My vertiginous life & wonderful wife!

When we were dating, I told my girlfriend (now wife) I was “vertiginous.” 

I am liable to cause (for myself or others) the feeling of “vertigo” from the whirling, rotating, spinning nature of all that goes on in my life.

We talked about this the other day as my wife reminded me, “I knew what I was getting when I married you.”  Followed with, “I just didn’t know what I was getting when I married you.”

I’m the luckiest of men to be so incredibly loved by this wonderful woman.

The past few months have been as vertiginous as ever.   

Our kids are in great & curious transitions; meaningful times of unique one-on-one mentorship with about 15 students where I teach; a full teaching load; developing an online course for the University, several short but significant writing projects (and required research to engage them);  leading travel in the Jordan, Palestine & Israel already and planning travel to Africa in a few weeks;  conference work in the Oklahoma City, the state of Oklahoma, and in California;  writing recommendations and applications for others in projects;  making my own applications for projects;  grading (lots of grading!); nursing a shoulder injury and the requisite appointments and some physical therapy for recovery from a partial rotator cuff tear (wondering if the WaveHouse Surfing experience was really worth it – but it was!); a commitment to read again the Isaiah textbooks I have assigned for the Seminary course I’m teaching; vacancies and make-ready work in our rental properties; church life with family in Sabbath cycles;  the unexpected and unplanned, officiating a funeral;  time for dinner and lunch dates with my wife; and, believe it or not, some meaningful time for intentional prayer and quiet, coupled with some routine exercise experiences in my life that challenge my spirit and body to stay “in shape.” 

It’s been a whirling, spinning, rotating few weeks and months; and it appears it will remain that way for the next several months.

I’m delighted to partner in family life, and in meaningful daily existence, with a woman who loves me and helps me, and keeps me from getting off-balance in my own vertiginous way.  

I am blessed beyond measure to be partnered in relational grace, shared stewardship of life, loving affection, and mutuality of existence with this wonderful woman who is my wife.

“Alles wirkliche im Leben ist Begegnung” – Martin Buber.

Former Student's Great Sermon - On Pacificism

I'm delightfully privileged to have had opportunity to be in the classroom - and have had time to mentor - many great people.  And, they have shaped and honed my life, too!

One former student was not only a great student "way-back-when" - she has become a remarkably deep and discerning, thoughtful and contemplative, powerful and meek, voice of proclamation.

I love her sermon from today, "Wannabe Pacifist."  - by Kyndall Rae Rothaus

Anything that inspires us to take the words of Jesus seriously - and move us towards being peacemakers - is great proclamation.  And her words are particularly powerful.

If you don't have time for her full-text sermon - or the 15 minute audio file - here are the final words:

I think, for the most part, the church is a group of wannabe pacifists who still spend their days swinging their fists at their enemies, at their neighbors, and at their own imperfections. For you and I, peace is still just a tiny seed we’ve planted and continue to water. The hour of worship is where we come to look for its budding and fertilize its soil. I just can’t imagine how it is that I’m ever going to look anything like Jesus, but sometimes when I am here, I watch your kindness and am reminded, by golly, we are on our way to holiness after all.

May we dare to try it: loving our enemies, praying for those who persecute us, going the second mile. May we be about these wild and radical Jesusy things: The refusal to retaliate. The gumption to look a madman in the eye and look for the remnant of his soul that remains. The audacity to be generous. The courage to let our fear of the other drain away. The capacity to get creative instead of mean when things get ugly. The miracle of holding hands with people we have a hard time believing belong in our circle.

As for embodying the radical, unrealistic but made-real-in-Jesus-Christ love of God: I don’t think we are ever going to get there, ever going to replicate it with precision, but we are going to forge a way towards it, and we are going to make many, many friends along the way, and we are going to die grateful that we brushed up against a thing so beautiful as love even in this war-torn lifetime. Amen.

How to be a better Exegete of Scripture - a better student of the Bible

I'm archiving here a blog and video from Zondervan. Zondervan has been doing a number of Q&A sessions with leading professors about various issues in Bible study, reading, school work.

This one is particularly appropriate to students I teach, both undergraduates and graduates (though the video is focused on Seminary students).  I think good exegetical skills should not wait until Seminary, but start earlier than that!  I train undergraduates in analytic methods early - following careful reading and research processes.  Additionally,  I focus each class session on how our intentional reading of Scripture is about "presenting ourselves to God" as persons who work with Scripture to rightly discern it!  (See 2 Timothy 2:15!)

In a similar, though different way, Mark Gignilliat describes the experience of being good readers of Scripture.  Gignilliat is professor of Old Testament studies at Beeson Divinity School and author of A Brief History of Old Testament Criticism.

 In our video today, Gignilliat shares two key ways students can prepare for this boot camp educational experience. First, while we tend to bifurcate our spiritual life and academic life, it's important to wed the two from the beginning. Second, we grow as exegetes by becoming a full-orbed person, which includes prayer, reading literature, and thinking beyond the myopic world of theological studies.

Full link here to Zondervan Blog. 

Seminary & Graduate Study

I read this at the Union Presbyterian Seminary website today:

Seminary is not a trade school where a finite amount of knowledge is gained and mastered. It is a beginning point, the alpha, of a lifetime of study and exploration.

I think this should be true for Seminary and for all genuine Graduate study in any field of endeavour.

I hope this idea and the inspiration of study is fostered for all of the students I am privileged to teach!




 

On my integrity & frugality!

Tonight I shared a story with our kids that is one of my favorite from my life!

I lived in a house I own for 11 months after my divorce, with two small children (ages 5 and 7).

When we moved out of that house, I rented the house to a tenant.

I explained to the tenant that it was a great house!

A few days later, I got a call from the new tenant who was concerned about my integrity.  She told me that she had called the local utility company to get electricity in her name.  Getting the electricity on in her name wasn't a problem, but she questioned me about whether or not I actually physically lived in the property.

Naturally, I assured her that I had lived in the property - for nearly 12 months!

She questioned me further and said essentially, "You actually lived in this house - and not just lived here occasionally while you were living somewhere else?"

I replied, "Yes.  I lived there.  My girls and I have only lived there this past year.  We had lost our other house and we only lived there!"

She was kind, but persistent in her line-of-inquiry so I inquired back to her, "I'm confused why you're asking this?  Can you help me understand?"

She told me that the Utility Company employee had told her there was "no way" the house had been occupied, because the average monthly billing on the house was "way too low" and equal to the use of a vacant property!

I love the fact that I'm *that* parsimonious in my willingness to need utilities - and - the fact that I try to keep my carbon-footprint at a minimum at home, so I can invest in others, in charity, in service, and in travel!