I’m not very good at foreign languages. I took three years of French in high school and mostly only remember how to say “shut your mouth, Mike”. I guess because of repetition.
I tried learning some Greek on my own before going to seminary but I mostly learned bad habits. Then in seminary I finally was able to take a few Greek classes. I am far from an expert but I am at least proficient.
Maybe I should say I was at least proficient. At the beginning of the year I realized how little I remember from the Greek classes I took a couple years ago. After reading Constantine Campbell’s book, Keep Your Greek, I decided to change this. There are three tools/practices I’ve been using to help me keep my Greek and to even grow in my knowledge of this New Testament language.
First, I have made it a practice to take my Greek New Testament whenever I hear preaching from the New Testament. This sticks my nose in the text and causes me to engage the original language.
Secondly, I use Bible Arc at least twice per week in sermon preparation. While arcing each passage I am interacting with the original text. This makes using Greek practical. I’m doing far more than simply trying to read words—I’m asking questions about how these words are functioning in a sentence. This has been invaluable in not only getting my Greek back but improving as well.
Thirdly, my Greek professor, Dr. Rob Plummer, has done us a great service by creating a new website called Daily Dose of Greek. For two minutes, five days per week, he emails a video to subscribers and walks through a passage of Scripture in the original language. This daily discipline is keeping me familiar with the Greek language.
Here is Dr. Plummer explaining Daily Dose of Greek. Sign-up today:
