Just a suggestion.
Ours is a constantly scrolling and swiping culture.
That doesn't need to be reinforced from the pulpit.
If you can, leave your iPad at home.
Preach from a reservoir, not a canteen.
Look us in the eyes and earn our attention.
Thank you.
That was quite a game.
To my Chiefs:
Never forget your past wins, but don't dwell on them.
Ego is the enemy of excellence.
Stay focused on the next prize.
Being sober after losing is a tremendous blessing.
To the Eagles:
Over-celebration is an enemy.
You're never too good to lose.
Navigating the treacherous waters of success is never easy.
Stay hungry but humble.
To both teams:
Thanks for an entertaining season. See you next year.
When Paul wrote the book of Philippians, he was well aware of a serious division within their ranks. The fellowship was fractured. Doctrine does not seem to have been the cause. Rather, the church was being torn apart by differences arising from rivalry, self-interest, mutual animosity, and pride. In 4:2-3, the problem bubbles to the surface. Two women were disagreeing, and people in the church were apparently taking sides and dividing. Paul must have wondered, "Can our partnership in the gospel survive?" And so he addresses both women by name, begging each one to be of the same mind in the Lord, that is, to reach agreement with each other if possible and, if not, at least to set aside any self-seeking attitudes that they may have had toward each other and replacing this with the self-giving attitude of Christ (2:5-11).
I think there are a few principles here that we can apply whenever we disagree with our fellow believers. Here at five:
1. Disagreements are inevitable, even among the godly. If you're going to have a relationship with others that's based on honesty, truth, and transparency, there will be disagreements. Opinions and viewpoints will differ. Spirit-filled people will not always see eye to eye. Paul and Barnabas are a good example (Acts 15:36-41). This is even true in Christian organizations. I serve in a place where congeniality and unity reign. My colleagues are men and women I have the utmost love and respect for. But we don't always agree with each other. Yet our mutual respect is not affected in the least. We simply agree to disagree about something and aren't afraid to have an open and honest discussion about it.
2. In every disagreement, there are two separate ingredients. There is an issue, and there are convictions. The issue involves principles, while the convictions involve preferences. There are some convictions that all believers have because they are foundational truths of Christianity. But in many other areas, we will see things differently. The point is that we can still work in harmony with people with whom we disagree on these matters.
3. In most if not all disagreements, each side will have valid points. It's often difficult for us to acknowledge and value the other point of view because we are so vested in our own opinion. Thus Paul urges the Philippians to be "forbearing" (4:5). He means that we need to be willing to stop talking and begin to listen to others, to meet them halfway if we can, and not always insist that it's our way or the highway. William Hendriksen brilliantly translates the Greek word here as "bigheartedness." The idea is one of sweet reasonableness and magnanimity. If we have such an attitude, we'll be less likely to make an obstinate stand for what we believe is right. When involved in a disagreement, we will work at seeing both viewpoints. We'll do our very best to see the other's point of view. In fact, often they can support their point of view as well as we can support ours.
4. When both sides of an issue have good support, we should seek a wise compromise. For Paul and Barnabas to have done that would not have meant heresy. No doctrine was involved in their decision as to whether or not they should take John Mark with them on their second missionary journey. Paul could have said, "Let's take Mark on probation. If it doesn't work out in the first month, we'll send him home." For his part, Barnabas could have said, "Let's give Mark a minor assignment to see how he does. If on our journey we hear that he's measuring up, we'll send for him to join us." Could they have agreed on such a contingency plan? The answer seems to be yes. Instead, they separated in a manner they were probably not very proud of. Remember: a wise compromise is not necessarily a sign of weakness. Remember too that sometimes a third party is necessary to bring this about. In writing to the divided Philippians, Paul was a realist. He knew how hard it would be for Euodia and Syntyche to reach a compromise on their own. Hence he enlists a third party -- either a man named Suzugos, or the entire Philippian church as a unit ("Suzugos" means "partner"). "Help these ladies," says Paul. "Work with them to restore harmony and amity. The relationship is as important as the issue."
5. Finally, if the conflict persists and the issue cannot be resolved, graciously agree to disagree. Don't slam the phone down. Don't give others the silent treatment. Don't stomp out of the room. Remember that God can still use both sides to advance the gospel. Paul's second missionary journey was no less successful than his first -- a reminder of the truth of Rom. 8:28.
When I think of Phil. 1:12-18, which has two paragraphs (1:12-14 and 1:15-18), a number of possible sermon titles comes to mind:
Lots of choices! I decided on this outline:
Sermon Title:
Making the Most of Your Adversity for the Gospel's Sake
Question driving the sermon:
How can our adversities advance the Gospel?
Outline:
1. When we see our painful circumstances as opportunities for evangelism (1:12-13).
2. When we see others' pettiness as reminders of our highest ambition: to see Christ proclaimed (1:15-18).
Takeaways:
1. Adversity provides new opportunities to share our faith.
2. We can use our circumstances as a witness for Christ.
3. My pain can be for His gain.
4. Sometimes the gospel advances by those who do not support us and will not cooperate with us.
How would you teach/preach this passage?
Have a great day!
Today was a good day to finish up repairing my porch.
Shout out to Nate and Nolan for their help!
We also welcomed two new lambs to the farm today.
They are so precious.
A farm is a nice place to raise a family.
I love watching the grandkids at work -- and at play.
Hope your Sunday went well!
While standing in line at Bo's this week, a guy asked me, "I've seen you here a lot. I'm curious: What kind of work do you do?" I replied, "Well, I think I'm sort of a jack of all trades and master of none. I dabble in many things, including teaching and farming."
Now, we've all heard the saying "Jack of all trades and master of none." But do you know the full quote? It goes on to say, in essence, that this is often better than being "a master of one." I couldn't agree more. Let me explain what I mean with this state-of-the-art graphic:
This is what's called a "T-Person." A T-Person is known for two things:
1. Disciplinary expertise.
2. The ability to work outside one's core discipline.
In other words:
Depth.
AND breadth.
Depth of high-level expertise in one's discipline.
And breadth of experience, knowledge, and skills.
I think this describes me to a T. (Pardon the pun.) Basically I've always been a T-Person. I recall graduating from Basel with my doctorate in New Testament. I had written my dissertation on Paul. Immediately some people attempted to peg me as a Pauline scholar. I refused the identification. Of course, there are men and women with doctorates in, say, New Testament textual criticism or New Testament canon who spend their entire careers in this one area of research alone. I couldn't do that. I've wanted to engage my curiosity about nearly everything that had to do with New Testament studies. Have I published on Paul? To be sure. But I've also longed to be knowledgeable about other areas as well. Thankfully, I've had a career that's allowed me to explore the things I'm curious about, be it the synoptic problem or the authorship of Hebrews or New Testament ecclesiology or linguistics or textual criticism or Christian missions.
If you're a fledging Ph.D. student in New Testament studies, my advice to you would be: Definitely become an expert in your particular field. But don't be afraid to go out and learn about topics that aren't "in your lane" so to speak. I pray that you'll find that your career is one in which you have the freedom to explore the things you're curious about. Please don't limit yourself to just one if you can possibly avoid it.
A couple of months ago, John Miles asked himself, "Do I, or do I not, like Dr. Black's It's Still Greek to Me?" (His answer may surprise you.)
In his video, John wondered out loud about how I happened to write my odd little book, which seems so different from my Learn to Read New Testament Greek. Well, it's all very simple.
After B & H had published my beginning grammar, Baker Academic asked me if I would write a second-year grammar for them. I didn't even have to think about the answer. It was a polite but definite "No thank you." You see, I knew that my friend Dan Wallace (we had attended Biola together) was in the process of writing an intermediate grammar for Zondervan. Knowing Dan as I did, I was certain that his grammar would quickly become the standard work in the field. "Dan's currently writing the definitive second year grammar," I told my friends at Baker. "So there's no need at all for me to write one."
Later, after Dan's work had appeared in print, Baker called me back and asked, "What do you think of Dan Wallace's new grammar?" "It's the greatest advanced Greek grammar ever published," I replied. After all, Dan's book was over 800 pages long. "Well, would you consider writing a more rudimentary intermediate grammar for us?" asked Baker. "Sure," I said, "but on two conditions: (1) that I could make it a true second-year grammar, and (2) that I could use a style that would appeal to students and pastors outside of a purely academic setting." The rest, as they say, is history.
By the way, I still think Dan's grammar is one of the best (if not the best) grammar beyond beginning Greek in print today. In my chapters in It's Still Greek to Me, I referenced by page numbers the parallel sections in Dan's Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics and pleaded with my readers not to stop with my book but to go on to deepen their studies through an encounter with Dan's magnum opus.
That's still my advice today.
Thanks for reading!
1. Never say you're too old. I started serious strength training at the age of 69. Today I'm 72. Aging isn't "lost youth." It's a new stage of personal growth.
2. Never fail to warm up first. If you fail to get your blood cells moving, you're asking for an injury. I never lift until I've spent at least 10 minutes warming up.
3. Never say never. Today I was able to do three consecutive wide grip pull ups with proper form. It was a milestone for which I am VERY grateful. When you celebrate micro-wins on your way to your dream, it can boost confidence and increase the likelihood that you can achieve your goal.
I can tell you firsthand that Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn't have felt any better receiving his first Mr. Olympia title than I did today.
It's all grace. Thank you Lord!
As you know, I do an upper body workout three days a week. So I just added a leg day to my schedule, at least until I'm able to run outdoors again on a regular basis. Like my pencil legs?
I do. In fact, I love 'em. After all, they're the only legs I've got. I figure things could be worse. And by exercising them -- who knows? -- they might get bigger and stronger.
Is there a body part of yours that you don't like? Get over it. Why do we humans insist on comparing ourselves to others? Comparison is never pretty. Just consciously realizing this can be helpful. We can always find someone else in the world who is stronger or bigger or better looking etc. than we are. But when you compare yourself to yourself, it's a win-win situation. On the one hand, you realize how much you've grown and improved and matured and what progress you've made toward your goals. On the other hand, you can develop a healthy discontentment with yourself, one that allows you to push yourself forward to achieve greater heights than before. The old cliche is true: "Comparison is the thief of joy." So let's jettison it. We'll be so much better off.
It's your journey, my friend.
Just be you.
*Sermon concluded.*
There's nothing wrong with celebrating a holiday (like Thanksgiving) by eating a big over-sized dinner with dessert. Being healthy isn't always about eating the best possible meal in every scenario. It means making conscious choices about what you eat and being content with the tradeoffs. Nobody needs to regret a few over-the-top meals they may have in the presence of those they care about the most.
On Monday next, we'll be exegeting this passage (Phil. 1:12-18).
But the goal is not exegesis. Exegesis looks at ideas. A sermon looks at people. Exegesis differs from a sermon in the same way that taking a trip differs from studying a map. No biblical author wrote simply to convey information. Each one wrote to effect lives.
I'm eager to see the homiletical outlines the class produces for these two paragraphs. The inspired Scriptures exist so that we can be "adequately equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:17). Producing a sermon outline forces you to reflect on how attitudes and behaviors should be altered in light of the text.
I'll share with you my own outline and paraphrase of these extremely interesting verses next week!
Languages have architectural and logical precision. Even the exceptions have rules. This shouldn't surprise us. God is the one who made language and languages. He does everything decently and in order.
Just because others are getting poor grades in class doesn't mean you need to. Do what others don't so that you can achieve what others won't.
Really thankful for one of the personal trainers at the Y. Today he was kind enough to take this video and then give me some feedback on how well my scapula are performing during close grip pull ups.
People sometimes ask me if a personal trainer is absolutely needed. They are not required as long as you have sufficient motivation to make exercise regular and a willingness to actually get the work done. They can be expensive and aren't always right for some. I've learned that if I don't know how to use a certain piece of equipment or if I want to know if I'm doing an exercise correctly, I can always ask the staff to show me and they are happy to help. I've also learned that once you're a "gym guy," other gym guys will give you ideas and help when asked.
But in the end, it's all going to be up to you. If you hold yourself accountable, routinely perform your exercises, and research on Youtube the things you don't know, you're gonna create that lifestyle for yourself.
Have a wonderful day!Some people think the ESV is the best Bible translation. Others prefer the NIV. Read whatever you like most. Neither is a "bad" translation, and neither is perfect.
Easy day at the gym today -- a light leg, scap, and arm workout -- but no less discipline is required!
Discipline isn't just something that you begin.
It's something you maintain with habits.
Discipline gives us the very ingredients needed to achieve our goals.
Do it because you want to.
Don't think about it.
Don't procrastinate.
Don't talk yourself out of doing it.
Your discipline (or lack thereof) is on display daily in the condition of your body and your life.
Just do it!
You don't need to be perfect. Just consistent. Half a workout is better than none. Messy success is better than perfect failure.
When I first started training at the gym, I knew I was light years away from doing my first pull up. After a couple years of training, it seems to me that I should have approached the matter a bit differently. Instead of focusing on machine-assisted pull ups and lat pull downs, I should have been performing band-assisted pull ups from day one. I realize that this exercise can feel really awkward to somebody who's never done it before and some people might have to start out with really wide bands, but the exercise is worth learning and becoming proficient in. The problem with machine-assisted pull ups and lat pull downs is that these movements don't translate very well into doing actual pull ups. I think you'd be far better off incorporating some band-assisted pull ups from the get-go. If I was starting again I'm pretty sure that's what I would do. I wouldn't ignore the pull up or lat pull down machines. I would just focus on band-assisted exercises.
Just a thought!
From today's workout:
As we have seen, the theme of the book of Philippians is "Gospel Partnership." I deduce this from 1:5, where Paul thanks God for the church's "partnership (or fellowship) in the gospel from the first day until now." The idea behind the Greek word for "partnership" or "fellowship" is "to share in." As believers, we share in the gospel in two primary ways. We share in the gospel in the sense that we all share its benefits and blessings. That's what Paul is referring to in verse 7 when he writes, "we are all sharers in God's grace." As believers, we mutually enjoy the salvation and forgiveness that comes through Christ. "We have shared together the blessings of God" is how the Living Bible puts it. This is indeed how the gospel first set foot in Philippi. Lydia, the slave girl, the jailor -- these all stepped into the grace of God. And before you knew it, there was a church in Philippi, meeting in Lydia's home. Salvation had brought them a new citizenship -- a heavenly, spiritual one (3:20) -- and with it a radical realignment of values and relationships.
I've found that whenever I meet together with fellow believers, wherever they are, there is a tremendous oneness we enjoy because we are united in Christ. The three years Becky and I lived in Basel were years filled with the sweet fellowship that the Holy Spirit produced between strangers. From day one, our church family became the Baptistengemeinde Basel, where many close friendships were made.
I've experienced the same oneness in villages in Ethiopia and in high rises in China. Such fellowship in the gospel is a blessing of salvation I never want to take for granted.
But as believers in Christ, we also share in the gospel in the sense that we share joint ownership in the work of spreading the gospel to others. The ASV renders verse 5 as "your fellowship in the furtherance of the gospel." If we are recipients of grace through the gospel, we are also sharers of that grace to others. In other words, those who genuinely possess the gospel are eager to propagate it. Thus, while I enjoy wonderful fellowship with believers anywhere in the world, I also find that I enjoy a special relationship with those whom I feel I have a special partnership in the work of the gospel. I think this explains the closeness Paul felt with the Philippians (1:8). It also explains the closeness I feel with my faculty colleagues or my missions partners in such faraway places as Ukraine and Korea. What makes these relationships so special is not only that we are brothers and sister in Christ, but that we also work closely together in the gospel.
Let me try to summarize what I think Paul is trying to say here. There are two main ideas in the expression "partnership in the gospel."
1. The gospel at work in the partners.
2. The partners at work for the gospel.
It's really just a matter of moving from fellowship to participation, from mere association to personal involvement. The Philippians exhibited this shift in many different ways. Lydia got actively behind the gospel by opening her home to the new believers. The jailor believed and was baptized, but he also washed the feet of Paul and Silas and then made them a meal. This is indeed "partnership in the gospel from the first day until now"! Gospel partners say, "This is my team. I will work with you for the gospel. Together we will keep the main thing the main thing, all because we share with one another God's amazing grace." As 1:9-11 shows, it's our genuine love for each other that adorns the gospel. A united church advances the gospel. On the other hand, a divided church hinders the gospel. A selfish, individualistic person is not a gospel partner! Thus to paraphrase 1:5:
"I'm so thankful to God not only for your fellowship as my brothers and sisters in Christ, but also for your sympathetic collaboration and generous contributions in spreading and advancing the Good News from the very first day you heard and believed it until now."
The work of the gospel, in short, is the secret of fellowship in the church. And it is all the work of God (1:6). We merely work out what he works in (see Phil. 2:12-13)!
 |
| Using "morphology" to share the gospel with Persians studying linguistics at Yerevan University in Armenia. |
 |
| Building up fellow believers in Cluj, Romania (my mother's ancestral home). |
 |
| Teaching Greek to church leaders in China. |
In 1910 in Edinburgh, there was a global conference on missions. 95% of the participants came from the western world and only 5% from the rest.
In 2010, a similar conference was held in Cape Town when 5,000 evangelical leaders came together from all across the globe. Only 35% of the participants were from the western world and 65% from the majority world.
This is a reminder of how the evangelical church exploded all across the world in the last century. No longer can anyone say that Christianity is a western religion. In fact, the 5 countries with the largest number of evangelical Christians in the world are China, India, Nigeria, Brazil, and South Korea. In 1910, only 16 percent of the mission force came from the non-western world. By 1960, that had doubled to 35%. In 2025 that number is expected to double again to 70%. This well illustrates how paternalism in missions yielded to partnership. A true gospel partnership was birthed through mutual respect and cooperation.
The answer to paternalism and dependence lies in true partnership where the daughter becomes a friend, and where founding agencies partner with national churches. Praise the Lord!
One of the things we saw last week in Greek class, as we discussed the first two verses of Philippians, is that New Testament leadership was shared leadership. Paul does not to refer to a solitary "overseer" but instead to (plural) "overseers." The fact is, Jesus never entrusted leadership of a local church to a single individual. Thus it's not surprising that we find numerous references in the New Testament to what Michael Green once called a "fellowship of leadership" -- witness the "elders" of James 5:14 as well as the "elders" of Acts 14:23. A plurality of qualified elders serves many functions, not least to help a congregation avoid the cult of personality that often accompanies one lead pastor or the burnout that often attends the single pastorate. I once heard it said that pastors today have three full-time jobs -- teaching/preaching, counseling, and administration. No one person can do all of that well.
I was reminded of this when I learned that the tower at Reagan National Airport (which I've flown into numerous times) was short-staffed on the night of the fatal collision of an American Eagle airliner and a military helicopter.
Hopefully the FAA will address this issue and make needed changes, sooner rather than later. My heart goes out to the controller as he or she was one person working two positions in arguably one of the most if not THE most intense, congested, and restricted airspaces in the United States. It's intense because of its proximity to the nation's capital, the Pentagon, and other very sensitive areas. Just why airport towers are understaffed is certainly open to political debate, but to me there's really no excuse for it. I think everyone in the aviation industry now realizes in hindsight that what happened at Reagan was an accident waiting to happen, and my guess is that runway 33 will be closed until things are figured out -- or that military aircraft will no longer be allowed to fly their normal route past the airport. If not, I would hope that airline pilots would refuse to accept an approach where any aircraft is flying right beneath them with a vertical clearance of only 200 feet. That's just plain absurd.
Procrastination is often perfectionism in disguise. Perfectionism (keeping those blog posts, videos, photos, etc. in draft form) helps no one. You need to take your potential seriously.
This adorable little guy was born this week.
Best guess is that all of the other ewes are pregnant too. Mama and baby have bonded well. I'm so thankful for new life -- and for the warmer weather!
My job du jour? Prepping to strip the old wax off of my surfboard so that it's ready for a new season of wave riding. The old wax is pretty dirty and stained from use. On our next really warm day I'll leave it out in the sun and let the wax melt and then scrape it off with an old gift card.
This board has "migrated" through the years:
5 years in Hawaii.
27 years in Southern California.
27 years on the East Coast.
By the way, I'm planning on taking this board with me this summer when I return to Oahu. Renting a board just doesn't cut it. It will be fun to use this board again on the South Shore!
