I get lots of questions about our upcoming transition and there may be others who have the same questions.  So this is my attempt to answer those.  If you have questions that I don’t think of, feel free to ask.

Why are you leaving the best job in the world?

Short answer: God wants us to.

Longer answer:  I’ve known ever since coming to IBEX in 1996 that I needed to do a Ph.D.  Why?  Because according to accreditation committees, one really needs a Ph.D. in order to teach college.  True, I was hired without one, and true, I am not currently on the cutting block.  But if anything changed, I might be working at Starbucks.

But why leave now?

In 2002 I told the IBEX team that I was thinking of going in 2 years.  In 2004 I told them I was planning on going in 1 more year.  So we’ve been thinking about this for some time.  Still it helps to have something stronger “pushing” us out so that there is less possibility of misunderstanding God’s will.  Three things that have helped us to know that this is the time: 1) Our visa situation has been rough for a few years and is only getting worse; Israel is not nice to people they should be nice to; 2) Our housing situation is getting worse as the family gets bigger and the house gets smaller, and no other housing options are on the horizon; 3) We think some things might be better for Luke in the U.S. at this time.

Why go to Dallas Theological Seminary?

I like DTS because 1) most of the profs still mostly believe the Bible and I really don’t want to go somewhere that I have to fight over what I consider to be basic truths; 2) I have taught their groups in Israel since 1998 and so have a good relationship with many professors, students, and former students; 3) some great Bible teachers, including my favorite, studied at this school and in this particular program, which is 4) the Bible Exposition program.

What is the Bible Exposition program?

Though listed last, in some ways this is first for me.  There are other schools that would be close to DTS in other ways, but they don’t have a program where I can study both the Old and the New Testaments.  I don’t deny that there is value in studying just one, but I want to study both.  I think I can understand and teach either better because I (will) know both.  I won’t learn the ins-and-outs of the participle of the imminent future (in Hebrew) or study aspects of the Greek verbal system, but I don’t want to do that anyway.  I want to do better what I already have begun to do – teach the Bible – big picture, backgrounds, the story.  I want to know (in my head) the flow of Jeremiah’s book.  I want to know when Paul said in Philippians that no other church had shared with him (except the Philippians) who he could have meant.  Of course, I’m not looking to learn Bible trivia.  But I want to know the whole story so that I can see things and make connections that otherwise I could never.  And then to teach that in ways that challenge college students to give their life to go to Iraq or Sudan or Scotland to share the gospel and teach the Bible.

You got off track; tell me more about what excites you about the Bible Ex program?

Well, one thing is the comprehensive exams.  6 exams, 6 hours long each, spread out over not more than 15 days total.  Of course, I don’t like exams, but the subject of them is what I like.  One is on the Pentateuch, another is on the Gospels.  Etc.  So besides the classes (32 hours) and the infamous Bible arguments (1000-page project) and the dissertation, I will be forced to know absolutely everything about the Bible.  That’s exactly what I want to do.

When do you move?

On Friday the 13th of July we fly from Israel (3am departure) to Dallas (6 pm arrival).

Do you have family in Texas?

No, but we have friends.  Two sets of friends have offered for us to stay with them for the first month.  During that time we hope to find a home to rent.

Are you shipping stuff to fill your house?

We’re shipping books, clothes, books and a few odds and ends from Israel.  We will have to buy everything else, from beds to bookshelves, plus a couple of cars.

How long will you be in Dallas?

Four years, Lord willing, and if I work very hard.  In addition to the above, and for no credit whatsoever, I have to pass language proficiency exams in the first and second summers (French and German).  If I don’t pass, I get the “year off.”  One challenge of this program as opposed to others is that so much is self-motivated.  If you don’t keep the pace, you suffer.  The college is giving me a semester sabbatical plus 2-4 years unpaid leave.  My serious commitment is to finish the dissertation before moving out of Dallas.  I am further motivated to finish before a couple of milestones: before I turn 40 and Luke turns 13.

What will you do when you finish?

Rest.  Cry.  Rejoice.  Ask people to please stop calling me “Dr.” whatever.  Because I have accepted the sabbatical, I am obligated to return to teach for The Master’s College for three years, either at the Israel or California campuses.  This is a happy obligation for me.  I accepted the sabbatical as much because of this obligation as for the remuneration.

Are you going to forget everything you know about Israel?

One thing I hope to do is to continue to teach the three-week Israel program for DTS in May of each year.  That’ll help keep me connected to the Land.

What are your plans for BiblePlaces.com and the Pictorial Library and such?

My hope is to continue to work on these as I am able.  Over the last four years, I have taken tens of thousands of photographs which I earnestly desire to use in the creation of several new CDs and a revision of the existing ones.  I also have been working on, and am nearing completion on, 10 new CDs in the Historic Views of the Holy Land series.  This should keep me from getting bored and hopefully help to put groceries on the table as well.

Do you have any fears?

A few.  1) Dallas heat.  2) That I will fail in the program.  3) That I will lose touch with college students and how to teach and motivate them.  4) That I will not be careful to enjoy my family during these years, which can be a very fun part of their growing-up years.  I am not afraid that I will lose my passion for the
Bible.  Some people say this is a problem for them as they see the Bible more and more as a “textbook.”  I have never had this problem.  Every time I read it, I love it.  More and more.

What does Kelli think about this?

I think we both have mixed emotions to a certain extent.  We both know this is God’s will, and we both see certain benefits in the move.  She’s guessing that the grocer won’t give her moldy cheese (that was last week), and looking forward to reading scribbled, handwritten notes from the school teachers in English.  I’m looking forward to some good Texas steaks for dinner and to bacon for breakfast.  Of course I’d trade all of that and a lot more to teach in Israel, but that is not God’s will.

What do the kids think about moving?

Again, mixed.  They don’t really understand it.  Luke, Mark and Katie were born here and since 2002 we haven’t spent more than a month in the States each year.  That is at the grandparents’ houses on summer vacation, which isn’t exactly what our new life will be like.  There are things that they will miss and things they will enjoy.  We really won’t know how they handle it until we’re there.

Has Dallas Seminary done anything lately to really impress you?

Well, as a matter of fact, yes.  A professor and his wife stopped by our house last week just to say hi.  That is some recruiting machine that DTS has – even unannounced home visits in Israel!

Is this blog going to degenerate into dealing with silly, everyday matters like, “hey, we just moved into a place,” or “what do you guys suggest for a cell phone plan since we’re pretty much clueless about life in America?”

No, we’ve set up another blog for that.  But we’re not advertising the address because it will really be silly and everyday.  It’ll be of most interest to those who are in the Dallas area.  If you want to follow along with us and comment on various questions, you can email me for a link to that blog.  But we’ll keep this blog very high-minded, as always!

What’s your number 1 prayer request for the move?

That we will know God’s will for our church home.  Preferably quickly, as we would like to live near the church facility.  And we can’t wait too long before choosing a house because we need to get the kids in school.

True, he’s dead, but still millions of people believe that he is (or was) the Messiah.  My acquaintance with the movement began in the mid-90s when I worked (as a temporary employee) for the Chabad (Lubavitch) offices in L.A.  The Rebbe had recently passed away and the movement was trying to cope with his death (and lack of resurrection).  Today they celebrate the thirteenth anniversary of his passing and the movement is still flourishing, though the debate of his Messiahship has not been settled.

Arutz-7 has an interesting article about Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (“one of the world’s greatest Jews”), including several “remarkable” stories of his abilities.  Read the one about the mezuzah and see if you are impressed; I was not.

The Arutz-7 story is on the long side, but I think this is an important subject, given that over a million followers of Chabad.  You can read more at Wikipedia on Chabad and the possible Messiah himself.

I certainly don’t have the genius of this man, nor the followers, and no one would ever think I’m the Messiah, but I do have this over him: I’ve been to Israel.

You may have already seen this AP story, but in case you haven’t, here’s my little pointer to it.  Numerous studies have been done on the effect of the death penalty on crime, and all of them show that it prevents murders.  The studies disagree on approximately how many lives are saved, but it’s somewhere between 3 and 18.  The other way to say this that you won’t hear coming from the mouth of a liberal or from the news media is this: whenever the life of a murderer is spared, you’re sentencing to death 3-18 other people.  So argue over whether lethal injection causes pain; if you spare the guy’s life because of some incidental, short-lived pain, you’ve effectively killed 3-18 other people, most of whom will experience great pain.  And none of whom will have had an extensive appeals process.

Oh, you should know that most “enlightened” countries have abolished the death penalty, including Israel, all of Europe (except Belarus), Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

I like to use my computer desktop as a temporary holding place for files that I need to work on.  Sometimes I get behind.

Don’t bother asking about my email inbox.