Biblical Authority and Missional Living
Something that needs to be clarified when one is promoting missional living is the nature of the Bible as it relates to other cultural communication. (This is especially important in preparation for a post coming later this week.) The Bible is in some ways a lot like any other cultural expression. Like other things that tell stories or communicate ideas—literature, history, film, art, stand-up comedy, etc—the Bible is a source of ideas. It can help us to form our way of thinking. Unlike other cultural expressions, for Christians, it is the sole source of authoritative thinking. Theoretically, it is the only place a Christian should turn to to influence the way we think.
Theoretically… because we are all influenced a great deal by our culture. Whether we like it or not, we absorb ideas and shape our opinions by the thoughts that we encounter every day. It is much like the concept in the film Inception, except that there they acted like it is something very difficult to do. It is not that hard. What can be said, however—at least about people who go through life thinking about things—is that we can be aware of the influences around us and guard ourselves against thoughts and ideas that are inconsistent with reality.
Missional people have a responsibility to continually shape their thinking and their worldview in light of the truth in Scripture. Our task is to speak into culture, not to be influenced by it. Sadly, most people in Christian culture do not know their Bibles well enough to influence the non-Christian culture around them. Not only that, but they are captive to a cultural influence that—for all of its “Christian” labels—is not very Biblical in its thinking. Most Christians turn to the latest best-selling “Christian” book to learn how to think instead of the Bible.
That will not get the job done.
Theoretically… because we are all influenced a great deal by our culture. Whether we like it or not, we absorb ideas and shape our opinions by the thoughts that we encounter every day. It is much like the concept in the film Inception, except that there they acted like it is something very difficult to do. It is not that hard. What can be said, however—at least about people who go through life thinking about things—is that we can be aware of the influences around us and guard ourselves against thoughts and ideas that are inconsistent with reality.
Missional people have a responsibility to continually shape their thinking and their worldview in light of the truth in Scripture. Our task is to speak into culture, not to be influenced by it. Sadly, most people in Christian culture do not know their Bibles well enough to influence the non-Christian culture around them. Not only that, but they are captive to a cultural influence that—for all of its “Christian” labels—is not very Biblical in its thinking. Most Christians turn to the latest best-selling “Christian” book to learn how to think instead of the Bible.
That will not get the job done.
At our church the adult small groups are often studying some current book. They are usually good ones to be sure, but I thought we already had a "BOOK". Eye opening...
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