Living Theologically

A common misconception in determining the value of translations is that it should be compared to another English translation.  This is a grave mistake on anyone’s part for it is almost like the blind leading the blind.  In order to get an accurate feel for a translation, its validity, and its usefulness, one must first compare it to the original Greek and Hebrew.  The primary problem with this is that many people do not know the original language and therefore come to conclusions based on false accusations or misunderstandings about the text and reasons for a certain translation of a phrase or sentence or word.  The beginning point in considering the accuracy of an English translation is in its original text—the Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic—not another English translation.

The second common error I have seen is assumptions that have been made which would be settled after reading the preface of the English version.  For example, the preface will tell you whether it leans towards a more literal (word for word) translation, a thought-for-thought translation, or a paraphrase translation.  These three types of translations all have their uses and shortcomings.  I recommend people have at least one of each for personal, in home study as it helps clarify and check each other.  The preface also discusses the original texts used and which ones will be used in case of uncertainty.  The preface is a very useful tool to the student of the bible (which I know you already realize).

The main point I wanted to get at is one must compare new and old translations with the original language texts in order to fully know the benefits and short comings of each text.  But, in the event that an individual does not understand the original languages, the preface gives a little bit of help and insight which proves helpful in understanding why certain wordings have been chosen.

1. Never have a meeting without a purpose. Do not waste people’s time by having a meeting that has no real agenda or purpose. Better yet, make sure you have more then one purpose.
2. Do something. Not many people like to come to meetings, so make sure they feel like they did something when they leave.
3. Try to make it so they don’t have to make a special trip to the church. Sure, this can’t always be avoided, but if you can have a meeting that piggy backs other things it makes the days longer, but wont take an extra day for them.
4. Be clear, if you have an agenda say so! Don’t lead them around the room pushing them to come to a decision that you have already made. Don’t act like you have all the answers, when you really have no clue.
5. Limit the time and stick to it. If you tell them that the meeting will be an hour… make sure it stops at an hour.
6. Inspire them! Volunteers are not obligated to be there… make sure you always remind them and help them to remember why they give their time, energy, money, and life to the ministry. Stories and dreams keep volunteers alive.
7. Teach them something they can use. Volunteers, for the most part, don’t need to know the ends and outs of youth ministry. They do however need to know how to control a group of teens or how to keep teens focused.

The most important thing you can do is to inspire the volunteers. They must be reminded over and over again about why they are doing what they are doing. We all must be reminded of the same thing from time to time.

*Jacob Fasig

Following is a wonderful article I ran across today.  Enjoy!

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Are you the kind of church member who makes your preachers ministry a joy? (Hebrews 13:17) Do you esteem in love the preacher that God has put over you? (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13) Do you honor those who “work hard at preaching and teaching?” (1 Timothy 5:17) At this moment, are you walking in the truth, and thus causing your preacher to rejoice? (3 John 4)

As a minister, I have had the pleasure to counsel with people, pray with people, and comfort people who were in the hospital.  Visiting the hospital is, in a way, an enjoyable experience for me.  It is one which brings hope, comfort, and a feeling of family to those who are there.  Stopping by someone’s room can also be a life changing experience.

One cold, winter day, I received a call at the church office where I was working from the hospital down the road.  A man had been hospitalized whom I had never met, nor heard of.  The chaplain on the line gave me the man’s name, room number, and a little bit of information.  It was a “local.”  One who had lived in the area for a long time but hadn’t shadowed the doors of the church in many years.  It was a man who was at a crucial point in life and just wanted to speak with somebody who had the faith that he had once known.  I was that man, apparently.

That afternoon, I got into my car and drove to the ICU ward in the hospital.  As I approached the man, I shook his hand and explained who I was.  We had a great conversation and decided to talk again the next day.  I went back the next day, and several days after that.  He was eventually released from the hospital, only to find his way back to it a few days later.  Again, the church phone rang, but this time, it was not a chaplin on the other line.  It was the man’s adult daughter.  He had requested to receive a visit from me.  I, once again, walked into the room, greeted the man and met his family.  We spent some time talking, reading the Bible, and praying.  We parted ways and I said I would return the next day.  Early the next day, I received a phone call that he passed away.  This man who, over the past several weeks, I had enjoyed the company of was now gone.  But he left something behind.

His daughter contacted me and asked to meet.  Her father had enjoyed our talks so much, that he spoke to her and the rest of his family about the congregation and its minister.  He wanted them to visit it and he was wanting to place membership upon returning of his health.  His daughter thanked me over and over again for spending time with him and explained how much it meant to him.  Because of our talks, I later realized, I not only reached out to him, but also his family.  The weeks and months following His funeral were filled with counsel and conversations with that man’s family.  It all began with a call from the chaplain.

When we visit somebody in the hospital or who is sick, we visit Jesus.  When have you touched the life of another individual?  Do you find it hard to make time to reach out to those who desperately need somebody?  We all, myself included, can do a better job at being the hands and feet of Jesus.  Many times, you mean more than you know to somebody and their family.

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:7-8 (NIV)

This text has always stood out to me. Many times we wonder what it takes to be strong in the Lord. We often read of the courageous acts of David, Joshua, and many others while wondering how we could ever become like that. It’s not that hard, in fact, Joshua told Israel exactly how to do it! Joshua told them to meditate on the Word of God. Meditation on His Word brings courage and strength. It brings a life of holy reverence for the Lord and leads ultimately to His blessings.

The church historian, Origen said: “I fear, however, lest by too much negligence and dullness of heart the divine volumes be not only veiled to us but also sealed, so that ‘if a book should be put into the hands of a man who cannot read, he would say, “I cannot read”; if it should be put into the hands of a man who can read, he would say, “it is sealed.”‘ Whence it is shown that we must not only employ zeal to learn the sacred literature, but we must also pray to the Lord and entreat ‘day and night’ that the lamb ‘of the tribe of Judah’ may come and himself taking ‘the sealed book’ may deign to open it.” (Homilies On Exodus 12.4)

Do you make excuses for not opening God’s Word? Do you wonder why you are weaker and others are stronger in faith? It begins with a step in the right direction. Nobody ever became a spiritual giant without meditating “day and night” on the Word of God. How are you going to being your journey to becoming a spiritual giant like Joshua?

A Critical Book Review
Highfield, Ron. “Where knowing and Doing Converge: Divine Omniscience and Omnipotence.” In Great Is the Lord: Theology for the Praise of God, 312-332. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008.

About the Author
Ron Highfield is a professor of Religion at Pepperdine University, located in Malibu, California. He holds many degrees including M.Th., M.A., and a Ph.D. He is very learned and has many years in teaching, experience, and study. Highfield is affiliated with the American Academy of Religion and was awarded the Christian Theological Research Fellowship. Highfield’s works have been published many times but is most widely known for his most recent publication concerning praise based theology published in 2008 by Eerdman’s Publishing Company.

The Book
In his discussion of the knowledge of God, Ron Highfield lays out many different views on the freedoms and limits of God’s knowledge. Highfield begins with the assertion that “God knows all things directly and thoroughly. Yet his knowledge of things, like his indwelling of them, does not distort them or violate their natures.” Since the overall work of Highfield’s book is concerned with a Theology of Praise, the author sets out to explain that if the knowledge of God is understood correctly, it will inevitably lead to another reason to praise God. This is accomplished by laying out the different views and evaluating each one in brief.

God’s knowledge of the past and present are largely accepted. In fact, most scholars would agree that God has perfect knowledge of what has happened and what is presently happening in the world which He created as recorded in the first chapter of Genesis. On the contrary, the extent of God’s knowledge of the future is largely debated by scholars. Highfield asserts that God knows the future, but to what extent? This is the primary concern of each argument laid out by the author.

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