A little blog from an upstart theologian that will do its best to exemplify Christ while sharing a thing or two along the way.
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| Preachin's Blog A little blog from an upstart theologian that will do its best to exemplify Christ while sharing a thing or two along the way. |
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Tuesday, July 20, 2004 Where do you want to be taken today?After I finished Joe Myers' book (see below post) I went to the superb library on campus here at SWBTS and was perusing the new book selection when I happened upon an excellent new text. The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner, is a foundational text to help  anyone develop leadership skills. I had briefly scanned part of the book several years ago in one of its earlier editions, but had not fully examined the text so I picked it up and checked it out. (Of course at the checkout I was once again reminded that I owe $16+ in fines. I'm waiting until I graduate to pay these off...though its a matter of principle and not a laxidazical attitude.)
The introduction speaks about how over the last several centuries our entire world has been pushing forward on the speed at which we get information. They point out that in the nineteenth century the transcontinental railroad was one of the greatest transportation expansions. As the twentieth century dawned and passed the rate at which information was traded back and forth. Certainly at the close of last century we were running at breakneck speeds with the amount of information that was being traded between entities. This has brought about a culture of "just-in-time" inventory stocking, and a "have it right-now" society. For those of us who pay far too much attention to the business world we can easily recount stories of when bottlenecks in transportation have caused inventories of various stores and warehouses to become exhausted. In our personal lives instant messaging, email, and text messages have pushed on us a culture of immediate response. It is rare that we ever get the chance to receive some correspondence, read it, and let it sit for several days as we contemplate a response. Now we are faced with immediate replies to even the most difficult queries. Our thirst for the "just-in-time" pace has driven many to forsake the more difficult disciplines in life, especially those within the spiritual realm. One of the tremendous blessings that Christianity brings to one is the rich heritage of spiritual writings and disciplines that will inevitably enrich the life of one willing to pursue them. The plethora of substance within the writings of Christians like Augustine, Aquinas, Theresa of Avila, John Chrysostom, the Great Cappadocians, John Calvin, Martin Luther, John Bunyan, more recently C.S. Lewis, and many others are Christian classics that are blessings to the lives of those who seek out their pages. Also the study of the languages through which we have received the written Word of God (Greek, Hebrew, even Latin) helps bring a special kind of touch to the Christian spirituality. It is clear that with the fast paced lifestyle so many of us live today, whether Christian or not, we have little time to sit and process the thoughts of all these above. We cannot sit still long enough to enjoy the rich flavor of Christianity each person exudes in their writings. We fail to see how specifically divine the Bible is and how its writers used various idioms, plays on words, and phraseology to stress their points. The Christian life in about self-denial, that is denying the forces which promulgate our (many times) sinful actions. So too the Christian life is about experiencing the rich blessing of Christ which is awaiting us in the pages of God's word and the writers within the heritage of our faith. Our Christian publishing houses and the commericalized Christian industry wish to pull us in every different direction; lying to us by asking "where do you want to go today?" when in fact they are taking us and our faith journey along for their ride. Perhaps it is time for more of us to assert our wills and take the time to decide for ourselves where we will go with this faith of our fathers. When that day comes, then we will see true revolution and revival. posted by Preachin Jesus | 1:37 PM | |
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