Things I Think…
1. At the risk of sounding elitist, or at least like a jerk…I’m increasingly concerned about the rate of biblical illiteracy among professing Christians. The risk doesn’t bother me a great deal, because on this topic I am somewhat “elitist” and I do act like a jerk at times…
2. While the Gospel message itself, “the good news” that Jesus offers salvation to those who believe in Him is “simple” and can be discerned by reading in the Gospels…all the other theology around that simple statement and theology proper is anything but simple. It takes years of focused study in many different areas of inquiry to be able to unpack it all…and that’s why God placed teachers in the Body to assist us all in growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ…
3. I say all that to say this…I love getting questions about the Bible or theology from folks…if they’re investing their own time and energy to find the answers. Meaningful answers to most questions can’t be answered properly in a single email, or blog post, or phone call…to fully understand one piece of biblical truth, you have to understand a lot of other pieces of the grand biblical narrative…and that takes regular engagement both with the Bible itself and with teachers…either through books, sermons, or other media…
4. This used to be accomplished (in part, at least), by people attending church on a regular basis…but many are not attending and others are not fed well when they do…
5. The reason I find this a critical issue at the present time is because there has never been a time in my life when the forces of deception were stronger, both in and outside the church…and it’s going to get worse with the increasing politicization and secularization of the church and technical tools like AI…if possible, even the elect would be deceived…
6. Deception is the coin of the demonic realm…which sounds sensationalistic, but is supported by even a cursory reading of the Scriptures, particularly those that deal with “end times” matters…
7. I would always suggest traditional means of deepening one in biblical truth…set times for prayer and bible reading…but those require discipline and time many don’t have or choose to invest . So…how about watching a short video a couple times a day? The Bible Project videos will help you get grounded in truth on your phone and at your convenience…and if that’s too much you don’t really care…and you’re ripe for the picking…
8. Taylor Swift is this generations equivalent of Elvis or The Beatles…and I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever heard any of her music…
9. I vaguely recall this being said before…but if all of us had an thermometer outside our bodies that showed how much pain or distress we’re in at a given moment, perhaps we’d be more gentle with each other…because we don’t maybe we should just practice being gentle anyway…
10. You are what you eat…you’ll feel better if you consume four cat videos for every political one you ingest…
#10. That is why my Youtube account is all comedy, sports, weather, movie clips, etc. I avoid political videos like the proverbial plague.
Amen to #9 esp.
Dan,
I’ve taken down a lot of inflammation in my spirit by blocking a lot of nonsense.
I’m in a lot of pain anyway…don’t need to add to it.
Good call Michael! I find I am in better spirits the less time I spend on political stuff or silly online debates in comment rooms.
Regarding biblical illiteracy, I couldn’t agree with you more. Biblical literacy became the goal of my preaching ministry.
But the lack of literacy isn’t due exclusively to a lack on the pastors part. Most people want a church service that just makes them feel good. Something that, as one lady told me, “just gets thru the week”
Even today, as I am retired, I love to talk theology. But many folks aren’t interested. They’re saved, go to church, serve, and that’s all they think they need.
Officerhoppy,
I try to listen to a couple of random sermons every week…and I am not impressed for the most part.
Lots of pastors trying to echo Fox News so they can get a ratings bump.
The biggest gripe I have is that many pastors quit learning as soon as they are ordained and get all their material from the same source they started with…works if you started with a very learned teacher…not so much if you didn’t.
#1 and 2-It takes time to engage with the Scriptures, and most of us would rather binge watch our favorite program. The “old” things that used to get us to focus on Scripture for a couple hours a week (a well-prepared sermon, small group Bible study, good Christian books) aren’t frequented as much. Or, we turn to quickie devotionals and hope to get our “word” for the day.
As for the gospel being “simple”, when I was in Bible college many years ago we were asked to exegete Philippians 2:1-10 and write a paper about the meaning of the “kenosis.” Let’s just say that I really sweat out that paper. When we compared notes in class, many of us had arrived at the same meanings of certain words and phrases, but often with different applications. The whole exercise caused me to love Jesus and His sacrifice for me even more, for which I have been grateful.
Michael
Many pastors quit learning the minute they hit the pulpit is very true. You know they listen to each other’s sermons because they all repeat the same jokes.
One guy had, word for word, the exact same sermon of another pastor. The only thing that changed was the names of his children and where they ate their hamburgers
For me, I was unprepared to be a lead pastor especially in the area of preaching. So I was tutored in several subjects, by two separate scholars, one taught at Talbot, the other at Dallas. Couldn’t afford seminary but i took three practicums at Western Seminary.
Never did quite figure it out
Linn,
I have to study every week in preparation to teach…and every week I find something thatI’d never seen before that makes me rejoice in the works of God.
I simply do not understand why people don’t devote part of every day to this kind of discovery…
We LOVE kitten/cat videos but also enjoy YouTube channels like a guy who feeds raccoons on his back porch and a couple who feed deer in their backyard. We have found joy in the mundane and people being kind to animals.
If it helps knowing, we pray for your non-stop pain🙏🏼
Pam,
I kind of use “cat videos” as a catch all for the sort of things you mention.
I love the old guy feeding hot dogs to coons and the fox refuge… if it has fur, I like it. 🙂
It helps much, my friend…hoping He’ll answer soon.
Michael,
If you like animated kitties, “Simon’s Cat” is the best! On YouTube and most are only 2.5 to 3 minutes.
Officerhoppy, do you remember which professor at Talbot? The church I go to has several Talbot/Biola professors.
Your comments on Biblical literacy resonate strongly with me. It is my belief that the greatest need in the Body of Christ today is to actually know and understand what our Scriptures say. Many, I would venture to say perhaps even most, hotly debated questions in the New Testament could be readily resolved if believers simply have read and understood their Old Testament. I have become convinced that Chapter-by-Chapter, Verse-by-Verse, expository, exegetical teaching (Historical Context, Situational Context, Literary Context, Grammar, Syntax, & Intertextuality (OT in OT, OT in NT) should be the staple of every pulpit ministry today. The things were not meant for scholars alone to understand – it is imperative for the survival of the Church that the whole Body of Christ understand Scripture in this way. It’s not popular, it will actually drive people away. But it is still our responsibility. Thanks for your post today!
Terrie R. Beede,
Thank you for reading and your comment.
I think that is one hermeneutic…there are others that are orthodox as well.
My primary concern is the lack of interest in any reading or study…because those are the primary ways we encounter Jesus….
I commend the Youtube station Owlkitty for cat videos. The Owlkitty send-up of Maverick: Top Gun is pretty funny. In the age of the internet Henri the existentialist has become classic YT cinema. 😉
Taylor Swift isn’t really my favorite but I can tune her out if I want to and she’s not as annoying as the disease of four chord soul-bro singers that have erupted like lesions in pop music over the last seven years. Swift has slightly better subdominant substitution patterns in her songs as those go. The late Scott Timberg granted that Swift at least knew when to play a game of PR chicken with Apple Music to make them blink on royalty rates on behalf of other musicians.
WTH,
I can’t say I’ve ever heard her…which tells me I am aging out of the mainstream culture.
I have noted the incredible amount of tickets that have been sold to see her at astronomical prices…and how devout a following she has…
I don’t know her music much, but Taylor Swift is an Eagles fan (the football team, of course), so that makes her good in my book. 🙂
She actually grew up in a neighboring town to my home town.
Everstudy
His name is Dr. David Miller. But he wasn’t there long. He came up to Corbin college to promote their online degree program