We had a good summer back home in Michigan. I took one class online (Trinitarianism) and was able to plug into my home church by teaching the college Sunday school class as well as preaching once. I was able to do a lot of work around the house for my dad (who was out of town), which was good. We were staying on a lake, so we were able to do a lot of swimming as well.

            The biggest news was that we had our third child this summer. Christopher Paul was born on July 22, and my wife’s labor was blessedly quick and easy (as it had been for our first two). Right now he is smiling and cooing a lot, and is getting close to rolling over. He enjoys watching his big brother and big sister tear around the house, though the “big kids” make his mom and dad a little nervous!

            This semester I began an internship at Northwest Bible Church in the Outreach department. I am working with our church’s African refugee ministry, and I am overseeing our church’s ESL tutor program. We connect willing members of the church with refugees to practice English. I am also putting together an equipping class for the leaders of the church which will hopefully start next semester. It has been a good learning experience to work within a much larger church than I was a part of back in Michigan.

            I have had a great line-up of classes this semester. I am taking my third semester of Hebrew, which has been good (studying the book of Ruth and a few Psalms). I also took an elective called Hebrew Reading, which has really helped me. We’ve focused primarily on narrative in Genesis and Judges, but we are just now transitioning into the last segment of the class, which is on poetry. I am also taking Exegesis of Romans,” which is our fifth Greek class. This is very enjoyable course. I love the book of Romans, and I think it’s one of the most important books of the Bible (along with Genesis and Mark). I’m also taking a class called Creative Writing, which has been a lot of fun. I aspire to write fiction on the side (haha), so it’s been very helpful. I’m signed up for Advanced Creative Writing with the same teacher next semester, where I will be focusing on preparing a novel I have written for hopeful publication. My last class this semester is our second preaching class. This covers narrative preaching (in Mark and Genesis), and I have learned a lot in this so far.

            As far as future plans, I am once again wrestling with the decision of whether or not to pursue a PhD in New Testament here at DTS. On one hand I would really love the additional training, and I think it would only help me in the future. On the other hand, since I want to be a pastor (not a professor), I know it is not strictly required, and so I wonder if it is worth the time and cost to my family. I am probably learning at the moment toward doing it. I had a good talk with one of our NT professors, and he advised that he thought there is a great need for “scholar pastors” who can minister in the church from a such a level of training. I will be doing an informal internship with him in the near future as well, and so I hope that will help clarify my direction. I would appreciate your prayers! 

Greg Rhodea

Yesterday was my (Greg’s) orientation at the Seminary, and that went well. I know already that it will be a life-changing experience to be exposed to the people that are part of the school here. Two things in particular stood out to me. One was the verse one of the professors spoke on when he gave us a welcoming message. It was Ezra 7:10, “For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.” This of course is a perfect verse for us starting seminary, and shows exactly why God had so blessed Ezra. He had disciplined himself to study God’s word, to obey God’s word, and to teach God’s word (Notice the order! It’s far too easy for us to skip the second step!). This was especially meaningful to me because this was the same verse a professor spoke on the evening of our opening ceremonies at Moody way back in 2001. So I think this verse is something of a hallmark of my education, and I hope at the end of my life someone will be able to say it was true of me.

The second thing that jumped out to me was what the school chaplain said on the subject of integrity when going over the rules. He said: “Reputation is what you do when people are looking, integrity is what you do when no one is looking.” Then he talked about Psalm 101, which is one of those passages I’ve read somewhere along the line, but have no memory of…so it’s like it’s brand new. Check it out:

1 I will sing of lovingkindness and justice,
To You, O LORD, I will sing praises.
2 I will give heed to the blameless way
When will You come to me?
I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart.
3 I will set no worthless thing before my eyes;
I hate the work of those who fall away;
It shall not fasten its grip on me.
4 A perverse heart shall depart from me;
I will know no evil.

6 My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land,
that they may dwell with me;
He who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me.

I think this is a powerful psalm of David where he commits to a course of righteousness and integrity. Notice particularly that last line of verse three… “It shall not fasten its grip on me.” That’s a poignant image of sin…when we give in to it, it has a way of fastening on us like a leach, and you’ve ever had the pleasure of having one of those little bloodsuckers hitchhike along with you, you know how difficult it can be to remove.

Bottom line? Let’s be people who have the same commitment to righteousness whether someone is watching us or not…because the truth is, of course, that Someone is always watching.