A Tough Challenge

I'm finishing up reading Search and Rescue and came across a quote that it very challenging.

"It's time to take a chance. Somewhere deep in your heart is a longing to see God do miraculous things in your life, but if you stay saf way behind the frontlines, you will never be in a place to see God work. How do you spell faith? R-I-S-K. You simply cannot live a vibrant life of faith in a safe and protected place. If you do not have any current story of how God has stepped in and rescued you, you are probably not living with enough risk. I seriously doubt that God would have parted the sea for Moses and his family while they were on a nice vacation at the Red Sea Beach Resort. It was only when Moses found himself cornered, with Pharaoh's army pressing down on him - all because he followed God obediently - that the sea parted. If you want to see God work miracles, you too will have to venture out in faith into the waters of risk." (pg. 136)

At first I found this quote almost insulting. I was immediately in a posture of "that's not necessarily true..." but thinking on it some more, Neil Cole is probably right on the money.

It sure is easy to spout this kind of talk. But man, is it hard to actually walk it! It's almost as if God is saying to me "I dare you to follow me." I would be the first to admit that God would never abandon me or leave me high and dry, but my actions might tell a very different tale of waiting to see God do the miraculous things so I can easily follow, knowing exactly what situation I'm walking in to.

Empowering the Masses

When I came to Briercrest two years ago, I was very eager to get going; I knew for a fact that God had led my family and I here and that the next three years were going to be very purposeful. However, after the first semester, I was getting pretty anxious to be done with school - not because I wasn't learning anything or enjoying my education, but because I felt trapped in school, never really permitted by others to "go into" ministry without a degree.

Two years have passed and my third (and final) year starts in two weeks and I have greatly enjoyed my learning experience and see how God has used my time here to start shaping me into more of who he wants me to be. I value my soon-to-be degree (at least that's the plan this April) and my education but I still react whenever someone questions anyone for leaving school without a degree to "go into" ministry.

"Go into" is the issue, I think. There is a notion that is deeply ingrained in Western Christianity that those who lead in churches are the professional class; that they have a somewhat special connection to God that the congregation doesn't. Those who are paid by the church to spend 40-50 hours/week are the ones "in ministry" while the average Christ-follower is simply an observer on Sunday and never really considered in ministry even though they are immersed in a mission field every day at work. The professional's interpretation of Scripture is somehow more accurate because... well, they are the pros, aren't they while the lay-person is simply the recipient of information from the pulpit on Sunday mornings. While some of this is true and I can attest that because of my education at Briercrest, I have learned a proper hermeneutic and more discernment about proper exegesis of Scripture than when I first came here, this shouldn't be 'norm' in church.

When power is given to those who hold degrees, it really demonstrates that someone is able to fit into an education system, regurgitate information for exams and is able excel at proper format for research papers without giving too much weight to the way a person actually lives their life. I know that not too long ago, I was pretty opposed to a 'house church' that functioned outside of a denomination because of the lack of heresy control and 'not enough accountability' to a higher level of committee. My tune has since changed and I believe that smaller churches that operate within and outside of a denominational church are the future and the building blocks of advancing God's Kingdom here on earth because it usually consists of people who have been transformed by God's power and are devouring Scripture and doing what it says (James 1:22-25)

When power is given to a select few with degrees, it takes away power and accountability from everyone else to do their part in building the Kingdom. At what point do we simply back away from the professional model that churches use and allow the Holy Spirit that is within all who are Christians, lead and guide in people's lives? Are those with degrees the only people who have the ability to spot heresy? Or can all those who study the Scriptures, and devote themselves to Jesus, continually dying to self, receive revelation and knowledge of Jesus through the conviction of the Spirit do this also?

The early church exploded on the scene some two-thousand years ago and every single one of those involved in leading and expanding the Kingdom of Heaven did not hold a degree from an accredited Christian institution! But rather was transformed by God and then proceeded to flip the world upside down because of Christ.

I love my education and I embrace attending post-secondary Christian education but I think that too often, the demand that people have the $40,000 piece of paper as a prerequisite to participating in ministry is crippling the effectiveness of many Christians and churches because those people haven't 'made it to the big leagues.' The masses need to be unleashed and the church structure that has been used for decades, if not centuries, will need to change (and potentially pass away) if this will ever really be accomplished.

New Books *Yipeeee!*

Just started some new books yesterday; I picked up The Rabbit and The Elephant:Why Small is the New Big for Today's Church and Search and Rescue: Becoming a Disciple That Makes a Difference.

Both of these have caught my eye for a while and with the wonder of Amazon.ca, I was able to buy by school text books at a discount that allowed me to pick up these books for the same price as buying it from the college book store (I know, that doesn't really support local business... shame on me). I'm not too far into either of them, but I love Neil Cole's vision and other books and The Rabbit looked too intruiging to pass up.

Poison From the Pulpit: Allegory

I am pretty sure that all but the most sheltered pastors and evangelicals will admit that bible literacy is in a free-fall in today's generation and culture; mainstream evangelical protestantism, through the wonder of PowerPoint, has virtually eliminated the need to even bring a bible to church because the selected verse is on display behind the pastor (not to mention it is usually in the 'most relevant' version - the Message), Our Daily Bread (and other popular devotionals) only ever require you to read a verse or two, often out of context, so that they can convey their thought of the day for you.

Most Christians (myself included) own lots of new, snazzy, devotional-for-ever-possible-person edition in multiple translations yet fail to even read any of them for any length of time, or at any consistency. En mass, Christians generally really suck at reading the bible.

I'm pretty sure all pastors would say that they would never discourage their congregation from reading the Bible, but when they preach using allegory, they are doing just that.

Say someone sits down and reads five chapters of any book of the Bible. they study it, take their time with it, dwell on it a bit, and come out of their time in scripture refreshed and with a bit more knowledge than they went in with. They then come to church and notice on the bulletin that the pastor is speaking from a passage they had just recently went over. What joy! Maybe the pastor can help them with a couple of the points that they had found a little difficult to understand. Instead what they get is someone who says that nothing from what they read can be taken at face value; there are hidden meanings and symbolism that are not abundantly clear for every person and object in the passage. That poor soul in the pew has just been told, in not as many words, that they don't know a single thing about Bible interpretation. They then go home, attempt to read some more Scripture but end up questioning themselves over what everything might mean. They are no longer confident that they can get anything useful out of reading the Bible because they fail to make allegorical connections that their pastor makes.

Using allegory from the pulpit is like spreading poison throughout the congregation because it a) makes you the 'official bible interpreter' and thus sends the message to the congregation that they only need to listen to you for the 'final word' on the passage and b) it is usually completely off and wrong from what the passage is trying to convey. So just stop it.

The Final Stretch

In a few short weeks, I'll be at the start of the end. My fourth and final year of my B.A. starts in September and that means that I'm in for a busy and very unique final eight months. School assignments will be a bit tougher, I have a LOT more reading to do than last year, I have to work on a graduation portfolio (evidence showing academic and personal growth through my time at Briercrest), I have part time work and I get to start looking for work for the spring. Add regular family responsibilities, time for play and ministry and I'm in for a busy school year that will fly by at a blistering pace.

I'm kind of looking forward to it.

This year I am going a different route and purchasing my textbooks from Amazon.ca. I had no reason to use Amazon before, or maybe I was just ignorant to the good deals available there, but I am managing to save about $60 by buying them from the site. That is like getting three additional books that I have been eying up for free! (not like I can picture myself having enough time to read any more than I currently am required to!)

In preparation for life after bible college, I am trying to put into words a philosophy of ministry that incorporates my view of the local church and specifically, the role of pastors but also the responsibility of all believers. This will take some time and will have to be edited down many times over, I think.

Dreaming of the future is very exciting because I know that God is currently preparing a place for me in his Kingdom expansion and at the same time preparing me for that position. This year will be over before I know it... and that gets me excited.