I grew up the firstborn son of a Baptist preacher. It’s a unique kind of life that offers a strange set of advantages and challenges. I think it’s safe to say, it shaped me significantly and made me into the man I am today.
Being a Pastor’s Kid (we call ourselves PKs) puts a person relatively high on the Christian Nerd Scale. The only group that was categorically higher was the MKs (Missionary Kids).
In my time, the primary expectation of the PKs was perfection. Just as the pastor was a morally superior person to the congregants, his kids had to be superior to the rest of the rug rats at the church.
In many ways we had to all the things no one wanted to do so they could point at us and say “see, it takes a PK to do that – normal kids shouldn’t be expected to live that way…”
Being in the pastor’s family also meant you had to show up. Any time the doors were open and the lights were on, you had to be there. Sunday School (often on the “chair brigade”), Sunday worship, Sunday night, Midweek prayer service, youth group, every camp and evangelical outreach event. It’s pretty easy to see that church life was life.
On the flip side, the pastor’s family got a lot more up close and personal with the Word of God than any of my youth group peers did. I’ve told the story about how my dad led us in family Bible studies – the most famous was the study of the Kings of Israel when I was 12 that led to my most recent book Give Us A King! – essentially a duplication of what I learned 45 years ago.
My dad was a serious student of God’s Word. Throughout my childhood he regularly led tours to the Holy Land. He loved to see the places where the events happened. Correspondingly he also loved archaeology. I think he still has copies of every edition of Biblical Archeology Review.
Things like this rubbed off. I developed a deep appreciation for what we learn from digging in the ground – and have myself twice traveled to Israel (and would gladly do so again). These take the stories of the Bible and make them feel real – like real people in real situations. It’s so easy to picture them in a cartoony format. Seeing the real deal corrects back to real life.
Nothing expressed my dad’s studious bent than his approach to education. He has more degrees than any person I know. At least two of them are PhDs in ministry and biblical studies.
As he dove deep into education and study, the results spilled out all over me. Some of the mental frameworks that organize the Bible came as a part of listening to him as he worked out assignments and dissertations. My understanding of the life and ministry of Jesus was indelibly shaped by his study. You get a small taste of that in Chapter 7 of Getting to Know God’s Word (“The Life and Times of Jesus the Christ”).
Interestingly, for a man who has a library approaching 1,000 books, he gave me relatively few. I really only have 2 treasured books from him:
- Gary Friesen’s groundbreaking book “Decision Making and the Will of God”
- Irving Jensen’s “Independent Bible Study”
The latter book dramatically shaped my own study of the Bible and grounded me firmly in the inductive bible study method. I followed his method (textual recreation) and used it for my own studies and group studies. It probably led me more to write Study the Bible – Six Easy Steps more than any other single book.
Both of my parents loved to create rituals as a way of marking the seasons and celebrating events. This showed up in food and… unique celebrations. I remember them hosting the first Passover seder when I was in high school. I only did it with them a few times before I went off to college. But it made such an impression that when we got married, my wife and I tried to duplicate it – and have been doing it for nearly 30 years. This practice led to my book As Often As You Do It as a way to share this incredibly meaningful ceremony with others and show how Jewish traditions informed and influence Christian ordinances such as the Lord’s Supper.
After 60 years of ministry, my dad preached his final sermon at the end of August this year. He’s in his 80’s and the time has come for him to step aside in favor of others. A very hard task to do.
What does a dedicated servant of God do when his time of service is over? That’s an active question that still needs to be answered.
My wife and I flew from Phoenix to Seattle to commemorate the event with most of my extended family. I was really interested to see what passage he would chose for his “final word”.
I figured something from Paul, maybe 2 Timothy 4 (I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race). Nope. He totally surprised me and went Old Testament.
Isaiah 53.
Yes, Isaiah’s prophecy of the messiah who would come and redeem His people by suffering, not conquering.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. After all, Jesus is the most central character and the cross/tomb are the most central places in all of human history.
His point… It’s all about Jesus and what he did.
It reminds me of the theologian Karl Barth, who at the end of his storied career was asked what was the most profound thing he had learned… He answered, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
My dad’s final word from the pulpit was no different. It’s all about Jesus. The more you study the Bible, the more you’ll realize this is true.
And that’s my story for today. The final word of 60 years of ministry was “Jesus.” I hope you take note of this. It’s a rock around which you can orient your life
The final word, is the only word.
Dennis
