{"id":6113,"date":"2009-10-05T05:40:47","date_gmt":"2009-10-05T10:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/jesuscreed\/2009\/10\/05\/the-dark-side-of-bible-reading-by-jeremy-berg\/"},"modified":"2009-10-05T05:40:47","modified_gmt":"2009-10-05T10:40:47","slug":"the-dark-side-of-bible-reading-by-jeremy-berg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/10\/05\/the-dark-side-of-bible-reading-by-jeremy-berg\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dark Side of Bible Reading: by Jeremy Berg"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"JBerg.jpg\"<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Jeremy Berg <\/a>is a youth pastor; he\u2019s done some Friday is for Friends for us, but I wanted to get this one up today.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

I have long been irritated by a common critique or complaint people have after listening to a biblical exposition of a passage. \u00a0This is especially true of teenagers after hearing their youth pastor unpack a dense portion of, say, Romans. \u201cHow does this apply to my life?\u201d \u00a0\u201cWhat does this have to do with me?\u201d \u00a0I believe this simple request, which sounds so reasonable and innocent on the surface, has a darker side that has should at least be considered. Before we explore this darker side let me qualify this statement by saying:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u00a0\u00a0I believe personal application of the Bible\u2019s message is critical. Absolutely critical.<\/li>\n
  2. \u00a0I believe preachers should help hearers of the Word become doers of the Word. \u00a0Of course.<\/li>\n
  3. \u00a0As a youth pastor speaking weekly to teens I really need to work harder at this. I have much room for improvement. \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    My irritation with the cult of personal application is the self-centered, self-absorbed\u00a0posture<\/em>\u00a0of many as they approach God\u2019s Word. Now it seems perfectly appropriate\u00a0after<\/em>\u00a0hearing one of Jesus\u2019 parables to ask oneself how his teaching is personally challenging us. But the operative word there is AFTER.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n


    \n<\/span><\/p>\n

    I am concerned about those who approach the text with their own issues and preoccupations already in mind and ask the Word to magically speak to those issues. I am irritated with an attitude (usually well-meaning and unintentional, by the way) that sounds like: \u201cThat\u2019s a nice story Jesus, but can you please address my problem with __________?\u201d \u00a0Or, after reading Paul\u2019s monumental Letter to the Romans saying, \u201cWow, Paul, that was some deep stuff! \u00a0Can we talk about me now?\u201d \u00a0And a thousand other variations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    The hidden dark side of this posture toward God\u2019s Word is that it reveals a deep-seated self-absorption that keeps us at the center of our universe and insists that God and His Word orbit our needs and serve our interests. Do you see a problem with this posture toward God and the text? \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Instead, I would like to offer a different posture toward God\u2019s Word. In fact, it\u2019s the very opposite approach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \u00a0First, let\u2019s humbly approach God\u2019s Word as we would approach God himself. \u00a0Let\u2019s reverently bow in awe and listen intently to what he is actually saying to us.<\/li>\n
    2. \u00a0Instead of \u201capplying the Bible to our lives\u201d (which again assumes we are the fixed center point and the Word is just a holy ointment to be applied to our souls) let\u2019s instead try to \u201capply ourselves to the Bible.\u201d \u00a0Put narratively, let\u2019s not let give God a convenient place within our own story; but rather find ourselves swept up in God\u2019s much larger Story!<\/li>\n
    3. \u00a0Instead of bringing all of our concerns to the text and forcing it to speak to them, let\u2019s instead let God\u2019s concerns invite us out of our (relatively) petty preoccupations and into the realm of heavenly realities. \u201cSet your mind on things above, not on earthly things\u201d (Col 3:2). Or, as The Message Bible puts it: \u201cDon\u2019t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ\u2013that\u2019s where the action is. See things from his perspective.\u201d When we get a glimpse of \u201cGod reality\u201d all of our own earthly concerns are seen in a new light.\u00a0<\/li>\n
    4. \u00a0Finally, personal application must come only AFTER one has given God\u2019s Word a fair hearing. Let God lead the conversation where He so desires. When we\u2019re done letting God\u2019s Word speak then we can ask the Spirit to give us a personal assignment in response to God\u2019s challenge.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      I\u2019m sure there is a better way to say all of this. \u00a0But I hope you see my point. Now I wonder what you all think.<\/p>\n

      \u00a0Am I the only one who has noticed this? \u00a0Do you agree that many approach the Bible with an irreverent, self-absorbed posture? \u00a0How should preachers handle the practical application piece? \u00a0How do you balance (a) letting God\u2019s Word have it\u2019s way and (b) personal application of its message? \u00a0What am I missing here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

      <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Jeremy Berg is a youth pastor; he\u2019s done some Friday is for Friends for us, but I wanted to get this one up today.\u00a0 I have long been irritated by a common critique or complaint people have after listening to a biblical exposition of a passage. \u00a0This is especially true of teenagers after hearing their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[456],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Dark Side of Bible Reading: by Jeremy Berg<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jeremy Berg is a youth pastor; he's done some Friday is for Friends for us, but I wanted to get this one up today. I have long been irritated by a\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/10\/05\/the-dark-side-of-bible-reading-by-jeremy-berg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Dark Side of Bible Reading: by Jeremy Berg\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jeremy Berg is a youth pastor; he's done some Friday is for Friends for us, but I wanted to get this one up today. I have long been irritated by a\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/10\/05\/the-dark-side-of-bible-reading-by-jeremy-berg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-10-05T10:40:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/imgs\/JBerg.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/10\/05\/the-dark-side-of-bible-reading-by-jeremy-berg\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/10\/05\/the-dark-side-of-bible-reading-by-jeremy-berg\/\",\"name\":\"The Dark Side of Bible Reading: by Jeremy Berg\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-10-05T10:40:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-10-05T10:40:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\"},\"description\":\"Jeremy Berg is a youth pastor; he's done some Friday is for Friends for us, but I wanted to get this one up today. I have long been irritated by a\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/10\/05\/the-dark-side-of-bible-reading-by-jeremy-berg\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/10\/05\/the-dark-side-of-bible-reading-by-jeremy-berg\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/10\/05\/the-dark-side-of-bible-reading-by-jeremy-berg\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Dark Side of Bible Reading: by Jeremy Berg\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus Creed\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith in the 21st century\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\",\"name\":\"Scot McKnight\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. 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