Study
It's appropriate that I turn my attention this week to study and worship, disciplines of engagement, as we prepare for our ZOE friends to come to town. Over the past few years, the College Church has learned as much about those two things from ZOE than over many years past. ZOE has taught us much about becoming disciples rather than just Christians. They have lovingly and gently brought us closer to fulfilling God's will for us, showing us the importance of being Jesus in the world.I'm especially looking forward to this year's conference because I will have a chance to meet some blog buddies for the first time. A couple of people have asked me how they might find me so that we could get together while they are here. I thought about maybe wearing a red carnation or (even better) my Angels cap. But carnations don't go with jeans, and my mom won't let me wear my cap in church. So I guess you'll just have to look for the dorky guy in Randy Harris' class. Granted, that probably won't narrow it down much, so I'll be sure to wear my nametag at all times. I'd post a picture but I'm on my work computer and the only one I have features me with a mohawk. Maybe later from home.
My six-year-old boy is in a fascinating stage of his educational development. He is learning new things so quickly that I can't keep up. About once a day I hear myself saying, "I didn't know he knew how to do that!" It's a testament to his wonderful teacher, but it's also a sign of his readiness and his cognitive development. For our study of the Word to be worthwhile, we must be at a place of readiness. When we are, we will find our walk progressing by leaps and bounds, surprising ourselves when we look back and see how far the Spirit has taken us.
When Christians study their Bibles, all too often their purpose is to fulfill some felt obligation. At best they might be setting out to learn something new. But when the goal is to advance in their spiritual walk, to grow closer to God, to transform themselves, then the study takes on a life of its own. And when they have prepared themselves with times of solitude and silence, ridding themselves of old needs, habits, and desires, then the time spent in the Word can have a profound effect. New desires, new habits replace old ones. Our minds are not only set on things above, but they are rooted there.
This week I watched an episode of The West Wing where presidential hopeful, Arnie Vinick, is explaining to President Bartlett why he doesn't attend church. He talks about how he began to read from the King James Bible his wife bought him and couldn't understand how people could love the God he found there. He was horrified at a God who would command stoning for adultery among other things. Bartlett's response was, "I'm a New Testament man myself."
Vinick's dismay is typical of a worldly approach to reading the Bible. I understand completely when people ask me why I would want anything to do with a God who would command His armies to wipe out entire cities, with a psalmist who would write about babies being dashed against rocks. And I understand the quick evasion of Old Testament stories in favor of the teachings of Jesus. The problem comes from trying to get people to have a relationship with God through reading the Bible, rather than asking people to read the Bible in response to their relationship with God. I think that if Philip hadn't come along, the Ethiopian eunuch would still be in a fog.
Can someone simply open a Bible and be led to Christ? Probably. But without guidance and help from others, the roots would probably not go very deep. A better approach is to come alongside the Word with them and allow it to work on us together, to change us into something new. For the Bible to change us the way God wants it to, we must approach it with openness to transformation, with sacrifice of our own will, with preparedness of stillness before God, with a relationship rooted in love, and with the greatest of awe and reverence.
posted by Thurman8er @ 7:43 AM
4 Comments:
When our last fulltime preacher was here, I was so compelled to study more than I do now. That's not reflective of a lack of motivation from anyone except myself. Having access to SUCH direction and a great library was very motivating. I remember spending a lot of time studying the book of Daniel, and going through all the references in my study bible, and then HUGE questions began to form in my mind in a frightening sort of way, in respects to the antichrist, etc. I need to do that sort of thing again. It is a discipline that takes...discipline!
I'm so glad I've found another TWW fan! Remember the first episode and Bartlet's FIRST lines? I was always in awe of how this series regarded "religion" and faith. One can't forget the president and his wife doing some lively "debate" on various passages of scripture. And the episode, "Shibboleth"...beautiful lesson from this.
I'm jealous that you're going to get to meet blogging friends. I would SO love to do that!
When I think of studying the Bible, I like the term "feeding on His word" and injesting it into our spiritual bodies.
Earlier last year, before I knew I was no longer going to be a preacher, I had planned (and anticipated) on making the trip to WestCoast Zoe if for no other reason than to meet you and attempt to keep Randy in line. I hope it's a great weekend in Fresno for you!
I would love to do a Fresno trip sometime. Since we're teachers we could both carry a gradebook or perhaps stick a calculator in our shirt pocket.
I remember hearing Randy Harris talk about what you called a "worldly view" of the Bible. He said most folks think that God suddenly found religion when we move from the Old to the NT.
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