[B-Greek] Fwd: "Why do we make pastors translate?"
Bryant J. Williams III
bjwvmw at com-pair.net
Sun Dec 13 21:14:44 EST 2009
Dear List,
I had two years in undergraduate Koine Greek, then five years in Seminary. I
made it a point to have Hebrew and Greek classes every year in Seminary. I still
use them to this day after graduating twenty-three years ago.
Regarding the language classes. The Greek and Hebrew classes began with the
alphabet, word-formation, vocabulary, parsing, syntactical/grammatical analyses,
etc. Then, each class in the upper levels (third year and beyond) started with
exegesis and exposition of the text. One of the warnings of each and every class
was to "translate the text into English making sure you are understanding what
the original language is saying NOT the English." The English will, admittedly,
look like an interlinear at first. Subsequent reworkings of the translation will
give one the correct understanding of the text. This make take some 4, 5, or 6
reworkings; if not more. Furthermore, the final product should be able to
reflect the idioms, tone, etc. that is present in the text. Finally, and only
then, should one be able to outline the text for sermon use whether for
expository, textual or topical sermons.
Admittedly, this takes time. The pastor of a flock needs to spend between 10-15
hours per sermon. This means that the best time is in the morning when least
likely to be interrupted. This does not included the pastor's own devotion time.
The afternoons are usually spent visiting the flock including visitors,
hospital, home and hospice. The flock will greatly benefit by requiring deacons
and themselves to do the work of the ministry and leave the pastor to study and
preach the word ( Eph 4:12; I Tim 5;17-18).
The reason most pastors-to-be have the problem of disliking parsing is that it
requires WORK! They do not see the long-term benefit. Instead, they are
utilitarian in their viewpoint of parsing. If one wants to be successful in any
enterprise, one must do what one dislikes the most first.
En Xristwi,
Rev. Bryant J. Williams III
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sarah J. Blake" <sarah at growingstrong.org>
To: "Leonard Isaksson" <leonardo1orchardcity at mac.com>; "Alexander Ring"
<akring at mac.com>; <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, December 12, 2009 12:09 PM
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] Fwd: "Why do we make pastors translate?"
> How much seminary depends on how much load you take and how many hours the
> M.Div. is. Some seminaries require 72 hours and some require 90. I graduated
> with 99 hours on my transcript and did it in three years. I have no spouse
> or children and devoted insane amounts of time to classes during the year as
> well as the summer. It is not something that all students can do. Many take
> only nine hours per semester, and it does take four years.
>
> Sarah J. Blake
> Personal correspondence: sjblake at gtowingstrong.org
> http://www.growingstrong.org
>
>
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