Growing in Understanding: Devotions for Christian Academics

by Dirk Jongkind

208 pages, Hardcover

Published November 18, 2025

About the author

Dirk Jongkind is probably best-known as editor of the Tyndale House Greek New Testament. However, before he ended up in the academy, Dirk worked in the horticultural sector (together with his wife Marion), growing tropical cut-flowers (Heliconia) in greenhouses in his native country, the Netherlands. He enjoyed this hands-on setting, yet decided to follow his life’s fascination with the history and text of the Bible. He completed a M.A. in Old Testament at Tyndale Theological Seminary (1999, Badhoevedorp, nr. Amsterdam), and moved to the United Kingdom for an M.Phil. in New Testament at Cambridge University, where he also completed a PhD in 2005. At this time he was employed for a brief project at the British Library as part of the preparation of the Codex Sinaiticus Digitisation project.

At Tyndale House Dirk does research in the transmission of the text of the New Testament which has resulted in the Tyndale House Edition of the Greek New Testament (2017). Besides he maintains an interest in lexical and grammatical studies. He is an Associate Editor of the Tyndale Bulletin and serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal for the Study of the New Testament. Working at Tyndale House gives unique opportunities to contribute to the practice and vision of theological education in its many shapes and forms.

He has taught in a wide variety of settings ranging from big conference rooms and University halls to the back rooms of small rural chapels and local village pubs. Dirk is a Fellow of St Edmund’s College and a Member of the Faculty of Divinity.

Without any claims of expertise, he likes to talk and think about how Christians can be good scholars and pursue knowledge and truth without compromising their commitment to faith.

Reviews

[Ed Creedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Helpful short reflections on the intersection of faith and academic work. Dirk picks up on both the details and grand narratives of Scripture with profound insights.

[Frank Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful little book that has remarkable depth and insight. The proposed readership is not large (Christian Academics), and this allows the devotional reflections to be narrow and on target. The author writes with humility and gentleness, which was appreciated. He also provides reflections that are practical and useful (sometimes painful), rather than merely cerebral and academic. This was especially appreciated.

[S.D. (Davy) Ellison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been reading these devotions slowly, one each Sunday. They provide wonderfully incisive and penetrating questions about motives while also holding forth encouragement and hope for the result of our work. These are devotions not only for theological academics, but anyone involved in study or research.

[John Hayward]

"God's call is not something that lies in the future: it is for now. Do not worry about what your calling or role will be in two or four years; just make sure that you have today sorted. ... Being aware of our calling is not the same as formulating our career goals. It has everything to do with discharging the responsibility and task we find ourselves in at this moment." (p.22)