Theological Honesty and TJC Process
3/19/04

       At The Jesus Connection Covenant Pastor's Seminar March 1st & 2nd (19 Covenant Pastors in attendance), I raised the topic of the relationship between  theological honesty and spiritual and structural transformation. Most of the questions we get have to do with the "what" and "how" of our process. Clearly these are important if you are to understand what this ministry is all about. But on the retreat I wanted to remind all of us of a deeper issue that lies behind these questions. It is the fact that a "maturing" transformation needs to be grounded in an informed understanding of the Bible. Let me expand on this here. 

     The word "maturing" underscores the fact that, as Fred Craddock once remarked, we may be "born again," but we are not born full grown. Christians need maturing, which we all know is a life long process. Transformation cannot last either at the personal or the structural level without spiritual development. Otherwise, our immaturity in faith will show itself in narrow-mindedness and judgmentalism. As clergy, we know how susceptible ministers are to both. We have also known more than a few church members who have used them as weapons against us and other members in destructive ways.

     I believe a few people can undermine ministry in a congregation. I also believe that in today's environment theological fundamentalism is a major factor when this happens because it fosters closed-mindedness and encourages judgmentalism. On the retreat I suggested we who serve in mainline churches must confront fundamentalism by sharing the higher critical approach to the Bible that nurtures and sustains us in faith and ministry. Contrary to what fundamentalists say, higher criticism is not a sign of liberalism. N. T. Wright is one of the major scholars today who uses higher critical study in his search for historical validity to the New Testament in general, and the gospels in particular. Yet no one who reads Wright's work can accuse him of being theologically liberal. Higher criticism is not about being liberal or conservative. Rather, it is about reading the Bible honestly. It doesn't simply challenge a literal reading of scripture. It says that such an approach obscures the biblical message rather than revealing it. It de facto turns the Bible into a preconceived set of doctrines. Thus, being a Christian is defined as believing in dogmatic propositions rather than being on a journey of growing in both understanding of and trust in God.

     Bible studies offer an opportunity to help our people to understand faith this way, and, therefore, how TJC is a way to deepen us on the journey. As people of faith ourselves, we who are clergy can serve as examples of how honest study of the historical issues in the Bible has helped us grow and mature as Christians. One way to do this is to explain the difference between devotional reading of the Bible and Bible study. Devotional reading asks, "What does a text mean to me?" This is an essential discipline for anyone who wants to be grow as a Christian. Bible study, on the other hand, asks the question, "What did the text mean?" This is also an essential discipline for spiritual growth. What a text means to us may not be at all what it meant either for the writer or the people to whom it was written. Fundamentalists seldom make this distinction. Higher criticism always makes it.

     In responding to what I said during the retreat, among several things he said, Myron Herzberg, Sr. Pastor, Memorial Evangelical Lutheran Church, Nevada, IA, suggested that the real question is how we are addressed by God as we read the Bible. He believes Christian history shows this concern has stood between higher criticism and literalism. This is a helpful word. But as I have thought about it, it seems to me it makes an honest reading of the Bible as I am defining it, all the more important. We are helped greatly in discerning how God is addressing us by understanding how others heard the "Word" of the Lord in other times. That is the work of higher criticism.

     Myron - and others of you - may want to discuss this further at some future time. I would enjoy that. But underneath and beyond the nuances such a discussion would reveal, the primary thing to keep in mind is that spiritual and structural transformation needs to be rooted in an honest and open study of the Bible. When we started TJC, we believed firmly that we were calling churches back to a scriptural basis for ministry. We still believe that. As you educate your congregations to this process, it will help if you show how it is based on a fresh reading of the Bible that is both personal and dynamic. As you do this, you will find that indirectly, and sometime directly, it will begin to address some of the reasons people resist the kind of changes our process involves. 
 
Jan G. Linn
Spirit of Joy Christian Church, Lakeville, MN