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It Makes Plain Sense! Or So I Was Taught…

January 31, 2012 in Faith Journey, Fundamentalism, Interpretation with 20 Comments

* Repost from December 2010

It makes plain sense… or so I was taught. When I was a youth and even in my undergrad program I was taught a phrase to guide solid biblical interpretation: “If the plain sense makes sense, seek no other sense.” What this advocates is to take the bible at the surface level of its meaning.

So, if Paul says something that to us sounds literal or “plain” on the surface, then we ought to be able to trust that. Certainly God’s Word is not something that is supposed to trick us. Therefore, whatever makes sense to us as we read various passages can be trusted as the authentic interpretation.

I believe that this approach to the bible is flawed, which is why I often call it the “surface level approach.” It seems quite arrogant to assume that the Holy Scriptures are simplistic to understand and do not require us to do any homework. The problem is that we live with gaps in-between the text and us. For instance, there is a considerable communication gap between the original authors of the Scriptures and our 21st century culture. We all know what it is like to have a communication gap. Think about it. How many husbands get themselves in trouble for saying something that sounds like something totally different than what they actually had in mind.

Wife says: How do I look in this outfit.

Husband says: It looks ok.

Wife says: Ok… (she says with a tone). That’s about as good of an answer as calling me fat! You jerk!

This is a communication gap to the extreme! Now take this stupid analogy and imagine that there is also a language, cultural, and more than 2000 years in our communication gap; that is what we have when we approach the Bible. Continue Reading…

Evangelical Culture Myths: #1 Speaking in Tongues is from the Devil, Unless Interpreted

January 10, 2012 in (Series) Evangelical Culture Myths, Faith Journey, N. T. Wright, Prayer, Spirituality with 60 Comments

© 2008 | Joe Shlabotnik | Flickr | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Today I begin a long term series called “Evangelical Culture Myths.”  I invite you to submit various sorts of cultural myths that we evangelicals tell.  Aside from the one I’m covering today, another obvious one (if you read this blog regularly) could be: “The earth will be destroyed eventually so who cares about being ‘green.’”  I’d love to cover some myths that you are interested in: either theological or practical in nature.  Send them to me via email, FB, or Twitter (to tweet ideas, use this #EvangelicalMyths and “@kurtwillems”)!

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Tongues.  The greatest of all gifts to be known for – especially if you’re a junior high boy.  Like tying a knot in a cherry stem, this gift means you must be good at, well, ummm…

Sorry, wrong topic.  Well, sort of.

A guy known for smooth kissing skills walks around campus proud.  Chest out.  Shirt one-size-too-small to give the appearance of bulging biceps.  And of course, the cute girl that every 13 year old boy dreams of, on his arm as they walk together from the lockers to Geometry class.  This guy’s rep as a good kisser is the envy of the other less-developed 12 to 14 year olds.  The gift of tongues, in this case, is the greatest of gifts.  It’s the thing that makes you too cool for school.

The same sort of thing went down in Corinth during the days of Paul.  Tongues meant that you had a rep.  Just like an early pubescent boy in the eighth grade, to possess the gift of tongues determined you were the “big (wo)man on campus.”  Perhaps the word “popular” might even fit.  The elite.  The spiritual guru.  The better than.  The angelical language poet.

Paul apparently was the best at this speaking in tongues thing.  He wrote: “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you” (1 Cor. 14.18).  So anyone claiming to be a tongue-slingin’-pro better recognize that big Paul can spit him some angel language better than the rest. Continue Reading…

I’m Mennonite… and Finally Became Anabaptist: Embracing our Mission to Post-Christian America

January 4, 2012 in Anabaptism, Faith Journey, Gospel, Nationalism, Nonviolence with 27 Comments

photo © 2005 Trint Williams , Flickr | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

 

I’m a Mennonite.

Yes, it’s true.  Mennonite even in the “ethnic” sense.  In fact, I often say that I have more of a family wreath than a family tree because both sides of my lineage link to the Mennonite Brethren from Prussia.  I actually broke the wreath by marrying a Russian Molokan turned evangelical – but that’s beside the point.

For most of my life, my Anabaptist Mennonite heritage was more filled with culture than the biblical values that drew this group of radical reformers together in the midst of the Reformation.  Sure, we told stories about our people fleeing peacefully from the persecuting sword in the dark of night, but for most people I interacted with – values like peacemaking, social justice, and empire subversion became the butt of many jokes.  We mostly had become mainstream American Evangelicals, with really good food and stories.  The Anabaptist way seemed outdated.

It wasn’t until I was in my twenties that this seemingly obsolete perspective on the discipleship way of Jesus began to draw me in.  I’m convinced that my Anabaptist roots offer something to a growing segment of culture that is burnt out on religion and suspicious of the so-called power-brokers of the world.  Interestingly enough, the days of the institutional church being the dominant influence in society is quickly fading (often called “Christendom”).[1] Continue Reading…

10 Reasons I’m a Christian

December 27, 2011 in Faith Journey with 18 Comments

photo © 2007 Sam Churchill , Flickr

I’m in a “top ten” sort of mood this final week of 2011.  Today, I share my top 10 reasons that I’m a Christian.  Now, I’m sure that if I sat back for another 10 hours and contemplated this subject on a deeper level, that the list would morph a bit.  However, if I were to list areas off the top of my head, they’d include…

10) I was born into a Christian family.

9) Youth group.  Mission trips, authentic faith exploration, fun games, great youth pastor, summer camps, and common experiences with teenage friends.  Youth group (along with going to a Christian high school) was huge.

8 ) People in the church (both family and friends) showed me love when I needed a helping hand as a lower class child.

7) Christianity is historically reasonable.

6) The movement of the church begins with and is for the marginalized of society… which is a movement worth being part of.

5) I am invited to become more fully human as God’s Spirit conforms my life to the “image” of Christ and believe that such an opportunity can transform any person in the world. Continue Reading…

Donald Miller with Lauren Winner: a conversation about spiritual practices

November 16, 2011 in (Series) Video to Ponder, Faith Journey, Spirituality with 0 Comments

Fear, Faith, and the Leading of the Spirit (Katie Hunt Sturm)

October 27, 2011 in Faith Journey, Guest Contributors, Kingdom of God with 10 Comments

Source: David Woo | Thunder Clouds | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/

Kurt posted a great reflection awhile back—If the Spirit Took the Lead—that really encouraged me to think even more deeply about my own journey of the last few years. It’s a real pleasure to be involved in Kurt’s process. Over the last six months, my husband and I have been in the process of numerous significant and drastically life-altering decisions: leaving a PhD, being laid off, moving back to the USA from abroad, launching ministries and starting businesses. In all of this, the thing that we keep coming back to, over and over again, is what life looks like when we stop living focused on ourselves, but instead trust that each step we make is trustworthy, significant, and valued by God.

When we stopped trying to control every moment, when we just stepped out, believing that the road would meet us – this is when God met us the most. So, it’s my delight to be able to reflect more pro-actively on what we’ve been trying to do in the last few months. These are statements that have withstood the petrie dish of our life for the last year. And they have helped us to Trust in the darkness what He showed us in the light. I tried to narrow this down to one post, but in all honesty, the few that made the cut didn’t even begin to cover all that happened as we started letting the Spirit take the lead in our lives. I hope that as I reflect on my own journey, you will be encouraged along your own.

When the Spirit Takes the Lead…

We move from fear to faith.

I’ve been a student, an academic for more than 80% of my life. With the exception of those pesky toddler years and a brief hiatus of oat-sowing in the post-high-school days, I’ve defined myself by my intellect. I was never the popular girl, the pretty girl, the cheerleader, the athlete, or even the nerd. I was the bookworm. Then, last year, smack dab in the middle of my PhD, it became crystal clear – chock-a-block full of signs and messages and all the mysterious business you could wish for – that I was to leave it. Not put it on hold, not even transfer institutions. But to leave school. The fear that entered into my life with this decision paralyzed me. Combine that with the notification from my husband’s employer that his job “might be restructured soon” and you have a very different reality to look forward to. Continue Reading…

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