What About Bob: In 1991 Bill Murray starred in a movie called What About Bob? This month I would like to answer the question, “What about Bob?” This might give you a better picture of what I do here at the Missionary Training Center.
The Phonetics Guru: Phonetics is a 70 hour course that covers sounds spoken in languages around the world. Students practice saying these sounds. They also practice writing words and phrases from various foreign languages using the International Phonetic Alphabet. In 1985 I was asked to take charge of the Phonetics Course. Besides overseeing the program, I have written two textbooks that we have used in our phonetics course. Somewhere along the way, I inherited the title of “The Phonetics Guru.” Don’t ask me how, because I have no idea.
The Culture-Language Acquisition Practicum: The CLA Practicum is a 95 hour course that provides instruction in the principles of Culture-Language Acquisition. Students practice applying principles and methods of Culture-Language Acquisition in a simulated tribal/animistic context. I play the role of a native from Papua New Guinea living in a remote jungle village. Students apply the principles and methods that they have learned in class with a number of villagers including myself.
The Grade Master: Years ago the Missionary Training Center needed a better way to keep grades and generate transcripts. At that time I was asked to design a temporary system for grading and transcripts. Since I know Microsoft Excel and Word fairly well, I developed a system for keeping grades and generating transcripts. By today’s standards it was pretty rudimentary, but it got the job done. The grade tracking portion became known as the Mother of All Spreadsheets. It was supposed to be a temporary solution until we found something else to replace it. That temporary solution lasted for over a decade. At the beginning of this spring we switched over to using a commercial program which is a big improvement over the Mother of All Spreadsheets. I am one of the administrators of the new program and will be involved in training our teachers to use it.
The NTM Theological Consultation Group: Lance Latham was a great Bible teacher. He not only founded the AWANA clubs, but he also helped in founding New Tribes Mission. In the early days of NTM, Lance was known as the theological watchdog of the mission to keep the fledgling organization on the straight and narrow doctrinally. NTM has a rich doctrinal heritage and is much indebted to men such as Lance Latham. Today churches and Christian organizations face many challenges as the winds of doctrine constantly shift direction. New Tribes Mission recognizes these challenges and is committed to stand firm upon the doctrinal foundations laid by men such as Lance Latham. As such, they have formed a Theological Consultation Group of which I am a member. This group has been tasked with the job of making sure that our current doctrinal statement is clearly worded and leaves no room for misunderstanding what is stated. We have had situations in which a student will enter into the NTM training program thinking that they are in agreement with the NTM doctrinal statement. But in reality they misread the NTM doctrinal statement because of their theological background. Usually those issues come up somewhere in the training program. But there have been cases in which someone will get to the mission field only to find out that because of doctrinal differences they are not able to function with their NTM co-workers. It is tragic to see people sell houses, leave jobs, leave relatives, and move overseas only to find out that they really are not in agreement on important doctrinal issues. A clearly worded doctrinal statement can help to minimize these situations.
Whether I am teaching a class on phonetics or discussing doctrinal issues, I know that the prayers of God’s saints makes a huge difference in my life and ministry. I appreciate all those who are praying for me.
Bob
* * *
Don’t Quit!
When the mountains look high,
And the valleys seem low,
It’s not time to quit,
It’s just time to go.
When life’s battle is rough,
And you can’t seem to win,
It’s not time to quit,
But the time to begin.
When your friends let you down,
And you know not where to turn,
It’s not time to quit,
But the time to stand firm.
When your witness is nil,
And your spirit is low,
It’s not time to quit,
Just get up and go.
With the world in a turmoil,
And unbelief in the land,
It’s not time to quit,
But time for a stand.
When looking at others,
They do nothing but sit,
You still should go,
It’s no time to quit.
Jesus going to Calvary,
Never flinched a bit,
He was dying for us,
WHAT IF HE HAD QUIT?
