Clarifying Truth

10/29/2009

I am so grateful for all that we are learning and experiencing here at FPO. It is really hard at times, but really great too. Our 2nd week here, we had the opportunity to learn from the current President of the IMB. Jerry Rankin has held the position for a long time, but is about ready to retire at the end of this year. I was thankful to have some time to hear his heart before he steps down. I have such a new respect for him! He isn’t one who just states how things should be; he LIVES it. He hasn’t asked any one of us to do something that he himself hasn’t done or wouldn’t be willing to do. I so much appreciated his heart for our Lord. It makes me appreciate and trust our leadership that much more.

He took a week to teach on Spiritual Warfare. It’s not a subject that is taught too often, and it can often be a difficult subject to teach. I was so impressed with the balance and truth that he portrayed. He took us through the WORD, and it was so good! Not that I’m trying to promote sales for him or anything, but he does have a book out about Spiritual Warfare. He GAVE each one of us a copy (which I was thankful to have!), but it’s a great resource of truth, if that’s a subject that you’ve been curious about. Spiritual warfare is real, and Satan has some major strongholds overseas (and here in the US, too, I’m sure). Dr. Rankin had some vivid stories to share. It was such good preparation! He taught from Scripture of course, and he had a different take on some of the passages that we’ve heard forever. It was a great challenge to both Wes and I… Dr. Rankin’s teachings prompted many discussions over the new perspective he shared. It was good!

I have been so impressed with the teaching from our “campus pastor” as well… ok, he’s really not given that title, but that what he feels like to most of us, I think. Elbert has opened every session for the past several weeks with an intense look at a different chapter in Acts. He only takes a couple minutes to talk though it, and his point is to teach us basic things that we will need to be teaching new believers. Elbert is definitely gifted at “unpacking” the Word of God.

One concept that he has taught us, which is so elementary that it hit me like a brick, is that we need to teach new believers to study and understand the Word themselves. If we feed them every little bit, we are causing them to become dependant on US for their spiritual growth. Our entire training here is basically teaching us how to work ourselves out of a job. We are not intending to go overseas and become the pastor of a church and reach unbelievers that way. We are going to teach THEM to reach their friends and to teach THEM to share Christ and disciple new believers. It is just so right and good… so Biblical! Paul didn’t go reach every believer himself. He led a few to Christ and expected them to immediately follow the teachings of Christ. Each believer, in turn, went out to share the truth himself… so we see the idea of multiplication.

We have been studying Acts and how the original churches started in the very beginning. Elbert takes everything back to the Word of God. He doesn’t make himself the final authority; he makes Scripture. I would have said, “of course Scripture is the final authority!” But to see how Elbert literally never gives his opinion first; he takes us back to what the Word says, whenever we have a question. I’ve realized that thinking that Scripture is the final authority and LIVING it as the final authority is different. I mean, I pattern my life after it, so in that way, I do believe I am living it as the final authority… but when I teach, do I live it as the final authority? … meaning, do I take people back to what the WORD says, or do I speak what I know to be truth. If I don’t literally share WHERE that truth comes from… it really makes it seem like MY OWN wisdom. It’s really made me re-think how I disciple. It’s been amazing.

I love that they take things back to the very basics here. I have grown up in a culture that is very influenced by Christianity, but some of these missionaries are heading to places where they’ve never heard of Jesus or the Bible. Elbert challenged us one morning, “what passage would you go to, to teach that lying is wrong.” There are so many moral issues that I hold to, but I have to know WHY it’s wrong… not just because my society says it’s wrong, but b/c the Bible says in [whatever passage]… that it is wrong. Ok, maybe he started off easy on us (most of us might know where to turn to teach lying is wrong), but why do we go to church? What passage … not just that it says somewhere in the Bible… but, where specifically, would I go to in order to teach ‘church’? Where would I go to teach prayer and a daily time with the Lord. I can’t just state that a new believer needs to do this and this and this… it puts me as their authority, and not the Word of God.

It makes me hunger that much more for His Word. It truly gives one a new respect for His Word, as well. Everything I need is found there… it’s just whether I know where to find it. Do I read the Bible and walk away, or am I reading it as though it’s life?!?! The Word is coming alive to me again in a way that it hasn’t since college, when I was in specific Bible classes. The difference is, at that point, someone else was teaching me. This time, I am pulling it out myself… or I’m learning to more and more. No Bible professor, no Beth Moore or Kay Arthur Bible study (not that there’s anything wrong with those!) … but just God’s word and me. Most places overseas don’t have access to the Bible studies we may have over here. So, how do they grow? I have been studying God’s word for a long time, and I don’t normally use a Bible study for my own quiet time. But this is different. I’m learning how, where, why to teach the very basics of following Christ. It’s life-giving in and of itself.

I also love how they have focused on the real, core truth of what “church” is. It is easy to allow our concept of church to be molded by our traditions as a society. It’s so refreshing and freeing not to have to hold to those “churchy” things. Lol. I guess that sounds bad, but it’s true that each society is different. Jesus transcends all cultures, so what church looks like in a village in Africa may be very different than what it looks like in Western Europe. It’s exciting! We are not to go and impose our ideas of traditions onto a culture. We teach the truth of what the Bible defines “church” and let each culture set the tone for what that may look like, practically.

I guess I can’t really share all the little things that I’ve been learning… it would take forever! … but that was such a basic truth that hit me so hard. I had to share. I would like to ask you, though, where would you go in Scripture to teach that lying is wrong. Do you know?