Reading Scripture via Technology | Viewing Scripture, Part 2

My last post discussed how we can accurately view and teach Scripture.  If you didn’t read it, you can read it here.  There is a second part to my thoughts tonight. I’d also like your thoughts on this one.

One classmate responded to the question with a decent answer on how it is dangerous to add our own thoughts to Scripture, which is good.  However she then stated, “As bible teachers we are under a divine mandate to teach the Word of God in spirit and in truth and the best way to do that is to teach from the tool itself.  Many today use the iPad, cell phones and other technological ways to read God’s Word which is ok, but I still believe that as believers we should never replace the hard copy of the bible for anything else.”

Ummm What?!

So this is how I responded.. Too harsh??

I feel that I must disagree with the full statement that “as believers we should never replace the hard copy of the bible for anything else.”

I do agree that there is something sentimental and nostalgic about holding a Bible in our hands. It is good for us to hold books and to underline and flip pages; to touch the Words of God. I personally prefer this over technology. However, at the end of the day, the Gospel is the Gospel and whether it’s being read on a computer, iPad, ancient scroll, or hard bound book, God’s Word is still alive and active in people’s lives. The same is said of reading Scripture in different languages. One cannot make the jump to say that if scripture isn’t read in the original Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic, then it has been replaced. Sure sometimes the weight of each word might change, but God is still speaking through and to His people. We cannot confine God to English, when there are thousands of other languages in the world. God is a God above language and above paper and pen, screen and typed letters. This makes our relationship with God so personal and unique – He longs to know us where we are at.

I feel like the “technology war” for Scripture is the same way. I think that God is still pleased that His children are reading His letters if it’s on a tablet or if it is from pieces of paper bound together. He is not bound by little boxes in our minds or to pages or scrolling websites. Each person is different, and some find it more personal to read from their phones. This could be a benefit when people are on the go. There are also useful tools coming out all the time that help in studying, teaching, and learning the Scriptures.

I still prefer my paper Bible, but I’m not comfortable confining God to a statement saying that God cannot speak to people in different forms, when the Words are the same, and God is still moving in our lives.

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Thoughts??

Viewing Scripture, Part 1

Working on my Master’s courses tonight, I was faced with an interesting question, and wanted to post the question for your opinions and wanted to post my response, also for your reactions.  It’s a question that church leaders often are faced with and wrestle with.  Hopefully it does not strike you as too difficult, but if it does, maybe you can use this as an opportunity to learn.

The topic was giving the Bible the prominence that it deserves as teachers of the Word.  The exact wording was:
What can we do in our churches to give the Bible the prominence it deserves and how can we ensure that our Bible teachers use the Bible as the text and not just the curriculum guide?

Here’s my opinion:
In our churches, there are a few ways that we could give the Bible prominence as we teach people.  For starters, we can believe that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God.  God spoke the words and they do not contradict each other and are completely true. As leaders, if we do not hold this key truth then what we are teaching will reflect that.  As we believe this and teach this to our congregations, we put more emphasis on Scripture and its importance in speaking to us.  We allow Scripture to speak through us in what is taught and in how we act.  It does not need to be added to and it is not appropriate to take bits of scripture to fit our own agendas.

Secondly, we can teach from the Bible.  There are several good books in Christian circles, but the Gospel can stand on its own.  Scripture speaks for itself enough that it does not need to be choked out by human thoughts.  Emphasizing Scripture as the curriculum instead of a topic would allow for teachers to use the Bible as text instead just the curriculum guide.  It isn’t bad to do book studies every now and then, but if that is the only thing being taught, it is time to get back to Scripture.

I also think that if we allow Bible teachers, such as Sunday school teachers or small group leaders, the freedom to pace their class, Scripture could be relied on more.  Some groups need to camp out two verses at a time while others prefer the entire chapter.  Each group has different dynamics and when church leadership constricts every group to the same method, despite differences that may work better for a group, teachers are more apt to see the curriculum guide as more important instead of using Scripture as text.

Finally, if we instill in our churches the weight of the gospel and the importance of a personal relationship with God through His word, Scripture will take the prominent place it deserves.  If the people of the church place the Bible as a lifeline, priority in their personal lives, and the teachers allow for Scripture to penetrate every aspect of their lives, then the standard of prominence for the Bible will rise.

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Thoughts?

Tea, Lemonade and Cupcakes!

Last Friday, our 6th grade girls got together for a little tea party! I am so excited to have these girls in our student ministry now! It’s been a blast getting to know them over the past few weeks! I’m looking forward to all that God is going to do in the lives of these girls over the next few years.

I thought of no better way to kick-off their time in our ministry than with a tea party! (We substituted real tea with some raspberry tea and pink lemonade!) What a great time we had of being girly, silly, and laughing so much. The goal of the night was to make the girls feel special, girly, and like the princesses that they are. I feel like we were definitely girly and we talked about how much we are loved and valued in God’s eyes.

Here are a few pictures from some games we played, a photo booth, and the giant cupcakes (thanks to Dimples bakery) we ate!

Who doesn’t love 4 boxes of cupcakes?!

These lovely ladies are a few of our 9th graders who were a tremendous help setting up and cleaning up Friday. It is always good to see older students getting involved and investing in younger girls.

Another great night, and another reminder of how blessed I am to serve these girls!

The Plunge

Well, I finally did it. I said goodbye to simplicity and comfort and frustration and finally jumped into the world of smartphones. Hello team iPhone! I’ve always tried to keep my life as clutter free as possible and stood my ground when all my students tries to convince me to come out of the dark ages. But I’ve given in. And you know, it feels pretty nice. I’m actually typing this post on the phone right now. The wonders of the Internet! This little box can do all sorts of amazing things!

Here’s the challenge I face: keeping the simplicity.
I know that The Lord calls us to remove distractions, live more simply, but in today’s world we don’t always do that. We get busy and add apps and tv shows, more after school activities and turn the music up loud. And sometimes in doing all that, we lose the wonder. So as good as The Lord is, He gave me the right words this morning. I was doing my devotional (I’m going through Ann Voskamp’s 1000 Gifts devotional) and this morning’s was titled “Urgent Grace.” She talks about how God gives us time, but so often we don’t have time for God. She goes on to talk about how being in a hurry can often lead to regret because we miss the moment we’re in due to worry over the next moments. Hello! being fully present in each moment, each conversation is so important!
She then says,

“Life is so urgent it necessitates living slow.”

Because life is fleeting, we must take in the moments and be slow, reverent. In Christ, time is not running out. We lose time when we don’t sit before Him to fill. Because in the filling, we gain time.

“We stand on the brink of eternity. So there is enough time. Time to breathe deep and time to see real. Time to laugh long, time to give God glory and to rest deep and to sing joy.”

What words I needed to hear again and again. I’m so fast to neglect spending time at Jesus’ feet, in His Word when life gets busy. But the reality is that when I begin each day with filling myself with Him, I gain time and perspective and all the rest falls into place.

So as I enter the world of smartphones, may I – may we – not lose sight of being present. Of giving attention to conversation instead of virtual social media.
May The Lord fill us as we take this urgent life slow.