My amazing Greek students

Meet my New Testament Greek students. They are simply amazing. Not necessarily because they excel at Greek (most of them struggle, as I do). They are amazing because of their stamina and determination. They attend Bible college classes 4 or 5 nights a week, from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Most of them work full time, are active in their local church, and have families.

The photo with the smaller number of students is the Greek I class, and the larger group is Greek III. I have both classes on Thursday nights, and look forward to their stimulating questions. My goal is to get them into the Greek text as much as possible (can you see some of my Greek scribbling on the chalkboard in the lower photo?).

When do they have time to study? Good question! On the bus, after midnight, weekends. They do what they have to do. And because they believe that God has called them to serve the Brazilian church, they press on. They want to be well-prepared. I admire their commitment and introduce them to you, so that you can do the same.

Passover Seder essential for understanding NT

Last night, on Easter Sunday, our pastor walked through the details of the traditional Jewish Passover meal, known as the Seder. It convinced me that every believer should have this experience. Why? When the reader has a grasp of the Jewish background, many parts of the NT leap from black and white into technicolor.

One example: During the Passover meal, Jesus breaks the bread and says, "This is my body, given for you..." The bread that Jesus used was the matsa (unleavened bread, to symbolize the absence of sin). It had first been broken into 3 pieces. Jesus then took the middle piece and broke it again. Traditionally, part of that broken middle piece was placed inside a white linen cloth and "hidden" in another part of the home. Later in the meal, that cloth would be "found" and the family would rejoice together. If this sounds a little like Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, you have caught the excitement of the early Jewish Christians, who realized the incredible symbolism in the Passover meal!

Transforming lives through the Word

Since we returned from the States last year, Lalia and I have been attending a church plant here in São Paulo, Igreja Batista Nações Unidas (see photo, Pastor Luiz Sayão). About a year old, it is a Brazilian Baptist church, but with a non-traditional model. The mission statement is simple: “Transformando Vidas Pela Palavra” (Transforming lives through the Word). We meet in a convention center located on one of the major urban expressways. The preaching is expository. The teaching ministry avoids the Sunday school mold and focuses on biblical theology, even to the point of testing students with periodic exams.

At the pastor’s request, I started teaching a Sunday afternoon English Bible class (just before the worship celebration). Internally, the class is known as a “bridge” event to serve those who are searching for spiritual meaning. We are enjoying the smallness of the congregation, after spending four years in a mega-church (by Brazilian standards) environment.

Last night during the worship celebration we heard from a missionary sponsored by the church, who works with evangelism in the Middle East. Until God transformed him, he was a member of Hamas, in charge of rigging bombs for use on targets in Israel. Now he risks his life to take the explosive power of the gospel to his fellow Palestinians and peoples in North Africa.

Too many books

"Paul, you're crazy! You've read too many books, spent too much time staring off into space! Get a grip on yourself, get back in the real world!" (Acts 26:24, The Message)

Sometimes I feel a little like Festus’ evaluation of Paul.

Our ministry revolves around books, but I was able to “get back in the real world” this week as I hopped the bus and subway to a government office in downtown Sao Paulo. I was on mission business, the latest in a series of frustrated attempts to register some important documents. I spent half an hour in the government office and 2-1/2 hours in transit. Maybe this time the red tape vigilantes will give us the green light. I will only find out two weeks from now.

Back to books. Get a grip! I finally finished editing/proofreading the latest book for Vida Nova publishers: Group’s Emergency Response Handbook for Youth Ministry (the Portuguese version, of course). Besides correcting the translation (Brazil translators don’t always “get the drift” of the English text), I also wrote an additional chapter which addressed the problem of employment for young people in Brazil. It’s a different reality here, and we wanted to contextualize our book for Brazilian youth workers. Lalia did a final reading for the finer points of Portuguese grammar and style which are still out of my reach. We make a good editing team.

International Women's Day

I usually think of the U.S. as having the corner on political correctness, but I had never heard of International Women’s Day (March 8) until I arrived in Brazil. It’s a pretty big deal here. Advertisers use it to hawk their products. Politicians use it to garner votes. Employers use it to keep their female employees happy. And sometimes it even shows up in churches.

Using the hook of International Women’s Day, Lalia will give a Bible message on Sunday, March 9, at the church pastored by her brother Nelson. In a separate event on Saturday, she is the featured speaker at the women’s Easter tea, sponsored by the Morumbi Baptist Church. Hundreds of women will attend, including many seeking faith. I’m suspect, of course, but those of you who have heard Lalia speak know that she has a great gift of communication. Just think what she can do in her first language, Portuguese!