Refocus

Why is it that whenever we seem to talk about the priesthood of all believers, that we are all called to some form of ministry or another, we tend to couch it in terms of how we can use our gifts to support the church, the institution? Are not are our gifts for ministry just as valuable at work? At home? In our neighborhood, etc.? Maybe we need to rethink how we talk about these things and refocus our lens for ministry.

Why is it whenever we talk about our strengthening our relationship with God we go to an academic approach (i.e. we suggest needing to go to a class or read a book, etc.)? When I want to strengthen my relationship with my wife I don't go and read a book about women (although maybe she would appreciate that), rather I spend time with her. I think spending time reading the Bible is a good thing, but is it really a text book to be studied like a text book or encyclopedia? I don't really get the sense that it is, I think it's more for the purpose of connecting with God.

One of the great movies ever made is "Dead Poets Society" in which Robin Williams plays a teacher that challenges the establishment. Below is a scene where (if you skip the first minute) they read the introduction to their poetry book and it explains poetry in scientific terms. That is not how you read poetry, at least in his opinion, so he has the class rip that portion out of their text books.



Have we artificially created a similar introduction to the Bible? Perhaps we need to rip that out of our mind. One of my favorite lines in the movie (and I apologize if I get it wrong) is when the Robin Williams character asks why poetry and he answers, "To woo women." What if we refocused and looked at the Bible not so much as a text book to be studied, but a love letter from God intended to woo us?