Dr. Bill Mounce - Teacher & Translator

We had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Bill Mounce today who is a teacher and translator extraordinaire:

• He is the author of my Greek textbook in RTS.
• He is the founder and president of biblicaltraining.org
• He is on the committee of Bible translation (NIV)
• He was the New Testament chair of the ESV translation.

Yet, he spoke with the humility, like the heart of a shepherd who cares for his flock to be grazing on the words of truth and life. He challenged us - "why are you in seminary?" - your goal should be that when you leave seminary, you have a deeper love for Jesus Christ. I like how he summed up the outcome of seminary studies - it should lead me to have an informed love - growing to love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, strength and mind. (By the way, be sure to check out the FREE biblicaltraining.org website - it is a fantastic teaching resource!)

After speaking at the RTS Chapel, Dr. Mounce went on to share deeper insights on his role as a Bible translator. That left me with a greater appreciation for the various English translations out there and the different philosophy of translation (formal, function or natural). It is an amazing demonstration of how God inspires His Word through the means of using real people with real language and cultural context. Managed to be "thick-skinned" enough to raise my hand for a free copy of a personal sized Bible for my wife!

Please pray for us

Thank you for praying for Eunice - we are pleased and thankful for her results. She just submitted her university applications and we plan to go on a campus visit road trip soon. Do continue to pray for wisdom in selecting the right university with the right environment for her to grow not only intellectually but more importantly in her faith and worldview.

The month of November is the last lap of this semester for me with a pile of research papers to write and exams to prepare for. Please pray for this 51-year-old-long-time-no-study-type-brain to be able to rise up to the occasion and do my best not to compete but to complete it for God's glory and because I want to love Him with all of my mind!

Do pray for all three of us to be in good health as the cooler season approaches. We miss the warm fellowship with you guys at home!

Thank you for partnering with us in this journey of joy.

Joseph, Debra & Eunice.