Holy Vocation

There is a funny thing I've noticed when I talk to people about my career choice.  When I talk about being an engineer people have all kinds of questions about roads and bridges.  They have a curiosity about how projects get done and what I am doing to fix the problems with roads that they use regularly.  People are intrigued by my engineering and even passionate about roads.  It seems everyone is a traffic engineer giving me advice on how to fix roads and signals.

But when I tell people I'm leaving behind engineering for ministry, currently attending seminary, they get quiet and serious.  Their demeanor changes.  They tip-toe around their speech; hide their beer behind the napkin dispenser; apologize for saying, 'shucks.'  It's not that they disagree with my views (though they probably would if we started talking more); but it is like they somehow feel that suddenly they are in holy company and they should remove their sandals and only speak in reverent tones.

But why should this be different for any believer?  We are a priesthood of believers; everywhere we go we are ambassadors for Christ.  Everything we do represents God in us.  Whether we are computer programmers, pastors, engineers, homemakers, or street hot-dog vendors, we have the amazing privilege to bring that holy passion for God to whatever career venture we choose.  People should see our work no matter where we are as a high calling; something we take seriously and do with joy and excellence.

So enlivened by the importance of this task is a friend from seminary who determined he was going to drop out of his pastoral pursuits and get a job as a marketing manager in downtown Minneapolis.  He is one of the brightest guys in our cohort with incredible maturity and he decided he could better glorify God by mingling with the downtown professionals at an entry level professional career position.  While I am saddened that our class is losing such a bright mind, I am thrilled about a guy who really wants the light of Christ to shine in a normal office job.  He has a holy ambition to make Christ known even in a cubicle.

Just a couple weeks after I heard this news from my friend an elder at church preached on the high calling of the work of every believer.  It was both encouraging and convicting.  Not-working is dehumanizing.  We were made to reflect God's work in creation by being at work with creative joy ourselves.  We are to provide for our families with contentment as God provides for us.

During the last year of my struggling to know what I am doing here I often wanted to quit my job so I could devote more time to studying, get more involved in ministry, and spend more time with my wife and kids.  I thought that my job was a hindrance to what was more important and prayed regularly for God to provide some other means of provision so I wouldn't have to work. But I have been convicted that the job keeps me connected to God in a more personal and satisfying way.  I get the pleasure of representing Christ to people in downtown Minneapolis.  I get the honor of showing what excellent work looks like from someone with a heavenly perspective.  I get to taste the goodness of providing with my hands and my mind for my family.

One thing from the sermon that really caught my attention applied to our motivation for hard work.  The world works hard to earn something; a raise, a promotion, a paycheck to buy more things.  It is a merit system in which we tie up our identities.  Who we are becomes defined by our position, our income, and our toys.  Or, the job is simply a necessary evil means to something else more enjoyable.  For me, it was just the thing that provided me the opportunity to do what I preferred to do, being in a classroom and reading books.

But work should be different for the believer.  We don't work dutifully for approval or personal gain, but we work diligently from approval and gain.  Everything we need was earned for us in Christ.  God will provide for us everything that is necessary for contentment in Him.  From there we can put in hard work during the day and find great peace and satisfaction in the work because we aren't doing it to gain anything but to simply reflect what has already been gained for us.

My eyes are continually being opened to the blessing which is my current engineering job.  God ordained it as a means of abundant provision for my family, but it has also taught me more about continuing to be in the world and savoring the opportunity to image his diligent, creative activity in the world.  He has given me a platform to share the gospel to people this country boy would have never had access to.  God forgive me when I complain about the high calling of cubicle work and give me a holy ambition to shine your creative light on the streets of downtown Minneapolis.

Immaturity of Sin

Delayed Gratification is a term that I've often been fond of to discern someone's level of maturity.  We live in a culture that needs everything right now.  Don't want to wait until married to have sex, do it now.  Don't have money to pay for what I want, put it on the credit card.  Can't take the time to cook a healthy meal, get fast food.  Children, by definition, lacking maturity have a difficult time waiting because they don't have enough life experience in waiting to know that "good things come to those who wait."  They don't know that opportunities come and go regularly and by taking time to do things right they will be better prepared for the next opportunity.  Instead, in our immature passions we jump now at something and, at best, enjoy a fleeting pleasure that could have been longer lasting had we invested more patient preparation.

I was recently reminded of another stage of maturity in a child's life through reading a book on marriage and it has really got me thinking about my continual need for sanctification.  In the first few months of a baby's life their world extends to about 12 inches in front of their faces.  As far as they understand this world is all about themselves.  When what is going on in their own bubble is uncomfortable they let everyone outside the bubble know about it until someone else comes to fix it.  If you put a toy in front of an infant they will recognize its existence.  But the moment they can no longer see that toy they act as though it no longer exists.  This is called Object Permanence; at about the age of eight months a child gains the ability to recognize that an object continues to exists even though they can no longer see it.  A child who has yet to develop Object Permanence will have a difficult time being away from his parents when they walk away because the person that makes him feel so good (in his own mind) no longer exists.  Once the child develops Object Permanence he can feel comfortable letting his parents go because he knows they still exist and experience has shown that they will come back.

Today I was reminded of an excellent book in which the author talks about the immaturity of sin as she looks back upon the sins she once defended:

“People whose lives are riddled with unrestrained sin act like rebellious children. Sin, when unrestrained, infantilizes a person. Here I had thought that I was so mature, so capable, so ‘important’ in the world, and the truth remains that I didn’t even know how to act my age! After conversion, I was surprised to discover how old I really was.”

-Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, The Secret Thoughts of and Unlikely Convert, p. 108

This is the case for all of us, isn't it?  When we engage in sin, when we give into temptation, when we "follow our hearts" we act as a a child who is incapable of making decisions according to the reality of the world God created.  Though our eyes are wide open we act as though truth has disappeared.  When men are tempted to look at pornography it is because they have lost Object Permanence; forgetting about God's provision for intimacy.  When we lie, complain, or boast in ourselves it is because we have lost Object Permanence; forgetting that God is still there even though we don't see Him.  What we need are not strategies for sidestepping the temptation, but mature hearts who are content to trust God's good provision when the current circumstances disrupt the comfort of our little bubbles.

"Sin infantilizes a person." God help me avoid sin and honor you by maturing my heart to be satisfied with your provision whenever you choose to give it and rest in the permanence of it even when I can't see it.

Wisdom for Obedience

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:5-8)

Generous Provider,

We seek to know your provision in our lives even more fully.  You have done incredible things in our family to care for us and bless us far better than what we have earned.  And far too often we haven't even acknowledged your hand in the simple meal that sits on our table.

You have been good to us and so it seems somewhat foolish of me to ask for more.  Yet all I am is a beggar with nothing that hasn't already been given by you.  What else can I do but continue to ask for you to provide?

So here I am, holding nothing in my hands that I have earned, only that which you've already blessed me with, asking you to bless me even more.

We seek to be obedient to you in our journey to seminary and whatever ministries it leads us to.  We seek to be good stewards of the money you've asked us to care for.  We want to live with your priorities in mind, giving our attention to our marriage, discipling our children, and ministering among your people.  We want you to be glorified in us as we strive to do your will in a new place.  We are excited for that adventure to begin.

But here we are waiting for you to move.  We are sure you are already moving in ways that we cannot see, so help us to trust your sovereign timing.  We believe that we have taken every step forward that we can and now just wait for you to provide.

You know the things we need and we anticipate this week an incredible answer to all of our prayers.  I've interviewed for jobs, we've shown our house, we've found houses that would be a great fit for our family and the results of those things are in your hands right now.  Please make this week an exciting step in our journey.  We know that your usually method of provision is quiet, consistent, and sufficient, but we pray for this step of faith in our lives to be marked with abundant provision and overwhelming response to our needs.

As we wait for you to reveal your work to us, give us the wisdom we lack, which you are thrilled to provide, so that we may no longer wonder in anxiety about what to do next, but we may trust in you standing on our firm foundation and boldly stepping forward in faith.

May the praise of our lips be heard all around at the revealing of your abundant provision in this moment.

Loading...Please Wait

We live in a fast culture.  We want everything and we want it right now.  Pull your car up to a window and get an entire meal for your family in less than two minutes.  We can get 100 Mbps internet in our home that allows us to download an entire high definition movie in 2 minutes.  Smart phones allow us to have instant communication with anyone in anyplace whenever we feel like it.  Entire libraries worth of information are at our fingertips as we sit at a downtown bus stop.

Because of these blessings, we have become an impatient people.  We have little time for those who might slow us down.  Driver stranded on the side of the road with a flat tire?  No time to help when we are already late for work.  Just need to stop into the store to pick up a couple things?  Delayed three minutes because a 70 year old woman has 12 items in the ten-items-or-less express lane...and she's writing a check!

It is especially frustrating to have to slow down when you've got every minute of your next two months planned out and God has a different plan.  It reveals what's in my heart when I am impatient with others throughout my day, but it really shows my lack of faith when God tells me to wait and I can't sit still and trust Him.

Right now I see a hundred things that need to get done in the next few months to get settled in to our new life in Minneapolis.  I need to find money to pay for everything.  I need to find a part-time job.  I need to find a home to live in.  I need to figure out how to get moved up there and when would be the best time.  I need to get some books, and maybe a new computer.  I need to pass a Greek exam.  There are details of each of these things that I am ready to get going on figuring out.

I've said before that I am a planner and a doer.  I see what needs to be done, formulate a plan, and work hard to achieve excellent results.  So when God tells me to wait, it is hard for me to sit still.  I feel like I am wasting time.  I feel like I'm ready to start the game, but the computer is slowly stretching that little bar across the screen saying, "Loading..."

Sometimes life is "hurry up and wait."  For one entire summer, Molly and I prepared for our adoption.  We read all the required books, took the training courses, and finished our home study in near record time.  And then we waited for two years for God to bring us our son.  We scrambled for a few weeks to get our house ready to be put on the market, and now we wait for God to bring the right buyer.  We are within days of our baby being born.  Everything is set up to be ready for her arrival; kids have a place to stay for a couple days, house ready to be shown while we are out, the bags are packed for a couple days in the hospital; and now we wait.

It's hard to wait when I see all that needs to get done, but I too easily forget that God is sovereign over every detail.  I too easily get focused on the next step that I forget to be content with where I am right now; to enjoy this very moment.  God has been so good to me up to now (obviously better than I deserve since I continually doubt His good providence), why should I question His ability to provide for all that needs to be done as we take a step of faith in order to know Him better?

These words from Jesus need to be stapled to my forehead to remind me daily that He is good and He will provide what is necessary for my obedience:
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

Passing the Greek Entrance Exam

There was one contingency in my acceptance to Bethlehem College and Seminary, that I must be able to pass a first year Greek exam. If you've been preparing to go to seminary by going to Bible college this may not be a big deal.  Or if your pastor seems to give a mini Greek lesson in every sermon.  For me, however, I was starting fresh.  The only Greek I really knew was what I learned in engineering school.

p = 3.14159

S - symbol for a series of equations

D - designates a change in value

m - symbol for micro-units

t - torsion

Turns out, people used to actually use these symbols to make words and communicate, not just to do math.  And since the New Testament was written in Greek, I guess it's a good idea to be able to understand it to better understand what the writers were trying to communicate.

So I set out to learn Greek, as quickly and cheaply as possible.  I didn't have time to attend a class and I didn't have money to pay for one either.  But due to my impeccable research abilities, I figured I could find some good free resources online.  You can find anything online, and most of it is true, too!

 My first try was this free flash-based class from Gordon College.

After a while, the woodenness of the flash video just became a little tedious.  Plus, there just wasn't much interaction with the Scriptures to make me feel like I was accomplishing much.  I got through the first 2 chapters and decided to move on.  I did learn the alphabet from him, however, and his recitation pattern is the one I know when reciting the alphabet.

Someone posted on YouTube an entire set of videos recorded during their New Testament Greek class with Jeff Jenkins.  This seemed like it would work well, as it was a little more interactive (at least with the people in the video) and real life.  For a while, I really enjoyed this.  However, I again had to quit as I didn't have the ability to interact with the materials he was referring to (books and worksheets).  I eventually fell behind what he was teaching and wasn't able to refer to anything else to get my questions answered.

I thought I was in trouble or would finally have to fork over the money to get a real koine Greek education.  Then, during my visit to BCS last fall, I met a first-year student, Brad Aust, who had the same challenge as me when he was first accepted.  He suggested I get a hold of the Greek I and Greek II DVDs from Gordon Conwell's Online Seminary program.  At $50 bucks a piece, it was better than spending a few hundred bucks for a full class. Even better than that, Brad let me borrow his Greek I disc, so all I needed was to purchase the Greek II disc.  Now we're talkin'!

Unfortunately, Dr. Hafemann's DVD courses are based on Mounce's Basics of Biblical Greek; a book which I did not have and would need to purchase also. Plus, the homework is all from Mounce's workbook, which would cost extra as well.

But hooray for friends!  I put a call out on facebook for a copy to borrow, and sure enough, one of my newest friends said I could borrow both her textbook and the workbook.  Of course, I would need to keep my  notes and homework in a separate notebook, but in order to save a ton of money, it was worth the trouble.  She even had a copy of Mounce's Graded Reader I could borrow, which would get me more into the Scriptures as I learned.  This made it feel like the work was worth it and pushed me to continue.

After four months of studying, listening, and practicing, I took a practice test to prepare for the entrance exam.  I passed with flying colors!  Yess!  I'm in (I still have to take the official test proctored by someone who is not my wife).

Thank you Lord for the generosity of some new friends.

Along the way, I picked up a few more resources which helped me with parsing and vocabulary.  These were probably more helpful than I have time or space to give them credit for.

• Parse Greek App - I loaded this app onto my Kindle Fire from the Amazon Store.  It has all of the vocabulary from multiple curricula (including Mounce) and every possible parsing of each word.  It quizzes you by giving you a word and you choose the parsing details.
• Bible Flashcards App - I had to sideload this onto my Kindle Fire since it isn't available in the Amazon app store.  This app is simply a flashcard app for all the vocabulary from multiple Greek curricula.  There are a few spelling and accenting errors in the program, so you need to keep your eyes open.
• Biblical Greek: QUIA Games - I love playing the memory games on this site.  It moves things around a bit so you aren't always stuck with the same old flashcards.  You can choose the vocab to study by word type or frequency.  This helped me learn words down to 26 occurrences for the exam (which tests down to 30)
• BiblicalTraining.org - Mounce put some free lectures online for each chapter of his book.  It wasn't the most helpful, but it was good just to hear the information again from someone else after reading it myself.
• Audio of Greek New Testament - sometimes it is helpful to just read and listen through the New Testament just to get familiar with the words and the syntax; even if you don't understand it.  I found this exciting to listen to; as I began to learn more and more I started to understand more of what I was listening to while following along in my Greek New Testament.
• Quizlet - Many people created various flashcard sets on this site which were quite helpful.  The link is to the prepositions set that helped me when I struggled with the prepositions with different case endings.
• Greek Drills - This site is a wealth of information.  I liked how it organized its charts for various case ending and explained the morphology of some of the endings.  The self-test was especially helpful in preparing me for the entrance exam.
•  Polis Koine - I can't wait until this program is available in English.  I watched the sample videos and was astounded by how much I was learning by watching the entire class operate in Greek.  This is the way everyone should learn Greek, not through boring grammar/syntax study and rote vocabulary memorization.
• Living Koine Greek - Since finishing up with Mounce, I've continued to refine my understanding with this program.  The pronunciation is different than Mounce (supposedly more historically accurate for the koine period), but still, a much more natural way to learn.  This is a fun way to learn another language.