what a blockhead

upon our arrival in louisville in january 1997, i enrolled in hebrew exegesis of the book of deuteronomy. the professor was daniel block. my first class meeting at sbts was dr. block's deuteronomy course. his was the only course in which i ever experienced the "syllabus shock" so glibly spoken of at seminary. outside of the three exegesis courses i took with block, in fact, i never had a syllabus that shocked me in anyway. his classes, it must be said, were another thing entirely. he expected students to work. no small task at an institution plagued by open enrollment. dr. block, though, was nearly always up to the task. it seemed that people desired to complete the work he assigned. he is a wonderful teacher of the word who is passionate about the gospel.
last week while in birmingham, i heard some saddening news. dr. block and ellen, his wife, have decided to leave his endowed chair at sbts to take a position in wheaton college's biblical and theological studies department. now, i knew that the last few years at sbts had not been the kindest to dr. block, but i was floored nonetheless. when i returned home and shared the news with leanne, she too was grieved by the news. we both really care for the blocks. we have been church members with them, been challenged by his preaching, shared meals with them, and attended october costume parties at their home--dressed in successive years as an old woman and kojak, agents mulder and scully, and scooby and shaggy (pictures may come later). the thought of louisville and sbts without them is painful. but after stopping by dr. block's office and talking with him earlier this week, the pain was confirmed. they are moving to wheaton. and he seems excited--always looking ahead at future possibilities. the wheaton community is gaining an incredible couple. seems there are too few people like dan and ellen block in the world. i am grateful to know them. always grateful to be a blockhead.