Post-ETS comments

This year was my favorite Evangelical Theological Society gathering to date. But I said that last year too. It seems to me that the Society groans. What does it say? Hmmm. Over the last two years a Spiritual Formation study group was started. More than just a study group, however, this year several groups had spiritual formation in view. Also, this year a new study group met: Theology and Pastoral Ministry. This group discusses the divide between academia and the local church. In addition, several of the seminars I attended addressed spiritual concerns as well as deep textual matters. It seems, perhaps, the society has found its conscience. Huddled over its own vomit in a darkened closet, perhaps, but found. This may be the start of something beautiful.

The sessions I attended were great. Joanna Jung read a powerful paper on the Puritan discipline of "conference." When her dissertation on the topic gets published, buy it. David Howard delivered a thoughtful address on the ultimate Lament Psalm, Psalm 88. He followed this with some thoughts for modern church life in view of Psalm 88. I had the opportunity to sit under Dr. Howard for Basic Hebrew. Imagine Hebrew as Worship. Okay, it wasn't quite that enjoyable, but it was occasionally worshipful.

David Instone-Brewer delivered a solid paper on Aristotilian perameters to Paul's house-codes. His conclusion, that since Paul essentially quotes Aristotle we should therefore reject it as we would other NT quotes, is hermeneutically nonsensensical. But he again sets a high standard for thoughtful research. His exegetical care exhorts me. If you're not familiar with his volume on Divorce and Remarriage, be sure to purchase a copy as soon as you're finished reading this entry. It is very nearly definitive.

We heard a few other papers, all a little less-good. The book displays did not appear as overwhelming. I actually got tired of them this year. I think that's a sign of health in me, thank God. I was also able to enjoy deep fellowship with CRB as well as my fellow pastor, Ted.

Bethlehem Institute alumni and friends gather each year to enjoy a larger, more variated Table Talk. Previous years found me itching to get out. This year the topics were interesting and the discussion lively. All I'll say is that we rejoined our Anabaptist and early Christian forefathers in that the conversation danced from baptism to sexual immorality.

Next year I would like to work at meeting people, being a friendly person. We ride up elevators with Evangelical scholars and say nary a word. But especially I'd like to see internationals and minorities feel more included at a personal level. I would also like to introduce an opportunity for the men to gather each morning for prayer. The conference does well; men enjoy it. But how much better would it be for the Kingdom if it were soaked in daily prayer throughout? Much better. Much, much better.

East of Eden

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

East is a vast, weeping commentary on the text of Genesis 4. It centers on one family: the Trasks. Most of the attention is given to Adam Trask and his married life. His father and brother figure in early on as well as another family, the Hamiltons. But this is the landscape: Genesis 1-3. Eden is there. Cain and Able twice over. The Father. The serpent and Eve, and Eve again. The book comes to a head over the actual Hebrew word timshel. This is the main driving point Steinbeck labors to make. The servant-philosopher, Lee, seeks out the wisest men he knows and, in order to more closely familiarize himself with the actual meaning of the text, learns Hebrew. He learns Hebrew in order to learn the meaning of one word. After two years of intensive labor they come to an agreement: timshel means “thou mayest.”

The book is a story of human choice; it glories in divinely given ability. “Thou mayest” mean also, Lee says, “thou mayest not.” So we have, from the mouth of God, the ability to unlatch ourselves from our histories, our genetics (blood), our inner-demons. We can set the yoke of previous generations, of evil stories retold by our foolish decisions, aside. We can burn the oxen atop the yoke and follow the prophet into the grace of God.

Steinbeck hardly paints so Christian a picture, but since he's dealing with scripture, he cannot help but preach the message of the divinity of Scripture and the redemption available in its message. Really Steinbeck biblicizes the American-problem: choice. I suppose since his day it has become a problem. Commercial choice has become a great evil. “The love of money is a root of all sorts of evil.” But biblically choice is a gift from God that allows us, by the grace of His electing love given in His Spirit, to break with a long history of sin, of depravity, of the head devouring the tail from generation to generation. We can be free. Choice is a means of that grace, the grace of freedom. Steinbeck tells us we can be free. Was he ever really free? We may never know. But if the Son has set you free, then you are free indeed. Timshel, indeed.

Using New Testament Greek in Ministry

Using New Testament Greek in Ministry: A Practical Guide for Students and Pastors
by David Alan Black

As the title tells, the book's design is to lubricate the transition from seminary to pulpit, which movement may otherwise break down from the friction. I have it on good authority that more Greek knowledge has been lost in the last ten years of American pulpit ministry than Evangelicals have spent in that same amount of time on taking care of their pets and on golf...combined. The amount of Greek U.S. pastors forget after leaving seminary is enough to educate all the indigenous pastors of Latin America as well as many African pastors. We lose it like we don't even care. "Lose it like you don't even care, babeee!"

I've personally learned Greek two and a half times. Once, when I was a student, I got high A's in Greek. Then, several months later, I had to relearn it in order to teach Greek. Then, a year later, I did a significant brush-up in order to gain entrance into an apprenticeship program.

What happened? "If you don't use it, you'll lose it."

David Alan Black sets out to encourage and equip pastors to use their Greek education. Why is that important? Is it a class distinction sort of thing, a godly variation of those coffee table books, "A Man's guide to being a Gentleman," or, "The Art of Shaving"? Should ministers learn Greek because it's the "cool" ministerial thing to do? NO. The original text, because it was written in Greek, demands that we who explain it to the people gain as intimate an understanding of it as possible. And that requires Greek. That requires used Greek. As he says, "A knowledge of New Testament Greek should not be regarded as a luxury, but as an imperative."

Black begins by setting realistic expectations: learning Greek will be hard, knowing Greek will be hard too. First, one combats sloth; second, one combats pride. From there Black points the minister in the direction of helpful publications. Finally, and most significantly, Black spends the largest portion of his book describing exegesis that incorporates Greek. In overview,
1) The view from 'above': Where do we find our text?
2) The view from 'within': What did our text convey to its first readers?
3) The view from 'under': How does our text apply to modern life?

He then gives ten steps that are designed to help apply the above principles:

1. Survey the historical context.
2. Observe the larger literary context.
3. Resolve any significant textual issues.
4. Determine the meaning of any crucial words.
5. Analyze the syntax.
6. Determine the structure.
7. Look for any significant rhetorical features.
8. Observe how any sources were used.
9. Determine the key thought of your passage.
10. Derive a homiletical outline from the text.

I thought these ten steps provide a good working table from which ministers can systematically form their sermons on sure footings. Black highlights 1, 2, 5, 6, and 9, 10 as essential. Those six steps are necessary. That is, necessary for a job "well done."

The small, light volume is readable, enjoyable, and practical. Its brevity and directness commend it to busy pastors who've remembered they once knew Greek, or students who've realized they must preach someday. And brothers, whether we read this book or not, we must keep our Greek. If theological formation would return to the church, then we, the elders and leaders of the people, must enjoy regular and effectual use of our GNT's.

Dances with Wolves: Director's cut (Part 2)

Dances with Wolves: Director's cut
Part 2

One can not watch Dances with Wolves without being affected in some way as regards Native American culture and the relationship of the U. S. to the First-Nations tribes. I personally think the relationship was characterized by lopsided atrocities. Were Native Americans all saints, naturally holy, excluded from the curse of Adam? Of course not.

The idea of "scalping" came from Native Americans. They could be as merciless as the whites of those days, and they had refined sensebilities when it came to torture. Their masochistic practices also ought to give us pause before we deify them.

Yet I think the white invasion of North America stands nearly alone in history. It is its own category. More people have died in conflicts; more horrific things have happened. Yet you will search in vain to find such a lopsided multi-genocide. Whites exterminated multiple ethnic groups as well as many animals. And Native Americans were using bows and arrows. We could kill hundreds from a relatively safe distance with rifles. And no knife fighter is skilled enough to engage a soldier armed with his revolver.
Also, the apathetic nature of the extermination deserves mention. We did not hate the peoples, at least at first. We grew to hate them when they didn't role over and die like we wanted. But it wasn't a racial issue or a tradition issue. It wasn't religious or even really economic. It was simply that great American destiny, a commanding inevitability: "We're here. What are you still doing here?" The whites simply arrived and set up shop. Native Americans came to see who was trespassing on their grounds only to find hot lead pouring out at them. This escalated into the lopsided genocide of North America, but it clearly began in the doctrines of manifest destiny and white supremacy.

No other invasion in history has been so lopsided, so total, and so apathetic. The only others sorts of invasions I can think of that stand in the same category are invasive plant or animal species. Kudzu just grows and kills everything in its way. So did whites.

Sometimes it would strike me, looking over a prairie farm, or wandering through soft fall woods, "Indians used to live here." What happened to them? We killed them, almost all of them. I think a nation with such bloody roots is long overdue for judgment unless we repent. And casinos don't seem to fit the bill. Just think, though, right where you're sitting, living things used to grow and a culture used to thrive. I know we must move on and live our lives, but that great sadness ought to humble us and give us a passion for mercy, justice, and the glory of God in all our relationships.

Dances with Wolves: Director's cut

Dances with Wolves: Director's cut
Part 1

An epic movie, made more epic by nearly an hour of additional scenes and footage, deserving all the Oscar-laud it received. Costner does a marvelous job on both sides of the camera; the other actors are equally strong. But the big winner is God's great creation. Boy those Native-Americans can make some nifty stuff, beadwork, leather belts; and they do some amazing things physically. And white-man, in all his forthright terror and self-confidence, strikes a much different but equally stunning pose. But neither compares to the set: the Black Hills stabbing upwards, the vast inverted ocean of the Plains states sky, the monochrome desert of verdant prairie grass. Oh, what manner of Being formed this! I want to get to know Him, but I am terrified! These are terrible visions!

Costner must have a great ache in his heart. He routinely picks grand settings for his pictures, vistas, horizons, which he has no qualms with letting occupy the screan for several moments. Who could not ache with joy and trembling before such views? God has made a world indelibly imprinted with His eternal-nature and godhead. Yet Costner's pictures routinely contain immorality, violence, and moral ambiguities alongside other strongly positive themes. Is it his way of saying, "There is an objective good, but life is...complicated"? Perhaps. All the same, he makes good shows. And the Lord is in the details.

The Art of Prophesying

The Art of Prophesying
by William Perkins

My second foray into the world of the Puritans dissapointed me. Richard Baxter's, Reformed Pastor, was more than just biblically challenging; it was beautiful. Structurally sound and direct, theologically true, textually faithful (generally), and well written: Reformed Pastor is a classic.

I could say harsher things about The Art (I have, but deleted them), but will leave it simply without a recommendation.

I'll admit that I could not get past the basic premise, evidenced in the title, which gave the book an ethos that I personally am trying to quit. The Art, he says, of Prophesying. He means preaching. I don't mean to be prigish and stomp on this little area, as if there were no part of the prophetic office in the pulpit. Yet Perkins means more than that preachers ought to be aspiring prophets in many ways: calling people to account for sin, casting vision, delivering the word of the Lord, suffering for an unalterable declaration. He reads any usage of the word, "prophet," in the bible as a reference to the office now held by "pastors." Thus he begins delineating the roles of a "prophet" as preaching and prayer by quoting Genesis 20:7 for the latter: "Restore the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you..." A prophet should intercede for others; pastors are prophets; pastors should interecede for others. Unfortunately the happy result does not return a blessing on the means. Pastors are not prophets. Wayne Grudem's dissertation clarifies the nature of prophets and preachers in the New Testament for our oft' confused modern titles and understandings. Perkins had not thought through that part so clearly for it was not his burden. He was after restoring dignity to the pulpit. He was seeking the rejuvination of existing pastors and the calling of others to the noble office.

And here I rub. The following discussion may smack strangely coming from a new pastor, a paid minister. But I confess, I struggle with my identity as a pastor. The puritan pomp surrounding the role of paid minister can seem to me to be so much bluster, the shoring up of already existing edifices, whose original function or purpose may need to be thought through instead. I am a product of a latter-day "school of the prophets." But where is the New Testament guidance for such things? Elders came from areas, from congregations. They were taught by the Spirit, gifted by the Spirit, and employed by the leadership. Their moneys came from their own hands until the Lord's usage of them became inescapably evident and the peoples hearts grew open in faith that through their gifts would come greater joy to their souls as this man, these men, showed them deeper mysteries than they would have been able to understand alone.

Perhaps the Bible colleges, seminaries, and institutes of our world are fine, the Church adapting to the modes of culture. But you must admit with me that there is something fabricated feeling about the whole process, something inauthentic. We decided, before we regularly shaved, that this would be our calling, our livelihood, and our life. We became professional ministers. Does that sound odd? Professional ministers. And here we are, ministering, God-willing.

And then to hear these men of old describe the nobility of the office, hacking their way through textual jungles enroute to the high visions of pulpit ministry, using high vocabulary, glowing syntax, and odd, if not wrong, scriptures, feels wrong. It feels wrong. That certainly does not mean it is wrong. It may mean nothing more than that I, David, have yet to grasp, or regrasp as the case may be, the biblical premise for such a perspective. But that we have this industry of minister making, churning out professionals for the field, and then support it with the loftiest language available makes the pundit in me chuckle. We service souls whereas doctors service bodies and mechanics service cars. People need pastors to poke around in them, give them medicines, advise regimens, and do a sort of surgery when necessary. We don't have so many pulpits in this land because God is laying that many visions out, not that He couldn't. But we have these pulpits filled because they need to be filled. What kind of town would it be without the baptists, the catholics, the presbyterians, the united methodists, the bar, the gas station, the dollar store, the chinese buffet, the McD*^@!)$, and the quaint shop? This fact explains the many sordid tales surrounding pulpit ministry: wolves in sheep's clothing, arising from our own ranks. These men received no call from God, but they did injest a large dose of "mighty preacher" rhetoric that fed their egos till they dared to enter the higher-judgment incurring office of preacher.

Is preaching a "higher gift"? Certainly. Should it be developed in the Ford plants of denominational schools? Hmmm. Rather than in the foundries of life, hard knocks, and needed faith? Hmmm. Should we baste the office in such glowing terms?

As the Dilbert strip goes:
(Pointy-haired boss walks up)
Wally: We were just discussing you in glowing terms.
(Pointy-haired boss looks pleased, probably says something [I can't recall] and walks away)
Dilbert: What a flaming idiot!
Wally: One stick of dynamite is all I ask!

Pastor-king, or pastor-prophet, rhetoric creeps me out. But I do think that pastors are a legitimate New Testament office, that financial care for them is a New Testament practice (even considerable financial care), and that training these men to the best of our ability is a wise and obvious application of New Testament principles (and that since our ability includes sending them to schools thousands of miles away, we should do so). But you miss the glowing descriptions of the office when you read the apostolic writings. If anything the paradigm of "holy man" is completely set aside in favor of the new paradigm: Suffering Servant. That's the way to go, never mind the vestry and deportment.
____

Nonetheless, and I apologize for this lengthy "review" (I hope it has been entertaining and thought provoking in its own right), the book has several highlights with which I would like to close. Chapter 8, "Varieties of Application," offers helpful categories for applying texts in sermons. And of course the book is sprinkled with classic puritan homeruns. I'll close with this extended quote:

"This may seem to be an unusual course for God to take in order to confirm and energise his servant in zeal and courage; to strike him with extreme fear, indeed to astonish and amaze him. Yet it is clear that this is the way the Lord takes. It teaches us that all true ministers, especially those appointed to speak the greatest words in his church, must be first of all marked by a great sense of fear...even a sense of amazement and astonishment, full of admiration for God's glory and greatness." (127-128)

Amen