I will follow him, wherever he may go....

As from today this blog is moving to Wordpress (after much encouragement from fellow bloggers). The new address is www.revdmarkstevens.wordpress.com. If you could update you RSS feeds and Blogrolls it would be much appreciated. Head on over to the new site and let me know what you think. I might even celebrate the move with a BOOK GIVEAWAY!

Friday is for FUN! Worst Worship Ever?

I think this why I never had a chance as a Youth Pastor! I am ashamed to say but I have actually been in some meetings like this (in my younger days). How dare this person destroy this magnificent song made famous once again in the movie "the Wedding Singer"! You only need to watch the first 3 minutes to get the idea, enjoy! (Can tell me what is on the drummers head?)



Note; I just discovered this was posted by one Scott Bailey! In his words, "Words are inadequate to properly describe this travesty"

Why I struggle with Barth and Barthians.

For a long time I have struggled with Barth. I have wrestled with many questions and often find myself loving what is being said yet wondering why or how it is correct. At one stage I had considered a Master’s Thesis on an aspect of Barth’s theology. That is no longer the case. Not too long ago I picked up the index of Church Dogmatics and read through the section summaries. What I began to notice (and I could be wrong) is that Barth is first and foremost a 'Practical' theologian. That is, he writes from the viewpoint of the minister and the specific situations and events that continually confront the minister week in week out. It was this aspect of Barth that I cherished most. So many times I felt as though we journeyed together and that he had wrestled with the same aspects of ministry that I had. When I read Barth I often find myself reflecting on ministry in the light of Christ's ongoing ministry of reconciliation in the world. To turn to Barth for historical or even literary exegesis is pointless. Barth doesn't help me become a better exegete; he helps me be a better minister!

However, two things bug me about Barth: Firstly, when Barth makes an argument I often find myself agreeing with what he says or at least thinking about it deeply. Yet, I am left wondering how his argument has developed and from where did he form his conclusions? There seems to be a very shallow foundation of Biblical text to what is being said. What has lead him to this conclusion? Is it his own thoughts and reflections in the light of his ministry and academic experience, or, has it developed as part of his overall Biblical/Systematic theology? I suspect that it comes from a truly robust biblical theology not only grounded in one specific text but in the overall biblical narrative, however, I still wonder! Secondly, Barthians frustrate me to no end! Why do they become so obsessed with Barth and what he has written? One hopes that at some point they will become obsessed with the God to whom Barth points and not Barth himself as seems to be the current level of Barthian study! ;) Surely that is what the Great Swiss theologian would have wanted! As someone once commented in regards to Barth and my questions; “if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and waddles like a duck, it's probably a duck” Perhaps Barth is correct, I just wish it were clearer!

Considering a switch: Your opinions are sought

I am considering a switch to Wordpress and I was wondering what you thought? Is it a good move? I can hear the dolcet tones of Whoopi Goldberg singing, "I will follow him, wherever he may go..." Is that true? I would appreciate some feedback. My concern is that I am a technological numpty! That is I have no idea about html code and the like. Is this needed for Wordpress?

The Best Eugene Peterson Quote Ever!

"Pastors are abandoning their posts, left and right, and at an alarming rate. They are not leaving their churches and getting other jobs. Congregations still pay their salaries. Their names still appear on the church stationary and they continue to appear in pulpits on Sundays. But they are abandoning their posts, their calling. They have gone whoring after other Gods. What they do with their time under the guise of pastoral ministry hasn’t the remotest connection with what the church’s pastors have done for most of twenty centuries." (Eugene Peterson, Working the Angles, 1987, p.1)

Peterson states strongly that he believes pastors have abandoned their true calling and have instead taken to religious shopkeeping. It is very easy to become obsessed with ideas, programs, and vision that merely seeks answers to a how the church might, as Peterson laments, “keep customers happy, how to lure them away from the competitors down the street, how to package the goods so the customers will lay out more money” (1987, p.2). A culture of consumer driven, success orientated religion is very appealing for any minister, especially myself! All pastors want a successful church that they can point to and say, “Look what I have built”. However, argues Peterson, “The Pastor’s responsibility is to keep the community attentive to God. It is this responsibility that is being abandoned in spades”.

I am being faithful to the one who called me? Am I faithful to the community to whom I am called. What does ministry look like in the light of Jesus Christ risen and ascended and empowered by the Holy Spirit? As Peterson might ask, how am I to be faithful to the holiness of the vocation into which I am ordained? I may not be a minimalist theologically but I am certainly one ecclesially !

Exegesis: A Pastoral Lament

Someone once told me that once you enter the field of Biblical Studies you can never return to the "myth" of the bible. The days of "The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it" are long gone! In recent months I have become more aware of how true this statement is. When it comes to my dealings with Holy Scripture I am continually confronted with questions of faith and the reality of God on one hand and the questions of history, form, and other criticisms of the text on the other. As someone who has engaged at an academic level with Scripture I find it a great challenge to hold onto a spirituality that sees scripture as a living word that encourages faith while examining the text crically. I stand with one foot in the academic word (as I study and interpret the text) and the other in the church (as one who seeks to help people hear the word of God). It seems to me that these two worlds are becoming increasingly distant! The tension is growing (for me at least). This is my lament: As the two worlds seemingly polarise what is the Minister to do? Do we give up and reduce the Bible to nice little stories or do we abandon faith for reason?

Their are exegetical conclusions that require a leap of faith; propositions and conclusions that cannot be proved beyond reasonable doubt (such as resurrection) and therefore our conclusions may well be shaped by our Christian traditions. I know this may be viewed as a cop-out, however, there is an aspect to the text that requires of me (as a minister at least) to place some trust in God that he was working in the process and continues to be involved in that process of revelation today. These conclusions will be at odds with those in the academy whose concern is primarily scientific. That is not to say the dialogue should cease or respect dwindle. Surely the two can co-exist and inform one another?

Within the church it is true that biblical reductionism reigns. The text, this holy, ancient, collection of writings, has become another tool used by clergy to whip the people into shape or as a promise of a new kind of lifestyle that if followed will lead to abundant life here and now. Furthermore anyone who begins to the take the task of understanding scripture within its historical context is labelled a doubter and banished to exile forever!

Therefore I wrestle and ask: How do I return to the naivety I once had for Holy Scripture? How do I hold all of the historical, form, redaction, grammatical and theological tensions of the text before me without losing sight of the one to whom Scripture points? And finally, is there any place for the Minister in the wider world of Biblical Studies or, am I resigned to nice little sermons on Sunday?

I Finish with this wonderful quote from Childs. It seems to me that he may have been one who held the conviction that this text belonged firstly to the church and therefore it was imperative that the church engaged with this text at every level possible in order to hear the word of God, "Yet the author is also aware that serious theological understanding of the text is dependent on a rigorous and careful study of the whole range of problems within the Bible which includes text and source criticism, syntax and grammar, history and and geography...The author does not share the hermeneutical position of those who suggest that biblical exegesis is an objective, descriptive enterprise, controlled solely by scientific criticism, to which the theologian can at best add a few homiletical reflections for piety's sake. In my judgement, the rigid separation between the descriptive and constructive elements of exegesis strikes at the roots of the theological task of understanding the bible." (Childs, Exodus, SCM press, 1974, p.ix & xiii)

Interview with NT Wright

IVP have posted an interview with N.T. Wright about his new book Justification or what I like to call "The Wright/Piper Smack-down"! You can read the interview in full HERE.

I am in the midst of reading the book. It will take a while as I have so much other stuff to read at present so it is resigned to my "spare" time of which there is little! What I have read so far has impressed me. however, I would say is that the book is "grumpy". If you have read chapter one you will understand what I mean. Nevertheless it is superbly crafted and Wright careful makes his way around the argument bit by bit obviously circling Piper before he makes his kill!