Bible
As we get ready to start another year of Disciple Bible Study, I begin to think about Harvey...
Several years ago, on an overseas trip, I met a man named Harvey. Harvey was from southern Indiana, as I remember, and a fairly plain spoken man. One afternoon after we'd been together for several days, he discovered I am a pastor. (I guess my traveling attire didn't look very pastoral!) "Well," Harvey said, looking straight at me, "do you preach the Bible?" I smiled and looked back at him. "Yes, Harvey, I do," I said. "I really don't know what else you would preach about!" Harvey sort of smiled and said, "Well, there's a lot of folks who don't anymore."
Harvey was and is right. And yet, the Bible is often under attack from both within and without the church. Because we struggle to understand some of the things that are in there, or we simply don't agree with some of the things that are in there, we begin to treat it as "just another book." We pick and choose what we like, and we degrade its status as the written Word of God. If the Scriptures, handed down so carefully from generation to generation, are merely "another book," then what do we have to base our lives upon? Anything goes if we can pick and choose what we like. We no longer have a church. We have just another collection of individuals. The Scriptures are what unite us because the words of this book point to Jesus, the living Word of God.
I may just be a simple preacher, and there are things I wrestle with in the Bible. There are things that confuse me, things that frustrate me, things I wish Jesus hadn't said (you know, all that stuff about forgiveness, for one). But yet, the Scriptures stand as a guide, a witness to God's dealing with human beings in the past and a call toward a glorious future. I persevere to understand what's on those pages (and part of the reason I think eternity will be so long is because God will spend all that time straightening us all out!), but I'm unwilling to throw stones at those who see things differently. Being a simple preacher, I continue to study, to pray, and to seek the wisdom contained in these pages.
Beyond that, as a United Methodist, I have vowed to uphold the Book of Discipline, which reminds us on several occasions that the Bible is the primary rule and guide for life. The Bible contains everything necessary for our salvation, and things that are not in there should not be taught. That has been the historic position of the church up to the present day.
I don't worship the Bible. I respect it. I worship the God to whom the Bible points. And I want to shape my life the way he intends. So, Harvey, all these years later, I'm still preaching from the Bible. I'm still on the journey to understand what it means. And I imagine I'll spend all of my life trying to live up to God's standards therein. Thanks for that reminder years ago.
UMC Doctrinal Standards
Several years ago, on an overseas trip, I met a man named Harvey. Harvey was from southern Indiana, as I remember, and a fairly plain spoken man. One afternoon after we'd been together for several days, he discovered I am a pastor. (I guess my traveling attire didn't look very pastoral!) "Well," Harvey said, looking straight at me, "do you preach the Bible?" I smiled and looked back at him. "Yes, Harvey, I do," I said. "I really don't know what else you would preach about!" Harvey sort of smiled and said, "Well, there's a lot of folks who don't anymore."
Harvey was and is right. And yet, the Bible is often under attack from both within and without the church. Because we struggle to understand some of the things that are in there, or we simply don't agree with some of the things that are in there, we begin to treat it as "just another book." We pick and choose what we like, and we degrade its status as the written Word of God. If the Scriptures, handed down so carefully from generation to generation, are merely "another book," then what do we have to base our lives upon? Anything goes if we can pick and choose what we like. We no longer have a church. We have just another collection of individuals. The Scriptures are what unite us because the words of this book point to Jesus, the living Word of God.
I may just be a simple preacher, and there are things I wrestle with in the Bible. There are things that confuse me, things that frustrate me, things I wish Jesus hadn't said (you know, all that stuff about forgiveness, for one). But yet, the Scriptures stand as a guide, a witness to God's dealing with human beings in the past and a call toward a glorious future. I persevere to understand what's on those pages (and part of the reason I think eternity will be so long is because God will spend all that time straightening us all out!), but I'm unwilling to throw stones at those who see things differently. Being a simple preacher, I continue to study, to pray, and to seek the wisdom contained in these pages.
Beyond that, as a United Methodist, I have vowed to uphold the Book of Discipline, which reminds us on several occasions that the Bible is the primary rule and guide for life. The Bible contains everything necessary for our salvation, and things that are not in there should not be taught. That has been the historic position of the church up to the present day.
I don't worship the Bible. I respect it. I worship the God to whom the Bible points. And I want to shape my life the way he intends. So, Harvey, all these years later, I'm still preaching from the Bible. I'm still on the journey to understand what it means. And I imagine I'll spend all of my life trying to live up to God's standards therein. Thanks for that reminder years ago.
UMC Doctrinal Standards
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