On Publishing

At the luncheon yesterday at Liberty I was asked about doctoral programs and I mentioned that my own program placed a pretty high premium on publishing. 

I thought that was very intimidating. I mean, getting a first book published is probably less likely than getting a hole in one. But at Basel you had no choice. The order of requirements was as follows:

1. Write your dissertation.

2. Have it accepted by the ENTIRE theological faculty.

3. Wait 6 months, then take your orals.

4. Find a publisher for your dissertation.

5. Deliver 120 copies of your PUBLISHED dissertation to the university library at your own expense.

Then and only then were you granted your doctorate.

I'm certainly not saying that this program is for everyone. What I am saying is that if the Lord allows you to publish your dissertation, then do it. Something that's worth writing is worth reading, don't you think? And never forget: your dissertation will probably be the least important book you ever write in your academic career.

German POWs in America (and an Ex-Pat Named Paul Mittmann)

This is such a great video.

It's all about the goodwill that existed between German POWs and Americans in 1944-1945. Many of these Germans were held in captivity nears farms in Kansas. They would be "hired" as day laborers on these farms and would enjoy the home-cooked meals of the lady of the house. 

In 1978 I went to Germany for 3 months to play the trumpet on a brass octet that traveled widely and performed evangelistic concerts from the Baltic to the Swiss border. So that I could share the Gospel with the Germans I encountered, I decided I would teach myself to speak their language. At that time I was a professor at Biola in Southern California. In nearby Anaheim ("Ana's home"), a large number of ex-Wehrmacht soldiers had settled after the war. One of them was Paul Mittmann from Ostpreußen (East Prussia). He pastored a small German-speaking Lutheran Brethren church in Anaheim. I began attending his services on Sunday mornings before my own English service began in La Mirada. He and I eventually began to meet weekly for practice in German conversation. Eventually I preached 4 times (in German) in his church before leaving for my mission trip to Germany in 1978. Thus when I arrived in Basel for my doctoral studies in 1980 I was already fluent in the language. 

Paul Mittmann had served in the German military from 1939 to 1945. He had fought in France, Russia, and Italy, and was eventually captured by the Americans in Schleswig-Holstein in northern Germany in 1945. After his release from a POW camp there he emigrated with his wife to Anaheim. He was a godly born-again Lutheran who loved the Lord with all his heart. I have to thank him for my proficiency in German prior to my arrival in German-speaking Basel. In all, 425,000 German POWS lived in the U.S. during WWII. They could work on farms only if they were paid as required by the Geneva Convention. Many local farmers valued their contribution. Most of the Germans who were repatriated to Germany after the war left with positive feelings toward the country where they had been held. 

I will never forget Paul Mittmann. I am forever indebted to him for tutoring me in German in his pristine Prussian accent.

Writing for Lay People

I always try to write for smart people who aren't trained in New Testament studies. And I absolutely LOVE it when those in other fields do that for me! Gary Adelman of the American Battlefield Trust is a great example. Check him out! 

Utterance and Knowledge: BOTH Are Gifts from God (1 Cor. 1:5)

Ya gotta love Paul's triplets -- faith, hope, love; weakness, fear, trembling; be joyful, be prayerful, be thankful, etc. But he's also got some great doublets, like this one I saw during my morning Bible study in 1 Corinthians 1 on a sunny morning at Bo's. 

Great communicators balance utterance and knowledge -- from the "words on your lips to the understanding in your hearts" (Phillips). 

It's not enough to subjectively understand the word of God. The truth must be voiced. And guess what? God provides both the knowledge and the articulation! That's why in Rom. 15:14 Paul could say he's convinced the Romans are "filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another" (CSB). I love how the Living Bible renders this: "You know these things so well that you are able to teach others about them."

Being an effective communicator (think, for example, of a pastor like Chuck Swindoll) involves not only knowledge but the skills to exchange information with clarity. Find a great communicator, and you will always find clear, concise, and compassionate communication. This includes body language. Communication is 55 percent nonverbal, 38 percent vocal (intonation and inflection), and 7 percent words. Fellow teachers, let's never forget this!

Teaching is giving out.

Communication is getting through. 

Have a wonderful evening!

Welcoming Committee

Yes, we love our sheeps. 

Welcome to My Gym

Ain't nothin' like the Y. 

Love it! 

My Mind Is Blown (and a Trip to Lynchburg)

Over time I have discovered something very interesting about me. I like to visit as many Christian colleges and seminaries as I can, mostly because I love to see how other teachers handle their Greek classes. Today I took a day trip up to Lynchburg to speak at Liberty University. 

My thanks to my former students Ben Laird and Thomas Hudgins for the invitation. I lectured in three of their classes on the subjects of (1) why we study Greek and (2) the theme of Philippians (no, it's not "joy"). 

The hour and a half drive up there was totally worth it. I experienced all that Liberty has to offer -- a great student body, an excellence faculty, and a new administration committed to the Great Commission. Plus, we had a lunch symposium together. 

One again, I was reminded of why Liberty is one of the finest Christian universities in North America. I loved watching the students and the faculty interact. 

I was thrilled to find out that their Greek classes are full and overflowing. 

Did I say "in-person" classes? 

Sure, you can study Greek and Hebrew online, but nothing can match the opportunity to study the languages up close and in person with an expert in the field. This is exactly what a Christian university ought to be doing. In fact, I couldn't be more proud of the way my former students are making an impact on the student body. 

Thank you, Thomas and Ben, for the joy of addressing your classes today. I'm grateful and honored. 

Exercise Is FUN!

Just back from South Boston. Worked out.

Shot hoops (with a nearly flat ball).

As I exercised I realized why I do this. It makes me feel alive. I wish more than anything Becky could be here to enjoy these days with me. On the way home I stopped for lunch. In the state of Virginia it is illegal to pass through South Boston without stopping for a cheeseburger at the Dairy Dell. While waiting for my meal I acted like a prisoner of war who hadn't eaten in 5 days. I couldn't stuff that thing in my mouth fast enough. Fortunately, the level of fun I'm able to have isn't determined by how much I can lift or how how many buckets I make. So don't worry about how much weight there is in your bench press or whether or not can dunk. Exercise is so much more than, well, exercise. More than anything else, I focus on making exercise fun.

You (yes, YOU) are capable of so much more than you know. Think about what you could accomplish if you had no limits. Now go out there and DO IT. 

"In Too Deep" (1986)

In Too Deep is a song by Genesis. It was released in 1986. Becky and I had been married for 10 years. It was summer and I had agreed to teach a two week course at Grace Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana. While there I decided to drive to Campbell, Ohio over the weekend to visit the Romanian community where my mother had grown up. During that long drive on Hwy 30 between Fort Wayne and Canton this song was played constantly. I immediately fell in love with it. "You know I love you but I'm playing for keeps." To me it's always been the most moving pop song of the 80s. 

One month from today Becky will have been gone for 11 years. Here's to many more happy memories in the face of the looming darkness, to life lived with wild abandon, until He said to me, "I am nearer to you than your panicked fluttering in your chest. When all this is too much, I am your rock, your solid ground. There's nowhere to go than deeper into my love."

Thank you, precious Savior.

EXERT YOURSELF! (1 Thess. 1:3)

"We continually remember your work resulting from your faith, your exertion prompted by your love, and your endurance inspired by your hope" (1 Thess. 1:3).

Seminary student:

EXERT YOURSELF!

This can and should be the best time of your life!

To study.

To master the biblical languages.

To learn church history and theology.

To internalize the principles of hermeneutics and exegesis.

Get serious about it!

You have a wonderful faculty to guide you.

You have a great library to assist you.

Your whole world is opening up to a body of literature you didn't even know existed.

This is YOUR CHANCE!

Don't minimize it.

Don't cast it aside.

Don't neglect it.

Here you will learn things you will not learn anywhere else.

Determine that you will study God's word for the purpose of DOING it.

Take the things you are learning and make them a part of your life, your thinking, your habits.

Something is wrong if you leave this school without that transformation.

You're either not taking it seriously or not applying yourself to it like you should.

Don't quit because it's hard.

Seminary is SUPPOSED to be hard.

Life is hard.

Ministry is hard.

Marriage is hard.

Parenting is hard.

You don't quit because of difficulties or disappointments.

Stick with it, and God will use your lips, your mouth, your tongue to communicate truth that people will live by.

Is there anything better than that? 

Let's Not Blame the Developers

On Facebook recently I saw that a farmer was bemoaning the fact that the United States loses 4.3 acres of farmland every minute of every day. I can appreciate that sentiment. But there's another side to that coin. We've become much more efficient at growing food. Farmers have significantly increased their yield per acre over the decades. For example, the amount of corn per acre has increased 5 times since 1950. In addition, the U.S. wastes about 30 percent of the food we grow. We're already growing enough food to basically feed most of the planet. As much as I hate (for sentimental reasons) seeing farmland sold to developers, we small-acreage farmers are doing just fine and still provide plenty of food both for ourselves and for others. If you want to get upset about something, get upset about our gluttony problem here in the U.S. and about how much food we waste. As for your choice of housing, people today prefer track homes that are all the same with no space between them and where you're afraid to burp because the neighbors 5 homes down can hear you. It's called the law of supply and demand. 

I'm so thankful that the former owners of my farm refused to subdivide their property and insisted that the farm be sold intact. 

Nothing can beat an old Massey Ferguson 135!

I'm sure they took a financial hit but they wanted their land to continue to be farmed. Many of my colleagues at the seminary have in recent years bought a few acres out in the county. They're leaving the city for nature. They look around and see nothing but farms. All that fresh grass, peace, and quiet will do wonders for their blood pressure.

But no, I do NOT blame developers for buying up farmland. 

5 Miles

Thank you, Lord! 

Should Hebrews Come after 2 Thessalonians?

The Tyndale House Greek New Testament has many wonderful qualities to it, not least its order of books. The order you will find is: Gospels, Acts, Catholic Epistles, Pauline Epistles, and Revelation. I love it! This reflects a pattern found in the ancient uncial manuscripts of the New Testament. This pattern, as you can see, was also followed in the text of Westcott-Hort as well as in Tregelles. 

The latter name is especially relevant, since the THGNT is based on Tregelles' nineteenth century Greek New Testament. I do wish, though, it had also followed Tregelles in placing Hebrews after 2 Thessalonians. 

Maybe in a later edition?

It's just a fun thing to think about! 

(Note: I forgot to include in my chart the Robinson-Pierpont Greek New Testament. It too places Hebrews after the book of 2 Thessalonians.) 

The Call of God

When God calls us to serve him, that calling is unique. 

Calls aren't like classified ads that anyone can answer. Each biblical call is unique. The circumstances of your call are different from mine. The nature of the calls are different. The expectations of the call are all customized. My own call has been that of a teacher. Looking back, that call seems to have emerged in a conspiracy at Biola. They needed someone to step into a new position as a Greek instructor. That person was apparently me. How or why God did this is a mystery to me. Even if the position had been advertised (which it wasn't), I wouldn't have applied. That anyone at Biola should have taken an interest in me still boggles my mind. But once I entered the classroom, nothing else in life was quite so interesting or fulfilling. And now, after all these years, there has never been a time when I have not enjoyed life from an educational perspective. Even though I'm no longer teaching full-time, I still function as a teacher in my work, and it remains just as satisfying. 

You too are called. I hope you're thriving in your calling. Calls often bring out in us what we never knew was there. May that be your glad experience today, my friend!

Interview Prep

I'm doing a couple of interviews on the subject of text types later this month. Do stay tuned!

Are Text Types Dead?

The guild has apparently declared, "Text types are dead." However, the announcement may be a bit premature.

The CBGM simply dispenses with them. Assigning manuscripts to text types "has become obsolete." Geography, moreover, has become virtually irrelevant. It's no longer a criterion for textual criticism, we are told.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love it when scholars push back against "consensus" views. That's great! I've done that a few times myself. For example, I've rejected Markan priority, and I think I have some pretty good reasons for doing so, even though the guild as a whole still espouses it and I myself taught it for many years. 

So are text types dead? Maybe, maybe not. Seems the guild will be publishing a book on the subject shortly. Until then, I'm still comfortable identifying variants (when possible) by region and giving weight to readings that enjoy what seems to be wider geographical attestation. But to do this one has to take into account not only the Greek manuscripts but the ancient versions and the citations of the Fathers as well. And this may well be the elephant in the room no one is talking about. For instance, I love the Tyndale House Greek New Testament. I recommend it to my students. But its usefulness is, in my opinion, hampered by its failure to include the testimony of the versions and Fathers in its apparatus. 

On the other hand, if the provenance of a reading doesn't matter, why bother? 

When it comes to challenging the consensus opinion (on any subject), there are a lot of philosophies and mindsets that might work, but I usually give two points to my students:

1) Draw boundaries, both hard and soft. To do this it helps if you can say "no." Some people, however, may not want or need to do that. It's up to you.

2) Manage your expectations of what you get for "giving in" to the majority view in any area of research. Meaning you can't just "go with the flow" without thinking through the issues for yourself. Remember that you don't have to follow the majority. Or you might want to if you feel like it. (You are, for example, absolutely free to disregard my views on the historical origins of the Gospels. I just ask that you consider my arguments before you do that.)

I really should say that I'm not an expert in textual criticism. Just a TC enjoyer. I know people love to discuss/debate the subject, so feel free to check out the books, journal articles, and blog posts I've published on textual criticism. But you don't HAVE to become conversant in the subject. Plenty of believers go their entire lives without worrying too much about textual variants. After all, we haven't lost a single word of the Greek New Testament. (The original reading is found either in the text or in the apparatus.)

Have a wonderful day!

Fall Break

Fall Break is next week, which means I have a two week hiatus from teaching. I'm watching the beach closely. I can't wait to get my board out again! I'm hoping Virginia Beach will have some waves this weekend. Meanwhile I'm really enjoying working out. Today's session at the gym was unbelievably fun.

Doing the hard work is the answer to feeling happy in yourself. Huge props to the gym staff for providing us with such excellent equipment. It's all about accountability, tracking your progress, and drawing on the strength the Lord gives you each and every day to "live and move and have our being." Push yourself to a level you can't even dream of. Your goals don't care how you feel. Just do it!