actually seeing the stars. Crops growing right up to the front steps. Petunias planted in tractor tires. Slowing down for horse-drawn buggies. Goofing off with your grandkids.

Most of us wouldn’t trade it for the world.

8:42 AM Next Monday we’ll be covering Heb. 1:1-4, Heb. 2:1-4, and Heb. 3:1-6 in our Hebrews class. Here are the commentaries I’ve been reading in preparation for class (these also happen to be my fave commentaries on the book):

  • Bill Lane

  • Paul Ellingworth

  • Philip Hughes

  • F. F. Bruce

  • Don Hagner

  • Kent Hughes

  • Tom Schreiner

  • Craig Koester

  • Harold Attridge

It’s this latter volume I’m requiring my students to purchase for the course. I like Attridge’s commentary because it’s:

  • Scholarly.

  • Current.

  • Respectful of genre.

  • Keen on looking at the discourse structure.

  • Faithful to the Greek.

  • Sensitive to the rhetorical level of language.

  • Succinct.

  • Technical.

  • Good at digging down far into the text.

  • Famous for its excellent footnotes.

I’m amazed at the author’s scholarly ability and his mind for this sort of work. Not everyone can (or should) write a New Testament commentary. I’ve passed up offers in the past to write commentaries on both Hebrews and Philippians. I’m just not cut out for the job. But I’m thankful that others are. Be forewarned, however: Attridge is not loathe to use technical terms in abundance (salvific, protological, exordium, paraenetically, alliteration, assonance, pejorative, catena, Sitz im Leben, misconstrual, periphrasis, a fortiori, etc.). No doubt, as we read Attridge, we’ll be learning English in addition to Greek.

P.S. Below is the opening of Hebrews in Codex B (Vaticanus). For “bearing” (pheron) in 1:3, the original hand of B reads “revealing” (phaneron).

This reading was later “corrected” by some scribe. As you can see in the margin (barely — sorry for the small photo), a third scribe rebuked the earlier “corrector” with the words, “You ignorant and wicked man, leave the original alone; don’t change it!” (or perhaps more literally, “You unlearned troublemaker, forgive the ancient one; don’t convert him!”).

Note, too, the placement in Codex B (and in our earliest manuscripts in general) of Hebrews right after 2 Thessalonians — the position Hebrews, I believe, should have had in the new Tyndale House Greek New Testament but doesn’t. Instead, Hebrews is placed at the end of the Pauline epistles. The Tyndale House Greek New Testament is supposedly based on Tregelles, but the latter placed Hebrews after 2 Thessalonians.

6:40 AM Yesterday in our NT class I began a discussion of the history and theology of the Pentecostal Movement, beginning with Montanism and then moving forward through church history (Wesley, Revivalism, the Holiness Movement, Pentecostalism, Neo-Pentecostalism, the Third Wave, etc.). When we meet again after the break, I hope to lead the class in an in-depth look at 1 Corinthians 12-14. In doing my research and exegesis, I’ve been helped by those who’ve gone before me, especially Carson, Blomberg, Donald Gee (“the historian of the Pentecostal Movement”), R. A. Torrey, D. L. Moody, Bruner, John MacArthur, J. P. Moreland, and Craig Keener. I’ll be encouraging my students to read both Strange Fire and its response, Strangers to Fire. Michael Green’s I Believe in the Holy Spirit is also very helpful. If the current evangelical renewal in our churches is to have a lasting impact, then there has to be much explicit attention given to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Clearly, the issue of tongues has divided us. Some nod their assent. Others turn away in disgust. However, wherever the Holy Spirit is at work, truth matters. I don’t hesitate to say that anti-intellectualism and Scripture study are mutually incompatible. The Spirit is “the Spirit of Truth.” Yet if Acts 2:42 can refer to the teaching of the apostles, Acts 2:43 can refer to their many signs and wonders. What is the application of all of this to us? How much continuity and discontinuity is there between the book of Acts and the church of today? Wherever we end up on the spectrum of beliefs, one thing will be clear: The Spirit of God always leads the people of God to honor of the word of God. And He does so in a most loving manner. Neither the “tongues” person nor the “knowledge” person” nor the “faith” person (1 Cor. 13:1-2) can do without love. They will never make others feel small or unwelcome. This is because theological knowledge without Christ’s love is a poverty-stricken distraction. “Love is not irritable” (1 Cor. 13:5) — a truth that the divisive Corinthians needed to be reminded of. Today, this very day, regardless of our theological persuasions, we can do no better than to ask the Spirit of God to shed His love in our hearts and overflow to God, to our brothers and sisters in the church, and to outsiders (Rom. 5:5).

P.S. From 1971 to 1998, I lived in Southern California, which at the time might have been the world center of the Pentecostal-Charismatic Movement, so I got to see the debate firsthand. Polemics on both sides were rife. The teachers at my largely non-Charismatic school (Biola/Talbot) asked us students to keep an open mind and to keep the Scriptures front-and-center in our thinking. I am glad they did so, and I will forever be grateful to them.

Wednesday, October 3    

8:40 PM I have a mostly healthy relationship with food, but tonight I splurged and had a hot fudge sundae at the MacDonald’s in town after I went grocery shopping. It tasted sooooo goooood. I really can’t ever imagine going through life without chocolate. I’ve pretty much disregarded the scale at this point 🙂 I’ve got 4 busy weekends of activity and I don’t plan on not enjoying food during my training. I’m working out, resting, and eating a fairly decent diet, so I don’t really care what the scale says. I eat to live instead of live to eat — except, of course, when I get a craving for sundaes. Then, all bets are off. My body is a temple and I want to treat it right, but everything in balance, no? Big props to those of you who have forsaken all processed foods. I wish I could do that too. One step at a time ….

7:20 PM A brief photo update:

1) Moisés and Betsy Gomez hosted me for dinner on Monday night. Betsy cooked the best Dominican Republic food I’ve ever eaten.

2) Meanwhile, last night my Old Testament colleague Tracy Mackenzie and I enjoyed some fabulous Ethiopian food.

3) And today my colleague Miguel Echavarría blessed our New Testament class with a lecture on “The New Testament and Immigration.” Miguel teaches New Testament and Greek and directs our Hispanic Leadership Development program.

My thanks to all.

My runs have been horrible this week. Did I say “runs”? I haven’t done a single run since my race last Saturday and my quasi-run on Sunday. I felt rushed every day just to get my work done. Maybe you’ve been in the same boat this week. Just slogging through life, one day at a time. Tonight I’m mentally toast. My training plan screams at me constantly. Tomorrow I’m going to sleep in, rest up, and then get in a lift and a bike, Lord willing. After that, I hope to feel more energetic. I sense that some great runs are just around the corner. I don’t know about you, but I’m at my worst physically when I’m at my worst mentally.

How has God blessed you this week?

How has He helped you face your unique challenges?

Are you resting in your God-breathed worth?

Monday, October 1    

6:10 AM It’s official folks. I registered this morning for the High Bridge Half Marathon this Saturday in Farmville. I’ve never competed on this trail before though I’ve trained here beaucoup times. This will probably be the last half I run this year unless I decide to do Race 13.1 in Raleigh on Dec. 8. But that’s the Dallas Marathon weekend. I don’t have a time goal for this race. I’m considering it a warm-up for the ultra I’m doing in Farmville a week later so I will probably just take it easy. If you’ve never visited the High Bridge Trail, I highly recommend it. You will 100 percent love it. It’s such a beautiful environment.

Speaking of a beautiful environment, it’s time to get to campus. I expect bumps in the road this week. Don’t you? The key is to just go with the flow. Instead of resisting problems, embrace them and see what the Lord is trying to teach you. I’ll do the same. (Hopefully.)

5:45 AM Early in his pulpit ministry at All Souls in London, John Stott began a practice he continued for his entire career. He began a regular practice of inviting somebody to critique his messages. Each time he preached, someone would write out a full response with either a criticism or a commendation. Stott ask his reviewer to be especially sensitive to two questions (Basic Christian, p. 66):

“Is there a real message here, something vital, relevant, gripping?”

“Has the message gone across — or was it too heavy , too complicated?”

Personally, Stott felt himself too heavy, too theological, for the average listener. But when I listen to his sermons, my reaction is the opposite. When I listen to Stott, I always come away with the impression of a man who was accurate, credible, intelligent, competent, likeable, and believable. His excitement about his subject shines through with unmistakable clarity. Authenticity is always evident. It can be hard to be passionate about something you do week in and week out. But Stott never lost his passion. Moreover, there are no “ahhs” or “umms” when Stott speaks. He speaks in a conversational tone. His sermons are short and sweet. He was given only 30 minutes for his sermons at All Souls. You won’t find a wasted word in his messages. His words are easily digestible. I imagine that were he alive today, people would put down their devices, stop their texting or reading their emails, and truly listen. Finally, here’s something I noticed about almost all of his sermons. He repeats himself. He says something. Then he says it again. Then he says it a third time by way of review. You can easily take away his main points because you know what they are!

It takes a lot of practice to become an effective public speaker. I have a long way to go to master it. But one way to improve is by emulating the characteristics of great public speakers.

Who do you listen to?

What makes them such good speakers?

What is it about the way they speak that makes you want to listen?

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October 2016 Blog Archives

Sunday, October 30

5:06 PM #MacAfeeKnob.

Saturday, October 29

4:40 PM Yo, folks! Beginning today, I’ve decreed the next seven days to be a week of celebration and commemoration. This Wednesday, Nov. 2, it will be exactly three years since Becky finished her race and the Lord called her Home. I think she did a fantastic job, don’t you? Do I miss her? Are there horses in Texas? She was more precious to me than life itself. I’ve got people in my life whom I’m grateful for, but there was no one like Becky. Immolated into one another for 37 years, she’s now gone, and there’s no sense in trying to turn the clock back. Marriage, as with our Christianity, is not a project to be worked on but something to be marveled at with humility and gratitude.

So how will I celebrate? For starters, this morning I ran a 5K in Wake Forest. What a wonderful, joy-filled experience. Tomorrow I’m hiking MacAfee Knob with a good friend. On Monday I hope to run/jog/walk/crawl 26.2 miles. This Wednesday I’m having lunch with an old and trusted buddy of mine. Next weekend I’m going to Becky’s grave with family members. We’ll finish things off on Saturday night with a concert at the NC Symphony. They’re playing one of my all-time favorite pieces: Copland’s Appalachian Spring. It will be the perfect way to end an amazing week.

To all of you who have sent me words of encouragement during the past three years: Words will never be enough to express what your texts and emails have meant to me. I know it might sound pretty strange to say it, but I wish that all of you could experience what I’ve experienced these past three years, though without the pain and the suffering. God has been good to me. When I look back now, I see nothing but grace revealed, experienced, lavished upon me, whereas three years ago practically all I saw was darkness and death. So much of my life with Becky Lynn was lovely and holy. But those days are gone forever. I will carry the vivid memory of her to my grave, as I know many of you will. But on that Day, when all of life is healed and restored, I’ll gaze again upon her beautiful, freckled face — no longer “bone of my bones,” no longer my wife, but my sister in Christ for ever and ever. In the meantime, the tale of my own life will continue to unfold. I have a sense that God still has a story to write, and that the story will be good. I will never forget my bride. Her death will always remain a horrific experience that left huge, gaping wounds of unspeakable grief. But that experience has now become part of a greater whole, and I know that God is growing my soul, making it bigger and better and fuller with Himself. I’m eager to climb new mountains, cross new rivers, face new adventures. “Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door” (Emily Dickenson). Even today, in the dark, God is making my life — and yours — into something beautiful, His “masterpiece” if you will (Eph. 2:10, ISV). All we have to do is open the door. Healing is either around the next corner or a thousand years away. Either way, let’s find out together.

Thank you.

I love you.

Pix:

1) Today’s race began and finished at the historic birthplace of Wake Forest College on Main St.

2) The weather was great, and a good crowd turned out for the race.

3) Our goal today was to raise funds for the Franklin County Humane Society. They are doing a fantastic work in the community. Already this year they’ve placed over 400 dogs or cats.

4) Never saw this breed before.

5) As you know, whenever I run a 5K I always try to beat the magical 30-minute mark. I knew I was in trouble as soon as I arrived and someone asked me if I had heard about “Killer Hill.” Ugh.

6) It’s pretty obvious that the second mile was all uphill.

Oh well, there’s always next time.

Cheers,

Dave

Friday, October 28

6:04 PM Nijay Gupta just linked to 4 recently publishedcommentaries on the New Testament. He likes them all. One of them he commends because it pays attention to the “early reception of Colossians.” Ding! That struck a bell. “Early reception” is another way of saying how a text has been studied and received throughout church history. In some countries this is, in fact, a separate division of study — Dogmengeschichte it was called when I studied in Basel. The professor of Dogmengeschichte was none other than Martin Anton Schmidt, the son of Karl Ludwig Schmidt — the well-known progenitor of New Testament form criticism.

I recall taking a course from him on the history of the interpretation of Romans. Yes, history is totally in my head. I love the subject. And I am being lured back into the field. I’d kinda forgotten just how important it is. That said, I’m not holding my breath that seminary departments will start adding degrees in the history of dogma. But they should! I recall spending a week at Ealing Abbey in West London translating the church fathers from the Greek and the Latin. I wanted to know what they had to say about the historical origins of the Gospels. Flabbergasted is not a strong enough word to describe my reaction. We can’t ignore church history and expect to understand our Bibles very well. I am here to tell you: Dogmengeschichte is a wonderful subject.

Hmm. I wonder if it’s too late to get a second doctorate?

12:32 PM The weather is purr-fect today. Time for us to get caught up on a few farm chores such as mowing and cleaning up the Valley Road.

Lots of trees are down due to recent storm damage.

Nothing a chain saw can’t handle, however.

Time to prepare lunch. Tuna sandwiches with avocadoes. Nummy.

10:58 AM Speaking of Abidan Shaw, in a previous interview he asked me about the views of my former colleague at Biola University, Harry Sturz. To listen to this interview, clickhere. Abidan himself is completing a doctoral dissertation at SEBTS on the subject of New Testament textual criticism. Now, obviously I espouse the view put forth by Dr. Sturz, but I wonder how many students of the New Testament have even been exposed to that perspective? That’s why I’ve begun to require my Ph.D. students to read both Sturz’s dissertation (The Byzantine Text-Type and New Testament Textual Criticism) as well as the book he seeks to refute, Hort’s famous introduction to the Westcott-Hort Greek New Testament. I am convinced that many people do not espouse Sturz’s view simply because they have never worked through these two books. This puts everything in danger — both leaders in our churches and the people. I won’t lie; I love church history. And, to a large degree, this issue of textual criticism is largely a question of history. It’s an incredibly interesting story — and a very complicated one. Here are two books that will help us to become better students of the New Testament.

9:34 AM Yesterday’s interview was a delight. Abidan asked me many interesting questions, not the least of which was, “So tell me, why did you get involved in weight training?” Let me camp out on the word “training” for a minute. Exercise is physical activity performed for its own immediate value. But training is exercise performed to help you accomplish a long-range goal of some kind. For example, yesterday’s 5-mile run was training for tomorrow’s 5K in Wake Forest. Tomorrow’s 5K will be training for my next half marathon. And my next half marathon will be training for the first marathon I hope to run in 2017. (Well, I’ll probably walk most of it.) If you’re someone who struggles to get adequate exercise, it might just be because you think of exercise as being done for its own sake. Improvement for a long-term goal is the objective of training. If you’ve outgrown “exercise,” training may well be the next step for you. My ultimate goal is to be fit enough to climb some really steep and hard mountains in the Alps next July, even harder than the peaks I climbed there last summer. Daily exercise helps me to judge where I am along the spectrum of preparation.

Here’s my challenge to you. (This is the “Took” from yesterday’s discussion — hehe.) Simple weight training exercises can be a great way to achieve your long-term goals. They allow you to combine cardio and strength training. You end up burning fat — fast. You’ll gain better posture and improve your overall performance. And, because there are so many exercises you can do, you’ll never get bored.

Above all, explore your motivations. Why am I exercising? To feel better? To achieve weight loss? To reduce my blood pressure? To run a 5K or a marathon? To raise money for a charity? To reduce my cardiovascular risk? A combination of the above? Whatever your goals are, I hope you will make muscle training exercises a part of your workout schedule. It’s so easy to let our bodies “go.” No one intends this. It just happens. But it’s never too late to turn the ship around.

Thursday, October 27

7:30 PM A day in the life …

1) Met with Joshua, one of my doctoral students, for mentorship this morning at the local Amish bakery.

2) Going through Harry Sturz’s The Byzantine Text-Type and New Testament Textual Criticism.

3) Then off to the Y to lift.

4) Followed by a 5 mile run.

5) Care to join me?

6) Next … did another interview with my former assistant Abidan Shaw for hisHoi Polloi podcasts.

7) The topic? My new book, Running My Race.

8) Then dinner with the Blacks at our favorite seafood restaurant in Henderson, NC.

9) It’s called “220,” and the trout is out of this world.

10) Peyton cuddling with his Papa B.

11) Graham’s turn.

12) Tonight I gave Peyton the rabbit Nate had when he was Peyton’s age. He’s called Nala — “Alan” spelled backwards (Nathan’s middle name is Alan).

So it turned out to be another typical (i.e., busy) day in my life. I loved every minute of it. Good night, all!

8:12 AM Lawrence Richards, longtime professor at Wheaton, has died at the age of 85. For the story, gohere. His Creative Bible Teaching was required reading when I was in seminary. Each lesson, he said, should have four stages: Hook, Book, Look, and Took. I had mixed feelings about the book. I don’t think that sermons can always be reduced to pithy titles or that they need to have only one main point. I do agree with one of his main points, however: To be effective, a public speech (such as as sermon) needs to have an introduction (“Hook”) that commands attention and awakens needs. Relevance (“Took”) must also be present. I’d recommend this book for anyone wanting to improve their speaking skills.

7:48 AM “Who I am is who I am in Christ.” Spoken in chapel yesterday.

More takeaways:

  • We have to stop saying that only pastors and missionaries are “fulltime ministers.”

  • God has no second-class Christians.

  • Even if you are a slave, it counts.

  • We need ordinary Christians doing ordinary jobs for the glory of God.

  • You serve Jesus at your job, in your calling.

7:12 AM Good morning, world!

Wednesday, October 26

8:24 PM Greetings virtual friends! How ’bout a picture potpourri of fantastic fotos?

1) My assistant teaching yesterday’s baby Greek class. Way to go, Noah!

2) One of my doctoral students discussing textual criticism in last night’s Ph.D. seminar. Fantastic job, Huss!

3) Lunch today with our librarian. His wedding took place on Oct. 1. Congratulations, Jason and Dawn!

4) My esteemed colleague Denise O’Donoghue speaking in our New Testament class today.

5) Her topic was “Discipleship of Women in Titus.” Outstanding!

6) Got back to the farm just in time to get up hay.

7) Three trailer loads!

8) Too tired to cook, so ….

9) Yesterday I read the Festschrift for John Lee called Biblical Greek in Context. (A Festschrift can be defined as “a collection of writings published in honor of a scholar.”)

John Lee is a deliberate writer. His works are never scintillating. He writes simply, clearly, and dispassionately. This volume contains creative responses to Lee’s works, primarily in the area of Greek lexicography. It contains enough homage, imitation, and criticism to excite even the dullest reader. As a physical object, the book is very attractive. (Obviously I’m not a huge fan of e-books.) The paper quality is excellent, and a beautiful font is used throughout. Some of the essays are surprisingly adventurous. In fact, I took copious notes when reading this book. There are 15 pieces here, inspired by Lee’s own writings. Here are just two takeaways of mine:

1) On page 147, T. Muraoka discusses Genesis 1 and insists that, while one cannot always draw a hard and fast distinction between kalos and agathos in Greek, “… it is almost certain that the aesthetically pleasing aspect is underlined” by the use of kalos here. “And God saw the light, that it was good” can thus be interpreted as meaning, “And God saw the light, that is was pleasing to the eye.” As someone who enjoys God’s creation, I loved this comment!

2) On page 152, Muraoka comments on the phrase kat’ eikona hemeteran, “according to our image,” but insists that “The use of the marked possessive adjective instead of the plain [hemon] had better be reflected in the translation either lexically, ‘our own image,’ or typographically, ‘our image.'” Right on!

I enjoy immensely reading Festschriften like this one. The most recent one to arrive on my desk was published to honor a dear friend and colleague of mine, Prof. Antonio Piñero of the Complutensian University in Spain.

I’ve got a pithy piece of pious prattle in it. I have placed this book on an altar and daily prostrate myself before its erudition. All Festschriften are a mixed bag – a bit of hit and miss. But Lee’s is nevertheless quite good. If you’ve ever read any of Lee’s writings, you’ll see why this act of recognition is so well-deserved. I heartily recommend reading it.

Ciao!

Tuesday, October 25

8:45 AM Mike Glennwrites:

I think a lot of people stop coming to church because we never ask them to do anything great. We never call them to a vision that will demand everything from them. We never tell them to sell everything they have and go follow Jesus. We never tell them to head to the far reaches of the world and carry their casket with them because we don’t expect them to come back.

I agree!

  • I am convinced that the church exists in part to equip all of its members for ministry.

  • I am convinced that the leadership of the church should be shared for the health of the congregation.

  • I am convinced that top-down structures of leadership are unquestionably more efficient — efficient in doing almost everything than equipping, which is the primary task of leadership. 

This from my essayWhat Does a New Testament Church Look Like? Read the New Testament and Jesus will upset your comfortable Christianity. The new generation is on the right track, folks. They are done with spectatorism. They care about the right things. Their actions are beginning to align with the Scriptures.

Come, Lord Jesus. We are Yours. Use us as You wish. You have given each of us gifts of grace. Have your way with us, especially with the new generation.

Monday, October 24

7:12 PM Love our hay.

We serve up great quality, high nutrient bales. Perfect for horses, donks, and goats.

Green Acres is the life for me!

4:32 PM I just finished reading The Greek Verb Revisited from cover to cover. The book gives lengthy explanations and examples, so be sure to pace yourself. It’s a difficult book to review and I don’t intend to write one. In my opinion, the book is not nearly as eye-opening as the endorsements would seem to imply. Overall, I think it does a pretty good job of explicating where things stand today in terms of New Testament Greek linguistics. But a streamlined and accessible overview of a very complicated subject it is not. Here’s a sample:

The perfect of a predicate derives a homogenous atelic eventuality from the predicate for the grammatical subject and includes Topic Time in the Situation Time of this derived homogeneous atelic eventuality.

I have to agree with contributor Buist Fanning of Dallas Seminary, who writes (p. 11), “Please! Pick up a hammer and chisel and work away at this — with my blessings and gratitude.” Kudos are rightly given to James Barr’s Semantics of Biblical Language, which is perhaps the most seminal work in the field even today. Among the conclusions this book reaches: verbal aspect is central to our understanding of the Greek of the New Testament; in the non-indicative moods, the so-called “tenses” do not encode tense at all but rather aspect; and there exists no consensus among New Testament scholars as to what is actually meant by “aspect.” Most interesting to me was the fact that Randall Buth defends, not two aspects in Koine Greek, but three, which he calls “perfective,” “imperfective,” and “perfect.” I tend to agree, although I would stick with the traditional nomenclature (I still call today’s “perfective” aspect “aoristic aspect”). But the real problem with this book is that it is too stodgy for my tastes. It’s almost impossible to read it without losing one’s way. On the other hand, as an amateur linguist, I appreciate what the editors were trying to do: bring the field up-to-date. In this, they have largely succeeded. Linguistics is a vitally important field of study. When it comes to language, I am neither a purist nor a prescriptionist. But pedantry is not very helpful. It’s abundantly clear that New Testament scholars are still divided on many of the issues discussed in this book. One such area is pedagogy, with Buth arguing that “learning Greek to second-language fluency must also become part of the wider academia if we value true access to the original languages” (p. 428). I would heartily agree with his assessment on one condition: I would personally work very hard at speaking Koine Greek if I could find one native speaker. But I think Buth’s overall point is a valid one: Greek must be internalized to a certain degree if we are to interpret the New Testament correctly. I’m thankful for the contribution this work makes to New Testament Greek linguistics. But it will probably take others to produce an updated overview to the field that is not disjointed, uneven, and at times confusing.

11:58 AM Perfect day for riding. I’m filing this under #PeekAboo.

8:30 AM Goin’ on a “Bike Ride.”

 

Sunday, October 23

9:32 PM “Why me, God?” I asked myself this question as I waited for my luggage at the baggage carousel tonight at RDU. “Why me, God?”

“Why do I have such good health when so many suffer?”

“Why do I have the ability to walk, drive, talk?”

“Why have You blessed me financially?”

“Why are You so good to me?”

“What have I done to deserve this?”

I pondered these questions as tears began to roll down my cheeks. There at the carousel was a man half my age with two crippled legs. As he walked, he drifted from side to side like a drunken sailor. “Lord, forgive me for taking my health for granted!” Last night at the banquet, a young man with autism was there helping and serving, doing menial tasks with a gignormous smile on his face. “Lord, if only I could serve You with half that amount of joy!” Once again, people are changing my heart in ways I haven’t started to understand yet. “Why me, God?” I have no answers. I am torn. So much of what I do is a pure, unadulterated, undeserved blessing. There’s something so wonderful about watching people who have been wounded live as though they didn’t have a care in the world. It defies my efforts to describe it. “Why me, God?” And then His voice speaks in my silence: I knit you together in your mother’s womb. Every moment of your life I have planned. I know every feeling, every hair on your head, every sorrow. Chose to believe in Me despite all the evidence to the contrary. Be grateful and joyful. Yes, I have blessed you. Abundantly. And because of who I am, you can rise above living as a mere victim. You can transcend your circumstances. You can overcome evil with good. So … keep on walking and driving and talking. It is I who have given you these gifts.

Tonight I am overcome by the goodness of God. Life is too wonderful to me. And all of it is so … undeserved. “Who am I?” asked Bonhoeffer. “They mock me, these lonely questions of mine. Whoever I am, Thou knowest, O God, I am Thine!”

Pix:

1) Brother Jamie’s been here 7 years. I’m blessed to know such a wonderful shepherd.

2) Church leaders.

Jamie is second from left. Dave (second from right and recently widowed) graciously opened his home to me.

3) Ladies at our banquet last night.

4) Jamie addressing the folks after I spoke. All of them widowed.

5) Love this young man. What a blessing to the body of Christ!

Saturday, October 22

6:45 AM “Be of good cheer. It is I. Don’t be afraid” (Matt. 14:27). Troubled in spirit? No need to deny the existence of evil and sin and death and loss and sorrow. Our Lord recognized all these and more. He met the sorrows of life not with a things-will-get-better-someday philosophy. He met them with Himself. “It is I.” Trouble is a reality, but we can be of good cheer because He has overcome everything the world can throw at us. That, in essence, will be my message tonight. He makes the difference.

Off and running!

Friday, October 21

7:44 PM #HappyGranddad.

4:58 PM Now that I’m an expert mountaineer (thanks for playing along), I’ve begun to use plenty of climbing metaphors in my writing. God wants us to be victorious as we face our “mountains” in life. And He uses the “climb” to display His marvelous grace. I’ve had to learn this truth the hard way. But true it is: We never climb alone.

“But,” you say, “you climbed the Rockies by yourself, didn’t you? How wise was that?” Okay. You’ve got me there. When climbing a 14,000 foot mountain it’s probably helpful to have a companion, especially if he or she is more experienced than you are. Here’s my mountain guide in Switzerland.

He was constantly encouraging me and summoning me toward the top. The Alps are steep. You don’t want to climb them alone. In Colorado, however, I had no climbing companion, no guide, no one to call back to me to encourage me to keep climbing. I wish I had, but some climbs you simply have to make by yourself. When I arrived in Denver I had two options. I could stay in the foothills and stare up at the mountains wondering what it would be like to climb them. Or I could gear up and start the ascent. But here’s the deal. Even though I was climbing by myself, I was never alone. God was there, supporting me. Likewise, since Becky’s death I’ve been on a solitary journey. To be sure, family and friends provide constant encouragement, but the mountain of widowerhood is a heavy burden of pain that you can’t share with others. I’m in a place I’ve never been before, clinging to total reliance on God even when no one else, not even those who are closest to me, understands. To shift the metaphor a bit: losing a spouse is like a heavy backpack that makes the climb seem steeper and more difficult. In that case, I guess you just keep climbing! Nowadays my adjustment and healing process continues. My emotions are definitely scarred. My life has been drastically altered. But I continue to heal daily. I have a new mountain to climb — a “new normal” — but that doesn’t mean I curl up into a little ball. I’m very busy with my students and my family and love to serve others. It’s not only when we’re young that God can use us. Even in sickness and weakness we can honor God by using our skills. God’s obviously not finished with me yet. He is making me whole again. I love that. I know that all the battles I face have a divine purpose. So I face my mountains one day at a time and keep on climbing so that perhaps God will be glorified and others will feel encouraged to keep climbing when their own mountains get steep.

I remember as a child looking at pictures of the Alps and never imagining that one day I would climb one. I could only dream about the sense of accomplishment that represented. Now that God has allowed me to make a few summits, I know that the harder the climb, the more He is there. “The Lord stood at my side and gave me strength” (2 Tim. 4:17). Even when you feel like you can’t take another step, even when it seems like there is no end in sight, even when it doesn’t seem like you’re moving, His plan is still taking shape.

I know all of this sounds ridiculously simplistic, my friend. I have no earthly idea just how difficult your climb is. But I do know that God will always give the needed strength to climb. There’s no better Guide than He. Let’s allow Him to be our companion on the mountain. And when the trail is especially rocky and steep, let’s hold His hand more tightly than ever.

3:10 PM This and that …

1) ReadWhy weight loss requires strength training, even in women and seniors. (Warning: hobby horse.) Come near, guys and gals: Diets don’t work. People on diets may lose weight, but most of this weight will be water and muscle tissue. Not fat. That’s why I’m a proponent of weight training. Before I began lifting, I weighed 245 pounds. Now I’m a steady 210. You see, I wasn’t overweight. I was overfat. The problem with most diets is that they cause you to lose the most energy-hungry tissues in the body: your muscles. Weight training causes you to increase them. It’s that simple. I’m not against all diets. But they’re not the answer. Dieting may allow you to win a few battles but you’ll lose the war. A person doing 30 minutes of muscular activity 3 times a week will inevitably become fit. The simplest way to preserve your health is to exercise. Exercise = health. Period. Yes, most of us need to do a better job of watching what we put into our mouths. But we don’t need new “diets” to become fit and healthy. What is needed is already known. I’m not as fit as I want to be, but I’m trying — and that’s what makes the difference.

2) These books came via FedEx today from Amazon.

Louw’s Semantics of New Testament Greek is a replacement copy. (I loaned out my copy and never got it back.) Louw’s book literally changed my life when I first read it back in the early 1980s. The moment I finished reading it I became a huge fan of linguistics. Anyone who can read and understand basic New Testament Greek should invest some time with this book. Despite its small size (only 166 pages), Louw packs more helpful information into less space than you can imagine. I just wish other books on New Testament linguistics would recognize this. This easily belongs in the Must Read list for pastors. Louw uses short but rich sentences. He puts a lot of the more jumbled and less eloquently expressed phrases of the experts into digestible chunks. Today, some 34 years after its initial publication, it’s still timely, thorough, and practical. I appreciate Louw’s logical ways of approaching the subject, drawing on tangible examples from the New Testament to explain obtuse ideas. But what I love best about this book is a trait that’s sorely lacking in many books on Greek linguistics being published these days — accessibility. You literally glide through the text. This book made me think more seriously about language than any book I read during my doctoral studies. I know you’ve got lots of books to read, but I hope you’ll make time for this one.

3) Mark Love thinks we shouldshift the center of worship from sermon to table. I marvel why more of us don’t practice this. There is no evidence that the New Testament church was pulpit-centric. There’s plenty of evidence that it was Christocentric, as yours truly argues in chapter 5 of his book Seven Marks of a New Testament Church (“Christ-Centered Gatherings”). None of us means to, but it’s just so easy to make our meetings anthropocentric. I love Acts 20:7, because it’s so informative. The church gathered to break bread (the telic infinitive is used here), not to hear Paul preach until midnight. The “Christ” in our gatherings is so vital, central, important. Hang on to Him, folks. Give Him first place (Col. 1:18). Take and eat.

4) Do your kids know these20 great hymns?

5) Thetop ten signs you’re broke.

7:50 AM B. F. Westcott:

So touched with a grateful sense of the care which our own fathers have lavished on the books which we have received, we approach their interpretation. And here I counsel you most earnestly to do two things habitually, to read the original Greek, and in reading the English version to strive to recall the Greek.

Thursday, October 20

5:48 PM Someone has said, “There is no agony like baring an untold story inside of you.” So did I “bare it all” in my book Running My Race? Hardly. A person is so much more than their books. Honestly, I swept a lot under the carpet. I have been injured, and although Jesus can turn tragedy into triumph, I still grieve. True love always misses a spouse. It compels us to remember. It steals our innocence. You are in a season of life that seems never-ending. The chaos of coping can leave you frazzled and stressed. Guys and gals, as disciples, Jesus is telling us, “There is a cost to marriage. Will you be able to trust Me when your spouse dies? Can you accept your loss as a gift?” Letting go of my “right” to be married is a constant battle. There is no biblical prototype for what a grieving husband looks like. You know how Jesus felt about Lazarus. He wept at his grave. Jesus knew what He was talking about when He claimed to be the resurrection and the life. His friends needed to hear that. Jesus pushes us to trust in Him when there is death, when we take a front row seat at a funeral. He wins us over, not only by His tears but by His question, “You’ll still trust Me, won’t you?” I’m getting on a plane this Saturday. I’m booked at an event for widows and widowers. Why me? I’m still working on this grief thingy. Does that surprise anyone? There is simply no end that grief requires. And what makes it even worse is when I try to remember what it was like to be married. How can it feel like it was 50 million years ago?

So what’s the point of this post? Nothing, really. I’m just emoting, venting, baring, confessing. (Griping?) “It’s not good for man to be alone.” Sheesh. I know. And because I know, I can be honest with my audience. What matters, fellow grievers, is not that our prayers sound pretty. What matters is that the Spirit pleads on our behalf. We are never alone, least of all when we pray. So if you would, could you please pray with me as I try to minister this weekend? I love being deliberate with you. Your prayers have meant everything to me. I have made the choice to accept my widowerhood. I have a deep and abiding love for my Savior. But I’m also glad, really glad, to have praying friends like you.

12:26 PM Just ordered:

10:30 AM C. S. Lewis:

If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.

9:58 AM One of the hallmarks of the Last Days is perplexity — the condition of having lost one’s way. Jesus put it this way in Luke 21:25-28:

It will seem like all hell has broken loose—sun, moon, stars, earth, sea, in an uproar and everyone all over the world in a panic, the wind knocked out of them by the threat of doom, the powers-that-be quaking.

And then—then!—they’ll see the Son of Man welcomed in grand style—a glorious welcome! When all this starts to happen, up on your feet. Stand tall with your heads high. Help is on the way!

You only have to read the news (or watch last night’s debate) to observe the plight the nation finds itself in. Even Christians can be bewildered in such a time. Like Abraham, we do not always know where we are going. And there is no greater nuisance than the cheery politician who thinks he or she has all the answers.

Paul himself could admit that he was “greatly perplexed” (2 Cor. 4:8). But he quickly added, “… but not in despair.” That’s pretty much my attitude these days. I may not know what is ahead but I absolutely know Who is ahead. There’s plenty of fog in the harbor, but the Pilot knows exactly what He is doing. “Up on your feet!” He says to His people. “Stand tall with your heads high!”

Okaaaay.

It’s hard to imagine where our country will be in 10 years. But ours is not the perplexity of this age. We haven’t been left stranded. “Help is on the way!” True freedom is not found in anything engineered by man, but in Jesus Christ. “The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose” need not be caught unprepared. The blessed Holy Spirit, the one who comes alongside to help, will sustain us with His sufficient grace.

Church, as we witness the shambles of our culture, let’s seek first the kingdom of God. The Christian life is not merely lived by Christ’s help. It is Christ.

P. S. Pix from yesterday:

1) The B-Area planning next fall’s schedule in Old and New Testament.

These are some smart dudes. They keep me humble.

2) Scott Hildreth making Philippians come alive in our New Testament Intro class.

His emphasis on “partnering” in the Gospel as first and foremost a partnership of prayer was very convicting. I am conditioned to minimize prayer and overemphasize activity. Prayer counts. 

3) Another lame, boring, and possibly aggravating pic of me haying yesterday.

4) Deal with it.

Tuesday, October 18

8:28 AM Quote of the day (source):

Metaxas still thinks McMullin voters are doing so to “feel good about themselves,” in other words for some kind of selfish reason. How insulting. My vote for McMullin will be cast because I think he is a good candidate and because I think we need alternatives to the two party system.

8:25 AM Allain de Botton’s essayWhy You Will Marry the Wrong Person caused quite a stir on yesterday’s The Diane Rehm Show. (I should confess that I listen to Diane’s show a lot, especially when I’m driving.) His basic point is that whomever you end up marrying will be full of imperfections, just like you are. Deal with it. I think there’s a good deal of truth here. Personal self-fulfillment simply isn’t the language of the New Testament when it comes to marriage. The kingdom of God allows imperfections, and we can accept each other, right where we are, right now. Husband and wife: you are beautiful. Your Father delights in you. You both have equal worth and value. You matter to God. Make space for each other’s wisdom and failures. Care for others in tangible ways, putting your marriage at the service of the world. And remember: When Christ begins a work, He finishes it. We may occasionally find ourselves in the place of utter despair. That’s okay too. We are called, as married couples, to the difficult, unsexy work of doing what is right. And part of doing what is right is, well, acceptance. “I love that you get cold when it’s 71 degrees out,” wrote Nora Ephron in her screenplay of When Harry Met Sally. “I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night.”

I know this sounds crazy. But isn’t this how real life works? Light is greater than darkness. And when we drag the darkness into the light, the process is innately healing. You just need to tell your spouse: “I am here with you as your best friend. We’ll work it out, together.” But sincerity is crucial. You can’t fake love. Not in marriage. Husbands, love your wives. Like, love her. Boundaries may be necessary. But they come after grace.

So read the essay I linked to above and see what you think. I am no expert on marriage. Like you, I am a repentant learner. But we can all learn something.

(Side note: I’m posting here a pic of Becky and me 4 years into our 37-year marriage. We were living in Basel at the time. At that time I thought I knew everything about marriage. After all, people perceived me as an expert in other areas. Ugh! Dear friends, I am so terribly human. Still, I am capable, as you are, of being filled with the Spirit and living selflessly. Marriage really is that simple. We are accomplishing an extraordinary task through supernatural means. But perhaps it all starts with releasing each other to be who they are meant to be. Let’s unshackle each other a little bit, shall we?

While I’m at it, let me thank Becky for putting up with me for all those years. I know she probably can’t hear me. But honey, it was quite a ride wasn’t it? I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.)

Monday, October 17

6:45 PM Yes!

 

9:40 AM Okay. I’ve got Becky on my mind these days. Have you noticed? Nov. 2 will be here before we know it. What will I do on that day? I have no idea. Maybe I’ll write a post about “biblical womanhood.” You know, women like Priscilla, who was a powerhouse in the early church. Becky was like that. Or how about Anna, a longtime widow? Dare I mention Lydia or Mary or Martha or Chloe or Euodia or Syntyche or Junia (yes, it’s a woman’s name)? How about Corrie ten Boom or Elizabeth Elliott? I assure you, there was nothing weak about any of these women.

So I can’t keep quiet. No one can take away what I know about Becky — her sacrifice, her love, her sense of humor. I think God created Becky to show us all what it means to be truly human. That’s why I love her testimony (My Life Story). And that’s why I love this audio clip of her teaching about finances many, many years ago. Someone happened to record it and then gave it to me. (Thank you!). At one time, Becky was a very successful financial planner. She freely helped pastors and missionaries with their finances. Many can testify to how God blessed them through Becky’s help and advice. So let me pass on to you this audio recording. Becky was not a “seven-steps-to-financial-success” person. Instead, she walked us through 2 Corinthians 8-9. Her exegesis is pretty great. Hope you enjoy it.

https://soundcloud.com/pisham/dr-blacks-wife-becky-black/s-HmfvZ

9:14 AM Can you believe it? This Saturday night I’m speaking at a banquet in South Carolina for widows and widowers. Boy, if that won’t keep you humble. I’ve never done anything even close to this before. But since it’s my “village,” I’ll give it my best shot. Understanding the stats is incredibly helpful. Each year 800,000 women are widowed in the U.S. There are currently more than 13.6 MILLION widows in America. According to the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, the death of a spouse scores a solid 100 percent. Moreover, according to the American Public Health Journal, widowhood increase the survivor’s risk of dying dramatically. (Interesting, but don’t expect me to start saying goodbye.) In the U.S., half of the women over 65 are widows. Is there hope for widows and widowers? How can we best love people in this situation? I have much hope for those who have lost their spouse, mainly because we are precious to the Lord. Widowed people serve and lift, give and encourage — or we can. And because of the beautiful thing we call the Body, no tragedy is ever weathered alone.

So what will I talk about? The crossing of the Jordan River (Joshua 3). What seems impossible for man is possible with God. You think crossing a river at flood stage is easy? It’s downright impossible! But there IS a way (John 14:6), the “ark of the covenant” being one of the greatest types of Christ in the Old Testament. I don’t really care a whit about the statistics I cited above. There is hope for stressed-out people! Widowed people need to know that they’re not a burden to Jesus. He can fill up your tank, and mine. And church, let’s be prepared to prioritize ministry to widows and widowers. They are people, not statistics. That is true of all single people in the church. Yes, they are broken and hurting, but so are you. How incredibly important is a healthy faith community! I hope the world sees us welcoming the bereaved with wide-open arms. And I hope they find those of us who are widowed to be kind and generous. What a church that would be!

8:36 AM Well, this will be an exceedingly important week on campus. For some time now I’ve been convinced of the absolute usefulness of discourse analysis for New Testament interpretation. It compels us to rethink the role of word study in exegesis (“The word in the Greek means ….”) and move beyond — far beyond — the word to broader discourse units such as the paragraph and the section. Johannes Louw’s The Semantics of New Testament Greek is a critically important work and a must read for everyone in the church who seeks to be faithful to the text as a whole. If you are a shepherd-teacher, you know how rich the Scriptures are. Now go and minister, heal, love, and teach —  not from the canteen of Saturday night, but from a reservoir of deep Bible knowledge. Stop waiting for someone else to tell you what the text is saying. I pray for messy studies, for late nights of study, for an insatiable hunger to draw out of the text what the Holy Spirit put into it. May your soul long for prayer and for the Scriptures. When others are preaching sermonettes, live counter culturally. It matters whether you are faithful. Accuracy is not easy but it is simple. Allow the text to be its own interpreter. Dig deep. Formal teaching can be simple without being simplistic. It really can.

Thank you, young twentysomethings, for reminding the church that boring messages are unacceptable. Thank you, scholars like Steve Runge and Stan Porter and Con Campbell and Don Carson and Moisés Silva, for never being content to do word studies only. Thank you for giving us eyes to see the forest and not just the trees and tiny little saplings. Thank you for creating a passion for entire texts. Thank you, students in my New Testament class, for working so diligently all semester long, for allowing me the joy of listening to your papers as you wrestle with the biblical text. You’ve helped me understand the urgency of what I do as a professor.

And so this is the week to move beyond word-bound exegesis, both in my New Testament class and in my Ph.D. seminar, where the topic is “discourse analysis.” I wish all of you could attend. Trust me, I’m no expert on the subject. But I love the text. Look at it. It is gorgeous. It has architectural precision. The Bible is so good you can’t believe it. Dear reader, nothing would make me happier than your own study of the text. Somewhere amidst all the commentaries out there is the defiant act of sitting down with the Scriptures opened in front of you — the best kind of alchemy. Millennials can sniff out a fake a mile away. Pastor friend, be you, but be your best you. May I suggest a starting place? Struggling with the text. You are smart and capable. Do the hard thing. Reclaim your mantle. Do I always do this consistently? Are you kidding? But if you want to see what I’m talking about, gohere. Better yet, study Philippians on your own. You will never trot out that tired cliché again — “The theme of Philippians is joy in the Lord.” Guess what? Joy is at best the by-product of doing what Paul commands us to do in 1:27. (No, I’m not going to tell you what that is. You’ll have to discover it for yourself.) Meanwhile, please pray for my students this week. So few of us actually struggle with the text. We often feel so inadequate for the task. But inadequacy is a terrible reason to stay uninformed. Scripture tells us plainly that it is God-breathed. Let’s go ahead and address this “stuff,” shall we?

P.S. My thanks to my friend and colleague Scott Hildreth for blessing us this Wednesday with a special lecture on “Ecclesial Cooperation in Paul’s Letter to the Philippians.” Maybe we’ll record it. And, if you’re interested in how Becky and I did missions together, gohere. I tell you, she was some gal.

Sunday, October 16

5:34 PM Got time for some pix?

1) Grateful for a beautiful fall day in Southside Virginia.

2) My buddy Jason and I decided to try and do a bike marathon.

3) Finished!

4) Later I was treated to a lecture on “The History of Hebron Christian Church.” This is where Nathan has been serving since 2008. It was a spellbinding talk.

5) The current building was constructed in 1880.

6) Facilities, anyone? Hehe.

7) This is my grandson Peyton, yall. He is getting so big!

8) Always love a good organ recital. 

 

8:25 AM ReadWhy Boomers Are Having Trouble Convincing X-ers to Vote for Trump. Well, this Boomer is listening. Misguided hierarchies have no place in the kingdom of the heavens. Me? I will vote my conscience. Meanwhile, the Bridegroom is coming. Can’t you sense that? In the chaos and confusion of our fallen world, it’s little wonder we long for that push-back-the-darkness Day.

P.S. Please continue to pray for the Ben Merkle family. Ben is a dear friend and colleague of mine at SEBTS. TheBrandon Merkle Memorial Fund is still open in case you’d like to give.

8:15 AM On Friday a friend asked me how hard it is to climb a 14er. I suppose it’s something you just have to prepare for the best you can. Like yesterday’s 5K. Normally, when I run, I am in no hurry. I settle myself in and let everything take care of itself. Yesterday I tackled a really difficult course in 32 minutes. I did well. I was strong enough. As with most of my races these days, at the finish line I feel fulfilled. I am simply happy.

When I climbed Huron Peak two weeks ago there were only a handful of other climbers on the mountain that day. I summited alone. Then a few others joined me on the top. They were all young bucks. We exchanged high fives and snapped photos. Then I started down. Before long I was overtaken by the rest of the group. Within half an hour I was completely alone on a 14,000 foot mountain. I was close to exhaustion but I wasn’t despairing.

No stopping now. I’m on the train and I’m not gettin’ off.

Most people, when they’re in a similar situation, discover they are capable of a lot more than they thought they were.

From now on, Dave, it’s exclusively your physical strength as well as your psychological stamina that will get you back to your truck.

There’s an axiom among climbers that’s inviolable: “You are 1,000 percent responsible for yourself. Others may or may not be around to help you. You need to be independent.” It seems that, the more I climb, the more I realize how true this is. And this axiom applies to all of life. Because God has blessed me with good health, I can be fairly independent. I face life on my own, including its challenges. Huron Peak — vast, unmanipulable, potentially deadly, profoundly rewarding — is just like life anywhere. I believe that life is meant to be lived to its fullest. Don’t wait for some future time to fulfill your dreams and innermost aspirations. Pursue your God-given goals, even in the face of past failures. Draw inspiration from others (Hebrews 11). Above all, be willing to expand your life in new ways. How else will you know what you’re capable of?

Saturday, October 15

5:52 PM I know it sounds crazy, but with the anniversary of Becky’s home-going coming up on Nov. 2, I’ve been übernostalgic these days. As I look back some three years later, a lot has happened in my life, but mainly I’ve come to realize (through this hard head of mine) that Becky’s death was actually less significant than what God was planning on doing with it. That’s why I could run today’s 5K with such joy and exuberance, realizing that my pain and loss was no different from that of the Helton family who lost their 14-year old daughter two years ago. I wish you could have seen the joy on their faces. Theirs was an ordinary life, as mine was, until tragedy struck, but in the end our sufferings as human beings are more about God than they are about us. Our joy is rooted in the paradox we call Christianity, where up is down, sorrow is joy, defeat is victory. When I married Becky 40 years ago, little did I realize how mysterious and wonderful marriage would be, how glorious and harsh, how happy and sorrowful, how peaceful and tumultuous. I still sometimes look back on the day she died, but most often these days I turn my gaze forward and outward, believing that in the midst of a spouse’s cancer and a child’s brain aneurism there is grace available — though a grace disguised as pain and suffering. Ellie’s parents had a choice how to face their loss, and their faith allowed them to choose God. Today’s race, you might say, was a “celebration” of so many things — the legacy that Ellie left behind of a young lady known for her faith and laughter; the wonderful truth that, in Christ, God suffers with us; and the knowledge that God’s tears are always mixed with ours. As for the race itself, I tried to run the best race I could, which is the only trophy I want or hope for. This is the prize we all seek in life — the prize of becoming a person we can all be proud of. Not to be the best on the team, but to be the best you. Now that death has entered the picture, we join hands with others with similar experiences, share our feelings and memories, our joys and woes, and we do what we can to leverage our loss for good.

Today I competed in Ellie’s memory, with Becky (as it were) by my side, and to the glory of God — strangers brought together for a greater good, all heading for a Shore as though we were the last swimmers in the race, enlarged by our loss and experiencing greater joy and peace because of it. I wish you could have been there to see it.

Pix:

1) Remembering their daughter. Honoring their Savior.

2) Yours truly got a second place medal among the Antediluvians.

3) Let’s see, which nearby restaurant has scrumptious food?

4) Never been happier.

5) Kai wat in honor of you know who.

Friday, October 14

8:38 PM Great dinner tonight with good friends.

Love these brothers!

1:18 PM Please read the following about tomorrow’s 5K race and then consider making adonation to a very worthy cause.

Ellie Helton, a vibrant, loving 14-year old, passed away on July 16, 2014 as a result of a brain aneurysm. Ellie loved God, her family and friends, superheroes, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and pizza. She was a unique spirit who loved life, was accepting of others and persevered in everything she tried.

This race is run in honor of this special girl and to raise awareness and funds for research. “…and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1

This year our event will be raising funds to support our Chair of Research in Honor of Ellie Helton to help the Foundation in their mission to promote early detection of brain aneurysms by providing knowledge and raising awareness of the signs, symptoms and risk factors. Work with the medical communities to provide support networks for patients and families, as well as to further research that will improve patient outcomes and save lives.

12:52 PM “They seek for themselves,” wrote Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, “a house in the country, seashore, and the mountains. But this is altogether the mark of the common man, for it is in thy power whenever you shall choose to retire within thyself.” My biking trails become that retreat. (Here’s today’s route.)

But then again, so do my mountains and my seashores, not to mention “a house in the country.” Tomorrow, for a brief 30 minutes, I will have the freedom just to be me, without censure or praise, as I run a 5K for the Brain Aneurism Foundation. I am, for those 30-some-odd minutes, my own new Adam, the only one in my universe. The person that I am is expressed in the race and, when I run, my entire personality participates. My body allows this to happen. Moreover, as I run, the sights and sounds, pains and pleasures of life, become available to me in a unique way. Exercise should not be looked at as a game plan for successful living. It is successful living. I am never more alive than when I am climbing a really difficult mountain or riding a really big wave. Today, biking took me away from my disturbed circumference to the center of my being. Words fail to describe what the outdoors does to me. Almost always, the complete experience becomes timeless, selfless, beyond history or anxiety —  I could almost say a “mystical” experience. Health is not the product of this activity but a process — an ongoing, continual, continuous state of becoming self-disciplined. It’s largely our decision whether we are healthy or unhealthy, lean or overweight — and I say this because each and every one of our habitual behaviors is adopted by personal choice. Exercise deficiency is a self-inflicted wound.

So today it was biking. Tomorrow, Lord willing, it will be running. On Saturday or Sunday it will be getting up hay.

And folks, anybody can do it.

All it takes is sweat.

Thursday, October 13

6:08 PM Today I started reading a wonderful little book called The Civil War as a Theological Crisis by Mark Noll, who is perhaps the doyen of American history among evangelicals today. It is masterfully written and brilliantly argued.

Noll tries to show how mid-19th century American Christians (both North and South) generally agreed that the Bible was authoritative but they differed on how that Bible should be understood. Not only this, but he shows how “the Book that made the nation was destroying the nation; the nation that had taken to the Book was rescued not by the Book but by the force of arms” (p. 8). He is so right about this! Indeed, how apropos to today’s political climate in the United States. Biblical interpretation in America today, even biblical interpretation by conservative evangelicals, has perhaps never been so divided and chaotic. Just as the American Civil War generated a first-order theological crisis over how to interpret the Bible, so this year’s presidential election is generating a first-order theological crisis over how to understand the work of God in our nation. The church of today has to a large degree become more or less subject to the controlling influence of public opinion rather than shapers of public opinion. The parallels with the 1860s are obvious. “Had white protestants been following the Bible as carefully as they claimed, they could not have so casually dismissed the biblical interpretations advanced by Pendleton and Fee and mentioned by Lincoln. The inability to propose a biblical scheme of slavery that would take in all races reveals that factors others than simple fidelity to Scripture were exerting great influence as well” (p. 56). I suspect that many Christians reading Noll’s book would be nodding their heads in agreement. I’m finding this book a compelling demonstration of this truth. That’s why today you will find leading evangelicals both defending Donald Trump and excoriating him, with both sides using the Bible to defend their actions. For my two cents, I cannot understand how anyone can defend Trump’s candidacy. Yet I want to end by saying that this doesn’t mean that I or anyone else has the right to condemn those who support Trump based on their own interpretation of “forgiveness,” “the God of a second chance,” “the sanctity of life,” etc. I thus have no right to judge my Christian brother or sister in these matters. But neither can I with integrity claim to understand how they can reconcile their views with the teachings of the New Testament. All of this suggests, I believe, that each of us has to wrestle with how to reconcile the facts of this year’s political cycle with the Scriptures. Above all, I hope we can all remember that we do not fight as the world fights — that is, by hatred and violence (2 Cor. 10:3-4). Instead, we are called to fight this battle by displaying God’s love to all people, including those with whom we might strongly disagree politically. My point is not that we shouldn’t have strong convictions about whether so-and-so is qualified to be president of the United States. My point rather is that we need to constantly distinguish between the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and the kingdom of this world. And to do this, we must be more about giving other people Jesus Christ  — not rules, not entertainment, not partisan rhetoric. I have no confidence in the political system but I have every confidence in Jesus.

I encourage us all to keep the Gospel first. It really is a big deal!

1:26 PM Just as I summited Mt. Bierstadt last week I had one of the those “ohmygoodnessIthinkI’mdead” moments. I knew I had smashed my big toe but I wasn’t sure if it was broken or merely sprained. Well, today I went to see the doc, who assured me it’s only a bad sprain and I should be fine.

So no more activity for me — at least until this Saturday, when I have a 5K in Cary. While at the doc’s I also got my annual flu shot. This year the big threats, I’m told, are the California, Hong Kong, and Brisbane flu viruses. Earlier I met with one of my Ph.D. students over breakfast in South Boston for our bi-monthly mentorship.

The idea of a mentorship is to facilitate effective learning relationships. Actually, mentoring is a mutually beneficial relationship where both mentor and mentee grow in knowledge and self-awareness. Today we talked about two major topics in New Testament studies: textual criticism, and source criticism (primarily the synoptic problem). The goal is to see that my students are well-prepared for their upcoming comprehensive exams, where they are expected to be very familiar with practically every aspect of New Testament studies. (Ah yes, that exam.) Obviously, this can’t be achieved overnight — which is why we do this over the course of two semesters. Good mentors have three basic qualities: they remember what it was like when they were just starting out in their field; they are eager to share with their students their knowledge, skills, and expertise; and they are willing to accept the mentee where he or she is. I also use mentorship to try and help my students avoid the mistakes I’ve made and to learn from my good decisions. Good reader, I hope you have a mentor in your life. All of us are called to this work, and it might not seem like much, but if you play your note and I play mine, together perhaps, just perhaps, we can make some beautiful music for the kingdom of heaven.

Wednesday, October 12

6:10 PM L. R. Knost once wrote:

Life is amazing.
And then it’s awful.
And then it’s amazing again.
And in between the amazing and the awful, it’s ordinary and mundane and routine.
Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary.
That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life.
And it’s breathtakingly beautiful.

So how’s my awful, amazing, ordinary life going? A few vignettes:

1) Nic Muteti (pastor of Forestville Baptist Church) stopped by and we chatted about African-American relationships and explored ways in which I could better serve that community.

2) Diagramming Rom. 1:1-7 in our Greek class last night.

3) This just arrived in our library.

4) Here my friend and colleague Brent Aucoin (Ph.D. in American History) lectures on “Race Relations” in my New Testament class (we’re studying Philemon).

5) Brent’s latest publication.

Jones was a governor of Alabama and a staunch defender of African-American civil rights. Thank you for the gift copy, Brent! 

Meanwhile, it looks like it’s going to be an awesome weekend. Hope to do some climbing, run a 5K, and get up hay. Also looking forward to reading Brent’s book and doing some more thinking about his lecture topic, racial reconciliation. As the book I mentioned above (Remix: Transitioning Your Church to Living Color) points out, racism is a spiritual problem and requires a spiritual solution. Political “solutions” simply don’t work. Consequently, no kingdom-citizen can ever place confidence in a political ideology or party, simply because the kingdom that Jesus is ushering isn’t a “new-and-improved” version of the kingdom of this world. I think it’s time we as Christians began leaning into the “already” and not just the “not yet” of the kingdom of God. But to do this we have to cling to the Bible and depend on the Spirit more than we have ever done in the past. I hope we can all live like we are equally loved by God. I pray for healing, healing in our nation and healing among the races. God’s heart for us is peace — total, complete, unbroken shalom. Jesus can do this. May we all be true believers!

Tuesday, October 11

8:24 AM This and that ….

1) Grandsons are great. Now I know where I got my love for climbing.

2) Life begins every day.

3) “I felt more alive as my seventy-fourth birthday rolled by than I had when I was young. Increasingly, I saw new possibilities, uninhibited confidence surged in me again. I was my own woman — in some ways more than ever before.” Sarah-Patton Boyle.

4) “To do missions is to love.” Thus spoke Steve Chang at the Greensboro Chinese Christian Church on Sunday. I can think of no better definition of missions than this one. Just love people. My favorite book of Francis Schaeffer is his The Church at the End of the Twentieth Century, in which talks about “the mark of a Christian.” We are to love others as Jesus loved us. The love He exhibited on the cross and exhibits daily in our lives is to be our standard. “The church is to be a loving church in a dying culture” (p. 136). Amen and amen!

5) “Do not look at the faces in the illustrated papers. Look at the faces in the street.” G. K. Chesterton.

Monday, October 10

7:58 PM Much appreciation to my former doctoral student Mel Winstead who now teaches at Southern Evangelical Seminary. Tonight he interviewed me via Face Time for his New Testament Intro class in Charlotte.

The topic? My book Why Four Gospels? Easier to ask the question than to answer it, right? But I took a stab at it anyhow. What a delightful class. They asked me some great questions. Once I held to Markan priority. Not any more. The external evidence in support of Matthean priority is just too solid, but you have to read a lot of the Fathers and even peek into the corners. At any rate, it was great fun, and I’m so glad to have gotten reconnected with a former student. Thanks, Mel, and congratulations on your new teaching post!

5:06 PM Free copy of Running My Race to the first three people who write and ask for it. My email isdblack@sebts.edu. No strings attached. Offer good through 7:00 am tomorrow.

4:24 PM Whew! This weekend has flown by! Needless to say, I’m still in a state of ecstasy after my trip to Colorado. Here are a few more reflections about my journey to the Rockies.

1. No 14er is easy. Yes, everyone will tell you that Bierstadt (my first 14er) is easy. The easiest of the 14ers. Don’t believe it for a minute. It was a DIFFICULT climb from beginning to end.

2. Be prepared to hallucinate. No, it won’t be because of Acute Mountain Sickness. It’s just that your eyes don’t work anymore. No matter how long you’ve hiked, the peak NEVER seems any closer. And it’s like this all the way to the top. (Yes. Eventually you DO top out.)

3. Be prepared to stop and rest. Frequently. Even if you’re in great shape. At about 12,000 feet on my descent I met a young medical doctor just sitting on a rock. She couldn’t take another step it seemed on her ascent. Though she was young and super fit, I think she may have had AMS. I made sure she had plenty of water, offered her some ibuprofen for her headache, then continued the long slog down the mountain. Last I saw her she was walking — uphill!

4. Expect the unexpected. Like the unexpected rock climbing you’ll do. Or the bouldering. Or smashing your big toe on a rock and limping three miles back to the parking lot. Or the snow and sleet I encountered in between times of magnificent sunshine. Welcome to the world of 14ers!

5. It’s all worth it. For one thing, you’ve just climbed a mountain, and not just any mountain but your first 14,000 peak in the Rockies. Feels awfully good. Also, you feel so close to your Creator. You find yourself breaking out into spontaneous singing. How Great Thou Art!

P.S. My toe is still recovering but it’s a long process.

The fault in my plan is that I hadn’t done my homework and was unaware of the rocks I’d face nearing the summit of both Bierstadt and Huron. I have so much more to learn about climbing. The first requisite of climbing is knowledge. Know that it can be done. Know how to get it done. Then put your knowledge into practice. 

Gotta cook my meals for the week!

Sunday, October 9

4:22 PM Author Stephen Covey once talked about the clock and the compass. The clock represents our schedules, goals, etc., while the compass represents our vision, our mission, our purpose and direction in life — what we deem most important and how we lead our lives in view of that conviction. It’s a matter of prioritizing our schedules in order to maximize our life’s dreams. The ancient Greeks distinguished between time as measured sequentially and time as “appropriate” or “quality” time. Too often, urgency controls our lives when we should be guided by conviction. We seem to go from one crisis to another. But, says Covey, “the main thing is to keep the main the main thing.” The key to a quality Christian life is our compass — the choices we make every day to prioritize God’s mission in our lives. That was my message this morning at the Greensboro Chinese Christian Church. I asked, “What’s most important in your life?” “What gives ultimate meaning to your life?” “What do you want to do with your life?” My bookHave You Joined the Cause of Global Missions? takes an in-depth look at these questions. It asks us to reconnect with the things that are most important to God. It’s vital, folks, to recognize that “missions” is not a distinct “department” of life. It forms an interrelated whole. What we’re talking about here is not simply a statement about belief, but a deep energy that comes from a thoroughly integrated sense of purpose. An integrated life-purpose prompts us to set realistic goals and helps us to stick with these no matter what. For example, to me one of the greatest benefits of physical exercise is not physical at all. Physical exercise can increase one’s mental, social, and even spiritual dimensions as well. Also? Church as we know it all too often focuses on us. Every church can fall into this trap. But the gathering exists for the going. Always has, always will. I’m not trying to minimize the importance of association with a healthy local body. Find one that fits the bill for you theologically, and then love it with all the grace and selflessness you can muster. But guess what? You can live missionally without constant church management. We can all do this — if we believe that the main thing is the main thing. The world is alive, crying out to us from every corner. We can hear its voice, but only if we are willing to bend low and put our ear to the ground and listen.

Many thanks to the staff of GCCC for showing me such hospitality this weekend. In so many ways you are modeling what “every member ministry” looks like, and for that I am truly grateful. Allen and Joanne Lo opened their beautiful home to me and allowed me time both for fellowship and for quiet rest. Thank you. What a blessed man I am to have such friends among the Chinese Christian community. Finally, pastor Steve Chang once had the audacity to take me for Greek, and it was he who asked me to come and participate in their month-long missionary conference. Steve is smart and capable, strong and wise. I am proud to call him my student and friend.

Pix:

1) My home-away-from-home this weekend.

2) Allen and Joanne, the hosts with the most.

3) Enjoying Chinese food last night at the Lo house.

4) Welcome to GCCC!

5) Love these dear brothers!

6) The church at prayer.

Saturday, October 8

9:15 AM Last night a friend and I were sitting in my home library, talking about climbing, and he asked me if I had ever gone snowboarding. For me, that would be throwing caution to the wind. It’s like when I gave up horseback riding about 10 years ago. As I would tell people, “I’m not too old to ride. I’m too old to fall.” At 64, one feels a literal brittleness to one’s bones that one never had in their 50s.

Now, cross-country skiing is another idea ….

I am getting older. I talk about that in my new book. As much as I enjoy sports and being active, I also have latent talents and goals in terms of writing and teaching that can’t be ignored. And however I might end up using my talents and abilities in the years to come, my goal remains to “hoe to the end of my row,” and to do so without self-pity in the middle of the furrow. I want to grow spiritually and age gracefully. I am all too aware that this book of mine only scratches the surface of what it means to age. But I trust that my reflections will make your aging years less fearful and more graceful.

As I’ve often said, this was a hard book to write, so I am all the more grateful to Henry and Jody Neufeld, who worked overtime making “the rough places plain.” My basic premise is that it is possible to grow older without growing old. As long as we keep active, as long as we keep our hopes and dreams alive, as long as we stay engaged with life, God will renew our spirits. When Jeremiah went down to the potter’s house, the potter did not discard the old clay. With great care and infinite patience he gave it back its dignity. The old clay took on a new and more beautiful shape.Today, I am clay in God’s hands. Remember that, Dave. By His grace my sins are all forgiven; in His mercy even my failures are being redeemed.

Psychologists often advise older people to explore some other aspect of themselves. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve given myself freedom to change my lifestyle, to find new hobbies and priorities, even to seek new directions in life. I’m trying to see if I have left anything undone, perhaps an interest or latent talent that got covered or buried through the years. I am enjoying the quest. I still feel that God is calling me to some incredible journey of faith. I need to be challenged, to have something useful to do. I suppose that’s why I accepted a speaking engagement this weekend in Greensboro and next weekend in South Carolina. In fact, when I’m in the Palmetto State I’ve been asked to speak at a widow/widower’s banquet. Now that’s a first! Widows (and widowers) are not “senior citizens.” We are the “elders,” and we are still maturing. We are redefining goals, taking renewed stock of our skills ands abilities, and looking to the future. My message to these fine people will be, in essence, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Old age can be a time of great fulfillment, a time when the loose ends of life can all be gathered up into one bundle.

May God help me today to reclaim my legitimate rights as a child of God without anger or apology. And may I show my gratitude to Him today by the way I bless my children and grandchildren, and all those I serve. May I celebrate my age, affirm my aches and pains, and perhaps even release the child within me that is full of spontaneity and fun.

Friday, October 7

6:56 PM Last week it sure was fun doing some peakbagging in the Rockies, but now that the weather is turning pretty sloppy I think I’m giving up tall peaks for the season and will wait until next July in the Alps to try anything too difficult again. The peaks I hiked in Colorado aren’t as technically challenging as they are high — but that fact made the hikes all the more worthwhile. I’ve had a great year of hiking and climbing. Climbing brings so much joy to my soul. The joy of being in a natural setting. The joy of self-discovery (“Can I really do this?”). The joy of exploring new territory. The beauty of a climb. When I started climbing a year and a half ago, I didn’t have many expectations but more of a need to do something different with my life. I had grown accustomed to the rhythms of single life and work life. I was, if you will, rusting out a bit. Steve Jobs once said, “I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my  life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?” There are so many different kinds of climbing. I am far from being an “all-rounder” who enjoys all the various forms of this sport. I like heights. I like steepness. I am such a masochist! I don’t like bouldering or free climbing. But I do enjoy rock scrambling. I like exploring remote parts of the earth.

For now, however, this Wanderlust of mine is taking a little hiatus. Climbing is not just a hobby. It’s not just a sport. It’s a way of life. And it’s a community. Much like the church is, in fact. Why climb? Why explore places where very few other people have been? Aside from the pure pain and pleasure of the climb itself, I think the main reason I climb is because it allows me to enjoy God’s creation to the fullest. When you stand on top of a 14,000 foot peak, you have a new perspective of the world. Do you remember the first time you climbed a tree? That’s exactly the way I feel nowadays. You know, we can travel the globe in an airplane but never grasp the scale of God’s marvelous handiwork. There’s nothing like a tall mountain for a fresh perspective. And when you return to earth, you feel revitalized in both body and soul.

Maybe it’s time we all climbed a little higher in our lives. The next time you see a mountain or even a hill, remember to stop and look up. Try climbing it if you can. You just might rediscover those instincts you had as a child.

Here’s the GoPro I promised:

P.S. My books arrived while I was gone.

I tried to write it with honesty and passion. I’m still looking for an authentic Christian faith, and I am still not exactly sure what that looks like. So in this book I try to model what perhaps many Christians are afraid to voice. Hope you enjoy it.

Thursday, October 6

7:10 PM Today I flew back from Denver, which is a great place to get a “Rocky Mountain High.” (No, not that kind of high.) As you know, my goal was to see whether or not I could actually make it to the top of one of Colorado’s 14,000 foot peaks. Call it a “sufferfest” if you will. The altitude was a killer. “Altitude” has three official categories: high altitude (5,000-11,500 feet), very high altitude (11,500-18,000 feet), and extreme altitude (over 18,000 feet). So what does it mean to climb at “very high altitude”? For one thing, the lack of oxygen causes an increase in breathing rate (hyperventilation). As a result, your heart beats faster and faster. This means you have to be willing to endure hardship, and lots of it. You just have to be psyched to deal with it. Suck it up and climb! It’s okay that it’s hard. Climbing at very high altitude isn’t child’s play. You need experience, skill, and tons of confidence. This trip was easily the craziest and most difficulty undertaking I’ve ever done. Harder than the Alps even. The main danger is going too high too fast. The key is ascending sloooooowly. When I was climbing, I took a breath, then a step. Yes, I was that slow! I took deliberate breaks. I stayed hydrated. And by the pure grace of God, I summited both of the peaks I attempted: Mount Bierstadt at 14,065 feet, and Huron Peak at 14,003 feet. Woohoo! As I put it in an email:

Climbing a 14er has become a parable for me. You walk and walk and walk. You stumble. You mope. You decide to quit. You sit on a rock, feeling totally defeated, and you almost break out into tears. Then, all of a sudden, you’re at the summit. In complete disbelief you ask yourself, “How did THAT happen?”

See what I mean about climbing 14ers? Don’t expect to hop off the sofa and onto the trail. You’ll need a base level of fitness equal to running a 5K. Also, keep in mind that the Rockies are, well, rocky. As you approach the summit, the trail ends and you find yourself picking  your way through innumerable rocks and boulders. And there are no “short” climbs. The average 14er is at least 5 miles round trip. (Huron Peak was a whopping 11 miles.) So plan to go slower than you think you need to. Even if you’re in excellent shape, the thin air will wind nearly everybody. High-SFP sunscreen and lip protection are essential. And because you’ll be on your feet for a very long time, make sure your hiking boots/shoes are ultracomfortable. In addition, I took along a lightweight rain jacket. I needed it, too. On Bierstadt, it both snowed and rained periodically during my climb. Above all, use hiking poles. They’re great stabilizers and take a huge load off your knees. Finally, don’t forget your trail etiquette. Uphill hikers always have the right of way because they have the momentum.

14ers are fantastic. They are definitely “hard” but in a good sense of the word. I’m horribly clumsy and tripped approximately a gazillion times. Both climbs were long and exhausting. But my trip to Colorado was never about comfort. It was about testing my ability and stamina, about climbing some of the world’s highest mountains, about making new acquaintances along the way. The view from atop Huron Peak was by far my favorite memory from the trip. I had great weather (mostly), met wonderful people, and enjoyed some of the most beautiful scenery in all of North America. I can’t wait to go back and bag another 14er!

Pix:

1) The Airbnb I rented in Golden. I had the entire basement suite to myself. Fabulous.

2) The start of the Bierstadt trail. Gorgeous.

3) Almost to the summit.

4) Made it!

5) The view from the top.

6) At the summit of Bierstadt I sprained my big toe, which had a very long toenail. So here I am getting my toenails operated on. It almost required a chain saw.

7) My next goal: Huron Peak.

8) See what I mean by “rocky”?

9) My second 14er!

10) Rocks, boulders, and peaks everywhere you look.

11) If you want to see what climbing a 14er is like, watch this vid. I took it as soon as I summited (whereas normally I wait a few minutes to let my breathing return to normal). This is what it’s like when you’ve just climbed to 14,003 feet after an elevation gain of a staggering 3,800 feet.

12) Since I am now officially a “14er,” I thought I deserved to eat yak stew at the Sherpa House Restaurant in Golden. Namaste!

13) Tuesday night I had the honor of speaking at Summit Church Denver. Andy and Bryan (both founding elders of the church) are former Greek students of mine. Proud of these two young men!

14) It was a great time of mutual edification.

15) Yesterday I was hoping to bag my third 14er (Mount Elbert) but it was snowing in the mountains, so I did some rock climbing in the local hills.

16) What fun!

17) Dinner last night at the Abyssinia Restaurant in downtown Denver. I had kai wat in honor of Becky. What a great way to end a great vacation!

This is my life, and I love it. Lord willing, I’ll post a GoPro later. Time to unpack! 

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Saturday, October 31

6:12 PMHad a great time at the 5K in Raleigh. I run to find myself. I run to achieve my personal best. The struggle is for the prize which is myself. Running is always a means to an end. This day was spent putting that into focus. The course was one of the most grueling and competitive I’ve ever seen. If there is one word to describe it, it is brutal. It challenged me to the max. And not only me. That stony strength was in all of us today. We were all heroes. Nothing is as challenging to me as running. Everyone who has joined this sport knows this. My course time today wasn’t my best but it was the best I could achieve today, and I am well-satisfied. I was surrounded by people who know more, do more, and achieve more. And I loved every second of it. They are my inspiration. Today I made the effort, and effort equals excellence in my book. I’m not yet a good runner, but I’m trying, and that’s what makes the difference. Having run the race, I am more than I was than when I started it.

If I didn’t run for finish lines today, what did I run for? Perhaps I should have asked, “Who did I run for?” This is 16-year old Anna.

She has struggled with you name it — anxiety, depression, anorexia, suicidal thoughts. She and her family had the courage to go public with her illness to raise awareness about the role your brain plays in terms of mental health.

Anna served as master of ceremonies for today’s race. Rarely have I seen a young lady comport herself with such grace and poise. Her message was: “There is help out there.” She’s absolutely right. One of the booths I saw there was that of NAMI — the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

It reminded me that when it comes to helping others, we should always start with the local community we wish to serve. I praise God for groups like this one. No, this is not a “Christian” organization per se. I wish it were. Newsflash: Christians aren’t the only ones who care about brokenness. The mentally ill are worthy of basic human respect just because they are alive. No one should ever demean, despise, or mock them. That is not the way of simple human courtesy, and it is not the way of Christ. As I stood there and watched the crowd of runners gather prior to the start, I thought to myself: These are my precious friends.

I don’t know any of them, but they care. When I assess my own recent blessings, good mental health is one of the uppermost. I’ve been able to give myself permission to grieve without going crazy at the same time. No one can retire from the daily battle of living. Real life is demanding. But if it’s difficult, it’s also rewarding. Jesus is my mental and emotional Rock. As I have often said, I could not make it through a single day without Him. And slowly — ever so slowly — I am becoming the man the Creator had in mind the day I was born.

It’s horrific to confront the realities of mental illness in our society. When I think of how the mentally ill are stigmatized, I am broken. I’m broken for the misuse of resources when so many are struggling from this disease. To do so is horribly unfair. A person suffering from bi-polar disorder is no more responsible for his or her illness as was Becky for her cancer. An illness is an illness, be it mental or physical. If the problem is spiritual, let’s own our failings and confess our sins. But not all illness stems from personal sin. We should not accept a world that marginalizes its mentally ill any more than we should accept the excuses of medical doctors who allow us to weigh more and have a high cholesterol because we are “too old” for it to matter. Health matters. Yours does. Mine does. And to God as well. The first requirement for escape to reality? Knowledge, of course. Today I learned tons. And with this knowledge comes an opportunity to act on it.

I won’t lie: I love 5Ks. They have connected me, reconnected me, and introduced me to some of the funniest and most wonderful people on earth, and their pets as well.

I also love it when my family joins me on one of these escapades. Here’s Jon and Matthea with Katherine and Carter, who obviously must think today is Halloween (wink).

Today Matthea and Carter competed in their very first timed 5K race. (Side note: Running is for everybody.) Carter pulled right to the front of the pack. And he’s only 9. Be well, my sweet family. Glad to see you coming out to the races. But I’m warning you: it can be addicting. Thanks for taking responsibility for your own health. Let’s cheer each other on to be our best for Jesus. We can do this. Together.

8:54 AMHenri Nouwen wrote: “[A blessing] is more than a word of praise or appreciation; it is more than pointing out someone’s talents or good deeds; it is more than putting someone in the light. To give a blessing is to affirm, to say ‘yes’ to a person’s Belovedness.” This weekend we have the privilege of speaking truth into our lives, of calling forth the example Becky left behind for all of us. This is the season to say “yes.” “Yes” to Becky’s belovedness. “Yes” to the memories that fill this house. “Yes” to the precious wife and mother she was. “Yes” to the crazy, unpredictable, extreme treasure we call marriage. “Yes” to the weird discovery of the blessings of singleness. “Yes” to releasing Becky back to the God who loaned her to me. “Yes” to a kingdom that frees us from the bondage of materialism. “Yes” to the power of God that can resurrect a marriage, a life, a family, a church. “Yes” to drinking from Jesus and never being thirsty again. “Yes” to the “me” buried under the “Dave.” “Yes” to returning to a normal routine. “Yes” to prayer and reflection. “Yes” to equilibrium and peace. “Yes” to the joy of learning how to function as a single dad. “Yes” to so much more.

I’ve received precious emails from so many, too many to publish all of them in fact. I consider it a great privilege and honor to hear from you. Becky’s loss was devastating to me. Yet I can say without any hesitation whatsoever that my life has been blessed since her death from cancer. I can only describe it as pure grace. This blog really has nothing to with me or Becky. The supreme challenge to anyone who has faced loss is to allow God to transform the pain into gratitude and vitality. This challenge is met when we allow the loss to expand us and lead us back to Him. Now I have my own life to live out. Much of who I am today is the product of my 37-year marriage to Becky. But not all of it. I want to live out the rest of my story well. Thank you for being there with me.

In a strange sort of way, I wish that all of you could experience what I have experienced, except for the acute suffering. “Even the saddest things can become,” wrote Frederick Buechner, “once we have made peace with them, a source of wisdom and strength for the journey that still lies ahead.”

I have made peace with Becky’s death.

Now it’s on to the journey that still lies ahead.

Friday, October 30

8:20 PMWhat thoughtful words.

Hi Brother Dave.

Regarding the 2 year anniversary of Becky’s homecoming, Becky inspired me on a deeper level to pray for others in the midst of my own pain, trails, and heartache. 

I pray that the Lord continues to inspire you to teach, to reach, and to inspire. Bless you brother.

Thank you.

8:02 PMSo glad my doggies are clean again. Isn’t Dayda cute?

I’m sitting next to a warm fire reading my new book Pacific, an ocean that is anything but pacific. My friend, as you face the heartaches in your life — perhaps the results of your finite poor judgment — who knows what gains may come because of your daily losses? God always honors an obedient faith. He too walked this lonely valley. He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. You see, this is why I’ve made a shameless appeal for celebration when it comes to remembering Becky’s life. I need hope in the midst of despair and anxiety. We all do. Let’s act and celebrate as if we really did believe there is a future and a plan for our lives. Let’s desire to learn of Him in the midst of it all. Satan’s question is: “Will he (or she) keep on trusting?” There is only one answer of faith, and that is yes. We simply take up our crosses and die to ourselves. This is not the same thing as giving up or capitulating to our circumstances. We may still have some difficult choices to make. Acceptance of loss is rather the utter abandonment of ourselves to the Master. Believe me, brothers and sisters, God can oil our pain with joy and gladness. I have found it so recently. All He is asking from us is the willingness to accept the relatively small discipline of loneliness.

6:38 PMCheck out thesesales at Eisenbrauns (including a book edited by yours truly).

6:24 PMSteve Jobs (founder of Apple, Inc.) once said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect the dots looking backwards.” Thanks to all of you who have written (or will write) to me connecting the dots between you and my wife. Here are three more of your testimonies:

1) From an adopted son who remembers “porch time” with “Mom”:

I will never forget Mom asking me to get a cup of coffee and to go sit on the porch. There were very few times as we sat on the porch when she did not ask me about some text of Scripture. I love how she called me “Matthew.” The only other person to call me Matthew is my mother, so that was special to me. But on the porch she would inevitably say “Matthew, tell me what you think about this verse or that verse.” And in our discussions Mom was persistently practical. She was interested in my take on biblical verses so long as my interpretation led to a practical life change that involved serving Jesus. I love how she always encouraged me to apply what I was learning from the Bible. So that is one of my lasting meaningful memories of Mom: practical theology and coffee. I so badly wish I could have one of those coffee on the porch conversations now, but I take solace in the reality that I will have unhindered conversations with Mom in eternity. Come Lord Jesus. 

2) From a dear church friend:

My testimony about Becky Lynn Black’s life is I could clearly see “she was a women who lived what she believed.”

3) From a woman who met Becky only once. I had no idea this conversation took place. What a blessing to read about it now.

There are many men and women whom Becky impacted over the course of years and years.  I am not one of those people. In fact, Becky had a major impact in my life because she was willing to invest one afternoon. 

Over a period of some years, the Lord had been ever so gently asking me to open my heart to the possibility of going overseas for my husband to study.  I had been resisting, but He just keep gently whispering to me.  I had finally voiced this aloud, and some months later, we were set to drive up to the farm — my first time ever, and were invited to stay afterwards to talk to Dr. Black and Becky about their experience in Basel.

Becky welcomed me like we had been friends for years.  She opened up to me about the emotional difficulties moving to Basel had presented for her.  She told me about working long hours leading up to their leaving, that she didn’t know German before arriving, and how much she had looked high and low for overpriced ground beef just to be able to have one meal that reminded her of home, despite the disgusted looks from the shop owner.  And the Lord used Becky that afternoon to help me hear that if He called us to Europe it would be different, it would be an adjustment, but He would walk with me. 

Now, several years later, it looks like this door really may be swinging open for us. Every time we make plans and take another step towards it, I hear Becky’s voice telling me stories that afternoon.  I look at pictures online of apartments and I see Becky sitting in a rocking chair on that front porch gesturing, “Our apartment was… about this big. We asked guests: ‘Would you like to sit at the table or on our bed?'”

I am so thankful for her willingness to open up to me.  The Lord used one afternoon of her life to put me on this (very) winding path He has called me to, and whereever we end up, my afternoon with Becky will always be a major marker on the road.

Thank you for sharing these notes with me, friends. May this be a time for deepening your faith and mine, and for enlarging as well our experience of human love.

1:16 PMOkay, folks, you’re making me cry.

Without question, Becky (Mama B) influenced my life and that of my family in such profound ways. This picture says it all for me…

Here’s Becky, just weeks before she went to be with the Lord. She’s smiling through the pain of a severe and excruciating headache. Her face was beaded in sweat from the meds, yet she’s smiling! She’s encouraging me and my good friend, Dale to “keep on keeping on” for Jesus. 

These are the words of Becky:  “Any baseball player runs with all his might to reach that home base. The race is not done. God still has work for me to do. God still has challenges for me to conquer by faith. God still has ministry for me, even as my body is failing…for Christ. That means pushing through the fatigue, pushing through the pain, pushing through the discomfort to pray, to communicate, to obey the Spirit.”

Thus, we press on because the race is not done for those of us left here. May we remember the words of Mama B and be faithful to the Lord Jesus in all that we do. For Becky’s memory and for her legacy that lives through me and my family, I say to the Lord: “Thank you, thank you, thank you for allowing me the privilege of knowing your daughter…for I will forever be the better for it.” 

Kevin Brown and Family

1:02 PMGrooming day. I wonder what they would look like with mousse?

12:54 PMGrateful for this testimony from one of Becky’s (and my) adopted daughters:

It amazed me how she could love me so much a stranger whom she opened her heart to.  I miss her and when the leaves begin to change and the breeze turns more crisp I think of my days on the farm and my last moments with Momma. How God in His perfect timing provided us for one another, how His love was displayed through her servant-hood and mothering, and how because of her reaching out He continues to provide for me today. I think of her words, the ways she would encourage me and when I get into situations, I wonder “what would Momma say?” I miss her!  She was a wonderful gift to me.

Can I tell you that this blessed my heart?

12:44 PMOpening in New Testament atWheaton.

12:28 PMTomorrow is Saturday … which means it’s RACE DAY in Raleigh. Read this:

PFC stands for “prefrontal cortex”.  This is the part of the brain that controls mental wellness by performing executive functions like mediating conflicting thoughts and making choices.  Five4PFC is a 5k walk/run to raise awareness of the fight against mental diseases and the social stigma that prevents many from getting help they need.

Want to help a good cause and have tons of fun (and exercise) at the same time? Gohere and register. Race starts at 2:00 pm. Afterwards I’m doing Ethiopian food in honor of Becky. So come out and run or just watch me stumble across the finish line as people gape at me with open mouths, wondering if the punishment fits the crime. It so does!

11:40 AMJust back from the Occoneechee State Park, a 2698-acre park in nearby Clarkesville, VA.

I decided to do my cardio here instead of at the track since the day is so drop dead gorgeous.

The visitor’s center is certainly worth a visit.

Here they have a complete display of the history and culture of the Occoneechee Indians who used to inhabit these environs.

Since it had been raining I started out along the paved road.

But when I saw the sign for the Tutelo Birding Trial, I couldn’t resist the temptation to take a detour.

Glad I did. The terrain was beautiful.

That’s about it. Oh, I got this in the mail today.

It’s amazing to think that my first walk was on May 18 of this year. I traveled a whopping 0.36 miles, and it took me all of 5 minutes and 20 seconds. Shocking, just shocking.

8:48 AMDon’t tell me the age of miracles is over! Woohoo! Praise God!

8:25 AMA couple of random reflections on this beautiful fall morning:

1) As you know, it was two years ago Monday that Becky went home to be with the One she loved so much and served so well. I just wanted to thank you for standing with me and mine both before, during, and after that day. I will be posting on my blog brief testimonials about the impact Becky’s life and example had in other people’s lives. If the Spirit so moves you and you would like to send me a note, I will be happy to post it (without your name if that is your desire).

2) Last night I watched Woodlawn, a movie set in the epoch called the “Jesus Movement.” Its message? “You can expect amazing things to happen when Jesus shows up.”

You and your family simply must see this amazing movie. Jesus is exalted in every frame. Plus — and this is a big plus — the movie doesn’t feel like a “Christian” movie. Hand to the heavens, I thought it was made in Hollywood, the cinematography and acting were just that professional. Anyhow, it’s terrific. My generation came up during the Jesus Movement. I wore my hair super long and even wore mariachi sandals (just like Jesus did, of course). “Jesus Is Just All Right By Me” made the hit parade when I was in high school, and all of us Jesus Freaks indulged in the ridiculous mercy God spoiled us with. To a 16-year old who had a lot of baggage, this Jesus meant everything. I consider this film a brave (and successful) attempt to capture the ethos of those days. We had the right stuff. We pointed each other to God regardless of what anybody looked like or what anybody wore. We realized that we were more than our past because God held our future in His hands. Our hang-ups became the foundation for future success and future faithfulness for His glory, our joy, and the benefit of our broken world. We made His-Story, including the front page of Time Magazine (as is highlighted in the movie). God, I’m so thankful for this great movie. You met us where we were and redeemed every one of our failures and used them to bring the best of Jesus out of us. I pray that many will see this film and be saved. Maybe even Christians, dear Lord, brokenhearted and feeling like failures, will see it and come away thinking, “Amazing things happen when Jesus shows up.” God, you dumbfounded the world in the 60s and 70s and transformed the course of history through “losers” like me. Do it again, Lord. Do it again.

3) I just ordered Simon Winchester’s bookPacific from Amazon. It’s a goodie judging from his interview yesterday on the Diane Rehm Show.

The author argues that the next epoch in world history will unfold on either side of the Pacific Rim. My gut tells me he’s right. Most of my recent trips have been to Asia or Hawaii. Indeed, Asian and Hawaiian cultures are inextricable intertwined. Take age, for example. In Asia, elders are valued and respected. It’s an elder-led culture in contrast to America’s cult of youth. Another example: the importance Asians place on the family, including the extended family. These are great values but not necessarily “Western” values. The old saying is true: “The Mediterranean is the ocean of the past, the Atlantic is the ocean of the present, and the Pacific is the ocean of the future.” America and China are now vying with each other for the title of world’s largest economy. At the same time, Asian economies are growth factories whether we’re talking technology, markets, or investment. Even Vietnam is witnessing a growing middle class of capitalists (and is currently negotiating with the U.S. to reopen Cam Ranh Bay as a U.S. naval base, if you can believe that). But in the Pacific, China and the U.S. are the major players, and the relationship is a complex one. Recently the tension has spilled over into the South China Sea. It’s clear that both nations see the Pacific as a test of their influence in the region if not also in the world. It’s also clear that China is demanding a larger say in its own backyard.

The Pacific Ocean covers 28 percent of the world’s surface, and more than 60 percent of the world’s fish catch comes from this ocean. Of even greater significance is the question of how the church will respond to the growing need to evangelize the Pacific nations. I noted with pleasure that when Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary moved from its Mill Valley campus to Southern California, it also changed its name to Gateway Seminary — a move that seems to reflect a renewed focus on the Pacific and Asia. Surely this seminary is well positioned to get the job done. Run your race, Gateway! Invest your gifts and personnel in this amazing part of the world. Opening an extension campus in Honolulu — the center of the Pacific — would help in my opinion. As for me, I’ll continue to work with Pacific islanders on Oahu for however long God opens that door. I deeply believe that Jesus is doing a great work in the islands. We need each other — both locals and mainlanders. Let’s grab each other’s hands and practice the wholehearted discipleship we were created for. As God grants me strength, I promise to do my part.

Thursday, October 29

1:16 PMThank God for the beautiful weather He’s given us today. Amen and hallelujah. Ain’t nobody gonna stop me from getting outdoors on a day like today. After a workout at the Y, I did my 5K and then treated myself to Mexican food before going grocery shopping.

I feel like Mr. Mom. Just another patronizing, pitying thought I have to battle against. But I have a To-Do List just like you have, and when things have to get done, they have to get done. That’s the problem with ol’ Jeb. As Rush pointed out today, his heart’s just not in the job. He looks like a man who really doesn’t want to win. And when you don’t really want something, it probably ain’t gonna happen — no matter how much coaching you get, no matter how many cheerleaders you have. Take weight loss for example. Unless you are passionate about it, unless you are really serious about getting fit, it’s likely not going to happen — despite your gym memberships and the latest diet craze you just subscribed to. I spoke with a student recently about him attending Oxford for his Ph.D. He looked at me as though I had ten heads. “Why not?” I asked. Oh, may God give us eyes to see what’s possible and not to minimize His ability to do “exceedingly far beyond what we could ask or even imagine.” Thank you, Harry Sturz, for telling me “You can do it, Dave!” Newsflash: That’s what people need to hear from us today. It is so aggravating to me when I see lost potential. Life is hard enough without shooting ourselves in the foot. In relationships, there’s a time to stick with it and a time to walk away. When something is toxic there’s very little chance you’re going to be able to change it. Only God can do that. No. I am not talking about divorce. I am talking about not enabling consistent immaturity on the part of our spouses. People let things go on too long. Becky and I prayed together every evening, not least for the sake of our sanity as a married couple. When you pray together daily it’s pretty hard to sweep the issues under the carpet. Jesus was compassionate toward the hurting but He didn’t coddle people or baby-talk them into healthy choices. Maybe it’s time you flipped a switch, Jeb. Start acting like you really want the job and maybe people will begin listening to you. Passion in life literally changes everything. I have a pastor friend who is so passionate when speaking that it blows me away. He blogs like that too. Writes like that too. Talks like that too. He’s such a relief in a world of namby-pamby talkers. Remember this: No matter what others are telling you, you are God’s child. And He is incredibly resourceful. So let’s trust Him to lead us, even if we don’t think it’s possible. Let’s give Him our best. Our passion is so crucial, we shouldn’t be going through life without it. We must waive the negativity and embrace Jesus, who really does have “a wonderful plan for your life.” (Thank you, Four Spiritual Laws.)

P.S. Can you believe the gas prices here?

9:42 AMQuote of the day:

And now my dear friend, I want to say a special word to you. I want to tell you as clearly as I can that there is nothing, nothing, nothing in this life that is worth the cost, and worth the sacrifice, except the Lord Jesus. Everything in life will fail: marriage, children, career, money, prestige, possessions, relationships, all things will turn to vanity. All things will fail you. Only Jesus will never fail. Only Jesus will stand by you in thick and thin, in peace and in turmoil, in feast and in famine, in illness and in health. Only Jesus will never fail.

So I want to say to you, my dear friend, give your life to Him, dare to obey Him, dare to live in the reality of who He is, dare to believe that He is who he says He is and that He does what He says. If you will do this listening to the Holy Spirit as He makes the Scriptures alive in you, then you will have your feet upon the Rock, you will have your shelter in the storm, you will have your reward that does not fade, and you will know the joy of the Savior. Rejoicing in my Lord Jesus, Becky.

She wrote these words on July 7, 2013, 4 months before she would go Home.

8:52 AMA few quick thank you notes …

1) Thank you, “moisture-wicking” technology. I will never wear cotton again.

2) Thank you, Hawaii. Without a doubt, you are the most relaxing place on earth.

3) Thank you, Harris Teeter. I almost ingest your sushi even before I buy it.

4) Thank you, puppies. But do you have to shed so much?

5) Thank you, Amazon Prime. I’ve always wanted to be a lazy shopper.

6) Thank you, Kona. You have the best coffee beans in the world. (Yes, that includes Ethiopia.)

7) Thank you, students. You keep me humble and passionate.

8) Thank you, HTML. You allow little fishes like me to swim upstream.

9) Thank you, gym. You keep me dialed into fitness.

10) Thank you, 5Ks. Not only do I know how slow I am, but I also know how hard work pays off.

11) Thank you, church leaders. You have the toughest job in the world. I love you.

12) Thank you, church folks. It can be messy at times, but there’s nothing like the body.

13) Thank you, Jesus Movement (1960s). You (a) convinced me that people want more from church than the church was ever intended to provide and (b) rescued me from tradition.

14) Thank you, Karl Barth. Your Dogmatics are delicious.

15) Thank you, Spam. You kept me alive when I was young.

16) Thank you, Gospel. Surely not one human being ever stood before God having deserved that honor.

17) Thank you, fellow grievers. You are smart and wise and strong and capable. You are so Jesus to me.

18) Thank you, farm. L’Abri can’t hold a candle to you.

19) Thank you, cheerers. You stand at the finish line and cheer me on and call forth the best in me.

20) Thank you, life. You’re the only one I’ve got. Let’s go for it!

21) Thank you, presidential candidates. When I need a good laugh, I watch you on YouTube.

22) Thank you, privacy. At some level, my business is really others’ business. But not always.

23) Thank you, Amish. Your practice of living in community is breathtaking. You also consider the sick and the dying to be gifts to the community because they call forth others’ kindness.

24) Thank you, leave-taking. You give us permission to say our goodbyes, knowing we will see them again in some new, freed form of being, and there will be laughter and rejoicing again.

25) Thank you, Scriptures. You have sustained me.

26) Thank you, ceremony. I’m realizing I do care about funerals.

27) Thank you, music. You have an importance in my life I never noticed before.

28) Thank you, pain. You’re what I have to offer now, and I don’t want to waste this chance to be generous.

29) Thank you, body. You’re still my home, until I move on to a new one.

30) Thank you, bad days. I now know what to hope for.

Wednesday, October 28

7:34 PMSo glad to see Moncy Mammen again. Moncy graduated from SEBTS five years ago and then returned to his home in northeast India to serve with his parents, Mammen and Alice Joseph, in a wonderful ministry called thePeniel Gospel Team. We had lunch together at Red Robin along with my son-in-law Joel Brasher.

Joel has been to India several times to assist in this work. Praise God! Then Moncy shared for about 20 minutes in my Greek class. How sweet it was. I tell you, Jesus is doing a great thing on campus, not the least of which is wrecking our comfortable Christianity.

Of the many pictures Moncy showed, this one was my favorite.

Here my adopted Indian daughter Neeli meets the Pope in Rome representing her brother who was kidnapped and forced into child labor. I was sent this picture last December, along with this note from Mammen Joseph:

I feel so proud that a child from our children home represented our country in an international venue because she was helped and sponsored by you and Becky to be at the home. If not then she would also have gone through a rough childhood. 

It is now my joy and privilege to support Neeli through college. We do this all for the sake of the Gospel. This is the mission to which we are all called. The only question is: Will you help? Please do pray about how you might get personally involved in the work of PGT in India. You can support an orphan, as Becky and I have done. You can support an evangelist/church planter. (The Peniel Gospel Team has planted over 400 churches in 40 years.) You could volunteer to teach in their seminary or day school. Today I’m sharing in the blessings of the Gospel more than I have ever done in my life. It is so exciting. It’s what the whole world is waiting for. If we’re going to advance the kingdom together, let’s do whatever it takes! 

6:06 PMGrowing up in Hawaii I never thought too much about waves. I just rode them on a regular basis. (I must honestly add that in Hawaii I did not do much thinking about anything!) But when I was sitting on the beach in Hawaii a few weeks ago it occurred to me that waves are perhaps the ultimate metaphor for grief. Just like waves do, grief comes and goes. Both are the natural outflow of something much greater than they are. And there is energy associated with the breaking of a wave as the water hits the beach. Waves are so powerful they can easily knock you off your feet. Grief is just as powerful.

At first, when Becky died holding my hand, the waves came endlessly, without reprieve. Nowadays I’m getting a little bit better at anticipating their arrival. I can see a wave on the horizon now. It’s at least 100 feet tall and it’s heading straight for me. I’ve already shed tears, not tears of sadness or hopelessness but tears of joy and hope and thanksgiving. When you grieve, you don’t really have to let go of the person you are grieving over. You keep the memories you can and transform your life with what remains. Above all, you rejoice that your loved one is now with Jesus. C. S. Lewis expressed my own heart when he wrote:

It was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world … had only been the cover and the title page; now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever and in which every chapter is better than the one before.

Becky’s death was sacred and beautiful and imbued with something lovely — every bit as lovely as she was. But I still have to face the future — to be ready for that wave that is about to strike. I also know that after it knocks me over I’ll get up again and find my footing and be stronger for it in the end. Some of you are my fellow grievers. You are the ones I can count on to understand. I know you’d never discount my feelings or try to push “grief recovery” down my throat. Yes, I recognize that you can’t save me from my grief. But I do thank you for being on my team.

A loss serves a good purpose. It takes you back to the fundamentals. What’s more, for all the sadness and sorrow accompanying grief, there is also much joy and many blessings, however unsought after, to be found too. The grand prize that accompanies grief is wisdom. It’s not necessarily a gift you were seeking, but as long as it’s landed on your doorstep you’d be a fool to refuse it. You see, as frightening as the pain of loss is, God has made us human beings resilient. In a sense, bereavement is a normal human experience, something we’re wired for. Millions of caretakers lose their spouses each year. And, more often than not, it’s laughter and smiling and new hobbies that lead to quicker recovery than “working through” our grief. You get used to the day-to-day mood fluctuations. You stop comparing yourself with others who are grieving (grief is a very private journey). To suffer a loved one’s death from cancer is not to experience one sudden blow but to suffer a thousand little deaths. My faith in Christ has been my anchor through all of it. As someone who has written a book on weakness but doesn’t necessarily like to admit to being weak, I’ve had a pretty hard time learning that it’s okay to grieve and it’s okay to grieve for years. Normally, I cope by losing myself in routine. But on special occasions — like this weekend — I find myself wanting to spend time each day in a private sanctuary or a protected place where I can grieve fully. I no longer think it terms of “total” recovery, whatever that is supposed to mean. Instead, my goal is to continue to integrate Becky’s death and move forward in baby steps, this time without the presence of someone I leaned on for solace and encouragement. Grief is a transformer. It allows us to become reinvolved in life in new ways and at our own pace. Already, I’ve met new people and have found that life can be satisfying and exciting, even if I’m alone.

One year was a huge event for me. Now it’s been two. I’m looking forward to discovering what I will do with the rest of my life. I want to do something significant and challenging but I’m not exactly sure what that looks like yet. I’ve noticed many positive changes in my health and diet. I’m beginning to relinquish old roles and establish new ones. Still, I miss Becky Lynn. She wasn’t only my wife. She was also the one who told me if my socks matched, or if I needed a haircut, or if I was over-working. She was the one who remembered all the birthdays and prepared the meals for special occasions, and all I had to do was sign the cards and eat. Becky was good at all the things I’m not very good at. She was the yin to my yang, the chili to my cheese, the rubber to my road, the glove to my hand. By complementing me, she made me more whole. I still love her. A huge part of me is missing. So I find myself blogging. And grieving. Writing. And grieving. Traveling. And grieving. Thinking. And grieving. And yet I think I can say with some confidence: This too shall pass. Jonathan Safran Foer once wrote:

Every widow wakes one morning, perhaps after years of pure and unwavering grieving, to realize she slept a good night’s sleep, and will be able to eat breakfast, and doesn’t hear her husband’s ghost all the time, but only some of the time. Her grief is replaced with a useful sadness. Every parent who loses a child finds a way to laugh again. The timbre begins to fade. The edge dulls. The hurt lessens.

Then he went on to say:

Every love is carved from loss. Mine was. Yours is. Your great-great-great-grandchildren’s will be. But we learn to live in that love.

How true. Want to hear something interesting? Becky was sure I would remarry. She told several of my daughters as much. Well, my apologies, honey, but that’s not going to happen. Still, Becky and I agreed fully on one thing: the best way to honor a loved one who has died is to live a life full of friends and even new love. I know this weekend is going to be brutal. That’s a gigantic wave out there. But I will be fine. I will not run from that wave. I will face it standing tall. I will take time to express my feelings. I will cry (a lot). I will lean on friends and family (yes, _________, I will probably call you). I will also set aside time for prayer, praise, and thanksgiving, as well as time to think about Becky’s death and try to put things into perspective. As time goes on, I will experience a “new normal” — again. I’ll continue to try things I’ve never done before. God willing, I’ll live my life to its potential.

Friend, if you’re grieving some loss today, remember that God loves you very much and that He is there even when you’re too hurt or tired to reach out to Him. He understands your loneliness and grief and is more than willing to meet each and every one of your needs as you move through this dark valley. My prayer is that you will sense His presence, know His peace, and feel His healing power. Embrace your emotions. Make small changes in your life. Connect spiritually with others. Take care of your body. Seek support from people you trust. Take one day at a time. Little by little, you will find the pain lessens as you remember your loss, and the days ahead will look bright again. And, when there is renewal in your heart, you will be able to say with Jesus, “I came not to be served but to serve.” You will come to the place where you have a greater need to love than to be loved. Fellow grievers, let’s get dirty for His sake! Let’s sizzle in His name! Let’s dance with the Trinity and let our lives speak those words that God uttered in the beginning: “It is good”!

Tuesday, October 27

9:38 AMSomeone sent this along. The premise is simple enough: Use a double entendre and see where it leads.

I’ll wear it if you do.

9:18 AMFor what it’s worth, I jotted down a few reflections on life in general as I sat in various airports over the weekend. I wouldn’t blame you one bit if you just ignored them. But just in case, be prepared for some candid admissions.

1) When Becky died, life tanked. But Jesus held me fast. No one loves me more.

2) I work out — a lot. Not only pumping iron but also pumping out books and blog words.

3) I refuse to be ashamed to say it: I love 60s and 70s rock. Like, love it. Reelin’ in the Years anyone? Also, I have a strange fixation for anything conducted by Leonard Slatkin.

4) I don’t like it when people give me advice about things they themselves aren’t doing.

5) I over-accessorize my running hobby.

6) I do not plan on cutting off my beard or coloring my hair. Gray is the new beautiful.

7) I’m settled. This is the life I want to live. I know who I am, what I value, and what I love (and don’t love). If you want to try and change me, good luck.

8) I’ve developed resilience. Finally.

9) I’m not apologetic about my views on the church. If Christ isn’t first, then our ecclesiology is just plain horrible.

10) I’m shocked to find that so many young people today are hamstrung by low expectations. It’s just wrong when people minimize their gifts.

11) Sometimes I walk around the house looking for my reading glasses, which are planted squarely on my nose.

12) An afternoon nap is God’s good and perfect gift.

13) No one will make important choices for me.

14) I’d rather work from home.

15) It doesn’t seem like much, but I love to write and hate to type.

16) There is no end to learning.

17) I ignore both praise and criticism. (I ought to clarify: I listen, but I don’t pay much attention.)

18) I love my kids and grandkids with my entire heart.

19) SEBTS? I’m so grateful to be a horse in your stable.

20) I want to give it all away before I die.

21) 5Ks are my Everest. Aargh.

22) I’ve long since given my failures to Jesus. (Jesus covered them all. As in ALL.)

23) The Holy Spirit is an incredible leader. So why do we have “pastors of vision”?

24) “You can do this” is something I will say to someone at least once a week.

25) There has never been a better time to be a global Christian.

26) Coping with Becky’s death was way bigger than me. But I had a big God to help me through it.

27) I love academics, but sometimes New Testament scholarship gives me a migraine.

28) I love diving into my blog posts of a decade ago. (Did I really say that?)

29) My checkpoints for a local church leader: a heart full of Jesus, humility, teachability, transparency, genuine compassion, discernment, good knowledge of the word. (Notice what I left out: M.Div., publications, impressive job resume, has spoken in chapel, etc.)

30) Bad sermons give me indigestion. (I’ve preached a few myself.)

31) You can’t go a mile wide without going an inch deep.

32) When I travel internationally, I prefer to partner only with local leaders and organizations who live and work in their communities. (The world is so done with missions voyeurism.)

33) I don’t trust Siri.

34) I shop at Target (instead of Wal-Mart) and Harris Teeter (instead of Food Lion).

35) I am an incurable infracaninophile. (I use “infracaninophile” because I’m a creative writer.)

36) Life is so easy. (Yeah. Right.)

37) I am a weirdo. As in super quirky. (You had no idea!)

38) There’s about a 100 percent chance I’ll post pictures on my blog every day.

39) I can’t stand watercress. I mean, I puke-hate-it.

40) When I teach Greek, anyone can learn it. You’d better do your best or die trying.

41) Jesus is the best pastor you’ll ever know.

42) I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t have a limp.

So here’s my invitation to you, dear fellow-blogger: How about giving us a minute of transparency? We know you have quirks. We also know you struggle. So there’s no need to pretend otherwise. Confess your humanity to us and we will love you. Be you, be gracious, and love God. Really, little else matters in life.

Cheers!

Dave

Monday, October 26

9:50 PMEvening, blogging buds! I had a super time in New York and it’s literally impossible for me to know what to share with you here on the blog tonight. I tell you, there’s something magic about the southern Adirondacks. The beauty is breathtaking. To add to it, I was treated like royalty the whole time I was there. Liz was in classic form; she’s a fantastic homemaker and hostess and she pampered her Papa B to the hilt. Since Saturday was Matt’s birthday — Happy 37th Matt! Only three years to go until you hit your midlife crisis at 40! — he and I decided to do a hike together on Saturday. We arrived safely at the summit of Good Luck Cliffs though I wasn’t at all prepared for the steepness of the climb. Photos to follow. Liz prepared the most scrumptious stuffed cabbages for supper and then I took a long nap. That evening I was privileged to share my Ethiopia pix with some of Matt and Liz’s good friends. I also passed out several gratis copies of Will You Join the Cause of Global Missions? and a few other books that I had dragged along on the trip. I got outdoors as much as I could even though it turned a bit rainy yesterday. But all in all it was a superb trip. Liz and Matt, thank you so much for this incredible blessing. I love your home, your family, and just everything about you. I commend you to the One whose love never runs dry and whose mercy is new every single day, no matter how chaotic life may become at times. I love you so much, Dad.

P.S. I’ve been struck with the Gettysburg virus again, along with a secondary infection called Eastern Battlefield Mania. I hope to get back there before the end of the year. My goal is to study Culp’s Hill and the engagement between Stuart and Custer on the third day. Today the controversy still rages over whether Stuart was a major cause of Lee’s defeat at Gettysburg. As is so often the case, no unanimity of opinion exists on the matter. It seems clear to me that Lee is to be blamed, at least partly, for allowing Stuart entirely too much discretion before the battle. After all, Stuart was still smarting after his cavalry stalemate with the Federal forces at Brandy Station on June 9. Besides, Lee had other cavalry at his disposal had he properly deployed them. In any case, most agree that Stuart was guilty of poor judgment by burdening his command with a Federal wagon train he had gathered near Rockville, Maryland. That said, Stuart was no villain. “It’s all my fault,” said Lee as the survivors of Pickett’s Charge stumbled back toward Seminary Ridge on the third and final day of the battle. “I thought my soldiers were invincible.” Lee may have underestimated the battle-worthiness of his opponent, but at least he had the moral courage to take on his shoulders the full responsibility for the failure of his second and final invasion of the North. The Myth of Southern Invincibility was finally shattered at Gettysburg, and two years later America’s disunited federated states were cemented into the united nation we know and love today. Gettysburg was the largest battle ever fought in the Western Hemisphere. Of the 170,000 men (North and South) who fought there, nearly one-third suffered wounds or were killed. That the battle was a victory for the North perhaps impacted the future of America and the world as no other event did in the history of these United States.

Now for the pix of my trip:

1) Manhattan and the One World Trade Center from 30,000 feet.

2) After meeting up at the airport in Albany, Matt, Liz, and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner together at the Olive Garden.

3) Here’s their comfy house on the outskirts of the village of Canoga.

4) One big happy family.

5) Their acreage is generously wooded — which is a good thing as they burn wood for heat during the winter.

6) Here’s Caleb cooking pancakes for his dad’s birthday breakfast. They tasted scrumptious, Caleb!

7) The climbers atop Good Luck Cliffs.

8) The view was incredible.

9) Sharing about global missions.

10) Waiting to enjoy Matt’s birthday cake.

11) Call 911!

12) Sunday morning breakfast at a nearby eatery.

13) A typical view.

14) I did a 10K on this deserted highway.

15) Game time!

16) Goodbye Caroga! Can’t wait to return!

Friday, October 23

6:48 AMHey folks! Ran across this great quote:

Of course, any preacher would be embarrassed to make such a mistake, but the wise one wants such dangerous, iPhone-toting people in the congregation. With Accordance for iOS, we can all be like the Bereans of Acts 17, who were described as “noble” for examining the Scriptures in response to Paul’s preaching.

ReadThat’s Right, Preacher Man! I Am Dangerous.

While driving I sometimes 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. Someone was once 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 is hyperetai, which the speaker 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, the man 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 nation’s pulpits. Unless we do our homework, our study of the text can actually lead to eisegesis instead of exegesis. All elders/pastors need to read Carson’sExegetical Fallacies at least once in their lifetime — and then put its teaching into practice.

Maranatha!

Dave

(An aside: Today I’m heading to upstate New York to spend a few days with my daughter and her family. Eager to see their new home and maybe even do some hiking in the Adirondacks. I’ve got lots of pots on the fire so it will be good to get away and take a break. One manuscript I have to take with me consists of the page proofs for The Pericope of the Adulteress in Contemporary Research, which is a massive and detailed work. It’s due out next April. I also hope to get a chapter written for my book Godworld while sitting in airports. I don’t expect you to feel sorry for me because I love every bit of this! Ciao!)

Thursday, October 22

5:16 PMWell, today was another first. I made my first visit to see a dermatologist. My doctor had referred me to her after discovering three suspicious growths on my leg. Turns out they are harmless and completely benign. (The technical term, I believe, is seborrheic keratoses.) According to the literature the dermatologist gave me, SKs are “more common with age.” She wants to see me annually — especially after she discovered that I had been exposed to the sun on a daily basis while growing up in Hawaii. So this evening I find myself reading a pamphlet prepared by the Skin Cancer Foundation called “A Guide to Skin Cancers & Precancers.” Makes me feel so old even though I am sooooo young (wink)! Means I get to experience yet another first in my life. First 5K. First hike in many years. First gym membership. And now first cancer scare. Frankly, I wasn’t too concerned about it. At 63, I’m more comfortable with uncertainty. Health never lasts. But influence can outlast one’s earthly life. If you’re in the third act of life as I am, you’ve got to develop the resilience to absorb life’s shocks without blaming others or bitterness or self-destructive behaviors. You have to learn to roll with the punches. You also have to become engaged, useful, and active. Sometimes you’ll even begin to pursue new passions.

So, I’m grateful. Grateful for my new dermatologist. Grateful that even the uncertainties of life are wrapped in God’s mercy. Thankfully that even when we suffer God screens the suffering and filters it through the fingers of His love. Friend, even if you are single or widowed, you never suffer alone because you have a family — the body of Christ. Praise be to Him!

1:06 PMToday I introduced a new workout into my routine, namely diagonal dumbbell curls. The goal is to work the inner biceps.

I’m going light to begin with. Eventually I’ll add more weight to the routine. I love learning new things! Then I had lunch with a good friend of mine from church. He’s been a major source of encouragement and inspiration to me through the years. We agreed that it’s a day for a radical transformation of the whole people of God into a ministering people. We also agreed that an age-integrated approach to ministry is optimum. Above all, we just talked about Jesus. It is He, after all, who makes ministers — which is a great relief to us and a fresh incentive for us to join Him in the task of equipping.

Gotta pack for New York!

9:02 AMIn just 11 days, November 2 will be upon us, the day Jesus took Becky home to heaven. As I think of that event, I reflect on the significance of that day in my life, especially how God has used pain and suffering in my life to reveal more of Himself to me. This isn’t a new theme for me. Those of you who read my first book,Paul, Apostle of Weakness, will remember my academic attempt to summarize Paul’s profound strength-in-weakness theology, found especially in 2 Corinthians.

In writing that book, I shared some general ideas about God’s purposes in suffering. Never would I have imagined at the time — I was 32 years old when my dissertation was published — that I would one day face loss and loneliness. At first I was overwhelmed by the experience. Then I was reminded of the many people I know who themselves are puzzling over the “whys” of their own suffering. The seeds that were planted in my life through my dissertation decades ago began to bear fruit.

As we saw in our Greek class Tuesday night, when Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, He called them to walk the way of the cross. If they were to share His life, they must share His pain as well. The apostle Paul experienced the entire gamut of suffering — physical pain, mental and emotional pain, even spiritual grief. Is it then surprising that a modern follower of Jesus should suffer? The more we love and serve Jesus, the more we come to feel His great heart of love, His overwhelming burden and unceasing anguish for the lost. Later on, as you know, I wrote a book calledThe Jesus Paradigm.

This book was written that we may see again what it means to follow Jesus and learn how we may help others to do the same. God still wants His church to be a sanctifying force in the world. That is what discipleship is all about. “When Christ calls a man,” wrote Bonhoeffer, “he bids him come and die.” This is the radical nature of Christian discipleship. Some (as in Syria today) are called to literal martyrdom. But every one of us is called to all-out committed discipleship, whatever the personal cost may be. Sin in our hearts, by making us self-centered and devious, foments apathy, but Jesus promised us the Spirit, who reverses the process and makes us increasingly childlike in our life with God. We begin to open our hearts, take off our masks, and become real and honest with others. We become, as Paul put it, “weak” — forced back to total dependence on the incarnate Christ. We begin to lay aside our rights, making ourselves vulnerable and weak toward others. We may very well get hurt in the process. Marry, and one of you will become widowed at some point. Ouch! But this is how the strength of Jesus and God’s glory will be seen in our lives. “Whoever wants to be first must be last. He must be the servant of all” (Mark 9:35). Those are Jesus’ terms of discipleship. They may seem severe, but Jesus can’t afford to have half-hearted disciples.

This morning, as I reflect deeply on Becky’s glorious homegoing two years ago, I thank God for her life and example. As a good disciple of Jesus Christ, she was prepared to accept the path of obedience, the way of the cross, and the pain of human relationships. She lived like Jesus lived — setting her face like flint, doing always what pleased the Father. As we follow Jesus like that, we too can bring salvation to this poor, wretched world.

Wednesday, October 21

5:55 PMOdds and ends ….

1) The campus was as beautiful as ever when I arrived yesterday to teach my classes.

I knew that special representatives of Wycliffe Bible Translators would be on campus this week, so I arranged to have lunch with them today and then had them speak in my Greek class. A seminary should be a place that cultivates the integration of faith and learning. This is why I love being on campus so much. I am always learning new things, always being challenged to raise the bar in my own walk with the Lord, always confronted with facts that are undeniable. When Andy Ott and Mary Morgan presented the case for Bible translation among the world’s 6,500 spoken languages in the world, you could have heard a pin drop.

There are millions of people in the world who still do not have the Scriptures in their heart language. Wycliffe believes that Bible translation into all of the remaining 2,200 languages used by some 350 million people is possible by the year 2025.

Bible study is valuable both for personal growth and corporately. God speaks to us through His word not primarily to impart to us information but to guide our choices in life and to change us continually into the image of Christ. Praise God for what Wycliffe is doing! The harvest is ready but the laborers are few. For ways to get involved with Wycliffe, go here. I am really looking forward to speaking in their chapel service on Dec. 4 in Dallas. I am deeply humbled by that honor. In the meantime, let’s cherish the word! Not in a prideful sort of way of course, but simply as a precious gift that God has given His church. 

2) My interview with Henry Neufeld about my bookWhy Four Gospels? is now on YouTube.

3) Finally, last night I jotted down a few additional thoughts about fitness and exercise. My prayer is that God will use my occasional posts on the subject to prepare us to fulfill the vital role He has for all of us in the kingdom movement He’s inspiring in our day. My new life motto is “Easy isn’t for the Christian.” Let me explain.

When you gain control of your body, you gain control of your life. When you let go of your body, you let go of yourself. Just read the testimonies of out-of-shape couch potatoes who accepted the challenge to get physically fit. Their risk of heart disease (the number one killer in America) was drastically reduced, as well as other illnesses such as diabetes and cancer. Beyond that, they reported dramatic changes in their psychological and emotional well-being. They discovered that taking control of their bodies gave them more strength and energy than they had had in their entire life. They can hardly describe how wonderful it was to see fat go and muscle grow.

I think one reason physical fitness is so exciting is because you can actually see and measure progress, whereas this is a lot harder to do with one’s spiritual life. But both the physical and the spiritual have something in common, and that is this principle: There is a world of difference between knowing what to do and actually doing it. Everyone has the potential to make dramatic changes in their body and life – not by stocking up on the latest miracle pill, or by buying a new set of Sunday School curriculum – but by starting on the inside, by starting with the decision to change. Like the apostle Paul, we need to focus on our future goals (Phil. 3:17-21). I tend to spend a lot of time focusing on “the good old days” rather than accepting new ideas or opportunities. People who are future oriented are constantly taking on new and bigger challenges. They don’t ignore or deny what happened to them in their past. Instead, they seek to leverage those experiences to help them get where they believe God would have them to go.

Which brings me to the word “bodies” in Rom. 12:1. If we present our bodies to God to be used in His service, then everything else – our hearts, our minds, our wills – will follow automatically. Eugene Peterson puts it this way: “Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering.” And why should we do this? “Because of everything God has done for us.” I’ve heard thousands of sermons in my 55 years as a follower of Jesus but I’ve never heard a single message on God’s view of our bodies. It seems the church has no theology of the temple. Perhaps this is due to an overreaction to our culture, which is obsessed with health and beauty. Or maybe it’s due to a Gnostic view of the human body, which makes the body evil and subservient to the soul of man. I think there needs to be a balance here. The Bible teaches that we should neither adore nor ignore our bodies. But that’s a difficult balance to attain!

We live in the most prosperous country in the world, but even this blessing has its downside because it allows many of us to abuse our bodies through over-eating or eating all kinds of junk food. The Bible says we are to honor God with our bodies (1 Cor. 6:20). So how should Christians view their bodies? I should view my body as a temple that exists to glorify God. That’s it in a nutshell. Paul calls the body a “temple” for a reason. It is the place where the Spirit of God dwells each and every day of our lives. It is therefore a place where God desires to be worshipped and honored. Moreover, the owner of this temple is God, not us. He bought it with a price. This means that we can no longer be careless with our bodies. We can no longer say, “My stomach belongs to me. I’ll therefore eat whatever I like,” or, “My mouth is mine. I can stuff whatever I like into it.” Most Christians have no clue what they’re doing to themselves with the food they normally eat. Nor are most of us aware of how much better we would feel and look if we stopped feeding ourselves accidentally. The old saying is true: “We are what we eat” (German: “Man ist was er isst.”). Quality nutrition is just as important as exercise. Without both, there can be no lasting results.

Good nutrition has become a priority with me. I’ve cut out all fast foods, soda, and desserts. Instead of soda I drink water. I know that I’ll have more energy to do the things God calls me to do when I’m filling the temple with protein, vegetables, good fats, and plenty of water. I work out at the gym three days a week, incorporating a workout plan that includes the three major muscle groups: legs, back, and chest. My goal is a proportional, balanced, and lean body to work with. I also do at least 40 minutes of cardio three times a week, including an official 5K race almost every Saturday. I fear that some Christians shy away from participating in 5Ks because these events tend to focus on “secular” causes such as cancer research. I look at running as an opportunity to be a light to others. My motto is: “Run for a good cause, and run for Jesus.”

So we should view our bodies, first and foremost, as God’s marvelous creation and, just as importantly, as a temple where He lives. But there is more. If your body is a temple where God lives, then it is also a tool that He desires to use. We are to utilize our bodies to honor and glorify God. Caring for our bodies, then, is not just a physical priority but a spiritual priority. God has integrated our minds and emotions with our bodies. This means that our physical health will have an impact on our mental and emotional health and vice versa. Our main purpose in life is to love God more than anything else. Nothing is to take precedence over that priority. We are to love and serve Him with all of our strength. I am not a perfect example of this. Far from it. But neglecting my body is no longer an option for me.

Perhaps some people will think I’ve gone overboard with exercise. But let me ask you: Why should having an active lifestyle be considered extreme? We bathe regularly, sleep regularly, and eat regularly. None of these activities need become an obsession. They are simply part and parcel of normal life. So why should we fall victim to the notion that fitness is only for athletes or fashion models? As I’ve said before, I don’t consider myself a model of physical fitness. I’m a rank novice. But I do believe it was the Spirit of God who prompted me to embark on this mission of proper eating and regular exercise. Christ is the center of my life, not fitness. There is no way to hide this fact, even when I’m doing a 5K. To disguise the fact that Jesus is the source of my strength is to hide the truth. I can’t have a discussion with my fellow racers without pointing to Him. I give credit to God for whatever I’ve accomplished. Weight training in the gym is yet another platform to proclaim my faith. I hope that my fitness story motivates others to be healthy – not just physically but mentally and spiritually as well. God has inspired me to live my life for others. He’s given me opportunities to travel the world to share His love and truth. Christ is clear in His word that we are to use our blessings to bless others. But I could never endure the rigors of travel if I neglected to take care of my body. Staying strong and healthy helps me to be a better teacher, a better farmer, a better father and grandfather, and a better servant.

Anything in life worth doing is worth doing well. That usually takes a lot of work. As Tom Hanks said in the movie A League of Their Own, “It’s supposed to be hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it. It’s the hard that makes it good.” Exercise (both physical and spiritual) is hard work but it’s also rewarding both throughout the process and in the end. Paul’s “encouraging message” in Acts 14:22 was essentially, “Easy isn’t for the Christian.” Building physical strength isn’t easy. Building spiritual strength is even harder. But in the process we can learn to grow and get closer to God. As Christians, we can let God transform our weaknesses into strengths. The Bible commands us to run the race well. It doesn’t say that we will run faster than our neighbor. Because each of us has different gifts there is no need to waste time comparing ourselves to others. The focus must be on reaching our own God-given potential. When our eyes are fixed on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith, we will be able to run our own race well.

Blessings,

Dave

Tuesday, October 20

7:52 AMIn tonight’s According to Mark class, we’ll be doing more English to Greek composition. Composition is an essential step in the learning process. It is an individual act. Grammar is we, but art is I. It is in composition that the grammarian becomes the artist. By composing, we create. I’m hoping my students will eventually take this skill and turn it toward a lifetime of writing and publishing (most of them are going on for doctorates). My mentors in Basel, Reicke and Barth, were writers as well as thinkers. There is more to scholarship than writing, of course. But write you must if you ever hope to become a scholar.

It’s similar, I suppose, to becoming a hiker. Hikers, like writers, are always climbing mountains (in my case, literally and figuratively). The Adirondack Mountain Club, for example, lists not only their weekly hikes but the degree of difficulty. Hikers choose the outing that will best test their limits. Likewise, writers in seminary should start out small — the occasional book review, the term paper, the Greek composition assignment. From there one moves ever forward. It’s really a game of inches, with disaster never more than a hand’s span away.

Writing, I’ve learned, is like golf. It humbles you. And if you want to know the truth, that’s not a bad outcome for any activity.

7:38 AMAs everyone knows, I love my puppies. They’re my constant companions and friends. They’re great teachers, too. Here’s an example. As I was munching down a bowl of cereal last night the dogs looked on expectantly, hoping to lick the bowl when I was done.

I pondered the question of the ages: Are my dogs interested in me, or only in what they can get from me? On the other hand, try this. Sit on the library sofa and start reading a good book and within seconds the dogs will curl up at your feet without expecting a morsel. (Apparently dogs don’t eat books.) They just want to be with you. And therein lies the lesson. It’s a “parable of prayer.” Prayer keeps us trusting God for our daily needs. But it also opens the way for us to simply enjoy His company. When I pray, I sometimes conjure up a picture in my mind of God sitting in the library and me curled up securely at His feet. This involves nothing but silence on my part — being still — knowing that God is God and that Daddy is dependable. This is what the ancient prayer mystics used to call the “intimacy of communing” or “perpetual intercourse with God.” My dogs don’t realize it, but I am far more willing to give them bowls to lick than they are to beg for them. I’m sure my puppies don’t understand all my ways and workings. As theologians we might think we understand God. But a God we could understand wouldn’t be a God worth believing in. Just as my dogs can’t understand me, so I can’t understand God. But even when we do not understand Him we are profoundly aware of His love.

Today there’s a growing concern for the health of the church. I share that concern. But if we neglect prayer — if we fail to seek the face of our loving Master or fail to rest at the Father’s feet or fail to bask in the sunshine of the Spirit’s love — all our labors will be in vain.

Monday, October 19

6:20 PMSlatkin conducts Copland’s Appalachian Spring. Utter perfection.

 

12:40 PMIs your ecclesiology “shelf” ecclesiology or “practical” ecclesiology? In other words, is your church willing to change in obedience to truth? Henry Neufeld has a weighty response to this question in his latest post calledSeven Marks: Excursus on Change. Henry suggests seven reasons why we avoid doing what we know we ought to be doing. He uses weight loss as an example. I love his reasons! They are all impeccably logical. But, as Henry notes, they are excuses nonetheless.

This leads me to add perhaps one more element into the discussion. A new lifestyle requires new people. Most of us are locked into a routine because the people all around us are locked into the same routine. Up until a few months ago I was locked into a routine that utilized only a small percentage of my muscles. I was imprisoned in a physical and professional and social existence that cared little for health and fitness. Then I began to associate with people who were health-conscious. No, they weren’t preachy about it, but the clear message they kept sending to me was: We as human beings are body, mind, and spirit. We can’t stress one function of the self to the detriment of the others. I thus began to engage in exercises intended to get the most out of the human machine and the body/mind complex.

Most of us already have this “knowledge.” But, as Henry points out, knowledge doesn’t suffice. It never has. The rules for physical fitness are well established. They haven’t changed much over the centuries. Consult any textbook or website and you’ll find the do’s and don’ts of fitness. What we need are models, people who show us, “Here is what you can become.” We need new relationships that are uncontaminated by the old guilt and unhealthy lifestyles. As I began to associate with people who were committed to physical fitness, I found a new strength in me. My new associations revived resolutions, long since dormant, and made me set my face like flint. That quality — that ability to motivate others by your own example — is what is all too often lacking today. So you believe in elders? Even, let’s say, non-stipendiary elders? Name two or three churches that practice that today. Alas, there are so few examples. But life isn’t about thinking good thoughts. Joy is always connected with action.

So, what’s on your “change agenda” for today? Maybe you were fit once but don’t exercise anymore. Maybe you are just getting started. Maybe your church is on the verge of taking a significant step of obedience. We humans are constantly resetting goals. We are always in process. Indeed, change is a good test of normalcy. The normal human being is always striving for some ideal self.

The excuse of not enough time is just that — an excuse. Never will you have enough time to do everything you want to do. You’ve got to make a choice. You have to decide what things are presumably better than all the other things in your life. But here’s what I’m discovering. Exercise may take time but it creates time as well. The more energy expended the more energy added to your machine. Likewise, when a church takes a baby step of obedience, it finds that the next step is a little bit easier to take. Above all, let’s remember that action is always impelled by some good we want to attain. The 30-some-odd books I’ve written or edited didn’t just happen. I wrote or edited them because I thought I had something of value to say to people. Fitness programs follow this line of reasoning. The long-term benefits always come from denying our present desire to enjoy ourselves this minute. Drives may push us, but desires pull us. Until you are motivated, you will never be willing to attack the problem head-on.

Thank you, Henry, for your very provocative post. Let’s all get started in the race to which Henry is calling us. When I run a 5K, I am completely unconcerned about what others are doing. I don’t care if I’m at the back of the pack. For these few moments, I am making the effort to act, and in that sense I become the equal of anyone on this earth.

11:54 AMJust back from Lowe’s. I see that the Christmas season has already begun.

Today is maintenance day in both houses. Lots to do but I love my work.

8:24 AMEnjoyed reading this book last night.

It begins with these words: “I am a United States Army general, and I lost the Global War on Terrorism.” The author’s argument is that these wars were lost not because of the forces on the ground, whom he calls the world’s best-trained, best equipped military. Rather, “Our primary failing in the war involved generalship. If you prefer the war college lexicon, we –guys like me — demonstrated poor strategic and operational leadership” (p. xv). In essence, he says, the U.S. got both wrong, especially the operational plan. “We have been trained and educated all our lives on how to fight and win. This was our war to lose, and we did.”

Meanwhile, this is shaping up to be another über-busy week. I’m meeting with my colleague Chip Hardy (Old Testament) to begin mapping out our new Ph.D. course in the Septuagint, which we’re offering in the spring. Then I’ve got meetings with the fine people from Wycliffe Bible Translators who are on campus this week doing recruiting work and speaking in classes. I’ve got dissertation chapters to read as well as new prospectuses to prospect. Then on Friday I leave for New York. In the meantime I’ve got 123 acres to care for (we may be getting up the last of our hay this week) and two large houses that need constant attention. Little wonder I have no time for watching sports on TV. Underneath it all is the shock of experiencing death up close for the first time two years ago and facing the fact that there is a downside to life, a backside to the mountain of existence. The 60s usher in a deadline decade. You either get serious about life now or you don’t. It’s that simple. I write this as a guy who at one time was huge into football. Like many, I lived vicariously through these godlike super heroes who were performing feats that you could almost feel you were doing. Today I guess I’m forging a new masculine ideal in which men are champions at something far less ephemeral. Still, I love sports because of the metaphors it provides. If ever there were a metaphor for facing what appears to be insurmountable in life, it is the underdog taking on the colossus. I think of a Saeed Abedini in Iran, taking blow after blow and yet still standing. Here is a follower of Christ proving his manhood and reverting to an old, pre-Rambo form. He’s on the ropes but he’s still on his feet. How he can do this is to me beyond all human comprehension. God must be his Sustainer. I smile when I’m told I need to “Take back America” or Take back leadership” or “Take back biblical values” when all I am trying to do is nurture my kids and grandkids, and the church as well. Men my age move from success to significance. The new manhood ideal is simply being a servant. This is why male friendships have become vitally important to me since Becky’s death. This bonding as brothers offers both support and solace. It also helps us men unlearn the negative socialization that forced us to keep our feelings locked up inside.

I share all of this with you on my blog because a blog is the way I keep a personal journal. Our journals can become, as Emerson once said, a history of our evolution. The practice actually goes back to the ancient Greeks and their hypomnemata — copy books that contained little scraps of information such as conversations, events, or readings. Writing blog posts can help us accomplish the same task — if we create them. Most of us don’t because we hate to be ourselves. Don’t be too honest. Never use the first person singular. It’s no wonder we are reluctant to blog. For me, there are no “rules.” A blog is a record of a conversation with the self. They are not simply diaries — factual and boring. They should reveal, not obscure. Of course, blogging is a constant learning experience. The greatest danger is becoming preoccupied with things and events rather than ideas. Another danger is that of straining to be relevant. The correct sequence is obvious: You think a thought and store it away, and then place it in your blog. And when you’re honest, I mean really honest, truth radiates out of every word. Just take a look at Thoreau’s journals. But the real joy is not in the product but in the imagining. As with running a 5K, we must glory in the process and not in the victory.

Time now to type up Tuesday night’s quiz over Mark 9 and then hit the gym and track. It’s funny how I’ve become such a creature of habit. I get up. I brush my teeth. I lift. I run. Habits of life. Ingrained. Salutary. Perhaps even “manly” too. 🙂

Sunday, October 18

7:12 PMWhat a zany day. I mowed the yard for the last time this year. It was 50 degrees outside! I still plan to run outdoors but my coach tells me I need to get thermal gear. I had no idea the clothing business was so heavily involved in the sport. But if that’s the price you have to pay to stay healthy, okay. I just know one thing: I’m committed to getting into the shape of my life. I refuse to accept the old lie that says that aging and physical decline are inseparable. I refuse, by God’s grace, to go hobbling off into old age. By the way, I weighed myself this weekend and I’m down to 200. The reason? As far as I can tell, it’s one thing: I’ve foresworn my Pepsi addiction. Soft drinks are the number one source of calories in the average American’s diet, accounting for nearly one in every 10 calories consumed. So come on folks. Come on over to the “other side,” to the dark side if you will, the cola-less side. That one single step may well make a huge difference in your weight and appearance.

By the way, I sure enjoyed the waves in Hawaii. Surfing was a huge part of my youth. As I surfed during my recent trip I relived the glory days of old. Forget about people your age, I told myself. Dave, you can take on anyone in the water. What I did not remember was that this 16-year old soul lives in the body of a 63-year old. Which brings me to another one of my journal entries from my Hawaii trip (in case anybody’s interested).

Monday, October 4

Well, I did something stupid today. While stroking hard to catch a big wave I tore the triceps muscle in my left arm. Bad. Which means my surfing and swimming are on indefinite hold until I can heal. The good news is that I can still hike and run. But I miss the waves something terrible.

From my earliest childhood I remember the waves at Kailua Beach. I was three years old when we moved to Kailua from Honolulu, where I was born. I’ll never forget the day I surfed for the first time. I must have been eight. A friend loaned me his board. After my first ride I was hooked. I somehow managed to save up ten bucks and bought my first board — an ancient Hobie whose nose had been shorn off, leaving a jagged edge of fiberglass. No problem.  The waves at Kailua Beach were unsuitable for hanging ten anyway.

My next board was a Christmas present, and then a friend and I started to shape our own boards. Nothing unusual about that. In Hawaii, the ocean is everything. It pulls at young boys until they become surfing addicts. I cut school whenever the waves were breaking. When I left for California at the age of nineteen it was heart-wrenching. Surfing is a fad in California. In Hawaii it is a way of life. The best part is when you are in the middle of a tube and there’s water all around you but you’re completely dry. Whoosh!

I have a distinct sense of “coming home” when I return to Hawaii. For sixteen years I took my place in the continuum of surfers who love Kailua. In my mind I’ll always be a teenager paddling out to Flat Island or the reef or the Mokulua Islands in search of the perfect wave. Maybe I have finally understood something important about myself —  that you can take the boy out of Hawaii but you can never take Hawaii out of the boy. Today I am an ocean and a continent removed from Oahu. But in reality, Kailua is only 15 hours away from my farm in Virginia. Talk about having your cake and eating it too. 

I think there are similarities between surfing and the Christian life. F. R. Maltby once said that Jesus promised His followers three things: that they would be absurdly happy, completely fearless, and in constant trouble —  a fair description of surfing too! Today Jesus is looking for those who will follow Him regardless of the cost. Christian ministry isn’t easy. Christians aren’t immune from the discouragement or even depression that affects society at large. In 2 Corinthians Paul spoke of “losing heart,” of “being afflicted … perplexed … persecuted … struck down.” Yet he also wrote, “We do not lose heart.” He knew that his outer nature was wasting away, but his inner nature was being renewed day by day. “This slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we don’t look at things that are seen but at things that are unseen.” C. S. Lewis put it like this: ” Aim at heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’; aim at earth and you will get nothing.”

More than ever, this 63-year old needs to hold fast to the hope of heaven. My silly injury is a reminder of my own mortality. Time is running out fast. Christ wants followers who not only have hope but give hope. So whatever happens to my aging body, may I give my all to Christ in humble service to others, for “in giving we receive, in pardoning we are pardoned, and dying we are born to eternal life” (Francis of Assisi).

8:52 AMEven at 5:00 am this morning I could tell that today promised to be one of those perfect fall days. There was no trace of cloud in the sky, and all the trees and every blade of grass was covered with a silver crust of frozen fog.

The temperature hovered around freezing as I jumped into the car and headed out to my favorite eatery in South Hill, where I was treated to a most wonderful breakfast.

This was time, too, for Bible study — Mark 9 — in preparation for Tuesday’s class. Here Jesus defines for us true greatness. He invites us into a journey of downward mobility. He wants us to become least. I had to smile when I read that. The whole ecclesiastical engine is designed to honor top feeders. It’s a place where the chaos of ego and pride rules. I dream of a church where Jesus alone is Senior Pastor, a church that is called great by the world not because of its great leaders or great programs but because our good works cannot be denied. You see, when you live at the bottom, everything changes. The people you seek out are different. The leaders you choose to follow are different. Lowly people are invited to speak in chapel services. A paradigm shift takes place in your life. The pastor label is no longer central. We do ministry in community. The church is not its leaders. It is people. It is you. It is me. It is a new way of living. Life is too short to waste on anything else. Imagine what would happen if we took Jesus’ teaching in Mark 9 seriously? The Gospel is not a time slot on Sunday. It’s simply following the way of Jesus. It’s a call to do hard things for Christ. It’s a subversive path into the kingdom. “Our destiny,” wrote Aquinas, “is to run to the edge of the world and beyond, off into the darkness.” There are some days when I do this. I run to the edges, thinking I can find the center there. But Jesus is not there. Jesus is the most centered Person you will even know. He was also very different, un-normal if you will. He never fit in. I ask you humbly: Can Jesus be considered to have the preeminence when our titles and church structures place a man at the head? There are 150 million children in the world who are orphans. That’s the equivalent to more than half of the population of the United States. Are you supporting one? Native evangelists in places like India are ready to go two by two into their surrounding villages. Yet American missionaries live in excess beyond imagination. Gandhi once famously put it this way: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Jesus’ message in Mark 9 is not anti-church. It’s pro-church. It’s pro the type of church Jesus would attend if He were here, the type of church He died for. Why were the earliest followers of Jesus called “Christians”? Because they were identified with a Person, not merely with a principle or a philosophy or a program. They weren’t perfect people but they were different. They did not try to save civilization. The ship was already wrecked, but they could rescue some of the passengers. Friends, His business is our business as Christians. We have no other business. It is a heavenly calling and we may miss Christ because we are too busy attending to our own businesses. Never has American evangelical Christianity needed the message of Mark 9 as today. Do you recall the book burning in Ephesus? A mighty book burning is in order today — a break with church-as-usual. There must be a radical following of Christ. “I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back.”

Believer, your life is too important to waste on becoming “great.” Jesus is calling us not to greatness but to smallness. Imagine what would happen if we all chose the latter.

5:32 AMMore pix from Oahu:

1) Like this sunrise?

2) I think you’ll like this even more:

3) Jesse, the school principal. My new bodyguard.

4) Presenting a copy of It’s All Greek to Me: Confessions of an Unlikely Academic to my elementary school principal.

5) Pastor Kevin (left) and pastor Mike. Both lead drug addiction ministries. Kevin’s is called RAM. You can read about ithere.

6) Ate lots of healthy Korean food!

Saturday, October 17

6:12 PMIn case anyone is wondering, I did in fact participate in theEllie Helton Memorial 5K and Fun Run today in Cary. As soon as I arrived it was completely obvious to me that this would be one of the larger races I had attended since I launched my “racing career” (haha) a few months ago. In fact, according to the final stats, there were exactly 185 registered participants. We were all there for one reason: to learn the risks and warning signs of brain aneurysms and to support the Brain Aneurysm Foundation. But it wasn’t just all statistics and medical mumbo-jumbo. It was up-close and very personal. For you see, Todd and Karen Helton lost their 14-year sweetheart Ellie last July to a brain aneurysm, and that’s really why I was there this morning. To stand with Ellie’s mom and dad and try and make a difference. It will come down to what I did. What you did. What we did together.

Of course, all I can do is make the tiniest ripple in the ocean, but add tiny ripples together and, well, the results are impossible to quantify. I just know personally that I will never look at brain aneurysms again in the same way. The facts:

  • Over 6 million people in the US have an unruptured brain aneurysm annually

  • About 30,000 people in the US will suffer a ruptured aneurysm each year — roughly one person every 18 minutes

  • Women are more susceptible than men to have an aneurysm (the ratio is 3:2)

  • A half million deaths are caused globally each year by brain aneurysms. Half of these victims are under 50

  • Symptoms include sudden severe headache, loss of consciousness, nausea and vomiting, stiff neck, sudden blurred vision, sudden trouble walking, sudden pain above or behind the eye

With all the kids and grandkids I’ve got, these are good things to know. Mind … heart … hands. That’s really what this 5K was about. Alone, there’s not much we can do. Together, we can change the world.

Todd and Karen chose one of my favorite verses from one of my favorite New Testament books as their theme verse for the race: “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Heb. 12:1). Today I witnessed genuine Christian community at work. The church, someone once said, should consist of communities of loving defiance. That’s how Ellie’s parents are facing their sorrow. Yes, they experienced loss. Yes, someone they loved dearly died. But that doesn’t mean that God’s plan has been ruined. He knows each of us by name. He has a personal love for each and every one of us. When He cried “Zaccheus,” here at last we saw a man who really cared for people as individual persons. It is equally significant that Jesus calls us into community. We live in an age of great individuality, but today Todd and Karen took their grief public, so to speak, hoping to leverage their tragedy for good. It’s not surprising that followers of Jesus are often eager to do this. Every particle of this world has been polluted by the sin of man and is under the hand of the Evil One. Yet Christ has ushered in a new creation — “creation healed,” in the memorable words of theologian Hans Küng. Ellie is now in heaven, but perhaps God can use her death as a means of helping other children in households all across America and the world. I’ve been praying really hard that this event will reach its goal of being able to fund the Chair of Research in Honor of Ellie Helton. I do pray it did.

As for me, I’m so glad I came today. It was a joy to meet and speak with Todd and Karen. It’s obvious that both of them are relying on a Power greater than themselves to give them the strength and resolve needed to overcome their loss. Running these 5Ks has taught me so much about myself. They’ve taught me that I can go farther than I ever thought I could. Running has equipped me with the resolve and endurance I’ve needed to rebuild my broken life after Becky’s death that had me in its grip. Of course, the race wasn’t easy — it never is when it’s held at my all-time nemesis venue: The WakeMed Soccer Park. During the race my legs kept begging for rest, but their cries fell on deaf ears. Even if it meant crawling over the finish line, I wasn’t going to stop and rest. Indeed, the race came down to what Heb. 12:1 says the Christian life comes down to: perseverance.

And that’s a lesson we can all learn.

Below: Here I am with a picture of Ellie, remembered for being a “vibrant, loving 14-year old.”

Todd and Karen. True culture warriors in my book.

A good turnout on a crispy fall morning.

Raising awareness.

My third place finish in the Methuselah category.

Of the 185 participants I came in at the halfway mark, number 90 to be specific. In other words, I stink as a 5K racer. But that’s fine with me. I don’t want to be known as a great runner. I want the church to be great because we feed hungry babies and care for our widows and battle poverty with our own hands and hearts and not just the government’s and come alongside parents who lose a child. 

Friday, October 16

7:20 PMHad a wonderful evening. Nate and Nolan stopped by on the way to their farm, pulling yet another load of hay with them of course. Nate’s been cutting a neighbor’s fields.

He and I hope to get up our third cutting soon, maybe even this week. It’s such a nice thing to see Nolan working with his daddy. It’s an odd feeling. It’s as if I was watching myself with Nathan 35 years ago.

Tomorrow’s another 5K so I had better turn in early. This is such a crazy hobby. Seven months ago I didn’t even know what a 5K was. Now it seems I AM one. It’s like God prodding me toward the edge of the plank and then telling me to keep on walking. What an adventure.

Talk to you tomorrow, God willing.

12:22 PMFull day this morning: post office, bank, workout, filling the farm gas cans. Diane Rehm and her Friday World News Roundup kept me company while driving. She concluded today’s program with the words, “What a poor world we live in.” One of her guests chimed in: “Yes, the world seems to be getting darker and darker.” The fact is, the world is being prepared for Antichrist, the final embodiment of all that is opposed to Christ. People are being prepared for the final delusion. As a result, they choose what is false and God permits them to reap the consequences. We might as well face it. We live in a very poor world indeed, and it’s getting darker all the time. But halleluiah anyway. If we cannot transform the grim facts we can transcend them. We can trust even when we cannot understand. Even in this dark world we can experience quickenings of heaven. We taste “the world to come” when we are filled with the Spirit, when we share our faith, when we enjoy the fellowship of God’s people, when we suffer with those are suffering and weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. Christians have tasted of the Lord and have found Him precious beyond description. However, the best we can experience here is merely a foretaste, a down payment on what we will experience when we come into our full inheritance.

Until then, chins up and knees down!

11:04 AMMy assistant was kind enough to update mypublications list, which is something I’ve needed to get done for a very long time now. I feel like a midget among giants. Agatha Christie wrote 69 novels and 19 plays. Andrew Murray had 240 published works, Isaac Asimov 506, and Jacob Neusner a mere 950. I remember graduating from Basel in 1983 and telling myself that I needed to publish at least one journal article every year and one book every five years. I must have taken myself seriously! It’s interesting to see how my publications have changed through the years of writing. At one point I basically said goodbye to writing journal articles. Same with published book reviews. Interests change and develop. So do priorities. These days, I start to feel a slight sense of panic as I begin heading into my retirement years. How did it all go by so fast? I’m so blessed and thankful that I’ve been able to publish at all. I enjoy sharing my thoughts with others. I know a lot of you think what I write is crazy, but you wouldn’t be the first to think that way. I’m okay with that. Let’s continue to sharpen each other. The thing I love the most about publishing is watching the younger generation as it comes along and proves that it can be just as prolific as its elders. And so life comes full circle. Author succeeds author, just as wave succeeds wave and generation succeeds generation. That’s exactly how it should be. We are all in the process of learning what it means to follow hard after Jesus. May it never stop until we see Him face to face.

Thursday, October 15

6:50 PMIt happened this morning. I left the house at 6:30 feeling a little sheepish at how much I was really looking forward to hiking Flat Top Mountain in the Peaks of Otter Range near Bedford, VA. Here you can see that Flat Top (right) is slightly higher than its twin, Sharp Top (left), which I hiked a few weeks ago.

Hiking Flat Top was a completely different experience from climbing Sharp Top: no crowds, no steps, and not nearly as steep. I would rank Sharp Top as a moderate-difficult climb but Flat Top as an easy-moderate hike. You can access the trail to Flat Top from either the Peaks of Otter Park or the 83-mile marker on the Blue Ridge Parkway just north of the Peaks of Otter Lodge.

I chose the latter route. The trail starts out easy but gets gradually steeper and more difficult.

At this bench begins a series of switchbacks that eventually lead you to the summit.

Here’s what my Map-Your-Run app looked like after I had reached the summit. Talk about zigzagging!

At about the 2.1 marker there’s an outcropping that many hikers stop to rest at. It’s called the Cross Rock Junction or the Pinnacle.

Since I was doing the hike to get my cardio in for the day as well as to time my ascent, I decided to forego all of the “rest stops” along the trail. Actually, the descent was far more difficult than the ascent since the trail is comprised of small rocks hidden by fallen leaves. On the descent I slowed down and walked cautiously; a sprained ankle was definitely not on my agenda for today. As I said, as you ascend, the trail gets steeper and rockier, as this picture shows.

It was a great feeling when I eventually made it to the top.

The views were simply spectacular. Here’s looking north.

And here’s Sharp Top to the south.

Truly a picture-perfect day! This was true not only from the top but also from the Pinnacle (where I stopped to take pictures on the way down). Here’s a view of Apple Orchard Mountain (looking northwest).

During my hike I saw not another soul save an elderly couple from Germany whom I met just as I was about to finish my hike.

I was pleased with my time on the ascent: 1:05:33. My total gain in elevation was 1,391 feet. Let’s compare that with the Lemosho trail at Kilimanjaro. Climbers there spend anywhere from 3-6 hours hiking daily, averaging about 5 miles each day. The total elevation gain is 15,807 feet. That’s about a 2,000-foot elevation gain per day. Well, today I hiked to the summit of Flat Top (around 3 miles) in about an hour, making an ascent of 1,391 feet. Not anything to write home about for sure, and I definitely need to do a lot more hiking before I’m ready for Kili. But one has to start somewhere!

So there you have it. I would highly recommend this hike for families. It’s a lot easier than Sharp Top and the views are almost as gorgeous. The thing I hated the most today was that Becky was not here to enjoy the hike with me. We loved taking long walks at the Grand Canyon or at Bryce and Zion. Still, I have no complaints. Life is good, so good. Whenever I’m on the top of a mountain I’m simply amazed at the God who created all of this magnificence. It’s a reminder that some day He’ll make everything whole again, even aging and diseased bodies. I sit on a rock outcropping and hear God speaking to my heart and realize that, for the umpteenth time, there’s no possible way I will ever be able to fathom how much Daddy loves me.

If you do decide to climb Flat Top, I imagine doing so in the next couple of weeks would be optimum since the fall foliage will be at its brightest. Keep your eye on your footing while descending, though! Thankfully I didn’t slip and fall but I did have a few close calls. It helps if you take your walking stick with you.

Blessings,

Dave

 

Wednesday, October 14

7:04 PMIt’s hard to know what to say right now, how to explain how I’m feeling knowing that in just a little over two weeks I’ll be commemorating the second anniversary of Becky’s homegoing. I find my mind traversing in a million different directions. I feel like I’ve come a long ways, yet at the very same time I feel as though I have a long ways to go. I find myself struggling to describe what’s in my heart right now so I think I’ll wait until Nov. 2 to explain what’s going on in my life. I do know that in the past two years I’ve changed in some very fundamental ways.

My days on campus were, well, splendid as usual. One of the highlights was watching my assistant and current Ph.D. student teach both sections of Greek 1 this week.

Noah did a fabulous job. Mentoring students is a highlight of my week, so much so that it defies my best efforts to describe. Let’s just say it’s the pinnacle of a professor’s work to see his students eagerly grabbing hold of the baton. More on that later. For now, I hope it’s okay if I turn in a little early as I am bushed!

Tuesday, October 13

9:12 AMGreat education quotes here (Albert Einstein):

Example isn’t another way to teach, it is the only way to teach.

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.

I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.

It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.

It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.

Monday, October 12

2:16 PMThis morning I woke up thinking I would drive for two and a half hours to Bedford, Virginia to hike to the summit of Flat Top Mountain in the Peaks of Otter range. My body had other ideas, however. It disobediently refused to climb to an elevation of 4,000 feet but, thankfully, was willing to compromise with a shorter hike, as long as the venue was close to home. So off we went, my body and I, to the local Y, where I did some very light weight lifting (all the while pampering my left triceps muscles, which I somehow managed to injure while surfing last week) before driving through the deserted back roads of Halifax and Charlotte Counties.

My destination was the Staunton River Battlefield State Park.

It was here that a ragtag group of old men and boys held off an assault by Union forces on a bridge of strategic importance to Lee’s army encamped around Petersburg.

The only route available to Lee for resupplying his army lay along the Danville to Richmond railroad. In June of 1864 the forces clashed. The bridge would be saved, only to be burned by the retreating Confederates the next year. This was not my first visit to this site. I recall doing a reenactment here just after moving to the East Coast in 1998. The amazing thing about that reenactment was that it was allowed to take place on the actual battlefield (a rarity, believe me).

When you arrive at the park your first stop is the visitors’ center, which details your options. 

These are basically twofold: a .07 mile nature trail, and a 1.2 mile battlefield trail.

 

I decided to do the latter first. As you can see, it was a very easy hike along a spacious and well-kept gravel road.

Immediately you encounter the Confederate breastworks that are remarkably well-preserved for a battle that took place over 150 years ago.

Eventually you come to the 1902 railroad bridge.

I paused on top to enjoy the scenic Staunton River as it flowed gently beneath me.

Finally you arrive at the small town of Randolph, where you turn around and retrace your steps.

I found the Edgewood Trail to be a delightful trek through assorted pines and hardwoods.

From the amount of leaves on the ground you quickly realize that fall has arrived in the Virginia Piedmont.

Eventually you arrive at a wooden wildlife tower overlooking a marshy area. I stayed here for a few minutes but didn’t see anything.

All in all, these two trails afforded my jet-lagged body a delightful little jaunt on a picture-perfect day. If you’re ever in the area you might want to consider a short drive over to this state park. It’s a mere 18 miles east of the city of South Boston.

Now it’s time for me to get to work. Today, in preparation for my According to Mark class, I need to translate Mark 8. I think I’ll produce my translation in German this time rather than English. That will be fun!

9:44 AMTrying to get over jet lag. Pretty futile effort so far.

Gifs,mops,cleaning up

Sunday, October 11

9:22 PMSo here’s my very brief review of Vaughan Roberts’ True Worship, which you can purchasehere. The book has six chapters:

1. The Foundations of Christian Worship

2. The Nature of Christian Worship

3. The End of Religion

4. The Purpose of Christian Meetings

5. The Place of Music and Singing

6. Understanding the Lord’s Supper

In chapter 1, Roberts’ main point is that true worship is all about Jesus. Where can He be found? The surprising answer is that we can meet Him anywhere — be it Jerusalem, a mountain in Gerizim, or even a church building. During my teen years, as part of the so-called Jesus Movement, I met with him while surfing in Waikiki just as much as when I paddled in for an hour of “worship” at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel. True worship is always possible because it doesn’t involve going to a special place, writes Roberts. You simply go to Jesus.

While reading chapter 2, I was reminded of the saying, “Enter to worship, and depart to serve.” Somehow we’ve gotten the very mistaken idea that worship focuses exclusively on Christian meetings. Roberts responds: We are called to worship at all times. “Worship involves an obedience to God’s will in all parts of life” (p. 22). Thus one cannot judge a church’s “worship” by what happens on Sunday morning! “The real test is how its members behave during the rest of the week” (p. 30). Roberts then offers a “worship checklist” (pp. 31-34) that I thought was fabulous. He probes 5 areas of life:

  • Your relationship with yourself

  • Your relationship with other Christians

  • Your relationship with your enemies

  • Your relationship to authorities

  • Your relationship to God’s standards

Worship, for Roberts, defines the whole of life. To use his analogy, you would no sooner say “I’m going to bed to breathe for a while” than you would say “I’m going to church to worship.”

In chapter 3 Roberts correctly notes that the New Testament never refers to “morning worship” or “evening service.” He explores the different Greek words for worship (proskuneo, leitourgeo, sebomai, and latreuo), concluding that Christians do not go to church to worship. Quoting F. F. Bruce (p. 40):

[T]he remarkable fact is that Christian meetings are not said to take place specifically to worship God and the language of worship is not used as a means of referring to them or describing herm. To sum up what goes on in a Christian meeting as being specifically for the purpose of ‘worship’ is without New Testament precedent.

Roberts thinks the problem is that we’re muddled down in Old Testament concepts and patterns of worship, where “holy” people do “holy” things in “holy” places. “Jesus,” he notes, “brought the whole temple system to an end” (p. 43). This is clearly taught in the book of Hebrews. Thus Roberts concludes (p. 55):

So let us not go back to the ways of the old covenant. Christ has brought an end to religion. If we grasp that great truth we will see why the New Testament does not teach that we meet together to worship.

Up to this point our author has been making a largely negative argument. Now, in chapter 4, he turns to the positive New Testament teaching concerning the purpose for the gathering of the church. Christians are to meet with one another for encouragement (Heb. 10:24-25) and edification (1 Cor. 14:26). Thus “… in our meetings we are directing ourselves primarily towards one another rather than toward God….” (p. 60). It is still God, of course, who ultimately provides the encouragement and edification we need. This He does largely through His word. But take note! Lest you think that Roberts is pointing exclusively to a pulpit ministry, he adds: “The sharing of God’s word was the responsibility of all church members” (p. 63). Of course, this does not minimize the importance and significance of elder-teachers in the church. But Christians should not abdicate their responsibility to know God’s word to their “ministers.” “Again and again the New Testament exhorts all church members to be involved in ministering to one another” (p. 71). Church leaders have an important role to play, but it is one of becoming catalysts enabling others to do their part. I saw this truth in action when I was visiting Windward Baptist Church last weekend. At the end of one of the services pastor Kevin asked, “Before we leave does anyone have a word of encouragement?” Several such “words” ensued, and they were wonderful. For Roberts, then, the church is a Christian family, and good family members always “spur each other on in the Christian life. And the more we do that, the better we will worship God — not just on Sunday, but with the whole of our lives” (p. 83). Or, in the words of Howard Marshall (quoted on p. 81):

Christian meetings are for the benefit of the congregation and so indirectly for the glory of God.

Chapter 5 points out the very grave danger of viewing “worship” as essentially a time of singing through which we are draw close to God. For Roberts, these dangers can lead to a situation in which:

  • God’s word is marginalized

  • Our assurance is threatened

  • Musicians are exalted

  • Division is increased

Positively, Roberts insists that we should indeed still sing, for two reasons: to praise God, and to encourage one another. He encourages both “God-focused songs” and “God-focused singing.” And always pay careful attention to the words we sing!

Chapter 6 hearkens back to the original setting of the Lord’s Supper as a fellowship meal. For Roberts, communion is a time to look back (remembrance), look up (communion), look around (edification), and look forward (hope).

What Roberts does in this short book is nothing less than earth-shaking. I know some folks will think that his views are inherently anti-church. But I don’t see why this should be the case at all. In John 4, Jesus was very specific about worship. He wasn’t trying to duck the Samaritan woman’s question! With the coming of the Messiah, He said, everything was about to change. He would introduce a completely new way of engaging with God the Father, one that depended on “Spirit and truth” rather than on any place, person, or posture. I’ll end with the reflection that books like this one (along with, say, David Croteau’s excellent work ontithing) are game changers for the church. So, folks, we seem to have a problem in the evangelical church in America. We need to face it. If you’re willing to go back to the (New Testament) drawing board, Roberts’ book would be a good place to start. No longer can we think of a church building as a sanctuary or as “the house of God.” I know my insistence on this is going to disappoint some, but I’m convinced it’s the truth. Now the question is: How do I implement this truth in my local church, and how do you implement it in yours? I need to work on that, and I encourage you to do the same.

Blessings on you all,

Dave

3:24 PMWilliam Temple once confessed to praying, “God who made me simple, make me simpler yet.” As you know, since Becky’s death I’ve been trying to simplify my life. Out with the unneeded and unwholesome stressors, in with single-minded faithfulness. What has God called me to do? Surely not everything. And just as surely, not a lot. Just a few simple tasks: teach Greek faithfully, serve the body of Christ internationally, love my family, share Jesus’ love with others, and take care of the temple. I really need to learn discipline in this last area. It’s one thing to exercise; it’s another thing to exercise regularly. Here’s a chart of my cardio for the last 30 days, courtesy of the free app called “Map My Run”:

I’d like to try and maintain this goal monthly: 50 miles. But it takes planning. Lots of it. When I was in Hawaii I think I must have done at least 6 5Ks as well as several hikes. I hiked Diamond Head again and boy was it a thrill. I’m learning to love hiking as much as I love running. These activities have a lot in common. Both require effort. Both are pleasurable. Both are healthy. Both involve two legs. But they are not the same. Running is a sport. It means keeping score. It’s about establishing your time and rank and place. There are winners in running — and losers. Hiking is not a sport. It has nothing to do with competition. It’s simply putting one foot in front of the other.

Both running and hiking provide what I call “detachments” — little breaks in one’s life. Both take place outdoors, in the fresh air. Like you, I lead two lives: one indoors, and one outdoors. When I’m indoors writing or blogging, the outdoors hardly exists. Conversely, when I’m outdoors, my life is turned inside out and upside down. When you’re outdoors, you find yourself with the wind blowing in your face and surrounded by a landscape of colors and scents unfamiliar to your indoors self. I love it! I nearly always hike alone. Being in the company of others forces you to walk at their speed. With hiking, it’s essential that you find your own rhythm and stick with it. To be alone in nature is breathtaking. The whole world greets you — flowers, trees, boulders, animals. In that sense, it’s impossible to be alone when hiking. The whole world is yours. In addition, when I’m hiking my thoughts keep me company. I never think so much as when I’m hiking. Hiking tests not only the sureness of your footing but your mental and emotional fitness.

For me, hiking is a reminder that life on earth is a pilgrimage — the makeshift existence of a man without a country except for the one he has in heaven. There’s nothing better for regaining a proper perspective on the brevity of life than a long walk in nature. A pilgrimage is an act of faith. So is a hike. Often, when I’m hiking, I’ve never been “there” before. Every step is an acceptance of the uncertainty of this life. Each step underscores my mortality. People didn’t talk about “hiking” in the first century, but substitute Paul’s “walk” for “hike” and a beautiful picture of the Christian life emerges. But before a walk can occur, there has to be a crucifixion. To be crucified with Christ means no looking back. To be crucified with Christ means you have no plans of your own. To be crucified with Christ is to place yourself totally and completely in God’s hands.

That’s how I want to live my life — with sincerity and straightforwardness and transparency and single-minded fidelity, both physically and spiritually. This lifestyle was seen supremely in Jesus who, by the way, did an awful lot of walking. If you ever meet a truly holy person, he or she will be marked by that same kind of simplicity.

Below: Diamond Head (and rainbow) from its crest.

A brief panorama for your viewing pleasure:

 

1:10 PMWindward Baptist Church is involved in the community in many ways, not least by hosting Kahuluu Christian School (K-12). I loved teaching in swimming shorts and flip flops.

Which brings to mind a delightful little anecdote in Vaughan Roberts’ book True Worship (p. 5):

When I was traveling in Israel a few years ago, I managed to get barred from both a mosque and a church on the same day. I was told that shorts was not suitable attire. I asked what the problem was. The reply came: ‘This is God’s house.’ Apparently the Almighty would be shocked at the sight of my knees.

Folks, there are no more holy places, pure and simple (John 4:19-24). True worship is a person, not a place or an attire. Hallelujah!

12:30 PMI slept for 16 hours straight last night. Still feeling a little groggy. The airplane food did a number on my stomach so I’ve got that little issue to deal with. In a fallen world you can’t expect everything to be perfect. But overall, I feel great. I just finished reading a new book (well, new for me at any rate) called True Worship by Vaughan Roberts. I honestly think the whole book was simply fantastic. I felt it captured the essence of what I’ve been trying to say about “worship” for years. I forget who mentioned to me that I should get this book, but whoever you are — thank you! There are several lessons from this great book that I’ll share with you later, once my frazzled brain gets back to semi- “normal.” Right now I’m putting together my grocery list (the fridge is bare) and getting caught up with personal and farm finances. As all of you know, I’m sure, my travels won’t stop with this jaunt to Hawaii. Lord willing, later this month I’m in New York, then I’ll be in South Carolina and Asia in November, then back to Dallas in December. Somewhere along the way I’d like to make a hiking trip to Bryce and Zion National Parks — two of my favorite spots on the planet. My next 5K will be in Cary next Saturday, Oct. 17.  It’s called theEllie Helton Memorial 5K and Fun Run. Ellie died of a brain aneurism at the age of 14. This year’s event will raise funds to help the Brain Aneurism Foundation raise awareness of the signs, symptoms, and risk factors of this condition. The venue is the (dreaded) WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary — “dreaded” because of all the hills. The 5K begins at 9:30. I keep inviting you to run with me but seems like most of you are just a bunch of flakes. Seriously, why not come out and support a good cause — and get some good exercise while you’re at it?

Our leaves have begun to change color here. Simply beautiful. Fall is here, and with it a reminder that winter is coming. The world system is quickly passing away. Jesus is coming back, but our work is not yet done. Along with privilege goes responsibility. Where much is given, much is required. God has given me so much. I dare not regard the privilege lightly. Every Christian should be an agitator, working with God to move men and women heavenward!

Saturday, October 10

7:58 PMFrom my trip journal (#1):

Saturday, October 3

Today I hiked to the top of Koko Head. I felt like I could touch heaven even though I was still bound to earth on a giant volcanic mound.

It was a brutal hike. Each step became more difficult than the last as the grade seemed to steepen. I inched my way up the mountain. Each step was agonizing. I had overestimated my ability and underestimated the difficulty of the hike. Stride by stride I kept moving until I finally made it to the summit.

I laughed in disbelief that an old fossil like me could have accomplished such a feat. I climbed atop the pillbox and saw rays of Hawaiian sunshine wash over the rugged terrain below. I could not have chosen a better morning for my hike. From here you could see Makapuu, Hanauma Bay, Hawaii Kai, Diamond Head, and the Koolau Range.

I ended my summit attempt with a prayer of thanksgiving and began to descend. By now my knees were like rubber and I made painfully slow progress so as not to trip on the irregularly-spaced railroad ties.

When I arrived in the parking lot and located my rental car, I pondered the thought that one day I might make a hiker after all. All I needed was to rediscover the risk-taking person I was in my youth, someone with an indomitable faith that anything was possible. In a sense, every one of these hikes is a foretaste of Kilimanjaro. If the Lord leads me to climb Kili next year, I would love to make it to the summit, just as I did today at Koko Head. But my health and safety are very important to me, and if I’m unable to summit I’ll still be very proud of my efforts and know that I gave it my best.

In the meantime, the best preparation for Kilimanjaro is regular hiking to build up my leg muscles, along with good general aerobics. Whether it’s surfing, hiking, or running a 5K, it’s not about the competition for me. It’s about challenging myself —  to try and find something in life that’s really hard and try to do it. That’s the most gratifying thing of all.  Overcoming the trauma of Becky’s death was a good first step. But I have a sneaking suspicion that there are more mountains yet to climb.

12:54 PMHi folks,

I hope you are doing well. Just got back from the trip of a lifetime. I mostly relaxed and read and hiked and surfed and slept and ate and wrote and ran and lifted and surfed some more. Other than my teaching sessions I had no tight schedules, no busy agendas. When I did teach, my constant emphasis was on formation, not information. Followers of Jesus must be formed and not simply informed. I emphasized repeatedly, “The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation.” My talks centered on how radically different a Jesus-centered church is from our traditional churches. I loved the warmth and hospitality of Windward Baptist Church. I think my talks were well received. Churchianity in Hawaii is dying a slow death (hallelujah!). I kept emphasizing that not only must we be about formation, but that we must do so in community. True Christian maturity is more caught than taught. As we gather, we “spur” one another on to love and good deeds. So, while I don’t minimize for a moment the enormous value of biblical teaching in the church at every level, we need Christian leaders who will come alongside the people and meet them at the place where they live and work. I tell you, it was great to be with “my” people again, people with whom I enjoy a natural affinity based on a common language, culture, and upbringing. For me, Hawaii holds many memories, not all of them pleasant. Yet, as I look back, God overcame evil with good at each and every turn. In fact, I discovered on this trip a beauty in Christ I had not known before. The weather was both pleasant and stormy. Which reminded me: Knowing God in the sunshine is one thing; trusting (and serving!) Him in the storm is another. I spoke 3 times on Sunday and 3 times on Wednesday, and with each audience my overall message was pretty much the same: Today Jesus is looking for people who will follow Him at any cost. This kind of costly discipleship comes through biblical instruction, but only partly. We will not become obedient and passionate disciples until after the dynamite of the Holy Spirit has exploded in our souls, as it did on the Day of Pentecost. I can tell you that important things are happening in the Islands. I see more and more humble leaders working in complete obscurity to help build a body, a church, a community of Jesus freaks who exist entirely to be God’s change agents for the healing of the whole creation. There can be no half measures with Christ. The Spirit of God is always seeking a fellowship of men and women so united in faith and so filled with divine love that He can work in them and through them without hindrance. Pastor Kevin is ruthlessly straightforward in facing up to the Bible’s oftentimes upsetting and anti-status-quo practical challenges. That’s how it is with anyone who takes God at His word.

Although I wasn’t blogging while I was gone, I was still writing. Every evening I would write in my trip diary to my heart’s content. In the coming days I’ll share with you a few of my entries — and I guarantee you’ll be mightily bored! May these posts encourage you to follow hard after Jesus. A big mahalo and thank you to pastor Kevin and pastor Mark and all the bruddas and sistas at WBC for giving me the chance to contrast the Jesus of the New Testament with the accommodated Jesus of far too much of American evangelicalism.

Aloha, and thank all of you for your prayers.

Dave

Thursday, October 1

5:50 AMWell, I want to thank all of you for your readership over the years. Once again, however, it’s time to say goodbye to you — and to blogging — for a few days. I’m off to the island of my birth and youth, the “Capital Isle” of Oahu. Others call it the “Contradiction Isle” because it’s a rare combination of tranquil beaches and traffic jams that remind you of Los Angeles during rush hour. I remember it mostly for its amazing beaches — not only the world famous spots like the Banzai Pipeline and Sunset Beach but also for lesser-known spots like Queens, Ala Moana, and Makapuu. A visit to Hawaii is an invitation to sun, stroll, and swim, all of which I plan to do — and more. A huge tropical storm just skirted the islands and I’m told that the waves in Kailua are huge. I plan to surf the minute I arrive this afternoon. I also plan to lift weights at the local gym, swim my laps at the town’s Olympic-size pool, run daily 5Ks along the plumeria-scented roads of Kailua, and hike. For me, Hawaii has never been paradise. My upbringing hardly qualifies for the term. Oahu is a place with real people with real problems (not just the traffic) and, most importantly, real spiritual needs. Many have asked me how it was that I came to be convinced that Jesus was the answer to my sin problem. It was because of a man from the mainland named Rudy Ulrich who established a small congregation on the windward side and who showed me that it is by identifying myself with Christ, by accepting His death of my behalf, by becoming completely absorbed in His teaching, and by living out the drama of His life with Him that I could be reborn to become a new Dave Black. It’s now my turn to return the favor to the islands — to come back to the land I love so much and proclaim the kingdom of Light, a kingdom whose fulfillment we await with confidence. I hope it will also be a time of rest and restoration; my mind and emotions have gone through the paces lately, and there is nothing like strolling down miles-long stretches of lightly-used beaches with sand as fine as powder to reinvigorate a tired soul.

Don’t worry — I’ll take plenty of pictures and bore you silly with stories of my trip when I return. I’d especially appreciate your prayers as I share ministry with the brothers and sisters at Windward Baptist Church, including this weekend’s myth of adolescence conference. It never gets old — these trips to Hawaii. This is now my fourth visit since Becky’s death and you know what? I return energized partly by her energy, more ready than ever to pour out my life for the people of Oahu. Today I am very thankful for the memories of a life lived on these shores many years ago, of a honeymoon there, of high school fights and nasty cases of bronchitis and building my own surfboards — and thankful, too, that God orchestrated every step of my ways. I have no reason to think that He’ll stop now.

So if it’s going quiet here at DBO for a few days, it’s because I’ll be watching God work as He uses a broken and unworthy vessel. On these trips so much is the same and so much is different. Yet I can always rest in the knowledge that God made me, and He doesn’t make mistakes. Hawaii is going to be absolutely amazing because it is God’s creation, and I am honored and humbled to be a part of it.

Aloha oe, until we meet again ….

Dave

P.S. I see that Henry Neufeld has just published the second of his videotaped interviews with yours truly, this time featuring It’s All Greek to Me, a book describing my academic journal from Hawaii to Basel. I do pray it is a blessing.

 

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Friday, October 31 

9:02 AM I’ve been looking over the previous volumes in our Areopagus series with Energion, taking a moment of pure gratitude to see how God has been developing it through the years. It makes sense to be grateful when faced with all this. Today I have the joy of editing ournext volume by Chris Freet.

The publisher writes:

Chris Freet examines the biblical idea of hospitality, the role it played in biblical times, and the example that provides for us. He concludes that the western church needs to be re-awakened to the mutual and reciprocal biblical definition of hospitality; that it must undergo some contextualization in order for the biblical role of hospitality and the “person of peace” to work in it; and (3) it must transition from short-term encounters of hospitality in the West to long-term relationships as the family of God.

Do you practice hospitality? Chris Freet makes a strong case for the primacy of hospitality as a primary Christian virtue. Elders are required to be hospitable (1 Tim. 3:2; Tit. 1:8), and every single follower of Jesus is to share that same responsibility (Heb. 13:2). I especially love Lev. 25:35: “If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you.” That’s why we have restored the old farm house on our property. It is available for those who need temporary housing and is provided free of charge. (For pix, gohere).

Freet’s book doesn’t give you pat answers but it will give you a framework for asking the right questions about how well you are using “your” home for the sake of the kingdom. I am eager to see it in print.

8:32 AM Happy Reformation Day! When Luther reformed the content of the Gospel, he left the outer forms of the church essentially untouched. I believe it’s time for new wineskins, for a reformation of structure. This is as much a theological issue as was the return to justification by faith during the Reformation. Only now the issue is not soteriological but ecclesiological.

As God changes the church, one area He is developing is the concept of Body Life – the notion of believers ministering to other believers in the power and love of the Holy Spirit. The New Testament church was a mass of small groups (house churches) where elders were no more than a part of the whole and where the whole spiritual organism flourished by the individual “ministers” (the believers themselves) finding their proper role and place in the church. The key was mutual sharing, fellowship, and participation – believers functioning as “priests” instead of the heavy professionalism we find today. They realized that God entrusted His Body not into the hands of an administrative bureaucracy but into the hands of believers who took the “one anothers” of Scripture seriously. Too much of modern Christianity has fled from the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. There is very little “one-anothering” taking place in many of our congregations. Just as we have cars full of single people, so the church is marked by organized artificial performances in which the majority of believers are mere passive observers.

A reader once sent me a link to a wonderful video entitled Lessons of the Geese. From the window of my home office I have often watched these beautiful birds over-flying our farm and marveled at the beauty and symmetry of their formations. So when I first saw the video, its spiritual applications immediately struck me, for it is a wonderful metaphor of the church and the priesthood of believers. I hope you enjoy it.

P.S. When a goose gets sick or wounded and falls behind, other geese fall out of line and stand by him until he is ready to rejoin the flock. I could never have faced the trauma of Becky’s death alone. So thank you. Thank you for falling behind me and lifting me up. Thank you for storming the gates of heaven on my behalf and on behalf of my family. Thank you for sharing this adventure with us. Thank you. God hasn’t healed me completely yet, so please keep praying.

Thursday, October 30 

5:52 PM The dogs just took me for a long walk.

They insisted that I feed the donks. Who am I to argue with dogs?

Here’s the old farm house in all her beauty.

Are you enjoying the fall season as much as I am?

4:26 PM See thislittle device on the horse’s halter? It can tell you whether or not your horse is sick or injured.

I believe I will get one for myself. That way my family will know if I have colic or laminitis.

12:20 PM Check out this bird eye’s view (literally) of Paris. Unbelievable.  

12:12 PM One can now study Jewish theology in a major German university. This looks like a very interesting development.

10:14 AM Need agood laugh today? The comments will have you in stitches!

9:18 AM As you know, I’m asking all of my doctoral students to try and learn Latin as part of their studies under my tutelage. I can’t require it but I can strongly encourage it. I can’t see how anyone can be considered educated without a reading knowledge of that language. Here’s a simple passage you might enjoy translating this morning (since you have nothing better to do with your time — haha!):

Haec puella est Cornelia. Cornelia non est alta. Cornelia non est magna. Cornelia est puella parva. Haec puella est puella pulchra et bona quoque. Cornelia non est puer; est puella parva. Cornelia non est magistra. Cornelia est discipula. Haec puella non est discipulus; est discipula. Haec est magistra. Haec non est magister. Haec est femina et magistra. Haec non est discipula, non est discipulus. Haec est magistra. Cornelia est discipula. “Salve, magistra.” “Salve, Cornelia. Cornelia est puella bona.” “Magistra quoque est bona. Vale, magistra.” “Vale, Cornelia.”

Gohere to read the rest of this delightful story.

8:45 AM It was late last night and I was reading in bed when I suddenly felt overwhelmed, felt something rising deep within me and clawing its way to the surface, loud and painful. Once again God was challenging me, offering me another opportunity to trust Him viscerally. My mind went to the passage in Philippians we had studied this week in my Greek 3 class, the passage about a man named Epaphroditus. He had ministered to Paul in prison, had gotten desperately ill, but God had healed him miraculously, thus sparing Paul “sorrow upon sorrow.” All I can tell you is that, had Epaphroditus died, Paul would have been overwhelmed with grief, wave after wave of sorrow assaulting him mercilessly.

Well, God in His love and sovereignty allowed Becky to become desperately ill. For four and a half years we battled cancer together. But unlike Epaphroditus, her illness was unto death. It’s common for a major loss in life to trigger the memory of previous losses, and if those losses weren’t grieved over, the pain begins to pile up, it accumulates and is added to your current pain. The result is often emotional trauma. Paul’s honesty in Philippians is refreshing. “God had mercy on him, and not only on him, but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.” This verse is the counterpoint to all the verses in Philippians that speak about joy. To rejoice in the Lord does not mean that you deny the reality of your loss. When a person loses someone precious to them, you needn’t admonish them, “Don’t be sorrowful. Death is nothing but the entrance into eternal life, into the very presence of Jesus. We are to be content even when someone precious to us dies.” At some point during the process of recovery, you will hear those words from well-meaning friends. What they fail to realize is that when someone close to you dies, part of you also dies. You grieve not only for them but also for yourself. You are forever “without” that other person. You feel frustrated, hurt, helpless, and afraid. Sometimes you may even become angry or depressed. Neither emotion represents a lack of faith. They are simply responses to loss. Grief is that 30-feet wave I surfed at the Banzai Pipeline when I was a teenager. It moved over me and broke against me and there was nothing in the world I could do about it except yield to its force and let it carry me to a new place until it ran out of energy.

Last night, as I sat in my bed, overcome with emotion, I asked myself, What caused this sudden sorrow? What triggered it? And then it became clear to me. I had been checking the national weather map on my iPad, moving from the East Coast to the West Coast, and as I moved into the deserts of Arizona my mind blew a gasket. Before me, staring at me unforgivably on the map, were the places Becky and I had vacationed with our family while we were living in California. Memories began to race through my mind — Bryce, Zion, the Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater, Winslow, Canyon de Chelly. I suddenly felt empty, depressed, sad, withdrawn. I felt like Lee at Chancellorsville: outmanned, outgunned, outsupplied. For a brief moment I forgot that I was not alone, that Jesus Himself, the Man of Sorrows, the one who was “acquainted with grief,” was sitting right next to me, holding my hand, understanding my loss, weeping and mourning with me like He did at the tomb of Lazarus, not trying to rush me through the sadness but letting it accomplish its perfect work, teaching me how to embrace my grief, and the steps to recovery. Raw and fragile, I receded into self pity.

And then it happened. I heard the ring on my iPad telling me an email had just arrived. This is what I read:

Dear Dave,

Just wanted you to know that I am especially praying for you this week.  I have followed your blogs about Becky now for a year and have appreciated them so much.  I don’t pretend to understand your journey but I have been going on one of my own since my dad died a year ago Oct 31.  I know it doesn’t come close to the pain of losing a spouse but he was still my dad for 58 years and I have terribly missed his voice and words of encouragement.  Your willingness to openly blog your pain and your healing process has helped me through mine this past year and I am truly grateful to God  and to you for that. May the Lord comfort and encourage you through His Holy Spirit’s ministry over the coming days.

Love in Him,

Your brother in Christ.

The sky suddenly lightened. The wind subsided. The dust settled. The wave released me. God, who had seemed so distance, now felt so close that I thought I could touch Him. Tell me it isn’t so, I said to myself. How did this friend of mine, who lives 7,000 miles away on another continent, know that he needed to send me that email at that precise moment in time? This is not normal. It is inexplicable — unless you believe in a God who sees your vulnerability, sees that something has been ripped away from you, and yet still loves and cares for you. It’s as if He was saying to me, “Dave, your grief is okay. It is a statement that you loved someone very much.”

And what of this morning? The disruption, the confusion, the sorrow is still with me to a degree. I learned long ago that I can’t just hang up my pain like I hang up my shirt in my closet at the end of a work day. Grief is my constant companion, though sometimes it is more blatant, more in-your-face than at other times. Often, when I least expect it, the grief returns, sometimes like the crashing wave at Pipeline, sometimes like the oozing lava that is bearing down upon Pahoa on the Big Island today. I know that some of you feel the way I do about Becky’s loss. You share with me my pain, my grief. I have spoken with many of you. You have your own pain, too, some of you do. You lost a child or a parent this past year. There was a miscarriage or a stillbirth. That infant, though dead, still fills the bleachers of your mind. Loss is not natural, normal, predictable. I want you to know that I grieve for you too. Enter fully into your sorrow. Weep like I did last night. Go ahead and feel the pain of your loneliness (even though you are never really alone). Something absolutely life-changing has occurred in your life. Face it head-on, learn from it, let it do its work. Expect your feelings to intensify in the months ahead. And when deep within you those memories trigger the sights, sounds, and even smells of the past, when your pain overrides your ability to pray even, when all you can do is sit there and mutter over and over again, as I did last night, “Dear God, Lord Jesus,” remember that Christianity embraces both real tears and real hope. Max Lucado put it well (No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, 105-106):

Tears.

Those tiny drops of humanity. Those round, wet balls of fluid that dribble from our eyes, creep down our cheeks, and splash on the floor of our hearts. They were there that day. They are always present at such times. They should be; that’s their job. They are miniature messengers; on call twenty-four hours a day to substitute for crippled words. They drip, drop and pour from the corner of our souls, carrying with them the deepest emotions we possess. They tumble down our faces with announcements that range from the most blissful to the darkest despair.

The principle is simple; when words are most empty, tears are most apt.

Love,

Dave

Wednesday, October 29 

6:22 PM Hola, amigos! It was another beautiful week on campus.

The faculty had a Ph.D. meeting with the head of our doctoral program, Heath Thomas. Lots of good things happening, not least is that beginning in 2015 we will have a concentration in New Testament for the first time. Awesome.

Then it was lunch with “Mr. Evangelism” himself, Alvin Reid. The man’s definitely eccentric but, hey, I guess it takes one to know one.

Here’s a crazy thought to leave you with. In general, the church in America has done a pretty lousy job of manifesting kingdom love in radical ways, but just think what would happen if, instead of withdrawing from the public sector, we mobilized doctors and nurses by the thousands to leave for the Ebola-stricken regions of West Africa. This is what the Gospel is all about, right? Manifesting Jesus’ Calvary love to the world in ways that make them sit up and ask us, Why do you love us so much? As I argue in my bookThe Jesus Paradigm, the best way we Christians can transform society is by imitating Jesus and humbly serving the world in every way possible. We have 16.2 million Southern Baptists. Can’t you just see CNN reporting that a thousand SBCers were deployed to Africa in the name of Jesus? How beautiful it would be if instead of vying for political power we would follow the simple example of Jesus.

Time to get some writing done. I’ll be blogging a lot about Becky this week (hope you don’t mind too much). The more I think about her, the more grateful I become. Being alone is an opportunity to listen to what God is saying to you, to get your bearings again, and to see things about yourself that you might not have seen otherwise. So stay tuned!

7:46 AM Looking forward to team teaching the LXX class in the spring with OT prof Chip Hardy. Three cheers for teamwork!

7:40 AMDoctoral students, please take note. Over at Theological German Herr Mark has added a very useful link called theBonhoeffer Index. Perhaps my favorite link is the last one,On the German Language, in which Bonhoeffer admits that German can give even a native speaker a painful charley horse between the ears. I will admit, though, that I found it very delightful to discuss theology in German. I had a little cache of friends in Basel who were very Barthian in their view of the Word of God, and they thought I was off my theological rocker for holding to the doctrine of the verbal-plenary inspiration of Scripture. High comedy at times, let me assure you. I think the whole matter of misunderstanding between American and European theologians shows a petty state of imbecility. It’s not pleasant to think of the sheer folly of grown men talking past each other when they could be enjoying a good Jägerschnitzel and moping over topics of substance.

Tuesday, October 28 

6:50 PM This Saturday will be one of the most significant days of my life. Why does the one-year anniversary of Becky’s death mean so much to me? Florence Nightingale, the undaunted nurse on countless battlefields, that selfless servant of God and man, once wrote:

Keep clear of all jargons about men’s and women’s work and go straight to God’s work in simplicity of heart.

My wife of 37 years, Becky Lynn Lapsley Black, served God and man with simplicity of heart. She was my modern-day Florence Nightingale. She was often misunderstood as doing a man’s job in a man’s world. I knew better. She was a woman through and through, yet I’d match her courage to a man’s any day. God brought us together for one purpose and one purpose only. Christian marriage is nothing other than the union of two very imperfect Christians who are empowered by the Spirit of God, submitted to the authority of the word of God, and devoted wholly to the cause of the Son of God. Their task is the Great Commission. For 37 years I sought to honor Becky as a fellow heir of the grace of life (1 Pet. 3:7). I often failed miserably. Still, the amazing fact is that, despite our weaknesses and our failings, we served the Lord Jesus Christ as a married couple.

More than anything else, this Saturday I will try to say to anyone who will listen to me that Becky was in fulltime Christian ministry. She worked at full throttle. Paul had his Phoebe, his Euodia and Syntyche, his Priscilla. I had my Becky. Becky was not to be silenced. She fought the good fight as all unbelievers are taught to fight. She prayed, “Do something with me, God,” and He did. Although I will never live long enough to understand the whys and wherefores of God’s decision to take her Home at the young age of 60, I do know that in her years of ministry He had put her over much because she had been faithful in little. If men found her intimidating (and not a few did), it wasn’t her fault. Some men fear women in ministry. But the church needn’t fear women like Becky. The church needs to fear carnal believers of either sex who set their hearts on building their own kingdoms and not God’s.

I did not depend on Becky for spiritual growth any more than she leaned on me for the same. We each sought the Lord as to how He wanted to use our lives. Becky was a Christ-assertive woman. She succeeded in everything she set her hand to. She was completely unselfconscious. Through a radical encounter with Jesus, she found a cause that brought a radical change to her way of living. Together, we drew our inspiration from stories of team ministries like the Goforths of China, Ann and Hudson Taylor, Jim and Elizabeth Elliott. What better way to glorify God in your marriage than to be His instruments in reaching the world for Christ? Together we sought first the kingdom of God. When a married couple begins to live for something bigger than their marriage, an interesting thing happens. They begin to see their petty little differences for what they are. They are willing to sacrifice for the Gospel. They begin to find in Jesus the ultimate source of their strength, their security, their identity, their fulfillment. They learn to love each other unconditionally. They view each other as teammates and their marriage as a relationship, not a set of rules.

If it weren’t for Becky, I would be not be the man I am today. We reserved the right not only to encourage each other but also to teach, confront, and build each other up. Like the symphony analogy I spoke of the other day, we were like orchestral instruments under the direction of the Conductor. If I was a bassist, Becky was the violinist whose melodious sounds filled the concert hall. As her husband, I loved, sacrificed, and ministered to her so that Christ could fully sanctify, wash, and present her to Himself faultless. Now that He has done that, the team has been dissolved, the orchestra has lost a violinist, but that is no reason for the bassist to stop playing. I still have a Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to help me carry on. If it is nothing else, a marriage covenant represents a total and complete submission to the Lordship of Christ. Becky and I lived each day under His authority, for we discovered that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Becky is gone. But the lessons of our life together will remain with me always. Lessons about mutuality, partnership, comradeship, unity, and teamwork. These are important elements not only in a marriage but also in work and ministry.

“Two are better than one,” wrote Solomon, “because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.” For 37 years Becky lifted me up when I fell. And now that is no more. This is an excruciating truth. There is something bitter and painful about it, yet also something peaceful and acquiescent. This truth must be grasped, must be embraced as passionately as when Becky and I first put our mouths and bodies together. There is no escaping the grief and the sense of utter loss and abandonment. Like the brown leaves I see outside on this fall day, marriage is a temporary pleasure, something that is soon swept away. There was once a woman in bed right beside me. She was more beautiful to me than life itself. “Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” She was mine to have and to hold, till death do us part. And yet she was never truly mine. She was His. That is a comforting thought. As a result, my grief has begun to subside. Hope is replacing despair. I’m learning to rest in the knowledge that I will see her again someday, enjoy her radiant smile, and together we will breathe the air of pure grace. By the mercy of God in Jesus Christ, her death will be transformed into a victory song, and we will bow at His feet in humble adoration, just as we did when we took our vows those many years ago — this time as brother and sister, caught up in the wonder of our God.

This Saturday will be a star in a dark night, a reminder that dawn is coming, a harbinger that “rejoicing comes in the morning” (Ps. 30:5). As we gather one last time to honor Becky’s memory, I will tell her again that I love her, that I miss her, that she will never be forgotten. I will cry buckets of tears. I will say goodbye for the billionth time. And I will thank God for my Florence Nightingale. I will thank Him for His kindness in entrusting her to me and, now that she is gone, for His grace in holding me close and filling my emptiness.

And then life will return to taking one step, and then another ….

5:30 AM I received this beautiful email yesterday.

Hi Dave. 

As I was reading your latest blog post, my mind was wandering to the vision Jacob had of the stairway to heaven as well as a giant stair case we have here … which has 1000 steps.  Years ago on a school excursion, I remember walking up those stairs and thinking with some trepidation how far I had to go, when looking ahead – and yet, when looking back, I could see how far I had come. 

Jacob’s life was one of joy, heartache, pain and struggle. What a wonderful vision he had of God’s hand on his life. The last 12 months have been a mix of joy and heartache for yourself. One which at the beginning you wondered if and how you would get through it. Looking forward, you have a long way to go, and yet in looking back you can see how far you have come. 

I praise the Lord that he ministers to us as we look up and walk with him, doing what he has called us to do. It’s obvious that God’s hand of grace is working through, within and over you as you continue your journey on the stair way to heaven. 

Bless you brother Dave.

Father God, I ask that you will fill Dave with your Spirit of wisdom and revelation, that the eyes of his heart will be continually open and that out of your glorious riches – you will strengthen Dave with might through your Spirit in his inner being. May you cause Dave’s love to abound more and more in love and depth of insight. And that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ will flood over, well up within and flow through all he does, thinks and says. 

Monday, October 27 

7:48 PM Last week in my Ph.D. seminar on Philippians we discussed traditions used by Paul in writing that letter. Traditions in the Pauline writings may be anything from a direct Old Testament quote to an allusion to a secular poet. A modern example might be the lyric in the song “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” (“Maybe he’s no Romeo, but he’s my one-man loving show”). Another obvious example is the way Martin Luther King, Jr. began his “I have a dream” speech:

“Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation.”

This is clearly an allusion to the opening of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address:

“Four score and seven years ago….”

Now here’s something I’ve been thinking about. As you may know, I’m a huge fan of the movie Gravity, and I just noticed that the voice of “Houston” in the opening scene is none other than that of actor Ed Harris.

You remember Harris. He playedGene Kranz in the movie Apollo 13. Here’s one of his lines (slightly edited):

We’ve never lost an American in space, we’re sure as … not gonna lose one on my watch! Failure is not an option.

Now that is eerie! Sure sounds like metacognition to me.

One thing is for sure. I’ll never be able to watch Gravity again without thinking of its “prequel,” if you will — Apollo 13, which itself is superb cinematography.

7:04 PM I’ve said it before: Being able to speak a modern foreign language (other than your own, of course) will make you amuch better exegete of the New Testament. And guess what? Notall Americans are monolingual. (Sandra Bullock nails her German.)

6:55 PM You know you’re getting old when you say “Markus Barth” and people go “Who?” Well, if you want to listen to some great lectures from an outstanding lecturer (yes, I attended his lectures in Basel), gohere. I would post a picture of Professor Barth from my days in Switzerland but cameras hadn’t been invented yet.

(Note: His “capital letters” is a reference to the Hauptbriefe of Paul, to wit, Galatians, 1-2 Corinthians, and Romans.)

3:28 PM Well, ladies and gentlemen, I survived yet another series of meetings, this time in western North Carolina. I loved being at Elkin Valley Baptist Church! As you all know, I’m often asked to speak on my book The Myth of Adolescence, and here’s a congregation that is really beginning to rethink the wineskins when it comes to youth ministry. I’m guessing they will move toward a more age-integrated way of doing things, but that’s just an educated guess. Speaking of Elkin Valley, the fall foliage there was simply stunning. I think it’s incredible that God should work overtime in the fall just to remind us that time never stands still.

In other news, as you all know, this weekend we’ll be commemorating the one year anniversary of Becky’s death. Only 5 more days to go until the dinner at The Queen of Sheba! On Friday night I get to host Becky’s mom and dad here at the farm and I am looking forward to getting caught up with them on how they’ve been coping since the events of a year ago. Of course, I visit them in Dallas twice a year — the older I get the more I realize that parents deserve lots of love and attention from their grown kids!

I’ve got more to say but farm duties won’t allow it right now. Needless to say, it’s great to be back on the homestead. I have always found it a place of subdued quietness away from the turmoil of the cities. It’s also become a place of tender reminiscences, reminding me of all the days Bec and I spent together here. As I sit on the front porch, I often reflect on the brevity of life. “The end of all things is at hand,” wrote Peter (1 Pet. 4:7). That’s a pretty jarring announcement. It’s a truth, I must confess, that I’ve often under-valued. Peter held not only to the rule of Christ but also to the return of Christ. In 1 Pet. 4:5 he says that we will all “give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” Which means that I can’t wait until tomorrow to get serious about life. I don’t enjoy the luxury of procrastinating my time away. The end is at hand. Thankfully, I have this promise: “I am with you always.” The Greek has “all the days,” meaning “day after day after day” or simply “day in, day out.” Day follows day one by one, and each day since Becky’s death has had its own troubles and challenges. But each day was also accompanied by His promises: “I will never leave you nor forsake you, Dave. My grace is sufficient for you. I am with you, day in, day out.” And He has been.

Someone from Elkin Valley Baptist emailed me today to thank me for my “radical teaching.” Not sure that what I said was all that radical, but the church I grew up in never taught me this stuff. I’ll be the first to admit that I spent most of my adult life missing the point of what life is all about. I had been taken in by pop Christianity and seduced by the academic guild. Hopefully, those days are long gone. I now believe in another way of life — the kingdom of God (“Godworld”) — which stands in stark opposition to the kingdoms of this world. It’s a beautiful thing when Christians get beyond churchianity and begin to move in the promises of God. I’ll tell you straight up, though. When you begin to get serious about God’s kingdom, things will get messy. Earning doctorates and writing books may get you awards and applause, but following Jesus to the hard places of this world may get you killed. As I have matured (maybe “aged” is a better word!), I have come to the place in life where I simply don’t care much anymore to follow Jesus from a safe distance. I just want to spend my life for others.

Well, like I said, I’ve got to boogie. I’ll discuss the trip in greater detail later. Or I may not. One never knows what one will blog about next, and that’s what makes blogging so much fun!

Peace out,

Dave

(Pix:)

Saturday, October 25 

10:45 AM The picture that captured the heart of a nation:

Need a caption? “Faithful to the End.” Glad to hear that Cpl. Nathan Cirillo’s dogs will be cared for by his mother.

What would we poor humans do without our dogs?

10:18 AM Last night’s performance featured Richard Strauss’s Don Juan and Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration) as well as Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor. The standing ovations were well deserved.

The evening hailed two guest artists: conductor Eugene Tzigane and piano soloist Di Wu. It was an impressive collaboration. Mr. Tzigane’s conducting was flawless. He needed no score as he had obviously memorized every piece played last night. (Take heed, pastors who rely too much on their sermon notes!) Ms. Wu’s energy filled the concert hall. The final movement of the piano concerto bordered on virtuoso quality. Bravo!

I love to watch orchestras perform not simply because of the music. Here we have a modern-day parable of what the church, the body of Christ, should look like: One Conductor, and every member doing his or her best to contribute to the success of the whole. Peter’s teaching in 1 Peter 4 says it well. He said that each believer should use “whatever gift” they had received in service to others. They are to be “faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” This passage is vitally important to New Testament theology because it shows that it was not just the apostle Paul who valued spiritual gifts in the early church. Both Peter and Paul assume that each believer receives some kind of spiritual gift upon conversion, some specific role to play in the “orchestra” of God’s kingdom, and that such gifts are to be used to glorify God. Obviously, this is not what we see very often when we gather as the body today. In fact, the very way we arrange our “worship services” encourages spectatorism instead of participation. Our gatherings should be natural and practical, not rigidly technical and hierarchical. The life and growth of the early church depended on Spirit-filled Christians exercising their spiritual gifts to sustain the internal life of the church in preparation for going out into the world and doing deeds of service in the cause of the Gospel. Both inward and outward ministry are important and needed, but service to the world must grow out the church’s experience of community. Or, as I’ve put it before, the gathering exists for the going. This is no strange, modern philosophy but a practice the early church knew well. There is always a link in the New Testament between spiritual gifts and the foreordained “good works” that God wants us to walk in. Fortunately, recent years have witnessed a new emphasis in evangelical churches on the fact that our gatherings must be understood in their biblical context, that is, as part of God’s plan to re-energize His people so that they might be the kingdom 24/7.

Spiritual growth occurs best in community, under the headship of Jesus, our Senior Pastor/Conductor. I saw this modeled for me again last night when the world-class North Carolina Symphony came together and functioned as a unified yet diverse organism. Today, saints who live solitary lives (often as famous preachers) are put on a pedestal above those who live in true community. How often have you hard someone say about their mega-church pastor, “I’ve never met him.” Historically, Protestantism has emphasized the individual over the community. But this trend is gradually changing. As Paul puts it, “In Christ, the whole body is joined and held together by every supporting ligament, growing and building itself up in love as each part does its work” (Eph. 4:15-16).

Can you think of a more beautiful way to describe the church?

By the way, if you were a member of a symphony orchestra, which instrument would you play? Easy for me to answer. I’d play the double bass. Why? The bass rarely comes to the fore or plays a solo, and you can’t have a concert without the bass players supporting the harmonies and creating the rhythms.

Friday, October 24 

3:20 PM As you know, I’ve been on the road a lot lately. My travels have focused on kingdom living, and much of what I’ve been talking about will (I hope) be published one day in my book Godworld: Enter at Your Own Risk. To offer a summary observation: The Christian life is not a matter of knowledge primarily but one of obedience. Jesus’ commission makes that clear when He said “teaching them to do everything I’ve commanded you.” Because obedience is enabled (see Hebrews 8 and the New Covenant), that ought to be easy, but it turns out to be very difficult. What is being asked of us is nothing short of the surrender of our thoughts and will to that of another. That’s the sort of thing that involves working together and the humility to say that we need each other. That’s why I love Bible conferences like the ones I’ve been doing lately. It feels like a big family. I get the sense that we’re all in this together, that we all feel the need to let our lives be smashed to pieces by the Gospel so that the Light breaks forth. Excuses won’t do. Neither will “in-your-face” tactics like the ones going on in Houston right now, where the “sodomite” mayor is under attack by those who want to “fight for American liberties.” None of us is too old or too young to learn the power of self-denial. And that applies whether you are single or married. This was the topic of discussion I had yesterday with the couple who is staying here at the farm on retreat. Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 7 remind us that whether we are married or single we need to live our lives with single-minded devotion to Christ and the Gospel. As a single man myself, this is an important reminder that singleness is not some “abnormal” state or even a “pre-married” state of life, as if marriage were the only legitimate way of living for a believer. 49 percent of Americans are single. 33 percent of adults who attend church are unmarried. The issue here is that we are all called to sacrifice. There is no true experience of the Christian life without the cross. The biblical requirement is that we should voluntarily forego ease and accept assignments that involve suffering. My concern, as I travel, is that so many of our churches are head-knowledge-heavy and obedience-light. We have apologetic, defensive, illiterate Christians whose faith is failing because we have offered the world a Gospel without sacrifice and suffering. Instead, we unfurl the flag and wave our pom-poms. How many millions of Americans live today with this philosophy as their guiding principle, including numberless Christians? And the saddest news of all is that we have found pastors and teachers who will give us just the “right” pabulum to match and justify our lives of sinful rebellion against Godworld.

So what the Lord wants is action and not mere talk. Belief is only the beginning. So please pray for me as I speak and encourage the churches. The imperial cult is alive and well in American evangelicalism. We need to shift the bulls eye. We need a conversation that happens because of how we live and not just because of what we say. That’s how this thing called “Christianity” seems to work.” Can I get a witness? An amen? A commitment to Calvary-love even toward our enemies?

On a completely unrelated note, I’ve been enjoying theupdates from Thomas Hudgins in Madrid. He and Lesly are having way too much fun. In case you didn’t know it, Thomas (a former doctoral student of mine) is now working on a second doctorate in Spain. His focus is on the Complutensian Polyglot, especially the Greek portion of it. He’s off to a great start already. They’ll also visit the Vatican Library in Rome and see the sights while there. I told him, “Thomas, the best Italian food I’ve ever had was in Rome.” And that’s the truth (for obvious reasons). So, while he’s working on a second doctoral dissertation, I’m trying to finish a work I began almost ten years ago. The word is out, so I guess I can’t stop now.

P.S. Thomas texted me today to say that someone from Córdova was there in Madrid. Writes Thomas, “He is taking one of your books to Jesus.” I replied, “In heaven?” Jesús is, of course, my old friend with whom we launched the journal Filologia Neotestamentaria years ago.

Thursday, October 23 

5:58 PM Watchfulness. The key idea is one of preparedness in order to avoid being attacked unaware by an enemy. Jesus enjoins us to it. He even says we should abstain from sleep because His coming will be completely unexpected, like a thief in the night. Paul says we are to be watchful and prayerful at all times (Eph. 6:18-19). He says that if we fail to watch and pray, we may be lulled into a false sense of security.

This is exactly the situation the Union Army found itself in on May 1, 1863, when Stonewall Jackson’s Corp attacked the Federals’ unguarded right flank during the Battle of Chancellorsville. I always knew that General Oliver Howard’s 11th Corps was ill-prepared for Jackson’s flank attack, but I had never realized the extent of its unpreparedness until I read this book (which came in the mail this week).

General Hooker sent a message to Howard at 9:00 am that morning warning him of a possible flank attack. The order read as follows:

We have good reason to suppose that the enemy is moving to our right. Please advance your pickets for purposes of observation as far as may be safe, in order to obtain timely information of their approach.

Hooker expected his order to be carried out. It should have been carried out. It wasn’t. Only two companies of infantry were thrown out on picket duty, and they were unsupported by the reserves. Howard had simply assumed that Jacksons’ men were fleeing to Gordonsville (a site I visited three weeks ago). After the battle, the Colonel of the 17th Connecticut Infantry (whose two companies had been on picket duty that day) wrote:

The disaster resulted from Howard’s and Deven’s utter disregard and inattention under warnings that came in from the front and flank all through the day. Horseman after horseman rode into my post and was sent to headquarters with the information that the enemy were heavily marching all along our front and proceeding to our right; and last of all an officer reported that the rebels were massing for attack. Howard scouted their report and insulted the informants, charging them with telling a story that was the offspring of their imaginations or their fears.

Unbelievable! Precaution was thrown to the wind, and the result was a complete rout of the Union 11th Corps. Howard ignored the warnings he received. “Watchfulness” wasn’t a part of his vocabulary, it seems.

And so I ask myself: Are you watchful, Dave? Am I mindful of my duty? When the Lord comes, will He find me indulging in sloth and ease? Am I seeking His will diligently in prayer? Jesus spent hours in prayer. He sometimes spent the whole night praying to His Father. I’m ashamed to admit that my prayer life is tepid at times. Believe me, I’ve had several painful disappointments this week, and I wish I had prayed about the situation before I allowed frustration to set it. I didn’t. The honest truth: duty is difficult at times. It’s hard work, and a lot of the time I just want to curl up in a ball and pretend the enemy doesn’t exist. I can certainly empathize with good old Oliver Howard. He should have been better prepared to meet the enemy, but he wasn’t.

How long? How long before I learn the discipline of duty? How long does God have to wait before I run to Him with my problems and inadequacies? How long will I remain slothful and lazy in my prayer life?

Tell me, if you can. How do you cultivate watchfulness?

4:26 PM I see the NFL is thinking about adding another team to its roster, namely the London Loonies. (Well, at least a team in London; not too sure about the name.) Bad idea. Let’s keep American football in America. And what better place to add a team than my home state of Hawaii. Let’s call them the Honolulu Hukilaus. They’d play barefooted, of course, and after each game the visiting team would be treated to a plate lunch dinner and shave ice, along with a fragrant plumeria lei. That is, if the visiting team lost. If they won, I tink its time, brah, to aks um, “You like beef o wat?”

12:38 PM Buenas tardes, amigos! Un poco de esto y un poco de lo otro:

1) Wikipedia now offers alist of New Testament scholars.

2) Our gorgeous campus. I never tire of it.

3) I remember when this shelf was only about 5 feet wide. You go, new authors!

4) The North Carolina Symphony will perform this concerto tomorrow night. We’ll be there. (I wish I could explain to you just how much I love classical music.)

 

5) Here, for your vicarious pleasure, is a screen shot of our front row seats. I enjoy watching the bassists.

6) This morning has been busy. Talked with a Ph.D. student (whom I’m mentoring by phone) and gave our guests a tour of the farm. They hail from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, one of my favorite spots on the planet. Reenacted the Battle of New Market there once. In the rain. Yes, reeenactors are a strange breed.

If I get three solid hours of writing in today, I’ll be one grateful author.

Wednesday, October 22 

9:08 AM Good morning folks! I hope you had a great day yesterday. Mine was jammed. Our Ph.D. seminar went from 7:30-10:00. After that I had a one-hour mentorship with one of my doctoral students. Then I taught my 12:30 Greek 3 class. After that: dinner with a couple of friends at the Olive Garden. Then I brought my fourth message of the week at Good Hope. Tonight is my final talk. I’ll be speaking on the five Greek words for love as I discuss “Jesus’ Greatest Question” from John 21:15-17.  For a few days we’ll be having visitors again on the farm, and then tomorrow night it’s the North Carolina Symphony. On Saturday I leave for Elkin, NC for two days of meetings. Next Saturday, of course, will mark the one year anniversary of Becky’s homegoing. Sitting at the computer here this morning I’m pondering the undeniable fact that I am a very blessed man. Yes, I am getting older (“creak”), but my heart catches in my throat when I look at the picture of Becky and me on the mantle and I think of all the wonderful years the Lord gave us together. Because life can be that simple. Sometimes all we need is a little reminder that our God is indeed good. Funny how death can make you feel a little more alive today. I’m ready to see God do more great things. How ’bout you?

Pix:

1) My doctoral seminar discussing the Christ hymn in Philippians.

2) My office is a nice place for mentoring students. Here one of them is working on a Greek exercise I gave him yesterday.

3) Then I had him translate some Barth…

4) … before we watched a video clip of the man himself lecturing in German. (Yes, I want my students to know German well.) Then we discussed two chapters from my bookInterpreting the New Testament.

Today I get have lunch with prospective students and teach my Greek 1 class.

Can you see why I love teaching so much?

Monday, October 20 

2:18 PM Spending the day cleaning Bradford Hall in preparation for some guests who arrive this week. Grateful for Kim and the kids’ help!

10:15 AM Henry Neufeld (whose blogging juices have been overflowing of late)asks, “Who in the church today might be a prophet?” I don’t have a clue. But I do have some thoughts on prophecy as it relates to blogging.

To begin with, in the early church the prophets were people whose messages were more the direct result of the Holy Spirit than the result of thought and study. They apparently exercised their gift both itinerantly and within local congregations. While I’m not sure that “prophets” in this New Testament sense exist today, I do believe that all of us would recognize people in our churches and denominations who seem to have a special knack for speaking directly to God’s people with encouragement, exhortation, and/or warning. In my experience, these people are rarely administrators or overseers. Their goal is to help the rest of us (and the church at large) understand the word of God correctly.

Naturally, I do not consider myself a prophet in this sense. Not at all. But I do think some of the principles I find in the New Testament concerning prophecy apply to what I do as a blogger. For example, Paul tells the church in Thessalonica not to despise prophecies. Instead, believers are to test everything. The reason for this is obvious. Prophets are subject to extremism (as are all of us) as well as to the temptation to speak on their own. So their words must be tested.

Secondly, in 1 Cor. 14 Paul makes it clear that the spirit of a prophet is subject to that prophet. This is why all things can be done “decently and in order.” So, if there are prophets in your midst, they may speak, but no more than two or three in any one gathering; they must speak one at a time; and if someone else receives a prophecy, the first speaker must bring his “word” to a conclusion in order to let the next prophet speak. This means, at the very least, that prophecy is subject to an external authority, which (I would assume) is the apostolic word.

Finally, from 1 Cor. 14:3, I gather that the purpose of prophecy is threefold: edification, encouragement, and comfort.

When it comes right down to it, I think this is good advice for those of us who blog. Before we press the upload button, I think it’s helpful to ask ourselves, “Is what I’m saying upbuilding, encouraging, and/or comforting to others?” Then too, I think we need to guard ourselves against the temptation to think we have the last word on any subject we might blog about. Our words must be tested. Moreover, Paul’s teaching about prophecy should make all of us all the more careful about succumbing to the temptation to become a “fan” of any one blogger out there, as if I could not make it through the day until I have read his or her blog. The most important decision you and I will ever have to make in life comes down to the question of authority: Whose word will we ultimately trust — the word of man or the word of God? The reason I emphasize this is because I suppose there are many of us (myself included) who would never think of not checking the blogs on a daily basis and yet at the very same time will forget to pick up the Bible sitting on the kitchen counter.

As I said above, I do not consider myself a prophet — far from it! In fact, I’m writing this post more for me than to anyone out there in cyberspace. I know my heart only too well. I know my love for blogging — and for reading others’ blogs, especially blogs that are meaty and challenging and insightful and encouraging and convicting. Maybe yours is one of those blogs. And so I have to keep telling myself, “Dave, if you really want to know Christ, spend a quiet evening this week with John.” No, notthat John. I’m talking about John the apostle. I must spend time reading what Jesus said about Himself if I am to get the real inside scoop of who He is. In other words, if I am to become intimate with Christ, I must turn to those who knew Him best. The Scripture gives us knowledge that we can’t get anywhere else. And the fact is, the best modern-day prophets (if such indeed exist) will tell you the same thing. They will keep reminding their audiences to look unto Jesus, not to them. As with John the Baptist, they will gladly admit that they must decrease and He must increase. Indeed, like the bright and morning star, they will simply fade into oblivion in the light of the rising Sun.

9:30 AM Peyton Manning: “Football is the ultimate team sport.” Good for you, sir! That is so right on. It takes a big man to give credit where credit is due.

When I go to a movie I sometimes sit there and watch the closing credits. For most of us, the movie ends when the hero walks off into the sunset, eventually to earn accolades and a possible Academy Award nomination. But the movie isn’t really over until all of the bit players are credited. Did I say “bit players”? In the end, there are no bit players because for that movie to work, everyone has to do his or her job, and do it well.

When Christ wanted to demonstrate the Father’s love, He thumbed His nose at the world’s standards. He ministered to the ignored, the poor, the meek, the losers. And then, through His apostles’ writings, He told us to do the same — to follow His example by caring for the orphans and widows and to feed the hungry and to befriend complete strangers. Of course, the white-collar crowd in His day didn’t appreciate that very much. Which is one reason why I think the story of the woman taken in adultery (John 7:53-8:11) may have seemed so offensive to them. Here’s Jesus forgiving a woman who had just shared a bed with someone other than her husband. Shocking!

The more I think about Peyton Manning and his accomplishments, the less inclined I’m willing to talk about “his” accomplishments. As for me? I could not have gone to college without the assistance of an anonymous donor who helped pay for my tuition. I could not have taught Greek without Harry Sturz taking a big risk on a fledging Greek student. I could not have attended Basel had not Becky worked three shifts a week in ICU to help save money. I could not have published anything without my assistants carefully proofreading my work and adjusting my manuscripts to the publishers’ standards. I could not be the friend I am to so many if others had not been so friendly toward me.

It’s a lot easier to take all the credit for yourself. But if you do that, you’ll likely be lying. So kudos to Mr. Manning on his achievement, and a huge tip of the helmet to an accomplished superstar who is willing to recede into group. It’s an example I need to take to heart more often. 

Sunday, October 19 

9:32 PM Can you be a fisherman if you never fish? You can claim to be one, even have a Ph.D. in fishology from the world’s best fishing school. You can be an expert in all kinds of ways of catching fish. But the question is: do you fish? And have you ever caught anything? And even if you can’t fish yourself, you can enable others to.

Tonight I made it clear what I believe about evangelism (fishing). We are living in a new era of missions. More than ever before, we can make it possible for thousands upon thousands of Indians and Africans and Asians to move out and reach their societies with the Gospel of Jesus. If we help, they are ready to go and get the job done. This is the day of the native missionary movement, and I for one am glad to see it. No, this will not stop me from traveling to Asia and other regions of the world to assist the churches there. But more and more I am seeing my role as a missions enabler and mobilizer. It’s time we gave the water of life in a foreign cup. Our part is to share financially with the great work God is doing in the Majority World.

Praise God, I was able to share this message with my new friends at Good Hope tonight. The church in the Majority World is ready to take the lead. Will we support them? I am challenging you to join me in becoming involved prayerfully and financially in the great work that lies ahead. The time is short. Jesus is coming soon. Let’s be about the Father’s business, church.

1:48 PM It was great to meet Michael McCray along with his sweet wife and church family today. Mike took Greek with me many years ago.

Good Hope is in Granville County, where Becky and I lived when we first moved to North Carolina 16 years ago.

If you think rural America is a thing of the past, just visit Granville. Of course, now I live in Podunk itself. Looking forward to showing pix and talkin’ missions tonight!

8:52 AM The first thing Becky and I did when we got engaged was to pick out our wedding rings. As I recall, we drove all the way to El Cajon to a discount jewelers. I picked out the largest diamond I could afford for Becky. As for me, I wanted a simple wedding band. I’ve now worn it for 38 years. Wearing that ring speaks louder than words. I am following Jesus — no strings attached. I am content.

Not sure why I’m telling you this. I think I mentioned to you after Becky’s death that I would wait one year before deciding whether or not to remove my wedding ring. Well, now you know, I guess. I just want to be used by God. Used in very big, extraordinary ways. I know He will allow me to do this if at the same time I’m willing to trust Him in very ordinary ways each and every day of my life. I would love to soar high on wings like eagles again, or even run and not grow weary. But I’m content with just being able to take one step at a time. God still has big plans for me, just as He did for Jeremiah. Make no mistake about it, friend. If you choose to follow Jesus in obedience and love (and let’s be clear — it is your choice), then you need never worry about the delimitations you think you have. God delights in using “nobodies,” whether they are single or married.

Saturday, October 18 

5:58 PM Just wrote my annual check for the local volunteer fire department. Grateful for their service to our community.

5:50 PM I’m sitting here in an empty house but my heart has never been fuller. I’m so grateful to God for the beautiful home He has given Kim and Joel. I just want you to know that if ever there was a couple who will maximize what they have for the kingdom, it’s them. (Of course, I say this about all my kids.) Ask that God would use their home to be a blessing to everyone who enters. Ask that God would strengthen Kim and Joel as they seek to raise five children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Ask that the Light would shine brightly from this house into a dark community. Ask all this.

Pix (of course):

1) The happy couple.

2) Kim was really in her element as she showed everyone her house.

3) The weather could not have been more perfect for this special day.

4) This is the guestroom quilt Kim made from scraps that Mama B had given her. Special.

5) Here’s Joel leading us in a time of praise and prayer.

6) Caleb and his cat.

1:50 PM At 3:00 o’clock today I’ll be attending a house dedication service in Roxboro. My daughter Kim and her husband Joel have finally moved into their new house, along with their five precious children.

Question for you. Have you formally dedicated your place of residence to God? If you haven’t you should. It means acknowledging that but for the grace of God you wouldn’t have a roof over your head. It means telling the public that not a square inch of “your” house belongs to you. And it means giving glory to the One to whom glory alone is due. Becky and I had a dedication service for every residence we ever lived in. God wants out of the closet. He wants to be acknowledged in every area of our lives.

So … how about you and your house?

1:44 PM Quote of the day (from an email I just received):

Your last note illustrates why I tell people that when they hear in a sermon “What this says in Greek …” or “What the Greek really means here …” they’re about to be misinformed. That’s overstated, but those openings rarely are followed by a true proposition.

1:32 PM Poor Thomas Hudgins. He and Lesly just HAVE to go toSpain and attendthis conference. Bon voyage, you two!

1:20 PM More than one of you has reminded me via email ofthis excellent resource on prepositions. Gohere for a sample. Of course, there are some who would deny (or at least downplay) the role of polysemy and synonymy in New Testament lexicography. See, for example, Robert Thomas: Modern Linguistics Versus Traditional Hermeneutics.

11:26 AM Jacob Cerone just sent me a link to William Varner’sEvangelical Exegetical Commentary on James. He says to click on the “See Inside” button for a sample. Thank you Jacob. I will do just that!

11:18 AM This post is for all of my Greek 3 (syntax and exegesis) students this semester. If you take theology seriously you ought to take exegesis seriously too. That’s the point in this essay called The Danger of Exegesis-less Theologizing – A Case in Point. The author writes:

Where is the concrete proof that Jesus actually was indwelled with the Spirit, in a way that is beyond mere relational bliss? In Mark 1:10, the Greek text states clearly, “. . . the Spirit coming down INTO him.” The Spirit descended from the sky and came down into Jesus, not alongside him, not in relation to him, but within/inside of him. This cannot be missed.

Moreover, it exemplifies why theologians can be a dangerous breed: they often do not notice the minutia of the detail. The Greek preposition eis only can mean “into.” It cannot mean “touching the outskirts,” “near,” or the like. The Spirit came down and resided within the spirit of Jesus. This is the same preposition as in Mark 1:9, where it says that Jesus traveled from Nazareth into Galilee, meaning that he did not just come near the border of Galilee and look inside. Instead, he crossed the border and meandered within the sovereign territory/region of Galilee.

Notice this sentence: 

The Greek preposition eis only can mean “into.”

Students, do you remember what we talked about two weeks ago when we covered the Greek prepositions?

1) Greek words normally do not have a single meaning but several, and hence they may be glossed in several different ways in English. (This is called polysemy, which I discuss in detail in my Linguistics for Students of New Testament Greek.) Hence rarely if ever can we say that a particular Greek lexical form “means” this or that. Context is the final arbiter of meaning. For example, the Greek noun hemera (often translated “day”) can refer to a 24-hour period of time, a 12-hour period of light (as opposed to a 12-hour period of darkness — “night”), a long period of time (as in the expression “the Day of the Lord”), or even a “human court” (which is the correct rendering of hemera in 1 Cor. 4:3; so the ESV, NASB, HCSB, etc.). The term eis has many other glosses in English than the simple “into,” as a look at BDAG will make obvious.

2) Rarely if ever can we determine the meaning of a passage based on a single word. That includes prepositions. Students, should you try to do this, I will warn you against “prepositional” theology.

3) Note too that Mark 1:10 contains a textual variant that involves the preposition eis. Other mss. read ep (short for epi). The preposition ep is supported by Aleph A L W Θ ƒ1 33 M syr. As we saw three weeks ago, when we went through my book New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide, variants like this are often important considerations before translating any passage into English.

4) Finally, do you recall we noted that, by the Koine Greek period, several prepositions in Greek have come to be used somewhat synonymously, examples being apo/ek and eis/en? I shared with you what Westcott wrote in his John commentary about the use of eis in John 1:18. He insisted that, because eis is used instead of en, Jesus was “into” the bosom of the Father. But Westcott wrote prior to the discovery of the papyri. Since then, lexicographers have shied away from insisting on a hard and fast distinction between eis and en. 

Now, let me be clear: I don’t necessarily disagree with the above author’s translation of eis in Mark 1:10. I think his rendering may well best suit the immediate context. But to say that eis can only be rendered as “into”? I have my doubts. The fact is that the Greek allows several different possibilities here: “on him,” “toward him,” “into him,” etc. (See the note in the NLT.)

(For further reading: See Dan Wallace’sdiscussion of eis in the New Testament. His glosses for eis include “into,” “toward,” “in,” “for,” throughout,” and many others. He also notes that eis and en can be used interchangeably in the New Testament.)

9:35 AM Brian Fulthorp was kind enough to send me this link to theEvangelical Exegetical Commentary. I wish there were samples online to preview. Maybe there are and I just don’t know where to find them.

9:12 AM Hi folks. Good Saturday morning to you! Yesterday, Dan and Gil Harrington marked the fifth anniversary of their 20-year old daughter’s murder. They became members of a club they never wanted to join and will never be able to quit:The Murdered Child’s Club.

The dues are more than steep. They are crushing. And yet, membership in this club grows.

Today the Harringtons are constructing something positive from their heartache. “What choice do we have?” Morgan’s dad asks.

One year ago, when Becky died and the halls were quiet … when her voice was no more to be heard … when the sun had set on our marriage … when the door of her presence had closed …. a man snuggled under his covers at night with these thoughts numbing his mind to sleep:

Blessed are those who are broken,

Blessed are those who have lost what is most precious to them in life,

Blessed are those who are walking through the valley of grief,

Blessed are those whose loss weighs them down and deadens their senses,

Blessed are those whose emotions are so raw and fragile they think they are losing their minds,

For they shall be comforted, upheld, their grief will be turned to joy, there will be a smile instead of a frown, a calmness instead of an edge, rest and sleep will return, and the foundation for this hope, Jesus Christ, will seem more alive and real than ever.

Dan and Gil Harrington’s journey was imposed on them. So was mine. It’s not one of choice. We can either fight against it or embrace it and make something positive out of it.

You may have noticed that I haven’t blogged about Becky in a while. That’s because of the goodness of God. He has helped me to progress through this journey with greater comfort and hope than I ever thought possible. Grieving is hard work — sometimes very hard work. You have been broken, and nothing will ever change that. Two days ago the Bleacher Report ran a story about a high school track and field runner who crawled across the finish line after suffering numerous bone fractures in the last few feet of the race. “I have to finish. I’m doing this for my team,” Callihan told Asheville’s News 13:

 

That’s me, folks. No matter how cheerful I may seem, no matter how well-adjusted I may appear to you, I am broken. No matter how hard others may try to “fix” me, I am broken. But you see, I don’t need to be fixed in order to complete my race. I will crawl across the finish line if necessary.

Thank you, Dan and Gil, for learning from your loss and showing the rest of us what it looks like to overcome evil with good. Once again, I’ve come to realize that I’m not the only one to feel this way. Recovering from grief is taking a lot longer than I anticipated it would. But it’s a great teacher, and I’m learning from it, just as have you, Dan and Gil. You and I will forever be different because of our loss. I pray that if you know God, your walk with Him would also be different, maybe even deeper, like it was with Job.

Friend, whatever loss you’re facing today, please keep on running (or crawling). Let’s do it for our team. And for our Coach. He is worthy.

Friday, October 17 

6:40 PM Today I was on a website in which the “office” of pastor was being extolled. The author insisted that the pastoral office is a special calling and separate from secular employment. He also asked “Who has the last word?” His answer: The pastor, along with other ordained men. (The congregation has no real say.)

What do you think?

At one time I might have agreed (to a degree). But today I see no rigid distinction between clergy and laity. In fact, I would aver that the New Testament teaches no such thing. According to the New Testament, the “ministry” belongs to all God’s people. In a sense, this is a point Henry Neufeld is making in hislatest blog post. I won’t speak for Henry, but it appears that his definition of ministry is based more on the pillar of the priesthood of all believers than on any rigid office divinely ordained by “inviolable decree” (Calvin). This is why the church is the agent of God’s kingdom work. But it is more than that.It is the community of God’s people regardless of their denominational affiliations. As Henry notes, he and I can partner together even though one of us is a born-again Methodist and the other is a born-again Baptist. He is a Charismatic Christian, and I am not. But we both belong to the same messianic fellowship that functions as a charismatic body. John Howard Yoder (a fellow Basel grad) insists that in the New Testament there is not a hint of a hierarchal ladder whereby one Christian might progress upward from one office to the next.

If we come to the New Testament [he writes] with this “professional religionist” view of ministry, asking “What is said on this subject?” then we can add together some things which Paul said about himself as apostle, some things he wrote to Timothy and Titus about themselves, some other things he wrote to them about bishops and deacons, some things Acts reports about the leaders in Jerusalem and Antioch, salt the mixture with some reminiscences from the Old Testament, and come up with a quite impressive package as the “Biblical View of Ministry” (“The Fullness of Christ,” Concern, Feb. 1969).

But then he adds:

Let us take quite seriously the warning of 1 Cor. 12 against trying to establish a hierarchy of values among the varied gifts. This warning is the point of the passage: that there are many gifts is not the chapter’s message, for that is self evident, at least in Corinth. Paul’s concern is that it be recognized that all these many gifts have the same source, and that all are (each in its place) of the same value.

Obviously, then, in order to be a part of the community of Christ one does not have to see eye to eye on everything that has to do with local church polity. Henry’s Methodist congregation has a senior pastor and over him a bishop; my local Baptist congregation has a plurality of elders and deacons. But what matters most to both Henry and me (again, I hope I am not misrepresenting Henry) is that the primary concerns of any local church ought to be proclaiming the Gospel (both by life and by lip) and edifying the Christian community. The calling of the church, then, is to genuinely be the redeemed community of God in this world and thendo the works of God by carrying on the works of Jesus Christ. As such, Henry and I are members of the same “church,” if you will, in that the priority of the community is important for each of us. Obviously, this does not mean I should try to persuade him to become a Baptist or to espouse my views on church polity. It does mean, however, that “I can edify myself only as I edify the community” (Barth). In fact, I would go a step further and suggest that the very heterogeneity on display when Henry and I cooperate in the work of the Gospel is a demonstration of the power of the very Gospel we are both seeking to proclaim and live. This unity-in-diversity is a hallmark of the community of the King and one I cherish deeply. So, I think, does Henry.

For more, you may wish to read these essays of mine:

Paul and Christian Unity: A Formal Analysis of Philippians 2:1-4

On the Style and Significance of John 17

The Pauline Love Command: Structure, Style, and Ethics in Romans 12:9-21

5:50 PM I saw this over at CNN:The photo of a lifetime. The “lifetime,” in this case, is but a few minutes. It’s a gut-wrenching series of photos for sure. Being a Christian doesn’t guarantee freedom from some pretty severe trials and confusion. But in the middle of the trial God will give you His peace, peace amid the biggest spiritual and emotional wars you will ever fight. Please look at these photos and then say a prayer for every parent you know who has ever lost a little one.

5:38 PM I spent the afternoon with Nathan and his family. Here’s Nate with Graham. He is so cute it hurts! (Graham, that is. Nate is on old geezer like his dad.)

Love this pic!

If I look happy, it’s because I am.

Cheers!

12:15 PM Can a New Testament Greek teacher be an eclectic linguist? Steve Rungethinks so. What say you?

12:04 PM Signs. It’s an odd word. In the New Testament, signs are often the equivalent of miracles. But not always. As you know, I’m reading an excellent book called Strangers to Fire, which I’ve highly recommended. Wayne Grudem has an outstanding chapter called “Should Christians Expect Miracles Today?” It’s a must read. Grit your teeth, because the essay will disabuse you of many wrong ideas you’ve entertained about signs. For example, Wayne has a long section on 2 Cor. 12:12, where Paul claims, “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you in all patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works.” Here, the “signs of an apostle” are not the miracles (signs) mentioned at the end of the verse. Wayne shows how the word “sign” has a much broader range of meaning than just “miracle.” He concludes that the signs of Paul’s apostleship are something other than miracles, listing the following as examples (all of which are found in 2 Corinthians 10-12):

  • Paul’s jealous care of his churches.

  • His selflessness (i.e., self-support).

  • His refusal to take advantage of others.

  • His willingness to suffer hardship for the sake of Christ.

  • His contentment with his thorn.

Imagine that. Paul’s Christ-like ministry, his selflessness, his work ethic, his suffering for the sake of the Gospel — these are proofs of his apostleship! Not so the false teachers, whose lives were marked by pride and selfishness.

What are the signs that you are a genuine follower of the Lord Jesus? “Well, look at the size of my church!” “Nonsense,” God will likely snort. The devil tries to dupe us into thinking that success is based on appearance or performance. The price tags have been swapped. You may pastor a church of thousands and have multiple church campuses and make a half million dollars a year; or you may be able to slam-dunk a basketball or fit into a bikini or memorize a catechism and still fail to evidence the signs of true conversion, which may include languishing in prison or having your brains blown out.

What about it? Would there be enough evidence to convict you of being a Christian if you were arrested?

11:32 AM So just how old is p 52? I (and many others) have supported a date of ca. 125. But the evidencemay prove otherwise.

(Thanks to DBO reader Craig for the link.)

11:20 AM Good news! “He that hath an ear to hear let him hear.” Looks like my left ear will be okay given time. The ENT doctor found no permanent damage. He thinks I will be able to fly again within a month. I can’t help but smile as I marvel again at the extravagant way God blesses His children. I can’t wait to board that next flight and scrunch up like a sardine as the fine fellow in front of me puts his seat back into my knees!  

8:45 AM In Greek 3 we just finished going through half of chapter 2 of Philippians. I am learning so much. Here are a few of my takeaways:

1) The greatest problem in the church is me (2:3). I allow things in my life that dull my spiritual sensitivity and produce carnality and division in the church. Paul calls this “selfish ambition and conceit.” The middle letter of “sin” is “I,” and it is this Big I that causes most of the trouble in our churches.

2) The ultimate solution to the greatest problem in the church is Christ (2:5). We must have the same mind that was also in Christ Jesus. The secret of the early church is simply that it was Christ-directed and Spirit-filled. We need to return to the absolute sovereignty of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our churches.

3) The way up is down (2:6-11). Contrary to popular notions, our Father is pleased when His children cease striving after status, recognition, and honors. Our supreme business as Christians is not success but submission. What matters is that we have the mind of Christ, which means, first and foremost, taking a towel and water and washing the disciples’ feet. From status to service! From majesty to meniality! From standing tall to bending low! We must live as He lived who took the form of a servant.

4) Obedience is required (2:12). It is not enough to make a good start in the Christian life. Demas started well but ended poorly. John Mark started poorly but ended well (2 Tim. 4:10-11). Let’s remain faithful and grow in our obedience to Christ.

5) Obedience is enabled (2:13). It is God who is producing in us both the desire and the ability to do what pleases Him. What would you do for Christ if you could? Or if you dared? God delights in using weak but yielded vessels. Together, verses 12 and 13 take care of a lot of questions about which the saints have differed. At the end of the day, our obedience to Christ is both required and enabled. It is bothour responsibility and God’s responsibility. All He asks is that we stay in tune with His Spirit.

6) Stop complaining (2:14)! Even when nothing works out according to our plans. Even when things don’t make sense. Even when demons dance in glee. We can rejoice and praise God anyhow.

7) Am I “holding forth the word of life” (2:16)? Our business as Christians is not to hoard our blessings but to share them with others. The early church had a deep sense of mission. There are no simpler words to state the responsibility of the church than Paul’s words: “holding forth the word of life.”

8) Make room in your life for trouble (2:17). We can’t preach the cross and not share in it. Suffering is inherent in the very nature of the Christian experience. Jesus grappled with the ugly, the sordid, the hideous, and if we are to follow Him we too must grapple with a bruised and suffering society. Great soldiers are developed in battle, not on parade. Paul poured himself out for others, and so must we. A comfortable Christian is an oxymoron.

8:34 AM “Most class time is not learning. It’s stenography.” Richard Felder.

8:22 AM There’sa good discussion of seminary education here:Stop Blaming the Seminaries. How true — the lessons of ministry can’t be learned in the classroom but must be forged in the crucible of training. If, as Whitehead once observed, the typical graduate student is “overladen with inert ideas” and ill-prepared for real life ministry, no one can blame the New Testament for this sorry state of affairs. Here’s hoping you will graduate from seminary with some very radical ideas — “radical” in the sense of going back to the roots of the faith. For starters, might we reject the notion of the omnicompetent pastor and return to an Ephesians 4 model of equipping ministry? Marjorie Warkentin writes that “the vocabulary of New Testament leadership permits no pyramidal forms, it is the language of horizontal relationships…. Ordination can have no function in such a system, for it sets up barriers where none should exist, that is, between one Christian and another and hinders the mutual service by which the church is edified” (Ordination: A Biblical-Historical View, p. 187).

If we ordain ministers who are fully supported by the church, then we should also ordain ministers who are not — and that should include all of us.

Thursday, October 16 

5:48 PM ReadTen Facts about NT Textual Criticism.

5:38 PM Odds and ends …

1) Received this email from a friend who lives Down Under:

What a mess you guys are in about the Ebola. Sadly, our own country isn’t handling it well either.

Yep. And the Ebola crisis will probably only get worse before it gets better. We were told that the virus would be contained outside the borders of the United States. We were wrongly informed. We were told that the CDC had the situation completely under control. We were misinformed. We were told that healthcare workers in Texas who acquired Ebola had violated protocols. Sadly (mostly for them), they (and we the public) were wrongly informed. (The protocols that were supposedly “violated” didn’t even exist in that hospital.) We were told that the “self-monitored” nurse who flew to Ohio and back to Texas was warned not to use commercial transportation. Yet the CDC told her she could travel. My heart goes out to these two young ladies. What happened to them shouldn’t have happened. Avoidable mistakes were made by an organization that receives billions of taxpayer money annually to get it right the first time. From now on, medical staff should be allowed to opt out of assuming the risks associated with Ebola patient care. In fact, from now one, the CDC experts need to assume that responsibility. I hope to God the nurses affected survive and that they are the last nurses in the U.S. to come down with the disease.

2) Some good news on the publishing front. My co-editor Jacob Cerone and I are making good headway on landing a major publisher for the Pericope Adulterae Conference papers. I can’t share with you the details at this time, but I am excited about where things are going.

My post-conference report may be foundhere in case you’re interested. As I noted at the time, “the most interesting speaker this weekend was our own Maurice Robinson, whose status among the textual critics present has achieved, it appears, almost that of Michael the Archangel.” Yep, the atmosphere on campus was simply angelic.

3) At 9:30 tomorrow morning I have my appointment with an ENT specialist. My left ear is still partially blocked though, praise God, there has been some improvement. I’d really appreciate your prayers for healing. In Mark 8, we read about a blind man whom Jesus healed in two stages, which implies that the healing process may require several stages (possibly even more than two) in order for God to accomplish His own purposes. I do know that God answers the persistent prayers of His children, and that He sometimes does so in such a way that people are amazed and begin to glorify Him. So thank you for praying. I’ll let you know how things go. I’m pretty much grounded until we can get this thing figured out.

2:20 PM Please gohere and support nurse Nina Pham.

1:53 PM To sum up: The CDC has not ruled out a travel ban or travel restrictions from Africa.  

1:43 PM Was the staff at Texas Presbyterian trained in how to deal with Ebola? (No.) On Sept. 25 Mr. Duncan told the ED staff he had come from Liberia. Why was he sent home? When he was brought back by ambulance three days later, why weren’t shoe covers put on immediately? Medical staff should have been completely covered. 150 people a day enter the U.S. from infected countries in Africa. If our job is to protect the American public, does the president have the legal authority to impose a travel ban for health reasons? Several African nations (as well as Jamaica) have imposed such restrictions. If other countries are doing this, why aren’t we? This is not a fail-safe system that has been put into place. (Frieden: If we ban travel, people will come in illegally and we won’t be able to track them.) Until the problem is solved in Arica, we can and should say “no” to these people and ban them from entering the U.S.

1:30 PM Questioning of witnesses begins. Why was the nurse permitted to fly? She contacted the CDC and was not told she couldn’t. Why was she transferred to the NIH? Why don’t we have in place travel restrictions from Africa? Why are we still allowing people to come here? They are not quarantined for 21 days. Why not? This is what happened with the nurse who went to Cleveland.

1:24 PM Anthony Fauci (NIAID Director): A vaccine is in phase one trials. Robin Robinson (HHS): The best way to protect our country is to address the Ebola outbreak in Africa. Several Ebola vaccine candidates exist and are in clinical studies. Luciana Borio (FDA): We’re expediting clinical testing within 24 hours of request. The FDA is supporting the WHO. Daniel Varga from Texas Health (by video link): We provide one standard of care for all regardless of race. We made mistakes. We failed to correctly diagnose Mr. Duncan’s symptoms. We provided inaccurate information to the public. No doubt, that was unsettling to the public. We don’t know how our nurses became infected.

12:52 PM Witnesses have been sworn in. Tom Frieden begins his opening statement. “We know how to control Ebola.” “We’re open to ideas as to how we can control the outbreak.”

12:52 PM The fact is that we cannot guarantee the safety of our health workers on the front lines. We have to learn from the situation in Texas. We need answers to these questions. We have to get this right. Let’s learn from our mistakes and not repeat them. This is a wake-up call.

12:45 PM Why haven’t we developed an Ebola vaccine yet? The CDC is behind the curve. The response has been too slow and inadequate. People are scared. We need all hands on deck. We need a strategy. This is not a drill. Protocols are being developed on the fly. Little wonder the confidence of the country is shaken.

12:42 PM The American people have lost confidence in the current strategy. We were unprepared. Texas Presbyterian “learned on the fly” how to deal with Ebola. Our approach has been mismanaged.

Good for Congress!

12:33 PM I’m watching the CDC Director Tom Frieden and other witnesses testifying before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee. The CDC has a lot of ‘splaining’ to do.

12:22 PM Just preordered Jeff Weima’s new 1-2 Thessalonians (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament).

12:16 PM Something to think about (in light of recent events in Houston):

“The people who are the most bigoted are the people who have no convictions at all.” G. K. Chesterton.

12:10 PM Here’s yet another reason why I love publishing with Henry Neufeld and Energion Publications:Tentmaking in Silicon.

I no longer look for the time when I will no longer be doing IT work. Rather I consider the IT work as the tentmaking that allows me to pursue the ministry of publishing. Yes, I still run the publishing enterprise as a business. It’s organized on a for-profit basis. I’m not going to start doing fundraising or seeking donations. That’s another thing that I’m freed from by my other business. Sometimes it means I can give books to those who need them.

If you’re a blogger, please note too what Henry says about blogging. The more he blogs, the more business he seems to drum up. I’d say something very similar. The more I blog, the more people become interested in things deeper than farming or my dogs. My blog springs from both frustration and hope. At times I can get frustrated with the way things are in the church, which has led me to publish books about what renewal might look like. But I also blog because I have hope — hope that because of the power of the Holy Spirit of God we can all learn how to follow the Risen One with greater humility and passion. It’s hard for me to believe that I’ve been blogging since November of 2003. For 11 years now I’ve been trying to set forth what Scripture teaches and how we might respond in obedience. I am very much aware that my blog is a work in progress. I haven’t arrived. In fact, there are many reasons for me to quit blogging or for slackening the pace. But, like Henry, I find blogging cathartic, a break from the humdrum of life. If you are a blogger, may I encourage you not to give up? Take some time to develop a list of the biggest obstacles that keep you from blogging regularly. Write them down, then talk to God about them. He’s on your side, rooting for you to keep on running the race.

Bless you, my fellow bloggers!

11:48 AM In North Carolina over 2/3rds of adults are either overweight or obese, and rates have only been increasing. The adult obesity rate could reach 58 percent by 2030. So do we really needTwinx?

11:04 AM “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. I can see, and that is why I can be happy, in what you call the dark, but which to me is golden. I can see a God-made world, not a manmade world.” Helen Keller.

10:18 AM Good morning folks!

Much of human conversation involves questions. “How are you today?” “How did work go?” “What are your plans for tomorrow?” “Do you need a ride home?” Some questions are more important than others. “Will you marry me?” “Is the chemo working?” “What time is the funeral?”

One of the Bible’s most memorable questions comes from the lips of Paul when writing to his friends in Corinth: “Do all speak in tongues?” The Greek might better be rendered, “All do not speak in tongues, do they?” Seemingly, Paul is making a statement of fact but couching it in the form of a question. We do this all time with language. When Becky would tell me, “Honey, the trash is full,” that wasn’t given for my information. What she meant was, “Take out the trash please.” After two thousand years the church is still pondering Paul’s question to the saints in Corinth. As a Christian, you face the choice every day how you will respond. People seek all kinds of quick-release answers from people who claim the perfect solution, but what we need more than anything is God’s perspective on the issue of tongues (and the Pentecostal/Charismatic Movement in general).

Which brings me to this book: Strangers to Fire: When Tradition Trumps Scripture. My copy arrived in yesterday’s mail and I have already devoured it. The Foreword states that the book is a response to those who would declare that “Anyone who embraces any form of charismatic or Pentecostal theology does not worship the true God.” A war, it seems, has been declared against a deadly virus — not Ebola but a “deviant mutation of the truth.” Even as a non-Charismatic, this language makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. For me, it’s a matter of biblical exegesis.

You see, I teach a class on New Testament Introduction every so often, and when I do I cover the tongues issue when we arrive at Acts and 1-2 Corinthians. We have a tendency to gloss over these texts, so most of my time is spent in exegeting specific passages in Scripture —  all of Acts, and all of 1 Cor. 12-14. In addition, we start out with an overview of the history of the Pentecostal Movement (beginning in the second century) before we even get to the text. The total lecture series lasts about 6 hours. Then, and only then, are my students given a 4-page handout containing my own personal conclusions on the debated issues: the nature of tongues, the question of cessation, prophecy, miracles, etc. Of course, the easy solution is just to tell people what we believe (the “truth”) and leave it at that. The problem is that we Christians are human and fallible, and if our Christian doctrine isn’t rigorously based in the exegesis of actual texts, it is very likely contaminated.

I think intellectual naïveté is partly to blame for the faulty understanding of spiritual gifts that plagues the church today. I think it’s also true that a great deal of misinformation is popularized by people who stand to profit from it. Publishers are all too eager to sell us a dizzying array of cheap (in both senses of the word) books that do little more than perpetuate our own built-in biases. For example, I was educated to believe that verses like Eph. 2:20 and 2 Cor. 12:12 taught cessationism, when in fact they do nothing of the sort. Popularizing these beliefs may be good for the bottom line, but the more misinformation I’ve become aware of over the years, the more dissatisfied I find myself with some strands of evangelical scholarship. I’ve seen firsthand the power of the Holy Spirit in my 17 visits to Ethiopia, and to dismiss all of this as the work of the devil is a bit too much for me. It’s a dramatic moment when you realize that God still uses visions and miracles for evangelistic purposes in some parts of the world today.

And so I have changed over the years. Change is a good time to mature. This means that you realize that your teachers growing up weren’t perfect. They were people just like you: people seeking the truth but inclined (because of their human nature) to wield a little too much power for themselves. We want to be seen as the Big Kahuna, to be honored and esteemed, but the Bible has quite a different emphasis: “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant.” So please do not read this book — unless you have a teachable spirit. As Mark Rutland writes (p. 5):

One cessation writer blogged, “Some of my best friends are charismatics.” I mean, really? It is always the most prejudiced who claim that among their “best friends” are blacks or Jews or whomever it is they then proceed to defame. Such a statement is simply an insult.

“Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves,” writes Paul to the Philippians. “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” Remember, we follow a Lord whose attitude got Him killed, not crowned. So there is no place for arrogance. Nor, however, is there a place for false humility. These are issues that must be carefully examined and grappled with. It will not do to simply go with the traditions we were taught in school. Malcolm Muggeridge described the concept this way: “To believe greatly, it is necessary to doubt greatly.” And that’s just what the authors of this book have done. Doubts led Craig Keener to write his excellent chapter, and skepticism underlies the indispensable contributions by Wayne Grudem, J. P. Moreland, and Gary Shogren — evangelical scholars of the highest rank. In his book Wishful Thinking, Frederick Buechner describes the doubts we face as “the ants in the pants of faith.” My prayer is that the ants in your pants will thrive and increase. Don’t settle for a position that is unworthy of the Holy Spirit. The fact is, no part of the body stands alone. Each and every part is critical to the whole, and the gifts of God are sovereignly dispensed.

Wednesday, October 15 

9:15 AM Last night I had a great time at Mt. Olive talking about missions and the work that the Lord Jesus is doing in Africa. I had a wonderful time! 

Several people told me afterwards that they were completely unaware of the persecution taking place in the Horn of Africa. There were a trillion things I could have talked about but I decided to focus on Phil. 1:27 and how we as Christians are to be involved in what concerns God the most — global evangelization. How in the world can we call Him Lord unless we are seeking to carry out His orders and finish the task He began on the shores of the sea of Galilee? Again, we had a wonderful time together, and the conversation will continue. I had several people interact with me deeply after the service, though I suppose the statement I will never forget was when one lady told me,”You’d make a good comedian.”

Here’s a big picture:

I mean, how often do you get to sit next to a man in chapel whom you so deeply respect and love? M. O. Owens is hands down the most beloved centenarian I know. Statistically speaking, I’m three-fourths of the way to meeting the Grim Reaper. Will I remain committed over the long haul? Stay awake? Never stop thinking and learning and growing? I hope so. As eternity approaches at the speed of sound, I’m going to keep sharing the mystery of the Gospel with others, commit to pursuing truth with childlike curiosity, and doing all I can to glorify the Designer and Completer of the race I’m involved in.

Oh, this weekend I begin a series of talks with a great church family near Wake Forest.

Crazy busy days for me, but I love everything I’m doing!

Tuesday, October 14 

5:40 AM Neat parsing app here:

 

5:32 AM Wikipedia has an entry ontextual variants in the New Testament. Looks pretty good. One notable gap: no mention of the significant variant in John 3:13. (I have defendedthe longer reading.)

5:22 AM SEBTS Ph.D. graduate Matt Emerson shunts us to an old siding:the use of the Old Testament in the New. He is full of fertile ideas on the subject. When someone uses the word “convoluted” you know something’s afoot.

Monday, October 13 

9:10 PM In April 2012 I had the surprise of my life when I was installed as the Dr. M. O. Owens Jr. Chair of New Testament Studies at SEBTS.

Dr. Owens is now 101 years young. In chapel tomorrow I will sit next to him and thank him again for his kindness and generosity both to me and to the seminary — that is, if I don’t get too tongue-tied. I’m so glad that God can turn our disabilities and self-doubts into blessings. If you’re in chapel tomorrow, please join me in shaking Dr. Owens’ hand and expressing your appreciation to him for what he has meant and still means to the kingdom work that God is doing on our campus and through our students around the world.

8:20 PM My good friend Henry Neufeld has just posted awonderful testimony to the impact one of his mentors had in his life. Do take a moment and read it, especially if you think you’ll ever find yourself in the (somewhat scary) role of mentor to others. There are so many quotes I could pull from Henry’s post, but this one jumped off the page:

In 1957, Leona was accepted into the PhD program at Johns Hopkins University. She was interviewed by the renowned biblical archaeologist William F. Albright, who sat her down and began talking to her in Spanish, switched to French, then German and finally English. By the end of the conversation, Albright told her that she had passed her entrance exam.

Wow. That is amazing. Shouldn’t a doctoral program have those kinds of expectations? As I said a couple of days ago, lasting change is built by laying a firm foundation of stone upon stone upon stone. It takes lots of time, sacrifice, dedication, and work. My prospective doctoral students know that Greek, Hebrew, German, and French (and maybe Latin as well) had better be more than ancient history to them should they ever want to graduate under my tutelage. In fact, I am mentoring a doctoral student tomorrow (as I do every week) and he will not be surprised in the least if I begin by having him translate German into English.

Kudos to William F. Albright and his successors. May their tribe increase!

8:02 PM A “friend” sent me this email tonight:

Something tells me you will want this new release from Thomas Nelson!

http://www.thomasnelson.com/the-maxwell-leadership-bible-niv​

I had a one word response:

Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!

2:40 PM If you’re as interested in the Gospel of Mark as I am, then you’ll certainly be interested in thisSurvey of Surveys on Mark.

2:33 PM Talbot School of Theology announces an opening insystematic theology.

12:44 PM As always, I appreciate the insights of Henry Neufeld when it comes to the biblical languages. In a recent email exchange (dealing with verbal aspect this time), he wrote:

I have no trouble teaching verbal aspect from your grammar or Mounce’s. I always expand on this to the students and discuss the difference between the aspect and the time, and so forth, but I give them the simplified discussion as an anchor point. It’s similar, in my view, to learning the gloss of a word as vocabulary, when you know very well that the gloss doesn’t really tell you what that Greek word means any more than giving a synonym (always NEAR synonym of an English word is the same thing as providing a definition or a set of definitions. Verbal
aspect itself has a semantic range, i.e., it doesn’t work itself into
neat categories as we’d like it to. Instead, it is rough around the edges.

A few random reflections: 

1) Standard terminology in any field is a desideratum. This is no less true of Greek grammar than it is of horticulture (in which I have dabbled a bit). However, at the beginning level of any subject, some oversimplification is unavoidable.

2) At the same time, the goal is comprehension and especially the ability to read Greek. Henry reminds us that there are sometimes more than one way to “get there.” An example might be teaching -omen and -ete instead of -men and -te as the primary active suffixes in the first and second person plural. In my view, only the latter approach is linguistically defensible. But what does it matter in the end?

3) At other times, there are “hills to die on.” We all have these I suppose, and for me I’d have to include the debate over time in the Greek verb system. As I’ve previously noted in this blog, I still believe that the Koine Greek verb system grammaticalizes time in the indicative mood — and I say this despite the noble attempts of several prominent Greek scholars to dissuade me. Why, I even call the prefixed epsilon the “past time morpheme”!

4) Thus, to paraphrase Henry, flexibility is needed at all times, and wherever there is significant debate, we must be willing to help our students negotiate the muddy waters.

5) I’ll let Henry have the last word, to which I say a hearty “Amen!”

I agree with the way you do this [teach verbal aspect] in your text, though again I would say that a good teacher can expand on the text. If the teacher is stuck with the text, in my view, he has no business teaching. I’ve read a number of other grammars, so I can take elements that work for me and use them to help students. A teacher should be teaching well beyond the text. The text is what reading is for.

10:40 AM I love my dogs. Every time I let them in the house they go crazy and I laugh my head off. It’s like watching NASCAR as they chase each other at a hundred miles an hour. Occasionally I’ll mimic a play bow (front down, rear up, smile on face) and then they jump right in to play. They always expect a treat. In fact, if you think that dogs can’t count, just try putting three treats in your pocket and only giving them two. To his dog, every man is a hero. I love my dogs the best.

10:20 AM Was Jesus hung on a “tree” or a “pole” or on what? Bill Mounce discusses this questionhere.

9:58 AM Good morning my intellectual internet amigos!

I hope you saw last’s night announcement about Rod Decker’s textbook. Yes, I’m actually promoting this book even though I’ve written my own beginning Greek grammar. And why not? I’ve always found it interesting to watch how different minds tackle the same problem. Someday, praise God, we’ll no longer have the need to study languages – any language. But in the meantime, we still have to put our collective nose to the old grindstone, and because each of us learns in different ways, we will probably end up using different textbooks. The one thing all of us teachers of Greek have in common is a love for the language and an irrepressible joy when we see our students finally “get it.” But none of us would claim that we have the last word when it comes to grammar or even pedagogy.

This morning I’m still mulling over the matter of verbal aspect. What in the world shall we call the three (or two) aspects? For what it’s worth, Id like to share a few brief comments with you in the hopes of nudging the conversation forward.

1) In the first place, as I read Joshua Covert’s excellentsummary of recent approaches to the problem – and the wide variety of terms used to describe the aspects – I’m more convinced than ever that this is a real problem for Greek scholars and students alike, and it’s frankly beautiful to watch the discussion proceed. For our students’ sake (at the very least), we need to work towards some kind of agreement or standardization, don’t you think?

2) Secondly, I think the elephant in the room has yet to be discussed. It seems to me that a major part of the problem, if not the biggest challenge we face, is the fact that Greek teachers and linguists are often talking past each other. Each of us approaches the problem from a different set of perspectives. For the Greek teacher, for example, pedagogy is often paramount. Moreover, most of us have little or no formal training in the science of linguistics. This doesn’t mean that we aren’t interested in what linguists are saying. We are. It’s just that we don’t always feel that we necessarily have to follow their explanations or terminology. I’ll give you one example from an email I received yesterday. The author wrote:

According to the online Encyclopaedia Brittanica, the perfect is stative:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/286368/Indo-European-languages/74555/Vowels#74556

The imperfective aspect, traditionally called “present,” was used for repeated actions and for ongoing processes or states—e.g., *stí-stH2-(e)- ‘stand up more than once, be in the process of standing up,’ *mn̥-yé- ‘ponder, think,’ *H1es- ‘be.’ The perfective aspect, traditionally called “aorist,” expressed a single, completed occurrence of an action or process—e.g., *steH2- ‘stand up, come to a stop,’ *men- ‘think of, bring to mind.’ The stative aspect, traditionally called “perfect,” described states of the subject—e.g., *ste-stóH2- ‘be in a standing position,’ *me-món- ‘have in mind.

Now think about this. According to Britannica, “The perfective aspect, traditionally called ‘aorist,’ expressed a single, completed occurrence of an action or process….” This will not do. Ever since Frank Stagg published his essay “The Abused Aorist” in JBL (followed up later by Charles Smith’s “Errant Aorist Interpreters” in GTJ), teachers have been cautioning their Greek students never to view the aorist as referring to a “single” action. Yet still today one hears statements, in both sermon and commentary, such as “The aorist here shows that Paul had in mind a once-for-all-action.” Much of this confusion stems (I believe) from A. T. Robertson’s use of “punctiliar” to describe the aorist tense. Of course, Robertson never meant us to understand a “once-for-all action,” yet the term “punctiliar” was easily misunderstood to mean that very thing. After all, something that is “punctiliar” has one single “Punkt” or “point,” doesn’t it? My point here (no pun meant) is simply this: While Greek scholars are obliged to learn as much as they can from linguists (and I, a non-linguist, have even published two books on the subject: Linguistics for Students of New Testament Greek, and Linguistics and New Testament Interpretation), they are not obligated to follow linguistic science blindly.

3) In the third place, I’m not sure we are as far apart as the evidence may seem to point. For example, the two most widely used beginning grammars in North America today (mine and Bill Mounce’s) have somewhat similar terminology, as Joshua noted in his post:

Mounce:

Completed (also called perfective)

Continuous (also called imperfective)

Punctiliar

Black:

Perfective

Imperfective

Aoristic

As I stated above, I prefer “aoristic” to “punctiliar” because of the way the latter term has been abused by preachers and commentators. “Aoristic” works because its meaning is “undefined.” In other words, by choosing aoristic aspect, an author is intentionally refraining from trying to describe how an action occurred. The action is a-oristos – “unlimited” or “undefined” in terms of its kind of action. This is precisely the point that was made by both Stagg and Smith in their journal articles.

4) Finally, let me just state why I still prefer my terminology. It comports with conventional usage by traditional New Testament grammarians. (Wow. I can’t believe I just made that statement. If there ever was a person who enjoys challenging conventional wisdom, it’s yours truly.) Think about how easy we make it for our students when we say that the imperfect tense has “imperfective” aspect, or that the perfect tense has “perfective” aspect, or that the aorist tense has “aoristic aspect.”Incidentally, K. L. McKay, in his A New Syntax of the Verb in New Testament Greek, uses “aorist” as I do “aoristic” and labels the other aspects “imperfective” for present and imperfect and “perfective” for perfect, so I am not exactly alone in my nomenclature. (Profound thanks to my friend Craig for pointing this out to me.) Now don’t get me wrong. I’m willing to change my nomenclature if I can be convinced to do so. Indeed,Robert Picirilli, in a JETS essay that appeared in 2005, makes a suggestion I am almost happy with. Addressing the “issue of terminology,” he writes:

I think we must recognize that it is too late in the game, as A. T. Robertson said long ago, to change the names of the tenses or the word “tense” itself. It is hard enough to teach Greek students that “tense” does not meantime and “present” does not mean present; but we have learned to handle that. If aspect theory is to win wide recognition and usage, as I think it should, I believe we must develop a terminology that does not overlap with those names and is both appropriate in meaning and relatively easy for students to learn and use. I tentatively suggest, then, that “progressive” works better than “imperfective” and that “wholistic” works better than “perfective.” I have no suggestion as a replacement for “stative.” From this point on, then, I may speak of aspect or perspective, and of progressive perspective or imperfective aspect (for the present and imperfect tenses), of wholistic perspective or perfective aspect (for the aorist tense), and stative perspective or aspect (for the perfect and pluperfect tenses).

“Wholistic” may well work better than “aoristic,” and I’m open to using that language, though I still feel it’s too confusing, from a purely pedagogical standpoint, to use “stative” for “perfective.”

In the meantime, I hope you’re enjoying this gentlemanly debate as much as I am. I enjoy having my ideas challenged. Indeed, I’ve organized many conferences at SEBTS to discuss the synoptic problem, textual criticism, the ending of Mark, etc. and I’m wondering if it might be a good time to hold another gathering in which we could spar with each other over this matter and maybe, just maybe, come to see eye to eye. As in many other matters, on the issue of verbal aspect we have to say “Let the discussion continue!”

Sunday, October 12 

9:18 PM Mrs. Linda Decker (Rod’s wife) just emailed me to say that her husband’sReading Koine Greek (Baker Academic) is now in print.

Praise the Lord. I am so grateful to God. If you’re anything like me, it’s impossible to think of the name “Rod Decker” without also thinking about Greek. Greek was serious business to Rod, and the world is a better place because of it. I wish the book well and pray that it receives the wide readership that it most certainly deserves.

8:52 PM Back to 1 Thess. 1, but with a wholly different twist (with a nod to Henry Neufeld’s verylatest). Paul is trying to show us in 1 Thess. 1:2-5 that redemptive people are always winsome. They do not beat people into submission by arguments. They are like a fragrant and attractive aroma. Beauty attracts people to the Gospel. Logos, ethos, and pathos must all be present. Logos is the message that must be verbalized. But words are not enough. As Paul writes, “I did not come to you in word only.” Ethos speaks of our character, pathos of our compassion. Paul had pathos as evidenced by his “power, the Holy Spirit, and full conviction.” Finally, ethos was also indispensable to his ministry. His selfless life backed his evangelistic message. As he tells the Thessalonians, “You know what kind of people we were when we lived among you. We did everything for your sakes.”

Effective evangelism combines truth (logos), integrity (ethos), and love (pathos). In other words: no serving, no winning. I have to admit that when it comes to serving, my faith gets thin. I am not a servant by nature. I am a getter, not a giver. My old nature says, “The way up is up,” but with God the way up is always down. Like his Master, Paul was powerful because he chose to be a towel wearer and a basin bearer. It’s an interesting paradox, isn’t it? Christianity’s greatest leaders have always been people of the greatest humility. I am learning to live my life with a giving spirit (and I still have a very long way to go!). I am learning that love and service in the name of Jesus is what it’s all about. I am learning to jettison anything that might detract from the mission, good as those things may be.

Henry is right. People are vulnerable to love, not to academic titles.

5:56 PM Am preparing dinner for my daughter Karen and two of her roommates from DC. I hope their digestive systems survive the evening. They will leave here after dinner for Charlottesville to do some apple picking on the morrow.

5:47 PM More on 1 Thessalonians 1 fromHenry Neufeld’s ever-capable pen (keyboard).

5:25 PM Yesterday someone gave me this book.

I really didn’t want to accept it, as I am not a huge fan of the author or of books on “leadership” in general. I asked, “Is it based on Scripture?” The reply came back, “No, he doesn’t use Scripture, but his principles are all scriptural.” Well, I read the book this afternoon. Not once is the Bible quoted. Not one time. To be sure, there are plenty of quotes in the book. Cited are George Barna, Teddy Roosevelt, Gandhi, Harold Kushner, Stephen Covey, John Wooden, “Bear” Bryan, Socrates, and even Machiavelli. But not a word from the apostle Paul or from Jesus Christ. Take a minute and think of those people who had the biggest impact on your life. I dare say they were people whose lives were steeped in the Scriptures. Everywhere you look in the Bible, there are principles of leadership. When I first became a Christian I read everything I could about the Bible. I then discovered that nothing is better than reading the Bible itself. No, I’m not against reading (or writing) books about the Bible. But a book on leadership without a clear biblical foundation has cosmic implications. At least it does to me.

3:04 PM Good afternoon, blogging friends!

Well, I’ll start by saying I had a wonderful time at the fellowship today. We’ve begun a series on Philippians and Jason did a phenomenal job of walking us through the first 11 verses. Umm … is this one of my favorite New Testament books or what? But don’t get me started…!

Moving on, there are three posts (two of them about Greek) that I want to call to your attention today.

1) In the first, “New Testament Greek Geek” Joshua Covert discusses the confusion engendered by something Rob Plummer said in one of his videos. ReadVerbal Aspect and then tell me what I should do. I don’t want to be guilty of being out of sync with modern scholarship, but is there really a standard nomenclature to describe verbal aspect today? It’s all very complex. Maybe you’d like to share your thoughts at your website.

2) Second, do read what Henry Neufeld has to say about the can of worms we opened up the other day about the structure of1 Thessalonians 1:1-10. (Okay, I feel vindicated.) Why don’t you try analyzing the passage on your own and see what you come up with? And consider not accepting the paragraph divisions you find in your Greek New Testament or even in your favorite commentary as being Gospel truth.

3) Finally, Craig (over at “The Trinitarian Dance”) offers histhoughts about gay marriage. Folks, I’m all for calling sin “sin,” but I’m also for following Jesus’ example. We’re to place our trust squarely in the power of the Gospel to change human lives. As I told a friend the other day, even if gay marriage becomes legal, the Gospel has the power to make it unthinkable.

Blessings on all of you, and remember to look hard at whatever subject you’re dealing with, whether it’s a problem of Greek grammar or a pressing social issue.

Dave

10:14 AM Good lecturehere on New Testament textual criticism from Cambridge University. (At the end, an audience member asks a very interesting question about gay marriage and women bishops and how textual criticism might bear on these matters.)

8:58 AM This story at the BBC caught my eye: How English beat German as language of science. I had no idea that, after WW I, speaking German was criminalized in the U.S. Bad on us. Today, I’m hearing more and more English expressions when I visit Germany and Switzerland: Googeln, der Icebreaker, Fastfood, das Basement (instead of Untergeschoss), and, of course, gedownloaded. On the other hand, a cell phone is a Handy, and cash is still Bargeld (except where “Cash” is used — go figure). Babel really messed things up big time. But I’m not complaining. After all, teaching a foreign language ist mein Brot und Butter!

Saturday, October 11 

2:20 PM ReadThoughts on Gay Marriage in NC by a North Carolinian. Excellent observations!

12:54 PM Quote of the day (Greg Laurie): 

“I believe all roads lead to God. I don’t care if you’re a believer, agnostic or an atheist. I believe whatever road you’re on, you will get to God one day and you will stand before God one day. All roads lead to God. But only one road leads to heaven, and that’s the road through Jesus Christ,” Laurie asserted.

“Your soul lives on in the afterlife. Everyone is going to die. You decide what you will do with this life, and you decide where you will spend the afterlife. I hate to break it to you,” he said, “but there are only two choices: heaven or hell.”

12:45 PM The guys are eating. Again.

Yep, we’re Baptists. 

12:35 PM Just orderedthis tome.

It’s got chapters on phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and the papyri. Looks like a gem.

11:22 AM This is for all you Latin Geeks out there. Gohere and translate the first paragraph into English for me. You may use helps. The first one to send me the correct translation receives a copy ofIt’s All Greek to Me: Confessions of an Unlikely Academic. Be sure to include your mailing address. Have fun!

10:50 AM The responses about the structure of 1 Thess. 1:1-10 have begun coming in. Here’s the most recent email (I’ve taken the liberty of transliterating the Greek):

… I think dividing the text in this manner completely ignores the structure of the passage. The main clause is in 1:2 (we give thanks), the three participles in 1:3 and 1:4 describe how Paul gives thanks and why, the hoti clause in 1:5 provides a reason for why Paul knows the Thessalonians are chosen by God. Though some divide at v. 6, I think that there is an elided hoti and that the statement “you became imitators of me” is a second reason for why Paul knows they are chosen by God. The rest of the section (through 1:10) provides more info about 1:6.

“Completely ignores” is pretty strong language. What do you think?

10:36 AM Thestupidest money mistakes you can make. I would add, “Failing to pay off your debts in a timely manner.”

10:28 AM The sun is shining again! Hurray!

10:26 AM Want to teach New Testament atOxford?

10:18 AM In my essay in theSouthern Baptist Journal of Theology calledThe Literary Structure of 1-2 Thessalonians, I tried to show how 1 Thessalonians is comprised of several fairly clearly-defined thought units:

The Greek text of 1 Thessalonians consists of 18 paragraphs (thought units) that together merge to communicate Paul’s message. Read each paragraph and then assign a title to each (a paragraph title is a summary in your own words of the central idea in the paragraph). The paragraphs are: 1:1; 1:2-10;2:1-12; 2:13-16; 2:17-; 3:1-5; 3:6-10;3:11-13; 4:1-2; 4:3-8; 4:9-12; 4:13-18; 5:1-11;5:12-22; 5:23-24; 5:25; 5:26-27; 5:28.

I say “fairly clearly-defined” because some may quibble about this or that paragraph division. For example, some prefer to see two paragraphs in 1:2-10 instead of a single unit: 1:2-5 and 1:6-10. But I think all would agree that 1:1 is set off from what follows as the letter’s opening salutation, and I think all would agree that the next thought unit is either 1:2-5 or else 1:2-10.

It was therefore a great surprise to me to read this morning that one of the latest commentators on 1 Thessalonians begins his forthcoming treatise with a discussion of 1:1-3 (see the samplehere). I simply do not see how this is possible on the basis of Greek discourse analysis. Verse 4 begins with a subordinate clause (a participle in Greek) that is clearly attached to the head verb in verse 2. So again, while I suppose one could argue for a paragraph break between verse 5 and verse 6 (since verse 6 contains a finite verb), I am at a loss to explain how one could begin a new thought unit at verse 4. I suppose arguments may exist along these lines, but I am unaware of them. Perhaps the author could enlighten us?

To get the ball rolling, here’s how I understand “Wie der Text spielt” in 1:1-10:

The first chapter is comprised of two paragraphs and follows closely the standard letter writing convention used by Paul elsewhere: Greeting and Thanksgiving. The train of thought in these two paragraphs may be indicated as follows:

Opening Greeting 1:1.

The introduction gives the names of the writers and readers, and a salutation. The form is conventional but it has been Christianized (cf. the introduction to Romans [1:1-7], which has been richly “clothed” with doctrine; cf. also Gal 1:1-5). The introductions of the Thessalonian epistles are Paul’s briefest. Significant here is the absence of “apostle” to describe Paul. As in other letters Paul joins his helpers’ names to his own in the address. The church is then designated and greeted with the typical Pauline expression “grace and peace.”

Thanksgiving for the conversion and zeal of the Thessalonians 1:2-10.

In the Greek text, 1:2-10 is one long, awkwardly constructed sentence that is difficult to punctuate and that is loaded with adverbial phrases that are hard to place. If the paragraph is difficult it is also vitally important to the author’s argument. In the form of a prayer of thanksgiving, Paul brings together two themes: (1) the manner in which Paul and his colleagues shared their faith with the Thessalonians (vv. 2-5), and (2) the response of the Thessalonians to the missionaries’ preaching (vv. 6-9).

Because of this shift in emphasis, it may be useful to make a paragraph break at the end of v. 5. Secular Greek letters sometimes included in their introduction a prayer to some god, but not often a prayer of thanksgiving. Paul regularly does so (Galatians is an exception), but the theme of gratitude goes far beyond a mere introduction. Paul uses the thanksgiving (1:2-10) to relate the most important themes of the letter body that follows, though “thanksgiving” in our letter appears to be much longer (1:2-3:13) than in Paul’s other letters.

What is the specific content of this rich paragraph of thanksgiving? Hiebert divides it as follows: (a) Paul first sketches the character of the thanksgiving with various statements (v. 2) and then (b) elaborates three specific grounds for the thanksgiving (vv. 3-10). Paul’s thankful spirit for the Thessalonians is prompted by their Christian virtues (v. 3), their divine election (vv. 4-7), and the reports of others concerning the church in Thessalonica (vv. 8-10). According to Hiebert, “this elaboration of their grounds for thanksgiving forms an adequate background for the remainder of the epistle.”

Best’s overall analysis of 1:2-10, however, seems to unite the thoughts of the paragraph better. His explanation may be summarized as follows: (a) Paul thanks God for the way in which the Thessalonian converts have expressed their faith (v. 3) and (b) for its ultimate ground in God’s choice of them as Christians (v. 4). This choice was (c) made clear in the successful ministry by Paul to Thessalonica (v. 5) and (d) in their response to the gospel, despite tribulation (v. 6). They (e) became an example to others (v. 7) and (f) a spur to evangelical activity (v. 8) by their complete acceptance of the faith, whose content is (g) expressed in a creedal form (vv. 9-10). This last statement concerning a “creedal form” indicates a common opinion among NT scholars that Paul in 1:9-10 is quoting a pre-Pauline statement of the church’s faith.

Your thoughts? Care to blog about it?

9:38 AM Witness thefirst gay marriage in Wake County. What is your Christian response? What ought it to be?  

8:55 AM Few topics are more interesting to me than pedagogy. Yesterday, as you know, I interviewed a prospective doctoral student who is interested in possibly studying under my tutelage at SEBTS. One of the main matters we pondered together was the question of seminary versus university. I forgot to mention to him a book by Nijay K. Gupta called Prepare, Succeed, Advance: A Guidebook for Getting a PhD in Biblical Studies and Beyond. It’s reviewedhere. The reviewer makes this interesting comment:

Chapter 1 (“Choosing a Doctoral Program”) deals with the very initial stages of pursuing a PhD degree. Here Gupta delineates six factors that he thinks students should consider before choosing a program (theological orientation, prestige/difficulty, money, time, location, and library), though to this list I would like to add another factor: cohort-size.

Now, I don’t mean to be a scrooge, but my take is slightly different. Let’s walk through these 6 factors one by one:

1) Theological orientation. I did not attend the University of Basel for my doctorate because of its theological orientation. I chose Basel because it was a truly “liberal” institution. That is, they were truly open-minded even to the point of gladly accepting conservative American evangelicals from non-descript seminaries (like Talbot) into their program, as long as these students could produce a quality piece of scholarship. This version of “liberalism” is, I’m afraid, sorely lacking in many North American universities, or at least it was when I was contemplating my doctorate in the late 1970s. Conservatives often found it difficult to enter these programs and, if they did, ended up having to write their dissertation on a “safe” topic. I found the atmosphere in Basel a refreshing departure from this attitude.

2) Prestige/difficulty. In the 1980s, Basel was still one of THE places to study for a doctorate in theology because of its outstanding world-class faculty. As for difficulty? Studying there was challenging, not least because you were studying in German and because their foreign language standards were extremely high (one was simply expected to have a knowledge of, say, French, Latin, and Dutch). Choose a doctoral program that will stretch you both as a person and as a scholar. You will be better off for it.

3) Money. Becky and I were living in Southern California at the time where the cost of living was outrageous. And here we were about to live in a country whose cost of living was about four times higher and where neither us could work during our sojourn there. How were we able to cut it financially? Well, I like to put it this way: “The Lord miraculously provided.” And He did. Becky worked two jobs and I worked three prior to our departure for Basel in 1980. You say, “What was miraculous about that?” When you think about it, isn’t the ability to work just as much a miraculous provision of the Lord as if He had plunked down in our bank account several thousands of dollars? My point it this: If God wants you to study in Cambridge, don’t worry about the finances. He can and will provide. Trust Him.

4) Time. It took me three years to complete my doctoral studies at Basel, which was about average.

5) Location (location, location)! Yes, yes, yes! As I told my prospective student yesterday, “Studying abroad will give you two educations for the price of one.” In addition, if you can study in a foreign language (such as German or French), you will be forced out of your comfort zone big time. “Ich bin hierher gekommon, um Land und Leute besser kennenzulernen,” was my usual response when the Swiss asked me why I wanted to live in their country. And I meant it. Becky and I both thoroughly enjoyed becoming familiar with Switzerland and its people and customs. Try it. You might like it as much as we did.

6) Library. Well, this was a no-brainer. The University Library in Basel boasted several million volumes. In addition, the Theologisches Seminar at Nadelberg 10 had its own theological library, unlimited access to which was provided to doctoral students. Moreover, if I didn’t find what I was looking for in Basel, it was a short train ride to Freiburg or Tübingen to use their outstanding libraries.

7) Here I’m going to add a seventh desideratum if I may: Mentor/major professor/Doctor Father. This is what made Basel a bit more attractive to me than Tübingen (where I had also been accepted). Bo Reicke was the doyen of New Testament studies in his day and, to me, embodied the perfect complement between humanitas and pietas.

I lived in his home the first month I was in Basel and was granted access to his personal library during the entire course of my studies under his tutelage. It never occurred to me to study anywhere else, so happy was I on the shores of the Rhine in this ancient city of refuge for unconventional thinkers like Erasmus and Calvin.

So … do consider a European doctorate. This goal has been successfully pursued by countless North Americans. One of my former Th.M. students is currently completing his Ph.D. in New Testament in Munich. Another one of my former doctoral students is currently working on a second doctorate (in Spanish) at the Complutensian University in Madrid.

It can be done!

7:56 AM Bible Conference this week at Mount Olive. If you’re in the area, come on.

Friday, October 10 

7:34 PM Pleased as plum to host the elders of a neighborhood church for a two-day retreat.

6:21 PM I’m running across more and more blog posts about tithing. I think that’s pretty newsworthy. Our reactions to tradition may not be very dramatic but our response can either drive us further from the truth or bring us closer to it. As head of His church, Jesus Christ has organized His body in such a way that its members freely and willingly give as led by the Spirit. There are plenty of books that treat this subject biblically, but might I recommend one to you? David Croteau’sTithing After the Cross is an eye-opener. It’s subtitle will give you an inkling of its contents: “A refutation of the top arguments for tithing.” It’s certainly not an easy topic. But it is a matter about which God has clearly spoken, and He demands an obedient response, doesn’t He?

5:20 PM “Don’t tell grievers to ‘move on’.” Right on,Kay!

4:57 PM Getting caught up on your emails. Thanks for your patience. It’s been a busy day email-wise.

1:33 PM If you’ve ever struggled with the balance between holding firmly to your convictions while at the same time maintaining a teachable spirit (as I certainly have), gohere. 

1:22 PM Just met with a prospective doctoral student. Prepared lunch for him. I hope he doesn’t think my teaching is as bad as my cooking.

10:43 AM This past April, the Lausanne Global Consultation held a presentation on the New Apostolic Reformation Movement titled “Prosperity Theology, Poverty, and the Gospel.” Click here to watch the presentation (Spanish, with English translation). It discusses the role of Neo-Pentecostalism in Latin America (think Peter Wagner). The video will remind you that the Bible alone is God’s word and the final arbiter of truth. Of course, you can also practice your Spanish at the same time. 

By the way, have you seen this new book:A New Apostolic Revolution? It’s due out in November. My thanks to DBO reader Craig for calling it to my attention.

8:48 AM This and that …

1) Yesterday on the Diane Rehm Show a caller referred to PTS without the “D.” The tendency today is to call PTSD a syndrome or simply to refer to it as Post Traumatic Stress. I applaud that move. It not only removes an unnecessary stigma, but perhaps it will help more people seek help. Shell shock is normal when you have been in combat. Likewise, may I say to those who are grieving the loss of a loved one (whether a spouse or a baby in the womb): if you ended up being traumatized, it’s not because there is something amiss in you. The event was the abnormal thing, not you. Grief is legitimately expressed through mourning. It is a natural, normal process. It’s actually God’s way of helping us cope with the stresses in life. You will never get over the trauma or the loss. But you can learn how to manage it. You can still get up out of bed every day. Just deal with the pain a little bit at a time. Accept the changes that loss brings into your life. Don’t worry about what is “correct” or “healthy.” Everyone experiences grief uniquely. But eventually your grief will turn to joy. Believe me. I know.

2) I spent yesterday evening with two of my favorite people.

Jon and Matthea met me atFirebird’s Restaurant in South Point Mall and we enjoyed a delicious dinner together. (Their prime rib is the best I have ever eaten.)

Afterwards we saw “The Good Lie” at the AMC theater next door. It’s the story of four siblings who survive the Civil War in Sudan and how they try to adapt to American culture. The subplot was even better: how an American woman becomes personally involved in their journey. This was a well-conceived movie and the end is the best part. It’s got plenty of laughs (mostly based on cultural gaffes, which I could identify with having lived in Switzerland), and it strikes a tone of realism that other African-based stories often lack (the actors are all Sudanese themselves). But I’m mainly impressed that Hollywood would even bother with such a subject. The deadliness of war comes through loud and clear, as do the themes of love, compassion, and sacrifice. Sadly, the theater was empty (I counted six of us). Even sadder is the fact that most Americans probably have no idea where Sudan (or even South Sudan) is on a map. From time to time, we Americans need a compelling drama to nudge us out of our comfort zones. This movie may help.

3) Four days ago the Washington Post publishedThe rise and fall of the American seminary. I’m not much of a Post fan, but this commentary does make a good point. Resist change and you’re likely to close your doors. I wonder, though, if the purpose of a seminary makes a difference in its survivability. There will always be those who will argue that the seminary has no business being involved in missions. It is an academic institution, they would say, not a center for Great Commission studies. In my opinion, it is a mistake to think this way. It is precisely this kind of toning down of the Gospel that is the source of Christianity’s weakness and introvertedness. When we refuse to acknowledge the centrality of Jesus’ love commands, we are left with one alternative – increasing our inward focus and irrelevance. Seminary professors ought then to renounce all pretensions to be servants of Christ’s church. If we do not believe that the Lord in whom we trust has left us an unequivocal mandate to disciple the nations as our first priority, we have simply abandoned biblical Christianity.

I have nothing against secular scholars who spend all their time addressing the needs of the academic community. Only let them not pretend that they are witnessing to Christian truth. Christianity is not an academic pursuit but a radical way of living. I am saying neither that publishing is unnecessary nor that evangelical scholars should sit idly by and wait for the minds of our youth to be corrupted by secularism. I am simply saying that converting men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ is the primary work that all Christians – including Christian scholars – are called upon to do.

Thursday, October 9 

2:32 PM Been a busy day. The Habitat for Humanity’s Restore in Durham had just the right furniture for the formal living room here at the Hall. What do you think?

And all for under $300.00. Then I loaded up a hay delivery, which is one of my favorite pastimes.

Tonight it’s dinner and a movie. Busy busy busy! 

8:30 AM Received an email from a homeschooling mom who is interested in teaching her children Greek. She didn’t know about the Greek Portal. I directed her to the page onHomeschooling. Hope she finds some useful resources!

7:58 AM A Frenchman has received theNobel prize in literature. The reason?

He is being honored “for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the occupation,” the committee said.

Would somebody please explain to me what that means?

Wednesday, October 8 

7:01 PM Just ordered via Amazon Markus Barth’s two-volume commentary on Ephesians. I loaned my copies out and never got them back. While at it, I also ordered this:

Strangers to Fire: When Tradition Trumps Scripture

6:52 PM This YouTube by Ben Witherington has been making the rounds:Where Did Rapture Theology Come From? I espouse pretribulationalism and still found it very interesting. By the way, I most certainly do not espouse the “Gospel” of dispensationalism, as Ben calls it!

6:40 PM Yetanother timely work goes to press at Energion Publications:

Kudos to Henry and Jody Neufeld for their courage to publish some pretty cutting edge books.

3:12 PM In a day of Christian political correctness (yes, we Christians have our own version of political correctness), these words ring true:

My joys and hopes do not rest in the US of A, but rather in God’s eternal, glorious kingdom which will never pass away or be overcome by the darkness. Fret not dear brother or sister, the King is remains on the throne!!

Thank you, Joel, for the reminder.

2:14 PM Photo update:

1) Last night’s moon. Eerie or what?

2) My daughters all agree that my living room looks much too bare. Not to worry, though. One of them is helping me pick out new furniture tomorrow down in Durham. Can’t wait to see what she chooses.

3) Having a dinner party Sunday evening for several friends. Just bought the steaks. New York Strips. Mmmm.

2:04 PM Abeardless Jesus? Tell me it ain’t so! All real men have beards.

1:50 PM The latest review at Amazon for myWhy Four Gospels?:

This book was so well written and easy to understand that I read it in one sitting and learned more then I had about the New Testament in ages. I highly recommend this book for everyone, and essential read for young New Testament scholars.

Appreciate it!

11:44 AM I see Henry Neufeld has hisown custom Bible. Yes, he’s being facetious.

Should we try to make our Bibles less custom? I think it’s a good idea to do so, but only so long as we remember that we won’t get there completely. When we forget the things that influence our own interpretation we tend to get arrogant.

One of the ways I think we customize the Bible today is when we resort to euphemisms for language that might seem to be a bit harsh to the modern ear. You may recall when the Federal government gassed 17,000,000 chickens in Pennsylvania in the 1980s because they were spreading a virus. Of course, when they announced what they had done, they said they had “depopulated” the birds. Right. In Philippians, Paul’s uses a pretty direct term for what he now considered all of his former assets. The term he uses is usually rendered “garbage” or “manure” but it’s a little more direct than that. Perhaps the best we can do is “unspeakable filth.” Whatever name you use for it, it’s pretty smelly stuff.

I’m not saying we should never use euphemistic language. But it’s probably a good idea to try and understand what underlies such usage. “Collateral damage” means that our military killed innocent civilians. To me that makes as much sense as calling a guillotine a remedy for migraines.

Beware euphemisms!

11:28 AM Update: I’d like to add more one point to our discussion of Andrew Wilson’sdefense of the authenticity of eike in Matt. 5:22a. He argues that the word was accidentally omitted. I would argue the opposite. Again, it’s my view that the word was intentionally omitted in order to harden Jesus’ otherwise nuanced teaching about anger. But my main point here is this: Where more than one plausible explanation of the internal evidence is possible, it is helpful for students to be exposed to all of them. This, in fact, is the main problem I find, for example, with my friend Don Carson’s defense of the shorter reading both in his commentary on Matthew and in his book on the Sermon on the Mount. He argues that the word was added to soften Jesus’ teaching but utterly fails to tell us that it is also possible, purely on the grounds of the internal evidence, that the word may have been omitted for the exact opposite reason.

Your thoughts? Chime in on your blog.

11:20 AM Next year I will be honored to give the Distinguished Christian Scholar Lectures at Mid-America Baptist Seminary in Tennessee.

The dates are April 14-15. The schedule is:

  • Tuesday: Chapel 11:00, Ph.D. forum in the afternoon.

  • Wednesday: Chapel 11:00.

Looking forward to it!

10:54 AM Had a nice interview this morning with the SEBTS PR department. It should be posted next week. The series is called “Faculty Q & A.” For previous interviews, gohere.

10:39 AM Good morning! We’re working on the web server so please be patient with me.

Tuesday, October 7 

5:58 PM So, have you had your daily dose of Greek yet today?

5:16 PM Here’s aheart-wrenching story about a 29-year old newly wed suffering from terminal cancer. No, I do not recommend the choice she has made. But I do understand her dilemma. It’s one that many if not most cancer patients face: go through treatments with the hope of prolonging your life, or forego the treatments in order to have a better quality of life until you die. Talk about a moment of truth. I am reminded again just how weak I am and how much I need a God whom I can trust implicitly with the hard questions of life. There’s no tremendously deep or theological point I want to make here, other than thanking God for His grace and mercy that follows us all the days of our lives, even to the very last day. May this be a fresh incentive to serve Him wholeheartedly and to join Him in the great task of equipping the church and taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth!

5:06 PM “If a care is too small to be turned into a prayer, it is too small to be made into a burden.” Corrie ten Boom.

2:16 PM A few of us are going to see this flick on Thursday.

 

Have you seen it yet? Your thoughts?

2:08 PM Do you agree with this?

The great and good Charles Malik echoed these remarks in an address at Wheaton College, noting that he craved to see “an institution that will produce as many Nobel Prize winners as saints.” For a follower of Jesus, then, scholarship is nothing but acknowledging the two-way causal connection between thinking and doing. I, for one, am very thankful for evangelical scholars who have modeled for me responsible intellectual existence. Oh goodness, how we need scholarship in the evangelical church today. Ideas have consequences, and the truly integrated life will always eschew intellectual apathy.

Source.

10:20 AM Been emailing with a good friend this morning. I asked him how I could pray for him today. His one word response? “Wisdom.” Ditto on that! He asked me how he could pray for me. I told him, “I’m trying to write. You know how that is.” Would you like to know what I’m writing these days or what I anticipate writing in the months and years to come?

1) Any day now I will get the final proofs for my Greek grammar in Spanish. It will need going over with a fine-toothed comb.

2) I have a Festschrift essay due Nov. 1.

3) I am still plugging away at Godworld: Enter at Your Own Risk, my book on kingdom living.

4) I am writing my story as Becky’s caregiver.

5) I am trying to get Harry Sturz’ book back into print (I will write the foreword).

6) I am hoping to produce my own translation of the New Testament based on the nuances in the Greek text.

7) There’s something else, but I forgot what it was. 

I liken writing to walking. You just keep at it. But thankfully, on occasion I feel like I’m walking in an airport and then I step on one of those moving sidewalks. You’re still walking but you’re going a lot faster and it seems a lot easier. You zip right past all the slower-moving pedestrians. Then, alas, you step off the moving sidewalk and you’re on your own again.

Today things are moving pretty well, thank the Lord. But it’s OK if things slow down. I’ll just keep on walking. Perseverance is as essential to writers as it is to athletes. A good writer will also take an editor’s words to heart and allow others to improve his or her work. In short, writing is a long, satisfying road. But it sure takes work!

9:32 AM A former student of mine is teaching Greek in his local church. One of his students just emailed me to say:

At the age of 67, and with 10 grandchildren, I am taking the class.

If that don’t light your fire, your wood is all wet.

9:25 AM Well, have you visited Andrew Wilson’s website yet? I’ve been mulling over his examples of textual variants, especially his treatment of Matt. 5:22a. The question here is, “Did Jesus forbid all anger, or only causeless anger?” Here are Andrew’s arguments in favor of including the Greek adverb eike, normally translated “without cause,” along with my comments.

1) In Matthew 5:22, Jesus said, ‘whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgement’. A small number of Greek manuscripts omit the words ‘without a cause’ (P64, 01, B, plus two other late manuscripts). P64 is the oldest manuscript at this place, but these three manuscripts are all Alexandrian – that is, they are textually related to each other, so it is not surprising that they have the same reading. The vast majority of manuscripts contain the words. When we look at the versional evidence, not only do the Old Latin and the Syriac versions contain the words, but even the Coptic versions contain them too, breaking ranks with the three Alexandrians, their stablemates. 

I agree with Andrew here. The inclusion of eike is supported by the majority of both manuscripts and text types. Thus, on the basis of the axiom “Prefer the most geographically widespread reading,” eike wins hands down. Good job, Andrew!

2) In terms of transcriptional probability, the omission is only one word in Greek, and the fact that scribes tended to omit single words rather than add them means that the omission is far more likely to be the result of scribal oversight, especially when there is a case of homoeoarcton involved, like here, where the following word starts with the same letter as the word in dispute.

In my opinion, Andrew’s argument is good as far as it goes, but it doesn’t go far enough. The question here is the basic question of internal evidence: “Prefer the reading that best explains the origin of the others.” Andrew posits the theory that a scribe may have omitted the disputed word because, in general, scribes were prone to omit single words in their copies. Point well taken. But there is another possibility here. What if Jesus’ teaching on anger were understood by some scribes as being too “soft,” that is, what if His teaching made Him look too indulgent toward anger? I can easily see someone in the ancient world arguing, “Of course we are to have a good reason whenever we get angry, but the fact is that I always have a good reason when I’m angry.” In fact, in this scenario, Jesus’ teaching would actually be a dangerous one for immature Christians who could not live in the gray areas, whose tendency perhaps was to rationalize their sinful anger away on the basis of that little adverb eike. So, in a church that might have gone too “soft” on anger, the easiest way to resolve the problem would have been to simply excise the offending adverb from the ext and — voila! — problem solved. Now Jesus is forbidding all anger!

My friends who argue that eike was added later in order to soften Jesus’ harsh teaching about anger have a point. That’s certainly one possibility. But the opposite may also have occurred, and the word may have been omitted for the opposite reason. By the way, this is one reason I view the internal evidence as corroborative rather than probative. If one is left with only the internal evidence, one usually finds that either reading makes good sense in its context.

3) In terms of theology, the Bible makes a clear distinction on the subject of anger: it is sometimes right and proper for us to be angry, while anger can also sometimes be sinful. Thus, Jesus was angry (Mark 3:5), God is angry with the wicked every day (Psalm 7:11), and the Christian is told to ‘be angry and sin not’ (Eph. 4:26). The words ‘without cause’ in Matthew 5:22 seem to nicely capture the right balance and the retention thus seems more in keeping with what the Bible elsewhere teaches.

All well and good. Andrew might have also pointed us to James 1:19-, where we are informed that we are to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry, for human anger does not (generally speaking) accomplish God’s righteousness. He might also have delved a bit into the subject of anthropology: since we are created in God’s image and likeness, and since God Himself gets angry, perhaps human anger is a legitimate emotion after all.

4) Thus, although antiquity favours the omission, on the other hand majority, propinquity, theology and transcriptional probability strongly favour the retention of the words. It is hard to see how the words, if they were originally missing, could have spread to so many different geographical regions in exactly the same form if they had been added in by inventive scribes taking liberties with the text. It is more likely that one extremely limited stream of related evidence accidentally omitted the word.

This is well said. The only quibble I have is with this statement: “antiquity favours the omission.” I simply don’t believe this is true. Both readings are equally early. We know this from (among other things) the versional attestation. The fact that “without cause” is known in the Old Latin, for example, pushes the date of that reading into the late first or early second century. Hence the argument from antiquity, as with the argument from the internal evidence, cuts both ways. In the end, either reading may claim to be “old.”

One last observation and then I’m done (blog posts are supposed to be short!):

One of the major characteristics of Matthew’s Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is the predilection to nuance Jesus’ words. Two examples will, I hope, suffice to make my case. First, in Matt. 5:11, Jesus makes it clear that His followers are blessed when they are accused of evil “falsely.” That little word “falsely” (in Greekpseudomenoi) is omitted in the Western text type. Yet it is exactly the kind of nuanced exception one might expect from Jesus. Our second example comes from the famous passage on divorce in Matthew’s record of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:31), in which Jesus asserts, “Everyone who divorces his wife (except for the matter of sexual infidelity) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries the divorced woman commits adultery.” The words in parentheses are clearly an exception to Jesus’ normal teaching about divorce and remarriage — an exception found neither in Mark nor Luke. Thus it is not very surprising to me that Jesus would have clarified to us what He meant when He said, “If you get angry, you must have a very good reason for doing so. Otherwise you will be liable to judgment.”

The bottom line? Andrew argues for the originality of eike in Matt. 5:22. I couldn’t agree more. I can’t possibly over-emphasize the importance of New Testament textual criticism for both doctrine and practice. My heartfelt thanks to Andrew for all the work he has put into his website. I hope it gets the reading it (in my opinion) certainly deserves.

P.S. In September of 2012 I had the joy and privilege of examining “up-close-and-personal” an original Erasmus 1516 Greek-Latin New Testament, compliments of the library at Criswell College in Dallas.

Below you can see the disputed wordeike (third line, second word from the right).

Monday, October 6 

8:54 PM I know. I know. I am incurably nostalgic. Well, I knew tomorrow was going to be rainy, and I also knew that today’s weather would be nearly perfect, so off I went on a day outing to Lexington, VA. I don’t know why, but lately I’ve been feeling a need to retrace the steps of some of the trips Becky and I made together, and one of our favorite haunts was this quaint town in the Shenandoah. Just knowing that Bec and I spent so many happy moments together there helps me to cope with the loneliness of her loss. The sharp pain has gradually lessened, so much so that I can make trips like this one and be filled with joyful memories. When you lose a spouse it is hard to know what is “normal,” but somehow revisiting the past helps to calm down the emotional roller coaster. At any rate, I’m too tired to blog anything of substance tonight so I’ll just leave you with a few pix — and mighty bored you’ll be if you view them!

1) The famous Natural Bridge in Rockbridge County. What a delightful hike there and back.

2) Yep, “G. W.” was there.

3) The beautiful campus of Washington and Lee University in historic Lexington. When Robert E. Lee became the college’s president there in 1865, he said that he had finally found his calling in life. Ruing his military career, he became one of the most innovative educators in American history and introduced both an elective system and an honor system that are still in use today.

4) Stonewall Jackson taught at next-door VMI. He is buried in the city’s cemetery.

5) This chapel was the first building that Lee, as president of Washington College, erected.

6) Its simple interior is impressive.

7) Lee’s pew. The man led by example, refusing to make chapel attendance required. “You don’t force people to worship God,” he said.

8) Edward Valentine’s famous “Recumbent Statue” of Lee asleep on the battlefield.

9) Even Traveller is buried at the chapel (though just outside the back door). I too once had a horse named Traveller, though it seems like centuries ago now.

10) Here’s the home the college built for President Lee and his family (with a livery for Traveller attached).

11) The Episcopal Church attended by Lee and his family.

12) The Stonewall Jackson House. Our one-hour tour was magnificent. My hat’s off to the volunteers who did such a fantastic job.

Who knows where my nostalgia will take me next. Stay tuned!

9:06 AM Good morning, thoughtful bloggers and lovers of God wherever you live!

As you know, I am an amateur textual critic of the New Testament. Yes, I realize I’ve written the definitive volume on the subject, all 80 ages of it (*wink wink*). But at least I was honest about it in the subtitle:New Testament Textual Criticism: A Concise Guide.

I personally enjoy dialoguing with New Testament scholars who are experts in this field. I have wonderful friends in the academic community who have published essays and books on the subject. At the same time, I have never been very happy with their scholarly conclusions, viz., that the Byzantine text type is secondary and therefore inferior to the Alexandrian text. I guess you could call me a Sturzian in this regard. Harry Sturz was a top-notch textual scholar of a previous generation. (Gohere for a tribute.) His doctoral dissertation focused on Westcott-Hort’s theory that the Byzantine text was edited in the fourth century and was, in essence, a conflation of the two other major text types, the Western and the Alexandrian. Today one finds a predilection for the views of W-H among scholars, whether conservative or non-conservative.

So where do I disagree?

Well, read Sturz’sThe Byzantine Text-Type and New Testament Textual Criticism for the answer. Sturz did a wonderful job (in my opinion) of completely de-bunking the W-H theory. My conviction is that the Byzantine text type is not edited in the W-H sense and therefore of equal importance to the other two major text types. Hence the external evidence is probative, and wherever it shows that a reading is more geographical widespread than its competitor reading(s), I tend to prefer that reading. Now, I’ve not been silent about my views. I’ve put my thoughts in writing and published them in such journals as New Testament Studies, Novum Testamentum, and Filologia Neotestamentaria. (Go tothis page and scroll down to the bottom to read these essays on Google docs.) Think about this: If the current scholarly consensus is wrong about the Byzantine text, this would entail completely rethinking our approach to resolving textual variants. First, it would mean resurrecting the Byzantine text from the theological trash heap to which it has (for all intents and purposes) been relegated. Second, it would mean giving a more important place to the geographical distribution of text types than heretofore. And third, the internal evidence would assume its proper role, which in my view is corroborative rather than probative. The undeniable reality is that my views are in a strict minority among New Testament scholars. The subject is very complex and to some degree ambiguous, to the point where good scholars can and do disagree. To my knowledge, I am the only living Sturzian who has published his views on the subject.

At least I was.

This is where my emails come into play. This morning I received a message from a scholar of textual criticism who lives in Australia. His name is Andrew Wilson and he is a fellow-Sturzian. He calls his view “Balanced Eclecticism” (instead of my “Reasoned Conservatism”). And it is indeed a balanced approach. Care to see a few examples? Gohere. We who believe that the New Testament text is authoritative should and certainly can participate in the debate. I encourage you to check out his website and ponder the examples he gives. You will see that he fits squarely into a round hole. As an incurable infracaninophile, I like that (as you know). But most of all, the subject is fascinating and, dare I say it, enjoyable! So whether or not you end up a Sturzian, have compassion of the one or two Sturzians who are still around and prayerful ponder if what they say has any legitimacy.

And start reading Sturz’s book!

Sunday, October 5 

8:50 PM Photo update:

1) My supper tonight consisted partly of this tasty sirloin steak. The entire meal cost me under $5.00.

2) Afterwards I bundled up, and the dogs and I enjoyed some ice cream sandwiches on the front porch. (They are such polite beggars.)

It’s hard to believe that tonight’s low will be 44 degrees. Time to get out my winter clothes. As for the rest of the evening, I’m going to sit back, relax, and watch The Great Escape.

8:02 PM Grateful for this email:

I pray your ear is doing much better.

I replied:

Thanks so much for praying about my ear. Please don’t stop now. It still hurts and is plugged. There is not a thing I can do about it. We’ll see what the ENT specialist says later this month. As Becky would say, “God knows….”

7:50 PM Becky had an unusual maiden name. She was the first “Lapsley” I had ever met. But then again, Becky was an unusual woman. Until Sept. 11, 1976, when she became Becky Black, she was Becky Lapsley, the name assigned to her by her parents. She learned to sign that name on her kindergarten scribbles, then on her high school term papers. More than any other label, those two words defined who she was. Her father, Brad Lapsley, the only son of Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Lapsley, made sure his children knew and appreciated their family tree.

In time I got to know her grandparents (known to their family as Big Father and Grand Mommee). On trips to Dallas before our marriage I would visit them in their upscale Dallas home. Big Father never looked the camera in the eye. He had been a Colonel in the U.S. Army and then a first vice-president of one of Dallas’s larger banks. Grand Mommee lived to be over 100. She and Becky were very close. Looking back now, I see how very special these times were in Becky’s life. She loved her family, appreciated her “roots.” Her relatives became important to me not for what they were but for who they were — Becky’s kith and kin. Eventually her grandparents’ house was sold, and today it stands as a heap of rubble until the new owners rebuild it from the ground up.

When you realize that it was “just yesterday” that you were watching a Dallas Cowboys football game in that living room, you begin to feel the passing of time. In three weeks, Becky’s mom and dad will visit me from Texas to share in the one year anniversary of Becky’s passing. Becky — a product of her family, of her genealogical roots? Yes, I suppose. But her parents had raised her to have both roots and wings. She flew — dare I say soared? — in directions no one, not even her own family members, could have predicted. That I was along for the journey still amazes me.

When I get to glory I hope the line won’t be very long to see Big Father and Grand Mommee. If it is, I might have to elbow my way to the front just to thank them for what they meant in their granddaughter’s life. (Not really: I’ll wait my turn.) Right now, it’s enough to ponder the fleeting nature of time. Everything precious in this world moves rapidly toward its end, which is partly why it is so precious and beautiful. 

3:24 PM Today NPR’s Radio Lab program aired a fascinating story about our universe. In passing, they mentioned the Copernican Revolution. Remember that? It was when earth went into orbit. Up until the 16th century, everyone knew that the earth was the center of the solar system. The sun rose and set, the moon rose and set, the planets and the stars rose and set around the earth. Then Copernicus came along. Suddenly the sun was at the center, and the planets (including the earth) were propelled into orbit.

My brain immediately went to New Testament ecclesiology. Because, in the end, isn’t church leadership simply a matter of placing Jesus Christ at the center of our universe? New Testament writers were zealous to guard the truth of the preeminence (the “first-placeness”) of Jesus Christ against all would-be intruders, church leaders included. And yet we have spawned structures that place mere men above Christ. My thesis is simple: church structures will be legitimate or illegitimate to the degree that they allow Jesus Christ to have the first place in everything. That is, our ecclesiology must first and foremost comport with New Testament Christology if we are to get this thing right. Which is one reason I like the concept of mutual elders so much. When you have no senior pastor except for Christ, no longer will you be able to separate the church into classes of Christians — those who are “clergy” and those who “laity.” Each Christian will be seen as a fulltime minister. And the leaders that do exist will gladly recede into the background by letting Jesus be preeminent in all things, including vision-setting. Whatever else the New Testament teaches about the church, surely the preeminence of Jesus Christ must be at the core. But for this to take place, church leaders are going to have to propel themselves into orbit. Yes, I know this is not the world’s CEO model. But, as Jacque Ellul reminds us, “Christians should be troublemakers, creators of uncertainty, agents of a dimension incompatible with society.” After all, we follow one to whom all authority in heaven and on earth has been given, the one who created the universe and who upholds it by His powerful word (Heb. 1:3). Not too sure He really likes sharing the glory with anyone!

2:58 PM Had the joy of taking Kim, Joel, and the grandkids to Mexican food today after church. Today is Caleb’s 3rd birthday so he got to wear the sombrero. We all left bedecked with happiness!

9:50 AM Just back from a walk on a perfect fall day.

Farm life is the life for me. I love the outdoors. I love the quiet and tranquility. A farm means open roads, thick woods, quiet streams, clean air, happy dogs, and a relaxed atmosphere. It also means hard work, inconvenience, interruptions, spiders, snakes, dear eating your crops, molting animals, and things constantly breaking down. I suppose you have to be a little eccentric to live on a small farm.

Think I fit the bill? 🙂

8:46 AM I snapped this photo yesterday at the Natural History Museum in DC. Roosevelt obviously labored long and hard over this draft of his address to Congress on Dec. 7, 1941, “a date which will live in world history” — oops, “…in infamy.”

Revising a paper teaches us to be better writers. I even revise blog posts before typing them, especially when something I say might admit of more than one interpretation. But it is equally important that we begin by writing something. I do so in longhand, realizing that I will be revising everything I say.

How do you write?

Saturday, October 4 

9:56 PM Hi folks,

Greetings from Rosewood Farm! Just back from a quick trip to the Manassas Battlefield Park in northern Virginia and thence to DC to visit with one of my daughters. I must confess: I am a Civil War bore. I quite agree with Gertrude Stein, who said, “There will never be anything more interesting in America than the Civil War.” The war was my hobby for 25 years as a reeenactor, even though I hardly know where my uniform and accouterments are today.

On my visit to Manassas yesterday I stood and stared at the Henry House with awe. I’ve been in many different countries and seen many historic sights, but few things are more fascinating to me than a pristine Civil War battlefield sans all the gaudy monuments. As for reenacting, yes, I’ve had my share of “period rushes” during battle reenactments. I even participated in the big First Manassas event when there were upwards of 25,000 reeenactors present. Fields and cows and crooked fences and old houses — does life get any better? You wake up in the morning, stumble out of your tent, sniff the coffee brewing over an open fire, and you’re experiencing the ultimate time-travel high. Reenacting is a great family hobby, but it’s also a huge mission field. With evangelical fervor I would preach the Sunday morning period worship services (though my messages were anything but make-believe), then I’d lope off to fall in with my company for battle (“On the right by files into line — march!”) and discharge my Enfield rifle until I ran out of ammo or was told by the sergeant to “die” — a command I dutifully obeyed, though usually only when I had found a good shade tree to lie under. I’d spend weekends grubbing around in the woods in a sweat-soaked wool uniform. No ties did I have to the war: my maternal grandparents had emigrated from Romania to America through Ellis Island, while my paternal great-great grandparents (the Millers) were all pacifists who sat out the war while tending their farms along the Antietam Creek in western Maryland. Civil War reenacting, as some have put it, is more addictive than drugs and almost as expensive. You’re talking at least $2,000 to get fully outfitted as a private (my “noble” rank), including your tentage and reproduction musket. This is escapism elevated to a fine art. Becky’s cooking was always exceptional — and period to boot.

But back to the Manassas Battlefield. The park itself is a national treasure. (At this point I’m reminded of the dimwit who wondered why so many Civil War battles were fought on national parks). Traipse around the grounds and its like the music from the Twilight Zone. The park’s movie theater is playing a new film that is definitely worth seeing. The Battle of First Manassas (aka Bull Run) proved that the South could fight and that the North could blunder. A mere 620,000 deaths later and the war would come to an end. The downside of reenacting for me is that it can breed a certain kind of war-glorification. Jefferson Davis, for one, might have been startled by modern-day reeenactors. “The past is dead; let it bury its dead, its hopes and its aspirations; before you lies the future. Let me beseech you to lay aside all rancor, all bitter sectional feelings, and to take your places in the ranks of those who will bring about a consummation devoutly to be wished — a reunited country.” Davis spoke those words to a group of young Southerners shortly before his death. His words aptly summarize the ambivalence I feel toward reenacting today. Playing bang-bang on the weekend is hardly an authentic experience of battle. That would take rancid bacon — not to mention live ammunition and Civil War diseases. (The biggest killer during the war was not the bullet but the microbe.) I’ve seen plenty of reeenactors get killed, only to roll over on their side and light a posthumous Marlboro. What’s even funnier is the occasional redundancy when two Robert E. Lees show up at the same event. (I kid you not.) No longer a Civil war acolyte, I laugh out loud thinking about that oddity — and the thousands of reeenactors who desperately need liposuction (most American men during the war weighed no more than 135 pounds.) I’m OK with reenactment parking areas being designated “Federal” and “Confederate,” but that’s as far as it goes for me these days. As Jeff Davis might have put it, “Get over it and move on.”

Still, something awesome leaps up from the ground and strikes you unexpectedly at places like Manassas. Even the word “Manassas” — unlike the more Germanic “Gettysburg” and “Fredericksburg” –sounds hauntingly beautiful. This weekend it was strange being on the actual spot where the 85-year old widow Judith Henry perished (she refused to be removed from her house during the battle). She became the first civilian casualty of the war when her house was hit by an artillery shell. She is buried out front in a simple enclosure.

And this is the site where Confederate General Barnard Bee (whose words “There stands Jackson like a stone wall” are known to every child in America) was mortally wounded.

It was down this hill that the Federals fled in panicked retreat, causing some to dub the battle “The Bull Run Races.”

Before we leave the battlefield, here’s Thomas Jonathan Jackson, who was to be mortally wounded by his own men at Chancellorsville. It was here at First Manassas that he earned the nickname “Stonewall.”

On to beautiful DC we went.

We stopped by the Air and Space Museum to take in the new IMAX film “D-Day” and then to grab some pix of the WW II aircraft on display, including this ME 109.

Since it’s October, we decided to have lunch at a local German cafe, where I got to chat with one of the German servers about die Heimat. (Yes, I miss it too.)

Last night I stayed, incidentally, at a wonderful B & B near old town Manassas, theBennett House — as cozy a home as I have ever visited.

Next door I spotted this beauty for sale for a mere $760,000. Any takers?

I’m grateful beyond words for God’s blessings, including the joy of traveling and going to new places. The Smithsonian Institution alone would take weeks and weeks to exhaust. So, I encourage you to get out and explore this great country of ours. You won’t just be reading history, you’ll be living it.

Dave

Friday, October 3 

8:54 AM Are you a cessasionist or a continuationist? I want to go on record and affirm that I am a passionate continuationist.

1) I believe we ought to continue the pattern of simple, radical, life-style evangelism begun in the book of Acts. After all, it worked for the early church.

2) I believe we ought to continue bearing a humble, faithful, and consistent testimony to Christ, as the early believers did. Yes, the early church knew of signs and wonders, but the greatest work of the church has not been the spectacular but rather the faithful day-in and day-out living of normal everyday Christians.

3) I believe we ought to get out of our cozy churches and put Christ on display in the world’s darkness where we are needed. For the early Christians, the field was the world, and the corn of wheat had to die if it was to please God and bear fruit. Why, then, do we sit around debating theological puzzles when we ought to plant our lives in the ugly soil of the world?

4) I believe we ought to continue the emphasis of the New Testament upon every-member ministry, since we are all priests – every one of us – of the Most High God. No church in the New Testament had a single pastor who did all the work. If you have such a leader in your church, fire him – and then hire him back immediately as your CEO, “Chief Equipping Officer” (Eph. 4:11-12).  

5) I believe we ought to continue the early church’s rejection of blind patriotism. The only Christian nation the Bible knows is the blood-bought, born-again purchased people of God.

6) I believe we ought to follow the example of the apostle Paul and eschew the excellence of human oratory and any appeal to human wisdom. Nothing about the Gospel pleases this world, and we are never so foolish as when we try to dress it up in the garish garments of this age.

7) I believe we ought to continue the example of the early church and reject position and power as the measuring sticks of success. Why should we seek prominent seats in the kingdom when our Lord promised us not seats but suffering? Obedience cost John the Baptist his head and Jonathan Edwards his pulpit. What has it cost us?

So … are you a cessasionist or a continuationist?

Thursday, October 2 

5:52 PM Just cooked a steak, mashed potatoes, and corn for this day of commemoration. Delicious! What happy memories of dining with Becky!

12:48 PM Have you ever heard of John Glas? He lived from 1695 to 1773 and was an ordained minister in the Church of Scotland. That is, until he was stripped of his ordination in 1727. His misdeeds?

  • He called for a plurality of local church elders instead of leadership by a single pastor.

  • He taught that the Lord’s Supper should be observed weekly instead of monthly or quarterly.

  • He said that ministers should be chosen on the basis of their character and Bible knowledge rather than because of a degree from a theological institution.

In short, John Glas was defrocked because he attempted to establish a church along the lines of the New Testament. He also called for other Christians to join him in the restoration of primitive Christianity. Later on, in the nineteenth century, the weekly observance of the breaking of bread and the ministry of all believers became the foundation stones for the Brethren movement.

So, what do you think of John Glas? Is the modern church in America ripe for new religious formation? I have a hunch that it is, and that men like John Glas are tragic heroes from whom we have much to learn. Incidentally, in case you’re interested in studying the history of restoration movements in the Western church, there are no better resources than Donald Durnbaugh’s The Believers’ Church and Donald Kraybill’s The Upside-Down Kingdom. 

Wait a minute – Iwrote a book on this subject myself!

12:40 PM A report suggests that 90 percent of all medical research studiesare wrong. That is an astounding figure. To put it frankly: I do not place my hope in medical experts, as much as I appreciate the work they are doing. I don’t know about you, but I never want to get to a place in my life where I do not look for miracles. Naturalism has never appealed to me — you know, the idea that “since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning” (2 Pet. 3:4). This same argument is advanced today by all who try to explain everything by natural law and who refuse to believe that God can break through the usual course of nature. In their thinking, there is no room for God.

Does that even begin to make sense?

12:18 PM Did you know that Spain is the least evangelized Spanish-speaking country? Pray for the Gospel to bear fruit in that great nation.

9:45 AM Just picked these from Becky’s rose garden. Ain’t they lovely? They’re in memory of the gardener, of course.

Today marks the 11th monthaversary of her death. For me it is an inexpugnable reminder of the incredible grace of God that we experienced during our cancer journey together. It’s also a chance to reevaluate my life and ask Where do I go from here? Life has mellowed for me now that I’ve reached Geezerdom. I’ve already experienced that stage in men’s lives where they have to revaluate the ladder of success they’ve been climbing and even reappraise the ladder itself. I’m no longer in the grip of the American Dream. Its demands are less absolute and work in general is less stressful. Even though I continue to pursue excellence, I’m frankly more interested now in the process and much less concerned with recognition. Yeats’ poem “The Circus Animals’ Desertion” says it well:

Now that my ladder’s gone, I must lie down where all ladders start, in the foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart.

I’ve had to climb down a million ladders in order to reach out my hand and grasp what is of eternal significance. When more time stretches behind than stretches before, you see a gap between what you may have wished to become and what you actually have become. I no longer think I have to be a great writer or the perfect classroom teacher and, as I said the other day, the mentor in me is coming out. I hope to show the younger generation that water holes are often mirages, and that to succeed in life is partially to fail. Seasons of life pass in their proper rhythm, and as long as we are alive no season of life marks the end of opportunities for growth or the burdens of further progress. I have long since given up the image of myself as a youthful hero saving the world. I’m just an aging man who has accepted himself as a person of considerable experience and achievement and who feels privileged to be able to do work I enjoy and become a teacher-mentor to the younger generation.

God’s dialogue with Job comes to mind as I contemplate life without Becky. “Have you descended to the springs of the sea or walked in the unfathomable deep?” The answer is no, of course not, Lord. But You have. To God, at least, nothing is new or surprising, least of all the death of a spouse. As for me, I will try to regard whatever time and energy He grants me as His property and not mine.

To change the subject: I’ve made an appointment with an ENT specialist. From Googling the symptoms, I probably messed up my eardrum on descent. My guess is that the drum is stuck or else there is fluid in the middle ear. But really, I have no clue. I do know that whatever dark tunnel we may be called upon to travel through, God has been there first.

Wednesday, October 1 

9:05 PM Well, it turns out that the week I had planned is going to be very different from the one God has in store for me. Yes, I have decided to cancel my trip. Because life isn’t about what we want. It’s about doing the right thing. Now, I’m not saying I’m very good at this. There are lots of wrong decisions I’ve made in my life. And no, I don’t expect to feel totally at peace with myself about this decision. Let’s be honest. As wonderful as life is, it can also be a bummer at times. But the truth is that God is at work even when we are clueless. He shows up even when we feel lost in the fog. I won’t be coming. That wasn’t easy to write. But when I look back at what I wrote, when I realize that I’ve got to deal with this ear problem before it gets worse, I realize that I made the right decision — an incredible, awful, difficult, abrupt about-face, a 180 – but the right decision nonetheless. 

There’s something almost comforting about how you can find your balance even when you’re riding a roller coaster. Of course, just the mere fact that I have the option of seeing an ear specialist is itself mind-boggling. He is caring for me. None of this is happening outside of His loving arms. For most of my life, when faced with decisions like this, I would tell myself, “Push yourself, Dave, and get the job done even if it wipes you out physically.” I’ve now decided that voice is a lie. It doesn’t matter how much you enjoy serving Jesus or how much others need your service, it’s okay to get tired and sick or to have an ear infection. Sometimes when I read blogs, there’s a very real sense that life is nothing but a series of victories and happy moments, and indeed at times life is like that. But we need to get real. It’s not okay to pretend. Yes, I want to know about your joys, but I also want to hear about those times when you feel you can’t go on or when you are empty and confused or when your view of life is obscured by tear-clouded eyes or when you want to bury your head in your knees and cry your heart out. Think of John (whose head was cut off) or James (killed in prison) or Job (yes, that Job) or Paul (who could heal others but not himself). Is the implication there that life isn’t always a bowl of cherries?

Maybe this sounds a little melodramatic, but I hate having to make decisions like the one I had to make today. It is so humbling. I seem completely unable to wrap my head around the fact that God once stripped Himself of everything and put on weakness and humiliation so that He might pour out His love on us without qualm or reservation. I never want to get numb thinking about how low He stooped to lift me up. Today I asked for a miracle, and though He didn’t grant me the miracle I was asking for or take the pain away, I would be a fool not to recognize that a miracle has been given to me in the form of a Savior who is with me (as He promised) “day after day after day until the end of the age,” regardless of my health or my ability to travel.

To those of you who emailed me with advice and prayers, my deepest thanks. We’re all in this together, and not just us. He is eager to help us in ways we don’t dare to imagine. So before finishing my emails and going upstairs, I thank you. I totally agree with the apostle Paul: I have no idea how people can live without Christ or apart from the community He established called the church.

6:07 PM Getting caught up on answering your text messages and emails. I was blessed by this text:

Please, please keep sharing from your heart as the Lord leads you. I go to your site when I need encouragement and refocusing. Spot on.

God isso good to me to give me encouraging friends like this one!

5:54 PM Evening, friends!

It was a busy day today. My Greek 1 class graded their exams and then I had to introduce what is probably the lengthiest chapter in my beginning grammar (chap. 7 on the imperfect and aorist tenses). In addition, my left ear has really been bothering me. I think to myself, You’re such a wimp, Dave. The apostle Paul was shipwrecked 3 times and spent 24 hours in the open sea. He knew “exhaustion, pain, long vigils, hunger and thirst, doing without meals, cold, and even lack of clothing” (so he tells the Corinthians). I guess he never experienced the real hazards of travel — no soap in the airplane’s lavatory, or the flight attendants running out of blankets on an overnight flight.

Right now, at this very moment, I am having to decide whether or not to fly out tomorrow on my next international trip. I am packed. I am ready to go. I am eager to go. But my left ear is killing me. Do I risk a long-term chronic problem for the sake of short-term gains, or do I cancel out and have my ear checked by a specialist before boarding another airplane? If I do leave on this trip, this will involve 6 different flights in 10 days — which means 6 ascents and 6 descents with the concomitant pressurization and depressurization involved. I have decided to make my decision by 9 pm tonight. I am willing to take risks for the sake of the Gospel. But I also want to be wise. How do I go about doing this? It will take more wisdom than I have.

Thank you. Thank you for letting me be honest with you. Thank you for sharing my journey with me. I wish Becky (a former ICU nurse) were here to offer advice. I so want to follow Christ. I so want to “carry each other’s burdens and so live out the law of Christ.” I know the conditions: “Let a man deny himself and take up his cross.” But I can’t do this by myself. He needs to enable me — the One who Himself relinquished all His own rights and His own will as well.

I’ll let you know what I decide. And I’d appreciate your prayers. 

Peace,

Dave

8:18 AM You turn the computer on — a simple push of a button that shows you a date stamp, a reminder that a new month has begun. It jolts you, this rush to the future, this flight from summer to fall and eventually winter. You laugh out loud. It was almost a year ago, you think to yourself.That can’t be true. It happened just yesterday, didn’t it?

Over the past few months, I’ve shared with you my raw experience of coming to grips with Becky’s death. For four and a half years prior to that event, I watched the gradual weakening of her body and the long, slow loss of her ability to manage such basic needs as ambulation and toileting. I had become her caregiver, and it was a job I neither expected nor felt myself prepared for. My experience was hardly unique: Millions of people are unable to care for themselves. Becky’s way of handling the crisis was simply to carry on with her life and ministries as planned. We experienced countless “new normals” as the disease progressed.  But we both knew that the Long Goodbye had begun. Thankfully, we were never meant to travel this journey alone. Over and over again we experienced the support of countless people, including many of you. How much longer must I watch her suffer? I’d whine. A watch or timepiece is useless when it comes to determining how much longer until Jesus comes for you and takes you Home. But you’re wasting your time if you are standing around checking your watch all day long. The Bible says “Keep busy until I come.” Our lives should be ready for that day. Our hearts should be ready too.

When I go on a trip I often have to leave the house early in the morning to catch my flight. So when I go to bed at night I make sure everything is ready. I don’t want to have to fumble around in a sleepy stupor packing my bags. I want to be ready. And so it is spiritually. I want to live today in anticipation of Christ’s second coming. Yes, I’m still time-conscious, except now I realize that the best way of waiting is by keeping busy in the work of the Lord until He makes the final move. “We all find time to do what we really want to do,” said William Feather. Goethe agreed: “Nothing is worth more than this day.” Even in this age when we know the price of everything and the value of nothing, I can be about my Father’s business.

When it comes right down to it, it really doesn’t matter what season of the year it is or what my calendar says. I know the Home Coming party is near. Any day we’ll hear the trumpet blow. Until then, I have still have lots of (hopefully) sanctified goals and dreams.

Jesus never told me or Becky when He would call either of us Home. He just urged us to live in anticipation of that Day at all times.

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Monday, October 28

4:06 PMAlready we have received dozens of emails. Here’s one of them:

I want to cry, but instead I will pray.  Finish well?  You already have.  What a joy and privilege to have known a saint like you!  May your transport be full of peace and glory; may your family and friends who are with you know abundantly the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

I assure you, I will read each and every one of your emails to her, even if she is unconscious.

3:58 PMI just sent this email to our prayer partners. I thought that perhaps I should share it with you also.

Becky wanted me to send you the following:

_____________________________
 

My time is very short. I wanted to thank you for your love through the years. Thank you also for your faithfulness in praying for me. Please do not stop now. Please pray that I finish well.
 

I love you, 

Becky

[The doctor is giving her only a few days at most. We will all miss her. Thank you again for your love and prayers. Please do not stop praying now. Right now she is surrounded by family and friends. What a blessing. God bless you. Love and aloha, Dave]

Thanks so much for caring.

Rejoicing in the goodness of God,

Dave

Sunday, October 27

4:14 PMZwingli on learning Greek.

3:57 PMJust received this in an email:

Perspective is a wonderful tool when God’s faithfulness is the central focus.

So true. This is why suffering can be redemptive. The greater our suffering, the greater our material for sacrifice. It would be preposterous for me to claim that I am doing a very good job of this right now. The Lord must come. He must come to wipe away my tears, to dispel the loneliness, to give me — perspective. The perspective to see that one day her emaciated body, her glazed eyes, her useless lungs will be exchanged for wholeness.

The quest for perspective without basking in the love of God is as futile as a child’s refusal to be comforted by a mother’s arms when he is chastised.

1:58 PMJust for fun:

1:54 PMThe “Three Ps”:

Pen, paper, and puppy.

1:48 PMMissionaries today are ready to go from South India to North India, from one island of the Philippines to another, from South Korea to China. Are we ready to support them? That $25,000 spent on your Living Christmas Tree scaffolding could support many dozens of them. Isn’t it time we rethought our spending priorities?

1:36 PMI am greatly indebted to my ever-able assistant, Mr. Jacob Cerone, for keeping our Greek Portal so efficiently updated. Please check theWhat’s New? page for recent additions to our section on the LXX.

9:56 AMI really enjoyed speaking German yesterday with Victor and Daniel, our SEBTS students who are studying here for a semester from the FTA in Giessen. It’s been 30 years since I lived in a German-speaking country but the language came right back to me. Helen Keller (The Story of My Life) had this to say about learning a foreign language (Latin in particular):

At first I was rather unwilling to study Latin grammar. It seemed absurd to waste time analyzing every word I came across — noun, genitive, singular, feminine — when its meaning was quite plain. I thought I might just as well describe my pet in order to know it — order, vertebrate; division, quadruped; class, mammalia; genus, felinus; species, cat; individual, Tabby. But as I got deeper into the subject, I became more interested, and the beauty of the language delighted me. I often amused myself by reading Latin passages, picking up words I understood and trying to make sense. I have never ceased to enjoy this pastime.

There is nothing more beautiful, I think, than the evanescent fleeting images and sentiments presented by a language one is just becoming familiar with — ideas that flit across the mental sky, shaped and tinted by capricious fancy.

“The beauty of the language delighted me.” Have you discovered the delights of language learning yet?

Victor and Daniel were, I think, a bit surprised that I knew so much about Giessen and its environs. As you know, my current love in reading is anything that has to do with escapes from German POW camps in World War II. Mission Escape traces the story of Wing Commander Harry Day from his capture in September of 1938 to his eventual repatriation in 1945. He participated in the first successful allied tunnel from Dulag Luft in Oberursel, just north of Frankfurt am Main and south of Giessen. A few years ago, after teaching at Tyndale Seminary in Holland for a couple of weeks, I tried to find the site of that camp along with a buddy of mine who lives in Germany, Cleon Rogers Jr. (ofRogers and Rogers fame). Sure enough, with the help of the city manager, we found it and I actually stood on the spot where 18 men staged the first mass escape from Germany. After the war the Americans renamed it Camp King, and it was used for several decades as a U.S. base.

Later, Harry Day along with 75 other allied POWs climbed out of a hole at Stalag Luft 3 in the famous “Great Escape” of March, 1944. The site of that camp (in Sagan, Poland) has recently opened a museum. Someday I would love to join up with another World War II buff and visit these and other sites.

And here’s more trivia: just south of our farm there was a German POW camp in Butner, NC,  where the prisoners helped the local farmers plant and harvest their crops.As far as I can tell, only one German prisoner made a successful escape from Camp Butner. Kurt Rossmeisl walked out the camp on August 4, 1945 and caught a train to Chicago, where he lived under the name Frank Ellis, obtained a social security card, found employment, and even joined a local Moose lodge. Tired of being on the run, Rossmeisl finally turned himself in on May10, 1959, fourteen years after the end of the war.

Why am I so fascinated with escape stories? Is it the courage, the struggle for freedom, the human ingenuity that draws me? All that and more. What comes through these books is the indomitable spirit of men in the face of great adversity. I have yet to find any other genre of literature that combines such excitement and determination.

9:23 AMTo all who have written us in the last few days: Thank you for your very kind and encouraging words. I hope to write each of you a personal response, but I do want you to know how much you mean to us. It would be impossible for me to tell you what an encouragement your emails are. Thank you for praying for us. We have much need of this. Be assured that Becky and I pray for you all. It is wonderful, is it not, that what we do can make a difference in the unseen world as well as in the seen world. But let us all look only to the Lord Jesus Christ and to the value of His finished work as He died on the cross. May we look to Him alone — not any other — for strength day by day to live a life that praises Him. Remember that the Good Shepherd knows His sheep by name, and that includes you. As you look into the mirror this day know that God loves you just as you are, not on the basis of some make-believe image we might make of ourselves and which we are not. May each of us be — this day — a keen instrument in the hand of God and of the Spirit.

In the love of Christ,

Dave

Saturday, October 26

6:16 PMHello blogging community. I hope you all had a wonderful Saturday. Mine was spectacular. My thanks to all who came for our work day, and especially to an old friend from our Oxford days, Lea Eaton, for sitting with Becky while the rest of us labored to get the farm spiffified. Thanks, also, to Jon and Matthea for bringing the kids to see Mama B. All in all, a great day. Here are a few pix.

 

7:40 AMIt has come down to this. Four walls. A bed. Music, yes, lots of music, and beautiful roses. Family – tons of it. And the Bible. What would we do without the Bible? The prayers, the fastings, the vigils, the supplications have gone up to the Throne, and He has answered. Tedious trips to UNC are a thing of the past — as are all the surgeries and the scorch of radiation and the poison of chemo and the stainless-steel bureaucracy of the hospital world. A change of sheets, a bed bath, a pain pill have replaced the medical treadmill. “There is a secret discipline appointed for every man and woman whose life is lived for others,” wrote Amy Carmichael.

No one can escape that discipline, nor would wish to escape it; nor can any shelter another from it. And just as we have seen the bud of a flower close around the treasure within, folding its secret up, petal by petal, so we have seen the soul that is chosen to serve, fold round its secret and hold it fast and cover it from the eyes of man. The petals of the soul are silence.

These four walls. A reminder that no matter how difficult the discipline, no matter how foolish or weak or self-willed we have been, He is still providing a Silent Place, a peaceful garden that tells us: in Christ there is forgiveness, in Him we are never left alone, our years are His years, Christ has reconciled us to God!

Sick rooms are celebrations, visible signs of those invisible realities that we believe with all our hearts.

7:32 AMGrateful that the Bradshers could visit last night.

The kids were a joy to have around.

Thanks for loving mom so well.

Friday, October 25

4:55 PMI’ve got some great news. Becky’s autobiography will be published in both English and Amharic. Praise God! It’s one way her message will live on. And what is that message? It’s hard to sit here and quantify it. So let me quote Becky. In her own words:

My goal is simple: that Jesus Christ be lifted up, so that He can draw men and women to Himself, and so that He can generate holiness in their lives.

This is from the introduction to her bookMy Life Story.

Please keep praying for Becky. We have a DNR order. This means no resuscitation, no breathing tube, no ventilator. Right now someone is at her bedside 24/7. I sit with her, feeding her small spoonfuls of Jell-O or giving her an occasional sip of water. I catch her eye and we smile at each other, silently content to be sharing this adventure. My heart catches in my throat, and I look back at the years we’ve enjoyed together, and I notice something. I notice that she is the same woman I married 37 years ago, only now she is more beautiful than ever.

In the dark watches of the night, as I stare at the ceiling sleeplessly, a soft voice reminds me that my job is to watch and pray — to watch a woman find her way Home.

10:05 AMGood morning friends. Becky passed a restful night. She was talking much of the time — in her sleep. I stayed up most of the night listening to her. Once she whispered, “Jesus, come for me now please.” I often heard her praying, whether consciously or not, I could not tell. She is on constant pain meds, mostly for the severe discomfort in her right lung, which has again filled with fluid. She is, of course, much too weak for another thoracentesis. Yesterday I took the dogs into the bedroom and placed them gently on her hospital bed. She wept as she petted them. They have been good friends to Becky through the years.

The house seems like Grand Central Station on steroids. Yesterday Nate and the two older boys came for a visit, then Rachael and the Humphries. Today the entire Bradsher clan will stop by (including their 5 wonderful kids), and tomorrow the Glasses will be here. What a blessing. Tomorrow is another farm work day, and I eagerly look forward to the help from the seminary. I need to paint the wheelchair ramp, weed out the now-overgrown garden beds, and clean up the back field, which was used as the logging deck — plus various odds and ends. The weather promises to be sunny but cold, with a high of 55. If you will, pray for me. I think I may be coming down with a cold. Or maybe it’s just the after-effects of the flu shot I got yesterday?

On a completely different note, recently I heard someone recite that little prayer we used to say as kids: “God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for our food.” I used to say that prayer in public school before meals. Maybe you did too. Of course, none of us would ever be caught dead praying it as adults. And yet isn’t it profound?

God is great.

He is greater than you or me, greater than the universe He made, greater than anything, and His purposes are far beyond our pitiful ability to comprehend. He is all-powerful, and He holds everything together with His powerful Word.

God is good.

That’s His nature. He just is good. Even when I don’t understand His purposes, God is good nonetheless. And because of that …

We thank Him.

God is to be thanked, not just for our food but for our salvation and health and families and friends and for good doctors and nurses and for hope. Especially for hope. “We grieve,” wrote Paul, “yet not as those who do not have hope.” When I have no one else in the world, I will always have God. Hope is the key. Hope accepts that God is great and that God is good. And if I have hope, I do not need to isolate myself from my family and friends. I do not need to ignore the support system that He has given me. I know I can never be “ready” for Becky’s death. But through God’s grace I can accept it when it comes. I realize that the transition will be great, and that the grieving process will be long. I already feel her loss deeply, but I refuse to bury my feelings out of fear or shame. Still, I just know there is hope at the end of the tunnel. And that hope is spelled J-E-S-U-S.

“Cast all your stresses upon Him, because He cares for you.” Such is the precious promise for those who grieve in Christ.

Peace,

Dave

Thursday, October 24

7:28 PMShopping season is upon us. Perhaps this is a good time to remind my readers that the body of Christ in Asia and Africa is looking for Christians in the West to partner with them and link hands in this time of harvest. God has showered material blessings upon the church in America. I feel that God has called me to speak up for the brethren in Asia and Africa because many of them cannot speak for themselves. The day of the indigenous Christian movement has come. Foreign nationals can do the work of church planting much better than we can. Several hundred thousand native missionaries in the Two-Thirds World are awaiting our support. Paul teaches in 2 Cor. 8-9 that those who have are obligated to help those who do not have. Are you a wealthy or affluent Christian? Are you ready to follow Jesus’ example into a sacrificial lifestyle? A lady once wrote a check for $100 and sent it to us at Christmas. She attached a note that said, “No longer will I be buying my grandchildren Christmas presents. They hardly need more things anyway. This year I am sending you a check for the needy in Ethiopia in the name of my grandchildren. They will receive a Christmas card from me telling them where ‘their’ Christmas money was spent.”

DBO exists to remind affluent Americans that there is a needy world of people out there whom Jesus loves and for whom He died. Will you join Becky and me in ministering to them?

7:10 PM“And when I came to Lazarus’ tomb / I wept — my heart was sore / I’ll comfort thee when thou dost weep / Til sorrows all are o’er.” Susanne G. Umlauf. 

6:23 PMHere’s a book I’ve been wanting to read for a very long time. It came in today’s mail.

A. P. Hill might not be a household name, but he was an important commander in Lee’s army. Some have called him “The mystery man of the Confederacy.” I’m curious to know why. I’m also eager to hear his Gettysburg report.

Please keep on praying for Becky.

3:32 PMI wasn’t sure whether I should write about this now or later, but since I have a few minutes on my hands I suppose it’s as good a time as any. It’s the craziest thing. Just when we thought it was the time when the Lord would take Becky Home, she’s been doing nothing but ministering to others. People in hard situations have asked for her advice, and gotten it. Relationships with family have never been closer. Small rays of light in the darkness. Many blessed and ministered to. It’s been a time full of the Holy Spirit. I could go on and on. No release from suffering for Becky, but great release for others. I think Becky’s Father would be proud of her.

There is no way I can ever begin to fathom how much Daddy loves her. But it’s good. So good.

12:20 PMSo, das Telefon der Kanzlerin wurde abgehört. Hat sie geglaubt, sie würde night überwacht? Die Kommunikationen von Millionen Deutschen überwacht wird. Est ist mir ganz egal, Frau Merkel.

11:52 AMBeing with Christ is better, “very far better” (Phil. 1:23). The only reason we should want to stay here is to bear fruit for the kingdom.

11:46 AM“Thou, O Christ, art all I want/More than all in Thee I find.” Charles Wesley.

11:40 AMAnyone know of a “Clean Dog Contest”?

I’ve got two pooches I’d like to enter.

9:33 AMThis morning Becky and I are continuing our study of the great book of Philippians. Today we read chapter 4. What a great reminder of the wonderful Helper who stands beside us. We can face any circumstance in union with the One who infuses us with strength. And it is He who teaches us the secret of contentment. In joy or in sorrow, the believer can be content. Regardless of outward circumstances, the path we travel brings us closer to Christ. Becky has perhaps only a very short time before she will see Him face to face. To those who fear Him, death has no fear. Christ-centered peace of soul. What a blessing.

In other news, the logging is finishing up this week, and today I’m having the dogs groomed so that they can stay indoors where Becky can enjoy them.

We’re also praying for the salvation of many, including a dear woman whom we know and to whom Becky, even as I type, is dictating a letter. (Thank you, Karen, for your help.) The Philippians were constantly proclaiming their Maker and Redeemer to a world lost in sin (2:16). Should we not do the same, even on our death beds?

Grace and peace (and much aloha),

Dave

Wednesday, October 23

3:44 PMAmong myTen Best Books for Studying New Testament Greek is Neal Windham’s New Testament Greek for Preachers and Teachers, which hasjust been reviewed by Jacob Cerone. Excellent book. Excellent review.

3:20 PMSo grateful for Judy and Mitchell helping to care for Becky today. As I type this, Becky seems to be failing. I get the same aching feeling I used to get when she was in the hospital. Yet I am asked to be contentin everything. I asked a doctor friend to come by tonight. Pray for us, that we will have the wisdom to know what to do, and when to do it.

10:52 AMIn my forthcoming book Seven Marks of a New Testament Church I often refer to the early church as a church that really cared. They taught and encouraged each other, they prayed and read Scripture together, they sat down and ate together. The quality of their fellowship should amaze us today. Even the leaders, who were so diverse, pushed and nudged each other to be all that God was calling them to be. The church at Antioch had a Barnabas from Cyprus and a Simeon who was clearly black and a Manaen who was from the upper crust of society and even a fiery intellectual named Saul. How different can you get? Yet they enjoyed a marvelous fellowship. Their love for each other transcended the barriers of class and education.

Enter my good friend Kevin Brown. Now here is one great pastor and Bible teacher. Without formal biblical education no less. And he’s even pastoring his home church! Other than the fact we are both follicly challenged, we have little in common. He’s a country redneck (I mean that as a compliment, Kevin!), I’m a surfer from Hawaii. Yet he is constantly challenging me to grow in my faith (Becky and I receive his email devotionals). Not only has God gifted him with a remarkable ability for public speaking, he has a pen every bit as powerful as Luther’s. Little wonder, then, that the Lord urged me to challenge him to pray about writing a second book as a follow-up to his excellent work onrites of passage. We writers constantly need to be looking beyond ourselves. And nothing preserves our words quite like putting them down in writing. If you’re interested, clickhere to read Kevin’s own description of how the Lord got a hold of him and led him to write his next book. I loved reading it.

Can’t wait to see you back in print, my friend.

10:32 AMMy friend and co-editor Allan Bevere calls our attention to agreat sale on Old Testament books at Energion. And yes, “The Old Testament was Jesus’ Bible,” as Allan puts it!

9:38 AMMy thanks to a good friend, Robert Martin, for hispost today about Becky. I suppose all of us enjoy talking about ourselves — our problems, our adventures in life. But therein lies a grave danger. People who listen to us make us feel important. They can become a foil against which we exonerate our bad behavior (“Well, I couldn’t help being impatient; I was feeling really down that day”). We would rather talk about our problems than repent. I don’t want to knock blogging — I blog all the time — but it would be well to keep in mind its purpose: to summon ourselves and others back to Truth. I say this, I know, at the risk of being labeled a hypocrite. After all, who do you know who blogs more than I do? Yet I have no certain knowledge even of myself. I have no certainty of any kind. I flit from one day to the next. There is only one source I can depend on. It is the Bible. My plea is that, even while we learn from the examples of others (and yes, Robert, I do thank you for the wonderful example of Andrew!), we always give the Word a first hearing, and the final hearing.

Thank you for drawing me back to the Word, as you have always done, Robert. 1 Cor. 15 has become very dear to Becky and me in the past few weeks. I lay awake at night, trying to draw a mental picture of what it will be like when Becky enters the presence of Jesus. I mentally enact whole scenes and conversations. I know that when she finally departs I won’t be able to handle it by myself. My peace will arise out of my life in union with Christ Jesus, who removed the sting of death. He can, and He will, enable me.

9:25 AMNigusse has been “State Faired”!

Thank you Marsh, Leigh, and Thomas for treating him to such a good time.

8:16 AM“There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid the real labor of thinking.” Joshua Reynolds.

8:10 AMFor anyone out there who is studying the doctrine of the church, here’s a very helpfulreview by Noah Kelley of Allison’s fairly new Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church. Noah is currently a SEBTS student.

7:58 AMIf you like studying dialects as much as I do, you will love this YouTube. Notice how easily he moves from American into British English. Glorious.

When I was in high school, I once said to my English teacher, “Why should I study English? I’m not planning on going to England, you know.”

Boy was I was snarky!

P.S. I tink you been supa-busy and no like fo learn notin new, but I tink Hawaiian pidgin is da bes language in da world. Jes like ono kaukau, if you know wat I mean. Das one big ting fo us kamaaina haoles from da islands. (I lived Kailua side.) Fo exampo, say one big brah come up to you and say, afta you pau kaukau,”You like beef o wat?” You betta make fo da pleece stashun, speshly if da blala give you da stink eye. Pidgin get plenty espressions lidat. Ovah hea, on da mainland, peopo no like fo spik da kine. Come find out, dey tink I one stupid lolo cause I no spik da king’s English. Hard fo believe, in dis day and time. Weah da respeck? I hardly eva talk da Kine no mo. Jes too much pilikia.

Das it. Catch you bumbye. I start fo get hungry. Jes make shua da edita of dis blog no see wat I wen wrote heah, huh? Tanks, eh!

Tuesday, October 22

6:18 PMHere’s a great YouTube of theChuck Smith Paddle Out. Would I have participated, even though I am “non-charismatic”? You bet I would! Why? Because of the love of the Father for me. Because of what the Jesus Movement meant to us surfers back in the 60s — those of us who dared to imagine that God was actually concerned about us.

The world’s prince has power. But he can never prevail against the soul that takes refuge in the Lord. The one thing this young surfer cared for passionately about in my teen years was Jesus. In Him I found the only place of safety in all of earth and heaven. And not just me. The desperation of our empty lives found solace in no other.

Disunity among brothers is detestable. Understandable, of course, but detestable. If we do not hate disunity, we are not on God’s side. For my part, I will try to regard whoever bears the marks of Christ as my brother. Even if you look like a hippie.

3:38 PMThomas Hudgins et al. have been working tirelessly on the translation of my Learn to Read New Testament Greek into Spanish. I have read their translation with very great pleasure, and it is with equal pleasure that I now commend it to other readers.

I am more than grateful that one of my publishers, Mr. Henry Neufeld of Energion Publications, has been willing tomake the book available both in print and electronically. I am very happy about this. Henry is no stranger to Latin America; and his company is very much a ministry (and not just a business, though it is also that). In other places I have deliberately written about the need for elders to be well-trained in the biblical languages. Of course, there are many other areas of life that need attention as well. But having access to the Greek of the New Testament is an asset, though it is also a skill that needs to be learned and developed through much study. My prayer is that this Spanish edition of Learn to Read New Testament Greek will be a blessing to many who speak Spanish in the years to come.

9:50 AMBecky and I just got caught up on answering your emails. She dictated her responses to me with a barely audible whisper. Here’s one of them:

Patsy, thank you for your faithfulness to me. Please be diligent in prayer. The battle is raging. I am so weak. Must trust Him. His choice of strength for each day. Please pray for me to praise Him, to honor Him, to worship Him, to trust Him in the midst of my weakness. I want to give all that I can for Him while I’m here. I love Him so much. He is worthy. His love is so great. His faithfulness is so constant. Pray for me to this end. Rejoicing in the bonds of cancer, Becky.

I think she’s going for some sort of record in answering your letters!

I have to admit that right now I’m feeling pretty good. Becky just asked for Jell-O. Then she tells me she would like Chinese food for lunch from our local eatery. That seems like the rightest thing in the world to do right now.

Yes, my love, He IS worthy. And yes, a whole army of us are praying for you because we share your bonds. We love you. We LOVE you!

7:44 AMQuote of the day:

So it is that we study Greek because we are concerned with knowing precisely what the text is saying. We are not satisfied with complete dependence upon sometimes controversial English translations. We want to work with the “raw ingredients,” really know what we’re talking about, fully understand our options, and present our conclusions with confidence.

I got it fromhere.

Pastor friend — pre-packaged food or homemade cuisine from scratch? It’s your choice!

7:32 AMI just received word that the Festschrift honoring my esteemed friend and colleague Jesús Peláez of the University of Córdoba, was presented to him last Thursday in Spain. Here’s the bibliographical data:

L. Roig Lanzillotta and I. Muñoz Gallarte (eds), Greeks, Jews, and Christians. Historical, Religious and Philological Studies in Honor of Jesús Peláez del Rosal (Estudios de Filología Neotestamentaria 10; Córdoba: El Almendro, 2013).

Contributors include Antonio Piñero, Stan Porter, Keith Elliott, C. B. Amphoux, Thomas Hudgins, and yours truly. Altogether there are 22 studies in 5 languages.

Jesús, pictured in the center of the photo below, was kind enough to invite me to lecture in Spain a number of years ago.

In case you’re interested, my lecture (in Spanish) is availablehere. It seeks to address the issue of Gnosticism in the Gospel of John.

7:12 AMAs one who for nearly four decades has been teaching New Testament Greek, I want to commend to you Thomas Hudgins’ series on Greek pedagogy. Here ispart two. Not that Thomas wants or needs any commendation from me. Here is a teacher whose one surpassing desire is to be found worthy of the One who will judge justly on that Day. Thomas’ goal is clear: the abolition of knowledge-focused education. Here is no narrow anti-intellectualism. This is rather the liberation of the classroom to become all that it can and should be. Just as the pastor is not called primarily to do works of service but to equip God’s people for them, so the teacher is not called primarily to disseminate information but to equip students for a lifetime of serious exegesis and application. I have been possessed by this idea for 37 years. I am convinced that this perspective is not merely marginalia but belongs at the very heart of New Testament Christianity. Students need to be equipped for their own ministries in the church and the world. To seek out potential in our students, to watch for underdeveloped powers, to bring potential to actuality — these are our tasks as teachers.

Is there anything more exciting or rewarding?

7:02 AMIs Jesus calling you to get out of the boat and walk on water today? If so, Jody Neufeld has some excellent advice in her latest blog post called Getting out of the Boat? Just the Beginning.   

Now why didn’t I think of that first?

To be a Christian is to make choices that either increase our faith or else lessen our faith. Through faith we can grow daily into an ever greater and closer harmony with the Spirit of Jesus. It is a perilous choice to be sure. But refusal to get out of the boat isolates. Like a sulking child, we get wrapped up in a our misery.

What’s the step of faith you need to take today? Before getting out of the boat, be silent for a few moments. Put yourself consciously in His presence. Ask Him to help you. Then thank Him for whatever He gives you — if not for victory, then for His sovereignty and goodness. Quite simply, trust Him. He calls us still to follow Him. And the conditions haven’t changed one bit: “Deny yourself and take up your cross.”

Thank you, Jody. Yesterday I think I was referring to you when I described the New Testament prophet as one who constantly speaks help, encouragement, and comfort into other people’s lives. I needed that word this morning.

Monday, October 21

6:42 PM“But those who speak God’s message speak to people and give them help, encouragement, and comfort” (1 Cor. 14:3). Thankful for all who are speaking truth into my life right now. 

5:32 PMThis has been one tough day. It was made easier, however, by our sister Dolores, who was willing to come and sit with Becky while I met with the loggers, edited her chapter, answered dozens of emails, etc. It is finally dawning on me: God’s inexorable love is allowing me to become a widower. No, God does not give people cancer. This evil, as with all evils, stems from the first man’s disobedience. He chose death. And what will I choose? Will I choose to accept God’s gifts, even the gift of separation? O cross that liftest up my head/ I dare not ask to fly from Thee. Note the capital “T” in Thee. Christ offered His cross for me. I cannot offer myself to Christ unless I offer my cross back to Him. Jesus found His joy and peace in the Father’s will. Will I do the same? Can I? Is it even possible?

Becky has been my best friend. She has been at my side for 37 years. I ache for the old days. I ache to see her in her strapping healthy body caring for all those around her as only Becky could do. I ache, and the ache is as deep as Becky’s cancer is widespread. Am I being over-dramatic? Maybe.

Lord, I want to accept. But why is it so hard?

4:48 PM“Blessed are those who strength is in Thee …. They go from strength to strength” (Psalm 84). We rejoice that the Lord gave Becky the strength to complete her autobiography. Her final chapter is calledThe Last Years. Please join me in raising a mighty shout unto the Lord. I am quite sure a loving Purpose is behind it all. May He get all the praise for all of eternity.

3:13 PMFinally, a really helpful post oncessationism.

3:08 PM I’m not well suited to being a humorist, but there’s a book that begs to be read. To a classicist, the title alone is worth the read:Oxymoronica.

If you are as exhausted as I am by the faux culture wars of modern evangelicalism, you’ll find this book a delightful change of pace. Here’s my “Top Ten” countdown:

10) “I am deeply superficial.” A classic.

9) “Even his ignorance is encyclopedic.” How true. I’ve often put it this way: “Have you ever met someone who was educated beyond his intelligence?”

8) “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

7) “We were at sea — there is no other explanation — on the plains of Nebraska.” Have you ever driven through Nebraska? I have. And through Montana. And through Texas. As far as the eye can see there is nothing but Nebraska or Montana or Texas. When we lived in Southern California we used to drive to Dallas every year. When we got to El Paso we were still only half way there.

6) “Last month I blew $5,000 on a reincarnation seminar. I figured, hey, you only live once.”

5) “I hate intolerant people.” Gloria Steinem at her worst.

4) “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” Spoken by the great Mark Twain.

3) “People have one thing in common: they are all different.”

2) “Thanks to the interstate highway system, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything.” Charles Kuralt knew this from experience. This is one reason Becky and I once drove from Dallas to Houston on back roads. How else can you expect to stop and read all those road-side markers?

1) My favorite entry in the book is attributed to the Chinese sage Lao-Tzu, who more than 2,500 years ago said, “To lead the people, walk behind them.” His point is one Scripture also makes: When people feel their leaders are truly “behind them,” they will follow them almost anywhere. Heb. 13:17, correctly translated, captures this notion nicely.

So get this book and read it. It’s serious fun.

11:24 AMRight now I am editing Becky’s final chapter in her autobiography. I do so with tears in my eyes. As soon as Becky has read it over one last time, I will publish it. Becky received her life willingly from God. She is now offering it thankfully back to Him. I want Becky’s home-going to be more than a step. I want it to be a door that is open to us all — a door of spiritual awakening. I’m a long way behind Becky and all the others who have so brightly shown me the pathway to God. I’m panting to catch up. God’s love is so amazing. It was strong enough to hurt His own Son. Ten thousand angels could have rescued Jesus. But He chose not to call them. Indeed, we cannot be Christians at all unless we too decide to die because of what lies ahead. We endure in view of the prize. And so Becky and I set our face like flint, as Jesus did, moving with resolution down the path He has prepared for us. Jesus went to Jerusalem filled with joy and love. Shall we not do the same?

Ora pro nobis!

9:22 AM“In so-called Christianity we have made Christmas into a great festival. This is quite false, and it was not at all so in the Early Church. We mistake childishness for Christianity — what with all our sickly sentimentality, our candy canes, and our manger scenes. Instead of remaining conscious of being in conflict that marks a life of true faith, we Christians have made ourselves a home and settled down in a comfortable and cozy existence. No wonder Christmas has become little more than a beautiful holiday.”

–Søren Kierkegaard.

9:12 AMIt is the work of the Holy Spirit to unite Christ’s body, not divide it.

8:33 AMMillennials arerejecting contentious churches.

8:23 AMLeigh and Marsh are taking Nigusse to the NC State Fair today. Can’t you just see Nigu on a Ferris Wheel?

8:15 AM Did you know that I once attended a Ukrainian wedding? It took place at “The Church of God’s Grace” in Nikolayev, where I spoke one Sunday morning. The wedding was added onto the morning service, almost as an afterthought (or so it seemed to me). The bride and groom showed up about 15 minutes late. The pastor didn’t miss a beat, quoting verses from Matthew’s Gospel about falling asleep while waiting for the groom to appear. When at last they arrived, he shouts out, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh!” (or words to that effect in Russian). His humor set a relaxed, joyful tone to the ceremony.

The wedding itself was very simple. One of the church leaders spoke from Genesis 2 and Ephesians 5 in a very casual, matter-of-fact manner about the significance of marriage. His talk was interspersed by several beautiful choir numbers, all in a very robust, minor-key tone. It sounded dour to me, but that’s just my ethnicity coming out, I’m sure. The speaker then gave an admonition to the parents of the couple and then to the couple itself about how to treat their in-laws. “You are a separate family,” he told the bride and groom. “Yet you must not forget your parents. They will need you when they grow old.” And so on in that line of thought. Beautiful. His word to the parents was also very straightforward: These young people will need your advice in the years ahead. Don’t give it to them ahead of time. When they ask you, then give it. They will likely look to you more than ever before for wise advice, so be available to them.

At this point the couple knelt. One of the deacons borrowed my digital camera and took the following pic.

They were joined by both sets of parents on the platform. Then each of them prayed aloud individually into the microphone — the parents first, and then the bride and groom. Lengthy, heartfelt prayers, too. It was wonderful to watch and even more wonderful to listen to (their prayers were being translated to me).

It was now time for the pastor to lay his hands on the couple and give a benediction. Again, everything in the service was very Christ-focused. After the rings were exchanged and the formal pronouncements made, the groom sheepishly kissed his bride and the service was over. All in all it lasted no more than 40 minutes.

People gathered at the front of the building to hug the newlyweds, and that was that. I suppose they had a small celebration dinner afterwards, though I am told that American-style receptions are unknown in Ukraine: they are simply too cost-prohibitive. I enjoyed the service immensely. I was struck by its simplicity and Christ-centeredness. It was a blessing I had not anticipated witnessing during my trip, icing on the cake, so to speak.

I left the building wondering, So many American couples begin their married life deep in debt because of their wedding expenses. Is there perhaps a better way?

8:06 AM Last night I was re-reading Phil Newton’s book Elders in Congregational Life (Kregel, 2005). In his chapter “Can It Be Done? Making the Transition to Elder Leadership,” Phil makes this statement: “Brief pastorates fail to build the trust necessary to shift from one form of church government to one grounded on God’s Word” (italics his, p. 125). He says that only when a church begins to think biblically will it be open to elder-led leadership. This means lots of patient instruction from the Bible. Pastor friend, please think twice before moving on. Our little rural churches here in Southside Virginia are desperate for men who will become “one of us” by moving into our communities and becoming part of our lives. Trust can be built in no other way. If you are going to have any long-term impact, you must consider staying for the long haul.

God bless you.

Dave

Sunday, October 20

10:35 AM A well-known blogger wrote to me today to say that he was not feeling led by the Spirit to chime in on the current brouhaha. I like that. The Holy Spirit was very real to the earliest Christians in Acts. They were so hot with the Spirit’s fire that others were sucked in by the vortex. If our comments are self-induced, if they are not prompted by the Holy Spirit, it they are not warm and caring, then we are wasting our time.

10:14 AM I agree with Arthur Sido: It’s time for abit more humility, eh? Civility is not weakness.

9:22 AM Someone took this picture of me this morning:

As you can see, I’ve been doing a great deal of cogitation. What shall be my new contest? I’m asking myself. Well, I think I have found the perfect answer. To win your very own copy ofThe Authorship of Hebrews, all you have to do is identify the teacher who is being described in the following paragraphs. The setting is a Ph.D. seminar. No cheating! No asking Dr. Google, if you know what I mean. The first person to send me the correct answer wins. Here are the paragraphs. Have fun!

After the completion of the student’s presentation, the professor engages with questions unpredictable and tenacious. Going page by page, he often notes for the student each and every split infinitive, comma infraction, Style Manual error, and subject/verb disagreement. Then he returns to the beginning and asks questions related to argumentation and content. No question is without purpose, though at times the purpose often is illusive. “In what city does the author live who wrote the volume you cite in footnote four and why is that important?” Or, he will attempt to test the student with something like, “You employ a foreign word in paragraph twelve and you pronounced it correctly. Well done. [Delayed pause and stare.] Now, can you tell me if that is a Greek or Latin word?” when the word was clearly German. It is at this phase that the professor mimics the activity of a shrewd spider slowly cornering her prey in her web, winding and wearing down the subject until, and often with twinkle of the eye, he strikes with a question of such obvious clarity, that it renders the student uncertain, wobbling on what remains of his footing, able only to answer halfheartedly.

To those who have seen this repartee in action over the years, the professor gives tell-tale warning signals that still make even the seasoned observer sit up in his seat. When the interlocutor’s right arm begins to move at the elbow like a quarterback repeatedly pulling back the ball, and the right thumb starts to pull at the inside of the ring on the adjacent ring finger, the time has come for the end. But that is where the unexpected happens and simultaneously where the greatest transformation in a student’s academic life, and often in other areas of life as well, takes place. For the hunter-professor changes into a pastor.

8:59 AM Speaking of David Clines and the “trouble with textbooks,” Thomas was kind enough to just send me a copy of that essay. The money quote:

Each year at the SBL Annual Meeting I take a look at new grammars of biblical Hebrew (there are several each year!). I am always looking for one that will make Hebrew easier, not more difficult. Year-by-year, my impression is, however, they get more and more complex, dragging in every little exception, elaborating analysis of the syntax beyond the useful and the necessary and, I presume, deterring all but the most determined students. When will someone write a grammar calledHebrew without Tears, an introduction to Hebrew in ten hours, say, that majors on comprehension and understanding rather than on memorization, that gives students experience of things they can do with Hebrew themselves rather than overwhelming them with masses of data?

Oooh, that’s good!

8:52 AM Greek prof Thomas Hudgins argues for student-centered teaching in hislatest blog post, citing a seminal treatise by David Clines. One’s view of pedagogy will affect everything one does in the classroom. This includes the choice of textbooks. It’s no easy task to assign texts these days. Sit down with most any textbook and you’ll discover that after a brief period you can’t read it. It’s too textbooky, too factual, too dull, too dry. Believe me, I know. I’ve produced my share of them. What brings on this long-winded, heart-breaking wordiness? I’m not sure, but I have a hunch. Everyone who writes textbooks knows that they are written for teachers, not for students. As long as the textbook pleases the teacher it will make the revered and unassailable list of “required reading.” Students will be forced to read it, whether it is well-written or not. I think we textbook writers are finally wising up, though. About two or three books into my writing career I decided I would try to write for the student and not for the teacher. (Whether I have succeeded is up to you, dear reader, to decide.) This means that a good textbook will have a simple style. It may even contain personal anecdotes, cartoons, jokes, puns, and — dare I say it? — first person pronouns. Scholars will call it unacademic, but students will love it. And, after all, we’re here to serve them, aren’t we?

P.S. Thomas is just beginning a series on pedagogy. Should be interesting ….

8:40 AM A student of mine will shortly begin navigating the treacherous waters of Theological German. In his honor, I present this masterful treatise by the one-and-only Mark Twain:The Awful German Language. The editor’s cut:

“But when he, upon the street, the (in-satin-and-silk-covered-now-very-unconstrained-after-the-newest-fashioned-dressed) government counselors wife MET,” etc., etc.

Keep in mind, this is considered excellent German. I have always felt German to be a bit too difficult for the average American to learn to speak well. Its grammar is extremely complicated and is constantly beingtweaked. The main obstacle, however, is our reluctance to swallow our pride and to speak the language despite the inevitable mistakes we’ll make (and which most Germans will be quite happy to correct). I’ve suggested a solution, however,here.

8:28 PMVerbal aspect continues to be debated by Greek students. Maybe they could learn a few things from the Hawaiian language, which is largelyaspectually based.

8:22 AM Praying earnestly this morning for a graduate who needs a teaching position in New Testament. God will provide!

7:40 AM Good morning, all you wonderful people out there in the blogosphere! Guess what? Becky and I have begun a study of the book of Philippians. It’s all about the need for perspective in life. Last night we read chapter 1. “Should I live or die, I want to glorify Christ in my body,” says Paul. And who was his example? Christ! Christ did not cling to whatever prerogatives He had, but stripped Himself of all privilege by consenting to become a slave. He humbled Himself by living a life of complete obedience to the Father. Those who focus only on the routine of changing the Depends or administering the meds or the drabness of the ordinary haven’t an inkling of the mystery that is at stake here, the mystery revealed in the incarnation and consummated on the cross. This is what I so easily forget. But yesterday Jacob Cerone reminded us that a kitchen sink can become an altar instead of an obstacle, that anything — even a broken, dying body — can be a hallowed vessel because it is offered to God. I think of Joshua’s farewell message to Israel: “Be steadfast … cling to the Lord … love the Lord your God … not one of His promises will ever fail you.” The God who holds in His hands the breath of life of every living thing still has work for Becky and me to do. Yes, to be present with the Lord is “far, far better.” But: “O, Lord, let me live until I have declared Your works to this generation!”

In other news, I’m going to take a (much-needed) break from my work on Seven Marks of a New Testament Church and spend a few days working on the Spanish edition of my beginning grammar. (You can read about ithere.) I’m also brushing up on my Latin. See how totally pathetic I am? By the way, another one of my doctoral students told me he is planning on blogging. I hope he’s going to be random, because I love randomness in blogging (in case you haven’t noticed).

Speaking of blogs, I see that Hypotyposeis just turned 10 years old. Heartiest congratulations! My own blog will turn 10 on Nov. 13 (next month)! Can you believe that? Any other blogs you know that have been around for 10 years? Glory to God!

Finally, in honor of all my surfing buddies out on the Left Coast, I leave you with the greatest surfing song ever produced by the greatest surfing group that ever existed. Make you wanna hang ten again?

 

Saturday, October 19

6:06 PM My sincere thanks to Don Stewart (yes,that Don Stewart!) for sending along some photos of the “paddle out” in memory of Chuck Smith that took place today in the waters off the Huntington Beach pier.

Don and I were at Biola together back in the Dark Ages. Thanks for the pix, dude. Wish I could have been there.

Cowabunga!

P. S. Franklin Graham remembers Chuckhere.

3:55 PM Have you ever studied the prayers of the apostle Paul? Do you know where he put the emphasis in praying? Alexander Stewart has the answer in his new essayPrayer in Paul’s Epistles. Very helpful, Alex!

3:48 PM My assistant’s “work space” is hisbreakfast nook. Gotta love that.

10:02 AM To all of you kind folk out there who send me invitations to join you on Facebook or LinkedIn, sorry, but I don’t do those. Thank you, anyway!

9:18 AM Appreciated this email:

I must say that with five years of Hebrew, and constant use, even if not
at the level I’d like, your Hebrew was, as it should have been, a gimme.
But I know any number of people with one year of Hebrew who, after
perhaps a year away, would not be able to pick it out. Which is the
tragedy of at least some biblical languages study.

I wrote back that the main way I keep up with my Hebrew is by reading my Hebrew New Testament. Yes, I said New Testament. I have two versions, in fact. I love reading the Gospels in Hebrew!

8:58 AM May I share with you a prayer request?

Much these days is being written in the blogosphere about charismatic theology. In a 6-hour lecture to my students, I give an overall biblical interpretation of the subject of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement, its history and theology, and try to do so in such a way as to be of practical value to modern Christians who are often perplexed by controversy over some area of the subject. At the end of my lecture I offer my students a 4-page handout expressing my personal conclusions and convictions. Here I tell them what I believe about the nature of tongues and prophecy, about the question of cessation, about healing, etc. What is important is not this handout. What is important is that students should know their way around the subject so as to be prepared to hold their own convictions, and to hold them in love.

I offer this handout in my New Testament course on the epistles. The one attitude I try to inculcate in my students is that of teachableness. Genuine knowledge is incompatible with an arrogant attitude toward others, including our brothers and sister with whom we might disagree. I am the first to confess to my students that I have often been guilty of this wrong attitude and that I struggle constantly to overcome it. (See, e.g., my essayWhat I Learned During My First Semester in Seminary.) Christians are to respect each others’ consciences, even when they disagree with it, even when they think it is misguided. In 2 Cor. 6:6, knowledge is listed between purity and long-suffering, as if to imply that knowledge is useless unless it is accompanied by personal holiness on the one hand and patience toward others on the other hand. Such pure and patient knowledge is a particularly beneficial gift to those of us who claim to be Christian teachers, but it is something that all Christians may be expected to have and to grow in (1 Cor. 1:5). James also speaks of the peaceable way in which divine knowledge will express itself (3:13). We are therefore likely to be on the right track when we treat controversial subjects in a humble and teachable manner.

Please pray for me. Please pray that I would grow in this way of thinking and living. Please pray that God would allow me to overcome my arrogance even as I express my biblical convictions.

Thank you.

7:54 AM Hey folks! Got a question for ya this morning. How are your languages doing? I’m talking to those of you who have had at least a year of Greek and Hebrew. Have you retained what you worked so hard to acquire? Look at the following graph:

No, it’s not scientific. But is it true? Probably. A game I like to play whenever I meet students or pastors who have had Greek in seminary is ask them, “What’s the Greek noun for ‘hope’?” Nine times out of ten they have not a clue. (Did you remember it?) Writes Thomas Hudgins, theauthor of the above info-graph:

The truth is there is need for a huge research study assessing whether or not graduates are using their knowledge of Greek in ministry on a regular basis. Someone needs to come alongside seminaries to measure this and soon. My guess is the research findings would look similar to the chart above. I’m just speculating here. I’ve done no real statistical research, but the chart above and those below reflect my guess on what the research would show. Just a sliver of alumni are using their knowledge of Greek in ministry. That’s the impression I get when I talk to pastors all over the place.

Alright, Thomas, allow me to help you to “measure this.” Friend, if you have had at least one year of Hebrew, you should be able to translate the following clause into English. Easily. Want to take a stab at it?

Did you get it? It’s really very simple prose from a very familiar portion of the Old Testament. The first verse of a well-known book, in fact. Can you at least guess the last word? (Remember to read right to left.)

Go ahead — try it again.

So how did you do? Again, this should have been duck soup. By the way, I got the Hebrew photo from Jason Kees’ blog post calledI Stopped Bringing my Reader’s Greek/Hebrew Bible to Church. This is a powerful essay. Jason writes:

Since God has sovereignly chosen Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic as the languages for his Word to be written in, let us strive to make much of our studies. Take up your Greek New Testament, your Hebrew Old Testament, and read. Most importantly, pray as you read and remember that you are a tool used by the Lord for his grand purpose.

Feeling guilty yet? I hope not. Don’t feel guilty. Feel grateful that someone has called you out. Better I do it here than when I meet you in person. Need more encouragement to keep on keeping on? Try these on for size:

In the latter essay I write:

Almost all of us feel tremendous ambivalence as we wrestle with the question of just how to apply everything we’ve learned in the classroom to the real world. Obviously, knowledge of Greek is essential if we are to have a firm foundation upon which to build our exegesis of the New Testament. On the other hand, I must say forcefully that facts, no matter how brilliantly taught or diligently acquired, are nothing more than the raw building blocks of life. How we put them together, and for what use (and whose glory), is another matter altogether.

So there you have it. We either know these languages or we don’t. We either are making use of these languages or we aren’t.

The choice is ours.

(In my best Paul Harvey voice): Good Day!

Friday, October 18

5:42 PM Congratulations to my friend Alvin Reid, who has just beenFestschrifted. A well deserved honor indeed!

5:28 PM This morning I helped Kimberly load up about 100 bales for her horses, then off I went to the seminary for some meetings, including lunch with a brand new doctoral student of mine who just moved to Wake Forest with his wife.

In case you haven’t heard this little talk yet, allow me to share with you what I look for in potential doctoral students. First off, I am looking for men and women who are mature enough to know what they want — godly, humble, gifted, ambitious, versatile, restless, willing to think independently. In the second place, and this will sound egotistical but it really isn’t, I am looking for students who for one reason or another have deceived themselves into thinking that studying with Dave Black might have some benefit to them. When I was looking into doctoral programs back in the late 1970s, I well remember meeting students who told me they went to Aberdeen because of Marshall, or to Manchester because of Bruce, or to Princeton because of Metzger. To me, that seemed the only sensible thing to do. Many years ago in Germany students were constantly migrating from one university to another in order to profit from some course being taught that year by a famous scholar. There is, I think, much wisdom in that method.

Here’s something else I tell prospective students. All other things being equal, you will want a university doctorate rather than a seminary doctorate. I am not saying that seminaries do not offer excellent Ph.D.s, and I am certainly not saying that students should not earn their doctorates from SEBTS. But I think mature students fare less well in the typical seminary curriculum than in the more research-oriented program in most universities. The irony is that your favorite professor might very well teach in a seminary, in which case it will be obvious where you ought to study. When I ended up in Basel it was largely because I didn’t want to suffer through the busy work of the typical U.S. seminary Ph.D. program, and I most certainly did not want to get my theological education second hand. I was not disappointed on either count. Basel was for researchers who could work independently.

University degrees can, of course, be overrated. I recall once reading a New Testament scholar in his blog refer to his university as the “Rolls Royce” of theological education in North America. I had never before heard automobile models used as metaphors for educational excellence. I suppose for some teachers this is a useful fiction — something like Santa Claus. However, I dislike such self-aggrandizement intensely, and hope never to elevate my own institution’s status through such hype. Basel may have been no Rolls Royse, but it certainly was an excellent place to study. We had no required lectures, though during my first semester I took 20 hours of weekly lectures, and 15 during my second. The New Testament courses were taught by men like Markus Barth and Heinrich Baltensweiler (an expert in Pauline theology), who tragically died of a heart attack though he was a relatively young man. I was naturally partial to courses taught by my Doktorvater, Bo Reicke. His public reputation, then at its height, had been won in the field of New Testament exegesis, but his wide-ranging intellectual interests were known to all. To me it was an immensely stimulating time — which brings me back to where I began this discussion. Doctoral studies should be an exciting time. Absolute frankness and devotion to truth are formidable virtues to have if one is to benefit from a doctoral program. I recall sitting under my professors and hailing their latest publications with all of the rapture with which graduate students of today extol Tom Wright or Jimmy Dunn. What happiness to study under great scholars! It stole the hearts of crude young Doktoranden to watch professors teach as those having authority, and not as the scribes.

This, then, is my advice to prospective doctoral students. Anyone can study books, but books cannot guarantee wisdom. Perhaps the Greatest Teacher of all said it best: “When students are fully taught, they will be just like their teachers.” No one can furnish a perfect definition of teaching, but that one comes about as close as I think we will ever get.

8:58 AM In case anyone needs to see me, I’ll be in my office on campus between 1:00 and 3:00 this afternoon.

8:54 AM Received this yesterday:

I would love to help type your paper … except your handwriting looks like a doctors (*wink*).

Everyone’s a comedian!

8:42 AM More from chapter 1 of Seven Marks of a New Testament Church:

Nothing authenticates the Gospel like a passionate concern for people’s needs and an involvement in their daily struggles. I think of the health center my wife and I established in southern Ethiopia several years ago. People came for healing, and many of them left born again. There was no need to convince the patients of their physical predicament. They were well aware of those! They needed to understand that Jesus cared about their whole person – body, soul, and spirit. Today the clinic is fully self-supporting and remains a bridge that brings needy folk into a right relationship with God. Many have found Jesus’ own example helpful in this regard. A classic text is Matt. 9:35: “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.” Not only did Jesus teach and preach – He healed! Not only did He feed the multitudes – He told them where the Bread of Life could be found! Social compassion, then, is not an optional extra for those who like that sort of thing. It is absolutely essential. We are not to overvalue social involvement, but neither are we to despise it. In short, if you believe Jesus Christ, you can scarcely ignore the social needs of people.

8:30 AM Just checked the surf report for Huntington Beach for Sunday. I’m impressed. Looks like the waves will be between 10-12!

(Inches.)

8:24 AM Let’s think together about something this morning.From Paul’s earliest writing (1 Thessalonians) come these uses of “brothers”:

  • We know, beloved brothers…

  • For you yourselves know, brothers…

  • For you remember, brothers…

  • For you became imitators, brothers…

  • Having been taken away from you, brothers…

  • Therefore, brothers…

  • Furthermore, brothers…

  • I don’t want you to be ignorant, brothers…

  • Now concerning the times and seasons, brothers…

  • But you are not in darkness, brothers…

  • We urge you, brothers…

  • Now we exhort you, brothers…

  • Pray for us, brothers…

In the same book he says that sinning against a fellow believer is sinning against a “brother,” that the love believers have for each other is “brotherly love,” that the Christians in Macedonia are “brothers,” and he greets the “brothers” in the church and charges that his letter be read by all the “brothers.”

Do you think that Paul took the words of Jesus in Matt. 23:8 seriously or what!

My point is that, unlike so many of us today, Paul seemed eager to follow his Master’s teaching and refer to his fellow believers as “brothers.” But I failed to mention one very important fact. In the New Covenant there is no special class of “ministers,” no clergy-laity divide. This means that all believers – whether male or female – are members of and ministers in Christ’s Body (Gal. 3:28). As Joel prophesied (Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:17-18): “I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh … and your sons and daughters shall prophesy [i.e., both men and women]….”

Sisters are just as much a part of God’s royal priesthood as are men. Each of us is a living stone in the spiritual temple called the church, regardless of our gender (1 Pet. 2:5). Every member, male or female, has a spiritual gift with which to edify the Body (1 Cor. 14:26). The sisters (and not only the brothers) are to teach and admonish one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Col. 3:16). The manifestation of the Holy Spirit is given to every member of the church for the common good (1 Cor. 12:1-12). Together, brothers and sisters are to exhort one another when the church assembles (Heb. 10:24-25). Indeed, every mature believer, male or female, is in some sense expected to be a “teacher” (Heb. 5:14). In the early church, therefore, women contended for the Gospel “side by side” with Paul (Phil. 2:3-4). And I could give many other examples.

So, let’s revisit 1 Thessalonians and see how all of this relates to what the New Testament teaches, this time including the sisters:

  • We know, beloved brothers and sisters…

  • For you yourselves know, brothers and sisters…

  • For you remember, brothers and sisters…

  • For you became imitators, brothers and sisters…

  • Having been taken away from you, brothers and sisters…

  • Therefore, brothers and sisters…

  • Furthermore, brothers and sisters…

  • I don’t want you to be ignorant, brothers and sisters…

  • Now concerning the times and seasons, brothers and sisters…

  • But you are not in darkness, brothers and sisters…

  • We urge you, brothers and sisters…

  • Now we exhort you, brothers and sisters…

  • Pray for us, brothers and sisters…

Thus, in the same book he says that sinning against a fellow believer is sinning against a “brother” or “sister,” that the love believers have for each other is “brotherly (or sisterly) love,” that the Christians in Macedonia are “brothers” and “sisters,” and he greets the “brothers” and “sisters” in the church and charges that his letter be read by all the “brothers” and “sisters.”

To go a little deeper with just one of these verses, note how Paul in 1 Thess. 5:14 exhorts all the believers in Thessalonica, not just their leaders (v. 12) and not just the men in the congregation, to admonish the unruly. (I develop this thought furtherhere.) The sisters are to be every bit as involved as the brothers. The German language, of course, has a wonderful word to describe what I am talking about (Geschwister). The only activity-role in the church I see the sisters excluded from is that of pastor-teacher (this is how I interpret Eph. 4:11 and 1 Tim. 2). That is, it seems clear to me that the New Testament allows only qualified brothers to serve the church as elders-pastors-overseers (cf. 1 Tim. 3:2, “he must be the husband of one wife”). As I understand the New Testament,eldership in the church is to be male, home-grown, plural, qualified, servant-oriented, and non-hierarchical. If you disagree with me, I respect your opinion, but this is my conviction. The same is probably true of deacons (though some argue from 1 Tim. 3 that female “deaconesses” served alongside their deacon-husbands).

(NB: If you want my interpretation of 1 Cor. 14:34-35, you’ll have to attend my New Testament class, in which I spend 3 hours going through all the various views on that difficult passage.)

Friends, let’s never forget that the “brothers” in the New Testament include the sisters as well. Gender-specific spiritual gifts simply do not exist (see Rom. 12, 1 Cor. 12, 1 Pet. 4). All of us are servants/ministers in Christ’s Body, the church. So, let’s not just proclaim the priesthood of all believers. Let’s practice it. After all, that’s New Covenant Christianity.

Below: My favorite partner in ministry.

8:06 AM “So how is Becky doing?” Many of you have asked that question in recent days. Forgive the cliché, but she’s fine in the Lord. God is giving us our “daily bread,” enough grace for one day at a time. In the crises of our life together, we have always looked for God’s purpose, have always sough to discover His heart. Phillips Brooks once prayed, “O Lord, by all thy dealings with us, whether of joy or pain, of light or darkness, let us be brought to thee.” I believe He is doing just that. When the impact of life seems about to break us, we remember all those little things that bring us to Him, things that “take life blithely, like birds and babies,” as Luther said. I, for one, find myself totally captivated by our newest grandbaby, by the birds that chirp in the morning, by the change in color amidst the hardwoods, by those who attend to Becky (and me) week in and week out. Each day brings new challenges — “Where in the world did this terrible leg pain just come from?” — but life is not meant to be a bed of roses. That’s where you come in. Jesus didn’t say, “Inasmuch as you have felt it toward one of the least of these ….” He said, “Inasmuch as you havedone it.” I am conditioned and constituted to want to do everything myself. But I need help, and He supplies it through people like you. As a professor, I tell my Greek students that the importance of a thing is often in direct ratio to the difficulty in learning it. The difficulties that Becky and I face on a daily basis only make us more confident of the blessings that await us.

But all this is beside the point. You asked, “How is Becky doing?” The answer is: She is extremely weak, often in pain, unable to ambulate or read much any more, is loosing weight constantly — yet she has recently completed a quilt and a blanket and is working on an embroidered table cloth. (You should see it!) Bible reading, Christian music, visits from loved ones and family — what ever would we do without these?

Bottom line? Like the birds chirping outside, we’ve still got a song to sing — an offering to our Maker — though our voices are thin and cracking at times. May He find it a sweet song!

Thursday, October 17

4:08 PM Another sneak preview from my book Seven Marks of a New Testament Church:

In the fourth place, evangelism in the New Testament was always characterized by genuine concern for the social needs of the lost. When I was in seminary, a good deal of distrust existed between those who emphasized personal salvation in evangelism and those who emphasized the so-called social gospel. The two, however, are indivisible; they are two sides of the same coin. Writes John Stott in his book Balanced Christianity (p. 46):

It is true that the risen Lord Jesus left his church a Great Commission to preach, to evangelise, and to make disciples. And this commission is still binding upon the church. But the commission does not supersede the commandment, as if ‘you shall love your neighbour’ were now replaced by ‘you shall preach the gospel’. Nor does it re-interpret neighbor-love in exclusively evangelistic terms. Instead, it enriches the commandment to love our neighbor by adding to it a new and Christian dimension, namely the duty to make Christ known to him.

In this regard, it is worth reflecting for a moment on the church in Antioch. What led the pagan community there to coin the term “Christians” to describe the followers of the Way in their midst (Acts 11:26)? Was it not because of the Christ-like behavior of these believers? These “Christians” were nothing other than the hands and feet of Jesus in their world. They proclaimed and cared. And so it should be with us today. We separate evangelism and social care to our own injury. No one can be a genuine Christian without letting Christ serve others through him or her. It is simply a matter of living out the truth of the Gospel. Of course, proclamation of the Gospel is primary. Yet proclamation without presence is a failure, and the first Christians were certainly not guilty of it.

4:05 PM Loved this response to Becky’s chapter Lies, Lies, Lies. 

What a most excellent post!!  I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and wholeheartedly agree.  The Spirit has spoken many of those same words to me over the past year.  It is so refreshing to hear other genuine Christians speak the same (unpopular but true) words.

Thanks to the sister who sent it along today!

3:50 PM This Sunday at Huntington Beach in California (my old surfing haunt) there will be a “paddle out” for Chuck Smith (gohere for details). Oh, to paddle out just one more time. Just don’t ask me to stand up. 

3:35 PM Quote of the day:

We are commanded, not invited, by Christ to make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that he commanded. Teaching? Who is supposed to do this? I don’t believe that Jesus intended this only for the eleven remaining apostles (remember Judas had already gone his own way). I’ve heard that argument as recently as two weeks ago. I believe these are the marching orders for those that are found in Christ.

ReadIn Christ Everyone Is Supposed To Be A Teacher.

12:22 PM This email arrived today:

Dave
 
Agree 100- that the text behind KJV/NKJV is more often than not superior to that of the eclectic text of Aland and company. That’s why I like the Robinson/Pierpoint GNT.  It gives both the Byzantine reading and that of NA27 and UBS4. I always read both and I’m finding myself preferring the Byzantine reading in so many places.

Amazing — somebody actually agrees with me!

12:18 PM Ed Stetzer’s latest essay is a must read: Continualist Christians: An Overview. The prologue:

I’m thankful today for my many faithful friends in the continualist movement, represented by Pentecostals, charismatics, and Third Wave Christians around the world. Their impact is widespread—depending on how you count, up to half a billion Christians in the world are connected with those three continualist traditions.

Much discussion is taking place on this movement—some helpful, some not. Regardless of your view, it is good to understand a movement before evaluating it. As such, I thought it might be helpful to share a bit of information about the movement to, I hope, make a better conversation. I’m not a scholar of such movements, but perhaps my (too long) article will be of some help.

Yes, Ed, this article is of tremendous help, and its balance is sorely needed. Bless you for it.

8:56 AM Just for fun: A landing and take-off like you’re never seen. (Do not watch if you suffer from acrophobia!)

 

8:52 AM I received this question yesterday:

Do you think it absurd if I hold to the King James Bible rather than modern translations? This is just a personal question.

This was my response:

It is my opinion that the difference between modern English versions of the New Testament has more to do with the underlying Greek text than the philosophy of translation used. And it is here that I believe the KJV/NKJV versions represent a better text type. My opinion is based, not on some supposed superiority of the Byzantine text type to the other text types, but rather on the fact that, in places of variation, the Byzantine text type least often stands alone. I have published several journal articles in which I apply this view, including:

“The Peculiarities of Ephesians and the Ephesian Address,” Grace Theological Journal 2 (1981): 59-73. 

“Jesus on Anger: The Text of Matthew 5:22a Revisited,” Novum Testamentum 30 (1988): 1 -8.

“The Text of Mark 6.20,” New Testament Studies 34 (1988): 141 -45.

I hope this answers your question, kind Sir.

Cordially in Christ,

Dave

What do you think?

7:50 AM Every evening I try and bring the doggies in to say hello to Becky. She greets them affectionately from her hospital bed, then out they go. Sometimes I’ll let them sit in the library while I’m reading. There they lounge, gazing in adoration at their master, accepting him just as he is, “loving on him” as only a dog can do. C. S. Lewis once wrote:

We were talking about cats and dogs the other day and decided that both have consciences but the dog, being an honest, humble person, always has a bad one, but the cat is a Pharisee and always has a good one. When he sits and stares you out of countenance he is thanking God that he is not as these dogs, or these humans, or even as these other cats!

Which is why we have dogs and not cats.

I wonder: Can our dogs teach us something about grace? Study your dog’s face, and there you will find the wonder of love and acceptance.

I also wonder: Am I not to be like my dogs toward God? Am I not to look into His eyes with adoration and love?

7:43 AM You simply must watch the disturbing video of the terrorists’ attack in Nairobi. It can be found over at CNN. Why? Because these are the people we are called upon to forgive. We don’t pray, “Father, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who ask us for forgiveness.” It’s our Christian obligation to forgive our enemies, and beyond that to love them to Christ. To forgive is to die. In order for Jesus to forgive us, He had to go to the cross. And now He calls upon us to relinquish our rights. The one who hates terrorists is wallowing in offenses. His resentment and anger and bitterness will only fester. When Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them,” He proclaimed the victory of love over evil, even the horrific, unspeakable acts committed in Nairobi. Forgiveness is a weapon against which the Evil One has no power.

Have you forgiven your enemies? We violate the Gospel when we harbor a vindictive spirit toward Islamists. God loves the members of Al-Shabab, and so must we — as difficult and humbling and self-crucifying as that may be. But there is no need for despair. “Be of good cheer,” said Jesus. “I have overcome the world!”

Wednesday, October 16

7:02 PM From chapter 1 of my forthcoming Seven Marks of a New Testament Church. The chapter is entitled “Evangelistic Preaching.” It is the first mark of a New Testament church!

Of course, there is an entirely different way of looking at “preaching” today, and it would be salutary for us to consider it briefly. The trend in recent years is to apply the term “preaching” to the modern 30-minute sermon delivered on Sunday mornings. It is the pastor, we are told, and not the evangelist, who is in view when the idea of preaching is under consideration. This understanding will not stand. In the first place, it is plain from the New Testament that preaching takes place in an evangelistic context. The sermons in Acts, as we have just seen, are good examples of this. Note that the lost, not the saved, were the objects of Peter’s preaching on the Day of Pentecost. And so it is elsewhere in Acts. In the second place, to call New Testament pastors “preachers” is to run roughshod over the biblical texts that consistently portray the role of pastor as that of teacher. Two texts are of greatest importance here: Eph. 4:11 (“And He gifted some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastor-teachers….”) and 1 Tim. 3:2 (“Now an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife,temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an able teacher….”). If, therefore, we would retain the New Testament’s own perspective on the role of a pastor, we must reject the application of the term “preaching” to what takes place when believers gather for mutual edification. It is an extraordinary thing that those who profess to care so much for the authority of the Bible should seemingly care so little for accuracy on this point. Preaching is neither the sole nor primary task of pastor-teachers! (On the indispensable role of pastors/elders in the teaching ministry of the church, see chapter 3.)

3:43 PM Today is a day of deadlines in Washington – yet another reminder of how inanely we humans race from one emergency to the next as fast as our ulcers and medications will allow us. But there is one deadline on the list we must all meet. “It is appointed unto men once to die.” Now that is a deadline. It is strong language, and some try to tone it down or explain it away. But it is reminder that there is only one saving message, the Gospel, and that anything else is a message of damnation. So let uspray even more fervently for the lost.

3:22 PM “It will prove to be a great tragedy if charismatics and non-charismatics cannot live together in peace and harmony in the same church; tragic if we have learnt nothing in the centuries since Paul wrote to the Corinthians.” Michael Green, I Believe in the Holy Spirit, p. 210.

11:59 AM Another word of appreciation, this time to our good friend Sherrie for helping Becky yesterday, to our daughter Leigh who stayed with Mama B last night, and, of course, to Karen who returns from the seminary today and does much of the grunt work around here (cooking, cleaning, etc.). Today Becky is tired, but she did chow down a fried egg I cooked for her and a slice of sweet roll. Praise the Lord, and my thanks to all!

11:28 AM This morning the Lord woke me up at 5:30 to begin writing my chapter on “evangelistic preaching” for my book Seven Marks of a New Testament Church. And, believe it or not, that chapter is now done; it just remains to be typed.

Care to help?! Pleeease?

11:22 AM Speaking of forbearance and tact in our dealings with each other, Becky and I were listening to Chuck Swindoll this morning and he gave one of the best definitions of tact I have ever heard:

Tact is making someone feel at home when you wish they were.

Isn’t that great? Why in the world should that be so hard for evangelical leaders to practice?

10:15 AM I just sent out references to both Duke and UNC for a former student of mine. Which got me to thinking about education …

I would say that the purpose of a formal education is far different from what it is commonly assumed to be. The goal should be to get us out of our comfort zones, equip us with tools for personal and individual study, wean us from the experts (whose work we appreciate but do not rely upon), and call us to use all of our knowledge in humble service to Jesus Christ. Our education is thus delivered up into holy Hands.

This desacralization of the educational process must begin with the teacher’s own example. Some people misunderstand the goal of an education and place a higher value on it than they should (they usually display their diplomas in prominent places for all to see how edu-ma-cated they are). There’s one other emphasis we often miss as well: I believe, am convinced in fact, that we must always be about the Father’s business and use all of our knowledge to advance Jesus’ kingdom on earth. Michael Griffiths, looking back to the early church in his book A Task Unfinished, writes, “The disciples of Jesus were all disciples, and all were expected to be equally committed to the Teacher’s cause, and equally concerned to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.”

As I said yesterday, it is beyond me how one can call oneself a “New Testament scholar” and not be radically involved in missions and evangelism on a fulltime basis. In the earliest years of my Christian life I was not smart enough to understand fully the dynamics of what was happening, but I was quite certain that the people around me were asking me for more than all the head knowledge I had accrued through the years. I discovered that I was called to be a servant to the broken and the hurting about me as much as I was called upon to disseminate information about Greek or the New Testament. I have memories of being caught up in the grandeur of the famous University of Basel, its historic halls, its world-class faculty, its magnificent library. At the same time I shall never forget a man who modeled for me the goal I have been describing — my Doktorvater, whose balance between humanitas and pietas was awesome and unique. I also discovered a brutal truth about myself, and that was that I had a major imbalance, but thankfully one that could be corrected by the Master Teacher and Discipler Himself.

Friends, life is about people, period. If a formal education can help us better serve others, then go for it. But once you have graduated, you will quickly realize how fleeting and ephemeral all your book-learning is.

9:58 AM Our good friend Aussie John thinks thatJesus Christ actually ought to be preeminent in all things. He’s right of course. And that includes our attitudes toward those in the Body with whom we might disagree. I recall the famous yarn about Mama and Papa Skunk and their nine children, which ends with Papa alluding to a new and terrible odor wafting into their nostrils, adding, “I don’t know what it is, Mama Skunk and dear children, but whatever it is we must get some of it.” So let us argue and debate, but let us avoid being skunks, if at all possible.

9:30  AM Calling all Ph.D. students. So you’ve had your orals in German, have you? But can you read and understand the language? Here’s some simple prose from Kafka. Translate it, or as much of it as you can. Then check your translationhere. In the letter Kafka explains his fear of his father.

Liebster Vater,

Du hast mich letzthin einmal gefragt, warum ich behaupte, ich hätte Furcht vor Dir.  Ich wusste Dir, wie gewöhnlich, nichts zu antworten, zum Teil eben aus der Furcht, die ich vor Dir habe, zum Teil deshalb, weil zur Begründung dieser Furcht zu viele Einzelheiten gehören, als dass ich sie im Reden halbwegs zusammenhalten könnte.  Und wenn ich hier versuche, Dir schriftlich zu antworten, so wird es doch nur sehr unvollständig sein, weil auch im Schreiben die Furcht und ihre Folgen mich Dir gegenüber behindern und weil die Grösse des Stoffs über mein Gedächtnis und meinen Verstand weit hinausgeht.

Did you pass the test? Remember: Use it or lose it!

9:12 AM Happy memory:

Tuesday, October 15

5:42 PM I’m at a loss as to what to say about the latest issue of JETS, whose cover is off by one issue and which contains two writers accusing each other of carelessness. I, for one, am no stranger to making mistakes through carelessness (my assistant edits my blog posts for me after I upload them and catches most of my mistakes, thankfully). Hey, nobody likes to make mistakes, but it’s simply part of our humanity that requires patience and “big-heartedness” (to echo Henry Neufeld’spost of the other day).

Someone has said, “Experts are good at avoiding mistakes and even better at finding them in other people’s writings.” Maybe we could all exercise a little bit more forbearance toward each other. I know I can.

4:20 PM My best buddies:

3:36 PM It’s great to see that Wesley called for theweekly observance of the Lord’s Supper.The more I ponder the book of Acts, the more convinced I am that the wonderful chapter describing the birth of the church makes a fitting starting point for the study of New Testament ecclesiology. Should we ask, “Where do we start?” our course is already plotted, in 11 brief verses no less. I am speaking of Acts 2:37-47, verses that describe seven basic characteristics of the newly-formed church in Jerusalem. Hence the title of my forthcoming book: Seven Marks of a New Testament Church. In case you’re wondering, these seven characteristics are:

  • Evangelistic preaching

  • Christian baptism

  • Apostolic teaching

  • Genuine relationships

  • Christ-centered gatherings

  • Fervent prayer

  • Sacrificial living

You will note that I am not calling chapter 5 “Holy Communion” or “The Lord’s Supper” or “The Sacrament of the Eucharist.” The fact that the earliest church “continued steadfastly in … the breaking of the bread” indicates that they sought ways to have Christ-centered gatherings. So often our gatherings today are man-centered. In Jerusalem, not so! There was a strong emphasis on the communal meal, on celebrating the exalted Jesus and the union of all believers with Him. Today it is not uncommon to find congregations combining a full meal and the Lord’s Supper in a time of fellowship and joyful festivity. This practice is to be greatly commended. A communion service like that can be very moving. There will be sharing and singing, a teaching or two from the Scriptures, much prayer and perhaps some weeping. And it will take time; it won’t be accomplished in an hour. As every family knows, fellowship around a table can be unpredictable! But if that fellowship has Jesus at the center, the results can be profound.

Please pray for me as I complete this book. I am especially targeting young Christians and new believers who need a basic guide as to what a New Testament church should look like.

2:58 PM Hey there! Check out the penultimate chapter in Becky’s autobiography. It’s called Lies, Lies, Lies. Be prepared to cogitate!

2:48 PM What were you doing 10 years ago? Ten years ago I was still riding my thoroughbred Traveler daily. I was still rooting for the Constitution Party (now I stump only for King Jesus). I began fasting from December’s orgy of materialism. I began publishing books about Christian living. I was writing blog posts against the invasion of Iraq. I began fencing in our 123-acre farm.I was still heavily involved in Civil War reenacting. I could still get my shoes on without groaning.

What will the next 10 years hold? Can’t wait to see!

So … what were you doing 10 years ago?

2:33 PM Contest Time! A free copy of The Authorship of Hebrews to anyone who can correctly translate this ancient Christian hymn:

Φῶς ἱλαρὸν ἁγίας δόξης ἀθανάτου Πατρός,
οὐρανίου, ἁγίου, μάκαρος, Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ,
ἐλθόντες ἐπὶ τὴν ἡλίου δύσιν, ἰδόντες φῶς ἑσπερινόν,
ὑμνοῦμεν Πατέρα, Υἱόν, καὶ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, Θεόν.
Ἄξιόν σε ἐν πᾶσι καιροῖς ὑμνεῖσθαι φωναῖς αἰσίαις,
Υἱὲ Θεοῦ, ζωὴν ὁ διδούς· διὸ ὁ κόσμος σὲ δοξάζει.

Contest closes tomorrow night at 6:00 pm. If there is more than one correct response, you know what will happen!

8:50 AM Jacob Cerone just postedanother great review, this time of Warren Trenchard’s The Complete Vocabulary Guide to the Greek New Testament. I quite agree: It will never replace Metzger. But it works well as as supplement.

8:32 AM I must break the news to you this morning that, for Karen’s sake, I have decided to review my Spanish. Nigusse already complains that I am boring him to death with my French, German, Latin, etc. I can’t help it. I enjoy speaking in tongues too much to stop. Language study is a great work upon which to engage one’s mind, and is a solace for my senility. What a strange language English is, for example. When a house is “raised,” is it being built up or torn down? The same absurdities of expression apply to words like “sanction” (permission to do something or a law forbidding it to be done?) and “cleave” (cut in half or stick together?). I think this means that my own language can be just as incomprehensible as any foreign tongue I might seek to master. Even in Switzerland, where I once lived, and which is one of the most polyglot nations in the world, only an estimated 10 percent of the people can write a simple letter in English. Once, while I was staying in the home of my Doktorvater in Basel, Bo Reicke, I heard him use English, French, German, and even Italian while he was talking on the phone, not all at once of course. The U.S. alone has 40 million people who do not speak English, which is the same number of people in England who do speak English.

For myself, I have been listening to sermons and speeches in the French language and profiting immensely from the effort. I am still mystified why I should sense such a need to perfect my French, except that perhaps one day I may find myself in francophone Africa and called upon to share the Gospel. See if you can translate the text of one of DeGaulle’s speeches in Quebec (below). It is a wonderful talk, even though it is full of well-worn clichés. 

C’est une immense émotion qui remplit mon cœur en voyant devant moi la ville de Montréal française. Au nom du vieux pays, au nom de la France, je vous salue de tout mon cœur. Je vais vous confier un secret que vous ne répéterez pas. Ce soir ici, et tout le long de ma route, je me trouvais dans une atmosphère du même genre que celle de la Libération. Et tout le long de ma route, outre cela, j’ai constaté quel immense effort de progrès, de développement, et par conséquent d’affranchissement, vous accomplissez ici et c’est à Montréal qu’il faut que je le dise, parce que, s’il y a au monde une ville exemplaire par ses réussites modernes, c’est la vôtre. Je dis c’est la vôtre et je me permets d’ajouter c’est la nôtre.

Right now I am pouring over the pages of my little book on the church. About the rest of the day — I’ll be up and at a myriad of projects that I have been managing to put off long enough. This is what I call structured procrastination, which is an amazing strategy that allows you to postpone doing all kinds of things you may find less interesting or appreciable in life. It all catches up with you one day, however. Last night I listened to Marcel Dupré’s magnificent organ piece Cortège et Litanie. It is the work of a mind of extraordinary power and depth, and at the same time of extraordinary subtlety and sensitivity. I think it’s by far the best thing of its kind ever produced, going far beyond Buxtehude and Bach. If you have never heard it, you simply must. I don’t think I’ve ever listened to anything that made me so profoundly admire and respect the composer. It reminded me of Bonhoeffer’s words upon the passing of a loved one:

Je schöner die Erinnerung, desto schwerer ist die Trennung, aber die Dankbarkeit verwandelt die Erinnerung in eine stille Freude. Man trägt das vergangene Schöne nicht wie einen Stachel, sondern wie ein kostbares Geschenk in sich.

Finally, I am researching evangelism in the New Testament for my book. The Pauline epistles clearly illustrate the modern fallacy of supposing that Paul was a theologian. Surely we don’t need any more of them. Paul was a missionary who wrote theology, not a theologian who practiced missions. I attempt to say as much in my book Paul, Apostle of Weakness. As Paul puts it: “My life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” Paul practiced what he preached, too. According to 2 Cor. 11:24 he received a scourging from the Jews 5 times — 40 lashes minus one. I fear my life is a trifle boring in comparison. Really, Paul is the ideal missionary, and it is deplorable that we have people today who claim to teach “Pauline theology” yet who care nothing about missions and who never take a mission trip. At least reading armchair theologians is good for a laugh. The Great Commission shapes me. It is the furthest thing away from the pedantic preciosities of so-called scholars. Biblical scholarship sans missions is a very bad business indeed.

Monday, October 14

7:50 PMMy thanks — ten thousand thanks! — to Dolores (a good friend from church) who spent all day helping me care for Becky. Tonight our daughter Kimberly (mother of 5 but with a fantastically loving husband named Joel!) is sharing that load with me. You see, this is exactly what the kingdom looks like. The truth is that there’s nothing religious about the kingdom of heaven. It’s just embodying what King Jesus did when He walked on the earth — loving and caring for others, with their greater good in mind. By definition, this is what “kingdom” means. “Jesus Christ laid down His life for us,” is the way the apostle John put it in 1 John 3:16. Then he added, “And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” This is the kingdom of God. We are called to love like Christ loved.

As you go about your day, whatever else you do, walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us. Remain mindful of the fact that Christianity is nothing more or less than loving others as Christ loved us. That’s our only job in life. We’ll never “fix” the church until we get this right. 

4:42 PMJust walked the property with our chief logger. These pix are for Becky:

1) Thinned out pines.

I think the loggers have done a splendid job. In just four years, these pines will be twice their size.

2) A hardwood stand.

We have about 40 acres of hardwoods. These stands will be ready for harvesting when we clear-cut the pines in about 10 years. God has blessed us with mostly poplars — a high value tree.

3:50 PMJacob Ceronereviews English Grammar to Ace New Testament Greek. Jacob is absolutely correct: You learn English for the first time when you learn a foreign language. With some trepidation, I might add: You learn how to translate only when you have learned to translate from one modern foreign language to another. Yet how many monolingual pastors are out there!

2:20 PMBlessed day today. Graham “officially” was presented with his new baby blanket from Becky, and the boys got the antique tractors Mama B had ordered for them online. God is so good to us.

1:58 PMToday I happened to tune in to the Diane Rehm Show on my way to Food Lion and caught the tail end of her interview with fiction writer Andre Dubus, a famous author who admitted to being embarrassed at everything he had ever written. Which got me to wondering …

There is a time and place for everything saith the Book of Ecclesiastes, but I’m not at all convinced that it is ever the right time to publish your latest book. In fact, to be perfectly honest with you, I have a love-hate relationship with writing. It is by far the most enjoyable thing I do, and at the very same time it is the most exasperating thing I do. Never, ever, do I feel that a book is ready for publication. But after reading your manuscript for the 100th time, you get to the point where you simply say, “Enough is enough! I’m sending it to the publisher. Maybe someone else could have done a better job, but this is the best I could do!”

As both a writer and an artist, I confess that the creative process is impossible to neatly sum up or explain. Why did I draw this picture?

I really can’t say. Did I see the image in a magazine and like it? Did it strike me as humorous? Motivation should worry us. But we should not, in turn, worry it to death with a thousand analytical questions. Why am I drawn to the fiction of Michael and Jeff Shaara (Killer Angels, Gods and Generals)? Is it because fiction can be more truthful than non-fiction? Is it their economy of words? The music of their language? The unexplored paths they follow? How they make everything so believable? I can’t say. And it doesn’t matter in the least.

Writing, for me, is both enjoyable and cathartic. But to be honest with you, I’m not the greatest fan of Dave Black. I have to admit that to you in order to be brutally true to myself. I’m now finishing what is I think my 27th book. Before you say, “Argh! Not another book by Dave Black!”, remember that I felt that way before you did. Yes, I will still send the book to the publisher. But I can’t imagine that another writer could not have done a much better job of it.

Thank goodness that publishers think otherwise.

9:22 AMEver feel like a Christian “imposter”? Dan Edelen hassome advice for you.

9:05 AMThis sweetastik word of encouragement came in yesterday’s inbox:

You must remind yourself that you are wonderfully made and he has known you before time began. You will fellowship with Him again.  He will remain with you till the end, BUT it won’t stop there… It will just be the beginning. I know you have called to Him and he has answered you.   You must do what the people of God did in times that were dark, prisoners of a foreign people, aliens in a strange place.  That is you now, you are the alien in a place that is different from what you had before.   You are to remember. Remember all the times He has been faithful to you.  All the times he has shown that you are a conqueror because of the Holy Spirit that is the very part of your marrow and the cells of your body. Becky, Sis,   I have faith in you.   With him beside you, you Will overcome.  I wish I could take part of this on myself, but this is the mission He has been preparing you for. This moment of time. This representation of Him. Do not fear. He will provide. He is enough. You need no other God.

When we first moved from Southern California to North Carolina 15 years ago, I learned that the Special Olympics were to be held in Raleigh that year. I recall watching one of the races on TV — Down Syndrome children running around a track full out. As they neared the finish line all of a sudden one of them fell down. Know what happened next? All of the other children stopped and picked up the fallen runner so that they could finish the race together.

When I saw that I exclaimed, “That’s the church! That’s the church!” Becky and I would like to say: Thank you, church, for helping us to finish the race set before us through your prayers and love.

That’s the church! That’s the church!

8:50 AMQuote of the day (Bryan Barley):

I don’t believe pastors should go around being frightened to preach because they don’t have PhD’s in New Testament, Hermeneutics, and Theology. However, I have learned an important lesson: do the work yourself, and don’t just take other people’s word for it. I believe it was Jerry Vines who said, “the lazy preacher is inexcusable.” The preacher must wrestle with the text himself, come to his own conclusions, and not let the “experts” determine the meaning for him.

Will that require more work? Yes.

Is it worth it? Absolutely.

ReadLessons from a Semester in Philippians.

8:44 AMThe following “Missions Moment” is brought to you by Dave Black Online.

“Your objective, gentlemen,” said Jesus to the 70, “is to harvest the crop.” That’s our purpose too. How do Becky and I do our mission work? And why? For what it’s worth, here are some thoughts:

  • We revisit the same local churches time and again. We seek to inject our lives into these churches over a period of time. We emphasize a cumulative approach to missions.

  • We focus all of our efforts on the kingdom. The kingdom is not a program or a denomination. It is not even one local church. It has nothing to do with bureaucrats or bureaucracies. The kingdom is God’s means of forming a new society out of the dross of humanity. And the kingdom is transnational. We do not go to Ethiopia or India as Americans. We go as citizens of heaven and resident aliens in the world.

  • We have adopted anintentionally cooperative model of missions. We are happy to cross-pollinate our harvest with other believers. We work side-by-side with many different types of churches and groups, as long as they have a kingdom focus.

  • No junk, please! Forget the gimmicks, the gospel blimps, the ugly tracts, the faddish books (mostly from the U.S.). We fertilize with the best resource available: the Word of God.

  • We emphasize the local church. Period.

  • We work as a team. Each of us has our strengths and weakness. I often follow in the wake of my wife Becky. Her organizational skills are far better than mine. She networks more easily than I do. She can smell a phony long before I can. Most important of all, she genuinely loves people. And people find Christ! In the same way, we all have our strengths that correspond with other team members’ weaknesses.

  • Our team philosophy is gift-driven. We don’t say, “We’re going to do VBS, and you will do this, and someone else will do that.” We believe that the effectiveness of mission work is closely linked with the use of one’s spiritual gifts. A screwdriver turned by a loving heart is every bit as potent for evangelism as a sermon. Under the direction of our national counterparts (the elders of the local churches) we seek to allow our team members to use their individual skills and abilities to serve others at their point of need.

  • We are people-centered rather than process- or program-centered. Lifestyle is at the core of everything we do. To us, evangelism is fundamentally a way of living that utilizes methods appropriate to the circumstances. If this means drinking a cup of coffee filled with roasted coffee beans which you are expected to chew and swallow, so be it. Jesus Himself taught us how to do missions: eat, heal, and then tell (Luke 10:8).

  • Most of all, we as a team recognize that we are utterly powerless when we are not aligned with God’s Spirit. To keep things in focus, we begin and end the day in prayer. We ask afresh to be filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit. We abandon ourselves to His adequacy and trust Him for His enablement. We surrender our need to control, to possess, to have everything go “our way.”

The bottom line? We focus on people and relationships, not on events and programs. And we work together. Alone, each of us is but an eddying speck of dust. But together we are God’s chosen race, linked to every other Christian in history. To be God’s ambassadors to the nations is infinitely more important to us than to be a great success in the eyes of the world. And the rewards are beyond comparison.

Sunday, October 13

12:40 PMBecky, who can’t do much reading on her own any more, asked me today to read to her the story of Mitsuo Fuchida’s miraculous conversion to Christ. You remember him, right? He was the commander of the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor, the man who uttered those unforgettable words, “Tora, tora, tora!” “How was he converted?” Becky asked. So I read her the story, in Fuchida’s own words. I told her how he had been given a Gospel tract in a Tokyo train station after the war. The man who handed him the tract (the tract was entitled “I Was a Prisoner of Japan”) had been brutally treated by the Japanese during his imprisonment yet returned to Japan as an evangelist. Jake DeShazer came to Christ in that POW camp, and now, as Fuchida read that conversion story, he realized that Jesus Christ was the only one who could change him from a bitter ex-pilot into a Christian with a purpose in living. Here is a photo of Fuchida and DeShazer taken after the war — former enemies, now brothers in union with the Prince of Peace.

Becky commented to me, after hearing this story, “Patriotism sure has caused a lot of misery in the world.” I think Fuchida, who is now with the Lord, would have agreed. I give youhis words:

Though my country has the highest literacy rate in the world, education has not brought salvation. Peace and freedom — both national and personal — come only through an encounter with Jesus Christ.

I would give anything to retract my actions of twenty-nine years ago at Pearl Harbor, but it is impossible. Instead, I now work at striking the death-blow to the basic hatred which infests the human heart and causes such tragedies. And that hatred cannot be uprooted without assistance from Jesus Christ.

He is the only One Who was powerful enough to change my life and inspire it with His thoughts. He was the only answer to Jake DeShazer’s tormented life. He is the only answer for young people today.

Once again, it is clear that our great God can use even the evil actions of enemies to bring about good. Neither Fuchida nor DeShazer could possibly have imagined what God was up to when they went off to war. That great tragedy ended up in their redemption and in the salvation of the lives of countless others through their evangelistic activities. Peace isn’t passive. It takes work, the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. But it is possible. We simply cannot escape the fact that Jesus chose not to exercise force when He had every right (and opportunity) to do so, but rather chose voluntarily to die with a prayer on His lips for the forgiveness of others.

What does that teach us today about the way we should live? I think the stories of brother Fuchida and brother DeShazer point the way forward.

11:48 AMThis morning Becky and I listened to a wonderful message by Warren Wiersbe on BBN. It covered Eph. 5:22-6:10 and was entitled “Harmony in the Home.” Wonderful!

P.S. You know you’re getting old when you say “Warren Wiersbe” and people go, “Who?”

11:42 AMAnd then He told them, “Go into the whole world and preach the Good News to every creature.” Mark 16:15. (And yes, this versebelongs in the Bible!).

11:35 AMGood news! Becky’s chapter calledStrengthened through Hardship: Growing up in Ethiopia has been accepted for publication in SIMROOTS magazine.

I am thrilled! Let no one say that Becky’s ministry is over. Far from it!

11:30 AMIn case you missed your Sunday sermon (smile):

As you know, my blog is a potpourri, much like a collection of paintings in an art gallery. Some pictures you like, others you put up with. We’re attracted to certain blogs (and turned off by others) because they somehow reflect our values. As you know, I write from the perspective of an ancient Jesus Freak and in ways that reflect my Anabaptist leanings. I also write from the perspective of a citizen of an economically powerfully nation and as someone who is wealthy simply because I live where I do. But national identity means little to me ultimately. I am a citizen of God’s inverted kingdom, challenged constantly to live the upside-down way of life of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe that Jesus’ kingdom teachings are normative — though this is not to say that I faithfully put them into practice. Kingdom living is fundamentally a relationship with the King Himself and with all other citizens of this kingdom. Notice I said citizens of this kingdom and not mere church goers. This distinction between kingdom Christians and church kingdoms has been debated by scholars, but I find it helpful. In the end, the kingdom of God is a call to respond to the cross-life of Jesus and has very little to do with all of our big, important organizations. The kingdom transcends the church in many ways, not least in that it predates it. The genius of Christianity (as opposed to Churchianity) is that it can rise above our rigid differences on its way to forming elastic skins for the kingdom’s wine.

More than ever I’ve become gravely concerned about the spiritual condition of the Western church in light of the enormous needs in other parts of the world. I fervently love my brothers and sisters in America, but at the same time I’m deeply grieved over our fascination with material prosperity and personal pleasure. Going to the Majority World is a reality check. Many of the believers there have next to nothing yet I have never seen such simple faith, humility, and love. To be sure, not all Ethiopians or Indians are kingdom Christians. They are just as susceptible as we are to half-hearted Christianity. The Scriptures that speak of the cross — discipline, sacrifice, suffering — seem unbelievably impossible to many of us today. Authentic Christianity has become distorted by a works-less faith. I thank God for the many faithful servants of the Most High God I have met both at home and in Africa and Asia who have rejected this false notion. Looking back now over the past 15 years I praise God for allowing Becky and me to reprioritize our values and lifestyle. I thank Him for the many churches in America that are committed to the Lord Jesus and His Great Commission. At the same time I am saddened that the bountiful provisions of our culture have left us blinded to the situation in the sin-blighted Majority World. Frankly, I ask myself how we can possibly spend $35,000 on Lifeway Sunday School materials (as one church I know does) when the same amount of money could build simple churches in 5 villages in rural Ethiopia. “I am not to judge these churches,” I tell myself. But the inequity stuns me. How much longer will the evangelical church in America remain disconnected from the rest of the world? Unless you travel outside of North America you cannot possibly appreciate the needs that exist in places like Africa and Asia — two continents I visit frequently. I look at the United States with our Christian theme parks and Christian magazines and Christian retreat centers and Christian TV stations and Christian “Praisercize” and Christian rock concerts and gymnasiums and air-conditioned sanctuaries and I have to ask myself — what is all of this for? Why aren’t we sacrificing for the Gospel in the inner cities in our country and in the lost regions of the world?

I believe it’s the deceitfulness of sin that keeps us from forsaking our Western cultural values that so directly contradict the lifestyle that our Lord Jesus commands. We modern Christians have divorced faith and works. Our concept of missions has been reduced to fundraising. But missions is not the money we give but the life we live. Missions, for me, has become simply an extension of my life. I believe this will be the case with every Christian who truly believes in the Great Commission. Jesus asks us to make missions the central passion of our lives. This means that everything we do as Christians — gathering, singing, fellowshipping, teaching, admonishing — must be done with one thing in mind: expanding the kingdom of God by reaching lost men and women wherever they live. Since when has selfless love become optional for the Christian? A few years ago I sat in a brand new church sanctuary in North America. It was one of the most inefficient and oversized buildings I have ever been in. How can we possibly justify such extravagance in view of the Scriptural teaching about wealth and equality (2 Cor. 8-9)?

Our churches have become little more than bless me clubs. We even spoil our youth when we should be exposing them to service opportunities both in America and internationally. Our youth do not need more emotional rallies. They are called to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ in the midst of a fallen world. The church in America is becoming more and more dependent on shortcuts, gimmicks, seminars, strategies, demographics, experts, and man-centered solutions to our problems. The Great Commission does not require us to attend classes on evangelism. It requires us to wait patiently on the Lord, whose Spirit will certainly equip and empower us to be effective witnesses wherever we are. How easy it is for us to make decisions and plans without prayer and without waiting for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We must stop trusting in our missionary methods. Even the greatest manmade methods are but shallow reflections of the great principles of God’s Word. I, for one, have had enough of it. I am ready to become a kingdom Christian. I am ready to work with every Bible-believing, cross-carrying Jesus follower in Ethiopia and anywhere else in the world where God sends me.

Have a great day all you kingdom people out there!

11:02 AM“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?” Matt. 6:27.

8:58 AMThis morningCraig Bennett linked to a blog post calledHospitality. Welcome. Community. The latter post in turn offered this wonderful quote:

We are more concerned with improving our homes than sharing them.

Here’s a thought that came to mind: That empty bedroom in your house? Why not let a college or seminary student stay with you free of charge? You say, That would be messy. They would see us as we really are, warts and all! That is precisely why you should do it. Hospitality is messy. And yes, you are your family are not perfect. The fact is, that’s okay. Life together is meant to be messy and wonderful and impossible and thrilling and exhausting and exhilarating. We’ve tried it, and it is one of the greatest blessings we have ever experienced.

8:35 AMA few scholarly reads:

1) Luke Wisley describes what it’s like tostudy at Tyndale House in Cambridge.

2) Mark Goodacre has morethoughts about Q:

This is not to say, of course, that Q is problematic because it is hypothetical.  If Q were the best way to explain the close textual agreement in the double tradition between Luke and Matthew, then that would be sufficient reason to postulate its existence.  My point here, though, is to remember what kind of theory the Q theory is. It is a theory about a hypothetical source.  It is not a theory about a lost source.

3) Roger Olson chimes in about the age-old question:Was Bonhoeffer really a co-conspirator?

8:22 AMHave you ever experienced failure? Have you ever needed restoration? Have you ever needed to forgive someone who has failed you? Here is one of the greatest quotes about failure and forgiveness I have read in a very long time:

Peter’s denial can never be taken back. It happened, and he had to live with the painful memory. But rather than letting his failure cripple him spiritually and emotionally, he used it as a means of building up the flock of God. . . . He becomes a living illustration of forgiveness and a second chance. He possesses a degree of compassion and understanding for wavering believers that others, sometimes rather self-righteously, are incapable of showing. We hear a tenderness in Peter’s first epistle that springs out of a bitterly disappointing failure in his own life (1 Peter 5:1-11).

Ain’t that good? It comes from Paul Himes’review of Larry Helyer’s new book The Life and Witness of Peter.

Three thoughts if I may:

1) Paul’s reviews are always models of how book reviews should be written: summary and analysis, with depth in both parts. He ranks right up there with super-rambler Henry Neufeld. And Paul is one blogger who actually earns the free book he reviews. He’s convinced me this is one book I want to order today!

2) Paul ranks this new book up there with Martin Hengel’s Peter: The Underestimated Apostle and Markus Bockmuehl’s Simon Peter in Scripture and Memory, as well he should. I might be so presumptuous as to add one more, and that is a genuine classic by Oscar Cullmann calledPeter: Disciple, Apostle, Martyr. I was originally introduced to this magnificent tome while studying in Basel (where Cullmann taught). I love its masterful prose, the commitment to historical objectivity, and especially its interaction with Roman Catholic scholarship (Cullmann also taught in Paris). Check it out if you can!

3) Getting back to Helyer’s quote, it is my own observation that failures have enabled me to serve more effectively those around me. Our failures (whether large or small) draw us to the cross. I love how Peter exemplifies this in his own life. God took a weak man and gave him a new set of marching orders. That’s what always follows failure — if only we have ears to hear those orders. “I do not want to miss one lesson God has for me,” I told myself when Becky was diagnosed with cancer. “It is my response to her illness that finally matters.” Patiently God has been revealing to me the little things, the little “failures” if you will, that stand between Him and me: my lack of patience, my laziness, my failure to discipline my thought life so as to program myself to adequately cope with the stresses of the situation. My “marching orders,” like Peter’s, are to serve — humbly, joyfully, and with tenderness. Of course, I am not nearly spiritual enough to see that the little daily trials are meant to be God’s “needles” to catapult me forward in the process. As with Peter, so with us: deeper and deeper must be the dying. This is what the Christian life is all about. The cross is a new beginning. Peter found it so. And, if we allow Him, so may we.

So thank you, Paul, for doing what a good graduate of mine is supposed to do. Keep enticing us to buy these excellent books. And may your readers, especially those who are suffering, be stirred to renewed faith in their Savior and, with me, a renewed passion for the return of the Chief Shepherd.

Saturday, October 12

5:40 PMGood evening, blogging buds! Before I say a few words about my mini-retreat, a couple of updates:

1) I want to thank the many of you who have generously supported the new school building in India. Thank you! You donations will go a long way toward the Gospel going forth to many unreached people groups in northeast India (seeChallenge for India School). If you would like to contribute to our matching fund, just send me a check (made payable to Bethel Hill Baptist Church) and earmark it “India.” Sorry, but we don’t use PayPal. And remember that every penny you send will go entirely to the work in India; Becky and I cover all of our administrative expenses.

2) Although my focus this weekend was on the Beatitudes of Jesus, I also had time to read a book I meant to read years ago. It’s E. H. Broadbent’sThe Pilgrim Church and — wow! — does it articulate nicely the radical differences that exist between the kingdom of God and Churchianity. I was so excited to see that my fairly recent adherence to Anabaptist distinctives is a vision that followers of Jesus have embraced for 2,000 years. As Christendom dies a slow death (praise the Lord!), and as the vision of a Calvary-looking church replaces it, it will be interesting to see what role books like this one will play. My conviction is that more and more evangelicals will take this vision of the kingdom and run with it, and that this transition to outward-looking, Jesus-centered churches will be beautiful and amazing.

3) And my study of the Beatitudes? God really really blessed my time in His word! The Holy Spirit awakened me to a new appreciation of the importance of my attitude toward life. In fact, someone has called these the “Be-Attitudes.” I was confronted anew with my self-pity and my tendency to complain instead of meekly accepting God’s will. At the same time I was reminded that it’s okay to mourn — to mourn the loss of Becky’s health or our ability to travel together or even any semblance of “normalcy” in our home. Following Christ and denying self, however, includes a readiness to sever the most cherished ties that bind us and to exercise that forbearance with one another (and with ourselves!) which our present difficulties necessitate. I don’t mean for this to sound like a sermon, but it’s impossible to describe how much I’m learning along this journey! Oddly enough, more than ever I see so vividly the need of the vast multitudes that remain without the Gospel — without this Jesus of the Beatitudes, without this Savior who can help us overcome our self-pity and self-centeredness. Never was there a time in history when it was more important for every member of Christ’s body to engage in ministry. And everybody who by faith has received Life is under the same necessity as every other Christian to be a fulltime missionary. Every one of us is to be a witness for Christ in the world, even if this means persecution and suffering (as the final Beatitude of Jesus reminds us).

It would be preposterous for me to pretend that I know very much more about the Beatitudes from a 2-day study. I do not. But I do know that out of suffering comes good. This is what theologians have called redemptive suffering. The greater the suffering, the greater our potential for usefulness in this upside-down kingdom Jesus describes so beautifully in the Sermon on the Mount. As we make serving others a joyful offering to the Lord, our potential is enhanced to make a difference for the kingdom. Like Jesus, we become merely broken bread and poured-out wine, overflowing with compassion for the lost and consolation for the suffering and needy in this world. I tell you, this “kingdom of heaven” is really something! It is unlike anything we have ever seen —  a place of spiritual poverty, comfort for mourning, satisfaction for hunger and thirst, rewards in heaven for our persecutions on earth, and the ultimate blessing of all — life out of death.

The cancer journey that Becky and I have been on for 4 years is just as mysterious to me today as when I left the house yesterday to drive to Appomattox. Hence I still covet your prayers. I want to thank you for reminding me constantly of the cross. Please never stop proclaiming it. My heart has no agenda but God’s, but I am still prone to self-pity. It is for this very reason that I blog. By writing I somehow feel closer to the Savior. It is a catharsis that calls me nearer to the side of Jesus, called to help complete the quota of His own sufferings. After all, a hard obedience is possible only because it is His cross, and each step of obedience makes me a little more like Him. Praise God!

Lord, I have nothing, nothing except You. You have put in my handsthe gift of care giving, and with renewed gratitude I accept your gift. I offer myself afresh and anew to You because You first offered Yourself to me. Be glorified in this journey, and may it only cause Your kingdom to be ushered in all the sooner. Amen.

Friday, October 11

8:10 AMSo my two-day retreat begins today. Thank you for praying for me. I’m starting to get my feet back under me.

What to do when I get there?

I asked myself this question while lying in bed last night listening to the pitter-patter of the raindrops on our tin roof. Suddenly it hit me: Meditate on the Beatitudes, Dave. God knows I’ve neglected this part of Matthew long enough. But the Beatitudes have so much to teach us. Matthew is our earliest Gospel. The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ first sermon. The Beatitudes open the Sermon on the Mount. Ding! This is important stuff!

I’ll be using my Greek, of course. I love my Greek New Testament. I love the challenge of interpreting it. I love basking in its cool waters. I love how it instructs and admonishes and comforts. I love the excitement of discovering something for the first time. It’s been 2,000 years since Jesus spoke these words. And it may be another 2,000 years before He returns. But His word will always be with us. The Beatitudes are God’s gems of life. They teach. They guide. They convict. Here are 8 truths Jesus truly wants to learn and practice.

Along the way I’ll be joined by my friend Robert Martin. Robert who? you ask. Robert’s the guy who penned theCaregiver Beatitudes when his wife was diagnosed with Type II invasive ductal carcinoma in 2012. Rob found in Jesus’ words a safe haven, and a way forward. That’s the way Jesus is. He has an uncanny ability to speak into our lives exactly what we need, when we most need it. And when we measure our steps by the rhythm of His heart, we can somehow keep on going, keep on facing our responsibilities without spinning out of control or collapsing on the floor.

What about you? Is it time to take a break from something in your life? All too often it’s easy to forget how truly dependent we are on Him. We start depending on our own knowledge and abilities, sure we can handle life by ourselves. And then cancer (or something else) rocks your confidence to the core. But if you look closely, past the suffering, you will see His eyes, and they are telling you: You are precious beyond belief. Come unto Me.

These two days are going to be amazing.

Thursday, October 10

7:08 PMHere’s two from Henry Neufeld:

1)Jesus Is Not on Your Side

2)The SDA Chaplain of the Senate

In the first, Henry annoys his liberal readers. In the second, he offers some advice to anyone thinking of leaving the SDA.

Blogging at its very best, if you ask me.

6:55 PMMiss Mary from church brought Becky a lemon pie this evening.

She was accompanied by her son Woody, her granddaughter Abigail, and little Hunter (Woody’s nephew). Now here is one missions-minded family. Woody is returning to India in November. Mary has made two trips to Ethiopia with us (the first when she was 80 years young). And Abigail has also been in Ethiopia with her mom Cindi.

Grateful for you guys. Thanks for loving us! 

4:26 PMJust bought for me:

Just brought for Becky:

3:48 PMIf you haven’t already done so, I invite you to take a moment and readThe Value of Short Term Missions. It’s sort of a mini-biography of the place of missions in the life of Dave and Becky Black. And it all began with our first short term mission trip to (West) Germany in 1978.I thought of this when I received in the mail today the latest issue of SIM Roots magazine. The obituaries included one of our good friends and a wonderful missiologist, Steve Strauss, the son of the famous Bible teach Lehman Strauss.

Prominently mentioned is the fact that Steve’s first mission trip abroad was as a short-termer to Liberia. He was immediately hooked on missions. What about you? In my essay I wrote:

But is short term service valid? Are we short termers doing any good? I know of few career missionaries who would question the importance and validity of short term missions. In the first place, short termers sometimes end up in career service (although this is becoming rarer and rarer). More importantly, almost all short termers begin to shape a “missions” lifestyle. They become, in essence, “world Christians.” In his book In the Gap, David Bryant has an excellent definition of “world Christians”:

World Christians are day to day disciples for whom Christ’s global cause has become the integrating, overriding priority for all that He is for them. As disciples should, they actively investigate all that their Master’s Great Commission means. Then they act on what they learn…. World Christians are Christians whose life directions have been solidly transformed by a world vision.

Finally, if properly teamed with veteran missionaries, short termers can provide valuable respite for career workers. But the focus must be on ministry and not on sightseeing. As veteran OM missionary George Verwer has put it, “Some people still misunderstand short-term work. They can’t discern between serious short-term programs where people are being stretched, trained and discipled, and glorified overseas sightseeing trips.”

You too can become a World Christian. Won’t you pray and ask the Lord to lead you to the place of His appointment? It may change your life. It did Steve’s, and it did ours. 

11:30 AMThe following excerpt is from my forthcoming book Seven Marks of a New Testament Church. In it I try to encourage new believers to engage in personal Bible study without becoming over-reliant on us so-called “experts.” See if you agree. 

1 John 2:27 teaches us that when we come to know Jesus Christ personally, we begin a life of friendship with Him – a personal rather than mediated relationship that is meant to grow richer and richer until the day we meet Him “face to face” (1 John 3:1). John is emphasizing the sufficiency of the Holy Spirit when it comes to knowing spiritual truth. It is He who grants us understanding of the Scripture. It is He who allows us to grow in knowledge and in spiritual stature. It is He who illuminates to our hearts and minds not only the person of Christ but His will for our lives. The Spirit is thus the supreme interpreter of God’s word. Once you understand this, Bible study will become an important part of your life, a discipline that you can hardly afford to neglect. This means that once we come to faith in Christ, we need never be dependent on human teachers to lead us, helpful though they may be. As our “anointing,” the Holy Spirit not only teaches us the truth of God but guides us as we seek to live out that truth in our lives. We have in the Spirit a teacher who is resident within us to show us the mind of the Lord. Little wonder that increasing numbers of Christians today are finding that they have a new love for the Bible.

If God gives you that love, thank Him, and use it believingly, knowing that this is how the Spirit worked in the early church. I am not talking about making a fetish out of the Bible. We dare not fall into the trap of legalism when it comes to God’s word. I have no advice for you as to when you should read the Bible, or how often. I have no desire to argue with you about which translation of the Bible is the “best” one. (The fact is that there are plenty of excellent Bible translations available today.) The important thing is that you meet with the Lord. Don’t be afraid of variety. Your relationship with the Lord is just that: a relationship that cannot be reduced to a set of rules. Always remember that it is the Holy Spirit who allows you to understand what you are reading. Just as importantly, it is the Spirit who enables you to share life with your Friend. No, there is nothing wrong with a disciplined system of Bible study. But there is everything wrong with worshipping your system or imposing it on others.

8:12 AMOnPat Robertson and Tithing.

7:58 AMI have been privileged to teach in many parts of the world and to see the church develop. Two things are abundantly plain. On the one hand, traditional churches are beginning to face hard questions about organizational structure, leadership, purpose, etc. A whole new way of looking at church is opening up to them as they peer into the pages of Scripture. It cannot be denied that the church in North America is in bad shape. Reform is badly needed. Hence the move toward simple/house/organic church. It is a trend that I think is here to stay, at least for a good while.

The other undeniable fact is this: Change is often made for the sake of change. Churches throw out old traditions only to establish, as unthinkingly, new ones. This is what Eric Carpenter refers to in his latest post asThe Opposite Syndrome. (Do read his essay; it is highly commendable.) The quest for authentic spiritual experience sometimes takes people into unhealthy extremes. To be sure, you do not need church buildings in order to grow a church. You do need people who are passionate about the Gospel and who are determined to follow Jesus in obedience and love. I think Eric is asking a very important question: Can we humble ourselves and learn from our brothers and sisters in other traditions that differ from our own? It would be too facile to suggest that this can be done easily. But it must be done.

And that is what this website is about. It is my conviction and hope that both sides of the spectrum will begin to learn from each other, and this may well mean a renewal of the Christian faith in the West. I pray so. And that is why I blog and write books on the church and the Christian life (and not just on Greek). It would be wise for those of us in more traditional church settings to listen to what our brethren in house churches are saying. You say, “But they are not professional theologians!” All the more reason to listen to them. Church renewal has always come from the rank and file in the church. Jesus’ own ministry emphasis was directed towards a small group of lay disciples and through them He would change the world. Pastors must see themselves as not so much telling the flock what to do as developing and empowering other leaders, lay leaders if you will, who are uniquely equipped to perform frontline ministry. Although highly challenging, this kind of genuine body life and mutual ministry is what we were made for, and such cooperation truly expresses the grace of the kingdom.

In the meantime, let us follow the advice of Mother Teresa. Simply serve. Be Christ to others. Live sacrificially. True discipleship is always costly. What’s it costing you?

Wednesday, October 9

7:40 PMTonight I have the joy of editing Becky’s next chapter called “Lies, Lies, Lies.” While I’m at the computer, I thought I’d link to a wonderful testimony of God’s grace in the life of Barry Black, the Senate Chaplain (to whom I referred earlier):Expecting the Unexpected. It’s over at the Adventist Review.

6:02 PMI treated Nigusse to lunch today at Mexico Viejo in South Boston, our “little big” town. We discussed nothing but the deepest of theological matters, of course. (Wink.)

Our waitress spoke not a word of English. I was so pleased with myself. I found out where she was from (Honduras), which city (Tegucigalpa — which I told her must be very beautiful), and how long she has lived in America (4 months). Can’t wait to introduce mi ija Karen to her.While in town I had to run a few errands so I dropped Nigu off for a much-needed haircut.

He insisted on a “before-and-after” photo shoot.

“My hair is healed,” is the way he put it. How do you like it, Choo-choo? (That’s his fiancée in Ethiopia. Hi Choo-choo!).

Tonight Becky is crocheting, Nigu is studying, Karen is cooking supper, and I am working on medical bills. I’ve also been reading up on the out-spoken Senate Chaplain (a Rev. Black) who happens to be a member of the SDA church. Some are calling him an evangelical. Others aren’t so sure. What do you think? (Perhaps Henry Neufeld, who was raised and educated in the SDA, would like to offer a comment?)

Oh, my family is sending me away for a couple of days this Friday and Saturday. Becky and I stayed at Spring Grove Farm Bed & Breakfast near Appomattox last year and thoroughly enjoyed its secluded and serene setting.

I’ll be close enough in case of an emergency yet far enough to give it that “getaway” feeling. Please pray that my stay would be restorative.

11:02 AMMy thanks to Henry Neufeld forhis “ramblings” about my book Linguistics for Students of New Testament Greek.

My favorite “ramble”:

The problem is that there are many people using Greek or Hebrew in the pulpit, their Sunday School classes, small groups, etc. who don’t actually know enough of the language to support the use their making of it. I have come to the place where I tell those I can to beware. If a pastor or teacher says something like “What the Greek really says here is …” you’re about to be misinformed.

This is SO true. I bet even some pastors who have doctorates from my seminary could not translate a single sentence from their Greek New Testament if asked to do so. Time to notch it up, folks!

9:44 AMQuote of the day (Craig Bennett):

The current leadership movement in many ways is guilty of creating a tower of babel mentality. By our own efforts we will build a tower which reaches high into the heavens, reaching up to God. Let’s build a big church, get more bums on seats, get more people with the program, center all we do around the buildings and programs and call this “church!” And the result is that more and more people get burn’t out in the process. Pastors start getting territorial in comparing their so called flock sizes… truthfully guys, they are not our flock, Christ is our shepherd. We all belong to him. 

I get the point. Just one example: the cost to support native missionaries in places like India is only $1,000 in contrast to the $45,000 it takes to keep one traditional Western missionary overseas for a year. We make our monthly church mortgage payments yet have no funds for missions. Who told us “bigger is better”? This is convenience store Christianity, and how it must it displease the Savior!

I love brother Craig. With tears he admonishes us to give up our fascination with material things and turn to Christ with all our hearts. Keep preaching it, brother. I for one will be listening.

9:18 AMSo glad to see that many of you are enjoying Becky’s latest chapter called Ministries Abroad. Today we received an email with these wonderful words:

I wanted to tell you that today, without any prompting from me, my 14 year old … was reading your chapter on Ministries Abroad. She was very intently observing the photos, especially of the Africa trips, and read the entire chapter. I wonder if the Lord is preparing her heart to serve Him abroad?

Here’s the letter I wrote and sent to that 14-year old. My prayer is that it may challenge other young adults to follow Jesus with their whole hearts.

My dear sister in Christ,

How I praise God for your interest in missions! I am thrilled to see how God is stirring in your heart. It is a wonderful thing to live in a nation that is saturated with the Gospel and with churches. Yet even the very name of the Savior is still unknown to millions of lost souls. Sometimes I hear young Christians tell me, “I feel called to stay here in America and minister to our churches.” I fail to hear any heart for the nations. How can that be? Jesus made it very clear, dear sister, what His mission mandate is for each of us who claim to follow Him. The fields are white unto harvest, and He is sending us into those fields just as the Father sent Him (John 4:34-38). Will you too make it your one goal to follow the Christ of the Gospel with your whole heart?

Soon it will be Christmas again. Christians in America will overeat, send cards to people they hardly know, and give gifts they can’t afford. I think of a church that spends $25,000 each year just on the scaffolding for their “living Christmas tree.” I’ve often thought to myself, Isn’t our self-indulgence a strange way to celebrate the coming of the world’s Savior? The shameful hoarding of our possessions prevents the rest of the world from discovering the truth. Jesus was not content to stay in Capernaum. He was always pressing on to preach the Good News in the next village. We must be willing, as He was, to leave our comforts behind and let everything go for the sake of the Gospel. We must be willing to exchange anything and everything for the pearl of great price — the kingdom of God.

As you read in the essay, for Becky and me “missions” is not something we do. It is simply an extension of Christ’s life in ours. The church is nothing more than the living presence of a God whose heart is pounding with passion for the lost. Christ’s heart cry was for the dead and the dying, not for the self-righteous. Just think about it. A typical new church building in America costs as much as 2,000 simple meeting halls in places like Ethiopia and India. Yet we still manage to rationalize away our extravagant, oversized, and inefficient church buildings. Where is the fruit that would authenticate our faith? Jesus is not the Santa Claus we have made Him out to be. With awe, reverence, and obedience, we are to worship Him by carrying out His desires and fulfilling His commands. Becky and I are fulltime ambassadors of Christ in the courts of a rebellious world. Our wills are submitted and surrendered. As imperfect as we are (and we are very imperfect!), we are willing to let go of family, friends, and our own agendas for the sake of the Gospel. Jesus never apologized for calling His disciples to a life of self-surrender and self-denial. Will you say, “Lord, I will follow You. I offer you what I have as a 14-year old. I am but a stranger and pilgrim on this earth, and I cannot be at peace until the whole world knows of You. I will pay any price to see others know the love of God.”

This, my dear sister in Christ, is the “normal” Christian life. And none of us is ever too young or too old to learn the power of voluntary self-surrender. It’s simply called obedience. And when we learn to run to it and embrace it, then we’ve begun to live the life of “reasonable service” our Lord requires of us (Rom. 12:12).

As never before, the world needs God’s servants who are willing to give their all to fulfill the Great Commission. Will you be one of them?

In the Lamb,

Dave Black

Tuesday, October 8

5:42 PM Since I have just published another book (The Authorship of Hebrews), I thought I would share with you few thoughts on the writing and reading of books:

1) The books I write are getting shorter and shorter. “Less is more” is becoming more of a reality and less of an old truism for me. You don’t need to know everything about a subject to understand it. In fact, innumerable facts are often a detriment to understanding. Above all, I try to avoid writing in such a way that might imply that thinking on the part of the reader is unnecessary.

2) I want my readers to become active participants in my book’s ideas. Some will read for information. “What does Dave think about this or that?” Others will read more for their own personal understanding of the subject, with the hope that something they read will shine some light on the facts they already know. Some of us are so guilty of abecedarian ignorance that we have to start with the simple ABCs. Our goal is simply information. Eventually, I hope we can read books preeminently for the sake of understanding.

3) Whenever I read a new book I always read it through from beginning to end in one sitting and without pondering the things I don’t understand. I find I have a much better chance of understanding a book on second reading after I’ve already gained a bird’s-eye-view of its contents.

4) As for speed of reading, my golden rule is a simple one. I read a book no more quickly than I can read it with satisfaction and comprehension. I can generally skim a book on my first reading. This gives me some idea of its form and structure. I am thus prepared to read it well the second time around. I can always tell whether a book is a “good” book. A good book is one that is always over my head in some sense. It forces me to think, to stretch, and to pull myself up to its level.

5) As for marking in books, I do so religiously. My pen is my best friend in reading a new book. Whether underlining major points or placing an asterisk in the margin or circling key words and phrases, I try to read consciously and interactively.

6) My new book, like most works of non-fiction, is chronotopical. It deals with things as they exist or occur in a particular time and place (hence the term “chronotopical,” from the Greek words for time and place). My book is the product of my own personal history. It traces how my thinking has evolved since I first began teaching in 1976. I have tried to write in a way that exhibits unity, clarity, and coherence. Whenever possible I have told the reader what the questions are and the answers that are the fruits of my own study. But the reader must not expect me to do the job all by myself. He or she must meet me halfway. My goal is a “meeting of the minds,” a reciprocal benefit that depends on the willingness of both reader and writer to work together.

7) Finally, the heart of my new book lies in the major affirmations and denials I am making, and the reasons I give for so doing. You may or may not agree with all of my propositions, but I hope you will not miss their meaning. I think I’m simply verbalizing what we all know to be true, though I might perhaps state things in an unconventional way. “2 + 2 = 4” and “4 – 2 = 2” are different notations for the same arithmetic relationship — the relationship of 4 as double of 2, or 2 as half of 4. The same conclusion is forced upon us regardless of the proposition being made.

In the end, the best readers are the most critical. They make up their own minds on the matters the author has discussed. I invite you to read my latest book and engage me in these issues.

(For the Kindle version of the book, gohere.)

5:28 PM One of the best ways to learn a modern foreign language is by listening to native speakers.This website has hundreds of audio files in German you can listen to. It’s one of the ways I try to maintain my fluency in the language. See if it doesn’t help you.

5:14 PM Students: Don’t like the rainy weather? Gloomy weather might actually help you do  better on your quiz.

12:08 PM Thought all you ladies out there would like to see the new baby quilt Becky made for our grandson Graham.

We sure do enjoy him!

Not to mention his brothers.

But there ain’t nothin’ like a grandbaby!

11:40 AM This and that …

1) Thesecolorized photos from the Civil War will amaze you. (They include the photo I posted last night of Lee. I dare you not to view it.)

2) Received this email yesterday:

I wrote a blog post, not very eloquent, but your comment today about the “senior pastor” made me want to share something I pondered for a bit.

Eloquent or not, I am glad to see the discussion about biblical leadership continuing. The current discussion may be a “cloud the size of a man’s hand,” but I believe it may point to a viable path to the future.

3) Been reading Acts by Bruce. Oh, what a writer is F. F. Bruce! He has a very clear, hard, and acute intelligence and very considerable knowledge, not merely of biblical subjects but of history and even literature. He is a stimulating companion. No wonder so many Americans studied with him in Manchester.

4) How do you reach JWs for Christ? I recall a visit one day by four dear elderly ladies, with whom I had a most delightful chat. I politely refused their tracts and tried to turn the conversation toward the Scriptures when out came a colorful pamphlet with an overview of their work in about 50 languages. When they heard that I was a Greek teacher, they excitedly turned to the page with Modern Greek, which I duly read aloud and translated — along with the German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and one or two others. I attempted — and succeeded, I believe — to be as pleasant as possible, even though our theologies scarcely matched. “Aren’t you glad we both believe in Jesus?” the eldest asked, speaking for the group. “Yes, indeed,” I replied, adding, “But who exactly is Jesus —  that is the question.” “But we are all children of God,” she insisted,” because we have all descended from Adam and Eve.” “It is true that we are all God’s creation,” was my reply. “But only those for whom the Christ of the Bible is Savior and Lord is God truly Father.” I had to excuse myself as I was in the middle of mixing mortar, but I said that if they should ever come back again, they would have to agree in all subsequent conversations to use only the Bible, “in the original languages,” I quipped, at which they broke out in laughter.

How can we stand by without compassion and love for such people? I cannot comprehend the fundamentalists who revile them, tear them down. Surely one can have compassion without being rude. It is supreme uncharity to treat them as witches, yet that is in fact what we do. It shows our fear of them. I am a fundamentalist when it comes to the fundamentals of the faith. Yet how odd that both sides, clashing with different theologies, so often conspire to destroy the true nature of God while attempting to substitute for it the madness of a particular brand of fervor.

As those dear ladies drove down our long gravel driveway, I prayed for them, that the One who has the power to open blind eyes to false teaching would do so — and in the same breath I asked myself, Where were the men?

Monday, October 7

6:44 PM Powerful words from Freeman’s biography of Robert E. Lee:

General Lee did not break down when, on his return from Appomattox, he sat down behind the closed door of the house in Franklin Street, a paroled prisoner of war. He was exhausted in body, heavy of heart, and troubled for the future of the defeated Southern people. But there was for him no pacing of the floor, no moody musing, no reproaches, no despair. Inwardly, he must have suffered more than was realized even by those who knew him best. Outwardly he seemed, for the time, merely a very tired man who had passed through a bitter experience about which he did not wish to talk, though he would converse freely on other subjects. He spent long hours in bed and for some days did not leave the house. The remainder of the time he who had passed so many days in the saddle or in bivouac sat quietly in a chair in the back parlor, with some of his family around him. A week before, carnage, clamor, and the anguish of his country’s death spasm. Now, four walls, silence, and a slow fire on the hearth.

Below: My favorite picture of the general behind his home at 707 Franklin Street in Richmond. It is an eerie feeling to stand in that exact same spot.

Why is it that the older I get, the more I appreciate Lee’s last years?

6:00 PM And the winner is:

Luis Rodriguez

The book will go out this week. Thanks to all who played our fun little game. The answer, by the way: None other than the famous pastor and bird watcher, John Stott.

P.S. Your favorite Stott book? Mine is Basic Christianity.

4:33 PM Hey there! Can I think out loud with you, especially my pastor friends? In fact, I have a question for you. Today I was perusing the website of a church in which the senior pastor was stating the biblical case for eldership. Is there not a contradiction here? I don’t need to press the point; we’ve noted time and again in these pages that, in the New Testament, pastoral ministry was something corporate and shared. With us it is nearly always exercised singly or by a group of elders over which a senior pastor is set. But the only senior pastor we find in the New Testament is Christ (1 Pet. 5:4). In 1 Pet. 5:1, Peter is quite content to recede into the group. “I am but your fellow elder,” he writes (in essence). This should not surprise us. The twelve apostles functioned as a team, and they established local church leadership in the same way. (Remember: Peter was not the “Senior Apostle” and the others “Associate Apostles.”) Such is the pattern for ministry set by Jesus and His apostles.

So my question is: Are we not bound to confess that the church today has often failed to follow the model set by her Founder? I may be wrong, but I think the answer is Yes. And I think this can happen even in churches in which the Bible is rightly held up as the sole authority in matters of faith and practice. But it is an astonishing reversal of the pattern left by Jesus (see Matthew 23). Could not the title “senior pastor” give the wrong impression and distance you from the very people you are called upon to serve, or from the team of elders you are serving among? The question is vital and urgent. It is a thorn that must be dealt with. The New Testament gives no suggestion that someone served as a senior pastor (or as a lead pastor). Paul, for example, met with the Ephesian “elders” in Miletus. The implication, quite baldly, is that the church had no hierarchy in their leadership. In my own local Baptist church, which recently was led to appoint biblical elders, the leadership has tried to follow this pattern. And it is beautiful to see our elders/pastors reciprocating ministry to each other. Each finds himself an equal among a loving team of servants. And all are enriched thereby. So is the church. Our Head is Christ, and no man is considered “the” pastor.

So there you have it. I do not like the term “senior pastor.” And I do not like it because I do not think the term is biblical. Nor do I think it represents a truly biblical ecclesiology. Again, I may be wrong, but I do not see two classes of elders in the New Testament. All are called to oversee (whether or not they are paid staff). Each is to be an able teacher. And that is just what our nomenclature must show. For this to happen, there will have to be a new attitude in the pew and among the leaders. But it can be done. The question is: Are we willing to be radical enough to take this step? The New Testament turns our notions of “doing church” on their head. It defangs the clamor for status that drives so many of us. It replaces ladders of power and prestige with towels and basins. We need to grapple with these issues. Let’s face it — pecking orders are deeply embedded in every area of our Christian experience. Ought this to be? If not, why not?

12:58 PM As I said, today is another busy day. I’ve finally published Becky’s chapter. The delay was caused by a satellite outage due to the rain we’re been having. Add to that the numbing series of pictures I had to find for this chapter, and you start to see why this has been a busy day. But the chapter is up, and the icing on the cake is that Becky is feeling really good today and is actually eating real food (and keeping it down). That’s the way life is here; it ebbs and flows, the sweet and salty always mixing together. I do hope you read and enjoy Becky’s latest chapter (Ministries Abroad). We’re not placed on this earth to live our own independent lives, unaffected by the suffering all around us. Jesus got dirty in the world. Becky and I have tried to do the same. We’ve not always done a very good job it, and for sure we could have done a lot more. But I guess that when life is messy, that’s okay. It sure was fun looking back over our life together in Ethiopia, from our very first visit together there in 2004 up to the work we’re still doing there. Did I really lay my head on my pillow that first night we were in Ethiopia and say to Becky, “Honey, I love these people so much it hurts”? Yep. I am called to love others, especially those who tend to be left behind in the mad rush for all the goodies in life. Ministering to others seems like such a small thing. But it’s really a big thing. And anyone who loves Jesus can do it. How will you know where to start? Simple. Jesus will put His love in your heart for people. I’ve been at this for more than 10 years now, and I’m sitting here blinking back tears thinking about what this has meant in my life, my marriage, my home, my teaching. I would not want to live any other way.

(Sorry for the large number of photos in Becky’s chapter, but I actually could have posted many more. Aren’t you pleased with my self-control?)

9:22 AM Odds and ends:

1) This morning I woke up to the sound of the dogs barking frantically at something. That “something” turned out to be our donkeys, who were happily grazing in the front yard of Bradford Hall. So out into the rain I went. I found the 8-foot wide gap in the fence the loggers had made, repaired it, and then —  by the sheer grace of God — managed to get Tinish Koi and Tolo Tolo back into the pasture. Tolo followed the oats bucket. As for Tinish, she was too smart to fall for that old trick. Eventually she allowed me to put the halter on her (sweet girl!) and I led her back peacefully to the fold. ” Thus began my day!

2) This morning I’m doing what I love to do. I’m editing the next chapter of B’s autobiography. It’s called “Ministries Abroad.” And boy oh boy, what an exciting life we’ve had!

3) Have you heard about the GermanBible in Fair Language?

4) My assistant Jacob Cerone and I have been working on our book 100 Essential Tools for Using Greek in Ministry. We had forgotten to include Harold Greenlee’s superb introductory treatment The Text of the New Testament (Hendrickson). That has now been rectified. In case you’re interested in such things, here’s what I wrote for the book’s cover:

In all of his writings, Harold Greenlee’s overriding concern is to show
that New Testament textual criticism, far from being secondary or
indifferent matter, is a matter of supreme importance. Once the student
has started reading Greenlee, he or she will find that this soft-spoken
man has relevance to one of the most crucial areas of biblical studies
today. Certainly this revision of Greenlee’s classic textbook will be a
welcome addition to any pastor or student’s library. I thank God that He
has given His church such a warm-hearted and capable scholar.

5) I think you’ll enjoy this essay about Is There Life After Burnout for Pastors?. The whole question of the “pastorate” is rather troublesome. There is – apart from the sheer grief of overwork – an added pain in the cynicism of the situation. One ought to be grateful and thankful for all the years that pastors spend in church work, ministering alone at times. Solitary pastorates are perhaps the ne plus ultra of human wisdom.

6) Do you ever pray Scripture? Today I prayed this prayer for Becky:

For this reason we have not stopped praying for you since the day we heard about you. We ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through every kind of spiritual wisdom and insight. We ask this so that you will live the kind of lives that prove you belong to the Lord. Then you will want to please Him in every way as you grow in producing every kind of good work by this knowledge about God. We ask Him to strengthen you by His glorious might with all the power you need to patiently endure everything with joy. You will also thank the Father, who has made you able to share the light, which is what God’s people inherit (Col. 1:9-12).

7) Although many have already correctly identified our mystery visitor to Ethiopia, our contest will remain open until 6:00 pm. 

Sunday, October 6

8:30 PM Contest Time! A free copy ofWill You Join the Cause of Global Missions? to the person who can correctly identify the faranji (white-faced foreigner) in this photo taken in Addis Ababa 9 years ago and can correctly tell me his lifelong hobby (and one of the main reasons he visited Ethiopia that year).

If there is more than one correct response, the winner will be randomly chosen tomorrow night at 6:00 pm. To his right, by the way, are my sons David and Nigusse. David now serves in South Africa. Nigusse, of course, is a student at Southeastern.

7:49 PM The dedication service is now history. The last picture says it all.

8:32 AM The genius of the Protestant Reformation lay in its struggle with the problem of justification in all its aspects. For the greatest question of life is the conversion of man and his reconciliation to God in Christ. But Protestantism, once it answered this question biblically, failed to press on to treat Christianity in its most radical form — the form presented in the New Testament. The Protestant teaching on justification, in emphasizing truth, sometimes leads to a neglect of the new life, life in the Spirit, life in Christ, life as Christ’s body. Koinonia takes on a superficial and rather suburban goodness — moral platitudes, covered dish fellowships, an occasional “mission trip” to the local nursing home or to a nearby state. The Christian life has become merely a fidelity to ethical prescriptions or participation in the multitudinous programs in our churches. There is little real sacrifice about it. Witnessing becomes a trite tract or a bumper sticker. Heb. 10:24 is cited to drive people back into church but not to encourage them to “provoke one another to love and good works.” Passive spectatorism becomes par for the course. It is to the credit of the Jesus Movement of the 1960s (of which I was a part) and perhaps of the modern emerging church movement (of which I am not a part) that both sought to expose this hideous problem for all to see. There is a new generation and a new spirit at work today, and perhaps it will turn out to be the catalyst that will bring on our transformation from churchianity to a Christianity that is dedicated to the forceful living out of the life of Jesus in this world.

May it be!

8:28 AM As the drought makes me wish for rain, the clouds for the sun, the storms for the gentle winds, so my heart yearns for Thee, my Lord and my God.

8:25 AM I just spoke with the most überwonderfullest woman in the whole wide universe. She sounds great and looks rested. Alas, she lacks the strength to travel to Maple Ridge, so we will holdthe dedication service right here in good old Bradford Hall. Kindly join me in praying that she will have the energy to say a few words. That is her desire and wish.

8:04 AM Our Maple Ridge Dedication video. Rejoice with us!

 

7:46 AM Good morning! Allan Bevere’s latest blog post is calledDoctrine: The House in Which the Church Lives. “Without the house of our doctrine,” he writes, “we will become morally hopeless.”

We Christians need the historic doctrines of our faith. Without them we will be reduced to a church that is not really a church, but a loose association of self-absorbed people whose primary focus in life will be to do what is right in our own eyes (Judges 17:6).

My 10 cents? (Not 2 cents — inflation and all that). I think it would be advantageous if much of our doctrinal training were on the job rather than in the classroom. It would also be highly advantageous if theological instruction took place under competent practitioners of the Gospel rather than theoretical academics. In other words, the question is: How can doctrine be made relevant to those who are trying to practice their faith? A doctrine like justification could be greatly sharpened if it were contrasted with the petty legalism of so many church members. I’m afraid we’re producing graduates whose passion for Gospel living may be nil while their knowledge of minute details of doctrine may be massive. It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of practical theology, as Allan notes. The goal would be to see that all subjects are taught with kingdom-living in mind.

An excellent example of this is Thomas Hudgins’New Testament Greek course at Capital Bible Seminary in DC, which emphasizes from day one the importance of using Greek in ministry and in life. It is a great mistake to allow our Greek instruction to touch the mind alone. It must also impact the will. I an not aware that anyone has really mastered the art of life-changing communication. But it is absolutely necessary that we try. I have a great deal to learn in this area. I wish I knew better how to bring it about. But I have seen it happen. Making doctrine practical is one of the most important challenges facing Christian education in our generation. I am determined to pursue it.

Keep livin’ the faith!

Dave

Saturday, October 5

7:32 PM Speaking of Greek, brother Jeff has an excellent piece up at The Scripture Zealot on Bible translations calledLiteral Greek Translation Does Not Work. Do check it out. While you’re at it, don’t forget Thomas Hudgins’ recent post calledOn the Expressions “Word-For-Word” and “Literal” Dealing With Translations. Both writers are on to something important. The other day I heard somebody read from aloud from the book of Revelation. Their translation referred to “lightenings.” I almost laughed out loud. Who today would ever use such language? “Hey Harry, did you see all those lightenings the other night?” No. We would say, “Did you see all those flashes of lightening?” Jeff puts it this way:

Although I have no problem with literal translations, in my mind it seems that literal translations aren’t translated ‘all the way’ into English. They try to use original language grammar and word order and fit it into English, except when they can’t, which is much more of the time than people think. Some of the language in the ESV for example would get red marks by an English teacher. Bad word order, bad sentence structure, repetitive. I think that translation should be English English, not Greek English or Hebrew English. That’s an extremely general statement of course, frought with issues that books have been written about.

“English English.” Is that really possible? I should hope so!

7:10 PM Fellow Greek geeks! Check outWhat’s New at ourNew Testament Greek Portal!

6:59 PM A million thanks to the Woolseys and the Vidals for their help in cleaning Maple Ridge today in preparation for tomorrow’s dedication service. Both families are in Karen’s small group at Imago Dei Church.

Also, warm thanks to my assistant Jacob Cerone for calling and helping me — the ultimate cyber-klutz — to finish a slide presentation for tomorrow as well. Oh, and then there’s Mitchell and Judy who came and spent the day and assisted us in caring for Becky.

And did I mention Robbie who put the Plexiglas up at Maple Ridge, or Nigusse who served as willing gofer and photographer?

Lots of body life today.

Again, to all: Heartfelt thanks from Dave and Becky Lynn!

6:45 PM I know this is a very random reflection, but I cringed when I read that theologian Hans Küng has apparently come outin support of assisted suicide. There is a danger in the church of wanting to become so culturally relevant that our theology becomes shaped by culture rather than by Scripture. Is it right to take one’s own life when Scripture teaches that God alone appoints people to die (Heb. 9:27)? Suicide is an attempt to deny God that right. Exodus 20:13 clearly forbids the unlawful taking of life. How then can we assist someone in his or her death? Despite his suffering and distress, Job refused to curse God and die. “Shall we accept good from God and not accept adversity?” So while I can sympathize with Dr. Küng’s plight, his arguments amount to little because they fail to base themselves in the Scriptures. Given that God is sovereign, and that He is love, and that He decides when we are born and when we die, I am saddened that such a brilliant thinker should endorse euthanasia. I would thus encourage anyone who wants to read what Küng says on this subject to do so with a very critical eye. At the same time, it’s clear that he (and so many others) who are suffering are really struggling with deep issues of faith. I think they need our empathy as well as our prayers. But even if we (like Job of old) are forced by circumstances to confront the problem of pain in a very personal way, this shouldn’t affect our faith in Christ or our absolute confidence in the character of God. Peter sums up the matter nicely when he writes:

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while.These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

In other words, there is a point to suffering, even if we can’t see it at the time. So whatever else is at stake in the debate over the problem of pain, our picture of God should not be. Fix your eyes on Jesus, not on your suffering.

10:22 AM “I used to think I was too old to fall in love again…

… and then I became a grandpa.” The latest of Graham. Thanks for sending it, Jessie!

Friday, October 4

4:33 PM To all of my intelligent and discerning cyber-readers (and that’s all of you): Just a quick note to say that our spring 2014 conference on the Pericope Adulterae (the “woman taken in adultery” passage in John) is most definitely still on. As soon as Maurice Robinson and I have finalized the speakers and schedule I will let you know right here. Dr. Robinson is a staunch defender of the passage’s authenticity. I think he’s on the right track. But no, the conference will most assuredly NOT be one-sided!

3:54 PM Even though I am on sabbatical I am still quite involved with my doctoral students, especially the newer ones. During my 3 years as a doctoral student at the University of Basel, I found my Doktorvater to be at once utterly brilliant, approachable, rigorous, and caring. In many ways I have sought to emulate him in my own teaching. Professor Reicke had a passion for hard work, detail, and precision. He had an impatience with mental laziness, so-called “relevance,” and bureaucratic ineptitude. Most impressive of all were his curiosity, simplicity, and personal piety. I offer these thoughts because I suppose it is only fair that my own doctoral students know what I expect of them. Doctoral work is the greatest academic challenge a student can face. It should also be the most joyful.

3:42 PM Someone once asked me why I blog. I told him that my blog is nothing more than a personal interpretation of my world. In elaborating such a version one inevitably tells something of oneself. But my blog is not meant to be a venture in self-revelation or self-discovery. Nor do I offer “answers” to life’s pressing problems. I do have answers, but I think I have more questions, and I question nothing so much as the viability of “expert” answers, including my own. Maybe the best way to characterize my blog is to say that it consists of a series of sketches and meditations, some literary, some poetic, others theological and even linguistic, fitted together spontaneously and in such a way that they react upon each other. I simply record ways in which I view the world, or a small part of it, without attempting to be formal or even organized. To put it plainly, I blog because I enjoy it, though I do not delude myself that I am saying anything of eternal value. I also feel a responsibility, in a sense, to enter the world of ideas by offering at least a few contemplative and introspective ideas of my own. That is one of the things this blog attempts to do. It gives a personal view of contemporary questions — with a touch of farm life thrown in for the reader’s amusement. Of course, I did not say all of this when asked why I blog, but if I had had the time it is what I should likely have said.

Why do you blog?

10:38 AM Here’s a thought from Hebrews. I note in 5:11-14 that the author was willing to lovingly confront the brethren with the truth. Occasionally, very occasionally, we will have to do the same. It is much easier, of course, to keep quiet, but “peace” is rarely the result. Bill Hybels has written(Honest to God, p. 53):

When people submerge their true feelings in order to preserve harmony, they undermine the integrity of a relationship. They buy peace on the surface, but underneath there are hurt feelings, troubling questions, and hidden hostilities just waiting to erupt. It’s a costly price to pay for a cheap peace, and it inevitably leads to inauthentic relationships. 

Does that mean we should become a “professional weaker brother” and go around rebuking each other all the time? Hardly. Over-conscientious and supersensitive people easily go to this extreme. The professional weaker brother is usually a “mature” saint who has a very myopic view of life, uninformed by Scripture. His world is completely black or white. There are no secondary or tertiary issues for him. If he doesn’t like what you’re doing or saying, it’s because you refuse to adhere to his narrow list of dos and don’ts. It is precisely because you reject his petty legalisms that he dislikes you so much.

How, then, to handle the situation? George Guthrie lays out three practical guidelines for confrontational truth-telling (Hebrews, p. 211).

1) The confrontation must be given with the right motivation.

2) It must be well-thought-out and well-timed. No off-the-cuff comments will do.

3) It should offer specific suggestions for action when appropriate.

This is sound advice, and we would do well to heed it.

10:22 AM Psalm 113:9 says, “He makes a woman who is in a childless home a joyful mother.”  My mind races to Aberash. Baby Nathan’s was a miracle birth. (You can read about ithere andhere. It is a beautiful story of love and sacrifice.) All because of God’s amazing grace. But many people had a hand in it too. To beg God to perform miracles to do our work is the refuge of laziness and the subterfuge of callousness if not outright hate.

Here is Nathan today.

Praise and honor to the Lord!

10:02 AM One thing Becky and I have not done in a very long time is reenact the wo-ah. (“War” has two syllables where we live.) It is really astounding, when one considers how often we have run hither and thither to commemorate this or that battle or preach in this or that Sunday service or play period music on our instruments.

The best I can do now is to read books about that singular period in our history, including biographies of one of my favorite Americans, Robert E. Lee, hoping to extract the pearls of wisdom that so richly matured in his mind during his military and post-military career. In Fitz Lee’s book, General Lee, I recently read the following extract from Lee to his wife :

Camp Petersburg, June 30, 1864. I was very glad to receive your letter yesterday, and to hear that you were better. I trust you will continue to improve and soon will be as well as usual. God grant that you may be entirely restored in his own good time! Do you recollect what a happy day thirty-three years ago this was? How many hopes and pleasures it gave birth to! God has been very merciful and kind to us, and how thankless and sinful I have been! I pray that he may continue his mercies and blessings to us and give us a little peace and rest in this world, and finally gather us and all he has given us around his throne in the world to come.

Lee was not only in love with his invalid wife but in some strange way dependent on her presence, physically dependent, as one is dependent on the liver in one’s stomach, or one’s spinal marrow. His last years in Lexington must have been exceedingly joyful for him since he was able to remain in his wife’s sweet presence without being pulled here and there by the army.

The mysteries of human relationships are impenetrably obscure, but I confess I do enjoy reading about General and Mrs. Lee’s marriage.

9:50 AM Becky asked me to relay the following message to you:

In the Fall deluge of fund-raising media, don’t forget this wonderful opportunity to significantly impact the work in India. It will provide a school that will touch 2500(!) students daily with the Gospel, as well as provide needed income for ministry for decades to come, as well as enhance the community’s view of the Peniel Gospel Team.

Here are two pictures of the construction. You can see that the good work goes on.

 

It is such a relief to know that the whole work in India is God’s task, not ours. But what a great privilege to have a small part in it. Our responsibility is discharged by the help we give and the bridge we build between the U.S. and India. It is all very puzzling. Sometimes we mention a need and people barely or slowly respond. Sometimes the need is met almost immediately. The one thing I am sure about is that prayer is absolutely vital. (I stopped just now to pray.) Prayer expresses our utter inability to do anything on our own.But God sees our humble attitude of dependence and uses it to bring glory to Himself. This project in India is huge. But the God we pray to is amazing. He will work through us if we but humbly launch out into the deep ocean of faith.

I am trusting God to fully supply this need. 

9:11 AM Yesterday I spoke on the topic of vacationing. Today I feel led to to share with you a few thoughts about pastoring. Pastors are indispensable. Probably these are the same “teachers” mentioned in Eph. 4:11. This teaching function has a very specific purpose: to equip all God’s people for works of service to the church and to the world. So I am not in the least suggesting that pastoral ministry is not essential. It is! At the same time, there is no clear distinction anywhere in the New Testament between clergy or “ministers” and laypeople. All members of the body are “ministers” of God. Shepherds are simply sheep who are charged with spiritual oversight. It is essential to acknowledge this teaching role of pastors. The ability to teach is a requirement heavily stressed in the so-called Pastoral Epistles. This will involve the serious study of Scripture. It may also involve formal biblical education, though this is nowhere stated (or even implied) in the New Testament. If a pastor is to be able to teach, he must be able to learn. In fact, I would translate didaktikon in 1 Tim. 3:2 as “teachable” rather than “able to teach,” though BDAG allows for both renderings. Pastoral leadership in New Testament days was always shared. The New Testament abhors domination by any one person. The local church is to be run by Jesus Christ, and therefore ministry among the saints is never to flow only in one direction — from pastors to people. We all can teach each other. Indeed, even within the pastoral team there is to be reciprocal ministry. Leaders will freely counsel and even rebuke each other when necessary. Each knows he is a sinner. Each knows his own weaknesses. Each recognizes he needs others to help him grow. Such a community of leadership is far better, don’t you think, than the supposed invulnerability we so often see in leadership today? Pastors must therefore not only teach, but demonstrate that they are eager learners. This means that one pastor might not do all the formal teaching but will eagerly yield to others. Of course, some elders may not feel qualified to “preach” — that is, deliver a well-crafted 30-minute homily. How gross a misunderstanding of the pastoral role! If you really believe that each member of the eldership is called to teach, then let them teach! And, since the “senior pastor” has donned the apron of humility and service, he will gladly encourage such participation. Other team members may, in fact, be better at the task than he is. Let all exercise their ministry for the good of the body.

So there you have it: a local church in which shared leadership is both practiced and celebrated, and where the the entire body is equipped and set free for works of service. Is this not the model of companionate leadership required by Jesus? Is it too demanding?

Thursday, October 3

7:56 PM After fixing a couple of hiccups with my tractor (flat tire, leaking radiator) I was able to bush hog a few acres today.

There is nothing I enjoy more.

Yes, you can call it “vacation” time if you like 🙂

3:52 PM Chuck Smith of Cavalry Chapel and the Jesus Movement has died. I am a product of that movement.

Who can forget the 1960s? These were men and women who were ablaze for Jesus Christ and were determined to make Him known. We threw off the bondage of tradition, our captivity to church buildings. Our quest for genuine relationships and for caring community found the answer in our Sunday meetings in Waikiki. Non-Christian friends were welcome. We were a happy, caring community. The new wine of the Holy Spirit was clamoring for new wineskins. We had high hopes that the church could:

  • mobilize every member for ministry

  • be a holy people in an unholy world

  • take the Good News to the world

  • harvest the millions of souls to be born in the next decades

  • fulfill the prayer of Jesus that His earthly body live in unity

Many have described the Jesus Movement as a whole new way of being church. It was just that. For me, it was a new way of living, a sense of having discovered Jesus not just as Savior but as Friend. It meant a new depth of relationships and quality of church life. Today I am a member of a fairly traditional Baptist church. But the qualities that attracted me to the Jesus Movement are still the qualities I value today. I rejoice that many of these qualities characterize my local church. The Jesus Movement reminds me that in order for the church to adapt Scripture appropriately the emphasis must be on values, not on structures. These values can be found in home churches and in traditional churches. The key is that Jesus is at the center. It means that whatever we do, Jesus is the focus. He is the reason we meet and the One who transforms the lives of His people. It also means that as followers of Christ, Christian community really counts. Churches are to be communities of sacrificial love, with open and honest relationships. It means that leaders are both teachers and facilitators. Empowerment, not tight control, is the way of Jesus. It means that every member is a minister and is encouraged to use his or her gifts. Ministry is for all, by all. Finally, it means that every member is involved in friendship-evangelism.

I believe the Jesus Movement was a wonderful channel God used, but it is not the source of life. Only Jesus is that. Still, it helped many of my generation to break through the straitjacket of tradition and explore “church” in new and vibrant ways. The Jesus Movement is a challenge to move into a new mindset, or perhaps regain the one God always intended.

I thank God for Chuck Smith and the other leaders in the Jesus Movement. My hope is that their voices may be continued to be heard today.

7:58 AM Snapped this an hour ago. His mercies are new every morning! 

7:45 AM The other day Karen heard a student say that Dr. Black was against vacations. Well, I completely disagree with Dr. Black! I immediately thought of two passages that speak about “rest.” The first is the well-known passage in Hebrews 4. The rest we are promised here is clearly futuristic: it is the rest we will enjoy one day when our “work” on earth is done. The text calls this a “Sabbath-like” rest: just as God rested on the seventh day from His works, so one day we will rest from our earthly labors. In the meantime, however, we are to “keep on working very hard to enter that rest.” I thus disagree with those commentators who interpret the rest in Hebrews 4 as referring to a get away from the frenetic activities of life — taking a “vacation,” if you will. Hebrews 4 invites us to “rest,” but that rest will come after we accomplish what our risen Master has commanded us to do until He returns, which is to “occupy until I come,” meaning “Stay busy!” Hence this is a rest that the readers of Hebrews must fear missing. We must have a healthy respect for the judgment of God.

The other passage is that wonderful text, Matt. 11:28-29, where Jesus promises to “rest” (the Greek here is a verb) those who come to Him in their weariness. Here again, nothing about taking time off is said. The rest Jesus is describing is the rest in the midst of being co-yoked with Him in kingdom activity. This is His rest for His people who are doing His work. I call it “restful rushing.” I suppose Paul is a good example of this. Just read the two Peristasenkataloge (list of activities/sufferings) in 2 Corinthians 6 and 11 and you will see how tirelessly and relentlessly Paul worked for King Jesus. Jesus Himself told us to work because the night is coming, when we can no longer work. As a farmer, I know exactly what He is saying. When it is harvest time, everything else stops. The hay has to be gotten up, and gotten up before night, and gotten up before the rains begin, and then gotten into the barns. I ask you: Today are not the fields white unto harvest? I don’t know about you, but I have a sense of urgency, the kind that Paul describes in 1 Cor. 7:29: “Because the time is short, you who are married should live as though you are not.” Could that be said about your marriage?

Incidentally, and I don’t want to make to big a deal about it, but there are two Greek words for rest used in the New Testament. Both are based on the basic verb pauo, “I cease.” The first has the prefix kata: katapauo. It often refers to complete and final rest, to the absolute cessation of activity. The other verb is anapauo, which often refers to rest in the midst of labor. The first term, katapauo, is used in Hebrews 4. The second is used in our Matthew passage. I think what I draw from this is the following life-orientation: I am to be working relentlessly for the kingdom until God calls me home, at which time I will “enter the promised rest.” But at the very same, while I am working and serving and sacrificing for the sake of the kingdom, there is also a peace and joy and power and passion and energy in the midst of my activities. Jesus promised me as much in Matthew.

So, am I against vacations? No. I just happen to take very few of them. I would rather spend my vacation days investing them in kingdom work. (Over the past 10 years almost all of my semester breaks and holidays have been spent in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa in response to urgent invitations by the foreign nationals there.) Please, this is not boasting. Remember, I was born and raised in Hawaii. I am the world’s ultimate loafer. My idea of life is hanging out at Kailua Beach and surfing all day long. There is no hope for any of us unless we confess our sloth and laziness, our tendency to want to kick back and “enjoy the good life.” I once shared these thoughts with a young doctoral student. He said to me, “You realize that you’re talking to a very small audience. You’re only talking to people who are really, really serious about following Christ. Most of us don’t have any idea how far we still have to go.” My answer was a question. “Who can possibly enter into discipleship without a commitment to going all the way? Sacrificial living is part of love’s burden.” As Jesus said, “No one who does not carry his or her cross and come with Me cannot be My disciple.” Christ gave us everything when He gave Himself. He asks for everything in return — no secret disclaimers, no insistence on “rights,” no 40-hour work weeks, no reserved corner of our lives. “Work hard to enter that rest!” And when this command is gladly and wholeheartedly accepted, the joy of sacrificial love that leads to perfect union with Christ is inevitable. We receive not only the promise of heaven one day, but the possibility of heaven on earth as we walk with the Risen Christ and allow Him to “co-yoke” with us.

How shall we flesh this out in our lives? For me, this has meant scheduling in kingdom trips before personal vacations. It has meant placing my will alongside His, being willing to put myself in the yoke with Him, willing to cooperate with the kingdom-building work He is doing all over the world. And guess what? I am actually finding that His yoke, so burdensome if carried alone, is actually light. I suppose that’s why Becky and I could spend Christmas in Ethiopia every year. The “path of obedience” for us meant missionary life. Never a vacation went by that we did not ask ourselves, “How can we best leverage this time for Christ?”

I wonder: Is our response of faith really different from the response of the rest of the world? Paul wrote, “Accept your share of hardship that faithfulness to the Gospel entails in the strength that God gives you.” Vacationing or not, let our offering to Christ be free, humble, unconditional, given in the full confidence that His transforming energy can fit into the outworking of His will in our lives.

P.S. Karen also asked me if I had daily devotions. My answer might surprise you. But that’s for later.

Resting in His yoke,

Dave

Wednesday, October 2

5:14 PM “Hay, hay, whadya say?”

The Humphries are off to the mountains this weekend to ride and picked up a few square bales today. Have gobs of fun, guys!

3:50 PM “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!'”Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper.

3:18 PM Mammen Joseph sent us an update of the work in the far northern regions of India. A new meeting hall on the India-Nepal border was recently dedicated, and 18 new believers were baptized.

We are praising God with you, brother Mammen!

11:50 AM You must readA Christian View of Death, Dying, and Funerals by Rodney Decker. It’s simply the best thing there is online today.  I especially resonated with the section called “A Christian Attitude Toward the Event of Death.” Thank you, Rod, for these timely words of instruction and exhortation.

11:38 AM Just read a tweet that said, “I left 3 Carolina Panthers tickets on my windshield and when I came back there were 9.” That’s one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long time.

By the way, who are the Carolina Panthers?

10:40 AM Answered prayer! Thank you! The folder is baaaack!

10:02 AM Guess what’s on sale for only $2.99?

I wouldn’t have known about it either had it not been forthis link.

8:52 AM Quick SOS:

I have misplaced a very important folder. To this point my search has been utterly fruitless.

Deep breath.

I honestly need you to join Becky and me in asking the Lord that I can find it. My best Friend knows exactly where it is!

Thank you,

Dave

7:48 AM I sit here this morning with memories of past friendships washing over me. As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to appreciate the great privilege of friendship. Over the years one man has become very close to me. Kevin Brown is not only a shepherd (a real shepherd, not a SINO), a missionary, a godly husband and father, but a man who is transparent about his own strengths and weaknesses. As a pastor he knows what it’s like to live in a glass house. So when I readhis latest blog post about the struggle he has experienced with the forces of darkness, I am overcome with gratitude. He has learned to turn the whole ugly experience over to the Lord and has asked Him to renew his faith in a trustworthy God. If we have nothing in this world but Jesus, we have everything. If we have everything in this world but Him, we have nothing. The people I feel sorry for are not those who wrestle with fears. The people I feel sorry for are those who are incapable of being honest with themselves and with others, who are incapable of reaching up and touching Jesus and becoming all they can be in Him.

I suppose Kevin and I have faced similar trials. Day by day, brick by brick, the wall of unrealistic expectations — my own and the ones others have laid on me — have come tumbling down. As well they should have. I am free now to love Becky and my family, to love even myself, and I am free to serve and give to others, not because it is expected of me or even because I am very good at it, but simply because of the love Jesus has planted in my heart. I am finally able to let go of some of the unrealistic expectations I had for myself. It means being myself, the self God has made me. My halo is square, but I don’t stay awake at night thinking about it. God still has “special work” planned for me (Eph. 2:10), and there is nothing I’d rather be doing. Believe it or not, Becky and I are still “practicing loving.” We are still learning and refining our own unique brand of this thing called marriage. On our wedding day, I suppose our confidence was in our ability to love. But today, our confidence is in the Lord, who promises to complete the good work He has begun in both of us.

Joining us in the work have been some great friends like Kevin Brown. When I look for a close friend, someone I can be honest with, pray with, someone who will accept me and challenge me, who will be there for me in my low moments, I look for a man with a servant’s heart, who joyfully shares his life with others, who refuses to hide behind a facade of perfection. How thankful I am for friends and family who support me, who gently call me forth from my self-pity and point me to Christ. I feel my work is far from finished. As long as there is one man or woman, one boy or girl, living without Christ, I will push on. As for Becky, there is no doubt that she is under satanic attack. We’ve all been there. She is learning, as we all are learning, to cry out, “Devil, you are a liar! This fear and doubt is not from God. I refuse to accept it!” Our faith is being tested to the limit, but He is faithful who called us.

Do you face problems with doubt? Are you afraid to let others know? Then you need, first of all, to be honest with God. Tell Him you are hurting. As Kevin said, He understands perfectly. Next, be honest with others. Don’t run from your brothers and sisters, run to them. You need, like I do, their prayers, their love, and their encouragement too much to hide behind your pride. Thank you, thank you a thousand times, Kevin, for your transparency. You’ve not let go of Jesus. Neither has Becky. Neither have I. And praise God, He’s not let go of us. 

Pray with us. Pray for Becky, that she might be able to get some much-needed sleep. Pray for those who care for her, that we might have tact and wisdom. Pray that Jesus would come for His servant soon. Pray that God might be glorified in all that we do.

We’re ready to see Him do more great things.

Tuesday, October 1

10:02 AM Are you married to a strong woman (in a good sense)? Here’sa book for you:

Men are drawn to this kind of fierceness because it reflects godly character. The purpose of Wagner’s book is to identify that fierceness, to celebrate it, and to direct it toward the best and highest ends. Used wrongly it can be so destructive, but used well it can be an incredible blessing.

And more:

Wagner nails it when she says, “Your husband may never admit this to you, but he may fear you. He may be terrified to make decisions because he feels he never does anything right, is unable to please you, or could never measure up to your expectations. Or he may be intimidated by your fierceness or passion.”

As with all traits, there are positives and negatives. But both husbands and wives can learn to “accentuate the positive”!

9:14 AM … and of salaries:

Even though Paul, as an apostle, had the right to financial support (1 Corinthians 9:6-7,14), he repeatedly established a pattern of not asking or demanding money from the churches which he served. He did this for a variety of reasons:

Curious? The reasons arehere.

8:50 AM Speaking of giving…

The following except comes from my forthcoming book Seven Marks of a New Testament Church (chapter 3):

A second thing that stands out is the importance of obedience. Knowledge itself must never be our goal. “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Cor 8:1). It is not necessary for you to get a certificate in biblical studies. And please don’t envy “Dr.” so-and-so because of his or her degree: it is only a manmade status symbol. At the same time, never forget that your friendship with Christ needs to be cultivated, and that loving obedience on our part is always the best response. One day a guest speaker ministered the word in our local fellowship. He shared with us the horrible condition of Christian slave girls in Pakistan. He concluded by telling us that it cost only 2,000 U.S. dollars to secure the freedom of one girl from that hideous lifestyle. Immediately I sensed the Spirit telling me to do something about it. I asked the elders for permission to speak, and then I said, “Brothers and sisters, Scripture is clear that we have an obligation to help these sisters in Christ. For does not Paul say in Rom 12:13, ‘Share what you have with God’s people who are in need’? Here’s the first hundred dollars. Are there not 19 more of us who this very day will redeem one Pakistani girl from slavery?” Soon hands began popping up all over the auditorium, until the need was fully met. You see, for me it was a very different thing to know what the Bible says – “Share what you have with God’s people who are in need” – and then say, “So what? I don’t care enough to actually do anything about it.” The purpose of the Spirit’s inspiring the Bible is not primarily to give us information, though He does that, but to produce in us Christlikeness of character – to make us into a people who “bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:5). Maybe our “financial” problems are not financial but spiritual!

8:40 AM Henry Neufeld was kind enough to send me several copies ofTithing after the Cross. Please read this book!

On p. 62 David Croteau, the author, writes that “a Christian should seek opportunities and give deliberately in order to meet a genuine need….” That’s it in a nutshell. Seek out needs. And if God leads you to help, help. Obey the Spirit’s prompting. This does not lesson the requirement to give; it heightens it, for we have a responsibility to be sensitive at all times to the guidance of the Lord. And remember: give to needs, not wants. I believe God will judge the church in America for our extravagance and waste.

My New Testament colleague Robert Plummer of Southern Seminary in Louisville wrote this for the back cover:

There are many sound bites on tithing, but few exegetical studies — even fewer that are understandable to the average layperson, well-written, and concerned about the practical generosity of God’s people. Well, there may be only one book that fits that description, and you’re holding it in your hands.

Take up and read!

 

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Wednesday, October 31

6:30 PM As I mentioned below, tonight I’m busy working on farm-related projects. As I’ve been working, I’ve been thinking a lot about the Gospel — what it is, what the church looks like, and how the Body of Christ is an expression of the heart of God. The Gospel, of course, is all about Jesus’ death and resurrection. It is the way to heaven and to eternal life. But it’s much more than that. It offers a life of faith in which we, as brothers and sisters, minister to one another because Christ has touched our lives. Here are three pictures that help illustrate what I mean.

1) After a rough morning, Becky seemed to turn the corner. I loved watching how the Lord brought little blessing after little blessing into her life today. Here is but one of several women from Ethiopia who work at UNC. She came to greet Becky and pray with her. It was great fun for me to realize that a woman from faraway Africa could meet her fellow African (Becky is a white-faced Ethiopian) and have such sweet fellowship together.

2) And here’s Becky when we left the hospital today. She is up and about, getting her exercise and doggedly doing what she has to in order to recover from her surgery. Perhaps the epitome of this tenacity is the smile on her face. It is a beautiful expression of the Spirit of the living God within her.

3) Finally, when we got back to the farm tonight we rejoiced to see that the entire roof had been competed. There’s lots of work that has gone into this project, and there’s still many things to be done. But we’ve reached a milestone. This ministry/guest/refugee house is the Lord’s for Him to do with whatever He wants to. Who knows who will be its first occupants!

Tonight our good friend Cindi (an Ethiopian vet, by the way) will be staying with Becky Lynn. God is continuing to work our His perfect plan in a very complex situation. I am praying and praying that her NG tube can come out tomorrow. That way, maybe, Becky can come home. It’s much easier being sick at home than in a hospital, I think. My thanks to those who came from Bethel Hill and had the house spik and span when I returned this evening. It will make Becky buoyant when she finally walks up those steps and enters her home again.

5:44 PM Back at the farm to check on the animals and handle some business matters. This was the email I sent out this morning. Thanks for your concern and prayers.

Dearest friends,

Please don’t get use to all of these emails, especially not ones like today’s. Every so often I re-read my emails and think to myself, “Do you have to be so wordy?” The problem is that I’ve never traveled this road before with Becky, and neither have you. “How to best communicate with our prayer warriors?” That’s a struggle I face constantly.

Today let me start with a brief update of Becky’s physical condition. (Remember: We are fighting this battle on two fronts: The physical and the spiritual). Physically, Becky is in a great deal of discomfort. Right now she is sitting up in a chair trying to pass gas. We received news today that the doctors aren’t convinced that her bowels are working properly yet. They want to see more evidence. Becky hasn’t passed gas in over 12 hours. Then there’s the issue of her nutrition (or lack thereof). Becky hasn’t eaten or drunk anything in 8 days. If her NG tube doesn’t come out soon they will have to feed her either intravenously or by a feeding tube. Neither option is desirable. Finally, before she can come home they have to successful place a central line in her arm so that she can continue to receive her meds by IV during her recovery.

None of these items, by themselves, is an insuperable problem. But fit them together, weave them into a single tapestry, and you have the makings of a very serious condition. But I think that’s what life is meant to be for us right now.

In conclusion, Becky and I want to share with you some praises and prayer requests:

Praise God that there are no signs of any additional infections.
Praise God that her vital signs remain stable (including her temperature).
Praise God that she has passed SOME gas.
Praise God that the x-ray of her spine they took last week shows no signs of a fracture.

Pray that the doctors can CONFIRM that her bowels are working normally soon.
Pray that the central line will be successfully placed.
Pray that she can begin to receive nutrition BY MOUTH soon.

Today Becky was talking to one her nurses and quoted Job to the effect, “My goal is to praise God on bad days as well as on good days.” Today is one of the “bad” days, and she is doing her very best to praise Him. (I think she is succeeding fabulously.) I’ll admit right now that it’s not easy for me to see Becky crying. But somewhere, even on the far side of the earth, there are many thousands of people bringing my wife before the Throne of Grace! (That sentence deserves an exclamation point.) We are all part of the awesome privilege of having a front row seat to the God-glorifying, miraculous guiding of a yielded life.

Becky asked me to tell you, “Thank you for all of your prayers, visits, cards, and food, and for praying for Dave and Nigusse too.”

To which I add a hearty, “Amen.”

Dave

Tuesday, October 30

5:44 AM Greek students, be sure to read Rod Decker’s newly-revised essay calledPreaching and the Biblical Languages.

5:29 AM FromThe Jesus Paradigm:

Don’t wait for politicians to bring about cultural renewal. Be the hands and feet of Jesus – evangelizing the lost, feeding the hungry, teaching the illiterate, caring for unwed mothers, rebuilding the broken walls of our culture. “The central lesson of the last one hundred years is that the state can disrupt, but it cannot save families,” concludes Allan Carlson. If we want to build a caring society, good deeds speak louder than words. Societal renewal is not ultimately a political task but a spiritual mission. We need to take ownership of the towel and basin Jesus offers us. We must be willing, as Jesus was, to bend over and serve the helpless irrespective of status or social custom. Jesus not only taught but modeled the downward path. He embodied it by being an advocate for the outcasts. He said that we are to love others as He loved us. Isn’t that plain enough?

5:22 AM Over at Jesus + Nothing = Everything, my colleague Thomas Hudgins reports about the weekend’s festivities. Thank you for all your help this weekend, Thomas. I could not have done it without you.

Monday, October 29

9:47 PM Greetings, friends and loved ones! Thank you again for all of your wonderful emails. You continue to affirm us with a furious love. These are days of great blessing for Becky and me. We have been plunged into a deep mystery, facing momentous decisions, longing for intimacy with our Lord, riding (as Becky says) “on a raft of mercy and grace down a mighty river.” Because of His grace, we are staying on deck, surrendered in faith to His truth and character. He loves us whether in a state of health or illness, just as we are, not necessarily as we should be.

I just got home after some pretty heavy-duty ministry, a bit bedraggled and worn out, but shouting “Wow!” at what I have seen God do since I last updated you. Perhaps the gut issue is not Becky’s health as much as it is Am I experiencing God on a moment-by-moment basis? In times like these, theoretical Christianity collapses. Becky and I have been swept up into the embrace of God, into His inexhaustible, unfathomable love. His outstretched arms exclude no one, not even a tired old Greek prof or a woman undaunted by cancer and its consequences. So what of these circumstances! I am David Black, and I am my Daddy’s son. I am an eyewitness to the truth of the Gospel: God loves me! And Becky Lynn!

This evening I came home to check up on the animals and to take Nigusse to campus tomorrow, after which I will return to the hospital to be with Becky. A good friend from church is staying with her tonight in her room. (Thank you, Miss Bridget!) Our Becky continues to make slow but steady progress. Today they gave her more platelets, but no blood transfusions were called for, praise God. The contrast test revealed a deformity at the bottom of her stomach that may or not be surgery-related — hence her NG tube will have to stay in for another day or two. Her leg wound continues to heal up quite nicely. However, not all is good news. The doctors have begun treating Becky for a yeast infection that resulted from the perforation in her stomach. Becky and I have often talked about possible dangers as a result of her surgery but, to be frank, a yeast infection was not on my radar. They have begun to treat it aggressively, and we can all be praying that it does not develop into anything more serious than it is now. (There is a real danger that it will.)

Last night at Colonial I taught from Luke 3:23 on Jesus’ “age thirty transition.” As I prepared to teach I realized that my message was really a brief summary of what discipleship looks like. Have you ever tried to communicate to other people what following Jesus really means in about 45 minutes? It’s not easy to do, I’ve found. So I did my best, and was pleased with the results. Today was a day of some petty intense teaching at Shepherd’s Theological Seminary on the need for knowing and using Greek in our lives and in our ministries. There were about 70 pastors and students there and we worked through several texts of Scripture. I resisted the temptation to go too deeply into Greek syntax, but pursued some rabbit trails as the subject came up. The utility of Greek is one of those themes that keeps resonating in my mind. It was a challenge to have to lecture several times in one day on the same subject, but I got it done and the whole thing was a wonderful, joyful experience for me. I find myself increasingly frustrated with the “normal” pattern of Greek studies: Learn and forget. Constant monitoring is essential if we are to use what we worked so hard to acquire in seminary. I did have some very interesting conversations about Bible translations, including the ISV project (of which I am no longer a part).

I was scheduled to preach in Columbia, SC, this Thursday but I’ve canceled that engagement. I’m totally thankful for the opportunity to stay with Becky in the hospital and ride out the storm with her. The days are getting shorter and shorter and darker and darker as Sandy makes her presence felt in the area, but these remain good days. Right this minute it is time for me to get some projects done around the house, so I will leave you with a few photos that hopefully will make you smile.

1) Here’s Becky enjoying your emails. She doesn’t have the strength to go through all of them at once, but sort of reads the highlights.

2) She has been sitting up and, not only that, walking about the floor whenever she has the energy. Yesterday, in fact, she made one complete lap around the nurses’ station “at light speed” (her words), while I huffed and puffed trying to keep up.

3) Becky enjoys each and every visitor the Lord sends our way, and we deeply appreciate those of you who have taken the time and made the effort to drive all the way to Chapel Hill.

4) As you know, on Friday night I spoke to the men’s group at Imago Dei church in Raleigh on “A Great Commission Marriage.” I stole my sermon fromthis essay.

5) Oh yes. I thoroughly enjoyed speaking to a good crowd at Colonial last night. I NEVER get tired of bringing simple Bible messages to God’s people, wherever they might be assembled.

6) Speaking at Shepherd’s Seminary is always an incredible time. My thanks to Doug Bookman for the invitation, and to all who came out to listen to a Greek fanatic. I am feeling really connected with the student body there. I wouldn’t mind if some of them decided to do their doctoral work at SEBTS.

7) Finally, I wore out my hand signing copies of Why Four Gospels? today during the luncheon. Why anyone would want my John Hancock is beyond me, but it is really neat to see how much interest there is in Matthean priority.

So it’s been one of those crazy, wild, hectic, enjoyable, satisfying weekends. I remember so vividly when all of this craziness started, with Becky literally writhing in pain last Wednesday, but since then God has done some really great things. I honestly can’t say enough about the excellent care we’re receiving at UNC. I am now, more than ever, convinced that truly nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. No matter how hard things get, He has given us each other and especially His Spirit to help us make it through all the weariness and frustration and heartache. So thank you, one and all, for continuing to lift us up before the Throne. Please, please be praying that we can get this yeast infection under control quickly. This house is awfully lonely without Becky.

Friday, October 26

8:58 AM Since Becky can’t be here to see the progress at Maple Ridge, here’s a brief photo montage just for her. Enjoy, honey.

8:22 AM I see that Paul, Apostle of Weakness is now available atAmazon. I found these words from chapter 5 strangely comforting this morning:

In another vein, Paul can also use the words in several instances in the specific sense of bodily weakness, i.e., physical illness, thus approximating the fundamental usage common to all literature in antiquity. He clearly uses the root for sickness with reference to Epaphroditus (Phil 2:26-27), Timothy (1 Tim 5:23), and Trophimus (2 Tim 4:20), his close companions in the gospel ministry. Paul probably uses the root for sickness with reference to himself when he speaks of an “infirmity of the flesh” as the cause for his initial preaching of the gospel among the Galatians (Gal 4:13).

If we are correct in concluding that Paul is referring to a physical infirmity, we can think of this weakness as a particular disease or ailment, the specific diagnosis of which is, however, a mystery. Cases of illness among Christians in NT times indicate that the apostolic commission to heal (cf. Mark 16:18) could not be effected indiscriminately to heal oneself or one’s friends. Normal means of healing were available for Timothy’s gastric problem, for instance; and even in the company of Paul Trophimus became too ill to travel any further.

The classical Pauline passage on illness (2 Cor 12:7-10) is in this respect most striking of all, in that Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” remained with the apostle despite even the most intensive prayer for its removal. Paul states three reasons for its existence: to keep him from becoming proud because of his revelations and visions (v. 7); to enable him to experience the power of Christ (v. 9); and to teach him the true purpose of hardships, persecutions, and personal difficulties (v. 10). Indeed, the entire passage is concerned more with the power and grace of the Lord than with the weakness of the apostle. Physical infirmity is evidence that the body “is sown in weakness” (1 Cor 15:43) and is a cogent reminder of the creature’s dependence upon the Creator. In this respect, the case of Paul is remarkably like that of Jacob, who learned to depend totally upon God only after he had been inflicted with a physical injury (Gen 32:24–32).

These instances of illness show that the real issue in the matter of human suffering is our relationship to God rather than our own physical condition, as painful as it may be.

Please note: “These instances of illness show that the real issue in the matter of human suffering is our relationship to God rather than our own physical condition, as painful as it may be.” Yesterday I talked a bit about this idea of God using our infirmities for His purposes. Thankfully, the crisis that began on Wednesday morning has resolved itself as well as possible, but there’s still pain and there’s still an opportunity for ministry. This whole experience has made me think of trust. My goal is to be as totally dependable for Becky as possible, to do what I can to be her medical advocate, and to see that her recovery goes as well as can be humanly expected. So I pray for wisdom and courage. I’m super glad for technology that allows me to inform all of you what is happening so you can be trusting along with me. We have so many blessings it’s hard to know what to be thankful for. Often my feelings surpass words. Becky continues to inspire faith, brings out the best in those who come in contact with her. It’s all glorious to see.

Marriage. Family. Loss. Illness. Friends. Change. Surprises. Life. Weakness. Strength.

Sort of make’s one doctoral dissertation come alive.

7:50 AM “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,because His compassions fail not.They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness.”

Thursday, October 25

7:31 PM In the past two days I had the incredible privilege of witnessing a divine miracle. Yesterday morning at 5:00 am Becky awoke with extraordinary pain — and I mean a 14 on a scale of 1-10 (10 being worst) — in her abdomen. It was clear that something had been perforated in her stomach area. If you’ve never watched your wife writhe with pain from every little jostle, you’ve never lived. The staff at Halifax Regional Hospital’s ED was outstanding, but when I heard that Becky’s surgery would be postponed because the hospital had no platelets (and they had to be ferried from a hospital three hours away), the Lord told me to request a transfer to UNC. The transfer was eventually arranged and off Becky went by ambulance while Nigusse and I followed in the car. Last night Becky underwent surgery, and today she is recovering beautifully. I sent out several emails, and the prayers of faith for healing began to ascend heavenward from every corner of the earth. I was filled with a sense of awe as I watched the event unfold. At first the surgeons could not find the perforation. Little wonder. It ended up being no larger than a millimeter. And its location was “perfect” by medical standards (if such a term can be used to describe a problem that was causing Becky such unspeakable pain). The doctors were very concerned that the problem might be in the colon and that Becky would need a colostomy. But there is a time in your life when you see miracle after miracle, and we avoided that bullet. (I smile as I type that sentence, because I can picture a colostomy bag trying to slow my Becky down. Don’t count on it!). I was told the intubation process was going to be a special challenge and that she had to be awake for the procedure (ugh!), but each stubborn obstacle seemed to melt away one by one as the clock moved forward.

Today Becky is alert and talking (she was extubated, praise God). I’m here at home trying to grab a few items to take back to Chapel Hill, but already I’m missing her. She’s got quite a hold on my heart and, I suspect, not only on mine. Today I realized for the millionth time that whatever the doctors do for Becky, whatever help I might offer, whatever prayers are sent up on her behalf, it’s not us who sustains her life. This great God of ours — it is He who does it all, and He does all things well. Becky’s greatest risk now is infection, so please be praying that God keeps those little germs away. He is able. In the meantime, please accept my thanks for your prayers. Becky’s future is uncertain, but God sees each curl in her hair and each freckle on her skin and each smile when she’s asked, “How are you?” The Lord has brought His choice servant through again. All praise be to Him.

P.S. Tomorrow night’s talk on “A Great Commission Marriage” atImago Dei Church in Raleigh will continue as scheduled. Hope to see many of you there and atColonial Baptist Church as I speak in their Sunday evening service.

Tuesday, October 23

5:02 AM Having been born and raised in the Islands, I thought I’d mention two recent essays about Hawaii that I found online. The first is aboutMother Marianne who, as you know, made the news this week as one of six Roman Catholic sisters who volunteered to go to Hawaii to work with lepers. Two things struck me about this story. The first was that the Catholics were the only religious denomination in North America to respond to the plea for help. Where were my Baptist forebears? The second thing is a bit more personal. Sainthood is conferred by the Roman Catholic Church only after people have begun praying to that person and only after the Church has established that those prayers have resulted in two verifiable miracles. How I wish it were that simple. Just pin a relic from a soon-to-be-saint on Becky and it will result in her healing. I have this nagging feeling that I’m not doing everything I can to help Becky. I’ve finished many jobs in my life and was able to say, “I did my best. I’ve given everything I’ve got.” But I can hear a small voice saying to me, “Have you really done everything — have you exhausted every possible resource to help your Becky?” Is that voice from God or from the Evil One? I honestly don’t know. For me, our cancer journey means several things. It means accepting the illness from God. It means facing my responsibility trustingly, not with fear, not with false bravado, but with simple faith in God. It means, finally, doing my job to the best of my very limited and inadequate ability with courage to face whatever consequences ensue. Does that mean I would pray to a “saint” on Becky’s behalf? The answer is no. My theology precludes it. Yet I cannot claim that I don’t empathize with those feel they must do that, who are so desperate they will do anything to see their loved one healed. My question is this: What room can there possibly be in the life of a true believer for desperation? Faith is enough, because Christ is enough. We can pray to Him, as the apostle Paul did and every humble saint of God who ever lived.

The second story is calledThe State That Doesn’t Vote. Hawaii is very laid back. As I’ve often said, the only way I could live there today is if I were a fulltime beach bum. (Roll eyes.) Hawaii’s a great place to live but I couldn’t get any serious work done there. For me, Hawaii will always mean four things: hang loose, the shaka sign, shave ice, and plate lunches. Who knows — maybe the President feels the same way.

If I lived there today I’d be known as a lolo buggah. (Ask a Hawaiian what that means.) Hawaiians make lots of time for recreation. We swim, surf, snorkel, and sail. It is not considered impolite to be late for anything, even church. So why vote? Especially when the race is decided before you eat dinner?  

(This post was brought to you by Mahalo Airlines, where every plane is equipped with four emergency exits: two in the front of the cockpit, and two in the rear of the cockpit. Mahalo and aloha.)

4:50 AM Wow, I’mfamous!

Actually, I thoroughly enjoyed writing that essay on Heb. 1:1-4 for the Westminster Theological Journal. A more interesting paragraph is not to be found in the Greek New Testament. I joined a good many of those exegetes who had tried to plumb its depths. Very likely I wrote too briefly, in the dread of repeating myself. But in reality I was deeply excited, too deeply to let the editors of the journal know it. Many people read Hebrews nowadays without ever thinking of the literary artistry in the text, but to those who take the time to observe, the book remains an unforgettable treatise. Enjoy your doctoral seminar on Hebrews, Andy, but remember: you are not required to agree with everything you hear. You are free to paddle your own canoe on any water you prefer.

Monday, October 22

8:49 PM Good evening, friends!

It was another full yet good day today, spent for the most part in the wonderful city of Chapel Hill, NC. We started out by purchasing (for a whopping $25 each) two toilets for Maple Ridge at the ReStore outlet. There we also found the perfect set of bunk beds for the upstairs bedroom as well as two standup clothes closets for a mere pittance. Then it was on to UNC Hospital (our home away from home), where Becky had her blood work done, another round of chemo (her platelets were high enough — hooray!), an ultrasound of her legs and feet, and then a series of chest x-rays. Our final stop of the day was Sam’s Club to get, among other things, dog food and printer ink. We left the house at 8:30 and stumbled over the threshold precisely 12 hours later. Nigusse reports that about half of the roof at Maple Ridge has already been completed. Now that’s progress.

I’ve got so much more to say but so little energy with which to say it. However, I cannot let this day come to a close without congratulating myself (is that okay?). Next month will mark the 9th year that I’ve been blogging. Yes indeed, you can go back to November of 2003 for proof. Can you believe it? I have grown very fond of the medium of blogging. I think I can honestly claim that throughout my “career” as a blogger I’ve had enough self-discipline to keep me from neglecting the work for which I am paid, or the other responsibilities I feel are incumbent upon me. (Unfortunately, I know of people who blog at the expense of other duties.) But the impulse to blog is very strong, and whenever I have my other ducks in a row I want to be blogging about something or another. I have taken great pains to blog frequently. I write for old friends — and occasional visitors. I try to paint an honest portrait of myself, but only my wife will be able to read all that is between the lines. To read some blogs, you’d think all was gloom and doom. I have found life precisely the opposite, mostly, I suppose, because I don’t take life (or myself) too seriously. As one of my seminary professors once wisely advised me, “Dave, don’t take yourself too seriously; nobody else does.” I’ve also discovered, during these 9 years of blogging, that friendships, even cyber-friendships, are a significant part of my life. I don’t mind being obscurantist or even obsolete as long as I am enjoying fellowship with my fellow travelers. As you know, I am childishly fond of escape stories, where one can meditate upon such ancient virtues as perseverance and optimism. These are precious gifts for which an old man like me ought to thank God daily. And I do.

No, I do not rank blogging as the best thing in life. But I certainly have nothing to complain about in this regard.

Till the next blog post,

Dave

Sunday, October 21

8:11 PM How many hats do you wear? Here are two of my favorites:

1) Here I get to speak in church. Whenever I do, I usually ask the host church three questions: (1) may I please sit with the congregation before I speak? (2) May I please speak from the floor rather than from behind the pulpit? And (3) May I do some simple Bible teaching instead of “preaching”? Today the answer to all three questions was “yes.” My message was from Matthew 9 and was called “Jesus, the Master Missionary.”

2) My second hat is trying to take care of the farm. I say “trying” because I still feel like a complete novice (aka, idiot) when it comes to all things agrarian. What else do you expect from a boy from Kailua Beach? Today I finished the bush hogging I needed to do as well as dug up some fruit trees we wanted to get rid of. I am so glad to see the weather cooperating, especially since tomorrow kicks off the chimney and roofing projects. Of course, I won’t be here to witness any of that. Becky and I will be on another hot date to Chapel Hill.

Time now to curl up with Gods and Generals.

See ya tomorrow.

8:29 AM Honored to speak at Farrington Road Baptist Church in Chapel Hill, NC, this morning. One of my stellar Greek students, Jason Hughes, pastors there. My topic? Missions, of course. Becky will stay home and nurse her back.

Saturday, October 20

8:08 PM As always, Saturdays are work days at Rosewood Farm, and today we labored on two special projects: collecting bricks for the chimney at Maple Ridge, and taking down some unused fencing. Several students from the seminary were so sweet to come and help us. Everyone was so absorbed in their work that we scarcely had time to sit down and chat. It was a delight to work outdoors on such a gorgeous fall day and to see the trees beginning to put on their autumn garb. Had a special blessing in that brother Danny from Bethel Hill brought along his front end loader, and the result was an ease at pulling up old cedar posts and also at leveling the brick pile. The “brick pile” — I am referring to the pile of old bricks that we left in a mound in front of Maple Ridge after we had built four fire places in the house and had run one of the chimneys through the roof. For some reason or other we were never able to finish the second chimney — hence the brick mound. Well, I am determined to see that job (literally) “through,” and on Monday the brick layer will be here to finish the job. I’m afraid that meant that our carpenter Robbie had to cut out the hole in the roof today in preparation for that job. I sure am glad he does not suffer from acrophobia (as I do). As for the fences, we want families who stay at the Ridge to have ample play space for their children, and since we are raising far fewer cattle than in the past it was time to discontinue the fencing in the “Rabbit Ears” field and in the old calf pen. I will never forget putting up the calf pen. This was the first fence we built at the farm when we moved here over 10 years ago. What a fiasco. The fencing was too short (3 feet instead of 4 feet) and we failed to stretch the woven wire. However, it was “live and learn,” and subsequently we not only fenced in all 123 acres with 4 foot woven wire (with a strand of barbed wire on top) but cross-fenced the farm into several large pastures. Wish you could have seen us when we were putting up the fencing. We were veritable red necks. But I digress. If the weather continues the status quo, then we should be able to finish our projects this week, along with placing a new roof on the house. I’m sure all this physical labor will do me a lot of good, and I expect to apply myself very diligently henceforth, in the interest of the great outdoors. This week, then, will be an epochal one, and I can’t wait to finish the inside of the house. Meanwhile, your deluge of mail continues to reach us, and we are mind-boggled by the outpouring of prayers on our behalf. I am delighted — and grateful — to report that Becky’s pain is somewhat under control, and we are both determined to have her spine x-rayed tomorrow to see if we can find the cause.

The pictures that follow will give you a brief glimpse into the day’s activities. It is impossible to do justice to our outing today in words and pictures for it was simply a succession of little blessings and amusing incidents, and we are all completely exhausted as a result. It’s a good tired, though.

1) The Ramiscal ladies helping to collect bricks along the Valley Road, along with their supervisor, Nigusse.

2) We figure we will need more than 350 bricks for Monday’s job, and no doubt we have collected more than enough. The brick layer will be able to choose the better ones, then, for his work.

3) That’s fearless Robbie Dunn atop the roof. Be safe up there!

4) “Post. You come out!” And it came out. Hard not too when you are being pulled up by a front end loader. This wonderful attachment greatly accelerated our pace of work today.

5) Then Danny leveled off the (former) brick pile, which now only needs some grass seed to become part of the front yard at Maple Ridge.

6) Here Jayson Ramiscal and Seth Brown work at removing the fencing and barbed wire along the Maple Ridge driveway, being careful to save the wire for future use (we are the ultimate scavengers/salvagers).

7) The ladies prepared a wonderful lunch of barbecue sandwiches, chips, and dessert, but they (wisely) required everyone to clean up first. Here Nigusse, Danny, and Jayson have just washed their hands to the accompaniment of yours truly quoting Mark 7:3, “And the Pharisees do not eat unless they first wash their hands, (rubbing them) with the fist.”

8) Finally, as the day was drawing to a close, and the sun was beginning to set (I’m mimicking Markan style — can you tell?), I attached the bush hog to the tractor and cut three fields, leaving the field in front of Bradford Hall for tomorrow.

Well, that’s all the farm news there is report. You’ll no doubt think me getting awfully giddy but it’s confined entirely to the weekends and makes Monday to Friday a little more bearable after a change of pace. That’s all for now — except to say “thank you” for stopping by.

8:21 AM Remember the story of Jairus’ daughter? I had to catch my breath after reading it this morning in Mark’s (Peter’s) Gospel. “Rise and shine, little one,” said he. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for that little act of mercy. The girl was 12 years old, on the verge of young adulthood. You squeezed her hand and she came back to life. I can only imagine the rejoicing of her mom and dad. “Give her something to eat,” you reminded them. Ah, the ability to eat. What a divine blessing. Lord, the idea of healing is your idea. Either you are in charge of our lives, or you are not. Your omnipotence is not impaired when we cannot walk because of bone pain or when we cannot eat because chemo has taken away our appetite. One way we can lay down our lives is by praying,

“Your will be done. My life, my health, my faith — they are here for you. Let my life be an incense before you today. And if today I can walk and eat, you’ll get all the credit. “

Friday, October 19

8:45 PM So glad that Andy Bowden has been able tokeep up with his blog after having arrived in Munich for doctoral studies in New Testament. That one should go to Germany to study for a Ph.D. seemed in the mid-1900s for more natural than it would today. It hardly occurred to any of them to go anywhere else. So it was for me. The very few graduate programs in the U.S. that appealed to me were all modeled on German methods and given by scholars who were trained abroad. No, Germany has never possessed the sole secret of scholarship. (Ditto for German-speaking Switzerland, where I ended up.) But at least you will never have to face quizzes over the weekly reading assignments. Andy is just beginning to discover the boundless intellectual horizons that await young Americans who study on the Continent. I’ll be following the saga closely.

8:05 PM H. L. Mencken once noted that religion “is used as a club and a cloak by both politicians and moralists, all of them lusting for power and most of them palpable frauds.”

Hmm. Was he thinking about the 2012 presidential contenders? Whether you’re in the J.C. club or not, you’ve got to convince voters you are. So Mitt was a pastor? Visible relief. And Barack is a Protestant? Right. So loosen up, evangelicals.

Oh, politics. Alluring. Absolutely alluring.

7:32 PM Update on Becky: Her pain has greatly subsided, thanks in part (no doubt) to the medications she is on. Actually, we are both convinced it’s primarily the result of the prayers of God’s people. Here’s just one of dozens of emails we’ve received.

I’ve sent up a special prayer for both of you. May God continue to hold the two of you in His loving hands at this time.

Thank you for your incredible love for us. We are so blessed. We love you.

2:55 PM Happy 70th birthday to Paige Patterson. Paige brought me to Southeastern 15 years ago. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. Ad multos annos!

2:48 PM God is looking for a few reckless men and women possessed of an uncontrollable passion for everyday acts of kindness and love.

2:40 PM “I feel keenly my need of the mighty Fortress.” (Jim Elliott in his journal.) I too feel that need today.

1:12 PM If I ever say anything as ridiculous asthis…

Denise and I were trying to do the right thing. I had no idea that it is considered wrong in Christian circles to be engaged prior to being divorced, even though in a state of separation and in divorce proceedings. Obviously I would not have introduced Denise as my fiancé at a Christian apologetics conference if I had thought or known I was doing something wrong.

… somebody please hit me upside the head with the stupid stick until I am senseless.

1:09 PM Update: Becky is now on her pain meds and is sleeping soundly. I greatly appreciate your prayers and emails.

12:10 PM Prayer request: Becky is currently experiencing extreme bone pain in her spine due to the chemo. Please watch and pray and hold her up to the Everlasting Arms.

9:45 AM You won’t believe this: Mr. Romney is claiming to have been a “pastor.” Did anyone else wrap their head around this political pickle while watching the great debate? Yes indeed. SeeArthur Sido’s exposé.

9:34 AM My Th.M. student Jacob Cerone deserves a word of congratulations. He has graduated hisfirst class of Hebrew students. The student body? Two. Reminds me of the time when I taught beginning Greek in my home church a couple of years ago. We started with 55 and ended with 6. No matter. At least we gave people the opportunity. Jacob writes:

I mentioned the fact that they have persisted with me for a year without any external motivation. What, then, keeps them going? They are driven to understand the Word of God in the original languages. They want to see God’s Word with fresh eyes. Week after week they learn vocabulary, paradigms, and translate through exercises (both sight reading in class and as homework). Week after week they are frustrated with the nuances of the language, the ever changing vowels, the multiplication of Hebrew root forms, and the difficult task of learning the vocabulary. But coupled with that is the knowledge that reliance on God and discipline produces.

Way to go Jacob. And again, congratulations!

9:22 AM The good people at the Evangelical Textual Criticism site have done us all a great service bycollecting the papers on textual criticism to be read at this year’s Evangelical Theological Society meeting next month.

  • Abidan Paul Shah (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary), Twenty Years since the “Orthodox Corruption” – A Survey of Responses and Developments

  • Doug Burleson (Freed-Hardeman University), Scribal Traits in Direct-Copy New Testament Manuscripts

  • Radu Gheorghita (Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary), The Scribal Habits in Handling the Old Testament Quotations Displayed in the Major Codices

  • John H. Niemelä (Rocky Mountain Bible College and Seminary), Early Publishing Technology: Scrolls versus Codices

  • Armin D. Baum (Freie Theologische Hochschule Gießen), Does the Pericope Adulterae (John 7:53-8:11) have Canonical Authority? An Interdenominational Approach

  • Tomas Bokedal (University of Aberdeen), Implications of Canonical Date for Scriptural Interpretation

  • David I. Yoon (McMaster Divinity College), Canonical Criteria: A Diachronic Analysis of the Early Church’s Recognition of the New Testament Canon

  • Benjamin Laird (University of Aberdeen), Hebrews and the Circulation of the Pauline Corpus in Early Christianity

  • Jonathan C. Borland (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary), Identifying Real Orthodox Corruptions of Scripture: Some Guidelines based on Probable Orthodox Corruptions from the Gospel of Matthew

  • Paul Hartog (Faith Baptist Theological Seminary), 1 Corinthians 2:9 and Related Traditions in the Apostolic Fathers

  • Troy A. Griffitts (Institut für Neutestamentliche Textforschung), Editing The Greek New Testament In A Digital Era

  • Maurice A. Robinson (Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary), De Facto Conjecture in the Main Text of NA27: A Further Consideration

Interesting to note how many of the speakers are related to SEBTS. Abidan Shah served as my personal assistant when he was a student here. Benjamin Laird is a recent graduate, as is Jonathan Borland. Of course, Maurice Robinson is a well-established scholar in the field. Maurice’s course in textual criticism is outstanding. SEBTS? Not a bad place to go if you want to study the text of the New Testament.

Thursday, October 18

6:53 PM Good news! I walked the fence line today before transferring the donkeys to their new pasture. And it was a good thing too. Several trees had fallen on the fencing and needed attention. Nothing my awesome Stihl chain saw couldn’t handle, though. Then there was more good news: We were able, despite the rain, to set the posts for the porch at Maple Ridge. At the end we were sopping wet, but no matter — we finished the job. But the best news of all is that Becky is feeling good enough to eat, so it’s off to the big city of Clarkesville for Chinese food. Hooray!!!!!!

Pix (of course):

12:37 PM Farm update:

1) Here’s the old barn we’re working in today. I say “old” but we actually built it only a few years ago from scavenged lumber. The cedar posts came from the farm, as did the pine rafters. It’s a beauty, ain’t it?

2) Today’s project is to urethane the ceiling boards that will go in the dining room at Maple Ridge. The rough sawn lumber we’re using will help to preserve the “old” feel we want in the house.

3) Otherwise, we’re trying to finish up the kitchen area. Here’s where we are as of today. We still need to install the dishwasher, trash compactor, stove, and fridge. I think keeping the old chimney bricks visible is a very nice touch (Becky’s idea).

4) Becky also wanted a gas stove for our guests to use, so we needed to run a propane line into the house from one of our outbuildings. That project, too, is now completed.

So we are making progress, steady if not very fast. Later today, if it doesn’t rain, we’re going to set the posts for the deck at Maple Ridge. On Monday we will run the chimney flue up through the roof and begin putting a brand new rolled tin roof on the house. Later in the week the electricians will return to finish their work. Lord willing, our “refugee house” will be open for ministry within a month’s time. Praise God.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to move the donks to another pasture.

8:31 AM As a Greek prof, I remain keenly interested in matters of pedagogy. One question that is often raised regarding mybeginning textbook is this: Why do you use made-up sentences in the first two-thirds of the book? I find the following explanation helpful:

The proposition that new learners of Koine need to only read ‘authentic Greek’ is a straw man. In the long term, intermediate-advanced learners want to read Greek, with all its odd sentence frontings and odd sentence structures. So the proposition that a person needs to read ‘authentic texts’ is a valid argument, but the proposition is not true in beginning stages. When a native Greek speaker speaks to their child, does she/he speak ‘authentic Greek?’ Yes. Is there any text ancient text which limits itself to certain forms, or language complexity or which we would call ‘Baby Greek’? No. If you would transcribe the speech of a mother to her child, you would not find any Greek text which matches that limitation of vocabulary and form.

You can read morehere. I found the same thing to be true when I was teaching myself German through a basic textbook (a very traditional grammar too, I might add):

  • Hier ist ein Buch.

  • Das Buch ist gross.

The same applies to French:

  • Voici le livre du maître.

  • Nous sommes au theatre.

I even found this approach helpful in Switzerland when I was teaching myself Baseldytsch:

  • Das isch der Peter.

  • Er isch e Bueb.

Being a Nitbasler, I found this approach very valuable.

My point is that if you haven’t already studied Greek, you may want to consider a traditional approach that starts you out with some easy sentences and allows you to get the “feel” for the language. My recommendation is to take it slow and enjoy the learning process. As any Greek teacher will tell you, Greek grammar can be complicated (when compared with English), but this obstacle can be overcome at least partly by being able to translate very basic sentences that in the real world one might never see or utter.

8:05 AM A few more odds and ends:

1) Received the nicest letter this week in the (snail) mail:

Dear Dr. Black, Unable to sleep at 3 a.m. today. I picked up my small Greek New Testament and turned to the second chapter of John’s Epistle. To my surprise, an understatement, I was able to read the Greek. My Testament has the Greek and English in parallel columns, but I only resorted to the English translation when I encountered a Greek word that was unfamiliar.

For nearly 40 years I have longed to do what I did tonight, and I attribute my ability to read a passage in the Greek New Testament now to God’s grace enabling me to persevere, although sporadically, in my efforts and to the use of your Learn to Read New Testament Greek. Your arrangement of the lessons and the employment of Greek sentences in your exercises kept my interest from lagging. Thank you very much….

My experience is a proof you are never too old to learn the rudiments of a language, especially a language so meaningful to our faith. May God continue to bring you success as you stimulate those you teach to keep learning.

What an encouragement! Thank you, Sir!

2) Thought you might enjoy seeing the dedication page of my new book,Paul, Apostle of Weakness.

3) Job openings:

4) My thanks to Tom Geears, a retired pastor, for his gracious gift of books for needy students. With his permission I will see that they find a good home in a theological library in the Majority World. Appreciate you, Tom!

5) Jody Neufeld writesWhat Does Jesus Do?

6) Best comment on Tuesday night’s debate (aka slugfest): “Sincerity is the key. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made” (Chris Matthews).

7) My colleague Heath Thomas will be speaking at Calvary Baptist Church on Saturday Nov. 10 from 9:00 am to noon. Clickhere for more information.

8) This week I received a letter from an inmate in a correctional facility in Connecticut. It read (in part):

I am an inmate … who is studying the Holy Bible and would like to learn New Testament Greek. The reason I’m writing you is to ask if you’d have a copy of your book titled “Learn to Read New Testament Greek” that could be sent to me. If so, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you in advance for your help, and may God bless you.

It will be my joy to supply this need.

9) We had a great chapel service Tuesday in which Danny Akin laid out his vision for Southeastern from the book of 3 John. You MUST listen to it, it was just that good. Gohere and scroll down to Oct. 17.

10) Fred Danker’s Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament is now on sale. For details, check Rod Decker’sblog.

11)Earth from Space at Night.

12) Listen to theHebrew New Testament. Beautiful! Thanks toGary Alley for pointing this out.

13) The campus has just gotten even more gorgeous:

14) Finally, a shout out to my student Kevin Stone, whose presentation of 1 Thess. 3:6-10 was greatly enjoyed. I am so proud of each and every one of my advanced Greek students. Among other things, Kevin pointed out the somewhat unusual language Paul uses for prayer in verse 9. Paul does not say, “How can we thank God…?” as much as he says “How can we repay thanksgiving to God…?” The idea seems to be that thanksgiving is an obligation we have – and one that we can never meet, no matter how many times we give thanks. I mentioned a few parallel passages that seemed to be saying the same thing, including Eph. 5:20 (we are to “always give thanks for everything to God the Father”) and Phil 4:4 (“but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart”). I wonder how often God thinks, “Hello! I just did this for you, I just gave you this wonderful blessing. Where’s the thanks?” Thanksgiving is not to be a rarity in our lives. I told the class a story of the time I was giving blood at a Red Cross facility in California. After they had drawn my blood, I was seated at the “cookie and juice table” to replenish my blood sugar. I will never forget what happened next. As soon as I bowed my head and closed my eyes, I felt two men gently lifting me up by the arms and taking me to a cot. “It’s okay,” they said. “You’ll be fine in a few minutes. Just rest here a while.” My response? “I feel fine! I was only praying!” Notice the verses I cited above. There are no loopholes. We are to “repay thanks” to God at all times and for everything. My, how that rebukes my thankless, complaining nature. Thanksgiving is to be a constant orientation of my heart, the fruit of a close relationship with the Lord. Is it? Not as it should be, I’m afraid. So thanks, Kevin, for reminding us today of our obligation to render unto God what is His due – a constant attitude of gratitude.

Tuesday, October 16

5:26 AM A few odds and ends before driving to campus today:

1) Paul Himes subbed for me while I was travelling. He reports about his experience in an essay calledThe Son of God and the Downward Spiral of Humility, based on Phil. 2:5-11. Don’t miss his peroration.

2) Over atBetween the Times, my colleague Ant Greenham’s new bookThe Questioning God is featured. (Ant and I are co-leading a team to Guyana this November.)

3) Good news: Nigusse received his Israeli visa while I was gone. Rejoice with us! This means that he will be able to formally enroll at Jerusalem University College this January.

4) Eric Carpenter has some good thoughts about persecutionhere. He concludes:

It’s odd living here in the USA. I often wonder what it truly is to go outside the gate to live with Christ. I’ve never suffered in any significant way for my Lord. I’m not complaining, but it certainly seems like an anomaly compared to what most believers face around the world today.

To some extent we all suffer a little when we reject the things of the world. However, in the United States this isn’t really that big of a deal. We American Christians almost never face actual persecution for following Jesus.

I suppose the best thing to do is to be ready to suffer when the time comes. We’ll all likely to be called to reside outside the gate sooner or later.

One thing we can do, both as individuals and as churches, is to identify with Christ’s suffering Body. In the next few weeks I will be speaking in two churches about the persecuted church and how believers in every nation must share the burden. Hardship and suffering is a normal part of the Christian life if we are obedient disciples of Jesus Christ. For many of us, the great temptation is not to immorality but to do God’s will by any other way than He determined, to chose an easier path than He has called us to. But there is no such thing as an un-tested servant of God.

If you would like to participate in the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church this year,here is the place to start. I hope many of you will consider doing so, whether you are part of the IC or not.

5) Finally, here’s anexcellent piece (.pdf) by Ben Witherington on Jesus’ relationship with women, including the role that family plays in our relationships within the family of God. Here’s an excerpt:

It is hard to overestimate the importance of Jesus’ teaching about the family of faith vis-a-vis the physical family. Clearly, from such texts as Mk 3.31-35 and parallels, Jesus saw faith not heredity as the basis for claiming a place in His community. Indeed Mk 3.21ff. (cf. Jn 7.5)·suggests that physical ties to Jesus might indeed be a stumbling block to understanding Him. Further, such texts as Mk 10.29-30, Lk 12.49-53 and parallels, Lk 9.57-62 make clear that for Jesus it was the family of faith, not the physical family, that must be seen as the basic relational unit within the Kingdom. To be sure, if a physical family (such as Mary, Martha, and Lazarus) was Christian, then the physical family and family of faith could stand together. But if the physical family was divided over loyalty to Jesus, and would not serve but sever the body of believers, then the priority of the family of faith must take precedent. Mk 3.31-35 means nothing less than that one’s brothers and sisters in the faith are one’s primary family to whom one must give primary allegiance.

Ben is so right. This is the kind of over-allegiance to family that Jesus constantly addresses in the Gospels.

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospelwill fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.

No amount of fiddling with such tests can avoid the consequences of the fact that the believer’s true family is comprised of those who obey the Word of God. Our propensity to sacrifice God’s will on the altar of family allegiance is a measure, I think, of just how much our culture has caused the American church to lose contact with fundamental realities. Neither blood lines nor familial advantages make any difference in the kingdom of God. So let’s heed Ben’s warning against family-first Christianity, for the simple reason that Christ calls us to a deeper family allegiance. The example of Jesus reminds us that we cannot avoid risk in this area. But the main contours of His teaching are clear enough: He calls for an absolute abandonment of allegiance from any human blood ties to the family of faith. Indeed, a life thus transformed is a sign that one is truly among the elect.

Monday, October 15

10:35 PM Greetings and salutations, cyber friends!

As you can see, I have returned, jet-lagged and worn but totally excited about the goodness of the Lord and the miracles of grace I watched Him perform these past two weeks. And the miracles haven’t stopped. Today Becky and I left the house for Chapel Hill at 7:30 am and returned at 9:00 pm. She had a rough day (vomiting, some chest tightness) but was still able to see her wound doctor and have her chemo. We had to stay late because an EKG was ordered, but, praise God, it was normal, so we are now back at the farm. My thanks to all who have been praying for us during our separation. Becky and I enjoy a sold, fruitful relationship, and it is something I never take for granted. To be sure, this is the result, in part at least, to the faithful prayers of many of you who intercede for us on a regular basis. As Jesus made plain to Peter on one occasion, He fully understands our weaknesses and prays for us during our moments of greatest duress. Today was such a day. So thanks to all of you who thought of Becky (and me) and said a prayer for her (and us).

Well … I’m eager to get back to blogging. So why not start tonight?

1) If you haven’t read Robert Martin’s latest blog post calledCaregiver Beatitudes — Part 1 — Poor in Spirit, you simply must. I stumbled upon it at the hospital today. Robert’s wife has been diagnosed with cancer and now Robert faces a significant challenge as a husband and caregiver. I can attest that dealing with cancer successfully is a team effort. Let me ask you: How many people can you count on to pray for you on a regular basis? Possibly not too many. How grateful Becky and I are for those who have committed themselves to intercede for us regularly. Many of you even wrote us today. (Thankfully, our iPad lets us read your letters while in Chapel Hill.) Robert is so correct when he writes:

I learned during my time in seminary of the wonderful support that having a small group of people praying for you can lend. Find a few friends who are absolute confidants, people that you can trust with your deep soul. Pour out all your junk to them so that they can pick you up and lift you up to God.

Elsewhere in his post he refers to himself as the “pinnacle” of his wife’s caregivers and other people as the “pyramid.”

All these people behind me, lifting me up, supporting me, each themselves being lifted up and supported, and so on. And supporting all of them, as a network of webbing, binding them all together, is this spiritual love that comes only from God. This is where I find that Kingdom of Heaven.

Boy, was that a word I needed to hear today. It was a reminder that whenever I commit to pray for someone, I had better follow through; they are counting on me. Few things have meant more to Becky and me than the “pyramid” that God has given us consisting of friends and family who regularly “uphold the weak” (1 Thess. 5:14). I just died inside today when I saw Becky so sick and uncomfortable. I never realized how much she meant to me until I faced the prospect of losing her. Thankfully, I have this blog to vent. If Jesus could weep at the grave of a friend, Robert and I can grieve over the effects of the Fall in our own families. Not only did Jesus weep, but He was available to His friends when they needed Him. He thus affirmed all our displays of affection even as He prepared Himself for the anguish of the cross.

So thank you, Robert, for your post. I realize that there are blogs of varying levels of intensity and transparency out there in cyberspace, but I especially appreciate those which open a window into one’s personal life.

2) As many of you know, this month I will be speaking again at the Shepherd’s Theological Seminary in Cary, NC, on the topic of “Why You Should Definitely NOT Study Greek If All You’re Going to Do Is Use It to Commit Exegetical Fallacies” or some such title. (Theactual title may be found at the STS website.) If my talk is enthusiastically received, I will be sorely disappointed, as my goal is to stir up trouble. I will seek to challenge the blinkered mindset of so many of us seminary grads. I do hope my blood pressure can handle it.

Previously I lectured at STS on the topic of the so-called synoptic problem. I argued the unthinkable: that the historical order of the Gospels, as attested by the fathers, is Matthew-Luke-Mark, that Mark’s Gospel is merely Peter’s reminiscences, and that our dear friend Q is to be dispensed with (thus agreeing with Mark Goodacre) — along with M, L, and the whole Markan Priority Hypothesis (here, I’m afraid, Goodacre and I part company). No doubt my obscurantist views will raise an eyebrow or two. The ensconced position today is clearly Markan priority.

The problem solved is stated here/ Our Mark did first of all appear/ For Luke and Matthew used him both,/ but Luke and Matthew, nothing loath,/ to add some more used Q for “Quelle,”/ and special sources M and L.

My book Why Four Gospels? is an all-out assault on this dogmatic “assured result” of scholarship. By definition, Markan priority excludes finality since it rejects the historical testimony of the earliest church fathers. To me, this is not critical scholarship; it is anti-critical scholarship. If we scholars cannot see this point, our students certainly can.

Conversely, it is widely assumed today that a knowledge of New Testament Greek will make for better teaching and preaching in our churches. This is a seriously mistaken assumption. In the first place, my guess is that the majority of seminary grads have lost their Greek and could not translate a single paragraph from their Greek New Testament if their life depended on it. In the second place, too often common sense is laid aside and Greek is more abused than used in our pulpits. Exegetical fallacies continue to be committed on a regular basis. They are simply too seductive to be resisted. This is the great irony, I think, of New Testament Greek instruction today. Our greatest efforts to turn out an educated class of church leaders who use (rather than abuse) their Greek turns out to have achieved no such thing.

I am not so naive as to think that I can reverse this trend through one day’s lectures. My goal is simply to identify and describe the problem (as I see it) and then propose some foundational solutions. I would, in the meantime, venture to say at least this: shallowness and triviality have cost the church its best teaching. Greek, it should be remembered, is not an end in itself. Language exists for communication. The Babel tells us so.

3) Speaking of Greek, I recently gave birth, and here’s proof:

This is my first publishing venture with Wipf and Stock but it will certainly not be my last. I am very impressed with the company from stem to stern. And to think — I used to know John Wipf when he was running the Archives Bookstore in Pasadena. Man, could he wheel and deal.

4) This is by far the best quote I read all day. It’s by my friend Allan Bevere (see the comments onthis post):

As I have said time and time again, Christians on both sides of the political aisle say that if Jesus were here today, he would be neither a Democrat or a Republican, but then they go back to their partisan corners and engage in politics in a way that makes their claim irrelevant.

5) Finally (for now), I will always be grateful for Rosewood Farm, its peace and tranquility, and especially its quietude. It does a good job of giving me space and privacy when I most need it. God reminded me of that when He sent along a gorgeous sunrise this morning.

Frequently we miss such scenes because we’re too busy doing other things. Our lives are pursued at such a high pitch (I know mine is) that it seems to be impossible to bring an attentive ear and eye to the glory of God in nature. The older I get, the more I appreciate the beauty of God’s creation. Don’t you?

I’ll have more, much more, later. Right now I’m just grateful to be home again, in one piece.

Blessings,

Dave

Tuesday, October 2

5:25 AM Dear prayer partners,

Today I have the incredible privilege of leaving for a place where I will get to teach and mentor a group of young leaders. I leave buoyed by your prayers and ever-so-gracious emails. This is something God has called me to do, yet I leave realizing that it’s not about me. Whatever help I can offer, whatever encouragement I can give, it’s not me who helps and encourages but the One who saw that little sparrow die yesterday, the One who knows exactly how many minutes and seconds each of us has to live. He’s the Author of the book of our lives and orders and arranges them. And we are to use every blessing He gives us to give back to Him. I don’t think it’s wrong to live in the U.S. I don’t think it’s a sin to live in a wealthy nation. I just think it’s a good idea to share these blessings with others whenever we can. And there are plenty of blessings to go around. I revel in watching something new happen. There is light in the darkness. There is courage amidst the trials. There is joy despite the hardships. And to think that He had it all planned out ahead of time. Amazing.

So that’s the up-to-the-minute news, the last you’ll hear from me for a while. It only remains for me to request of you, my dear readers, to be in diligent prayer for those I leave behind at home, that God would bless them and keep them, that He would make His face to shine upon them and give them peace.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some encouraging to do.

Keep loving, serving, and sacrificing,

Dave

Monday, October 1

5:02 PM Another good treatment is history and we are back home safe and sound. I am reluctantly eager to get back on the road again. Reluctant, because I always hate to leave Becky; eager, because I have been mentoring these men for almost 2 years now and can’t wait to see their smiling faces again. I will miss Bec but she will be in very capable hands. Since he arrived in America I have taught Nigusse many useful skills. He washes and irons all his own clothes, cleans up after supper, and even drives the farm truck, and his latest talent is frying eggs for breakfast, as you can see here:

If an emergency arises I can grab the earliest flight home. But honestly, Becky is doing quite well considering all she’s been through, and is under strict instructions not to overdo it during her husband’s absence. Doctor’s orders! (My doctorate does come in handy sometimes.)

8:02 AM Since I have to leave tomorrow I thought I’d spend the day with my Becky Lynn. First stop: The wound doctor at UNC. Then it’s off to the infusion room for more chemo. I do hope we get the mountain room this time instead of the beach. The fall foliage is so pretty this time of the year.

I’ll let you know how our hot date went when we get back.

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