Category: Ed Komoszewski

Ed Komoszewski: A Man of God, a Man in Need

On By Daniel B. WallaceIn Contemporary Issues, Early Christianity, Ed Komoszewski, GoFundMe, History, New Testament Studies, Theology

I announced on Facebook at the beginning of December a new GoFundMe campaign for Ed Komoszewski. Many generous folks responded–it was, in fact, overwhelming! For all of you, a big THANK YOU! The gifts rolled in even into the new year. We are over half way there! Let’s see this to the end. Below is what I wrote in December:

Dear friends, I resurrected a GoFundMe campaign for Ed Komoszewski at the beginning of December. The first five weeks were, frankly, incredible. The body of Christ has come through in a huge way. But we still have some distance to go. Below is what I wrote then. Please consider how you can help.

My very good friend, Ed Komoszewski, is a man who constantly thanks God—and this in the midst of his own body fighting against itself, tearing him apart.

At this time of year, I am hoping to resurrect the donations to Ed’s health account. The GoFundMe campaign launched two years ago came up short. Ed’s medically-related debt has increased far beyond the original goal which we failed to meet. So many of you contributed generously to Ed’s account. He would be in incalculably worse shape without your help. But now he’s in a new season of his life, and with it comes more debt.

Ed has been deemed disabled by his doctors and the federal government; he’s been unable to earn a regular income since 2015. He has been hospitalized for extensive stays four times in the past three or so years. Debt has accelerated; bills are piling up. Some have gone unpaid and have been turned over to collection agencies. The need is urgent.

I have personally witnessed his humble lifestyle. Your gifts help pay the bills. Some friends help out with specific needs, allowing him to attend a crucial academic conference each year. But he lives a ridiculously frugal life. Not only does he need funds for the medical bills, but the family car limps along, the AC unit (NOT a luxury in Texas) has problems working, and his oldest daughter is heading to college in the fall.

Because Ed is a “medical mystery” (as his doctors at Mayo said of him for the past two decades), he has exhausted many traditional therapies for his various conditions. This means he must experiment with non-traditional treatments often recommended by his doctors but not covered by insurance.

Even though Ed cannot earn a sufficient salary, he continues to work on researching and writing as God gives him strength. Long-term projects with distant deadlines are necessary because of his health. This means income is sporadic and small; authors and editors know that academic writing projects pay meagerly. The revenues are not an adequate reflection of the impact.

 Jesus, Skepticism, and the Problem of History is a book co-edited by Ed, with several notable authors defending historicity in the Gospels. It was just released a few weeks ago. Ed conceived of the project and worked with Darrell Bock in editing it. A three-hour session was dedicated to discussing it at the recent Evangelical Theological Society meeting—it’s that important.

Ed is working now with Rob Bowman on a second edition of Putting Jesus in His Place. This book has already had a huge influence. It was endorsed by a veritable Who’s Who of biblical scholars and theologians. The acronym used in the book to show that the New Testament affirms Christ’s deity has been widely used by theologians, preachers, and apologists. The publisher gets a steady flow of requests by such folks to use the HANDS acronym in their own publications. What does “HANDS” stand for? You’ll just have to get the book to find out!

It is likely that Ed and I will be revising Reinventing Jesus, too. He is trying to remain as productive as possible, as long as he draws breath, in spite of his limitations.

Besides the influence of his writings, Ed has a massive ministry behind the scenes. I have seen him share the gospel with strangers, pray with people he’s just met, counsel friends and friends of friends. God has given him wisdom borne of suffering and it draws people to Ed like a magnet.

Please consider giving as well as sharing this campaign with your circle of friends. Facebook algorithms in particular limit exposure, so sharing multiple times and asking friends to do the same is the best way to get the word out.

For his current expenses and for the near future, Ed needs $40,000. Yes, that’s a lot of money—and it shows how desperate the situation is. Let’s get Ed to “ground zero” for the first time in many years.

 

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UPDATE ON ED’S HEALTH

On By Daniel B. WallaceIn Christmas present, Contemporary Issues, Ed Komoszewski, Theology, Uncategorized

Ed Komoszewski was once again my roommate at the annual Evangelical Theological Society and Society of Biblical Literature conferences. Every year, these combined conferences take place over a 7–8 day period just before Thanksgiving, somewhere in North America. This year, it was Denver. These academic conferences are vital for current research and books in biblical studies. Lectures from world-class scholars—both Christian and non-Christian—fill the meeting rooms that span several hotels and the Convention Center. The book area is almost the size of a football field. All the most recent works in biblical studies are there.

Ed comes every year. He has friends who cover virtually all of his costs. It’s not a vacation. It’s work. And it always takes a toll on his body. Weeks are needed for him to recover. In the afternoons and evenings, he can get out of the hotel room. This year he was able to get to only five sessions between the two conferences combined. He also met with publishers, editors, co-authors, scholars, and folks who simply wanted to get with Ed.

He met with everyone who wanted to see him—even some old friends. He talked with them about his faith. They all had a stimulating conversation. However, when Ed got back to the hotel, he was exhausted almost beyond belief. He could not form words properly because he lost control over his facial muscles. His whole face was literally sagging. He looked like he had aged 20 years right before my eyes! I’ve never seen anything like this. I scolded him, and said that he needed to take better care of himself. He needed to not say yes to everything and everyone. But Ed was just being Ed: everyone else is more important, the gospel is more important, and his life counts for naught. I could not dissuade him.

Ed Denver 2018

During most afternoons and evenings, to look at Ed you’d swear he was in good health. He works hard to make others comfortable around him. I know the truth. Ed has an invisible illness—or rather, invisible illnessES. By Thursday of last week he hit the wall. Just to get out of bed took extreme effort. At one point he was in such pain that he couldn’t even take his shoes off. His health has continued to degenerate. I have urged him to stay home from the conferences. But he’s far more concerned about making an impact for Jesus Christ than his own comfort or health. I could list a litany of physical issues he faced just on this trip. But suffice it to say that he sacrificed much to be here, and he continues to sacrifice much for the gospel.

I want to thank so many of you for your generous gifts to Ed’s GoFundMe account. Such a great response! Just a few more thousand dollars to pay off the current medical bills. Wouldn’t that be a marvelous Christmas present? This is an investment in eternity. Hundreds of small donations would add up to a big gift. Let’s do this.

Ed Komoszewski needs your help!

On By Daniel B. WallaceIn Contemporary Issues, Early Christianity, Ed Komoszewski, New Testament Studies, Theology, Uncategorized

Dear friends, you may know about Ed Komoszewski. If not, you should! He co-authored Reinventing Jesus with Jim Sawyer and Dan Wallace. He also co-authored Putting Jesus in His Place with Rob Bowman. This is probably the best book in defense of the deity of Christ. Ed is a champion of the faith, a superb writer, and a gifted speaker. But he has battled serious health problems for years. And he’s struggled to provide for his family as a result.

Ed Komo pic

Ed had another serious health incident about a month ago. While pushing a cart at Walmart, Ed’s heart totally failed; he immediately lost consciousness and hit the floor. When he woke up, he was in the Intensive Care Unit at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in McKinney, TX. Four days later, when doctors determined that the electrical system in Ed’s heart would not recover, a pacemaker was surgically implanted in Ed’s chest.

This latest incident came out of left field. It was unrelated to Ed’s other chronic health conditions, which continue to wreak havoc. Indeed, over the past sixteen months, Ed has been hospitalized for serious complications four times.

Through all of this, Ed has fought to remain as productive as possible. He and Darrell Bock recently submitted a manuscript on the historical Jesus that they are co-editing. And Ed and Rob Bowman are currently working to revise their book on the deity of Christ within the next year.

Though many are aware of Ed’s health situation, fewer are aware of the GoFundMe campaign that was launched for Ed a year ago. The campaign is still far short of its goal, and Ed’s bills have only increased (significantly!) since the campaign commenced.

We need Ed in the battle, and if countless people would donate even a small amount it would encourage Ed to keep fighting. In fact, it would enable him to keep getting the medical attention he needs to stick around! If 3000 people donated $10, he could pay the bills he has accumulated to date. The bills will continue to pile up; my desire is to see some folks give to Ed’s GoFundMe account every month for as long as it takes. And I’ve put my money where my mouth is.

Here’s the link to the GoFundMe page

A Gift of Charity, Part 2: The Body of Christ at Work

On By Daniel B. WallaceIn Contemporary Issues, Early Christianity, Ed Komoszewski, New Testament Studies, resurrection, Theology1 Comment

Two months ago I posted a blog called “A Gift of Charity.” It was about my friend, Ed Komoszewski, whose health has been in very bad shape for many years. He is dealing with multiple diseases that have no known cure. And now, he needs to go to the hospital every few weeks for costly treatments that seem to have no end in sight.

Ed Komoszewski

Just last month, I drove Ed down to Houston to the funeral of our dear friend, Nabeel Qureshi. Ed could not drive that far. The funeral was at 10 AM—an hour that is almost impossible for Ed to get up by. But God was gracious and enabled Ed to do that very thing for Nabeel’s funeral. The next day, when we drove back to Dallas, Ed didn’t get up till almost noon.

As I’ve reflected on Nabeel’s death (and written about it on Facebook and this blog site), I can’t help but see some parallels between Nabeel and Ed. Nabeel had an amazing conversion experience through the instrumentality of David Wood. In Nabeel’s short life, he had an incredible impact for the sake of the gospel. His first book, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus soon became a New York Times Bestseller.

After Ed came to Christ, he went to a Christian college then earned his Master of Theology degree at Dallas Seminary. He graduated with Highest Honors. Ed worked on apologetics and ecclesial ministry afterward. And although his conversion was not as dramatic as that of a committed Muslim who became a Christ-follower, Ed’s publications, his counseling of many people in need (including me on several occasions), and his crystal clear proclamation of the gospel have shown him to be an unusually gifted servant of the King. But like Nabeel, Ed’s health is holding him back. Nabeel’s cancer came on suddenly—in the last year and a half—while Ed’s has been declining for over fifteen years. The GoFundMe account for Nabeel has already topped out at over $900,000.

Nabeel’s death is a tragic loss. The sting of this loss has hit many of us. We are grateful that Nabeel’s suffering is over, and I am glad that Michelle Qureshi will not have to face medical bills now. The body of Christ has responded in incredible ways to help her and her little girl out! I pray that we can also help out Ed in his time of need.

As a reminder: in spite of his health, Ed has published a couple of very important volumes on the Christian faith—Reinventing Jesus, co-authored with Jim Sawyer and me; and Putting Jesus in His Place, co-authored with Rob Bowman. The latter book is the most accessible, clear, and up-to-date volume on the deity of Christ you can get your hands on. Endorsed by an international cadre of biblical scholars, it’s a work you can trust. Ever since his seminary days, Ed has devoted himself to understanding and articulating all he can learn about his Lord and King, the theanthropic Person.

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But his health continues to pose severe challenges. He continues to work as best he can while the medical bills mount. He cannot do as much as he used to, but what he does is pure gold.

On August 3, a mutual friend, Alex Blagojevic, started a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for Ed’s medical costs. The goal was to raise $50,000. To date, $23,306 has been raised! This is the body of Christ at work, my friends. When I posted my blog about this campaign a few days after Alex made his announcement, I asked people to spread the news—tell your friends, put it in church bulletins, mention Ed’s need and the GoFundMe campaign on Facebook. And give to the cause. Here’s the link: https://www.gofundme.com/ed-komoszewski039s-medical-expenses 

And you responded. To date about half of the initial needs have been met. But Ed needs much more help. The bills will go on for many years. I would like to see the Lord’s people continue to contribute to Ed’s account each month and go well beyond $50,000. Some of you may want to put on your calendar to donate a gift on the first of each month. Scores of small gifts add up quickly. And for Christians to give to this cause will show that we are not just interested in contributing to charities that are tax-deductible.

Ed is a man who will not squander such gifts but will use them for these medical bills. And this will free him from concern about meeting financial obligations, enabling him to concentrate on expounding the great truths revealed in scripture about the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a time for believers to come to the aid of a brother. The eternal rewards for such an investment cannot be overestimated.