Knowledge Gained; Knowledge Lost

A purpose of theological education is to keep the historic Christian confessions alive from one generation to another. How important it is to have people to keep it in his/her own generation and pass it on to the next generation with clarity, depth, and generosity. 2 Timothy 2:2 is a key passage for it (It is one of my key passages for discipleship): “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Timothy learned from Paul in a community of faith. Timothy was expected to educate faithful women and men who would also be able to pass it on to others.

In Culture Counts: Faith and Feeling in a World Besieged (New York: Encounter Books, 2007), Roger Scruton says:

When we say that Mary knows something, we imply that her way of thinking and acting is responsive to the way things are, so that her judgment is reliable and her actions blessed with success. Thus if I say, “She really knows this stuff,” patting a book of physics, you can take it that Mary is someone who could tell you the facts about physics. Likewise, when I point to her in the dressage arena and say, “She really knows what she is doing,” you will infer that, if you follow her example, you too will ride a horse. The topic of knowledge is hotly disputed among philosophers, but that much at least is agreed. And it explains why knowledge is important, and why human beings have developed procedures and institutions for acquiring it and passing it on. Knowledge gained is a gain for all of us; knowledge lost, a loss that all must bear. It does not matter who possesses the knowledge: the important thing is that it should be there, publicly available, and that human beings should know how to recuperate it from the common fund. That is what education does for us: it keeps knowledge alive, by endowing people with the ability to summon it…But without Mary and people like her this knowledge will be lost—and may be lost forever. You and I have a key to that knowledge, which is: “Ask Mary.” (pp. 30-31, emphasis mine)

The knowledge of the Bible and theology ought to be publicly available in the church. “Knowledge gained is a gain for all of us; knowledge lost, a loss that all must bear.” Every Christian is called to protect this knowledge from being lost by learning it, internalizing it, applying it, and educating it to others. It does not matter who possesses this knowledge. But we have to have Marys among us. We have to have keys to that knowledge. We are not only serious about the knowledge of God (theology), but also about passing on this knowledge to others (education). “We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deed of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done” (Ps. 78:4).

My Thanksgiving Letter 2012

My Thanksgiving Letter 2012

Grace         

God has called me to be a pastor. I don’t think I ever doubted that. I don’t mean that I am qualified to be one. Rather, what I want to say is that, for me, there is no better job than being a pastor: being called to rightly handle and faithfully preach the Word of God and to converse with people whom God has entrusted to me. There is a time I have difficulty to define what pastoral ministry is. However, I don’t doubt myself being called to be a pastor, no matter how vague the term can be in my head sometimes. It is true that I need to constantly define and redefine what it means to be a pastor; however, it is untrue that my pastoral vocation is shaken. There is a time I don’t like being a pastor in the sense that I don’t want to handle certain people and some ministerial errands. But the overall direction of my pastoral life is steady. To be able to hold fast to my pastoral vocation is certainly not from my own effort. How can a depraved human being like me keep a heavenly calling in ministry? “But by the grace of God I am what I am…though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” (1 Cor. 15:10)

Bi-Vocation

After being embedded in a ministerial context for a few years, I think my pastoral vocation has been confirmed by the community in which I was actively involved even though such a confirmation appeared subtly in a way that no one really complained about my pastoral style and ministerial ability in a negative way. Certain negative comments were there. But they were minor. Thus, I take that as a confirmation. In the subtlety of recognition, I have discovered my gift in thinking, integrating, teaching, and relational building.

In my farewell letter 2010, I mentioned that I wanted to minister to a church and teach theology as a bi-vocational ministry. And I trusted the God of possibility who would lead me in His way. In 2012, I am thankful that I am able to pursue doctoral studies in theology. In my recent reading, I came across two books.

In regard with doing doctoral studies, Ben Witherington, Professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary, writes:

Doing doctoral work will test your patience and, more importantly, build your character. You will learn a lot about yourself and how you handle stress and pressure…Your mental will be tested. Of the thirteen doctoral students C. K. Barrett had when I was at Durham, less than half left the school with their desired degree.

If you were to ask me today whether it was worth it and whether would I do it over again, even in spite of all the obstacles and difficulties, my answer would be a resounding yes. There is nothing better in life than doing what God has called you to do. I have run into people, many of them good Christians, who failed to do this when God called them to do it. They live with a lot of regret, a lot of second-guessing, and some of them with a lot of guilt. As the poet John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892) once said: “the saddest words of tongue or pen—what might have been, what might have been.”

Robert Frost once wrote that you should take the path less travelled by, and it will make all the difference.[1]

There are many paths in life. Life is made up of choices. Every choice leads to a certain direction. It takes courage to take the path less travelled by. In this path, I am not so sure what kind of difference I can make in the future. Actually, generally speaking, what kind of difference can we make in life? But I guess what I want to make sure is that I try my best to dissociate from the saddest words in life—what might have been.

In regard with being a pastor as scholar, John Piper writes:

If I am scholarly, it is not in any sense because I try to stay on the cutting edge in the discipline of biblical and theological studies. I am far too limited for that. What “scholarly” would mean for me is that the greatest object of knowledge is God and that he has revealed himself authoritatively in a book; and that I should work with all my might and all my heart and all my soul and all my mind to know and enjoy him and to make him known for the joy of others. Surely this is the goal of every pastor.[2]

The vision and object of Christian scholarship is God: knowing God and being transformed by the knowledge of God. My vision of God is not as great as Piper’s. But his words help me articulate my goal of being a pastor as scholar.

Move

Every move is a move from known to unknown—environment, people, restaurant, weather, roads, etc… In order to move, we must pack things from the old place and unpack once you arrive at the new destination. The activity of packing and unpacking is indispensable in moving. In the midst of packing and unpacking, you take a look at the things, which you either keep or throw away and you constantly make decisions in the process of choosing to keep or throw away. Every move signifies a new stage of life. Each move points to a new direction. The need to pack and unpack leads to personal reflection and evaluation.

Every time I move a step forward into an unknown stage, I tend to recall and evaluate the past. In the past, I think I often did it unconsciously. Now, I am more aware of my own consciousness. I think the reason behind it is that I want to find a continuation between the past and the future: who I was and I am, and what I could be. In doing that, I believe I want to trace the works of God in my past and the repeated, and yet more glorious, works of God in the future. God rescued Israel from the bondage of Egypt; did the redemption of God in Christ have even more glory? “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). With Him “there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). The unchanging attribute of God is not the result of detachment or indifference. Rather, He is fully engaged with the world and yet without being altered by worldly factors.

By nature, people don’t want to change, for every change requires adaptation. Whenever we face a new challenge, we need to adapt to a new set of mentality. New challenge requires new paradigm, which demands a lot of changes from us. I think of different figures in the Bible, such as Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, etc…  They were considered as “mobile” people. They moved from place to place. They were always on the move. They constantly adapted to new environments and made necessary changes. In the midst of changing, they were being changed. They were not the same. But God remains the same. All these people adapted to changes but experienced the unchanging God. God traveled with them as a moving, yet unchanging God.

These people are the men of faith. By faith, they sacrificed, obeyed, and followed. They faced challenges because of their faith. The author of Hebrews says that “without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (11:6) These men of faith sought God in their lives. They did not seek comfort and stability. They sought the God of comfort and stability. It is not wrong to seek comfort and stability. But for them, seeking God was their highest calling in life. “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” (Ps. 105:4) By faith, these men sought God. By grace, God rewarded them with His presence. I came across Exodus 33 today. God said to Moses, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (v. 14) This verse brings me comfort while I am facing a change, a new challenge. I am thankful for His Word that always comforts His people through the Spirit. “I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!” (Ps. 119:19)

Her

My relationship with her stabilizes my soul like an anchor does to a ship. The deeper I understand human nature and the changing condition of my surrounding, the more I treasure our marital relationship. It is one of those things I can be sure of. She is my constant. 

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[1] Ben Witherington III, Is There a Doctor in the House? An Insider’s Story and Advice on Becoming a Bible Scholar (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), p. 148.

[2] John Piper and D. A. Carson, The Pastor as Scholar and The Scholar as Pastor: Reflections on Life and Ministry. Edited by Owen Strachan and David Mathis (Wheaton: Crossway, 2011), p. 67.