Swimming Again!

I'm sorry if you get tired of my marathon training details. I have to say, this training block has been time-consuming, though in a good sort of way. I find it fascinating how the body can adapt to different activities, from running to biking to swimming. Today I did a 1,000-meter swim at the Y. 

Yep, it was so much fun to be swimming again! 

Honestly, I've missed lap swimming. Overall, I will say that my swimming form hasn't lost much despite the hiatus I took during Covid. I am so ready to do another triathlon. Thus far I've only done 5, all of them a sprint distance. But I would really like to try an Olympic triathlon this year or next year. This involves a 1.5K swim, a 27 mile bike, and a 10K run. 

Obviously I have a lot more training to do before I can handle all that mileage. But I'm always looking for a new challenge, and now that I can swim laps again I'm hoping to improve my swimming pace and speed. 

Tonight I am going to try and find an Olympic triathlon I can sign up for. I'll fill you in soon.

Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd). I'm Speechless.

9.8 million views. Deserves it. 

This is the best, most beautiful Pink Floyd song ever. Also the most legendary guitar solo in history. Bless the internet for preserving moments like this. This is not just a concert; it's a historical event. A true gift to the world of music.

Twitter

What a waste of time. So glad I'm not on it.

That's all.

Quote of the Day

"My doctor told me that jogging could add years to my life. I think he was right. I feel ten years older already." -- Comedian Milton Berle.

 

The Bible As Art

Marshall McLuhan coined the famous phrase "The medium is the message." He wrote:

Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of media by which men communicate than by the content of the communication.

He tried to make the case that what is said isn't as important as how it is said. 

I've never agreed with McLuhan. For me, the message is still the paramount thing in communication. But how something is said is vital as well. That's why my Greek students are exposed to what I call "rhetorical analysis" as one of the 10 basic steps in exegesis. 

Think of the Bible as a painting on a canvas or a drawing on a sketching pad. 

 

Then think of God as an artist who picks up his brush or pencil and begins to paint or draw. 

 

"Art," says Thomas Hoving, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, "happens when anyone in the world takes any kind of material and fashions it into a deliberate statement." I see this process throughout the New Testament, don't you? To mention just one of my studies: Literary Artist in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Thus the question "How is this text written?" is never irrelevant. Just as the Holy Spirit used words when he inscripturated the New Testament, so too he used rhetorical devices to help communicate his message. 

Dos the Bible thrill you when you read it? Does it lift your soul and not only your mind? Does it make you smile, like perhaps a drawing of Barney Fife does? 

 

Does it make you want to come back to the Bible again and again for the good of your soul? 

It can. 😉

Back to the YMCA

I love the YMCA. I had to let my membership lapse last year because of Covid. But the local Y is up and running again so today I renewed my membership. 

 

They were very nice to me. They gave me the pre-Covid rate, plus a 15 percent discount for being a valued customer. The nice thing is that I can use my membership anywhere in the nation. I've already used it in Wake Forest and Kailua, Hawaii. I plan to use it in Dallas when I travel there in December, Lord willing. 

All of us lose muscle as we age. This is a problem for anyone who wants to remain active in their older years. Muscle allows us to move, and with less muscle we will move less. I'm not a lifting fanatic. I lift twice a week for no longer 45 minutes. Most of my strength training is focused on my upper body. 

 

But I also like to work the thighs and calves. 

 

As with running, the exercises I do must be fun and safe and make me feel better (not worse). Today's workout followed an easy bike ride. 

 

As usual while biking, I stayed within my comfort zone. Personally, I like to weight train after biking because I'm warmed up. 

I love weight lifting so it's always a temptation to do more lifting than I should. Done correctly, less is always more effective than more done incorrectly. Now that I have easy access to a gym again, I plan to make strength training a tool to help me achieve my running goals. 

So that's basically how my day has gone so far.

Learning, Unlearning, and Relearning

45 years. That's right. This month begins my 45th year of teaching Greek. That is un-be-liev-a-ble. 

Here's what I hope to accomplish this year. According to Language Systems Theory, all learning takes place when programming is subjected to questioning. The formula goes like this:

L = P + Q

Learning = Programming + Questioning

"Programming" is another way of referring to expert-provided knowledge. Participants in active learning learn more from generating insights than collecting knowledge and advice. (Go here for more.) This has many implications for the way I teach:

1. I'd rather be a learning motivator than a disseminator of information (though I do both).

2. I'd rather teach Greek than any other class (e.g., New Testament Introduction, a book study, etc.) because by teaching Greek I help students acquire a tool that will equip them for a lifetime of research and self-learning.

3. I want my students, especially those who tend to look to their teacher as "the Bible answer man,"  to think for themselves. 

The American writer and futurist Alvin Toeffler once said, "The illiterate of the future are not those who cannot read or write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn" (source). 

 

Learning is a cycle that allows us to learn facts, question them, and then possibly even turn away from them when the evidence turns against them. Humans are always learning, unlearning, and relearning. 

The best part? It is a truly enriching process. Learning becomes joyous again. It becomes participatory again. It becomes motivational again. Learning takes on a whole new relevance and urgency. 

Hopefully, through my teaching this semester, students will be motivated to make learning a lifelong habit as part of their Christian stewardship. That's my goal, at least!

Don't Forget to You-Know-What

Everyone tells you that when you run for any distance you have to lube certain parts of your anatomy. Well, two weeks ago, when I did my 27-mile training run, I was so excited to get started I forget to do that and by mile ten I was chafing so badly I could hardly stand it. 

 

The running rubs are for real, folks. Anything that can chafe will chafe. Later, during my shower, I could have sworn I had a screaming fit.

Man, I am so old and forgetful at times. But not too old to try out new adventures. Now if I can only remember to lube up.
.

The Touch of a Mentor

I simply cannot tell you how much I'm enjoying this book by Chuck Swindoll. 

 

I ran across this quote today:

Any education is most effective when the teachers are more than mere dispensers of information. Students need a school where the professors care about the lives of their students, where a student is not just number 314 in the class.

Then he adds this shocker:

That's why I don't believe a theological education can take place online.

Read that sentence again ... and again until it sinks in. Chuck then says:

Information can go on the Web, but an education requires more than data. It involves the touch of a mentor -- one seasoned in life poured into another inexperienced life.

Remember, Chuck is not anti-education. He served as the president of Dallas Theological Seminary for crying out loud. But he verbalizes what many of us are thinking today but are perhaps reluctant to say out loud. Personally, moving forward I have asked to teach only in-person classes. No, I am not against online or virtual instruction. When it's necessary, I do it. Last semester, in addition to my 6 in-person classes, I taught a Greek class in Israel via Zoom. Was it ideal? Hardly. Did it get the job done? Yes, but only to a degree. Disseminating information is one thing. But education is so much more than knowledge. In a true learning environment., one person's life touches the life of another. 

In his excellent book Analog Church, Jay Kim writes:

The church is designed to do and to be something Facebook, or any other social media or online platform, could never be -- a real gathering of real people, as unlikely and different as they are.

He adds:

At their worst, social media and digital spaces create a false sense of connection and a facade of community. And they are very skilled at their ruse.

That's quite a statement when you realize that Kim was pastoring a megachurch with satellite campuses when, contrary to his inclinations, he was firmly reminded he needed to look into the camera while speaking rather than at the congregation. One day he had a wake-up call and asked himself, "What's that all about?" 

Here's a picture I took last weekend in Dallas while driving to dad's funeral. 

 

See the word "community"? That is so much better than "church," don't you think? The Greek word for church never refers to a building. It describes a community of believers where people share things in common and are involved in each other's lives, a place where the word of God is not only "learned through teaching but lived through fellowship" (Swindoll). 

In light of this, here are a few questions to ponder:

• In what ways is your church a reflection of the culture rather than a disruption of it?
• Does your church focus more on being digitally savvy or on being a gathering where real people share real community?
• Does your pastor's teaching into a camera build a sense of rapport and trust with those in attendance Sunday and after Sunday?
• What can your church do to cultivate real-life transformative community among believers?
• Are there any ways your church has been caught up in the digital age's preference for efficiency and consumerism over relationships and genuine body life?
  

Hay Hay Hay!

Here's a blast from the past.

To Greet Or Not to Greet

That is the question. I'm referring, of course, to running etiquette. When you are passing somebody on the trail going the other way, do you greet them?

I've been notorious for being so much "in the zone" that I often don't make an effort to greet another runner. Especially toward the end of a run I am so tired that the best I can offer is a nod and a smile. I don't blatantly ignore a friendly greeting. Sometimes a wave has to suffice. 

I'm getting better. And more intentional. Recently I've started at least making eye contact with other runners and waving. More often than not they wave back. If they don't, I don't take it personally. They may just be "in the zone." 

When we moved to Basel, I can remember how hard it was for Becky to adjust to some aspects of the culture there in Switzerland. Being from the South and naturally gregarious, she greeted everyone she met on the street. Most of the time she was ignored. At first we thought the Swiss were being rude. Wrong. They were, in a sense, just being them. The Swiss do not normally greet other people while walking. Becky and I had to learn that cultural lesson and try to adapt to it (just like we had to adapt to a million other aspects of living in Basel, like not being able to take a shower after 10 pm per city ordinance). 

On today's run I'm going to make it a point to say a cheerful "Good Morning" to everyone I see. In other words, I don't want to be so caught up in my running that it doesn't even register that I failed to greet them until 5 seconds later when it's too late to turn around and say "I'm sorry." 

Is Reading Greek a Habit for You?

Is reading Greek a habit for you? Do you struggle to use Greek in your everyday life? Have you ever felt frustrated that you feel so unmotivated to put into practice your knowledge of the language?

People who read their Greek every day don't have to think about it. They don't have to do much planning for it either. They just do it. Reading Greek has become a habit for them. It's like brushing your teeth or eating three meals a day or going to work. Sporadic readers, on the other hand, spend more time thinking about reading Greek than actually doing it. They conjure up a dozen different strategies to get back into the text. They haven't yet learned to make reading Greek into a habit, something that is second nature to them. 

Running is a good analogy. How many of us began to run or do some other form of exercise but then quickly lost interest. Me? I can't not exercise. It's become a daily routine that I enjoy immensely. In an article in the British Journal of General Practice called Making Health Habitual: The Psychology of 'Habit Formation' and General Practice, the authors set forth the four steps they have found most successful in terms of healthy habit formation:

1. Decide on a goal.

2. Choose a daily action that will help you achieve that goal.

3. Plan a consistent time and place when you will complete your goal.

4. Do the action.

Simple enough! 

The most important thing is to get started. The next most important thing is to keep at it. If running isn't fun, then try walking or cycling or swimming or hiking. But if something isn't fun, the odds are you'll lose interest quickly. There is a big difference between those who read their Greek because they enjoy it, and those who read their Greek because they feel it's a duty. Everything changes when you fall in love with your Greek New Testament. You just can't put it down. Anyone who is willing to carve the time out of his or her life and commit to daily reading can succeed.

Remember:

• Patience is your most important tool.
• Tenacity is as essential as talent. 
• To do great things you have to be willing to fail.
• Nothing of value is ever achieved without sacrifice.
• Many prefer to read the Bible in the morning before the day gets too crazy. I know I do. But you need to set your own time.

Yeah, yeah, I know we can't all be at the level of a Don Carson or a Stan Porter. But we can give it our very best effort. No matter what anybody says, it's okay to use an interlinear Greek New Testament or a Greek-English diglot if that will get you back into the text. As a preacher once put it, "Halitosis is better than no breath at all." Besides, what other people think of you is none of your business. Be the best steward of your time and resources that you can be! 

Do You Enjoy Running on Trails?

So here's the big question: Do you enjoy running on trails as much as I do? I was thinking about that all day today. What is it about running off road that makes it so pleasant and exciting? Like running this cross country course yesterday. 

 

As you can see, there are trees everywhere pumping out oxygen (not CO2 as you find in the cities and highways). Also, there's evidence that being in such relaxing surroundings reduces stress and may trigger certain biological responses such as lower blood pressure and the production of serotonin. Most importantly, each foot placement is different so you're building stronger connective tissues in your feet, ankles, knees, and hips, thus avoiding repetitive stresses associated with running on hard, even surfaces. 

Ultimately, though, it's way more fun to run in nature, ignore your pace, and just exercise for the joy of running like you did when you were a kid. I'm discovering so many trails around where I live as a result of not focusing exclusively on pace or distance. Yesterday I even ran across a very waterlogged field without any problems. I honestly never gave it a single thought.

One tip: Make sure you have the right shoes for this. Look for something with grip that isn't too aggressive or something that is marketed for light trails. You want to get a bit of a grip but you don't want to wear out the lugs when you run on the roads. My Lone Peak 5s work just fine! 

A. T. Robertson's "Big Grammar"

Very eager to begin my Advanced Greek Grammar course in a couple of weeks. Here is the assigned reading for week one:

As you can see, I still require my students to read A. T. Robertson's A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research. 

 

Originally published in 1914, it's affectionately known as his "Big Grammar" and is a classic. It's also severely out of date. But for its day, it was perhaps the most linguistically-oriented book on the market. 

It was, I think, about 25 years ago that I was asked by the publisher if I would consider revising Robertson's grammar. I didn't have to think before I said no. The fact is, anybody trying to revise the book would end up rewriting it because the whole field of Greek linguistics has developed so much since Robertson was alive. Did you know that Robertson himself set out merely to revise Winer's Greek grammar, not produce a new one? But he quickly realized that was not going to work. Hence the publication of his own, new work. 

Coincidentally, Robertson taught Greek at Southern Seminary from 1890 to 1934. That's 44 years. I smiled when I realized that. 

I'll leave you with a neat story. One of my former Basel professors, Oscar Cullmann, visited Southern in 1966. He told the students that, during a personal audience with Pope John XXIII, he noticed a copy of Robertson's grammar next to the pope's Greek New Testament. When Cullmann asked him why he was using a Greek grammar written in English, the pope replied, "It's the best one available." 

And so it was, for its day.

Remembering Becky

Yesterday I visited Becky's grave. I couldn't help but think of the beautiful, joyful reunion that took place last week when Becky saw her daddy again. I am so blessed to have been touched by her life. Becky loved life. Her selfless service and bright spirit despite the challenges touched our hearts. She left a lasting legacy of love and strength. Becky put up such an incredible fight and inspired so many people. I will always feel her supportive spirit.

Have you recently lost someone you love? May you find peace and comfort as you traverse this difficult time. May the comfort of heaven be poured out upon you. I pray for your family that you will have the strength to endure faithfully until you see your sweet loved one again. 

I love you, Becky. I have so many fond memories that I will cherish forever. I can't thank the Lord enough for bringing us together and making us partners in the gospel. 

Molly Seidel Wins Bronze in Tokyo!

I couldn't be happier for Team USA's Molly Seidel who won the bronze medal in yesterday's women's marathon in Tokyo. 

 

It was another huge race for Molly. The conditions were absolutely brutal: 87 percent humidity, with temps in the low 90s. The pavement was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Molly is built for toughness and that's a fact. I am SO HAPPY for you, Molly! And congrats to all the ladies. You are all champions in my mind.

Lancer 5K Race Report

Hey there. I'm here sipping coffee having just taken a 5-hour hot shower to recover from this morning's race. In the rain, mind you. I had to leave the house at 6:00 am and before I got to the bridge in Clarksville the rain had begun. 

 

It seemed to let up the further north I drove, and when I arrived in Farmville it was only drizzling. But once the race started the rain started for realz. Here are some of the "thousands" of people who showed up for the first annual Longwood University Lancer 5K. 

 

Actually, I like small(ish) races because nobody's a snob and everybody talks with each other. I'd guess I was the only runner over 50. Most of them were high school/college cross country runners. I talked to both the first and second place finishers after the race. They were the nicest guys. As for little old moi, I'm so proud of my 36:18 finish on a really challenging (meaning, hilly) course. (Did I mention we ran in the rain?) 

 

I am not a loop kind of guy and today's race consisted of two loops around a pond. My idea of Hades is coming around a corner and having to run up a 45-degree incline -- twice. HILLS. My running nemesis. Nothing a 5-hour hot shower can't handle, however. As for going out easy and running at a sane pace? Shoot, I ran metal to the pedal folks. Basically I just kept my head down the entire time and pushed. I did not look at my watch once. 

You can't know how proud I am of our little running community here in Southside Virginia. As you can imagine, it's not exactly the most health-conscious region of the country. I tell people there are two cultures in America: The Harris-Teeter/Whole Foods, and the Food Lion/Bojangles. I definitely live in the latter. But that's a post for another day. Right now I need to cook me a late breakfast and then sit on the porch and listen to the rhythm of the falling rain.

I Hate 5K Races

Today I did an easy bike. 

 

Tomorrow I've got a race and I want to reserve my energy for it. It's a 5K at the Longwood University cross country course in Farmville. The 5K is by far the most popular racing distance in the U.S. It accounts for about 45 percent of all runners who race each year. I suppose I've done 50 of them since I began running 6 years ago. 

But I hate 5Ks. I seem to do everything wrong during a 5K. I go out too fast. I run at a higher heart rate than I want to. And I'm way too competitive, especially when the course is flat. My 5K PR was set at a race in Dallas. This part of Texas is really flat. 

There's a vast difference between running for fun and running to compete. When I am running a 5K race I have to think about precisely what I'll need to do to run a race I can be proud of when it's over. The point is that sometimes your experience in a 5K can be as bad as an old episode of "Hawaii 5-0." Don't get me wrong. 5K runners are awesome people. I experience a new level of amazing when I see runners of all ages and shapes out there on the course. Problem is, if you are about my age, I will hunt you down. I will reel you in if I possibly can. I will transform myself into an Olympic sprinter until I catch you. I know I will feel completely demolished afterwards, but I am a competitor at heart so what can I do? 

I can't imagine how different my life would be if I had given up while running my first 5K race. Running has become a part of who I am. I want to suck everything out of a race that I possibly can. When I'm old and sitting in my rocker I want to be able to remember every good, bad, and ugly detail of my life as a racer. I've been blessed with a body that is willing to run. I want to take advantage of that while I can. I strive to run wisely and within myself. I really do. But 5ks? They're another story. 

Maybe tomorrow I'll do better. But I'm not promising anything.

A Fun Little Chiasm in Rom. 13:10

Woke up to an awful day. No one is having any fun. There's not a cloud in the sky, a cool breeze is blowing, the temp is around 75, and I'm all caught up on my chores. Oh well. We'll manage.

In my Bible reading this morning I camped out in Romans 12-13 and Paul's teaching on love. Then I opened this book. 

 

I actually just got it the other day. I had always wanted to have my own copy of this classic treatment of love. In fact, when I read this book way back in 1980 in Basel, it helped set me on a Pauline trajectory in my doctoral studies -- that, along with the book Paul's Anthropological Terms by Robert Jewett. 

I still cannot quite fathom just how beautifully and wonderfully made God's word is. Here's just a teeny tiny little itsy bitsy example. Notice Rom. 13:10 in the Greek. 

 

See it? The gorgeous, drop-dead chiasm? What, are you blind? Frankly, I hadn't noticed it either before today. Here's what tipped me off (read the sentence that follows the highlighted one):

 

MAN THAT IS GOOD. Read it again. "Book ends," we might call it. Thank you brother Furnish for furnishing us with that awesome observation. 

Y'all don't remember this, but way back in the 1970s a scholar named Samuel Sandmel published an essay in JBL called "Parallelomania" in which he took to task his peers who were calling Jesus, John the Baptizer, and Paul "Essenes" simply because they could find linguistic parallels between the New Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls. I've sometimes quipped to my students that today someone could easily write an essay called "Chiasmomania in New Testament Studies" in light of all the complex chiastic structures we scholars seem to find hidden under every rock in the New Testament. However, I doubt that Rom. 13:10 would qualify for inclusion in that essay. The verse is simply another reminder that the rhetorical devices we find in the New Testament are there for a reason -- which is precisely why we will be spending beaucoup time in our Advanced Greek Grammar class this semester delving into alliteration, assonance, paronomasia, homoioteleuton, hook words, etc.

Getting Ready for the Flying Pig Marathon

What's not to like about this book by Bart Yasso -- Runner's World magazine's former Chief Running Officer? 

 

I finished reading it today. Bart walks you through the steps in running a 5K, a 10K, a half marathon, a marathon, and an ultra marathon. I sit here with a wild smirk on my face as I listen to his hilarious stories of running way back in the day. This book meets a need in my life because I always like to have a plan when I race. 

For me, Bart's chapter on the marathon was the most interesting one. As a 25-year old, his goal was to qualify for the Boston Marathon. This meant he had to run a 2:50 or faster at a previous race. By the fall of 1981, he was ready to toe the line at the Philadelphia Marathon. He qualified with only one second to spare. 

Now here's what's so interesting about his story. In those days, marathons weren't nearly as popular or well-organized as they are today. 

• There was no chip timing. Say what? How in the world can you get an official time without chip timing? Well, they managed. 
• Men 40 and older had to run 3:10 to make it to Boston. But there was only a single qualifying for women of all ages: 3:20!
• If you didn't finish the race in under 3:35, your results weren't even recorded in the results books. That would make my head explode.
  
• Aid stations were just getting off the ground. My next marathon is the Flying Pig in Cincinnati on Oct 31st. This event has plenty of aid stations along the course -- in fact, about one every mile! There's also continuous crowd support and music throughout. The Pig attracts many first timers. As Bart says, "The marathon is more welcoming to everybody now."
  

For now, I need to continue to train wisely and properly so that I can arrive at the starting line fit, fresh, and healthy. I will take it one day at a time, one preliminary race at a time. I will remember that I love challenges and that I don't back down from hard things. Meanwhile, I will do what I can to inspire others to learn how their bodies function and respond to stress. Humans were designed to walk and run. We need to be active, especially as the incidence of obesity continues to skyrocket globally. It's all the result of a lack of physical activity, an unhealthy (sedentary) lifestyle, and a questionable diet. 

Running has nothing to do with speed or pace. I know some 3-hour marathoners. I know a lot more 5 hour marathoners. The difference between them isn't related to pace. It's mostly related to genetics and the priorities you have. Their accomplishments, however, are the same. 

I've been blessed to have run the Flying Pig three times. Each serves as one of my happiest memories in this sport. I think of the Pig when I face a challenge. "I've run the Flying Pig. I can do this." 

Friends, the greatest danger in marathons is not the distance. The greatest danger is our unwillingness to accept the difficulty of the challenge. Just ask Bart Yasso. Or me, the "Flying Pig."

Let's Give Origen a Break Already

Recently I've begun a study of the New Testament canon -- what writings are included in the New Testament, and why? The classic textbooks on the subject are currently on my desk. Since I am a student of the apostle Paul, I always check to see what these books have to say about the authorship of Hebrews, which always circulated as part of the Pauline Corpus in the early church. In particular, what did the early church father Origen think about the subject? 

In one of these books on the canon -- a classic work -- we read this about Hebrews:

[Origen] admitted that many assumed its Pauline authorship, while others attributed it to Clement of Rome and still others to Luke, but Origen himself took an agnostic stance: "Who wrote the epistle, in truth only God knows." 

Another famous textbook has these words:

Rather than following Origen's wise conclusion that "But who wrote the epistle, in truth God knows," scholars have continued to make suggestions ranging from Apollos to Priscilla to Luke. 

The fact is that -- as I've demonstrated in my book -- Origen consistently quoted Hebrews as Paul's. 

 

The confusion in his mind applied only to the book's penman or possibly to the person ultimately responsible for the letter's style (but not content). Thus Origen can hardly be used as an example of an agnostic position on the subject of primary authorship. 

Here's an analogy. There's a book in the New Testament we could rightfully call "The Epistle of Tertius to the Romans." But the real title is "The Epistle of Paul to the Romans." That's because, while Tertius was the penman of Romans, Paul was its author (see Rom. 16:22). See what I'm saying?

In seminary, I was taught that Paul could not have possibly authored Hebrews. I taught that view for many years. Then I read Origen for himself. I had to scrap my preconceptions and retool the way I approached the subject. The emphasis is on preconceptions. Little is to be gained by simply parroting what others are saying about the subject. Look at the evidence for yourself and then make up your own mind.

In the meantime, think we could give old Origen a break and stop misquoting him?

I Love My Zero Drop Shoes!

Here's where I ran in Dallas over the weekend. Mom and dad live close to this subdivision. 

 

The streets are mostly empty. 

 

There is also a creek-side trail that dots the landscape. 

 

This made for an easy 6 mile run. I was so happy to have my Altra Lone Peak 5s with me as opposed to my New Balance 880s. In fact, I honestly don't think I can ever go back to the typical running shoe with an elevated heel, a padded arch, and a narrow toe box. Last week, when I was working outdoors on the farm in the mud, I wore an old pair of NB 880s and I could hardly walk in them. Your arch doesn't function in the manner it was designed for. And when you elevate the heel, this alters the forces on your knees, hips, and pelvis. Furthermore, arch supports block the natural spring-like flattening of the foot. On the other hand, zero drop shoes with a wide toe box and no arch support allow your toes to spread apart (as they were meant to do) and provide balance. They also let your arch flatten and your foot pronate. 

Now that I've transitioned into a wider and thinner-soled shoe, I don't think I can ever go back to shoes with stiff, rocker-shaped soles. I've also found that thinner-soled shoes offer a better sensory feel of the ground beneath your feet. This helps to stabilize you and improve your running efficiency. 

All of these thoughts went through my mind today during my 5-mile run. No shoe is perfect for everyone, but for me, a lower drop -- or even no drop -- shoe is the only way to go.

My Greek DVDs Are Now Online!

In 2005, I was asked to teach 6 weeks of beginning Greek at the Evangelical Theological College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

 

Concurrently I taught 3 weeks of intermediate Greek at the Messerete Christos College. With her usual foresight, Becky hired a team of professional videographers to record my beginning Greek class so that it could be available literally around the world. 

 

The raw footage was then edited in Dallas and published in New York. We sold the 24-DVD set for a mere $200.00 and the proceeds were used to help us fund our mission trips.

As of today, I am making these videos available on YouTube for free as a way of saying "Thank you" to all of my students during the past 44 years of full-time teaching. Here is the link. The videos are reviewed here. The class is based on my beginning grammar, Learn to Read New Testament Greek.

As a Christian, you are a member of the worldwide family of God. This family is, among other things, a learning community. Admittedly, studying Greek requires time and energy. But I truly believe that any of you reading this post can teach yourself to read the New Testament in its original language. I invite you to be my companion on this exhilarating path of self-discovery. My own path to these discoveries entailed endless trial and error. By using these videos, you'll leapfrog my experimentation to find an easier and faster way to do it. 

I'm grateful for the chance God has given me to share with you the secrets I have learned. May he use these videos to increase our love for his word and for its great Author and Subject, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Dave

August Races

Here are my three races this month. They are all "local" events. One's in Farmville, VA. One's in Durham, NC. One's in Ashland, VA. All are within driving distance. 

Lord willing, should be great fun!

 

Life Is a Gift from God

In 1976, Becky and I were married at Grace Bible Church in Dallas. This congregation had been founded by her grandparents (among others). Her youth pastor was an unknown seminary student named Chuck Swindoll. Becky's parents, Brad and Betty Lapsley, were the first missionaries to be sent out by Grace. Since our marriage, Becky and I must have visited mom and dad in the Big D over 20 times. 

 

This was the first trip I made to Dallas when dad wasn't physically present. 

Love has been defined as a full-hearted pouring out of oneself for others. Dad and mom poured out their lives for the Ethiopian people. Dad established two elementary schools there and helped bring the gospel to Southern Ethiopia. I'm sure I'm a better man because I knew him and because I married his eldest daughter. I know a little bit about the loneliness that life has dealt to mom. She and dad were married for 69 years. Both were spiritual parents to many. They were always there for Becky and me. 

The Scriptures abound with pictures of heaven -- rewards for service on earth, immortality for mortality, a glorious body for a vile one, satisfaction for hunger and thirst, and life out of death. Dad's graduation to glory deserved all the accolades he received at his funeral service. Dad's pastor spoke. Becky's brother spoke. One of dad's grandsons spoke. All made a joyful offering to God. The Lord, in turn, overflowed with consolation for the grieving. We were reminded that every discipline imposed upon us during our earthly journey has one purpose -- to bring us to our full glory and to make us part of that which can never die. I am comforted when I think that pain and tears are part of God's economy on earth. None of us goes on forever, no matter how hard we try to conceal the aging process. Life is a gift from God, pure and simple, and it is taken back when he determines. Whatever remaining years he gives us we are to use to praise his name, serve others, and enjoy his goodness. 

I wasn't able to get pictures of the funeral service for obvious reasons. Instead, I'll post what few pics I do have. I think they will show you the strange peace that is ours as Christians when we lose a loved one. 

Four generations (only Becky is missing).

Mom being greeted after the funeral service. 

Interment at Restland Cemetery. 

"To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven."

 

Enjoying Ethiopian dinner last night.

Mrs. Lapsley and I at breakfast this morning. I love you, mom!

Jesus the Anti-Celebrity

 Here is one of the books I'll be taking with me to Dallas.

The book is a look at the celebrity culture we've created in our churches -- and how to form an alternative society (a "goodness culture"). The authors write:

Something radical has seeped into the church in the last fifty years. The American meritocracy has reshaped pastors and churches, and a new culture has taken root, based on achievement and accomplishment rather than holiness and Christlikeness. This new culture is not all bad, by any means, but it must be seen for what it is, and also for its limitations.

They refer to Jesus as the "anti-celebrity." 

Jesus wants followers who deny glory and fame to pursue a life of service. Pastors are not celebrities, and churches are not celebrity churches. Pastors, leaders, and churches are to be known for what their Lord and Savior was known for: sacrifice for the sake of others.

I wrote about this in my book The Jesus Paradigm. The Christian Way is all about downward mobility. We are all important people to Christ. Remember the incarnation: God's greatness was funneled into the plain package of a human being who was born in a smelly animal stall and died in disgrace. Take a few moments and think of some ways the celebrity culture has affected your life. Perhaps like Moses you are ducking God's service because you're troubled by how unspectacular your life is. If so, you've been deceived by the devil. God is willing to use each and every one of us. He can turn our disabilities into blessings. He's not bound by our self-imposed limitations. 

You think it's awful that some Christians just have to have the limelight? So does God. But is it any less tragic when we underestimate what he can do in and through us? 

This is the challenge we must each face individually. Am I really the servant Jesus wants me to be? Nobody can answer that but you.