Guest Blogger Series: Christopher Henry and the BIBLE
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.
Guest Blogger Series: Emily Martin and the BIBLE
Guest Blogger Series: Part 6
This is the sixth post in my guest blogger series on the Bible. To see all the Bible posts in one window click here.
Purses, Prisons, Picky Reading and Pastoral Care
by Emily Martin
I have a wee (to use Adam’s favorite adjective) zip-up Bible that I keep in my purse, so I have it is when I make home or hospital visits. I got in the habit of using my Bible in pastoral visits while working at a women’s prison last summer. Sometimes, especially in the infirmary, I would visit with women who either couldn’t read well or didn’t have a Bible with them, so I got in the habit, before I would pray, of asking them if they had any favorite scripture passages they’d like for me to read.
Psalm 23 and 91 were favorites, and I often liked to read from Psalm 139 or Romans 8 or John 14 or Isaiah. One woman I visited repeatedly asked me to read from Revelation 20-22. The first couple of times, I practiced selectively reading the comforting parts, skipping over all the parts about the lake of fire and eternal suffering. Later though, my supervisor challenged me on my selective reading, so I tried reading the verse about how all murderers, fornicators, gossip, etc. that would end up in the lake of fire, and she stopped me mid-sentence. “That’s it, that’s what they’ve been saying to me. That I’m a murderer and I’m going to Hell. Am I going to Hell or will God forgive me?” This “undesireable” scripture passage became the vehicle for confession and a chance to share the good news of God’s forgiving love. It became a chance to share some other scripture passages about God’s forgiveness and desire to save anyone who repents and believes.
I’ve tried to keep up this practice of scripture reading, especially when visiting people in the hospital. Sometimes it doesn’t feel right, so I just pray with them. But I like having a bit of scripture read out loud before I pray. I feel that it guides my prayers in a way that is helpful for me and for the other person.
Mostly, my wee bible gets used when I’m preparing for Bible studies with the homeless (weekly) or the elderly (monthly) or Sunday school or when I’m preparing sermons or the liturgy each week. Occasionally, I’ll pull it out when a random church member asks me where such and such verse is. I have a little insert from the Scottish Bible Society that I picked up in Glasgow which lists a lot of commonly sought after verses, stories, prayers, etc.–that comes in handy too. The only catch is that the print in my wee bible is so small that I’m about the only one that can read it, and then only if the light is decent. The good thing is that the zippered cover keeps it from being demolished in the black hole/chaos of my purse.
Emily Martin is a senior in the MDiv program at Columbia Theological Seminary. She is currently completing a yearlong internship at Government Street Presbyterian Church in Mobile, Alabama. She’s currently busy planning Urban Mission Camps, week-long urban mission experiences for youth groups and invites you to their website here.
Buying that perfect one
I wrote here that my Bible broke. So, I had to buy another one. Not difficult, you might think considering the Bible is the best selling book every year and has been since records were kept. People buy it up like marmalade at the women’s coffee hour.Strangely, though, a suitable replacement Bible was very difficult to find. After hours searching online and several trips to local book shops, I could not find a good pocket NRSV anywhere. So what does a young blogger do when faced with a problem? Search for blogs.
Well lo and behold, I came across a fantastic blog on Bibles run by Mark Bertrand. This guy is amazing and has an entire post on NRSV pocket Bibles–with pictures, no less. Even so, Mark had bad news: nobody prints a great NRSV pocket Bible that’s actually pocket-sized and a worthwhile printing. Since my Bible broke, I wanted something that would last me. St. Mark says they don’t exist. (Do check out his site though, it’s really fascinating.)
But, Mark did send me a curious link to RL Allan, a Bible shop in Glasgow that has been making handcrafted Bibles since 1863. So I stopped by their office–not a retail store, an office building four floors up through two buzzer-equipped doors–to check it out. There I found two very kind Scots (actually, one was English) who talked me through their binding process and gave me some options.
Sadly, even fancy Bible makers don’t do NRSV pocket Bibles. But RL Allan did have a beautiful calfskin handcrafted regular size Bible that’s just a beauty and sure to last a lifetime. Sure, it’s not cheap (ok, it’s ridiculously expensive), but it’s bound by the Queen’s binder and, as they say, an investment (also, it was after Christmas and I had the money).
Here’s a pic of the new Bible.
Notice the gold-edged pages, marking ribbon, and initials. But the real quality is in how the quality feels to the touch.
But I still need a pocket NRSV, you say? No siree, because kind man at RL Allan gave me a free pocket Bible he had lying around. It’s nothing to write home about (ironic), but it will do the job.
Guest Blogger Series: Mary Hinkle Shore and the BIBLE
Guest Blogger Series: Part 5
This is the fifth post in my guest blogger series on the Bible. To see all the Bible posts in one window click here.
Luther Seminary
Somewhere (I think it’s in Meditating on the Word), Dietrich Bonhoeffer commends reading the Bible without a task in mind. Basically he says: Don’t read just for the sermon you have to preach, or the study you have to prepare. Read the Bible without another agenda beside simply spending time in the Word.
To this I say, “Well… maybe.” I am not against having a regular practice of spending time with the Bible during which one does not require the Bible to function as a means to an end. I agree in theory. The Bible is God’s Word, not a means for me to “get” a sermon, or a study, or something consoling to say to someone, or point-and-read advice for my life. Yet I have always found Bonhoeffer’s direction nearly impossible to follow, and at this point in my life I no longer see any reason to try.
I always read the Bible toward something. From time to time I have tried to develop a practice of private prayer of the psalms or reading a particular book of the Bible just to read it. It is not a practice I can sustain. Instead, my reading is almost always on behalf of others, that is, in preparation to preach, write, or teach. Here, however, is something that might surprise Bonhoeffer: my “instrumental” reading of scripture sustains my faith and continues to deepen my relationship with the God revealed in the pages of scripture.
This kind of reading is like a phone call placed to a friend: you phone with a question and you may get an answer to that question right away, but then, the fact that you’re on the phone gives you both an excuse to talk about other things. The one-question phone call becomes a visit that, as it is combined with other phone calls inspired by other questions, fosters the intimacy of your friendship. There is nothing wrong with having a specific question in mind when you pick up the phone.
The other possibly curious thing about my relationship with the Bible is that I never try to read as if I were not a Bible scholar. Far from being an impediment to devotion, my scholarship breaks open the texts for me. I love what reading the New Testament in Greek shows me that I would miss otherwise. A subtle difference between Mark and Matthew as they tell a particular story opens up for me an earlier unnoticed element of Jesus’ character. One tidbit of Pauline autobiography makes me go digging for more, in other letters.
I have never longed for a “simpler” relationship with scripture. Instead, I want to know even more so that even more things I’ve missed or misunderstood might come clear to me. It’s like being really into someone, as you are when a friendship or romance begins: you want to hear the back story about the new friend’s likes and dislikes. You meet their parents and think, “Oh, now I understand.” You read the books that they love. You quiz them about their politics.
All of this reconnaissance certainly uncovers some things you wish were not the case, maybe even some things you will somehow have to reconcile yourself to in order to come to love–and to continue to love–the person. Yet what would the alternative be? Whatever it would be, the relationship would be neither as authentic nor as intimate as it is when you not only love them but also know them. Finally, knowing and loving scripture are two sides of the same coin for me.
Mary Hinkle Shore is Associate Professor of New Testament and Associate Dean for First Theological Degree Programs at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, the former of which includes work with Luther Seminary’s Distributed Learning MDiv Program. Her Luther bio page is here and a more personal bio page is here. Also, check out Mary’s personal blog and blog detailing readings for preachers. She is the author of “Signs of Belonging: Luther’s Marks of the Church and the Christian Life” and co-author of “New Proclamation, Series A 2007-08, Advent-Holy Week.”
Guest Blogger Series: Rebekah Abel Lamar and the BIBLE
Guest Blogger Series: Part 4
This is the fourth post in a guest blogger series on the Bible. To see all the Bible posts in one window click here.
Year of the Bible
by Rebekah Abel Lamar
Decatur Presbyterian Church has named 2008 the “Year of the Bible.”
“That’s funny,” you might say, “Shouldn’t every year be the Year of the Bible?” Well, yes, but this year is different. This year our church has taken on the challenge of reading through the Bible by the end of the year. About a third of our members have committed themselves to this task. The pastors have left the lectionary in order to preach from the texts that people are reading each week. Six new Bible study opportunities began this month to go along with the effort, and a Year of the Bible family devotional guide has been distributed.
These programs are great, and programming is a huge part of what I do. However, the reason that the Year of the Bible is so exciting is not anything I can program. It is less planned and less defined. It is a family reading the Bible together, the youth showing off her brand new Bible, the young professional reading the Bible on his blackberry on work trips, the stay-at-home mom looking forward to her Bible reading at the end of a long day, the elder opening his meetings with devotions from his readings, the retired couple reading scripture aloud to one another after dinner each night. It is also the conversations and questions about the Bible that are happening inside and outside of the church daily.
I have been excited about it for months and the response has been better than I ever hoped for. However, there is a question that routinely gnaws at the back of my mind:
How will the Year of the Bible change our church?
It is a question that scares me, really. For all the planning I have done, I really have no idea what the results of the Year of the Bible will be. What I do know is that the Bible is a radical book which calls people to do radical things and that it could change us in ways that I don’t expect and may not like.
So, I have stopped praying for the program to go well. I think I prayed this when I foolishly assumed that I had something to do with the outcome. Now I am just praying that we have the courage to follow where it leads us.
Rebekah Abel Lamar is Director of Christian Education at Decatur Presbyterian Church in Decatur, Georgia. You can find a pdf of their Year of the Bible readings on their website.
Guest Blogger Series: Noah Carlson and the BIBLE
Guest Blogger Series: Part 3 
This is the third post in a guest blogger series on the Bible. Part 2, by Erika Funk, is here.
It has been an enlightening experience to transition from Princetonian theological theory to British parish praxis during my tenure in Scotland as a visiting seminarian. Most interesting perhaps has been the utilization, or lack thereof, of the Bible as I function as an assistant minister in a variety of roles—preacher, confidant, teacher, administrator, and disciple. For this series, however, I will discuss my use of the Bible proper in school assemblies.
I had prepared and certainly hoped to use the Bible more in Scotland than I have been and although it is a source that I readily and often utilize, it is not my primary source in my educational ministry by and large. For instance, my duties include speaking to high school-aged youth who have a strong opposition to the Church. Simply standing in front of two hundred youth during an assembly and using Scripture as a primary source of your message would not only not be received, but also, and sadly—mocked. Most importantly, nothing of substance and worth would reach these students if such a Scriptural tactic were employed.
Now, some may argue from ivory towers that it does not matter; the Word always triumphs and thus should be used nonetheless. To be sure, this is true, but there is also the reality of the context one is in when using or not using the Bible in ministry, at least directly, and that must be taken into account if one truly seeks to be effective in their overall corpus of ministry. And so, I have found my assemblies to be centered on basic moral concepts that are found in Scripture, but not pinpointed with chapter and verse—at least not to the students. And, I have found this route to be relatively successful, as it enables me to still use Scripture, but to translate it in such a way as to truly reach a skeptical and critical audience.
Conversely, during my assemblies for elementary school students, I use direct Bible stories quite frequently, as they are narrative, descriptive, and can be brought to life easily for children—Noah’s Ark, etc. This speaks for itself and it works 99.9% of the time. Thus, the paradox arises.
My use of the Bible is somewhat paradoxical in terms of Christian education of the young here in Scotland—using it directly with the young ones, and indirectly with the older youth. But, what is most interesting perhaps is how the Bible is so well-received with children, but as they grow older into their adolescent years, they become alienated from Scripture and in some cases, completely against it, even combative to it. Why is this? And what can be done? Should I and other ministers stand firm and use the Word despite the walls that would be built and throw modern contextual language out the door? Should a new hermeneutic be created and enacted? This problem is as paradoxical as my use of Scripture in C.E. and my mind and heart yearn for a sincere answer. Perhaps an answer will come. In the meantime, in the words of Saint Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” When you look at it that way, perhaps an answer already has arrived.
Noah Carlson is a yearlong intern/assistant minister at the Scottish parishes of Old Cumnock and Lugar. He is pursing a M.Div from Princeton Theological Seminary. He blogs at Radical Seminarian.
The God Who
I’m off this morning to my weekly text study group with local pastors. Since Sunday’s lectionary texts include Mary’s Magnificat, Luke 1:47-55, as the canticle I thought I’d repost this reflection on the powerful text. Are you preaching from Luke 1 this Sunday? How so?
The God Who
The God who looks with favor on the lowly, a homeless man leaving a warm night
shelter only to find a steady winter rain falling on the ambivalent city,
the God who has done great things, sending angels with pregnant messages
to a withered woman, and later a message of “great joy” to an unwed teenager fearing for her life,
the God who gives mercy from generation to generation, forgiving our sins too
numerous to count, blotting out our offenses no matter how heinous or small,
the God who shows strength with God’s arm, in the making of creation, in the
sweet smell of the bread baked for communion, in the powerlessness of the shameful cross,
the God who scatters the proud in the imagination of their hearts, throwing down
politicians working for personal gain, shattering our pretense of humility, calling us to boast in the Lord alone,
the God who lifted up the lowly, a tiny shepherd who slay the Philistine giant with
a strong faith and a love of neighbor, a young son wearing a torn fabled coat of many colors saves the nation from perishing,
the God who will feed the hungry at the heavenly banquet—filet mignon,
enormous baked potato, no damn broccoli, open bar, no hangovers—
the God who did not abandon Israel through the prophets and the patriarchs,
Miriam’s joyful song, Amos’s harsh words, and David’s illicit sex,
the God of whom Mary sang—Magnificat—of whom Hannah sang before, the
God of you and me is in this place. Look, listen, touch, taste, and smell, for God is here. Amen.
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