A lot of my thoughts over the past few weeks have originated or been developed at a Bible study I have been attending. Wow. That was really a thought in the middle of a conversation. Let me back track.
Back in Newfoundland, I was very busy with university last semester, and I therefore neglected my former Bible study with my youth group at the St. John's Temple. When I moved to Calgary in January, I knew that I would have evenings and weekends mostly free. Now that I would have ample time, I hoped to find a Bible study to attend. Thankfully, there were many options. All of the extended family members with whom I am currently staying took part of small groups at Glenmore Temple. Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Kerry attend one about leadership. My cousin Lindsay attends one on Sundays while my cousin Ashley attends one on Mondays. As if that were not enough, Lindsay's fiancé, Michael, leads a Bible study as well (him being the youth pastor at Glenmore and all). These Bible studies all consisted of people I knew and enjoyed being with. The only problem with these Bible studies was that they had all already started, and I would therefore be missing the first portion of the study.
One day on the way home from work, I seemed to recognize someone at the train station. I suddenly realized that this was Peter, my program director from my Pine Lake days. I quickly ran up to him as my train arrived and fortunately, we were taking the same train. We talked for a while, he told me that he got married to a girl named Amanda since we had last seen each other, and I told him about my work term in Calgary. It was wonderful to see another old friend. Before my stop came, I remembered that I had heard that Peter was leading a Bible study. I asked him about it, and he said that it was starting that night! At this, I got pretty excited. Unfortunately, I had already made plans with Ashley that night, but when I got home, Ashley was too busy with school work, so I went to the Bible Study. Alicia and Courtney (two sisters I also worked with at Pine Lake), and their dad were kind enough to offer me a ride, and I was off to the races.
The Bible study has been going really well. It consists of an hour of watching Survivor (which I have never before seen), and an hour of studying Acts. It has been great to make some new friends there, meet Peter's new wife, and explore some theological concepts.
And so, I return to my initial statement. Because of the Survivor Bible Study, I have been asking a lot of questions about the differences between Biblical times and today; of the Holy Spirit, the church, and individual Christians. Why do we not see the Holy Spirit manifesting itself as tongues of fire as happened at the Pentecost? Why has the structure of the church changed so much from the template of the early church that grew so rapidly? How could the apostles so confidently heal the lame beggar at the temple gates, and why do we not practice radical healing today?
As a side note, I try to stay away from the word 'conclude' when talking about answers to questions. I have only concluded about what is core to my existance - that God is Good, that He created me, that I sinned, that He died in my place, and that by grace through faith, I will now live with Him for eternity. This is what I have concluded. Everything else, I only believe, and all of my beliefs (as opposed to my conclusions) can be changed. Some things I believe strongly, but all of my beliefs are up for my personal questioning.
Having made the distinction between conclusions and beliefs, I believe that the answer to my questions is adaptability. The Holy Spirit works as He knows will be in the best interests of the Kingdom; in a society where the supernatural is viewed as being indicative of power and truth, the Holy Spirit seems to appear in physical forms and in other spectacular ways. In a society showy instant healings are viewed as hoaxes used to scam money, it is unlikely that this is the best route for the communication of the gospel.
This concept is rather new to me, and has been greatly helped along in my mind by Valerie (my youth pastor back home), Peter, Mara, and a book I have been reading called, "Community in Mission: A Salvationist Ecclesiology". The book is a little dry, but it explains why the Salvation Army is what is and does what it does - some of which I have never learned before and really feel should be common knowledge among Salvationists.
So that's my story for today; my third post. I think I'm going to start alternating between these serious posts and silly web games - we'll see.
Back in Newfoundland, I was very busy with university last semester, and I therefore neglected my former Bible study with my youth group at the St. John's Temple. When I moved to Calgary in January, I knew that I would have evenings and weekends mostly free. Now that I would have ample time, I hoped to find a Bible study to attend. Thankfully, there were many options. All of the extended family members with whom I am currently staying took part of small groups at Glenmore Temple. Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Kerry attend one about leadership. My cousin Lindsay attends one on Sundays while my cousin Ashley attends one on Mondays. As if that were not enough, Lindsay's fiancé, Michael, leads a Bible study as well (him being the youth pastor at Glenmore and all). These Bible studies all consisted of people I knew and enjoyed being with. The only problem with these Bible studies was that they had all already started, and I would therefore be missing the first portion of the study.
One day on the way home from work, I seemed to recognize someone at the train station. I suddenly realized that this was Peter, my program director from my Pine Lake days. I quickly ran up to him as my train arrived and fortunately, we were taking the same train. We talked for a while, he told me that he got married to a girl named Amanda since we had last seen each other, and I told him about my work term in Calgary. It was wonderful to see another old friend. Before my stop came, I remembered that I had heard that Peter was leading a Bible study. I asked him about it, and he said that it was starting that night! At this, I got pretty excited. Unfortunately, I had already made plans with Ashley that night, but when I got home, Ashley was too busy with school work, so I went to the Bible Study. Alicia and Courtney (two sisters I also worked with at Pine Lake), and their dad were kind enough to offer me a ride, and I was off to the races.
The Bible study has been going really well. It consists of an hour of watching Survivor (which I have never before seen), and an hour of studying Acts. It has been great to make some new friends there, meet Peter's new wife, and explore some theological concepts.
And so, I return to my initial statement. Because of the Survivor Bible Study, I have been asking a lot of questions about the differences between Biblical times and today; of the Holy Spirit, the church, and individual Christians. Why do we not see the Holy Spirit manifesting itself as tongues of fire as happened at the Pentecost? Why has the structure of the church changed so much from the template of the early church that grew so rapidly? How could the apostles so confidently heal the lame beggar at the temple gates, and why do we not practice radical healing today?
As a side note, I try to stay away from the word 'conclude' when talking about answers to questions. I have only concluded about what is core to my existance - that God is Good, that He created me, that I sinned, that He died in my place, and that by grace through faith, I will now live with Him for eternity. This is what I have concluded. Everything else, I only believe, and all of my beliefs (as opposed to my conclusions) can be changed. Some things I believe strongly, but all of my beliefs are up for my personal questioning.
Having made the distinction between conclusions and beliefs, I believe that the answer to my questions is adaptability. The Holy Spirit works as He knows will be in the best interests of the Kingdom; in a society where the supernatural is viewed as being indicative of power and truth, the Holy Spirit seems to appear in physical forms and in other spectacular ways. In a society showy instant healings are viewed as hoaxes used to scam money, it is unlikely that this is the best route for the communication of the gospel.
This concept is rather new to me, and has been greatly helped along in my mind by Valerie (my youth pastor back home), Peter, Mara, and a book I have been reading called, "Community in Mission: A Salvationist Ecclesiology". The book is a little dry, but it explains why the Salvation Army is what is and does what it does - some of which I have never learned before and really feel should be common knowledge among Salvationists.
So that's my story for today; my third post. I think I'm going to start alternating between these serious posts and silly web games - we'll see.
David whispered at 6:24 p.m.
1 Comments:
we need to finish that conversation :)
Post a Comment
<< Home