a Bible that influences thought rather than dictates it
I carry this burden sometimes that in my desire to truly create a church that reflects the best of my neighbourhood and (in some way) my country (this would be an entirely different conversation on how you would actually define Canada, and where would that be found in a universal way) I hurt and/ or frustrate many of the people who are on this journey with me.
So here is my first question…
Is it worth changing things up over and over in hopes of taking steps (I know that I can’t in essence create it perfectly) toward this end of a christian community that truly reflects the best of my neighbourhood and thus bringing effect a change to make it in fact even better?
Maybe I am giving myself too much credit. Maybe the changes I bring into being are really not that big a deal and everyone is really enjoying the ride, but I wonder if sooner than later, one of my “changes” is going to bring about a controversy.
Now, with that said I believe another change is coming, and to be honest and to settle my very small readership down, this change is really not that big. But in light of a few of my posts concerning being an exile, and my hope of creating a church that reflects the “best” of a neighbourhood I have begun dreaming (with anna) about a different type of gathering all together. A gathering that teaches what it means to be a way of life, rather than a system of belief. (Quick disclaimer here: I have many thoughts on why both are important, but we default to the system far too often and so I am going to speak plainly on practice, rather than the system).
I have been inspired of late by TED talks. I was first introduced to these when I was in the Bahamas at Soularize a year ago and I want to share some thoughts that I have gleaned through their inspiring ideas and through some of my own philosophy’s for teaching.
My philosophy for a long time has been that the more I read, reflect on the bible/Jesus and other thoughts and ideas about various concepts, the better equipped I am for generating conversation. And at the end, conversation (with eventual action) is my goal.
As I read the bible more and more I realizing that the letters in the NT weren’t commentaries on the OT scriptures but instead the NT letters are real life issues addressed by Paul with support from what Jesus taught and some OT references. My thought is this… Should we perhaps spend more time addressing issues from a practical theology stand point (how the bible journey’s through real life issues we encounter), instead of teaching it plainly. I am sure both are true and maybe this entire post is one of those experiences were I talk through an issue until I know what I was look for.
So amongst my aimless thoughts I am wondering if perhaps to inspire creativity, imagination,and ideas we should allow the bible to inspire these ideas instead of teaching the bible plainly. And as a teacher, should I be much more inspired than I am?
Okay, this post is a mess, but I am going to leave it up anyway because it reminds me of my own process and my hope that all that i do in this church has been well thought through and hopefully inspired by God.
Is anybody tracking with me?
Tags: bible, church, teaching, the open house
Perhaps part of this is learning to engage with the Spirit as we go through our lives, day to day. Changing our perception of the Bible as a answer book to any question we may have, but instead viewing it as a way to learn the tone of how the Spirit works.
At the same time. The Bible taught plainly is full of practical theology.
Life comes at us from all directions. My interpretation of my experience comes in the midst of my relationships, knowledge and influences. I wonder if the “plainly taught Bible” is not needed to reveal an alternative to my personal interpretation of life. And that revealed alternate interpretation empowered by the Spirit transforms the life of an individual and ultimately a community.
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Ray, would not the alternate interpretation by the Spirit need to be measured by the Bible? Let’s take the Wesleyan Quadrilateral for example: All tradition, reason and experience is weighed by Scripture.
It concerns me when we put too much emphasis on “[our] personal interpretation of life.” Perhaps my concern is from my own experience of being consistently wrong. I need to have something to gauge the decisions I make. I like how NT Wright speaks about the Bible as being authoritative in the Last Word and I think a big challenge of the postmodern generation is to get past our authority issues and trust that the Bible even plainly taught has a lot to offer in the “how to” aspect of our lives.
I think I’m tracking. George MacDonald used to say that the scriptures are not all truth; rather the scriptures point us to Jesus, and the Spirit leads us into all truth. The scriptures are, in some sense, a conduit more than a destination. They’re a connection, and if that connection is not made, then we miss their worth (John 5:39-40)
The challenge is always to find our story, our stories, within the Biblical narrative. So when Paul addresses a particular issue or question, he often does so by retelling his readers’ story within a much larger story in which Jesus is restoring heaven to earth. For example, when he wants to talk of the human condition in Romans 1, he craftily employes stoic philosophy in such a way that it fits within the narrative of the Fall, so that we all know the truth, having it in our nature/image and in the world/garden around us, we all reject it in favor of false knowledge, thinking ourselves wise we worship created things, and we end in abandonment by God, broken human relationships, and death. Adam and Eve’s story is more than just a story, more than application and understanding; it’s my story. McLaren and Sweet were right: the Bible taught plainly is neither inductive nor deductive, but abductive. Can you help TOH find themselves and their city within the stories of the scriptures?
I am not sure if where your post lead me is the same direction that you were headed in writing it, but here goes.
I have thought for a while that if you want to reach people, you have to talk to address the world they live in. The Message should be brought into their lives be leaders who discuss what is happening in the lives of their followers, using the Bible as a source of inspiration.
I imagine a Church where the members can write down questions or problems and drop them anonymously into a suggestion box. And that will become the subject of future services. I also imagine a Church where the local newspaper is a source of inspiration for services. I think if Christians want to be relevant to the world around them and reach the people around them, they must look at the problems and situations that face those around them and talk about those things openly and honestly.
Those are my two cents.
Thomas