Guest Blogger Series: Part 7

I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel: The Bible in Progressive Congregations
by Christopher Henry

I love the New Testament. I have been captivated by the letters of Paul since the first day of my “Life and Letters of the Apostle Paul” class in college, when E.P. Sanders painted a verbal picture of the religious landscape of the Roman Empire in the First Century and then described the unlikely, revolutionary preaching ministry of Paul in that context. In the Introduction to Preaching class at Columbia Seminary, I was moved by Charles Campbell’s depiction of Paul’s conversion from an imagined ministry of violent persecution to a ministry of preaching the gospel in difficult circumstances. Because I love Paul, and because I believe in the power of the words of scripture not only to nourish but also to create communities of faith, I am deeply concerned about the role of the Bible in progressive congregations.

In my denomination, the scriptures of the Old and New Testament are described as the “unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal.” That is, the Bible is the place where we turn to remind ourselves what is at the heart of our worship, ministry, and life together. This also means that the Bible does not belong to one subset within our denomination nor to one denomination alone. These two affirmations are, in my opinion, central to recovering the power of scripture in progressive congregations.

The Bible is not a book full of answers for common modern day questions, no matter how many New York Times bestsellers claim that this is true. The Bible, for Christians, is not merely a collection of semi-historical narratives and moral stories. Progressive Christians can offer an alternative voice to these two extremes. We who believe that the Bible is neither an answer book nor a history book have a role to play in the conversation. But we must be prepared to converse. We must not abdicate Biblical literacy to Biblical literalists. We must read the words of scripture, study them, pray them, discuss them, and apply them. We must take seriously our questions of the texts but also the questions that the texts ask of us.

If there is to be a serious dialogue between conservative and progressive Christians about the significant moral issues of our time (whatever they may be) the only appropriate venue for such a conversation is the Bible. It is my sincere hope that our progressive congregations will be adequately equipped to speak with confidence and faith, standing firmly on the Word of God and unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Christopher A. Henry is Associate Pastor of Morningside Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, GA.