| “Joyfully shall you draw water |
| “Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth”, by Frank Houtz | |
“You did wonders for me – in many ways – especially to get the invisible chip off my shoulder about ‘those Bible translators’. Your class was honestly life-changing for me – and not just things of this world like I teach – but things eternal! That’s big!” “Opened a whole new sea of knowledge” “Certain concepts / meanings took hold / made adjustments instantly in / to my understanding.” “Your message is of healing content.” The following is a Review by Rebecca Sterling, of a shortened, 8-hour version of the Biblical Research Techniques seminar. The Full version includes more sessions and goes deeper into the historical Hebraic methods to Bible study and understanding: Frank’s name for his class, “Biblical Research Techniques”, was scary, but I went for it. I am so glad I did. The more obvious name to me is: 'Bible Detectives' – because he teaches us to be spiritual private investigators. Of course, I also don’t know why he named his organization Dry Bones, but in my imagination, it is because he can take something as dry as Bible research and make it fun, interesting, and life changing – like Ezekiel's dry bones, coming back to life. And that is what he did for me. In my experience, his workshop can be described in three parts. First level of learning is about the facts and tools to dig for Truth; second are the super-fun games (you can't guess how much you're learning); and last, which is certainly the most important, are the sweet lessons that Frank teaches between the meat and dessert: respect for Bible translators – and each other! Each has lessons to learn from the others, no matter our 'learning level'. The first part of the class was an introductory level. It covered what tools are available to us in our Quest for Truth. Of course, he began with a concordance, such as a Strong's. I'm privileged to own an extensive library, so I didn't expect too many surprises in this part. What an eye-opener! I've been using a Strong's for decades and was quickly surprised about the less-known information (was it always there?) we were taught to decipher, and innovative ways to use the tool independently and as it relates to other resources. We learned about lexicons and many other important resources, such as 'The Englishman's Concordance to the Masoretic Text'. Two weeks ago I'd never heard of it, but now I NEED to own one. : ) The second part of the teaching involves games. All I will say is that he changes them periodically, so you may want to work this session into your personal class schedule next year. Or better yet, have him come teach for a weekend at your church. Later he got into an advanced teaching, where he showed us about words being ‘thought buckets’. The part that we don’t appreciate without a class like this, are the differences and similarities of words as they are translated and transliterated from one language to another. If you are ready for a taste of seminary studies – this advanced section is for you! It seems that I'd unknowingly had a niche carved out, just ready for the third area where Frank blesses his students...finding new respect for everyone on The Journey. I'm reminded of the group of blind men describing an elephant. None of their observations matched each other – the rope, tree, fan, spear, etc. – yet they were all accurate. Since experiencing the Bible Detective class, I have a totally new, more loving outlook for all of us. And since I’m just a Truth-Seeker also, I was able to apply my new-found gentleness to myself as well. Frank really did put a semester into 8 hours.” Rebecca Sterling, MBA, PhD, CMS – worked on Wall Street for years, chosen by President Reagan for his ‘Grace Commission’ – we were the ones who learned about the $50 screws and $300 toilet seats, etc. – and have written many finance textbooks, an expert witness for a billion-dollar lawsuit, negotiated contracts all over the world, etc. | |
