Redactors or Reactors? November 25, 2009
Posted by bdennert in School, Spirituality, Theology and Ministry.add a comment
Something that has fascinated me for years is the “Synoptic Problem,” i.e. why Matthew, Mark, and Luke look so similar–but also so different. Scholars usually posit a dependence on Mark by Matthew and Luke, with their use of another source (either each other or a lost text). This leads to redaction criticism–how each author edited the texts and crafted the stories; if you will, how each evangelist “preached the truth of the story.” One of my professors has brought in the question, “Why did they change it so much?” That is, did they simply want to do something a little different or did they react to what was previously said? While I do not buy as much of the conflict in Early Christianity as others (including him), believing more of the Bible as “One gospel, many witnesses”–different writers as different “denominations” of the same Christian truth if you will–it is an interesting idea. Did Matthew seek to fix/make Mark’s teaching more correct? Did he did this with Luke or Q? We seem to know why he did this in regard to grammar, but what about bigger theological issues? As an evangelical, I believe that this would have happened under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, perhaps the Spirit seeking to correct misunderstandings that might arise, and that this is still the apostolic deposit of truth for the church, so I am not losing my faith as I talk about human agency, but this is some of the things that I am considering as I interact more and more with the gospels.
Crosswalk Righteousness November 21, 2009
Posted by bdennert in Humor, Spirituality.1 comment so far
My self-righteous side has been acting up lately (or at least I have been catching it). Beyond the self-righteousness that I can have for using public transportation most days, I have found myself feeling very self-righteous at crosswalks. Here are the samples of my self-righteous thoughts: Many people will bolt out when the “don’t walk” hand is flashing, and then find themselves still in the middle of the intersection. I never do that–if I get in the crosswalk when it is flashing, I get out of it before it turns red. And then there are the people who will cross even if the light is red because they have checked and no cars are coming. They must think that they are so important, have some place important to go, so these lights only partially apply to them; they are really just indications of how safe it is cross and you can cross whenever you would like to. I would only do this if there is absolutely no one coming and it is at night when there are less people around because…well, because I am a better person than them. And don’t even get me started about the people who walk so slow but in a group so you can’t get around them….don’t they recognize that there are other people in the world.
Look at me–aren’t I something? Yeah, a self-righteous sinner who thinks himself in the right almost all the time. And this is just a partial glimpse into my self-righteous heart. Of course, I go to church and confess my sins….may I learn to overcome my sin during the week as well.
Walking in the city November 13, 2009
Posted by bdennert in Random.add a comment
I have enjoyed walking in the city the past few months–and the sights I see (rivers, towers, and cabs…oh my!). Highlights have included Hostess giving away cupcakes at Union, seeing a street saxophone player smoking between sets, and the day the Tribune guy asked for change from the Sun-Times guy. I get uncomfortable passing homeless beggars (should I give them money? buy them food?) and street preachers (should I be ashamed? encouraging? take them aside and help them think through how people are viewing their “ministry” –I am more judgmental of them than the homeless but that might be a future post). There is one guy I like passing on the street, though; he is the “good morning, have a great day” guy. That’s all he says in a nice voice. It seems like he is begging, probably homeless. But he doesn’t overtly ask for money, all he does (at least to me) is encourage me to have a good day, to be thankful in the morning that I have made it safely. I wish I was more like that guy, who might have nothing and many problems but still says good morning. I am sad when I cross the other side or he is not there, as I don’t get that reminder.
Good morning, have a great day!
The world of academia November 5, 2009
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So, I am knee deep into the academic grind (hence the lack of posts) and I am trying to sort through all sorts of questions (my classes have raised some good ones-maybe I will address some later) but something that I keep coming back to is, “Where my place is in the academic world?” and “What it does for my soul?” It is interesting being in the theology department at an academic school (not seminary) in general, as being a “Bible scholar” has the pretensions of spirituality without any of the substance. That is, we engage in discussion of the text (kind of, as often it is more of what I would call “behind the text”….but that’s not the point of what I am saying here right now) but we don’t really engage in discussion of the subject, which is the spiritual life. We don’t pray. We trust our own understandings and pride ourselves on our knowledge and credentials. We look at what texts say as opposed to what texts mean; we seek to deconstruct texts to get at the original form or meaning, discuss them, discuss how they might have been shifted, but then make no consideration on whether this is right or wrong for us today (history with no implications). And being in at a Catholic school, we can talk about our differences (I am the token Protestant) and laugh and talk about how it affects the questions that we ask and not whether the differences are ones of substance or style (I just coined that….I like it, I might keep it in my expression inventory). In many ways, we end up putting ourselves over the text (or at least our methodologies) without what I would really say is listening to the text (the message of it). And the question I continually ask (myself) is, “Can we even read the Bible this way? Can it be read in a context outside of the context of faith (not discounting “Bible as literature” classes but maybe nuancing them, as in you can only understand the Bible when you consider its place of faith)?” This divide didn’t really happen until the 20th century (and even then not complete) as pastors were the ones who were the scholars (isn’t it interesting that now pastors are more inclined to be “businessmen” when they used to be teachers and professors, including some of the best Greek scholars while now pastors almost pride themselves on not being Greek scholars and then trusting the authority of others on the subject…but now I once again move into a different issue, discussions of the church and the anti-intellectualism or divide that comes between church and the mind.)
Not sure if all that makes sense, but those are the sort of questions with which I struggle right now, as well as the constant wondering if I have to sell my soul to the liberals in order to succeed in scholarship (and what exactly constitutes selling my soul and leaving my convictions and ideas). I have been growing and considering new ideas, challenging old paradigms of thinking, considering new ways and methods on their own, and getting a better grasp on much of the Synoptic Gospel literature (particularly John the Baptist). So on many levels, it is worth it, but sometimes I wonder what has happened to me, to the study of the Bible, and to the church.
Losing Focus…. October 16, 2009
Posted by bdennert in Education, Spirituality.add a comment
The past week and a half or so has been a struggle gaining focus in my life and academic work. In some ways, I am being sucked into academia, being more concerned at times about work as opposed to knowing God and making Him known to the world through my studies. However, I have a chance today to teach at City Seminary, this Sunday with the kiddos at church (3 years old-1st grade…..wish me good providence!), and in a few weeks to preach again in Watseka. I hope these will keep me grounded as I had been warned as suggested. It is refreshing to go to a Bible study or talk with a friend about the true meaning of Scripture, may I continue to do this as I engage in this academic journey, remembering who called me here.
Educational Ministries of the Church October 4, 2009
Posted by bdennert in Church, Ministry, Spirituality.add a comment
I did a guest lecture at City Seminary (a non-traditional seminary in Chicago that our denomination sponsors, part of the LAMP training program) back in August on the “Pastor as Teacher.” In this lecture, through the discussion with the gentlemen, I uncovered 5 reasons why I think that church struggles in its educational ministries today. Since this is a passion of mine, I might begin to try to understand these things more and help the church to overcome these. Here they are:
1. It takes hard work
Teaching is much more difficult than we think. It takes a lot of time to understand the material, to understand the students, and to understand how to bring the material to students. Most people don’t have the time or the training to do these effectively, so they resort to whatever works for them, what has worked in the past, or whatever is easiest (lecture, information dump, etc.).
2. True gospel teaching confronts our own hearts and the world
We like to be liked. However, when I teach the grace of God that teaches us to say no to ungodliness, I begin to have to say things that I do not like to hear and things that the listener will not like to hear. Since teaching is life-change, by definition the teaching of the Bible is threatening to us. We need this…but we recoil when we have to do it.
3. There is an anti-intellect attitude prevailing in the church—because of a misunderstandings of intellectualism and a past (false) emphasis on it
In the past, educational ministries just sought to communicate information and had this idea that the more you know, have memorized, big theological words you can use in an average conversation, the more spiritual you are. This simply is not true. Therefore, educational ministries have moved away from some of this focus. In doing so, though, the baby has been thrown out with the bath water, as it has led to biblical illiteracy. Knowing the order of the books of the Bible is not spiritual, but it is an important thing to do so that you can better understand the words of the Bible—the words of God. Therefore, the anti-intellectual climate has found a valid criticism but has not rectified it correctly.
4. Lack of connection between life and knowledge
Building on the previous note, we often do not show that ideas matter. That is, what we think affects what we believe is important and what we do. Therefore, theology is practical by definition. Showing how the “rubber hits the road” can be difficult, but we need to do it!
5. Misunderstanding about teaching
We think that teaching happens in Sunday School, or small group Bible studies, or formal curriculum. In truth, we always are teaching and education. Thus, we often do a bad job by communicating things without knowing it that are not helping the gospel. In addition, we assume that we have to have certain programs in place to be an “educating” church. A better thought out view of “informal curriculum” will strengthen the educational ministries of the church.
Like I said, some initial thoughts—and things that I have seen in myself. May we overcome these lackings as we seek to be an entity that helps transform minds into conformity with God’s will.
Influences on my Approach to Preaching September 28, 2009
Posted by bdennert in Church, Ministry.add a comment
I was reflecting a bit this summer on the different voices who have influenced how I preach (as well as teach at church), remembering that I “eat in everyone else’s pastures and then produce my own milk” as Dan the Man taught me years ago. I don’t try to imitate these people, but I do think through the text and communication of it through some lens that I have learned from others. So, here are about 10 people who I would say have influenced me (and I know others will as well):
1. Chris Hodge
He is the preacher I have sat under week in and week out the longest (3 years). From our conversations and his sermons, I developed a firm conviction that I need to clearly present the gospel each week; I can’t assume that people know the gospel. This does not have to be an altar call or the exact same way each week, but as the gospel emerges from the text, take time to explain it. As well, I can be convinced of expository preaching while also being relevant.
2. Dave Schutter
What I learned the most from Dave Schutter is the power of illustrations of moments where we get it and don’t get it; some of his illustrations still stick with me (Rock, Paper, Scissors, God!). Everyday life experiences (and the ability to laugh at ourselves) is when we are starting to get and communicate the gospels. In addition, he modeled and helped me think through what it means to be a pastor-teacher-preacher, to do all of them and have all of them go together.
3. Crawford Lorrits
Of my seminary professors on preaching, he best helped me approach the preaching moment, the power of preaching, and the need to approach it for transformation, with “windows and mirrors” and helping people move towards responses. And above all, remember that there is a difference between a preacher and a communicator!
4. Tim Keller
While I am very mindful not to try to hold him up as a model or the “ideal,” there are very specific philosophical elements of his style and approach that I have adopted. His thoughts on preaching to believers and non-believers, of preaching to irreligious, religious, and grace, and ideas on how to read outside and how to prepare have really helped me. And as Dr. Carson pointed out, he gets the text and also moves to application really well, something I am trying to learn and do myself.
5. Bryan Chapell/Dennis Johnson
Chapell’s Christ-Centered Preaching and Johnson’s Him We Proclaim helped me to understand how to think through preaching Christ (which is what makes a Christian sermon) but to do so appropriately, i.e. how it emerges from the text. These are my two favorite books on preaching.
6. Stuart Latimer
As I have listened via PodCast to Stuart over these past couple of years, I have recognized that I can learn and admire things in different styles. Stuart seems more “big-picture” minded in a way that analysis the gospel message in the text and how it comes and is different from our culture. The gospel is also clear and the struggle that we have to see the gospel in our lives because of its counter-cultural elements are something that I always hear in his messages. And a guy who likes Calvin and Hobbes and John Calvin can never go wrong!
7. Steve Constable
Another guy I listen to via podcast who has a different style than mine. In bringing in culture from movies to books to plays, etc., he opens up new ways of looking at the text that I do not normally do. I know that I will not do this in the same way that he does, but it has fed my soul and also gives me of another “tool in the shed.” And his accent is cool.
8. D.A. Carson
While the man has more brains in his pinkie than I have in my head and brings that knowledge to the text (which he has helped teach me to do), he is also, somehow, able to bring it to life and make it practical. I want to do so, to bring a high understanding and high view of the text to people.
9. Kirk Heldreth
My pastor while I was in college introduced me to the writings of Philips Brooks and Charles Spurgeon on preaching. That always helps. But the passion that he always brought to the text, the tears that filled his eyes as he preached the wonderful grace of the gospel is something that I need to remember; I can’t forget the gospel while I preach it!
10. Brian Regan
If Mark Driscoll can say that Chris Rock has influenced his preaching, I can say Brian Regan has. Not that I try to be funny or want to communicate as opposed to preach, but Regan’s ability to find the things in life that are weird and funny and GET THEM TO STICK IN OUR MINDS is something that I think I need to in preaching. It’s amazing how often we quote Regan, but how often do we quote a sermon because something in life reminded us of it. That is, because we see the truth of it later in the week or the months or the years. That is the way that comedians need to challenge the preacher.
Studying the Bible….without Prayer? September 26, 2009
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One of the first things I noted when I started classes at Loyola was that we do not begin classes in prayer. That was not surprising in the sense that it is an “academic” as opposed to a “church” school; that is, it is training people to teach in higher ed, not move into pastoral ministry. However, as the semester has gone along, it has made me wonder if it is possible to study the Bible without prayer. Augustine’s Confessions was doing theology as a prayer. Anselm also did “faith seeking understanding.” But we don’t do so in our classes. Can the Bible be studied purely on its own merits, without an attempt to application? Can one engage in theology without being textually rooted and driven (as many of the theologians students have seemed to be)? The Bible wasn’t meant to just be comprehended, it has a worldview that was meant to invade the life of the reader; one cannot move into its unbiased or unattached. As I was listening to a Podcast today, a Christian scholar noted how those in the sciences are captured by the science (some might even say worshipping it), but there is a perception that a true Bible scholar cannot do this, as he is no longer objective. A Bible scholar is not supposed to say that he believes that the biblical perspective on life and faith is authoritative (unless he teaches at a “conservative” Christian school).
I guess this confirms that I want my scholarship to be for the church. I want to talk about application. I want to stand under, not over, the texts that I study. I want to pray over the text and ask God to help me understand what He wrote and has given us. May I do so in my own heart as I study, even if the professors don’t. And may I do this no mateter what it means for my future as a “scholar” in the academic sense. This is being formative as I see my future as a Bible scholar and teacher.
Impressing or Making Impressions September 12, 2009
Posted by bdennert in Ethics, Random, School.add a comment
I have been giving some thought lately to the idea of “making a good impression” on people. Being at a new school with new faculty (to me) and being a part of a new church (for us) and meeting people there has met I have been doing a lot of “impression forming” on people–and they on me. Which causes the question: “Is there a difference between seeking to make a good impression on people and on impressing people?” We think it is important to make a good impression on people, because we never get a second chance to make a first impression. However, we also seem to say that you should not try to impress people–that this is a bad thing to do–but should be yourself. Since the same word is at the root of both words, though, are they that different? Is my attempt to make a good impression actually an attempt to impress people, by fitting myself into their values and expectations? This might be on the scholarly level by talking about certain things and not talking about certain things, by doing extra work or having the right answers. Is my goal in making this impression so that they might help me in my work and get me through the program? Is that right? On the social level, is this in being funny and engaging as a person, not saying awkward things, talking about the things that they value or are interested in, and not doing anything rude? In seeking to make good impressions, do I cease to be me and become more in line with the desires of the other person? Am I a chameleon–both in the academic field and also in the social world? (I have often wondered this) Does this matter? Are people who “be themselves” the ones who make bad impressions because they are conforming to their own ideas about themselves and the world as opposed to yours? Do I evaluate others this same way or value their honesty, integrity, and self-awareness? Basically, do I form my impressions of someone on whether they impress me? Or am I making too much of this?
Oh the thoughts of a scholar!
Back to where I started….but Different September 10, 2009
Posted by bdennert in School.add a comment
As I have been refining and doing work for my class on John the Baptist and beginning to consider how he is portrayed in the Gospel of Matthew, knowing that my paper would land there, I inadvertantly came full circle in my major research work. You see, 2 of the mentions of John the Baptist feature a discussion of “righteousness” (3:15, 21:28-32),which are the only two occurences of the word outside of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. Knowing that “righteousness” is supposed to be an important theme in Matthew and seeing how Josephus also had righteousness in discussing John the Baptist, it seemed that my paper would deal with how John the Baptist affects this conception of righteousness. Which has led me to do research on righteousness, etc.–and my undergraduate senior project at Cedarville was on Paul’s concept of the righteousness of God! So, I am looking at many of the same sources and material with a different application–and a better knowledge of the primary sources (and German secondary sources!) and different understanding of the issues at work. So, I am back to where I started in theological research over 5 years ago, but with a much different perspective. In fact, I wonder at what I was doing back then.
