My Reverse CV

Photo by Dylan Collette on Unsplash

If you've watched me from a distance, it might look like things come easily for me or that everything works in my favor. It's simply not true. 

As academics we usually don't advertise our failures -- rejections, unsuccessful applications, awards we didn't win, discouragements -- at least not publicly. But failure is par for the course. 

Academics just getting started need to know this. It's demoralizing to be rejected if you're assuming that your career is over before it even gets started.

So here's a select list of my academic disappointments spanning the past 10 years (at least those I could recall today):

• article rejected by JETS
• article rejected by Tyndale Bulletin
• did horribly on my first Hebrew exam in seminary (after trying to teach myself)
• PhD application rejected by Princeton
• PhD application accepted provisionally (with deficiencies) by Asbury Theological Seminary
• barely passed my Theological German exam
• did not score well on the written portion of the GRE
• a whole chapter of my dissertation, representing months of work, hit the cutting floor
• first dissertation submission was unsuccessful (18 more months of work to do before resubmission)
• 7 unsuccessful teaching job applications (Ambrose University, George Fox University [3x], Palm Beach Atlantic University, Regent College, Biola University [withdrew due to dissertation delay])
• article rejected by New Man Magazine
• article rejected by Christianity Today
• grant application rejected by the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning
• dissertation rejected for publication in the Siphrut series (Eisenbrauns)
• ETS paper proposal rejected (Psalms)
• SBL paper proposal rejected (Biblical Law)
• did not win the SBL Regional Scholar Award for the Pacific NW after being nominated
• unsuccessful book proposal with Zondervan
• unsuccessful book ideas with Eerdmans and IVP
• Bearing God's Name did not win the following awards for which it was entered: Word Guild, Alberta Book Award, Foundations (Midwestern), IVP Reader's Choice Award, Christianity Today

When I received my first rejection letter, I shared the sad news with one of my mentors. He told me he could wallpaper a whole room of his house with rejection letters. (I was surprised to hear that!) Not every idea is a good one. Not every application is the right timing. Sometimes the rejection has very little to do with you. Sometimes the reviewer is just having a bad day.

That failed Hebrew exam? I went back to the books, tried again, and passed.

Those discouraging PhD applications don't tell the whole story, either. I ended up with a full-ride scholarship to Wheaton College with a stipend, in spite of my mediocre score on the written portion of the GRE.

That dissertation that didn't make it to the defense the first time? Two years later I defended successfully with only minor revisions (a committee member said "flying colors"). And although the first series I pitched it to rejected it, the second one (with the SAME publisher!) said "yes" and the book went on to win a prestigious award from the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies.

That dissertation chapter that hit the cutting floor? It became the basis for Bearing God's Name, which is in its 7th printing in just 13 months (and has almost won several awards).

Those failed job applications? They have led to some wonderful friendships with people who were on hiring committees as well as those who landed the jobs. Those applications have led to other opportunities as well -- speaking and writing and podcast interviews and collaboration. In short, I learned a lot and gained new friends in the process. Just today I spoke at Regent College, a connection facilitated by my unsuccessful job interview there.

Remembering these "failures" reminds me that no rejection spells the end of God's calling on my life, or of yours. In some seasons, it takes creativity to find ways to be faithful to God's calling. I landed a job here on the frozen prairies of Alberta at a small school where I am the whole Old Testament department. Not everyone is that lucky. 

If you're still waiting for good news, hang in there. Keep plugging away at your work. Rejection is not a dead end. It's simply a step on the journey. I can't promise that your hard work will turn into a tenure-track position, but in my experience, none of gets wasted. Your day will come.

Whose Side is God On? An Inauguration Day Reflection

Four years ago, President Donald Trump took the oath of office and all over America hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in protest, some of them violent, all of them deeply concerned. Christians from Catholic, mainline, Black, and Brown churches expressed shock and concern over the appointment of a man who seemed to delight in exploiting women and to cozy up to dictators while snubbing America's allies. They feared that the most vulnerable members of our cities, especially immigrants and people of color, would be further marginalized by an administration aimed at the angst of blue-collar workers in rural America who were watching their way of life disappear. Meanwhile, many Evangelicals celebrated the possibility of greater religious freedom, conservative appointments to the judiciary, and legislation that upheld traditional family values and protected the unborn. Charismatic prophets heralded President Trump as God's man for the job.

Today, President Joe Biden will take the oath of office. Those troubled by the outgoing administration are breathing a sigh of relief, hoping for four years of police and prison reform, support for schools, greater equality women and minorities, and better cooperation in international concerns such as immigration and climate change. It remains to be seen how President Trump's supporters will respond, but the breach of the US Capitol building two weeks ago is still a vivid memory. Evangelicals who celebrated a Trump presidency are nervous about losing their freedom -- some desperate enough to break past police barriers to make their voices heard. The Coronavirus pandemic has already curtailed religious gatherings. Evangelicals fear that a Biden presidency will mean more pandemic-related restrictions that will cripple businesses and prevent the church from being the church. They fear a legislative agenda that will make it more difficult for faith-based organizations to live by their values.

Our nation is deeply divided. Many families are split right down the middle over politics.

Photo: Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash

So whose side is God on?

Scripture provides a crystal clear answer to this question. Tucked away in the book of Joshua is a brief episode that should stop every one of us in our tracks. It stopped Joshua. It stopped me.

First, some context. Moses died. Before he did so, he passed the baton to Joshua as Israel's new leader. The people have just crossed the Jordan River and are preparing to take up residence in the land God promised them. Their first battle will be at Jericho. 

Joshua is alone, apparently scouting the territory around Jericho, when he encounters a man with sword drawn. Joshua asks him a logical question:

"Are you for us or for our enemies?" (Joshua 5:13 NIV)

The answer comes loud and clear:

"Neither," he replied, "but as the commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." (Joshua 5:14 NIV)

Neither?! This is remarkable. Joshua is the authorized leader of the only nation with whom Yahweh ("the LORD" in English translations) has made a covenant at Sinai. He has instructed them to enter the land and drive out its inhabitants. He has promised them this land. And yet -- with all these things in their favor, the commander of Yahweh's armies will not pledge exclusive loyalty to the Israelites.

God is not on their side.

And he is not on ours.

God does not take sides. Not then and not now. He acts of his own free will. We are the ones who must decide if we will be on God's side. He refuses to back human agendas. He calls us to surrender in obedience to his will.

Joshua gets this. He falls on his face before the angel of Yahweh, asking if God has a command he needs to fulfill.

If God was not unequivocally on the side of the Israelites -- the covenant people he rescued from Egypt and led through the wilderness to the land he promised -- if God is not on their side, then God is not on ours. He does not side with the United States (or modern day Israel, for that matter!), and he does not side with the Republicans or the Democrats. God does not take sides. Instead, he asks our full and complete obedience. Our allegiance to anyone other than God is idolatry. 

The truth of the angel's words is borne out in the chapters that follow. Joshua and his soldiers win their battle with Jericho, having followed God's unconventional instructions for war (Joshua 6). Feeling cocky, they attack the next city with only part of their army (Joshua 7). They lose miserably. God does not fight for them because a single Israelite man has violated God's strict instructions regarding the battle at Jericho. Achan keeps some of the plunder for himself, hiding it under his tent, rather than devoting everything to God. This battle was never meant to make the Israelites rich. They were not to fight out of greed, but out of obedience. The moment they forget this, they lose their divine protection.

God knows what's under the tent, then and now.

He's asking us to clean house. To search our hearts. To release our hold on what does not rightly belong to us.

God did not lose this election. Neither did he win. He wasn't running for office. 

Joshua 5 offers American Christians the foundation for a renewed political theology, one not tied to a political party or a certain candidate, but marked by deep humility. We must stop presuming that God is on our side, supporting our favorite candidate. It's the other way around. This scene issues an invitation for us to bow before the presence of the only one who deserves our allegiance. This is the only way forward.

ICYMI: Articles Around the Web in 2020

Normally at the end of the year I post a list of top blog posts of the year from my own blog (and I might still do that), but if you're a regular reader, you might have noticed that my blog has been quieter this year. In that relative silence, I was busy writing for other websites. I keep a complete list of articles here, but that page doesn't notify subscribers when I update it, so here's a handy list of the 15 articles I published elsewhere in 2020. 

From reflecting on Exodus to COVID, and from teaching and writing to Deuteronomy, these are the things that have been on my mind this year. I've starred a few of my personal favorites.

The Art of Taleh

* “Telling the Old, Old Story (Deut 26:5-10),” April 20, 2020.

The Biblical Mind

* "Freedom Fighters of the Exodus," November 17, 2020.

Canadian Society of Biblical Studies

"Misunderstanding Sinai? Author Interview with Carmen Imes," March 24, 2020.

Cateclesia

“Re-Interpreting the Name Command (Exodus 20:7)” May 6, 2020.

Christianity Today

"Connections that Count," Jesus Creed, Dec 30, 2020. 

* "What God Sees" and "Peace in the Storm," Advent Devotional, Dec 2020.  

* "Church after COVID--Why bother going back?," Jesus Creed, Sept 28, 2020. Reblogged at ChurchLeaders.com, Oct 13, 2020. 

"2020: The Gift Nobody Wanted," Jesus Creed, June 23, 2020. 

"Finding Life in Limbo," Jesus Creed, March 19, 2020.

Political Theology Network

"From Servitude to Service - Exodus 19," June 2020. 

Prairie College

 "How Do You Know if a 'Bible College' is Right For You?" Prairie blog, February 2020.

The Well (InterVarsity's blog for Women in the Academy and Professions)

"Pursuing Tough Conversations with Students," September 3, 2020. 

"A Prayer for Writers," April 15, 2020. 

"Notes from the Pandemic: Social Distancing and the Presence of God," March 23, 2020.