Progress Isn't Just One-Dimensional

So you're a beginning student of Greek. Your knowledge of the language has increased exponentially. But are you enjoying your private Bible time more? Are you feeling yourself drawn closer to the Lord? Are you learning to depend on him more and more in your life, not just in your studies? Those are wins too. Progress need not be one-dimensional. 

What Is the Sunday After Easter Called?

Empty Pew Sunday. 

During Tomorrow's Sermon

Have you learned the art of hearing the word yet? A critical spirit, ready to find fault with every word spoken and pick out flaws, cannot be profited by the spoken word. There must be humility. Become a good listener. Begin by taking careful notes of the sermon that you can review later. 

Gentle Advice for Young Pastors

It's okay to feel like you don't know what you're doing because even the most experienced pastors didn't always know what they were doing. They learned from their mistakes as they went along. Be patient with yourself. And don't ever stop learning. 

Next Week's Lecture in DC

I am crazy excited about being able to read a paper next week at the ETS regional meeting in DC. There is too much to share in a 30-minute window. In summary, I will try and show that both Reasoned Eclecticism and Byzantine Priority represent the extreme ends of the pendulum. It's easy to overvalue or undervalue the Alexandrian text, and it's just as easy to overvalue or undervalue the Majority text. I think Harry Sturz offers us a critical third way. In the words of Keith Elliott in his review of Sturz in Novum Testamentum:

Sturz's book is a carefully documented and painstakingly argued thesis which demonstrates that Westcott and Hort (= WH) were wrong to dismiss the validity of the Byzantine text-type as a legitimate claimant alongside the other text-types to possess the original text.

Both Alexandrian Priority and Byzantine Exclusivism seem to miss this point. 

If you're going to be at the meeting, let me know and we'll grab a meal together. 

On Standpoint Epistemology

Some people say we have to read the Bible through our own cultural lenses, but I disagree. Before we even think about applying the Bible to our own cultural context we have to understand it in light of its own. 

1 1/2 Hours

"I really regret doing 30 minutes of walking 3 days a week," said nobody ever. 

Why Were "SEVEN" Men Chosen in Acts 6? (Latin Helps Us)

So I was pondering a question this morning during my study of Acts 6: Why were 7 men chosen to serve tables -- not fewer and not more? Some say it was because of the reverence for the number 7 among the Jews. Other answers are more esoteric. But see Lightfoot below:

His comment hits a home run. If you've ever studied Latin, you can probable figure it out. The main challenge for most people is probably going be the verb dicat. This is the third singular of dicere, "to say." But how should we translate it? Here's a clue, based on the third singular of the various forms of dicere:

Indicative = dicit ("he says")

Imperfect = dicebat ("he was saying")

Future = dicet ("he will say")

Perfect = dixit ("he has said")

Pluperfect = dixerat ("he had said")

AND FINALLY ...

Subjunctive = dicat ("let him say")

Thus, I would render "quare septem eligendi, dicat cui est audacia" as follows:

"As to why seven were chosen, let him say who has the audacity." 

In other words, your guess is as good as mine!

In the end, Barnes is probably correct is saying that 7 was a commonsense number -- "sufficiently large to secure the faithful performance of the duty, and not so large as to cause confusion and embarrassment." 

So there you have it -- why there were 7. 

His Gifts Are Ours to Enjoy

As I continue to try and put on  muscle (with gradual success) ... 

... the sheep keep on giving us babies. We are now up to 7 newborns in the last week. And several mamas are expected to give birth any day now. 

All of these happenings are pure gifts from God. He has impressed on my heart recently the importance of being grateful for the little things he allows his children to enjoy. My roots are growing deep into that place. 

Who else sees the connection between gratitude and happiness? 

For Dinner: Honey Mustard Chicken and Potatoes

My daughter cooked a delicious meal for me last week in Alabama. I asked her for the recipe so that I could give it a try. 

This was the result. 

Let's just say I am a lover of trying new dishes, especially ones that have been tested and perfected. I am happy to announce that mine turned out pretty good, though not even close to the flavor I enjoyed last week. 

I ain't no Julia Child, but at least I tried. 

To Race Or Not to Race?

That is the question facing me as the weekend approaches. Shall I run the Petersburg Half Marathon again? I've already run it 3 times. I am familiar -- very familiar -- with the course. But do I really need to do it again? Plus, the forecast looks like rain. 

To race or not to race?

What makes runners run? It's not because we have nothing else to do. I think I run for many reasons, including:

1. It allows me time to enjoy my surroundings and their Creator.

2. It allows me time to think.

3. It allows me time to be alone for an hour or longer.

4. It allows me time to see whether or not I am a coward and what I can endure.

5. It gives me a chance to push myself.

For many of us, running has become a way of taking charge of our lives. Running, as I see it, is one of the best "therapies" out there. I am by nature a competitive person. And competing in a race is a socially acceptable outlet for that trait. I need a means of physical self-measurement. And a race is perfect for that. Doing one's absolute best becomes the criterion. 

Running in races had made this plain to me. All around me are other people engaged in the same struggle. They are pushing themselves as hard as I am. We are driven by our need to do our best, even if we finish at the back of the pack (as I usually do). For those few moments, we become the equal of everyone else out there on the course. Winning is, essentially, being able to say "I didn't quit." At the end of the race, everyone has done their dead-level best. 

The true competition is, and always will be, within myself. 

Stott on Anti-Intellectualism

"It's time to repent of the cult of mindlessness. Let's repent of any anti-intellectualism, any intellectual laziness of which we may be guilty. Anti-intellectualism insults God who made us in his own image, impoverishes us, and weakens our testimony in the world." --John Stott. 

The Ultimate Exercise for a Novice

Program Note

This Saturday night, the NC Symphony is performing Gustav Holst's magnificent The Planets. 

I wouldn't miss it for the world. 

Oh, the Beauty!

It was a perfect evening for mowing. 

Ishi, where are you? 

I mowed the yards around Bradford Hall. 

Good night, sun. 

The weather could not have been nicer. 

I have never seen a deeper blue sky. 

By the way, today we welcomed three new baby sheep to the farm. Right now they are nestled next to their mamas. Still more to come. Sometimes I think God must have created animals when he wanted to show us beyond the shadow of any doubt that he is beautiful. 

Now if you'll excuse me, time to cook up some fresh kale my daughter gave me. :-) 

Doing Church in the Digital Age

The book Analog Church raises some excellent questions about the way we do church. 

The author is Jay Kim. 

Here are 7 of my favorite takeaways from the book. 

1. "[As pastors] we felt the strong temptation of the digital age -- the temptation to pursue relevance at any cost."

2. "The digital age entices and invites us into this never-ending stream of 'frenetic shallowness'." 

3. "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."

4. "Rather than a single church community singing together, we are increasingly becoming a gathering of audiences who watch the professionals perform."

5. "What were originally intended to connect us more meaningfully to God and one another have now become impediments and obstacles. The shine and sparkle of lyric projection and flashy lighting in our churches are actually repelling the new generations they were meant to reach."

6. "Rather than creating a sense of personal connection and intimacy with the preacher, in many multisite churches people now sit and watch a communicator who can't see them, hear them, or feel their responsive presence to what's unfolding in real time."

7. "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."

Today's Workout at the Y

Do you lack natural talent as a weight lifter? Don't worry. 80 percent is just showing up. 

The Witnessing, Evangelizing Local Church

Yesterday, at the conclusion of the Easter service I attended in Alabama, two women gave their lives to Christ and were gloriously converted. It reminded me that every Christian congregation is to be a witnessing and evangelistic community. If we truly know God, we will find ourselves compelled to make him known to others. Each local church must see itself as strategically placed to reach the area around it. Thus faithfulness to the word of God and practical missions strategy combine to make the local church the primary agent of evangelism. 

We need more fidelity to Scripture and more sensitivity to the lost all around us -- not one without the other, but both. 

Meeting with God

Today in Greek class we were reminded that Greek has two main words for "temple": hieron and naos. The latter can also be rendered "sanctuary." I grew up in a church that referred to its building as a sanctuary. But since Christ's death there have been no "holy places." If we want to meet with God, we can do so anywhere. Of course, if we have a church building, and if we use it for reaching people, we should thank God for it. However, let's be sure not to invest it with religious significance. God does not live there, and we should avoid terminology that implies that he does. (I've made many trips to a country where the believers have no buildings and instead meet in small groups in members' homes. Are they missing out on something important? I don't think so.) To say, "I'm going to church to meet with God" is about as silly as saying, "I'm going to the park to breath air." Meeting with God should define the whole of life. 

No Weird Tricks

There are no "weird tricks" for learning to read New Testament Greek. The message is clear: Take responsibility for your studies. Next, take charge of your schedule. Finally, take one chapter at a time. With each step forward, it becomes more difficult not to be a Greek reader. 

Goals for the Week

Goals for the week: a lot less internet, lots of water, daily workouts, and sun. It's not a detox, just my lifestyle. 

New Lambs!

Hope y'all had a great Easter. Mine was amazing and the icing on the cake was coming back home and finding we have two new lambs. 

Now it's back to teaching and then yard work. Enjoying the spring weather. Hope you have a great week serving the Lord!

The Grace of Easter

I am now, more than ever, thankful. I am now, more than ever, convinced that nothing can separate me from the love of God -- not weariness, not pain, not loss, not frustration, not heartache, not distance. I am learning to see the unforced rhythms of grace all around me. I am learning to feel these rhythms. I am letting them pull me into a dance where I don't quite know the steps but where the steps don't really matter after all. All that matters is grace. The grace of Easter.

Easter reminds us how we got our name. We are called Christians, not because we are identified with merely a principle, a philosopher, or a program. We are called Christians because we are identified with a Person. We are married to Another, espoused to Him. His business is our business as Christians. We have no other. He finished His redemptive work, but there is still the great unfinished work of all that He began to do and teach. 

We aren't here to save civilization. The ship is sinking, but we can rescue some of the passengers. We cannot do without the finished work of Christ nor can we do without the unfinished witnessed of His church if we want to enjoy His grace today. 

"The resurrection of Jesus Christ," wrote Barth, "was like a boulder crashing into the pool of history." Even now, all these years later, you can still see the ripples. Take a deep breath. The water is moving. It's a thing called grace. 

P.S. I'll be taking a blogging break while I travel to visit my daughter and her family in Alabama. May I wish you and yours all the peace and joy that Easter brings. 

Today's Run in Farmville

In the Hollow of His Hands

Yo, everyone. Time for a brief photo update from today's activities? I did my Bible study this morning in Romans 1. 

Paul's summary of what the gospel is I found quite amazing. The prepositions seemed to be the key. 

Then it was back to the gym for another workout. 

However, the one thing I really looked forward to today was mowing.

Yep, this was the first time this year I fired up the mower and put it to work. 

I enjoy nothing more. 

I hope you can see this, but the farm seems filled these days with a pretty colored ground cover. Sort of hate to mow it. 

I think Becky loved purple flowers more than any others. Whether we were camping on the Tongue River in Montana or in the Kaibab National Forest in Arizona or at Hobson Beach Park in Carpinteria, California, whenever Becky saw a purple flower she would squeal with delight. 

I love days like today. I love living out in the middle of nowhere. Some days, it all just feels right. Right now I am about to go outdoors and enjoy the sunset. I can't get enough of them. Imagine that if you could travel at just the right speed westward, you would live in a world with an orange sky instead of a blue one. During a sunset I hear Him say, Beloved, a setting sun cannot quench my love. My love is stronger than day and night. Don't you realize? 

I have been placed, a seal over His heart, and I will rest there, in the hollow of His hands.

Who We Are Vs. Who He Is

There are three types of Christians in the world:

1. Those who look at their own inadequacy instead of at God's all-sufficiency.

2. Those who go to the opposite extreme and obsess over their own importance and give God no chance to glorify himself in their lives.

3. Those who think neither too lowly nor too highly of themselves.

Saying "2 + 2 = 5" is just as wrong as saying "2 + 2 = 3." Don't waste your time or energy telling God about your inadequacies. He knows them better than you do. What matters is not who we are but who he is. 

Life Is Never Boring

Isn't it odd how you can do the same things day in and day out and they NEVER get boring? Take cooking. I still enjoy it. Tonight I tried my hand at Tikka Masala. I am not a recipe inventor, but I did create this today. 

Then it was time for my evening walk. Checked the mail. Checked on the sheep. 

Checked on the goats. 

Who loved to be scratched. 

I think they're being spoiled. By whom? I wonder. 

Then Ishi got his dessert. I know you must get tired of watching me feed a donkey, but he's got such a photogenic mug, don't he? 

Right now I'm watching Youtubes of John Williams movie scores. This has got to be my favorite. 

Does anyone else get chills when hearing this theme? Kudos to the greatest composer of the modern era. 

In the meantime, I'm getting behind on other chores like cleaning the kitchen. I'm starting to panic. Maybe I need to hire a house cleaner. I pleaded with Siri to give me some tips on performing household duties, which she kindly did, but I'm still behind. I guess I am a true language/art/music buff who is not STEM-like in any way. Not like the world is going to end because it takes me a couple of days a week to do the dishes. 

All in all, a very nice day. No, an amazing day. Despite my definite weaknesses and lack of aptitude in all things household, I absolutely love my "boring" life. 

Doing "Exegesis" in the Pulpit

The evangelical subculture has become so used to spectacularism that many pastors think saying a Greek word from the pulpit is "doing exegesis." 

Basel German

On campus today reviewing my Basel German. 

Ya never know when it might come in handy. How odd, I thought to myself when I arrived in Basel in 1980, that Basel had its own dialect, as did Bern and Zurich. You would think the closer you lived together, the more you had in common. The opposite seems to be true in Europe. The closer you live together, the bigger the linguistic and cultural walls. At any rate, I admit I am a Basel German lover. I even tried to preach in it the last time I gave a sermon at our little Baptist church in the city. Probably should have stuck to High German. 

Off for my massage! 

My Evening Walk

Just back from checking up on the animals. 

And, of course, making sure Ishi gets his carrot. 

We're expecting baby sheep any day now. I can't wait. 

Should be a good week. Even though it's Easter Break I'm still going into Wake Forest tomorrow for my weekly sports massage. Then I'll spent Monday through Wednesday doing yard work. The weather should be perfect for it here in the Piedmont. Y'all should move here. Really. 

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Birmingham, where I'll be Thursday through Sunday. Rain is in the forecast for each of those days. Might have to do my running on the treadmill. Adapt, Dave. One of my greatest faults is thinking that I always need to have things go a certain way. Are you ever like that? But when we get caught up in thinking that life should unfold in a certain way, we become inflexible. We forget to be thankful. This doesn't mean you can't have preferences for how you'd like things to go. But don't be tied to that plan. Learn to be flexible and go with the flow. I'm going to try to.