Sometimes it felt like a chorus. The same concerned warning coming from all sides – church, friends, even students. I understood their concern and even, deep down, shared it.
Don’t just learn about God . . .
The great danger in studying theology, it seems, is the tendency to examine, measure, and turn God over and inside out until he is fixed in a formulated phrase, sprawling on a pin. But no one thought to warn me about the other possibility, one I myself could hardly have expected.
No one warned me that I might have to fight to maintain my composure in a 3-hour lecture. No one thought to mention that, if you give your mind and heart over to the study of the intersection of the Timeless One with time, he might be more than you can bear. No one even suggested that such an endeavour could possibly result in the heart and the mind being overwhelmed and stuck dumb with wonder at the Holy One of Israel.
No one warned me about Jesus.
That may sound surprising considering I’ve literally grown up in my faith, in the same way I’ve grown up in my own skin. But the great gift of studying is that, the more I learn about Jesus, the more I study (or am forced to study for an exam) just what he was on about, the more captivating he becomes.
We get used to saying the great creedal statements, “the only begotten son of the father; God from God, light from light, true God of true God . . . “ and we know that we know these things, these great Truths . . . but to stand in the presence of the One who fashioned the ever expanding universe with just a word, the One who causes mountains to tremble, kingdoms to rise and fall, the great and terrible Holy One, often seems somewhat distant from our crafted creeds, clappy choruses and even our careful exegesis.
But every Wednesday I get to go to a New Testament survey course and I am told stories I have heard my entire life. I am told stories I have told to others. I am told stories that I have never heard in this way before. Every week, it seems as though I become a Christian all over again as I sit in awe, overwhelmed by excitement and passion at the great and terrible Jesus. I sit in wonder as my heart whispers, trembling, “truly, this man is the Son of God.”
Such a statement is probably too simple a thing for most of you to expect us to learn at “bible college.” Shouldn’t we have already known this? Yes. And No. The Incarnation, that the God of the cosmos became a human so that we might be restored as His image bearers and be indwelled by that very God, is something we only ever half-guess, only ever half-understand.
This is why my greatest struggle is to not burst into tears two hours in to a three-hour lecture. I am surprised and amazed again by Jesus, the Holy One, who is filled with compassion for us, for me. It is far too great and glorious a thing for my feeble mind to grasp. And it is truly wonderful.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Sunday, January 21, 2007
It's time to integrate
integrate v. 1 combine (parts) into a whole
Our brief time at Regent College has taught us the importance of adapting a holistic approach to life. This means abandoning the unhelpful distinction between our ‘Christian’ and our ‘other’ lives, and moving to a place where study is worship, worship is play, and play is work. This is why at Regent you will find courses on Christianity and Capitalism, Jesus in Literature and Everyday (not just Sunday) Spirituality. This ‘summer’ (July/August) courses won’t just be offered in a lecture theatre, but the teaching and learning will be integrated into Vancouver’s poor Downtown Eastside and on a sail boat amongst Vancouver’s Gulf Islands. The integration reaches beyond the classroom to Regents’ art gallery, kitchen, and the new, environmentally friendly wind tower that is about to be unveiled (more to blog on this!). Of course, when you study with people from six continents and a range of church backgrounds a picture of an integrated church emerges, and this further shapes and challenges the idea of living holistically as a Christian.
We have had several emails from people asking about what our experience here has been like. While we were active on our blog toward the end of last year, it focused primarily on one aspect of our life in Vancouver, rather than sharing about the rain, slush, snow, wind, and ice that make up the rest of our lives (or maybe it only seems that way in January).
So for those who are keen to share in our journey a little more, we are aiming to blog more “holistically.” We will continue to write seriously, but also to share with you more of the people, places, ponderings, pictures and possibilities that we experience here in Vancouver. For a fully holistic experience to be possible, we of course need you who have shared in and helped shape our whole journey to be a part of it, so please add your comments.
We don’t yet think that we have even fully grasped (or lived out) what it means to live wholly in Christ. We hope this blog will be a start, and that the process of learning to live holistically will bring honour and glory to our Lord as we journey.
Our brief time at Regent College has taught us the importance of adapting a holistic approach to life. This means abandoning the unhelpful distinction between our ‘Christian’ and our ‘other’ lives, and moving to a place where study is worship, worship is play, and play is work. This is why at Regent you will find courses on Christianity and Capitalism, Jesus in Literature and Everyday (not just Sunday) Spirituality. This ‘summer’ (July/August) courses won’t just be offered in a lecture theatre, but the teaching and learning will be integrated into Vancouver’s poor Downtown Eastside and on a sail boat amongst Vancouver’s Gulf Islands. The integration reaches beyond the classroom to Regents’ art gallery, kitchen, and the new, environmentally friendly wind tower that is about to be unveiled (more to blog on this!). Of course, when you study with people from six continents and a range of church backgrounds a picture of an integrated church emerges, and this further shapes and challenges the idea of living holistically as a Christian.
We have had several emails from people asking about what our experience here has been like. While we were active on our blog toward the end of last year, it focused primarily on one aspect of our life in Vancouver, rather than sharing about the rain, slush, snow, wind, and ice that make up the rest of our lives (or maybe it only seems that way in January).
So for those who are keen to share in our journey a little more, we are aiming to blog more “holistically.” We will continue to write seriously, but also to share with you more of the people, places, ponderings, pictures and possibilities that we experience here in Vancouver. For a fully holistic experience to be possible, we of course need you who have shared in and helped shape our whole journey to be a part of it, so please add your comments.
We don’t yet think that we have even fully grasped (or lived out) what it means to live wholly in Christ. We hope this blog will be a start, and that the process of learning to live holistically will bring honour and glory to our Lord as we journey.
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