John A. Beck
8 min read ⭑
“I am easily bored by the mundane, so I keep pressing beyond the current bounds to something new, something different, something even more risky to satisfy the itch of my adventure-seeking bug and my relentless curiosity.”
John Beck (Jack to all his family and friends) has a “relentless curiosity” that leads him into adventures of all kinds, preferably outdoor adventures. He has a Ph.D. in Hebrew and Old Testament from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and, for nearly thirty years, his research specialty has been Bible geography. As a biblical geographer, he has walked hundreds of miles in the Holy Land, engaging in and being influenced by the natural world, while seeking to understand the impact of place on the authors and poets of the Bible.
In this interview, John shares how his love of nature developed at an early age as well as how geography informs his spirituality. He shares about his favorite foods, the most influential resources that have shaped him throughout the years, and his fascination with flying. Continue reading to hear more about John’s insatiable appetite for new and exhilarating experiences and how his greatest challenge is finding enough adventure in life.
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
The meals we enjoy are about so much more than the food we eat. So, how does a "go-to" meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind your web bio?
My wife and I love good food. And when it comes to good food, there is no better place to eat than our home kitchen in Germantown, Wisconsin. Occasionally, we will go out for some wonderful Mexican fare. But when it comes to most meals, we honestly make better-tasting food with better-tasting ingredients in our own kitchen. When I say “we,” of course I mean my wife of over twenty years who works her magic in the kitchen. She loves making wonderful dinners — in particular, a lasagna whose recipe was sourced with a family in Italy! Of course, I chip in when it’s time to burn some meat on the grill. My hamburgers are second best only to my bride’s lasagna. And when it comes to making a meal indoors, I am the breakfast chef. Our weekly breakfast menu rotates from omelets to french toast to my famous (infamous) Friday morning waffles. If there is one place my wife rivals my breakfast fare, it is when she makes homemade coffee cake with a recipe that was handed down by my great-grandparents.
Kristina Delp; Unsplash
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So, what are yours? What so-called “nonspiritual” activity do you love engaging in that also helps you find essential spiritual renewal?
I will share a few things in this mix, starting with my great love for nature. I always say that a bad day outdoors is always better than a good day indoors. This love for nature took root in a couple of places. The first was on my grandparents’ dairy farm in Wisconsin. I was one of the oldest grandchildren and learned that farm work was hard work. But I loved being with the animals, and I loved being outdoors all day — particularly during the harvest season. It is probably one of the reasons I still love going to our local county fairs to take in the sights, sounds and smells of farm life. In addition to the farm, my parents loved to hike in the mountains west of North America. Every summer, we’d pack and head to the mountains for six weeks at a time. Again, the lure was the outdoors and long hikes in nature. That sustains my life of hiking, backpacking, snowshoeing and camping. And that brings me to another and even less expected turn in my story. I love flying. My wife and I built our own airplane, and we fly it to national parks and national wilderness areas where we get to do even more outdoor adventures than we would if we had to drive.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness; every human, too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re all broken and in this thing together. So, what’s your kryptonite and how do you confront its power head-on?
I think my greatest challenge is finding enough adventure and novelty in life. I am easily bored by the mundane, so I keep pressing beyond the current bounds to something new, something different, something even more risky to satisfy the itch of my adventure-seeking bug and my relentless curiosity.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your current obsession? And why should it be ours?
I am a Bible geographer. And that simple statement requires an explanation. If I had said that I was a commercial pilot and flight instructor (which I am), you’d know what I do. If I said I was an accountant (which I’m not), you’d know what I do. But Bible geographers are not so transparent, so let me help with it. As a geographer, my curiosity about our world is on full display. I study physical geography — the natural features on the surface of the earth and the forces that shape them. I also study human geography — the way in which the human experience is shaped and informed by physical geography. And I study natural history — the full complement of other living things with which I share my home on earth. Now take that scope and narrow it to the Holy Land and you have my research station. But what about the Bible part of Bible geographer? That means I explore the ways in which the geography I defined above shapes the communication of the biblical authors and poets. Like me, who they are, how they think and how they most naturally communicate is a product of where they are from. That means I won’t fully understand the messaging in the Bible unless I see and understand the roles geography plays within it.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Cashiers, CEOs, contractors, or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it's God when it happens?
If geography really does change the way in which we read the Bible, then it should open new pathways for the Holy Spirit to work in my life as well. It has. I could take you to any number of places to illustrate that fact, but I am going to take you to the Mount of Olives — the night on which Jesus struggled in prayer. I have always found this story arresting. That is partly due to the very unique ways in which the Gospel writers describe Jesus’ physical and mental state. But more than that, this is the place and time I most feel my eternity hanging in the balance because Jesus is asking his Heavenly Father if there is another way. What does place have to do with this? As Jesus struggled on the Mount of Olives, he was at a geographic hinge point. To his west lay the city of Jerusalem and all the horrors that would follow his impending arrest. To the east lay the Judean wilderness. This region is so under-resourced that it is void of people. It is the ideal place to go and get away from everyone else, particularly those who mean you harm. If Jesus does what is best for him at this moment, he travels east for 35 minutes, and he is gone from it all. So is my salvation. But at this critical moment, he turns west to the cross.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied habits that open our hearts to the presence of God. So, let us in. Which spiritual practice is working best for you in this season?
Time in the Word and time in nature is how I find spiritual restoration. Time in the Word takes many forms during the week. My wife and I open our days with Bible reading as we are finishing our morning coffee at breakfast. Then I sit at my desk and read the Bible in Greek and Hebrew. Yes, this is the nerdy part of me. I love these languages, and I taught them to undergraduates for 16 years. I still find it refreshing and fulfilling to dig into parts of the Bible I thought I already knew and find something new in the language. And beyond that, we have time at our church home where we get to worship regularly and study the Word with Christian truth seekers. But I also find being in nature restores me. This may be as simple as exiting my house after lunch and walking or biking for an hour. That helps. But what helps even more is targeting a longer day of hiking. This is where the airplane comes in. We can quickly fly to a Wisconsin Northwoods hike in an hour while driving would take us four.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Looking backward, considering the full sweep of your unique faith journey and all you encountered along the way, what top three resources stand out to you? What changed reality and your heart?
It is always hard to know in any given moment what reading or viewing source portends such a long-term change. But as I approach my 70th turn around the sun, I can look back and see a few things that sustained change in me. The first was Barry Beitzel's “Moody Bible Atlas.” Barry was my mentor in graduate school and the conduit which the Lord used to animate my passion for the Bible’s geography. The second publication could be any number of those done by Walter Kaiser. Let’s say “The Promise-Plan of God.” All of his publications as well as his lectures showed me that really great thinkers can be Bible readers. I know that may sound strange, but there is a false dichotomy out there that suggests this is not possible. And then I’ll add one more book on geography: Paul Wright’s “Greatness, Grace, and Glory.” Paul was president of Jerusalem University College during most of my years teaching as a field instructor for this Jerusalem school. I could never get enough of our conversations about how the geography of the Holy Land shaped the literature of the Bible. This publication allowed me to hear Paul's voice during all those weeks we were apart.
We all have things we cling to to survive or even thrive in our fast-paced, techno-driven world. How have you been successful in harnessing technology to aid in your spiritual growth?
I am old enough to have been around before the convenience of having a personal computer of any sort, so I experienced first hand what it was like to step into this era as I worked on my second master’s degree and Ph.D. As a literary scholar, I looked relentlessly for patterns. And there was a time when that meant manually searching and recording the data. What took me weeks now takes me hours to accomplish, and that has dramatically increased the amount of research I can get done. When it comes to writing, I also experienced the shift from typing to word processing. There was a time when I had to really refine my language before I sat down to write. Now I can compose and edit with a more modest level of preparation than before. But the upside of all this and the instant nature of communication comes with the darker side of feeling I am constantly available to others. It is so easy to lose control of my time when I allow others unfettered access, so I limit my email checks to a couple of times a day. I make it a policy to check and answer texts less seldom than most. And I am happy to leave my house without my phone in hand, particularly if I am going for a walk.
QUESTION #8: dream
God’s continually stirring new things in each of us. So, give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
As a writer and scholar who is in the last turn of the race rather than the first, I am being more careful where I invest my time. So I have written a book on heaven. That may sound like a strange place for a Bible geographer to invest time until you realize how often this sacred book uses things of earth to speak about heaven. I am also writing a workbook entitled “The Holy Land Workbook.” I’ve so enjoyed introducing the Holy Land to people with whom I’ve walked the trails of Israel, but I also realize that there are many who are unable to make the journey. This publication is designed to be a standalone learning tool which introduces all the key geographic regions of the Holy Land. Following a full geographical introduction to each, the reader will have the chance to use maps and a variety of other exercises to develop a fuller understanding of this unique land and its role in communicating the thoughts of God in the Bible. Finally, I am working on a Christmas docuseries that seeks to unpack the full origin story of Jesus. After finishing the four-season series entitled “The Holy Land Connecting the Land with Its Stories,” Our Daily Bread Ministries invited me to take on this Christmas special. It will follow the origin story of Jesus as told in the Gospels from Nazareth, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Egypt and back to Nazareth.
John Beck’s curiosity and connection with the natural world influences everything he does. His perspective on the landscapes of biblical stories sheds light on a side of Scripture that’s often overlooked. How can knowing the geography of biblical passages bring Scripture to life in new ways? Can studying biblical geography add another layer of understanding to the lives and stories you’re familiar with in Scripture?
John Beck (Jack to all his family and friends) has a Ph.D. in Hebrew and Old Testament from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. For nearly thirty years, his research specialty has been Bible geography. As a biblical geographer, he has walked hundreds of miles in the Holy Land, engaging the natural world and absorbing its influence, all in a bid to better understand the impact of place on the authors and poets of the Bible.
