| Jason Interview (4) | | Date Created: Oct 20, 2006, 09:35 AM |
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JASON: How do you think Jesus envisioned teaching happening in the church? Should we be inviting itinerant preachers into our homes of a Wednesday evening to preach for 3 hours? Should we be attaching ourselves to a 'rabbi' for more in-depth discipling?
I think it's pretty obvious from the original Greek that he meant for anyone who wants to be holy to take three years out and study at a place set up for teaching and learning, preferably one on the Metropolitan line of the London Underground.
No, but slightly more seriously, I know that you've mentioned the possibilities you did because they're extremes that actually took place in Acts and the early church. If you were a member of a community in Asia Minor and Paul or Peter were passing through, you might well prop them up in a corner of a big room and soak in all that they could bear to give you in the evening or 3 hours they've got with you. Similar things happen today.
You've also got characters like Timothy who seems to have been closely mentored by rabbi Paul. But again, this is unusual. Paul isn't happy with the idea that a group of believers have adopted him as their guru (see 1 Corinthians). That's actually fairly important. We might otherwise very easily have assumed that the norm was teacher-disciple. This shows the appropriateness of an urban model where you're learning from each other -- building each other up -- and also learning from an array of teachers.
I'm willing to be convinced otherwise, but I think that there are a variety of patterns for a variety of people and situations. I think, though, they should all involve learning actively in informal settings, attending to teachers and sitting under godly preaching.
For most Christians, what they need will be found within the church-based fellowship. But for those with intellectual gifts or definite calling, I still think a time out is called for. Not in the desert as was the case for so many biblical characters from Moses to Paul, but at a place like a theological college (which is desert-like enough). Thing is, you can learn a lot about First Aid and become Very Useful by hanging out at an Emergency Room; you'll become equipped to deal with today's and yesterday's emergencies. But to prepare for tomorrow's, real trainee doctors need time away. You need time looking deeper than the Immediate to the Underlying -- stuff you wouldn't look at in a "real life" setting.
In a world that can change in a minute, a tight focus on "Now" won't help you in a half-hour. One day, people on the street started reading DaVinci Code. Now, suddenly, it was the folks who'd put in the time in studying Gnosticism and the Early Church who knew the score. Overnight, ancient church history became relevant! And it was the people who'd studied before it was relevant who made a difference. Even the trendiest pastors were devouring books on the subject. Books written by people who, two months earlier, they would have advised to get a life and write something that will actually help someone. |
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