Keeping the Lord's word before I scrutinize it (Luke 11:28)
"But he said, 'Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!'" - Luke 11:28
One of my brothers in law is here staying with us for the weekend. He'll be heading home today but he's an interesting guy to talk with as he's in the last semester of his seminary education. He's also lived overseas for a couple of years doing ministry and will likely go back.
I was talking with Him this morning about some of the blogs I read and how many people I read who are educated in the original languages or carry seriously interpretive Bibles to church on Sunday mornings and scrutinize everything the pastors say. I don't mean this in a bad way, being educated and not taking everything your pastor says at face value is not a bad thing. My comment was how I wasn't sure I would want to preach to these people feeling like they would pick apart my every argument.
His response was something along the lines of how it doesn't matter if you can preach to those people or not. There are people out there who are much more interested in the academia than they are in being able to preach and relate Christ. You need to worry yourself with the latter.
I thought this an interesting argument. The field in which I work is filled with several seminary educated people but our discussions are never about theology or scripture or these things at all. Rather we're always discussing what so and so needs to hear before they'll likely turn to the Lord, or about broken relationships, or disfunction in our churches and how we address such issues.
Then I get on a plane and I go to seminary in the summer for a few weeks at a time and I'm surrounded by people who care much more about a specific interpretation of one verse, or how great of professors they've had etc...
The field is just a different world than the academic campus. I guess I'm glad I get the best of both worlds. I just want to make sure I'm hearing the word of the Lord and spending my time keeping it rather than scrutinizing it. Seeking the Lord and loving Him and following His commands needs to have precedence in my life over my head knowledge. Both are important, but the Love and obedience need to come first.
One of my brothers in law is here staying with us for the weekend. He'll be heading home today but he's an interesting guy to talk with as he's in the last semester of his seminary education. He's also lived overseas for a couple of years doing ministry and will likely go back.
I was talking with Him this morning about some of the blogs I read and how many people I read who are educated in the original languages or carry seriously interpretive Bibles to church on Sunday mornings and scrutinize everything the pastors say. I don't mean this in a bad way, being educated and not taking everything your pastor says at face value is not a bad thing. My comment was how I wasn't sure I would want to preach to these people feeling like they would pick apart my every argument.
His response was something along the lines of how it doesn't matter if you can preach to those people or not. There are people out there who are much more interested in the academia than they are in being able to preach and relate Christ. You need to worry yourself with the latter.
I thought this an interesting argument. The field in which I work is filled with several seminary educated people but our discussions are never about theology or scripture or these things at all. Rather we're always discussing what so and so needs to hear before they'll likely turn to the Lord, or about broken relationships, or disfunction in our churches and how we address such issues.
Then I get on a plane and I go to seminary in the summer for a few weeks at a time and I'm surrounded by people who care much more about a specific interpretation of one verse, or how great of professors they've had etc...
The field is just a different world than the academic campus. I guess I'm glad I get the best of both worlds. I just want to make sure I'm hearing the word of the Lord and spending my time keeping it rather than scrutinizing it. Seeking the Lord and loving Him and following His commands needs to have precedence in my life over my head knowledge. Both are important, but the Love and obedience need to come first.
You also overlook those church members who don't study specifically, but who have been reading their bible for years. Very knowledgeable those little old ladies can be.
And, of course, this is rather a false dichotomy anyway. As your seminary educated friends show, one can have the academic study without losing the focus on the spiritual. One ideal model of a church leader is in fact someone who combines both.
One can hardly win people over if what he is saying is patently wrong. On the other hand, one can hardly win people over if he hasn't a way to show what having God in your life is good for.
I agree with everything you've said, I'm simply saying the dichotomy is something I begin to create myself.
I eventually get so caught up in the academic ideas I often lose the heart behind it all.
do you not find yourself doing this? i totally do.
"On the other hand, one can hardly win people over if he hasn't a way to show what having God in your life is good for" - well said and what I'm going for...
Not really. But when I do, that's what God made brothers and sisters in Christ for.
I didn't necessarily see myself in this. After all, your bible is much bigger than mine. ;)
You might remember the same Jesus who healed and feed the multitudes and cast out unclean spirits, also kept asking the religious experts of his day, "Haven't you read"?
Also, i definitely value the academic side, but using Jesus as an example is kinda a cop out, afterall if anyone was going to be able to strike a perfect balance of both it would be God himself.
but yes, he sure seemed to know what he was doing on the road to Emmaus... i hope someday i could do the same at least close to as well as he did...
one of my favorite learning experiences was when a dude stood up to preach. for four days we showed up and he jumped around the bible like i've never seen before or since, making sense of things I would have otherwise never grasped..
MAN that guy knew the word... my dream.
Mat 5:48 NET. So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Perfection is a road, not a destination- Fortune cookie.
Knew that was coming, didn't you?