The value of a question

In less than two weeks I will travel to the UK to stand before an examining board and give an account for my PhD thesis. My defense (i.e. viva) is a process of answering tough questions posed by specialists in my field of study.

In preparing for this, I appreciate all the more the potential of a well-crafted question. A good question can expose ignorance, inconsistencies and a host of other things that I would prefer to keep hidden. This was one of the features of Socrates which eventually got him killed: his method of asking questions served as an expose of the assumed knowledge of his day. His simple sentence: "I have a question" was dangerous, powerful and subversive.

Through out his ministry, Jesus too would stun and stupefy would-be challengers by a single sage question. Indeed, his questions continue to reveal pride and ignorance in our own hearts in ways that can make us rather uncomfortable.

As we continue to ask questions about Jesus, God, et al, I wonder what questions Jesus would ask us. What do you guys think?

Would love to get your thoughts.....

Why preach?

I received an email recently that basically went like this:

What is the proper "method" to do "preaching" in a church? In this email the writer explained that he knew of "verse-by-verse" preaching as well as "topical" preaching. And he was trying to figure out which one was best in terms of helping him grow in understanding who God is and how to follow Him.

I have also received questions that go like this: what is the purpose of preaching at all? In this question the poor writer had experienced loads of woefully poor preaching and as a result was turned off by the whole concept.

In addition to these above, I have met a handful of folks at the Question Group who were checking out Christianity but the very notion of having someone "preach" at them was so offensive as to keep them from ever attending a church service.

In response to these questions, let me first admit that I am currently working on a sermon for this Sunday and as I work on it I hope these very questions influence the texture and posture of how I say what I say. I totally understand that the concept of preaching in itself (as well as preferred styles of preaching) in many cases present a barrier for people in even coming to church or, if they do come to church, from enjoying it. So why is it an important part of the Christian experience....why can't we just throw it out?

Several reasons prevent us from doing this but let me just mention one: the means of preaching, oral proclamation, gives its listeners a hint as to how to respond to the Gospel. In Romans 10 Paul contrasts the ineffectiveness "works" in attaining right standing before God against that of the effectiveness of the "word of faith that we proclaim" (i.e. preaching). The response to this proclamation of the finished work of Jesus on the cross [if you don't know quite what this means email me and it can be its own post] is not that of "well, I must work harder and be a better person to gain love and acceptance by God". Rather, it is a confession that Jesus has ALREADY done the work you needed to do and that he is the better person you or I could never be. It is an oral confession and acceptance of his work on our behalf. Hence the foolishness of preaching (1 Cor 1:18) shows us how to respond to the Gospel - to confess and to accept the work of Jesus on the cross....

Much more to be said but I will stop here to see what you guys have to say....

Is God good?

Hey Guys. Sorry it has been a while since the last post but I am happy to announce the details of our next Question Group. Beginning July 14 and continuing on the 21th and 28th we will have a series based on the character of the God of the Bible. I know that a handful of folks who check out Christianity are concerned not just with the reality of God but whether or not the God of the Bible is good and worthy of our worship. Indeed, one of the most famous opponents of Christianity, Christopher Hitchens, attacks the Bible at precisely the issue of God's character in his book God is not Great. So we will spend some time exploring the Bible to discover what God's character is and is not.

I am also excited to announce that our first night will feature Distinguished Professor of Old Testament at Denver Seminary, Dr. Danny Carroll. Dr Carroll has written a lot on the concern that the God of the Old Testament had for the "outsider" and "foreigner". You can check out his most recent book here.

More details to come but hope to see you all there...