Monday, February 2, 2009

Why Teach?

It's a great question... and Walter Brueggemann answers that question for me in his article entitled "That the World May Be Redescribed" (Interpretation, October 2002, pp. 359-367). In his words, this is the reason I teach preaching and interpretation to preachers... and why I teach the Bible to my Journey (home Bible study) group: "to enable the church to discern the world anew according to the script of the Bible with particular attentiveness to the character of the Bible, and thereby to accept the world as a place of joyous missional obedience."

WB concludes that article with this observation: The text itself is cause enough for wonder. A second wonder is that teachers (preachers) can help people find access to the text - and, given access, we find ourselves addressed and reimagined by this "strange new world" of the Bible.

Given the current crisis of our day, the unfathomable richness of the text, and the inscrutable, yet merciful Character who is revealed to us through this text, who could ask for any greater joy or vocation?

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