salvation

06 What’s the Bible All About… opening number

Posted on by Chadwick and Amy

Participation in musicals is an activity that some of our children find much enjoyment in.  The practice schedule is a long and tiring process that involves the coming together of many people learning their lines… songs… choreography… set design…techie stuff… and orchestral numbers learned by those in the pit.

 

The magic of theater for the audience is that when the lights go down in the room, they are looking forward to being whisked away into another time or place.  If all goes as planned… the play watcher will not even notice the intricate details that have been tended to by the actors, producers and directors.

 

Knick knacks on a bookshelf in the living room scene.

 

A bale of hay tucked away in the corner of the farm scene.

 

The way that the young couple in love holds hands… even if they are not the main characters in the drama.

 

Live theater is an art in the truest sense.

 

As an audience member of a musical… the experience begins… with the curtain closed… and the lights dimmed low.  It is then, that the unseen players… the orchestra members… begin a short number that serves as a medly of the themes to the bigger elements of the story that is about to be lived out in technicolor.  The audience may sit in the dark listening to this musice for a couple minutes… with anticipation… and wonder.  And just as you get settled in for the journey…

 

The curtain opens… Act 1… Scene 1.

 

This experience is quite similar to the way that the Bible opens up for us.  It employs words instead of music… but they are words of poetry… rather than scientific terminology or history…

 

Poetry by nature has a mysterious element that can relay truths that no other genre in literature can produce.  And maybe that is why the authors of Genesis (inspired by God) chose the poetic device… so that when we open the pages to this book… our hearts, souls, and minds would be opened to accept the awe and wonder of mystery.

 

This is probably a nice place to pause… because much debate has taken place over the scientific accuracy of the creation account found in Genesis 1.  I’m not going to spend a lot of time in this debate… because it deviates from the bigger point of the narrative that is about to unfold…

 

How does one argue for the scientific accuracy of a poem?

 

We don’t watch movies like, ‘Transformers’… and then treat them like documentaries…

 

We don’t listen to our favorite romantic songs with a loved one… and then use it as a means for determining our grocery list…

 

When it comes to Genesis chapter 1… there have been many attempts to read it as a history book… determining specifics like how many hours in a day… and how many days in a week… or what happened to the dinosours.

 

Genesis chapter 1… is a poem… designed to set the stage for a creative act… that was good…

 

Genesis chapter 1… has a rhythm and a medley… designed to open our hearts to a good God… who loves us…

 

01 What’s the Bible About… and intro…

Posted on by Chadwick and Amy

We recently discovered that a young person close to us had the desire to know more about the Bible.  Truth be told, it was a slightly jolting moment, in that I (Chadwick) am nearing the completion of masters studies revolving around the Bible, and yet have not had… or been intentional enough about making opportunities for discussion about the scriptures to take place.

 

Predicating circumstances are an issue for that serve as roadblocks for this individual to be open to me for conversations about the Bible.

 

I am a pastor… with a bit of a knack for keeping conversations at a street level of understanding.

 

I am a pastor… who has been through a divorce, and perhaps lost some of that street cred when it comes to surface level understanding of Scripture.

 

I am a pastor…  at heart… none the less…

 

Regardless of the events that have played a role in this moment of time I find myself continuing to understand the Sacred Texts in… I still feel a calling to the Message of Jesus, the Trinity, the Gospel Narrative, humanity and grace… that can be communicated to this world, regardless of where we have been… and the sins that have caused separation between us… and a community of people that have questions that need to be answered.

 

I still feel a sense of responsibility to share what my training and experience has afforded me to share.  I also feel the pressure of a community, that because of our relationship genuinely feels as if though I need to remain silent.  What nearly two years of dealing with that tension has brought us to is this: the Message of a God who loves in tender ways, as well as tough ways hasn’t given up on us yet… and it is God’s story… through our experience… that needs to be told.

 

There are so many facets to God… and no one experience can box it up…

 

And therefore… from this context… we will take some time to communicate who God has been to us… and hopefully, through it all… something universal will match the rhythm of your life… your experience… in a way that allows  you to understand a bit more, this mystery… which is God.

 

We hope you will follow along… especially you… who feels as though the Bible is something you should be able to wrap your heart, soul, and mind around… just a bit more…


You are loved…