My years of reading, studying just trying to get through the Bible has been a work in progress. I have tried the “through the Bible in a year” approach ( which I personally think is the worst possible approach you can take, I call it the fire hydrant approach) which leads to tons of frustration, I have tried book studies, surveys and so on. Even tried pleasing denominational seminary instructors through studies while attending seminary. About a year ago I found a couple of great site’s one being the En-Geti Resource Center. Learning to study the text within the Jewish culture and historical context of the era they were written has helped to bring the text alive in a way like I have never experienced them before for my personal growth. Here is a great article titled The Bible is like Star Trek that helps unfold my thought a little better.
peace
Whenever I have the privileged of getting into a faith discussion with someone who is new to the concept/idea of being a disciple of Christ, there are two books that I highly recommend along side of a good study Bible. Simply Christian by N.T. Wright and Sitting At The Feet of Rabbi Jesus by Ann Sprangler. Simply Christian was a breath of fresh air in giving me the desire to really think about what it is that I believe. It is the kind of critical thought that surrounds scripture and not just organizational thoughts that we all as believers/disciples should participate in. I think N.T. Wright is one of the best theologians today. SATFORJ has given me eyes into the historical context of scripture and brought me along side of those who lived and began the early discipleship process of Christ. From an understanding of true discipline that surrounded those who believed with every once of their existence… it became an eye opener. Lets just say I wasn’t taught this in seminary.
I am not the smartest seminary student you will meet, but when these two books came into my life my scripture reading and study brought the story more to life than ever before.
peace
It will be 20 years ago next month that I started this process of “following Christ”. The first 10-15 years was all about attaining information to allow me to better debate and defend what I was trying to understand. In the church culture I grew in this was very much the way you showed your “walk” was by the amount of info or theology you had collected. However, I have come to realize that nothing further is what being a disciple of Christ is about. This collecting of theology did a little more than confuse and help eliminate the need for "faith". For me, its duplicating the way Christ treated people unconditionally will show far more of what it means to be a follower of Him than cornering someone in a debate or putting them in a defensive mode. Please don’t get me wrong…knowledge of what I believe has helped me to grow stronger in my relationship with Him…loosing the desire to debate and defend helps me stay in AWE of who He is.
just a thought
Mitch
I wanted to pass this post on from my good friend and a great teacher Tim Grandstaff. Learning what discipleship should really look and feel like.
enjoy and peace
Wanted to share this from a book I am reading…
“Discipleship has always been about a process. As Christians we can become addicted to stories of miraculous change, believing that God is listening to our prayers, every sinful urge we feel will be healed immediately. Contrast this with the record of the Gospels. Think how often the disciples messed up. While the Gospels record many instances of Jesus instantly healing people’s illnesses, we know of not even one instance in which he simply waved his hand to immediately fix an ugly habit for one of his disciples. Instead, he simply kept teaching and correcting them, giving them time to grow. ”
How is your process coming?
peace
17 years ago Dianna and I decided we wanted children. So the journey began…after a while of trying to do it on our own we began fertility work that would last over 5 years. Once we realized our options were thinning out pretty fast we looked at each other and said “lets adopted”. We had no idea what that meant other than we would exchange money for a child. Little did we know just how that would change our world. After almost 2 years of “the process” God made our dream come true. Alexandra “Allie” Lynn Moyer became our daughter and made us some of the happiest parents in the world.
I can never put into words the joy that Allie has brought to our lives as we have just celebrated her 11th birthday. Allie is the care taker of the family and is just truly amazing. She has become a awesome older sister to her sis Hanna and brother Austin. Allie we love you with all our hearts and could not even imagine our lives without you in it. Happy Birthday baby.
dad
