Ok question for you…
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Not looking for anything super deep just what off the cuff comes to mind. In no particular order.
p.s. Man gathering my place in late December / Early Jan????
If so i might have some of my home brewed St. Andrew's Stout leftover. I'm tapping it tonight to see how it turned out.
6 comments:
okay. off the cuff. as in, i've only got one in mind right now and i'll just write the other ones as i get there. i imagine i'll only get to three or four before im out. keep in mind that i've been holed up at a conservative reformed seminary for the last four months and take my suggestions with a grain of salt.
1) what is the bible? not what does it say, but what is it really. what's human about it? what's divine about it?
2) authority. where does it come from? just the bible? bible and tradition? bible and our minds? bible and our experiences?
3) who is god? what do we know about him?
4) who is jesus? how in the world can part of the trinity all the sudden be a human? how in the world can a person die and take the punishment for every single other person's (or every other elect person's) sin?
5) who is the holy spirit? what do we know about it from scripture? how is it with us now?
6) what does it actually look like to be a christian? throughout history and today.
i'm out. i didn't really give a ton of thought to that b/c i'm in the middle of trying to figure out how in the world i'm going to remember 7 billion church councils dealing with christology in the first five hundred years of the church.
i'm down for a man meeting early january. maybe jan 2-4? i'm driving back to pa on jan 6. i could also do dec 26-28 or anytime that week. do any of those work for y'all?
i like it. My first thought was to look at some sources i trust stuff like the Westminster Shorter Catechism for example. Still to be distilled down i think I'm going to be using the Catechism found in the Book of Common Prayer. It basically outlines the creeds.
How about the rest of you. what would be your top ten?
Oh man. It sounds so easy. In no particular order:
1. Old Testament- Covenant w/ Abraham, its significance in light of Christ (God takes complete responsibility, foreshadowing, etc).
2. You've just got to walk through the OT as a story about a relationship, tie it together, show how it makes sense as a whole, how God is constantly saying, "Hey, I'm the only thing that makes sense and the only One who knows how to love you" over and over, and how people keep inventing different ways to ignore him. (Went a little deep there. I promise I'll go quick and shallow for the rest).
3.Jesus in a historical context, the significance of what he does from a Jewish perspective.
4.Ground it historically. Lots of kids are happy to say stuff like, "Well nobody knows if Jesus even existed, etc etc." because they're ignorant and parrot what they hear other people saying. Make at least part of it a history class. Blow some minds.
5. Christian morality, exploring it while respecting that kids aren't retards (sometimes). Explain why (for example) the bulk of the Cristian church rejects the practice of homosexual behavior but doesn't allow parents to stone their children if they're disobedient. Teach morality as if its life-giving(!!), not harshing everyone's buzz.
6. I just say go hard, like a seminary class. See how far you can take them before you break them, you know? Everyone always has the kid gloves on with teenagers, wouldn't it be fun to take them out on the road and really see what they can do? Use as much Greek and Hebrew as possible.
I think we're always forgetting this one, because it's supposed to be easy (especially among Catholics); why do we want/need/continue to follow/serve/worship Jesus????? What's the big deal? No more 'Jesus is a good guy' junk.
Before I get to my list I just want to point out a classic James quote:"not harshing everyone's buzz", I have never heard that one.
I was looking over the Westminster Shorter Catechism and the Book of Common Prayer and I like how the BCP breaks out the catechism in 18 sections. I like how the BCP sections follow one another to provide a comprehensive overview of the beliefs of the church.
I would start off with the larger picture of the faith and then get more granular with topics. Here are some thoughts...
1.What is the Bible? How do we know it is reliable to base our faith upon? Not to go on the defense, but you could provide a counter argument to some of the recent aetheist/agnostic writings by Hitchens and Erhman to show the constant debate over the scripture.
2.Who is God? What do we know about him as revealed in the scriptures and through Christ?
3. What is the Biblical portrayal of the People of God [Elect]? Israel in the OT and the church in the NT.
4. I would define the roles of the Trinity (like Martin suggested) to distinguish them and show their relation to one another.
5. I would talk about ordinances/sacraments and really focus on the meaning behind baptism and communion/eucharist. That they are symbolic of Christ's work in our lives and a reminder of our humble reception of the grace of God.
6.What is prayer? What is worship? What is the difference between private and corporate worship & prayer?
I will stop there, I don't want to duplicate James or Martin. I like your suggestions guys, especially Martin's #6 and James' #4 & #6.
I would be up for a man gathering, I haven't been to Charleston since this summer. So is your St. Andrew's Stout under the "Libbon Lager" brand?
great thoughts guys. I posted some of my conclusions over at www.davesdeal.blogspot.com
- we need to start an official man gathering post asap if this thing is going to happen. Everyone is welcome over at our place.
- Jeremy no i'm working to trademark the name Libbon Brewery, The famed Libbon Lager is a bright summer beer with hints of awesomeness. More like a Yinglang (sp) St. Andrews Stout is full bodied dark brew with tones of molasses. It can be known to start deep theological conversation.
I'm unveiling it tonight at the staff xmas party.
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