Rodney Decker

[cwconrad]

Over the years of the old BG mailing list and occasionally in this BG Forum Rod Decker, Professor of New Testament and Greek at Baptist Bible Seminary, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, has been a fine teacher and a relentless inquirer. Although I've never met him face to face, I have been corresponding with him frequently ever since his years of doctoral study in Kansas City. For several years now he's been the finest living practitioner of traditional grammar/translation Greek pedagogy that I've ever known of. His NT Resources webpage (accessible at his blog site) has continued to be an essential first-resort place to search. His pedagogical publications include a fine Koine Greek Reader: Selections from the New Testament, Septuagint, and Early Christian Writers (I read the manuscript for this one and was continually astounded at its thoroughness of treatment and helpfulness to students learning to read the GNT), a two-volume commentary on the Greek text of Mark's Gospel Handbook on the Greek Text (Baylor Handbook on the Greek New Testament), and just now forthcoming, a new primer for Biblical Greek, Reading Koine Greek: An Introduction and Integrated Workbook (the first, to my knowledge, to teach Greek voice as I think it ought to be taught -- I read that manuscript too). We've known for many months now of his struggle with cancer. A blog entry today http://ntresources.com/blog/?p=3712 brings news that radiation and chemotherapy have been halted for him. This is grim news, but I thought that veteran B-Greekers would want to know about it.

[Barry Hofstetter]

Thanks for bringing it to everyone's attention, Carl. Very sorry to hear it, and much in prayer.

[cwconrad]

The remarkably touching announcement of Rod's death, "Our Final Promotion", was posted on his blog site this morning. It should be read by any who knew him or of him or of his labors in Biblical Greek. There is nothing that I could conceivably add to it.

http://ntresources.com/blog/?p=3755

[Stephen Carlson]

Yes, really sad news.

[James Ernest]

I am thankful for this forum, which first brought me into contact with Rod. We met in person a number of times to establish the collaboration that will result later this year in the publication of Reading Koine Greek, mostly recently at Baltimore last November (with his wife, Linda). For me the final blog post rings true, and like Carl I think I am unable to add to it, except to say that the work that he turned in to us in his manuscript fully reflects and embodies the character, commitments, and competencies that we first encountered in other ways. I would love to have been able to send him finished books before he left us; but he certainly completed his part of the work, and more. It's close, but I believe that we at Baker Academic still expect to have this out in time for the San Diego meetings.

[Jonathan Robie]

We've lost a good scholar and a good man who was very generous with his time and attention.

I appreciated this part of the announcement:

We all have lost a man of integrity, a man of humility, a man much wiser than even he knew but we’ve gained so much more in his death. Heaven is more real and our perspective of losing his earthly body is much different from what we thought. He has just begun life while we remain on earth to experience more suffering, death, and human perspectives. His goal in life was to lead people to the Word and understand that it makes a difference in how we live. If he has accomplished that in lives other than his own family then the honor goes to God for using a humble man as an instrument to carry that message. Rod would say, “Go deeper, don’t grieve for me but take what I’ve taught and grow more in tune with God.”

I think that really says who he was.