Opus 2026-008: Finally

He finally finished Second Samuel.  I had to laugh at the enthusiasm of that remark.  The “he” in question was the pastor of a church that my children attend.  The pastor is very serious about Bible study.  I remember talking to him once about the in-depth study that he did.  I was favorably impressed.  He wasn’t bragging.  He was simply explaining his passion.  I don’t know how long it took him to get through Second Samuel, but my guess is a couple years.  Finally, he was finished.

The sad part of this is that he is not representative of most pastors, in my opinion.  If you have a pastor that puts in serious time digging into the word, studying, meditating on what he studies, and struggling to put it together in a way that speaks to you as a person in the pew, then count your blessings.  You have a rare specimen.

Back when I was still looking for a church I did a lot of visiting.  I don’t know if I attended any church where I was convinced about the study habits of the pastor.  There were a lot of great speakers.  They attempted to communicate and did a good job, but I think they spent most of their time in figuring out how to be impressive in their speaking ability rather than digging into the depth of what the Bible was saying.

Most pastors have their theology down in a way in which is well organized and readily available.  They’re preaching and teaching tends to be boiler plate.  There might be some adjustments, but they aren’t really open to what they’re finding as they look at the Greek tenses and consider the situation that the Bible verses were written to.  What dominates their thinking is the training they got in theology.  That in itself is not bad if you take that and use it as part of what you are studying as one of your tools. What is the problem when you refuse to see simple statements as simple statements and warp them to fit.

We run into this quite frequently with the unrecognized influence of John Calvin and Saint Augustine.  Another big influence that people don’t seem to understand is the writings of the Rabbis in the Talmud of which over the years have been making their way into the teachings of the church.  So many things that we believe just ain’t so.  I’m not talking about the basics such as the physical resurrection of Jesus or the requirement of trusting in His shed blood.  I’m not talking about the centrality of grace.  The thing is there is so much more that is taught in the Bible than just that and once that foundation is laid they should be building something bigger and stronger.

So if you have one of those rare jewels, treasure him. You might suggest to a board member or Deacon that he needs a raise. Do everything you can to keep him.

homo unius libri