By the time most people get to the age where they can take control of their faith, many ministers and lay leaders assume that people will have a basic knowledge of Bible stories, characters and the general time-line of biblical activity. But what does assuming do?….Yep thats right, you would just make an ass of yourself.
More and more, in my careers of youth and college ministry (as well as meeting adults who are coming to church for the first time) I am encountering people that have no idea of anything remotely resembling a biblical world-view, and it doesn’t bother me.
How many times have you heard a belief come out of someone's mouth that absolutely blew you away? I remember being taught “where black people come from” as a child, with the teacher using the story of Noah and his sons seeing him naked and drunk. You have to admit, the more conservative side of evangelicalism has a knack for teaching people some pretty wild stuff and claiming it is in the bible, or interpretations that lack any amount of substance.
When I first started teaching multiple bible studies a week for my church, I was pulling my hair out, because I was finding it impossible to teach anything without having to do at least 30min of back story. The solution was close at hand, because I spent over a year working in a ministry that practices a more narrative form of communication in bible study. These methods worked to a point, but I was still dealing with 14 year olds whose main scriptural influence was specials on the History Channel. The only frustrating part was that I was worried that my non-orthodox methods of bible study were going to get me in trouble.
Fast-forwarding almost 2 years later and I have settled into a pretty good groove. One night a week is a more low-key study, with as much back and forth dialogue as I can muster. The last few months we have been talking about Israel and their desire for a king. This way we are doing some serious back story regarding King David, which always factored in whenever I didn’t have the time to explain it. We just finished a year going through the gospel of Mark on Sunday mornings. This was more in-depth and slower, and allowed me to hit key points regarding gospel, the kingdom of God and the person of Christ. We just started looking at the entire NT, going through the basic points of a book each week.
So why do I enjoy this? I think it is allowing me to teach these kids (and adults at times) a way of reading the bible and interacting with it that goes far beyond the traditional evangelical view of the “quiet time”. Another small group is going through Daniel chapter by chapter this summer, and I am teaching them some really basic methods of inductive Bible study.
The Biblical Story is one that shapes the church to its very core, and is so much more than an instructional manual. Teaching in this way, I end up with folks that know how to read and think more than them just hearing bible stories and learning moral lessons.
More and more the church is going to have to learn to operate in this manner, and dealing with people that don’t know or understand the Bible. For to long we have taken for granted the idea that everyone knows Bible stories and heard them as a child and then when they grow up we teach them about what to do and not to do. I think that we have lost our story to a point, and it is inside the classic actions of the church that we will recover the characteristics of the Church. I am not one that believes good doctrine will fix everything, but I do believe that a group of people that are steeped in the teachings of Christ and in the traditions of His Church will dramatically impact anyone they come into contact with.
Well-written, very good points. I first saw "back-tracking" as a huge turn-off of ministry, but now I relish it...not in the "Yes, now I get to erase your memory and program you the way I want you" way, but more in the "Yes, now I get to help you re-set your foundation and teach you the tools you should have been given before 'answers' were first thrust upon you" way.
Posted by: Chuck | June 10, 2009 at 12:52 PM
This is an important post, Chad. You have encountered the fundamental challenge facing the Church in the West - the actual loss of Christian memory in culture. As you are discovering this creates an amazing opportunity for the Scriptures to be unleashed anew. Frankly both insiders and outsiders to knowledge of the Scriptures need to (re)align themselves with its message.
I spend most of my time thinking about the very issue that you have touched on. Glad that you are on the team. May your tribe increase.
Posted by: Brian Russell | June 10, 2009 at 01:34 PM
Yes, yes, and yes. The last church in which I worked had a slew of people who thought they knew what the bible had to say but when I started going through the narrative with students I found that the adult volunteers were as blown away by the text as the students were. They couldn't believe how different the story actually was from the propositional truths they had been hammered with when they were growing up. The church must be immersed in and reliving the story all the time! This is what changes who we are. This post brings up some important questions about how we "use" scripture in the church. I'm still trying to work this out in my own mind...
Posted by: Eric Crisp | June 11, 2009 at 02:01 AM