For all you members out there who (deeply) believe that what we really need in the church is "deep Bible study," let me recount an interesting DBS anecdote. Yesterday, after several weeks advertising and email reminders to all the Bible Talk Leaders of the Eastside, I convened a TNT class before church services entitled, "Background and history of the book of Mark." I put somewhere between 6-8 hours of research and study into this and I learned a great deal about both Mark and about our need for Deep Bible Study.
The class was attended by two people. Both are new to the Eastside.
Don't worry. I'm not mad or frustrated. Actually, it was a liberating epiphany. See, this has happened before, when we were at the Naval Reserve Building; we had TNT before church then too and it was also sparsely attended.
Here's what it means: those who really, really want so-called "Deep Bible Study" are either getting it already via the internet and through books they've purchased OR they do not want to sacrifice their Sunday morning time to learn (of course, some may have circumstances that prevent their attending, I understand).
Here's what I suspect: generally, we don't really need depth of Bible study as much as we need breadth. A minority of us are interested keenly in the history, the archaeology, the background. But probably all of us crave applied sermons that broadly cover our very real daily needs: our marriages, our children, our friendships, our mission, our heart, our fellowship, our sin and growth, our hopes and dreams.
I'm thinking that's deep enough.
2 comments:
Scott,
I must confess I have been one of those who have been calling for deeper studies with our church. I was one of those few that attended each of the TnT classes and did find them lacking. I, myself enjoy learning about the history of the characters and locations in the Bible, but I prefer learning this on my own. My hope by attending the TnT classes was to gain an understanding of some deeper spiritual issues and how they applied to my life. Over the last few years I have gotten less out of our Sunday lessons and Midweeks, instead getting more out of reading books on such subjects as faith, leadership and the grace/justification paradigm. For example, in the city, we spent over six months in the book of Matthew, and I gain a lot of insights but it did not build my faith nor did I gain any long lasting convictions. This is not to say I do not love Jay Kelly or his preaching style, but I am becoming less filled up as I grow older spiritually. There is a need for more solid food within the fellowship. I am not discounting where I am at in my spiritual walk either. Yet, at lunch with my friends and others, they have echoed the same sentiments. They have helped me crystallize the following thoughts. There does need to be a division though between those who preach and those who teach. You yourself had said on many occasions that there is a need and a difference between teachers and preachers. One could think of it this way, preaching is the focusing on the communication of the doctrine and a teacher is one who focuses on the development of the doctrine. I believe that in our church there is a need for deeper exegesis study that is focused on the development, refinement, and reiteration of our beliefs. This focus would not be on the history or background of a book or character, though this does play a part, but instead deeper focus on those matters which are heady. Take grace for example, most people can understand the basic concept of grace, but when is the last time we had a midweek lesson on it? One that reminded us of its importance in our ongoing relationship with our father, or helped those grow a deeper understanding of it and that reminds us in our daily struggles?
When I say that we need more exegetical study, I mean one that focuses on the interpretation and understanding of a text on the basis of the text itself. The commonly accepted requirements for an exegetical study are analysis of significant words in the text in regard to translation; examination of the general historical and cultural context, confirmation of the limits of the passage, and lastly, examination of the context within the text. A midweek lesson could use the hermeneutic approach and make the lesson more applicable to our lives. Hermeneutics is the practical application of a certain method or theory of interpretation, often revolving around the contemporary relevance of the text in question. I want to encourage you that there are those that are craving the solid food of deeper teachings and lessons. I long for the day where I leave a midweek saying I want more, or I need to go home and look over my notes, or study this out further. I appreciate you taking your time to share with us your thoughts and your openness to what other have to say.
jadalai...let's get some time together to discuss this. I have a different view but want to understand yours better. email me at greenland1@comcast.net
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