Rod Decker Resource Center
Purpose
The Rod Decker Resource Center is a resource for God’s people to benefit from the example of Rod Decker’s blend of Biblical languages, theology, and ministry through his written resources. The Resource Center also holds Rod’s research in New Testament Greek Studies including his grammatical work and his work in verbal aspect. Rod was a member of Northmoreland Baptist Church.
Support Pages for Dr. Rodney Decker’s Major Books
Center Resources (more to be added)
MY GOAL IS TO BE FAITHFUL
THE COURAGE TO DIE by Rod Decker
PRAYING FOR THE TERMINALLY ILL. By Rod and Linda Decker
WHEN CANCER PULLS THE RUG OUT FROM UNDER YOU. By Linda Decker
ON ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP
VERBAL ASPECT
GRAMMAR/SYNTAX/LEXIGRAPHY
An Introduction to the Bauer/Danker Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
The Bauer Thesis. In Orthodoxy and Heresy in Early Christian Contexts: Reconsidering the Bauer Thesis Edited by Paul Hartog.
TRANSLATION
VERBAL-PLENARY INSPIRATION AND TRANSLATION
Can We Trust the ESV Bible Translation?
Evaluating The New International Version 2011 (Short Version)
An Evaluation of the 2011 Edition of the New International Version NT Resources
EXEGESIS/EXPOSITION
The Original Readers of Hebrews
THE WARNINGS OF HEBREWS THREE AND FOUR
MINISTRY
Why Do (Some) Seminaries Still Require the Biblical Languages
DISPENSATIONALISM
Why Do Dispensationalist Have Such A Hard Time Agreeing on the New Covenant?
The Law, the New Covenant, and the Christian: Studies in Hebrews 7–10
Mark and Miracle (Mark 16:17-18)
NT Resources. (Rod’s former online resource, now run by Dr. Wayne SlusseR)
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Rodney Decker was a consumate New Testament Scholar and faithful pastor who loved God’s Word. At Baptist Bible Seminary he was mentored by Richard Engle, who joined the faculty of Baptist Bible Seminary after 10 years of pastoral ministry. “I saw a blend of the Biblical languages, theology, and ministry, which convinced me that if I was serious about Scripture, I had to be serious about the Biblical languages,” Decker observed.
During his early teaching career, a change was underway in New Testament Studies—young scholars were changing the way Biblical Greek was taught and used. Rod’s own education had begun in an era that emphasized definitions, grammatical parts of speech, and word studies. Preachers who were reared in this teaching tradition would engage the Greek text long enough to extract simple devotional insights from words like agape and ecclesia. But such approaches did not lead to a full understanding of the text’s central idea.
Rod steered students away from what he called the “golden nuggets” approach (a name popularized by a long-running Moody Monthly column, “Golden Nuggets from the Greek New Testament”).
Strongly influenced by the methods of Moisés Silva and D. A. Carson, Decker came to advocate an approach he called grammatical minimalism, placing the least weight on the individual grammatical pieces and the greatest weight on statements in their context.
Decker’s ideas—“a blend of the Biblical languages, theology, and ministry”—were demonstrated during decades of church ministry.
Education
Th.D. (NT), Central Baptist Seminary (MN), 1998 Dissertation: “Temporal Deixis of the Greek Verb in the Gospel of Mark in Light of Verbal Aspect”
Th.M., Detroit Baptist Seminary, 1980
M.Div., Baptist Bible Seminary (formerly … School of Theology), 1978
B.S., Baptist Bible College, 1974
Ministry
12 years pastoral ministry Fellowship Baptist Church, Glen Mills, PA, 1978-79 Calvary Baptist Church, Ecorse, MI, 1980-82The Country Church, Caro, MI, 1982-90
Instructor in Bible, theology, and biblical languages, Calvary Bible College, Kansas City, MO, 1990-93
Assistant Professor, NT and theology, Calvary Theological Seminary, Kansas City, MO, 1993-96
Adjunct Professor of NT, Central Baptist Seminary, Minneapolis, MN, 1994-95.
Assistant Professor of NT, Baptist Bible Seminary, Clarks Summit, PA, 1996-2000; Associate Professor, 2000-2006; Professor, 2007-2014.
Publications
Books
La Biblia en Nuestro Idioma. Lima, Peru, SA, Seminario Teologico Bautista, 2004. (One portion of the lecture series noted below.)
Temporal Deixis of the Greek Verb in the Gospel of Mark with Reference to Verbal Aspect. Studies in Biblical Greek, v. 10. Edited by D. A. Carson. New York: Peter Lang, 2000. See the page devoted to this book.
The English Bible. Kansas City: Calvary Theological Seminary, 1993.
Contemporary Dispensationalism. Kansas City: Calvary Theological Seminary, 1992.
The Expositor’s Toolbox. Co-edited with James Raiford. Kansas City: Calvary Theological Seminary, 1992.
A Koine Greek Reader (New Testament, Septuagint, Apostolic Fathers, Creeds), 2007 (Kregel).
Reading Koine Greek: An Introduction and Integrated Workbook, 2014 (Baker Academic).
Mark: A Handbook on the Greek Text, 2 vols. Baylor Handbook on the Greek New Testament series, ed. Martin Culy (Baylor Univ. Press), 2014.
Lectureships
“The English Bible.” Calvary Bible College (Kansas City) lecture series, 2/16-17/1993.
The Clearwater Lectures, Central Baptist Seminary of Virginia Beach, VA, “Twisted Text? The NT’s Uses of the OT,” Oct. 14, 2002.
La Biblia en Nuestro Idioma. Seminario Teologico Bautista, Lima, Peru, SA, Oct. 2004.
The Wm. R. Rice Lectures, Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, Allen Park, MI, “Is It Better to Bury or to Burn? A Biblical Perspective on Cremation and Christianity in Western Culture,” March 15, 2006.
The MacDonald Lectures, Central Baptist Theological Seminary, Plymouth, MN, “Crucial Issues in the Book of Hebrews,” Feb. 9, 2010
“Semantics.” Bibles International, Translators’ Annual Workshop Lectures, Grand Rapids, Aug. 20–21, 2012.
Articles in Works Edited by Others
“Adapting Technology to Teach Koine Greek.” In Studying the Greek New Testament: Papers from the SBL Greek Language and Linguistics Section. NT Monographs 11. Edited by S. E. Porter and M. B. O’Donnell. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2009.
“Dispensationalism.” In Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2004.
The Dictionary of Premillennial Theology, contributor. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1997. (Articles: “new covenant, theology of”; “new covenant, dispensational views of”; and “people of God.”)
“The Church Has a Direct Relationship to the New Covenant.” In Dispensational Views of the New Covenant: 3 Views. Edited by Mike Stallard, 194–222. Schaumberg, Ill.: Regular Baptist Books, 2012.
“Markan Idiolect in the Study of the Greek of the New Testament,” in The Language of the New Testament: Context, History and Development, ed. Stanley Porter and Andrew Pitts, 43–66. Studies in the Language of the New Testament, Brill Linguistic Biblical Studies. Brill, 2013.
“The Function of the Imperfect Tense in Mark’s Gospel,” in The Language of the New Testament: Context, History and Development, ed. Stanley Porter and Andrew Pitts, 347–64. Studies in the Language of the New Testament, Brill Linguistic Biblical Studies. Brill, 2013.
“The ‘Bauer Thesis’: An Overview.” Ch. 1 in Orthodoxy and Heresy in Early Christian Contexts. Edited by Paul Hartog. Eugene, Or.: Pickwick, forthcoming.
Journal Articles
“Polity and the Elder Issue.” Grace Theological Journal 9 (1988) 257-78.
“The New Covenant and the Church.” Bibliotheca Sacra 152 (1995): 290-305, 431-56 (2 part series).
“The Semantic Range of νῦν in the Gospels as Related to Temporal Deixis.” Trinity Journal 16 ns (1995): 187-217.
“The Use of εὐθύς (‘immediately’) in Mark.” Journal of Ministry and Theology 1.1 (1997): 90-121. (An earlier version is online.)
“Review Article: Mari Olsen, A Semantic and Pragmatic Model of Lexical and Grammatical Aspect. Outstanding Dissertations in Linguistics. New York: Garland, 1997.” Journal of Ministry and Theology 2.1 (1998): 110?20.
“Studies in Hebrews.” 6-part series, Journal of Ministry and Theology. Part 1: “The Original Readers of Hebrews,” 3.2 (1999): 20-49; Part 2: “The Intentional Structure of Hebrews,” 4.2 (fall 2000): 80-105; Part 3: “The Warnings of Hebrews 3-4,” 5.1 (spring 2001): 5-27; Part 4: “The Warning of Hebrews 6,” 5.2 (fall 2001): 26-48; Part 5: “The Exhortations of Hebrews 10:19-25,” 6.1 (spring 2002): 44-62. Part 6: “Trampling the Son of God Under Foot: The Warning of Hebrews 10:26-31,” 6.2 (fall 2002): 30-39.
“Realistic or Historical Narrative?” Journal of Ministry and Theology 4.1 (spring 2000): 52-81. (An earlier version is online.)
“Communicating the Text in the Postmodern Ethos of Cyberspace: Cautions Regarding the Technology and the Text.” Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 5 (fall 2000): 45-70. (An earlier version of this paper is available online in .pdf format.)
Review of Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, rev. & ed. F. W. Danker, 3d ed. (Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 2000). Journal of Ministry and Theology 5.1 (spring 2001): 121-23. Also online with numerous other additional resources related to BDAG.
“Revisioning the Nature of Biblical Revelation: A Critique of Stanley Grenz’s Proposals,” Journal of Ministry and Theology 8 (Spring 2004): 5-36.
“The English Standard Version New Testament: A Review Article,” Journal of Ministry and Theology 8.2 (Fall 2004): 5-56.
“World Ministry: Translation and Training for the Two-Thirds World,” Journal of Ministry and Theology 9.1 (Spring 2005): 72-89.
“Verbal-Plenary Inspiration and Translation.” Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 11 (2006): 25-61.
“Is It Better to Bury or to Burn? A Biblical Perspective on Cremation and Christianity in Western Culture.” Journal of Ministry and Theology, part 1: 11.1 (2007): 24-48; part 2: 11.2 (2007): 38-76.
“The Rehabilitation of Heresy: ‘Misquoting’ Earliest Christianity.” Journal of Ministry & Theology 13.1 (2009): 30–63; 13.2 (2009): 56–95.
“Evaluating the NIV 2011.” The Baptist Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 2011, pp. 18–22.
“An Evaluation of the 2011 Edition of the New International Version.” Themelios 36.3 (2011): 415–56.
“400 Years of the KJV.” Journal of Ministry and Theology 16.1 (Spring 2012): 5–49.
Academic/Professional Papers Presented
(* = later published or accepted for publication; see above)
“The Semantic Range of νῦν in the Gospels as Related to Temporal Deixis.” Evangelical Theological Society, Midwest Regional Meeting, St. Paul, MN, 3/17/95.*
“Preaching Jesus to Skeptics.” Faculty Forum, Baptist Bible Seminary, 1997.
The following three papers are sequential revisions of the same work: “Communicating the Text in the Information Age: Issues from Cyberspace.” Faculty Forum, Baptist Bible Seminary, 12/11/98. “Communicating the Text in the Postmodern Ethos of Cyberspace: Cautions Regarding the Technology and the Text.” Evangelical Theological Society, Eastern Regional Meeting, Evangelical School of Theology, Meyerstown, PA, 3/26/99. “Interpreting the Text in the Postmodern Ethos of Cyberspace: Cautions Regarding the Technology and the Text.” Bible Faculty Leadership Summit, Central Baptist Seminary, Minneapolis, 8/5/99.*
“Verbal Aspect in Recent Debate: Objections to Porter’s Non-Temporal View of the Verb.” Evangelical Theological Society, Eastern Region Annual Meeting, 3/30/01, Philadelphia Biblical University, Langhorne, PA.
“The Pluralistic Predicament.” Bible Faculty Leadership Summit, Faith Baptist Bible College and Seminary, 7/26/01.
“May Evangelicals Dispense with Propositional Revelation? A Renewed Assault on an Evangelical Essential.” Evangelical Theological Society, Annual Meeting, Colorado Springs, CO, 11/14/01. Also presented at Eastern Regional ETS meeting 3/22/02 at Capital Bible Seminary, Lanham, MD under the title “Revisioning the Nature of Biblical Revelation: A Critique of Stanley Grenz’s Proposals,” and at the 2002 Bible Faculty Summit, at Pillsbury Baptist Bible College, Owatonna, Minn., 8/2/02.
“Adapting Technology to Teach Koine Greek.” Society of Biblical Literature, Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, 11/18/01.*
“The English Standard Version: A Review Article,” BBS Faculty Forum lecture, 3/18/04.*
“World Ministry: The ESV as a Window into Translation and Training for the Two-Thirds World,” Bible Faculty Summit, Piedmont Baptist College, Winston-Salem, NC, July 2004.*
“Guarding the Gospel at the Translation Level: The Relationship between Verbal-Plenary Inspiration and Translation.” Bible Faculty Summit. Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, Allen Park, MI, Aug. 2005.
“What Does a Translator Have to Offer the Reader? A Response to Dr. C. John Collins,” plenary response paper presented at Northeastern Region ETS meeting, 4/1/2006, Mid-America Baptist Seminary, Northeast Campus, Schenectady, NY.
“The Influence of Culture on Death Rituals: Cremation in Western Culture,” Bible Faculty Summit, Clearwater Christian College, Clearwater, FL, July 2006.
Respondent to W. E. Glenny at the Dispensational Study Group at the ETS annual meeting, Nov. 2006 (Washington DC): “Gentiles and the People of God: A Study of Apostolic Hermeneutics and Theology in Acts 15.”
“If You Meet the Undertaker Before the ‘Uppertaker’: A Christian View of Death, Dying, and Funerals,” Faculty Forum, Baptist Bible Seminary, March 2007.
“The Rehabilitation of Heresy: ‘Misquoting’ Earliest Christianity,” Bible Faculty Summit, Central Baptist Seminary, Plymouth, MN, July 2007.
“Markan Idiolect in the Study of the Greek of the New Testament,” ETS annual meeting, Nov. 2009 (New Orleans)
“The Function(s) of the Imperfect Tense in Mark’s Gospel,” SBL annual meeting, Nov. 2009 (New Orleans)
“The Grammar of Christology,” Bible Faculty Summit, July 2010, Maranatha Baptist Bible College, Watertown, WI
Internet and Electronic Publications
Galilee True Type Greek Font, v. 1.0, 2002.
GalileeU True Type Unicode Greek Font, v. 1.0, 2003.
Church Tracks, a church management database designed for new churches and church plant projects (written in FileMaker Pro Developer, v. 7, Windows and Macintosh), 2004.
Memberships
Evangelical Theological Society
Society of Biblical Literature