Greek, Greek, Greek

I send this out for all those who have listened to me cry and moan about my struggles trying to learn Greek for my degree plan. If you are Dr. Holmes, this a a true tribute to my feelings about the importance of mastering the Greek language. Enjoy.

Self-Improvement

I am sitting in a little sandwich shop in Shreveport, Louisiana called Tiger Bites. It is right across the street from LSUS. I am in Shreveport because she who must be obeyed is taking an exam for a certification in her nursing specialty. She is trying to improve her -- and by extension the rest of the family's -- situation in life. This could improve her earning potential and it certainly looks good on a resume. Mostly, it is additional evidence that she is very good at what she does. It also continues to improve her standing among her employer, her co-workers, and her patients. This is valuable self-improvement.

When I finished high school, I went on to college. I was certainly smart enough for college, but I was a poorly disciplined student. I struggled to stay in college and finally just gave it up. For the past few years, I have wanted to finish my degree. I am finally following through on that dream. I am about a year and a half from finishing my degree. I am trying to improve myself.

More importantly, I think God is leading me to be involved in the ministry. I do not know yet exactly what that means. It likely means I will serve on a church staff in a pastoral role (probably not as the senior pastor). I'll just have to wait and see. Not only am I pursuing a degree, it is a degree in religion. When I am finished with that, I want to proceed directly to seminary for a master's degree.

In chapel this week, the visiting speaker was Dr. Donald Whitney from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. These were very compelling messages. He spoke from 1 Timothy 4:16. It says: "Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you."

All believers, but especially those who minister, are instructed to live a godly lifestyle and true doctrine. But it does not stop there. It says to stay true. I think that means to keep doing those things and work to do them better. Become more godly. Continue to learn and to refine your doctrine. This is quality and biblical self-improvement.

These are some of the things we are doing in the name of self-improvement. How about you? What are you doing to continue to advance? For your own sake, the sake of your family, and for the growth of the kingdom, what are you doing?

The Balanced Life II

there seem to be rhythms to life. these might best be described as ebbs and flows of life. there clearly are seasons when our jobs or ministries demand more of our time and energy and times when things seem to just click along. there are times when our families make relatively few demands of us and times when we must focus almost solely on them. i have come to the realization that our lives are not necessarily meant to be balanced so much as they should be lived in obedience to god and in the season he has placed us in.

right now, my life seems as out of balance as i have ever felt. i am finding this feeling very difficult to deal with. i like to have a plan for what i am doing and where i am going. right now there doesn't seem to be one. i am convinced that god is leading me to work in ministry as a vocation. i do not have any strong sense of what that will look like. that feeling of uncertainty is troubling. i would love to serve in my current church home. i do not know if that is what god has for me, or if that is within the capacity of the church. i am not even sure they would want me. i have some good ideas - at least i think they are good - but i don't know if they would work where we are located (or anywhere, for that matter).

i am a student. i am enrolled in college and taking a pretty heavy load, especially considering i am back in college to complete my degree after about fifteen years away. this takes a lot of time. probably too much. i have a part-time associate pastor position in my church. i probably work more than i should (for a part-time position). i say my priority is my wife then children. they might argue with that. i think i am in a season of hard work right now. i am waiting on my season of rest and rebuilding. i feel really out of balance. but i am not called to be balanced. i am called to be obedient. i am called by god to complete my education and work in a church setting. i am called by god to care for my family. i am going to screw up parts of it. when i do, i repent to the ones affected and get back at it and try not to screw up the same thing again (although i likely will).

during all my time of uncertainty, i can rely on one fact. god is good all the time; and all the time, god is good. when i feel out of balance, i can know that god always rights the scales.

It's All Greek to Me

tonight, as soon as i post this, i will work some more on my greek translation homework. i am pursuing a bachelor of arts in religion, which requires four semesters of greek. i am in semester number two. i still have a long row to hoe. while i do plan to work in ministry as a vocation, i am not completely sure what my pastoral role will be. while i do not plan to do in depth translation work, i do believe that it is important to have some knowledge of the biblical languages. for the pastor who is actively involved in practical ministry, what is the appropriate amount of language study? personally, i think that with the growth in technology, it is less necessary to be able to do direct translation. i think it is more important to know how to use language tools. i promise that i am not just saying this because greek is difficult, although it is. i prepare for teaching with the use of my computer. this is the same computer that i would use to research the greek and/or hebrew texts. that being said, during the last semester and half, i have gained more appreciation for the precision of the greek text, as well as the work done by the translation teams who have prepared the bibles that i rely upon. god certainly has blessed their hard work. i will climb down from my soapbox now. i have put off long enough my translation of 1 john. i am sure it will come out much like a combination of the new american standard bible and the english standard version.