Two and a half years ago, John Piper wrote a moving article entitled “Don’t Waste Your Cancer.” I’m now observing one of my best friends, Matt Hoskinson, evidence God’s grace in yet another way—this time by modeling Piper’s wise advice. Check out Matt’s letter that Danny Brooks read to Heritage Bible Church this morning.
(Matt is the tallest one in the pic below.)
Here’s a mid-year update for family and friends on some recent changes in the Naselli home. (I’ve lost track of whom I’ve told what at this transitional time, so this post should fill in the gaps!) God has been so good to us—far better than we deserve!
We are grateful to God to announce the birth of our first child: Kara Marie Naselli! She was born on June 8, 2008. (Click here to view a PDF of our birth announcement.) She’s healthy and beautiful! We are so joyful and grateful. (More details and pictures are available on our password-protected family blog.)
Jenni is now a stay-at-home Mom! She has yearned to have her very own children since she was a little girl. She babysat all through high school and college, earned a degree in Early Childhood Education, and then taught young children full-time until three days before Kara Marie was born. She’s been taking care of children belonging to other people for about thirteen years, and she has unselfishly served me by teaching full-time for the first four years of our marriage. She is eager to rear her own children, and I’m so thrilled that she is realizing her godly ambition for the high calling of wife and motherhood! I thank God for my wife.
We are getting more connected at CrossWay Community Church, a deliberately gospel-centered assembly. We hope to join a care group shortly. I’ve especially enjoyed being part of Mike Bullmore‘s “ministry trajectory group” that meets monthly in his home; his humble wisdom is so edifying.
By God’s grace I’ve completed my coursework that I began in August 2006! So I’ve completed all of the requirements for languages and classes for Trinity’s PhD program, which has been rigorous, enlightening, and edifying.
Next up are comprehensive exams and a dissertation.
I’m no longer serving as Robert Yarbrough‘s teaching assistant (that was only a two-year arrangement) nor teaching Greek as part-time faculty. I will, however, continue on the editorial board for Trinity Journal (edited by Robert Yarbrough).
I’m still serving as D. A. Carson‘s part-time research assistant (I started in August 2006), but the exciting news is that beginning August 4, I will serve as DAC’s first full-time research assistant! This is a long story, but the short version is that the Lord has provided for this job for at least the first year through some generous donors. Ideally, this will be at least a two-year arrangement if funding is available. I’m so grateful to serve the church by serving DAC, leveraging his astonishing productivity just a bit more.
I’ve been serving as administrator and interim managing editor for Themelios since March 2008, and I’ll continue serving as administrator while working full-time for DAC, who is the journal’s new editor. The first issue has been ready for publication since May, and it will be published online with the imminent launch of the new website for The Gospel Coalition. [Update: The first issue is available as a PDF.]
I’ve been doing a bit of part-time copy-editing and working on projects, articles, and reviews. The most time-consuming project at present is editing an abridgment of D. A. Carson and Douglas J. Moo’s 781-page An Introduction to the New Testament (a project for Zondervan, independent from my work for DAC).
I’m so grateful to receive the Hansen Fellowship in 2008–09. This may involve a small amount of work for the Henry Center during the school year.
A church about eighty minutes away is without a preaching pastor, and I and three other friends recently began serving as an interim preaching team. (None of us could commit to serving as the sole interim preaching pastor, so we proposed this alternative.) We are currently preaching through 1 Timothy, and the general rhythm is that each of us preaches twice every eight Sundays (two weeks on, six weeks off) until the church finds a pastor.
Here’s a convicting excerpt (pp. 173–74) from John Piper’s “Faith in Future Grace vs. Impatience” (chapter 13 in Future Grace): [Read more…] about Piper: “Impatient people are weak”
Mark Dever just posted this short article on the 9Marks blog: “Mark Dever doesn’t practice separation”?
He concludes:
To sum it up, I want my separation from the world to be more pronounced than my separation from other Christians. Does this make sense?
Paul’s argument in Gal 5:1–12 defends Christian liberty over a distinctive Jewish practice: circumcision. Note Paul’s logic in v. 11:
Ἐγὼ δέ, ἀδελφοί, εἰ περιτομὴν ἔτι κηρύσσω, τί ἔτι διώκομαι; ἄρα κατήργηται τὸ σκάνδαλον τοῦ σταυροῦ.
Now, brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed (NET).
Adding circumcision to the gospel removed “the offense of the cross,” which is essential to the gospel.
Questions for reflection:
See here. Piper’s attitude is commendable.
On a related note, I enjoyed observing him and interacting a bit last week at the annual pastor’s colloquium for The Gospel Coalition. The man is passionate about guarding and advancing the gospel, and for that I gratefully thank God!
The latest 9Marks interview by Mark Dever is now available: “Fundamentalism and Separation with Mark Minnick: Pastor and Bob Jones University professor Mark Minnick presents the case for the Fundamentalist doctrine of separation.”
Related:
Last August I posted on “Con Campbell’s Book on Verbal Aspect Released in Carson’s SBG Series.” His second volume, a companion to the first, is now hot off the press:
Constantine R. Campbell, Verbal Aspect and Non-Indicative Verbs: Further Soundings in the Greek of the New Testament (ed. D. A. Carson; Studies in Biblical Greek 15; New York: Lang, 2008), xiv + 155 pp.
Carson writes in the series editor’s preface,
One of the self-imposed limitations of Dr Campbell’s earlier volume in this series, Verbal Aspect, the Indicative Mood, and Narrative: Soundings in the Greek of the New Testament, was the restriction of the analysis to verbs in the indicative mood found in narrative settings. The book you now hold in your hand plugs part of that gap: Dr Campbell now does for the non-indicative verbs what he earlier did for the indicative. His approach is similar: judicious soundings, careful examination of the context, thoughtful translation—all couched in highly readable prose. The two volumes belong together, and together they establish one of the most credible (and certainly accessible) analyses of verbal aspect in the Greek of the New Testament. The issues are complex and frequently subtle, so inevitably grammarians will differ in their assessments of some elements of Dr Campbell’s presentation. Nevertheless this contribution is strong evidence (if more evidence is needed) that verbal aspect theory has come of age and cannot responsibly be ignored by New Testament scholars (pp. xi–xii).
Endorsements on the back cover are by Peter T. O’Brien (Campbell’s colleague at Moore Theological College) and Rodney J. Decker.
Related: Andrew David Naselli, “A Brief Introduction to Verbal Aspect in New Testament Greek,” Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 12 (2007): 17–28.