FOUR WAYS OF KNOWING

Are you familiar with the "four ways of knowing" as set forth by John Vervaeke? I haven't done a lot of reading on this, but the concept seems incredibly important to me. Not just for faith matters, but for all sorts of thinking across all of life.

According to Bing's AI summary, the "four ways" are as follows: 

Propositional Knowing: This is the knowing we have in describing things or proclaiming facts, such as "the earth is round" or "I am human." It is the most emphasized form of knowing in modern culture and is often used to facilitate other forms of knowing. 

Procedural Knowing: This is knowing how to do something, such as learning a skill or procedure. It involves developing skills and procedures that yield abilities and skills. 

Perspectival Knowing: This is knowing via embodied perception, which involves understanding the world and one's place in it from a specific point of view. It is about awareness and insight into situations. 

Participatory Knowing: This is knowing how to act in the "agent-arena" environment, which involves knowing how to act in a way that is both effective and in harmony with the environment. 

Here's where I see this concept of the 4 types interacts with faith matters: 

It seems to me that the modern Church tends to elevate propositional knowing above all other types. In fact, little talk or effort is put into the other three. 

Learning proper doctrines - and then signing your name to them - is everything. And the Bible is seen as some sort of textbook on God. Preachers weave elaborate propositional truths out of single verses. 

And, yes, if you want to see this elevation of propositional knowing in full bloom, the best place to go is a YouTube apologist for Calvinism.

But I also see this with the "Free Grace" people. Remember, the core belief for them is that if a person simply "believes" in Jesus, he will be forever saved and heaven bound, no matter what path the rest of his life takes. And that belief is purely propositional - no action (participation) needed. 

In fact, some would argue that the only way to negate the effectiveness of simple faith is to complicate it with good deeds of any sort.

So here's what I don't get with these people. If they immerse themselves in the Bible (instead of cherry-picking verses for propositional truths), they should see a God who intends to experience life alongside His creatures from the beginning - and then longs for reconciliation once they go astray.

And His Scriptures are one long narrative about the differences between loving God and loving the world, between choosing righteousness and falling into disobedience, between the results of doing good and doing evil. 

In other words, it's one long lesson in humanity's participatory knowing of the God who created them.

And yet, the lynch pin of salvation for humanity is ultimately revealed to be pure, unadulterated propositional knowing, NO PARTICIPATORY KNOWLEDGE NEEDED.

Or even ALLOWED. 

Jesus did it all, they say.

True.

But Jesus did it all ... so you don't have to?

CELEBRATION OF LIFE IN GHANA

Sometimes in the States we refer to a funeral as a "celebration of life".

If the memorial service I attended yesterday is at all representative, here in Ghana the phrase "celebration of life" is more than a euphemism. 

By all accounts, Dr. Lydia Nyador was an impressive woman and a servant of Christ. 

I met her on my first trip to Ghana 3 years ago. She and her husband Enoch graciously hosted me for a few nights.

Yesterday's memorial started at 3:00 in the afternoon. All the guests came dressed in black. Enoch wore a traditional robe, also in black. 

For me the highlight of the 3 and a half hour service came after the first 9 or 10 eulogies, about 90 minutes in. That's when the praise band broke into the most raucous praise music you've ever heard and all the mourners jumped to their feet.

Soon Enoch pulled out a white handkerchief and started waving it in circles over his head. Then he slowly shuffled forward, into the open space between the first row of seats and the front of the church. 

Next thing you know, others move forward and soon Enoch was the head of a dancing, praising, handkerchief-twirling conga line.

But here's the moment that broke me: When Enoch's own grown children and their spouses moved toward the dance floor themselves, one of the grandsons, David, a boy of maybe 9 or 10, stood at the edge, wiping tears from his eyes, refusing to join the dance.

Then his newly widowed grandfather came alongside the boy, pulled him close to his side and brought him into the dance.

In reality - DEEP Reality - we have much to celebrate, even in the face of death.

13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.  (1 Thess 4)

GOD IS A MASTER NETWORKER

Dave, Emmanuel and I spent much of yesterday at the Mission Center, a building whose construction Mission Resource began in 2019 before being halted in 2020 by a court case - a dispute over who really owned the land before we bought it in 2010!

As a result, the Mission Center stands half completed - walls and roof are in place, but no doors, windows, wiring, plumbing or furniture yet. It is more than enough to provide a glimpse of this location's potential to be a meeting ground for Americans and Ghanaians and a hub for our loan work in the surrounding community. 

The location is phenomenal. If it were in the States, our 12 acres of beachside property would be worth many millions of dollars.

(Mission Resource didn't pay anywhere near that!)

Over the last two days, Dave, Emmanuel, and I met with Moses and David, a couple of local pastors serving in the community surrounding our Center, a bustling, but struggling, fishing village known as Old Ningo. 

Our impression was that these pastors are hardworking and Godfearing men whose congregations could benefit greatly from the sort of small loans that Mission Resource specializes in. Undoubtedly, the benefits will be mutual - God's Kingdom is always Win/Win! 

We were pleased to discover that we had many mutual connections with these local pastors - among them, friends Dave has long known and trusted.

Looks like the Lord is building a network for expanding the Kingdom in Old Ningo. 

It is exciting to imagine the possibilities. 

Would you pray with me that the court case would soon be resolved conclusively in our favor so that the physical work can move forward?

It needs to catch up to the spiritual work the Lord is already doing behind the scenes!

TRUE JOY AND TRUE SAFETY

I woke this morning to a hot and humid Ghanaian sunrise after nearly 9 hours of catch-up sleep.

The jet lag was brutal yesterday after boarding the plane in New York Wednesday at 4:30 pm and landing in Africa at 2:00 am Indiana time. I napped a bit on that plane on and off, but no real sleep - so I was very thankful to have a comfortable bed last night.

Dave, Emmanuel and I are staying in New Ningo at a beachside hotel called Coconut Pointe. I can't complain! Yesterday when we checked in, though, I had the odd displeasure of meeting a very large, very drunk German man whose room was next to mine. 

This man could not keep his balance without leaning against a wall. He said he was high up in the German police and knew how to kill me instantly if he needed to. This conversation took place while he had a firm grip on my hand, attempting to prove how strong he was.

By the time I managed to get away from him, though, I think he had taken a liking to me. He invited me to join him later in his room to watch porn together.

(To be clear, I declined.)

 Instead, I got a good night's sleep and, upon waking, I took a walk along the beach to admire God's creation. 

Gorgeous, even in the heat and humidity.

I decided to pull up a Psalm on my phone and came across these lines in #4:

There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?

Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”

You have put more joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and wine abound.

In peace I will both lie down and sleep;

for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

This morning, I am saying "Amen!" Experiencing true joy in the Lord is far greater than alcohol could ever hope to produce. And I have the assurance of ultimate safety in God's hands - even if there's a homicidal drunk German next door.

I am looking forward to seeing what today holds!

TRIP ON WEDNESDAY

No time to write tonight. I leave tomorrow morning to spend 10 days in Ghana and there are still too many items on my list to complete.

Unfortunately, it is turning out that the timing for this trip is not great. One of my church members is lying in hospice tonight - possibly his last night of earthly life. 

I hate to miss the funeral, but the family understands. Thankfully, two of Sardinia's former pastors still live in Columbus and both are more than willing to step in while I am away.

I would appreciate prayers for safe and productive travels. My flight leaves Indy at 12:30 pm and I have a short layover in New York before a ten-hour flight to Accra, putting me in Ghana on Thursday at about 2:00 am Indiana time. That's not too long of a trip.

I am looking forward to this trip in particular because it will be the first time I will be in Ghana alongside my boss, Dave Ketchum. For four years now I have been eager to see Africa through his eyes and now it is finally happening.

I wonder what God has in store!

RIGHT NOW

Here's a short and powerful illustration of the difference between proclaiming a "truncated gospel" (of "You're a sinner but Jesus died for you so that you can go to heaven when you die if you just trust in Him") and proclaiming the more robust biblical gospel of the Kingdom. 

It's a paraphrase of something YouTuber Kevin Thompson said in one of his videos:

I used to evangelize by asking people, "Do you know where you are going when you die?" Now I want to ask people, "Do you know where you are going IN THIS LIFE right now?" 

I AM BLESSED

Today was a good day. Sunday, February 1st, 2026. 

The drive to church was absolutely magical this morning. An early morning frost had frozen on all the trees and across the stubble in the fields, poking out from under the 14 inches of snow that fell last weekend. 

My good friend from seminary days, Tim Price, and his wife Suzanne and their daughter Macy had come to provide music for the morning, but now all of that was in jeopardy due to a malfunctioning church furnace - on a morning when the outside temps were in the negatives. 

A couple of our trustees tried to get the furnace up and running, but by the time they worked their miracle, there wasn't enough time to warm up the sanctuary by 10:30. Tim and I decided we'd go ahead and do a live stream on Facebook.

And then church members showed up anyway. Everyone kept their coats on. Some brought blankets. It was a fun morning. 

Tim and Macy did a beautiful job leading worship and people were genuinely appreciative of their gifts. 

This evening I drove back out to church, and the landscape was again magical, now bathed in the peculiar slant of light of a winter sunset. 

The church was still cold, but the youth met together for dinner and a lesson on the Lord's Prayer. They are a lovable group of goofballs. 

At the end of our meeting, our youth leader, Pam, asked the kids to surround me and pray for my trip to Ghana this week. 

It was a beautiful moment. 

A beautiful day.