Challenge of Diversity: The Witness of Paul and the Gospels
a book by David Rhoads
includes a wonderful introduction to Luke and its key themes, with a bigger picture view of how it fits in the New Testament.
Making Sense of Scripture
a book by David J. Lose
a great introduction to reading the Bible
for shorter essays by David J. Lose on faith and scripture see his monthly column on Huffington Post
Good Soil Kick-Off!
This Sunday, January 8th marks the beginning of All Saint’s congregation-wide project of reading Luke and Acts in small groups called Good Soil Groups.
If you haven’t already, form a Good Soil group: you and one or two other people. Men with men, and women with women. Learn more about Good Soil groups by clicking here.
Prepare to read Luke by clicking here and here. And learn more about Luke 1 & 2 in particular by clicking here and the art it inspired by clicking here.
Whether you’ve formed a group or not, you are invited to the Kick-Off potluck, which will immediately follow worship. Afterward, there will be time to get to know each other and get answers to your questions about the Good Soil process. All you need is yourself, and a dish to share!
All are invited.
Where do I even begin?
Read Luke 1 & 2 and meet in your Good Soil Group by Sun, Jan 15.
“Formation, not information.” This is a core principle of mine. It answers the question, “What is bible study for? What’s the purpose?” As we read together, the most important thing is how God is planting seeds in us and giving us new life. Also important but less so is historical background and the like. Formation, not information.
Why? Because focusing only on facts and information will distract us from God and overlook the deeper matters of faith. Or course, at the same time, ignoring facts and information will stunt the growth of our faith and even close our ears to God. So there’s a balance to be struck. Still, I stick to, “Formation, not information,” because usually we fall off the horse on the information side.
How do we strike the right balance? There are many ways, but in my experience, here are the top three.
1. Trust God and listen. Believe that God is with you and speaking to you in the words of Luke. God will speak in small ways, so pay attention. Read carefully. More important, read prayerfully. Pray before you read, “God, open my ears and my heart and my mind to You.” Then, read and listen. What words or phrases or themes do you notice in Luke? What moods or feelings do you notice in yourself? What comforts you or surprises you or makes you think or invites you to do something new? After you read, pray again, “God, is this what you want me to hear?” This may seem hard or boring or ineffective when you start. Be patient. In time, trust will grow.
2. Trust your group and listen. Believe that God is with you and speaking to your group when you meet. Believe that yours is the right group with the right people in it. God will speak in small ways, so pay attention. Listen carefully to them. More important, listen prayerfully. Pray before you start, “God, open our ears and hearts and minds to each other.” Then, talk and listen. What words or themes did your group members notice? What did they feel while the read? What surprised and invited them? Was it the same for you as for them, or different? One or the other is not better. Just notice. As part of your ending prayers, pray, “God, is this what you want us to hear?” This may seem awkward or useless when you start. Be patient. In time, trust will grow.
3. Patiently seek to go deeper. You can tell the difference between a formation question and an information question. Example formation questions are, “Why did the angel silence Zachariah? Has it ever seemed like I was silenced? What did I learn during that time?” Example information questions are, “Who wrote Luke? Did people really believe in angels then? How did Zachariah get to be a priest in the first place?”
A good test is this: Can we answer this question by listening more closely to God, ourselves, and each other and by reading Luke more closely? Or, can we answer this question only by Googling it, looking it up in a book, or asking an expert? Give more time and energy to the questions you can answer, because those are the formation questions. Even if the answer doesn’t come immediately, save it. Write it in the margin of your bible. Say, “I wonder if God gave us this question. Let’s pray about that, and keep asking it each week, and see what happens.”
At the same time, be patient and respectful of all questions, because you never know where God may be hiding.
One way to go deeper when you’ve asked an information question is to wonder, “What difference will (or does) the answer make for my faith?” Don’t let yourself get away with, “Oh, I don’t know. Just curious.” Is there something beneath that dismissive response that wants to be spoken? Try sharing it with God and your group.
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Trust God and listen. Trust your group and listen. Patiently seek to go deeper. And of course, have fun! Laughter is a gift of the Spirit.
Before you read Luke
Reading the Bible is a big deal. Be sure to prepare. Here’s something you can do before you start reading Luke:
Take a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale.
Tell yourself the following: “I am not alone. The Holy Spirit is with me, inspiring me as I read, as surely as the Spirit inspired the writer. Plus, a whole lot of people are reading with me. All Saints Lutheran Church. My Good Soil Group. Not to mention, the generations of Christians who came before me. I can do this, because I am not alone.”
Say a prayer if you’d like—actually, another prayer, because the breathing and self-coaching are already prayers.
That’s it. You’re ready.
If you don’t feel ready, that’s okay. You are. A simple, humble, brief preparation like the one above is all you need. The Spirit will give you the rest, and your Good Soil Group will help too.
In fact, over-preparing may crowd out the Spirit. Keep it simple. There’s nothing more you need to know or do. Just start reading.
“But what if I want to know more?” Excellent! As long as this is your honest-to-goodness curiosity and not a negative, critical voice telling you you’re not good enough, then give God a fist-bump. This is the Holy Spirit, giving you the gift of hunger.
(If it is a negative voice, tell it: “Thanks for stopping by, but I’m sorry I don’t have time for you right now.” And just keep on reading.)
If you want to know more, here are a couple of places to start.
For more about the Gospel of Luke, check out the Wikipedia entry.
For more about the Bible in general, check out a book called, Making Sense of Scripture: Big Questions About the Book of Faith by David J. Lose. (Or something shorter to start with is his article at Huffington Post, “Where Did The Bible Come From?”)
For more on the chapters we’ll read week by week, keep checking back here. Pastor Clark will share thoughts and, more than anything, encourage you and host a conversation.
Have another question? Ask it. Really: that’s a nifty feature of this little website. You can submit a question by clicking these links (or the one at the right, or the little ? at the top), and Pastor Clark will answer it here, for you and everyone to learn from.
Ask anything—about Luke, the Bible, faith, the Good Soil group process, prayer, church history, spirituality… Really anything. Don’t be afraid to ask. It’ll be totally fun. Plus, chances are, you’re not the only one with that same question.
Okay? Now, read. Blessed reading!
