One More Graduation Picture

Graduation Pictures

An Expression Of Thankfulness For Southeastern's Faculty

On Graduation Day, graduates line up in front of Binkley Chapel. Southeastern faculty lead the processional into the graduation ceremony while students give a heartfelt applause expressing their gratitude for the blessing their teachers have been throughout the duration of their studies.

Graduation Rehearsal And Reception Day

Today was an action-packed day. I attended a breakfast for SEBTS Spring 2013 graduates this morning hosted by the SEBTS Alumni. One thing I'm looking forward to is participating in all things alumni with Southeastern. I believe in this school and the mission to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by equipping students to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission. I feel equipped. And, I'm thankful to the Lord for everything that has been entrusted to me, in the classroom and outside, while a student at SEBTS.

After breakfast, I attended the graduation rehearsal. I'm thankful for practice, aren't you? We are a family at Southeastern, and you could feel it at the rehearsal. In the afternoon, Lesly and I visited Magnolia Hill. It was a blessing to spend some time with the SEBTS faculty and our president, Danny Akin.

Tomorrow is the big day! Graduation. I remember when the water tower in the picture below read 1999. I was graduating high school that year. Now, here it is 2013, and I am graduating with a doctorate in education. No one would have expected this day 14 years ago. No one--me most of all. You could say I was a tough student as a teenager. One of my teachers my senior year wrote in my yearbook, "Thomas, I'll miss you as much as you'll miss me-- Mrs. Maynard." No one one earth would have imagined tomorrow. But such is the grace and power of God. He really does choose the foolish and weak ones of this world. He is the one who has really accomplished everything that is being recognized and celebrated tomorrow. I'll walk across the stage tomorrow, but it is only because God:

1. Saved me from my sin.
2. Gave me the Holy Spirit.
3. Strengthened me for every thing he prepared for me to do.
4. Gave me a wonderful, lovely,gracious, strong, patient, faithful, caring, persevering, forgiving, joyful, and sweet wife.
5. Put me in the strongest Ed.D. cohort ever with men and women who cared most about serving and encouraging one another to press on toward the goal of honoring and pleasing our Lord.
6. Permitted me to study under faithful men who have committed their lives to entrusting some of the most valuable educational, spiritual, and professional wisdom I have ever heard. Not only that, they were resolved to leave their very imprint on my life, trusting God to transfer all that reflects the Lord Jesus Christ into my mind and heart.
7. Provided the resources and funds to study in the Ed.D. program.
8. Dealt mercifully to me whenever my mind and heart drifted from considering Christ first in everything.

God's done much more than this. The list runs on and on.

Here it is midnight. I'm heading to bed. But first...some pictures.

A Prayer For Jeff In Ohio

Jeff, I'm praying for you, brother:

Father, I'm just thinking about Jeff this afternoon. We miss him here in Raleigh, and we want to ask you to bless their work in Ohio. We pray that you will continue to grow him in the grace and knowledge of the your son Jesus Christ, and we pray that you will keep his steps blameless and upright as he lives around those who don't know you. Give him opportunities to share the gospel, and let him see your saving power in those that he ministers to. Stop the god of this world from blinding the minds of the unbelieving, and save many from the wrath to come. Help Jeff as he communicates the gospel and teaches new believers. Give him favor in the eyes of those who he works with and with those who live near him. Make him winsome for the gospel, Lord. Let others see the light of the gospel in his life, and let that light lead them to your son Jesus. I'm not foolish enough or naive enough to think that everything is great in Ohio. The Christian life is a difficult one. Ministry is difficult. Witnessing is difficult. But give him your strength and keep him from stumbling. Maximize his life for your gospel, and may many come to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through this man's teaching and lifestyle. In Jesus Name, Amen.

A Letter To A Colonel In The United States Marine Corps

This afternoon, I finished a letter that I was writing to a colonel in the USMC, who I had the opportunity to talk to on May 3rd. We didn't have a lot of time. We started talking about the gospel, but came nowhere close to finishing. I wrote this letter to him, and I plan on giving it to my friend Dwayne this Sunday. I've prayed about every word on every page of this letter. I've asked God to use it, specifically for the Word of God to be used by the Holy Spirit to pierce this man's heart. Will you pray with me? Maybe when he reads this letter, despite any and all shortcomings within it, just maybe this will be the defining moment of his life, when God stops the god of the world from blinding his mind and when God exercises the same power that he exercised at creation so that the light of the gospel will shine forth in his heart.

_____

May 15, 2013

Dear Colonel:

I wanted to take a moment and write you this short letter. I attended the retirement ceremony for Maj. David D. Lancaster on the campus of North Carolina State University May 3rd, 2013. Following the ceremony, we were able to speak for a few minutes. Because everyone was waiting to speak with you, I didn’t want to take too much of your time. The subject of our conversation was important; in fact, I believe it is the single most important topic that two people can discuss. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to finish talking, so I wanted to take a moment to share this letter with you.

First, I want to thank you again, Colonel, for your service to our country. I’ll never forget as a young man going to the airport with my dad. A soldier had just arrived in Raleigh-Durham. My father and I were waiting for someone else who was flying in on another flight. But when my father saw this young man, who was dressed in green fatigues, come down the escalator, he did something that I will never forget. He walked up to this young man, shook his hand, and told him thank you for everything that he has been doing on behalf of his family, his community, and his entire country. I want to tell you the same thing. Your sacrifice, as well as the sacrifice of thousands and thousands of other U.S. soldiers, is something that we should not take for granted, even though we often do. The truth is we can never say anything that adequately captures the gratitude that we should have for those like you who willingly lay down their lives so that others can be the recipients of freedom, safety, and every other blessing that is part of being a citizen of the United States of America. Thank you.

Colonel, do you remember the questions that I asked you on Friday, May 3rd? I don’t remember the exact words, but it was something like, “Do you know what is going to happen to you after you die?” When someone’s answer is “Heaven,” I always ask a follow-up question—“On the basis of what will you go to heaven?” (Or, “Why/How will you go to heaven?”). I’ve asked those questions to a lot of people over the last thirteen years in different parts of the world—neighbors, friends, coworkers, etc. I’ve asked it to musicians like Willie Nelson and his best friend Paul English, Chris Thomas King, Dan Tyminski, Ralph Stanley, and others. I’ve even asked it to our 42nd President, Bill Clinton. Friday, May 3rd was the first time I ever asked a Colonel in the United States Marine Corp.

I’ve heard the answers you gave me many times before. In fact, I think the number one answer that I hear to the second question is something like “Because I’m a good person.” I wished we would have had more time to talk on May 3rd, but I understood you had many people that wanted to express their gratitude to you for your words regarding Dwayne. The reason I wanted to write you this letter is because I wanted to share with you what the Bible says about how someone can be forgiven of their sins and go to heaven when they die.

The first thing I want to share with you is the Bible says that we all sin (i.e., break or violate God’s law). Please read the following two verses:

“[B]oth Jews and Gentiles are all under sin; as it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understand, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one” (Romans 3:9-12).

“[F]or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

The Bible tells us that there is no one alive who is good enough to go to heaven. Everyone breaks God’s law. The Bible also gives a really strong description of someone who has not been forgiven of their sins by God. The description I am referring to is found in Ephesians 2:1-3. There Paul says:

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world…[we] formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:1-3).

Basically, God describes men and women who have not yet been forgiven of their sins as spiritually dead. Even though we are alive physically, because of our sin we are spiritually dead in God’s eyes. When the Bible says no one is good, it does not mean that no one does good things. What it means is no one is entirely good—that no one has lived a perfect life without breaking any of God’s law. Even the person who does huge acts of kindness and good in this world is not “good enough” to go to heaven. That’s the reason why everyone who lives dies. Death is the direct result of sin. We all die because we all sin. And sin came into the world for the first time through the first man and woman God created. They chose not to obey what God said, exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and because of that sin spread to the entire human race, to all of their descendants.

The second thing I want to share with you is what the Bible says God did so that we can be forgiven of our sin. Just like any human court that is just and upright, when someone breaks the law there is an appropriate penalty. As I previously pointed out, the penalty for breaking God’s law is death. But please read what God says about eternal life:

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Even though the penalty for breaking God’s law is death, which is not just physical death but also spiritual and eternal death, God has chosen to demonstrate his goodness and love toward all of humanity by offering them a free gift—the forgiveness of their sins through Jesus Christ. What does Jesus Christ have to do with how someone can be forgiven of their sins? The answer is amazing. God the Father sent Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to die on the cross. On the cross, the Father poured out all of the punishment for the sin of the world on his Son. This is how the Bible describes it:

“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us of our transgressions, having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14).

Elsewhere the Bible says this:

“He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are forgiven. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the sin of us all to be put on Him” (Isaiah 53:3-6).

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died in our place as our substitution” (Romans 5:8).

If we were there the day Jesus Christ was crucified on that cross in Jerusalem, we would have seen someone brutally beaten by the Roman authorities. We would have seen someone being mocked by passer-bys and onlookers. We would have seen Jesus crucified alongside two unknown thieves. There were things that happened that day that signaled to everyone present that Jesus’ crucifixion was entirely different than the crucifixion of those two thieves. For example, the sky turned dark during the middle of the day for three hours (Luke 23:44). But something was taking place that day which no one could visibly see. There was something occurring on the cross that went unnoticed to almost everyone present. The punishment for our sin was being paid by God’s only Son. The debt-statement, similar to a loan statement from a bank or a credit card statement today, that contained a record of all our debts to God incurred by every infraction of God’s law—that statement was nailed to the cross. What do you think it said? I bet it said something like “Paid in Full.”

Colonel, the final thing I would like to share with you concerns what your responsibility is to this message. The price Jesus paid on the cross for our sins is sufficient. What he paid on the cross covers it all. But I’d like to give you a little analogy to illustrate what I’m writing about.

Imagine a restaurant. Every person in the restaurant is incurring a debt. Every person upon finishing their meal is expected to pay the price for everything they ordered in the meal. Imagine a man walks into that restaurant at the busiest hour of operation. The restaurant is full. Everyone is eating, ordering sweet-teas, milk-shakes, large entrees, etc. Now imagine the man walks into that restaurant and pays the bill for every single person in the restaurant. What would we think of the person who, when it came time to pay for their bill, said, “I don’t want him to pay my bill. I’ll pay it myself”?

The gift of God is similar to this. We have to accept what God has done, the provision he has made for us, when it comes to eternal life. Our response, to use the restaurant analogy, should be one of humility, gratitude, and thankfulness. Now think about the good news about what Jesus Christ did on the cross. When He died on the cross for our sins, he did something infinitely greater than paying a restaurant bill. He paid a bill that we absolutely could not have paid on our own. No one could have paid the price that Jesus paid for our sins. And, Jesus Christ did not just die on the cross. After he was buried and laid in a tomb for three days, God proved that Jesus is the way to be forgiven of our sins by raising Jesus from the dead.

Colonel, this is what God says to us:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believers in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believers in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God” (John 3:16-18).

So what does it mean to “believe in Him?” The Bible tells us that when we hear the good news of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, we should do three things:

1. Trust that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the way we receive the forgiveness of our sins. In other words, we stop thinking that we can be good enough to go to heaven. We start recognizing our sinfulness and the need we have for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
2. Turn from our sins and begin to place our life under the lordship of Jesus Christ. In other words, we turn from and stop the sin that God convicts us of when we hear the gospel message. We begin to ask God to show us how to live in a way that honors and pleases him. He becomes the authority over our life, and His ways become our ways. This doesn’t mean we never sin again. It means that we surrender our life to him and follow him by God’s grace for the rest of our lives.
3. Tell others about the decision you’ve made. Tell others that you believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins. Tell others how thankful you are that God saved you from hell and eternal punishment. Tell others how it is a free gift and that it was nothing you did, but all because of what Jesus did for you on the cross.

This is by far the most important message you will ever hear. The most important decision you will ever make in your life is this, namely giving your life to Jesus, asking for the forgiveness of your sins, and receiving eternal life. No decision in this life has anywhere close to the eternal significance of this one, Colonel. The question is this, “On the basis of what will you go to heaven?” No one goes to heaven because they are good enough. No one can be forgiven of their sins any other way. So, I’m begging you. Please give this your greatest consideration. I believe you are a man who prays. Ask God to show you if this is the only way to heaven, or just a foolish story. It is my prayer that you will give your life to Christ and follow him for the rest of your life.

Sincerely,

Thomas W. Hudgins
Jesus + Nothing = Everything

Game Plan For Life With Joe Gibbs

This morning I went down to the Raleigh Convention Center. This was my first visit since it opened. Before it opened I worked for a company that did air and water testing for the building, so I got to see it when it looked like nothing but concrete. Grey was everywhere. Today I saw just how beautiful the building is on the inside.

Joe Gibbs delivered a crystal clear message. The only way that we can be forgiven of our sins is trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, turning from our sin, and following him. Gibbs has made millions. But he put all of that in perspective this morning. He may have made millions in the NFL and Nascar, but the purpose that is driving his life now is far more significant and important than anything he has ever done. He wants people to come to know Jesus Christ. This really wasn't a speaking tour, book tour, or anything like that. He was winsome in how he approached the gospel with the business people in the audience. But as soon as he had our attention, he got serious about what brought him to Raleigh this morning.

One of the things Joe Gibbs said was he had a Sunday School teacher, during his adult years, that reached out to him and spiritually invested into his life. Joe Gibbs, the Hall-of-Famer had someone investing into his life, teaching him the Word of God and showing him what it looks like to live the Christian life. He mentioned that man's name, and I just can't remember it. I've sat here a few minutes trying to with no success. But it's because of this man, who by the way wasn't a pastor, that I witnessed a 72-year-young man today tell a roomful of men the single-most important thing that is driving his life--seeing people come to know Jesus Christ and have their sins forgiven. Like he told the men and women in the room (mostly unbelievers), he hasn't always lived this way. But it's the way he is living now. He wants his life to have influence, and I could sense it, maximum influence.

It's never too late for us to start asking these questions:

1. Am I living for things that have eternal significance?
2. How can my life be maximized for the sake of the gospel?
3. What can I cut out of my schedule or regiment so that I am less encumbered and able to do more for Christ in this life?

Let me encourage you to think about these things. We only get one life. Let's make an impact on this world for Christ that ripples long after we breathe our last breath, one that causes the angels in heaven to rejoice, and one that brings eternal praise, eternal honor, and everlasting glory to the one who gave his life for us.

Ultimatey we aren't the ones who maximize our lives. God is responsible for everything good that we do in this life, as well as the breadth of the impact we have on this world. But let's remember William Carey's words: "Expect great things from God; attempt great things from God."

I had one final takeaway from this morning. The norm in the Christian life is believers apprenticing other believers. Unfortunately this hasn't caught on as well as it should have for one reason or another. We are not Great Commission Christians if we are not training up others in the faith. We do not get a Get-Out-of-Being-a-Great-Commission-Christian-Free card by inviting people to church or just being a godly father or mother to your kids. We're all the recipients of Jesus' command in Matt. 28:19-20.

Back To Work On The EGGNT Series

Chris Cowan at B&H Academic sent me an email yesterday to let me know the next installment of the Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (EGGNT) is almost ready to go. Previously I helped Chris and Jim Baird with Chris Vlachos' installment on James. I'm looking forward to seeing Greg Forbes' commentary on 1 Peter and helping prepare it for publication.

Pastor of Worship? Another Reason Titles Just Don't Cut It In The Body Of Christ

I'm not a big fan of titles in ministry, any titles. And we've created all sorts of titles. A quick glance over at Church Staffing's website turns up the following:

1. Christian Education Pastor
2. Discipleship Pastor
3. Missions Pastor
4. Teaching Pastor
5. Campus Pastor
6. Executive Pastor
7. Women's Pastor
8. College Pastor
9. Small Group Pastor
10. Young Adult Pastor
11. Student Pastor
12. Grow Pastor
13. Preteen Pastor
14. Pastoral Care Pastor
15. Music Pastor
16. Assimilation/Volunteer Pastor
17. Youth Pastor
18. Associate Pastor
19. Ministries Pastor
20. Children's Pastor
21. Senior Pastor
22. Pastor
23. And, another one that is the subject of this blog--Worship Pastor.

I think the two that give me the heebie-jeebies more than any of the others are "Senior Pastor" and "Worship Pastor" (or, "Pastor of Worship"). Who is the "Senior Pastor" of the Church (universal) and every Bible-believing, localized, microcosm community of believers found throughout the world? 1 Peter 5:4 identifies only one "Senior Pastor." His name is Jesus. The Greek word Peter uses is ἀρχιποίμην ("Chief Shepherd"). Other Greek words feature the same intensive prefix. For example, we have ἀρχιερεύς (high priest), ἀρχισυνάγωγος (head of a synagogue), ἀρχιτέκτων (used to identify an expert builder or one who is the head of a building crew/company), etc. I wrote another post with the title "Call 'em 'Senior Pastors' or Not?," which can be found here. Commenting on this post and about 1 Peter 5 in particular, Dave Black said, "The key text, of course, is 1 Peter 5, where the apostle Peter sets himself alongside the elders to whom he writes, not as a senior pastor, but simply as a 'fellow elder.' The Senior Pastor he refers to is Christ (1 Pet. 5:4)." I pointed out a church before whose website makes this crystal clear (click here). While you're at it, flip over to this link. And, if you have the time, hit up this link where T. David Gordon asks whether pastors should be overseers or overlookers. You'll see the connection if you read it.

But what about Worship Pastor or Pastor of Worship? To be honest, I'm surprised my generation hasn't moved away from this yet. Then again, I probably shouldn't be surprised. One of the problems about this specific title is how it communicates something theologically untrue to our congregations. Basically when we opt for the title "Pastor of Worship," we tell everyone in our Christian community at least one major untruth, specifically that worship is synonymous with the music we play and the accompanying words we sing when we are assembled. The music we play can be worship; the words we sing can be worship. However, music and words are not synonymous with worship. Here is my case in point: Is teaching worship? Is preaching worship? Is the pastor who teaches any less a pastor who leads believers to worship God the Father through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit? Is not the very act of teaching an act of worship? It should be, right? Still teaching is not synonymous with worship. Teaching can be worship. Preaching can be worship. But we cannot say, "Teaching is worship," or "Preaching is worship."

One of my favorite professors of old said this of worship: "True biblical worship is a response to the attributes of God." You can build on this definition, I'm sure. For example, we could build on what type of a response is involved. But, I don't think you can boil true biblical worship down to anything less than this. The title Pastor of Worship boils it down to much less.

In my way of thinking, we need to know who are leaders are. But I think we know who our leaders are and how they serve in the Body by what they do, not by what their called. Why can't we teach believers everywhere to just call our leaders by their first name, or, better yet, "Brother Tom" and "Brother John." Let's move away from the titles. Let's tell everyone and teach continually that Jesus really is the Head of the Body. I think the more we pursue going down in ministry (i.e., taking on the role of servant; servant-leadership), accepting positions of service and doing work unbecoming of worldly leaders and their system of leadership, that God will energize our gospel efforts. If we do things his way, I think he'll be at work in us and through us.

At the very least, let's get away from the "Pastor of Worship" fallacy.

A Wonderful Weekend

This weekend was great. Only 45 minutes until its over. I can't believe it flew by so fast! What all did we do?

1. Lesly worked part of Saturday.
2. I went with my dad and brother to the gun show in Raleigh.
3. Lesly and I did some doggy-sitting for a brother and sister in our church.
4. I shared the gospel every day, multiple times.
5. Told Lesly I loved her a whole lot!
6. Poured my heart out to our Life Group about what God is teaching me concerning the Christian life.
7. Taught a boy about baptism this morning at Apex Baptist.
8. Met with Fiorella and Lesly about Dave Black's introductory Greek grammar.
9. Reached out again to a brother who is not walking with the Lord.  
10. Read 2 Timothy, Titus, and Jude.
11. Prayed, prayed, and prayed for the Lord's direction in our lives in the days ahead.
12. Ate a delicious spaghetti lunch with Lesly at home.
13. Enjoyed a wonderful lesson from 2 Timothy 4 in our Life Group.
14. Talked to my friend Ricky B. up in New York.
15. Talked to Lesly's mother and grandmother.
16. Played some Yahtzee (Lesly, the "Yahtzee Queen," always wins by the way).
17. Wrote my friend who pastors in Newtown, CT.
18. Touched base with a brother in our church who has been out-of-town the past few weeks caring for his father who is ill.
19. Shared my testimony twice.
20. Wrote a review.

Thank you, Lord, for a wonderful weekend!

Two More Pictures We Love

Lesly Loves These Pictures

USMC Retirement Ceremony

This morning I had the privilege to attend Dwayne Lancaster's ceremony marking his faithful service to and retirement from the United States Marine Corps. No one could have asked for a better day outside. The Bell Tower at NCSU moved in and out of the sunlight. The wind blew just at the right time to lift the flags into the air. I was honored to have been there.

Dwayne's commanding officer served as the officer overseeing Dwayne's retirement ceremony. From the minute he opened his mouth, he had my attention. I'm sure you've heard people speak before whose voices just arrest our attention. It was like that this morning. Rarely have I heard a more calculated, thoughtful speech (without any notes). Aside from learning more about Dwayne's military service in twenty minutes than I have in the past few years, I found myself reaching for my pen and paper when Mr. Fuquay (probably misspelling his last name) began to speak about leadership, especially the characteristics of Dwayne's leadership over the past two decades.

1. Leadership is only successful when those we serve alongside strive to emulate what they see and hear.
2. The only truly effective kind of leadership is leadership by example.
3. Leaders always strive for excellence, first in their own lives and then in the lives of those whom they lead.

ALGNT Update

Lesly, Fiorella, and I are working hard to finish up our translation of David Alan Black's Learn to Read New Testament Greek. I touched base with Alvin Reid at Southeastern who recently had a book published through Amazon's self-publish service, CreateSpace. His newest book is called Revitalize Your Church through Gospel Recovery. We are going to touch base again in a couple of weeks about some questions I have regarding his experience using CreateSpace. I'm looking forward to our convo. One of the questions that I have for him is, What is the benefit of using your own imprint? The forums and FAQ's that I have read really don't answer this question satisfactorily.

In the meantime, we've been reviewing the chapters that we've completed thus far. Before I started working on my dissertation "full-time," I went through twenty-five of the chapters, making corrections and highlighting issues that I needed Lesly and Fiorella to review nuevamente. Fiorella is now working through all of the notes that I made, as well as finding any issues that I overlooked. Lesly and I have translated things together before. For example, we have translated a homiletics textbook written by a pastor in France from French to Spanish. Lesly's not just bilingual; she's trilingual! She's just real shy about her French. We've also translated a book by Stephen Davey on church discipline, which was published by Kress Biblical Resources. The title is En Búsqueda de Hijos Pródigos: Una Cartilla sobre la Disciplina de la Iglesia y la Reconciliación. Working night and day, Lesly and I finished this translation in record time so that Stephen could use it as a gift to pastors that he spoke to throughout Latin America. Translating Learn to Read New Testament Greek has been a huge undertaking. I'm convinced that this is going to be a valuable resource for believers throughout the Spanish-speaking world.

Besides simply giving you an update about where we are in our progress, I really want to ask you for your prayers. There's still lots of work to be done. For example, all the back matter needs to be completed, some of which cannot be completed until a final format is reached. I think 6x9 is going to be the size we go with. This is pretty much standard for trade paperbacks. Using the "standard" helps keep the cost down for those who will purchase the book. This is requiring me to reformat the existing tables as I go along in the editing process.

So what can you be praying for? Here are two things:

• Wisdom. How should we publish this book? What is going to allow this book to have the greatest amount of access to believers in Latin America and the greatest impact for the gospel of Jesus Christ?
• Keen eyes. We're looking over material that we have looked over numerous times already. Having just finished my dissertation, I know very well how easy it is to see things that aren't there. Reading, rereading, and reading again requires the sharpest attention.

So Far This Week...

This week has already been exceptional. On Sunday, I absolutely enjoyed hearing James teach on the first nine verses of 2 Tim. 3. I'm very thankful to our Life Group at Apex Baptist Church. One of the unique characteristics of our group is the rotation of teachers. Teaching is a shared ministry. The only thing that does not rotate out is the Word of God. It's always interesting to see how different teachers use different communicative tools to engage us in the class. 

Another thing I am thankful for this week is I've seen a couple of men have a light come on about their participation in the Great Commission. This is amazing. I've been praying for all of us, myself included, that we would grow more active in being Jesus' ambassadors to the world--everywhere, all the time, to everyone. Here's one thing that I did within the last five months. Maybe you could do something similar. In December I presented the Life Group Lesly and I attend with a special present. My Christmas present to the Life Group was a copy of David Alan Black's Will You Join the Cause of Global Missions. Here's how it works. I gave a copy to our Life Group as a whole. Once a husband and wife read it, they bring it back to the Life Group and it continues to move through the group. The great thing is this book is written-to-read. "Hang on," you're saying. "Aren't all books written to be read?" Yes. But some books just look plain scary. The sheer size of some books and the thought of reading them causes people to think they need to wipe their schedules clean for three months before they could finish them. Black's book on missions is definitely not like that. It's a big book, but it's only 20 pages. The only thing big about this book is the message that it contains. You can read more about this book here.

On Monday I had a wonderful time hanging out with a young man that I've had an opportunity to disciple from the college ministry. Nothing beats getting together with a younger believer to learn about Christ more and work together for the gospel. I would love to see an increase in mature believers spending time one-on-one with younger Christians--walking them through the Word of God, praying for them, and showing them what it looks like to live this thing called the Christian life. I'm going to miss getting together with Miguel when he heads out to his summer internship in about ten days.

Today, I bumped into my little-league baseball coach. I haven't seen him in over twenty years. I was meeting a couple of brothers for lunch and Coach Sinoto happened to be there meeting with a client. We talked for a few minutes to catch up about where we've been. We somehow covered a lot in those few minutes. I didn't want to keep him too long, but I didn't know if I would see him again. So I asked him if I could just take a few more minutes of his time. I asked him the single most important question you can ask someone--"Mr. Sinoto, have you been forgiven of your sins?" You could see his face light up, all of a sudden as if time didn't matter anymore. He gave me an answer that I happen to hear all the time: "Oh yeah, I'm a member of so-and-so church." The follow-up questions, "How can someone be forgiven of their sins?" and "How can someone go to heaven?," revealed that he did not believe in the gospel. I asked him if I could share with him what I believe the Bible tells us about how and on the basis of what someone can be forgiven of their sins. He let me share briefly, so I chose one verse, Rom. 5:8, and unpacked the gospel from it. When I finished, I told him how nice it was to see him again. We said goodbye. As I walked away he asked me, "What was that verse you shared with me?" I turned around and said, "Romans 5:8." He was writing it down on a napkin. I'm so thankful for divine appointments.

As you know, for the last couple of years, Lesly and I have been working with our sister, Fiorella, on a Spanish translation of David Alan Black's Learn to Read New Testament Greek. Well, we are nearly finished. I've gone through a final revision. Now Fiorella is working through all of the chapters one final time, paying attention to any issues I highlighted as well as identifying any that I overlooked. I'm already receiving her corrections, and, Lord-willing, we will have this project finalized by July. So, what about publishing? I've been really intrigued by Amazon's self-publish. The fact that it is print-by-demand (i.e., requires no inventory or bulk initial prints) and its easy carry-over to Kindle is making this more and more a viable option for us.

And, tomorrow I'm going to finish Painter and deSilva's commentary on James and Jude. Once I finish, I'll start my book review that is being published in a theological journal in the next couple of months.

Graduation is quickly approaching. Only seventeen days until then in fact. I'm extremely thankful for Southeastern. Last week I spent some time sharing with Dr. Akin about my thankfulness to the Lord for Southeastern. What a blessing it has been to study in Wake Forest! Much has been entrusted to us. Lesly and I have been praying for the Lord's direction and provision for the months and years ahead. We'd appreciate your prayers, too.