Scholars who recognize that the heartbeat of God is not for scholarship
Dave Black is a New Testament scholar who recognizes that the heartbeat of God is not for scholarship. (He also happens to be my PhD studies mentor.)
A couple of days ago, he talked about scholarship on his blog. (See his entry from Saturday, August 27, 2011 at 11:43 a.m.) I thought his exhortations were relevant to all of my readers, whether they consider themselves scholars or not.
The quote below begins with some of his personal reflections of his own days as a student and some of the decisions he made regarding scholarship. However, he quickly turns to a more general problem regarding scholarship:
We hear complaints about over-specialization, lack of breadth, and misuse of secondary sources. All well and good. And to be sure, had I to do it all over again, I would have not majored in Biblical Studies in my undergraduate program but in history or classical languages instead. As for breadth, the main reason I chose to write my doctoral dissertation on astheneia and its cognates in the Pauline epistles was the challenge this topic posed for me in a wide variety of disciplines, including biblical theology, lexicography, historiography, issues of pseudonymity, etc.
But surely there is something missing in this discussion, and it is the elephant in the room: It is sadly possible to be an “expert” in the New Testament and completely miss its heartbeat, which surely is something other than scholarship. The New Testament requires that we go out of our way, eagerly and voluntarily, to accept assignments that involve sacrifice, that we say no to upward mobility, that we even be willing to deny the normal minimum needs of the body for the sake of others’ souls. Yes, I realize that if you are a Greek scholar and start talking (and acting) like this you will be accused of “going off the deep end.” But, in my opinion, until we learn to lay aside our reliance on every human resource and learn to make waiting on God the number one priority in life, we will remain in the kindergarten of learning.
I’m convinced that, if more and more of those who profess to be New Testament scholars would adopt this kind of radical, sharing lifestyle of the New Testament, we would turn our world upside down for Christ.
“Going off the deep end…” Yep, and sometimes people may questions your “scholarship.” That’s fine.
I do not live for scholarship. I hope that’s true of every “New Testament Scholar,” but I know that it’s not.
Do you want to take a step toward being a scholar who recognizes that the heartbeat of God is not for scholarship? I’d suggest beginning by spending more time with people than you spend with books.
Motivated to missions because of duty, expectations, or something else
Felicity at “Simply Church” has written another good (and short) post called “Motivated for mission.”
She begins with what Matthew records as Jesus’ final exhortation to his followers in Matthew 28:19-20. Jesus told them to “Go and make disciples…”
In response, Felicity makes the following statement:
We can follow his instructions out of duty, obedience, or even the expectations of others.
I thought about this statement a couple of days ago when I heard some students discussing a recent sermon delivered in chapel. One of the students said, “If so-and-so’s sermon doesn’t convince you to go overseas, then nothing will.”
Now, I’m sure the student’s statement was hyperbole, and he doesn’t really believe exactly what he said.
But, it did cause me to think about motivation, especially motivation to “go and make disciples.”
What do you think? Are duty, obedience, or the expectations of others the proper reasons for following Jesus’ instructions (either the great commission or anything else)? If not, then what is the right motivation? How do we help motivate people, or do we?
Do you ever wonder how you can serve your co-workers?
I read and write alot about being “missional,” which to me means living out the gospel every day in every situation with whoever God brings into my life through the power of the Holy Spirit.
But, sometimes, I get stuck. I know what I want to do, but – like Paul – I often don’t do it. So, when I read a post that is helpful in reminding me how to serve people, I like to share it.
Bill at “Provocative Church” has written one such post called “30 Simple Ways to to be Missional in Your Workplace.”
Actually, the post includes a list of 15 items that Bill found on another site. But, he also gives a link to the full list of 30 items. Here are a few:
1. Instead of eating lunch alone, intentionally eat with other co-workers and learn their story.
3. Make it a daily priority to speak or write encouragement when someone does good work.
7. Have your missional community/small group bring lunch to your workplace once a month.
15. Start a regular lunch out with co-workers (don’t be selective on the invites).
I love these kinds of lists. They are not groundbreaking, and, for many, they are obvious. But, for people who do not have a good model of serving others, this kind of thing can be very helpful.
Of course, the point of all of these items is to build relationships with the people we work with… relationships beyond the typical work experience.
Will all the pastor-teachers please stand up?
Will all the pastor-teacher please stand up? Now everyone else, take a seat and listen.
Miguel at “God-Directed Deviations” continues to write very good posts concerning the church and Scripture. His latest post is called “Pastor-Teacher, The Odd Couple?”
In this post, Miguel is asking about the gift of “pastoring-teaching” as listed among the other gifted individuals in Ephesians 4:11.
His post, mainly questions, is centered around the following very important question: “If you necessarily connect the Ephesians 4 giftings of Pastor and teacher then aren’t you assuming that one who shepherds can also teach and vice versa?”
I think that grammatically Paul connects the gift of sherpherding and the gift of teaching in that verse, but I do not think that he was equating the two. Of course, as one commenter has already pointed out, the primary problem today is not the way Paul connects or does not connect shepherding and teaching, but the way the giftings are then associated with “offices” and authority within the church.
So, what do you think? What is the relationship between the gift of shepherding and the gift of pastoring in Ephesians 4:11 and among the church?
A God whose heart is pounding with a passion for lost and dying souls
I was encouraged and challenged by some words written by Dave Black this morning (Friday, August 19, 2011 at 6:58 a.m.):
This morning I am sorrowing. I am sorrowing for my brothers and sisters living a life of conflict and confrontation because of the enemies of Christ. I am grieving for the hundreds of thousands of villages in the world that are without a Gospel witness. I grieve for the millions of Asians who work from dawn to dusk for a handful of rice while Americans go on diets to lose weight. The Lord is breaking my heart over the lostness, the brokenness of this world. I grieve over the thousands of unreached individuals, tribes, and people groups. I sorrow over my own callous indifference to the things of God. I grieve over the watered-down perversion of the Gospel that has pervaded our churches in America. I am grieved by those who think we’re not called to suffer, that suffering is a thing of the past, that it is an archaic notion to suppose that Christians should accept inconvenience, suffering, and uncertainty. I grieve over my own shallow spirituality and self-serving, wimpy religion.
Today, this day, I must remind myself that I belong to a Body that is the living presence of a God whose heart is pounding with a passion for lost and dying souls. “Mercy’s door is still ajar” — yes, but for how much longer?
How can a church that does not live for the Gospel be the Bride of Christ?
What is causing you to grieve this morning? How are you suffering with others who suffer, or are you suffering directly because of righteousness? How are you demonstrating the passion of God toward those who are lost and dying? Are you and he believers around you living for the Gospel of Christ?
Interpreting the Bible in a way that agrees with my beliefs
Eric at “A Pilgrim’s Progress” wrote a great post called “A Personal Preference Method of Biblical Interpretation.”
He is examining his own method of biblical interpretation, and finds that he typically interprets Scripture in a way that agrees with what he already believes.
I think this is something that we all do… often.
Consider this paragraph from Eric:
Let me give a few examples. I like meeting in homes as a local body of believers. Therefore, I find evidence for this in the bible and say we should all do this. I don’t particularly like the idea of washing feet or giving holy kisses. Therefore, although I see evidence for these practices, I say that they are examples of loving behavior but not things we are supposed to be doing. As for giving to the poor, I’ll just suggest that this is optional and a nice idea.
So, how do we move away from “the personal preference method of biblical interpretation”?
I’m not sure that we can move completely away from it. But, there are ways that we can limit the effect. For example, we can discuss issues with people who disagree with us – not simply to present our own case, but also in order to understand their argument.
I fail at this alot, but it is often my goal.
What are other ways that we can limit interpreting the Bible in a way that agrees with what we already believe?
Simple/Organic Church is not just a small church
Felicity at “Simply Church” continues writing very good and informative posts about simple/organic church. Her latest post is called “Honey, I shrunk the church!”
This post is the first of a series that Felicity plans to write on the topic of starting a simple/organic church.
However, in this first post, she gives a glimpse of what she’s NOT talking about. After sharing research about the millions of people who currently meet together outside of traditional churches, Felicity says:
My question is, “What are they doing?”
I suspect that many of them are doing what are friend John White likes to call, “Honey, I shrunk the church!”
They have taken what they have known within the legacy church and just shrunk it down to fit within the four walls of their living room. They have exchanged the steeple for a chimney and the pew for a sofa.
Someone has been asked to lead the worship; someone else prepares a talk. Another person is responsible for the kids. There is as much of a program as there was within the traditional church they left behind.
This is a very good observation. Simply meeting with a smaller group of people in a home does not create a church like we see in Scripture. (This is one of the reasons that I’m not a house church proponent.)
My concern is that the church (the people who are in Christ) meet together in a way that allows for mutual edification and live together in a way that proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ.
Will this affect the number of people who meet together at one time. Yes, I think so.
But the problems that affect the modern church will not be corrected by breaking it into smaller pieces of the same thing.
We’re united with ourselves… that’s all we need, right?
Josh at “Called to Rebuild” has written an excellent post called “To the church in Corinth.” The post is primarily focused on unity in Christ, building on the first chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.
After stepping through (in a modern context) what the Corinthian divisions and disunity might look like today, Josh asks an important question: What if we’re united among ourselves, that is, among the believers who are like us? Isn’t that enough?
For example, consider this paragraph:
But there is a convenient cover for this mentality, and it stems from the congregational view of the church. We take 1 Corinthians and apply it only to the specific group of Christians that we meet with. As long as there is unity in our group we think things are ok and according to God’s will. Never mind the fact that other believers are meeting separately just down the road. Yet we forget that 1 Corinthians was written to the saints who made up the entire city. This is because the ground of the church is the city. Scripture never speaks of the church in a county, the church in a region, the church in a nation, or the church on a particular street. The boundary is never bigger or smaller than the city.
Josh is right on the mark here. Paul was not talking about all those “of Apollos” being united among themselves, and all of those “of Cephas” being united among themselves, and all of those “of Paul” being united among themselves, and even all of those “of Christ” being united among themselves. (1 Corinthians 1:12) Instead, Paul exhorted that there be no division among any believers in the city of Corinth… the whole city of Corinth. (1 Corinthians 1:10-11)
It’s time for us to drop the excuses and seek to live in the unity in Christ that we already have with all brothers and sisters who are in Christ.
Some practical differences between most traditional churches and simple/organic churches
Felicity continues to write about her experiences with simple/organic churches at “Simply Church.” One of her latest posts is called “The journey from legacy church to simple/organic/house church.”
In the post, Felicity is talking about struggles that many people have when moving from a traditional (“legacy”) church context into a simple/organic/house church context. As she says, many find the differences (especially what they must “give up”) to be too much, so they end up having a smaller version of the traditional church.
What kinds of things do people struggle with giving up? Here are the things she lists:
- Professionally led worship–in simple church you are lucky to have an out-of-tune guitar.
- Well prepared talks–there’s no pastor who can spend hours preparing a stimulating sermon. Everyone takes part in an interactive discussion.
- Children and teens ministry–you can’t just drop your kids off at Sunday School to have an hour free from distractions.
- Someone else to make all the decisions–in simple/organic church, everyone is involved.
In her post, Felicity also spells out some of the advantages (or benefits) of giving up these kinds of things that are associated with most traditional churches.
Do you know of other practical differences between most traditional churches and simple/organic churches?
Looking for interesting ways to make disciples? Here are some…
Felicity Dale at “Simply Church” has written a very good article called “How can you start a simple/organic/house church?”
She gives several examples, but, interestingly, the examples are about making disciples. In other words, someone went into a certain context in order to disciple others. As people were discipled and helped to walk in Jesus Christ, there was a church.
I think her post may be a great encouragement to others who want to reach out beyond their comfort zones, who want to find opportunities to disciple others, but who may find themselves currently trapped in a Christian bubble – always spending time with other Christians.
Here are some of the examples that she gives in her post:
- We pulled together a group of not-yet-believing businessmen to study business principles using the Bible as our textbook. They all found the Lord–a church was born.
- We started a kid’s Bible club–on a Sunday morning so that we reached the kids from non-Christian families because the Christian families were in church. When some of the kids found the Lord, some of their parents asked to join in too.
- I started a couple of churches in retirement centers. (I didn’t use the word “church” when approaching the management). Fairly soon, they were led by the residents.
- We have started several churches with our kids and their non-Christian friends.
- A new-Ager was led to the Lord by a friend who asked us to follow up with her. She pulled a group of her friends together and they too became believers. Right from the start it was led by the new believer (who we mentored).
- We followed Luke 10 principles to start a church in the low-income housing projects.
- We have started church at work.
What do you think of these examples? Can you think of other contexts where people may find others who are interested in learning more about following Christ and becoming his disciples?