Confusion and Clarity

Tomorrow morning I teach our Adult SS class again. I have taught it many times over the past 10 years at our church. But the last two times have been a bit frustrating for me. Not because of the class - they are awesome and really a great cross section of people that I love "being the church" with. And not because I am unprepared - I have been working through these ideas and concepts for the past 7 years and have spent a lot of time thinking, praying, and reflecting on them in light of Scripture. My frustration is in what happens between me and the class. I am having trouble clearly communicating what it is that I am trying to say. What I mean by the words I choose is not what people are interpreting from the words they hear. For someone who communicates for a living that is a pretty frustrating place to be.

My focus is on how we read the Bible. The way to come to the text often shapes what you will see there. I have a friend who once told me that if the only tool you have is a hammer then most of what you see will look like a nail. When we approach Scripture as a repository of promises and blessings, that is often all we find there. When it looks like a rule book to us, that's all it will be. When it's a complicated theological puzzle, we can spend hours and hours trying to make the pieces fit, almost to the point of missing the picture. And if it's a story...? (For more on this you really should read The Blue Parakeet by Scot McKnight. I wish I could get him to come teach the class!)

I think we need to read the Bible all of these ways, but the best way is to read it as story. To enter the story of what God is doing in the world and just soak in it for a while. To strap on Joseph's sandals, go fishing with Peter, preaching with Paul, to the tomb with Mary, and just let it impact us like we've never heard it before.

That's what I am trying to communicate in this class. But I'm failing. So tomorrow we're back at it. That's what I do. I try to help us all listen to the text...myself included. And sometimes what I need is a good dose of frustration. It's the spiritual castor oil. Tastes horrible, not sure why we need it, but good for what ails you.