Saturday, December 05, 2009

A Learning Church



Did you know that Spurgeon taught the church has something to learn from unbelievers (see Lectures to My Students, p. 211)?  He learned it from Jesus.  Jesus even held that there is a measure of wisdom to be found among unbelievers (ala Luke 16:8). The sons of this world can be savvier than the sons of light and I totally agree.

When I was ten I enjoyed my Saturday morning cartoons. I would watch them and slowly eat my bowl of Caption Crunch. One morning I awoke to find my mother laying out my close and telling me to get ready. We had to go to the doctor.
"Who is going to the doctor?"
"You are! Silly!"
"What’s wrong with me? I'm fine! I have MY cartoon to watch!!"

My mother realizing I had no idea of my problem. She told me I was getting a wart taken of my back. I cringed at the thought of an alien like mutation growing on me (I watched to much SiFi as a kid). Seeing my expression, she showed it to me in a mirror and a day later it was gone. 

While my mother is no unbeliever, like my mother, unbelievers can see our warts when we are blind to them. If we take some time to look at why they don’t like us we may find a wart we have never seen. Sometimes our greatest enemy’s can help point out the warts that we just can not see. Sometimes we can learn from the sons of this world.

A good example is everyone’s favorite atheist 'Friedrich Nietzsche"  He often raises his sarcastic and unbelieving head to say many lost but profound statements. Like so, much of Nietzsche’s writing he is great at diagnosis and poor an offering an answer. It comes from that atheism thing. Human wisdom can be insightful but often stops at the diagnosis. Without God, humanity finds itself full on questions, clear on the problems, but starved for any answers that satisfy. In the quote below, good old Nietzsche gives an insightful thought on how people misunderstand what is profound. In this little snip, he writes about two groups: the crowd and the speaker.  Nietzsche musses:

Those who know that they are profound strive for clarity. Those who would like to seem profound to the crowd strive for obscurity. For the crowd believes that if it cannot see to the bottom of something it must be profound. It is so timid and dislikes going into the water.

Another translation of the same passage reads:

Whoever knows he is deep, strives for clarity; whoever would like to appear deep to the crowd, strives for obscurity. For the crowd considers anything deep if only it cannot see to the bottom: the crowd is so timid and afraid of going into the water.

Nietzsche point is to remind us not to fall prey to the sway of the crowd and the cunning of those that manipulate the crowd. Old Nietzsche cuts to the heart of the problem: Human’s can confuse shallow thought for deep thought. We have the tenancy to see the unclear as mysterious and call it profound. 
                
In a day of cultural ignorance and media manipulation we need of keeping our wits and not loose sight of the need for clarity.  We live in a culture of spin. The political experts have learned that there is not much difference between Nietzsche’s crowd and the crowd today. In our culture dishonesty has moved from a vice to a job in public relations. The experts teach a speaker to sound “deep”  through being unclear but speaking with conviction and certainty.  I actually heard a politician publically say, “I don't believe in reincarnation, but I did in my past life." He was not making a joke. His intent was to “appear wise,” but for the discerning hearer he was just talking foolish.  This is possible because people in general do have the wrong concept of spiritual wisdom – thinking of it as something mystical and not to be fully understood. Something that produces the “woo that’s deep,” affects. But Nietzsche places the blame on the crowd, “ the crowd is so timid and afraid of going into the water.”  This is because the crowd wants it easy. They do not want to dive into truth. Truth can be hard to understand, and assimilate, but we are to be diligent so we can understand clearly.  He is showing that people generally will not work to understand. Humorously, it is clear that the Bible agrees with Nietzsche. The Hebrew idea of spiritual wisdom is not ever separated from clear practical wisdom. They are one and the same. Proverbs the book of spiritual wisdom is extremely practical and clear. The book of James, the New Testament equivalent, is just as practical dealing with issues like what we say, how to treat people and how to work your faith. 

It may have been Nietzsche’s experiance as a preacher’s son that led him to make such a statement. How many times have we given up on a sermon thinking "I don’t get it, that’s too deep for me."  Have you ever sat in church irritated and thinking, “What is that guy saying? He is making about as much since as tobacco flavored yogurt or an interstate highway in Hawaii.” We have all been there.

So what is the solution to this problem? How to we get rid of confusion and gain clarity? Is there a seminar we need to go to? For the church the answer is refreshingly spiritual. It comes in the form of two duties: the obligations of the speaker and the obligations of the community of faith. I asked myself, what does it take to be a learning church? What can the speaker do to gain clarity?  I have thought through what I think are some helpful guides. 

The obligations of the speaker:
1.                  Get out of your own subjectivity – Do not be so selfish that you assume your way of understanding some truth is going to be clear to others. First I would say, have dialogues with Believers that you know think in different ways from you. Learn new ways to say the same thing. Second, know your audience. Learn how to speak to people in terms they get. Such as using general terms and categories that people can grasp. My dad gave me this advice that sums this point up well. He told me to “K.I.S.S. them” Keep It Simple Stupid.
2.                  Study the word with great diligence –when you study, and reflect on what is found, clarity will come. This is because the Spirit promises to help us if we are diligent and committed to the process.
3.                  Pray for the anointing –With the anointing comes great clarity. The Spirit is the Spirit of truth. He will enlighten people to your information. He is the great equalizer. Truth can be hard to understand but when you get it, it gets you and clarity is released by the spirits power. Paul speaking of His ministry and how his teaching ministry was affective in laying a doctrinal and spiritual foundation, “According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation” [1 Cor 3:10 (NASB)]. Paul’s usage of the phrase Grace of God is one way he speaks of the anointing. The anointing is empowering grace. Many think getting the anointing on your ministry is passive. If you have faith God will move and trust. Not so! You need faith but that is not all. The anointing is not easy to obtain. Church history and the biblical record tell us that it costs. You have to want it, pray for it, plead for it, and God brings it.

Also I believed the crowd has an obligation. For the crowd I also have some applications
1.      Seeking hearts will draw the anointing. Truth is clear and not misty when the oil of God is present. If you want your preacher or teacher to have a divine clarity stir yourself to a desire for God to speak in that time.  This faith will stir the ministry of the Spirit for longing hearts are wet with fresh Oil. So Pray for your worship time, and the one speaking.
2.      Stir your passion for God through worship. Blaise Pascal one wrote, “Clarity of mind means clarity of passion, too; this is why a great and clear mind loves ardently and sees distinctly what he loves.”
3.   Seek to understand. Be mentally active engaging your mind in the activity of comprehension. Do what you can to understand the terms your teacher is using. The first line of communication is being clear on your terms.



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