Links and a short rant

First, if you haven't already (or even if you have), go here and write my brother a note of encouragement as he waits for all his cancer to go away and never come back. He's been getting lots of attention in these first few days since we got the news, but people are fickle and selfish and busy, so they might forget to keep doing it. I'm giving you the job. Don't blow it.

Thanks.

Second, go here to listen to what might be the best series on marriage, sex, and dating that you've ever heard. Seriously, this is some of the greatest "relationship" teaching I've heard in a while. If you don't have time for all of it, just check out the one on dating (3-30-08). You're thinking, "A series on dating? So what?" But I'm pretty sure you ain't heard nothing like this. My boy Thad (pictured below with me and our sons) puts the theological, exegetical smackdown on all the "what's the big deal?" thinking we do in Christian America. If you have kids and you wonder how you're supposed to handle this topic, you really do need to listen to this. That's all I'll say, lest I over-sell it.

Tangent:

By the way, why are some Christians so against topical teaching? I've heard this thing about "expositional teaching is the only RIGHT way to preach the Bible," and honestly I'm just really puzzled by it. Listen, I think expositional, verse-by-verse teaching is great. I think it's probably one of the most beneficial and "safe" ways to examine the scripture. But I don't understand why it's seen as the only right way.

If "all scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching," (and it is), then it shouldn't matter if we approach it, at times, contextually and topically, so long as we do that in the Spirit, with sobriety and caution. What if a church body is going thru something that has nothing to do with Leviticus chapter 9, but has everything to do with 1 Corinthians 4 and Matthew 18 (or whatever)? Too bad, we're studying verse by verse, and we're in Lev. 9, so we're going to ignore our people and their real-life struggles, even though there are really great passages in other sections of the Bible that speak to what the whole church is thinking about and dealing with right now. Seriously, somebody really thinks this is how we shepherd people?

That just doesn't sound like shepherding to me. It sounds like a something an uncaring professor with a lesson plan might do, but it doesn't sound much like a pastor.

There's just something really beautiful about watching the people of God closely and teaching them in direct response to the things that they are dealing with and thinking about and walking thru and living. There's something alive and interactive about saying, "many of our people seem to be at this stage of their life with Jesus, so we're going to teach them, right now, what the Bible says about that."

Or how about this:

"Lots of our people are trying to find the will of God as it relates to... dating or marriage or sex or culture or sin or money or freedom or idolatry or media or divorce or adoption or sickness or prayer or suffering or missions or church-planting, etc" (I could go on for days with the list, but you get the idea).

"So let's teach them what God says about that topic."

That would be topical teaching. I mean, I guess we could ignore the fact that many of our people -- who are voluntarily devoting themselves to our teaching and leadership, in accordance with scripture -- really want to know God's powerful, life-changing truth as it relates to areas of their real-life circumstances. I suppose we could turn a blind eye and an unlistening ear to the people whom God has entrusted to us and say, "no, what's most important is getting to the next verse in our study."

But I'd just rather deal with today's concerns today. In those moments, I'd rather teach in direct response to the current theme/concern/topic they are living in.

How, again, is this kind of thing less Spirit-led and pastoral and responsible than going thru the Bible verse by verse? How does it show a less fervent love of scripture? How does it show a less passionate affection for God's people and His Church?

Did I mention that I'm very puzzled by this?

I'm just thinking about the logic at work here. If we really think that we should only teach the Bible expositionally, then it seems to me that we shouldn't have any conferences, books, videos, or pamphlets that teach it any other way. We shouldn't have any kind of Christian media that conveys the biblical perspective on something as it relates to a certain "topic." We shouldn't have any retreats or events where anybody preaches anything in the context of a "topic;" no Sunday School classes or home groups where we study a Christian book or theme. No Christian marriage conferences, no "Experiencing God" or apologetics or "Christian Worldview"; no Beth Moore or Passion or whatever.

Verse by verse only. If that's the only right way, then it must be the only right way all the time.

Or is the Sunday morning pulpit the only place where this applies? If so, now I'm really puzzled.

In a world where people hardly know the Bible anyway, the last thing we need to be doing is telling folks that studying the Bible thoroughly, earnestly, and intensely is only righteous and profitable if they do it using the method that we approve.

In a world where Christ-followers are desperately trying to battle against the world's lies and the enemy's schemes, it seems to me that it makes sense to bring up specific topics and teach on them, in light of The Kingdom, and in the moments that bring them to that light.

Should we teach expositionally as well? Sure, when it makes sense to do so. But the moment we start exalting man-made study methods over real-life, flesh-and-blood, Spirit-led interaction and instruction in the Body of Christ, we're making a big mistake. Go ahead and teach expositionally. We at Community Church will do it as well, when/as the Spirit leads. But don't tell people that's the only way. Don't start criticizing churches and pastors for leading responsively, sensitively, and in-the-Spirit. If they're not leading in those ways, that's a different story. But we should never assume that a "topical teaching" is always reckless or man-centered. That's just too easy.

Sorry, this came out of nowhere. It's just that I've been so moved, as we've been in this topical study, by the power of scripture (there's loads and loads of it in these sermons) and what it has to say to us, and I recently came across something that implied that we're wrong for studying/teaching it this way. To put it mildly, I was a tad perturbed.

OK, am I going to get killed for this one?

Either way, go listen to that teaching.