I should be back to a normal routine of blogging this week. I had hoped to put up a pastor’s perspective on Halloween, but did not have the time or energy to put it all together in a brief form. Perhaps next year. Today I want to share the best part of my day so far.
I was in my study reading a chapter from The Suffering Savior, and after finishing it I fell asleep in my very old, very ugly, very comfortable brown chair. My daughter came in, woke me up and asked what I was reading – the dark blue book in my lap. I told her, and she asked what chapter. I said, “It’s called the Sword and The Cup.” Man, that sounds like a part of the LoTR trilogy. Anyway, she asked me to tell her about it. And I was once again telling my four year old part of the redemption story; this time about Jesus’ arrest, Peter’s violent response, and Jesus’ gracious, healing act toward Malchus and his submission to ungodly men.
I am finding that telling the redemption story to my four year old not only forces me to focus on the details that matter, but also to think devotionally. Not just what happened, but why did these things happen, and how should we respond to them. Telling the story I had been reading/contemplating brought out the fullness of the discipline of study. In fact putting together theology for my for year old itself is a great spiritual discipline.
This all reminded me of what Grant Osborne wrote in his book, The Hermeneutical Spiral. He explains that interpretation has three interdependent levels: Exegesis – the meaning of the text, Devotion – the application of the text to self, and Sermon – telling the meaning/application of the text to others. As evangelicals we tend to focus on the first level. We do this with good reason – without it all is a subjective mess. Yet it alone is not enough. Of course to jump from the first to the third level (without application to self) makes us hypocrites. But I think we most often hit the exegesis and the devotion and conclude that we have done the work God expects of us. Here Osborne points out, “to ignore the third [level] is to remove the other biblical imperative that the divine revelation must be shared as the good news, not kept to oneself for personal gratification.”
We are not done in the task of hermeneutics, our study of God, or in our devotional life until we have allowed the truth to both permeate our hearts and spring from our mouths.
I am the Lead Pastor of Redeemer Fellowship; husband to Jen; Dad to Katherine, Elias, Madeline, and Kilian. If you're in town you can probably find me in the local coffee house or running through the neighborhoods.
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It seems to me that we Baptist-types need to do a better job articulating a theology of children. I think we do a wonderful job with our kids by and large but we have yet to adaquately explain where they are in God’s redemptive plan. Paedos say they are part of the church and the covenant community and claim that credos consider them like pagans. Credos say that they are not covenant members but treat them better, with more hope than they do the lost around us.
We do it, I just wish we had a way to articulate it.
Joe,
Sometimes I think we skip step 2 as or more often that we omit step 3. It is so much easier just to figure out what it means and tell others that they need to get right than to deal with our own inadequacies, failures and sin.
Persistence in skipping step 2 leads to the awful arrogance that fills the pulpits of many churches today.
I know in class some of Osborne’s hermeneutics were making me dizzy so I guess it is a good name for his book!
I’ve never read this book and the only person who teaches hermeneutics at TEDS right now is Osborne. I shouldn’t be critical if I haven’t read it but some of his hermeneutics in Johannan Lit & Gen Epistles pressed some buttons with me. I need to give him a fair shake. He really is a nice guy.
You are right Marty. Among pastors, it’s step one to step three.
But for the rest, for those who are genuinely trying to follow Christ and maintain a devotional life; it’s often one, two and then… nothing. I see/hear it a lot.
I’m reading through The Training of the Twelve by A.B. Bruce. Read ch. 6 Lessons of Prayer yesterday. He presented a rather lengthy footnote discussing the practice of prayer from the pulpit in his day. Basically, should the pastor read a prepared, written prayer, or pray extemporaneously. He makes a similar point – mature believers should be able to take a text (in this case – a form of prayer), allow it to change them, then tell others about it using their own language. Sounds a lot like Osborne.
I guess I’ve not thought much about the 3rd aspect applying to ALL disciples of Christ – pastors, definitely should, but everybody else…… All of us are called to be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks. Suppose we should all be stepping through all 3. Thanks for making my head hurt some more Joe!
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