During the 20+ years I worked for the Potomac Ministry Network I drove a lot. My daily commute took the better part of three hours. Therefore, I often “redeemed the time” by listening to worship music or a good audio book. Today, I spend most of my time working in my home office. I teach online university and Bible college classes. I write. And I prepare messages for my preaching ministry as an interim pastor.
On the Road Again
A recent assignment has me back on the road. Almost every weekend I face a 344-mile-round-trip drive to serve as interim pastor at Jakes Run Assembly of God in Fairview, WV. The church is full of sweet people who love Jesus. They are easy to preach to. They have a nice well-maintained debt-free church building. They have a large modern gymnasium/family activity center. Plus the church is only a few miles from West Virginia University.
Since I have 5-6 hours behind the wheel every weekend, I’m currently making the most of my time by listening to N. T. Wright’s The Challenge of Acts: Rediscovering What the Church Was and Is. Wright personally reads the audio version of the book with a thoughtful, scholarly, and pleasing British accent.
Perhaps today’s most respected Pentecostal scholar, Dr. Craig Keener, says “Wright presents his insights in a highly readable, engaging, and often witty way … he … also challenges our hearts and lives in today’s world.” So far, one of my favorite quotes comes from Wright’s summary of Peter’s reluctant and surprising ministry to the Gentile army officer, Cornelius. It is clear that Peter was blown away when God poured out the Holy Spirit on Gentile believers and they spoke in tongues just as the Jews did on the Day of Pentecost.
If you’re in ministry and you want God to do new things, get on prayerfully doing the present things and be ready for surprises.1 —N.T. Wright
Indeed, the book of Acts is full of numerous surprising acts of the Holy Spirit and I believe God still wants to surprise and use us in powerful ways today. I highly recommend The Challenge of Acts: Rediscovering What the Church Was and Is by N. T. Wright in both the audible and Kindle versions of the book.
1 N. T. Wright. The Challenge of Acts: Rediscovering What the Church Was and Is (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2024), 57, Kindle Edition.
I love reading books that make me think. While completing my doctors degree at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, there were many. My first class was advanced hermeneutics (principles for correctly interpreting Scripture) with Dr. Bob Eby. The class was demanding and was much like jumping into the deep end of the pool. The books were challenging and difficult to read. However, Misreading Scripture With Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bibleby E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O’Brien, was a delightful exception. Wow. The book really opened my eyes and made me think about the unconscious biases we bring to the Bible because of American culture.
Reading the Bible is a Cross-cultural Experience
Perhaps you’ve never thought about it, but reading the Bible is a cross-cultural experience. Scripture was written in a different land, in a different time, in a different language (Greek or Hebrew), with different customs and behaviors. It was a very different culture than we have in America. Richards and O’Brien insist, “The most powerful cultural values are those that go without being said.” The authors go on to helpfully explain, “When a passage of Scripture appears to leave out a piece of the puzzle because something went without being said, we instinctively fill in the gap with a piece from our own culture—usually a piece that goes without being said. When we miss what went without being said for THEM and substitute what goes without being said FOR US, we are at risk of misreading Scripture” (emphasis added).1
Is YOU singular or Plural?
A fascinating example is the simple word “you.” In American English, the word can be used in either a plural sense (speaking of a group) or singular sense (speaking of an individual). In English the spelling remains the same. Greek and Hebrew are different. Both clearly indicate whether the “you” is singular or plural. American culture emphasizes the rights and privileges of the individual. Greek and Hebrew cultures typically had a collective emphasis on the entire family, clan, group, or community. It is easy to think that every “you” we read in the Bible applies to us as an individual. However, the original language makes it clear that in many Scriptures the “you” is a plural and the advice, admonition, or promise is intended to apply to an entire group or the whole church.
Romans 12 is Not for “Lone Ranger” Christians
For example, Romans chapter 12 is not intended as teaching for “Lone Ranger” Christians who don’t think they need to be in fellowship and relationship as part of a church to experience God’s perfect will. Instead, the chapter is full of great teaching about how every member should present their bodies (note “bodies” is plural) as living sacrifices and be transformed in how they collectively think so that instead of conforming to the surrounding secular culture, “you (again this “you” is plural referring to the entire group) may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2, NRSV). Wow, what a thought! An entire church can discern and become everything God wants it to be! The rest of the chapter emphasizes how an individual should not “think of yourself more highly than you ought to think” (Romans 12:3, NRSV), and verses 4-9 emphasize how much we need the gifts that we and other believers can and must rightly exercise for the benefit of the entire group.
Maybe “YOU-ALL” is not so Silly
This deficiency in the English language is one that some regions have tried to address (to the amusement of the rest of the country). For example, southerners often say “you-all” in an attempt to refer to an entire group or family. When I pastored a church in western Maryland, the local people would sometime say “you’s” to indicate a whole family or more than one person. Frankly, this single concept is such a big deal that an entire follow-up book was written to go deeper on this important issue.2
I highly recommend Misreading Scripture With Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bibleby E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O’Brien. It is a book that will make you think—and perhaps help you thinkbetter when it comes to understanding Scripture.
1E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O’Brien, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2013), 12-13, Kindle.
2E. Randolph Richards and Richard James, Misreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes: Patronage, Honor, and Shame in the Biblical World (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2020), Kindle.
Church growth, church health, and church revitalization have been personal subjects of life-long study—from the first time I became a lead pastor as a green and inexperienced twenty-five-year-old to this very day. Recently, I taught a masters-level course in church revitalization for the University of Valley Forge and during the discussion forums a graduate student introduced me to a new (to me) and exceptional author, Dr. Troy H. Jones.
Jones’ first book, Recalibrate Your Church is an excellent and thoughtful read. However, the title of Jones’ latest book, Ignite Your Church: Seven Practices to Be an Architect and Not an Arsonist, made me chuckle and piqued my curiosity. The book is full of clear and practical advice with a pronounced bias toward intentional action. However, Jones is also quite transparent when confessing his own mistakes. Therefore, he passes on the wisdom of lessons learned in the form of “pro tips.”
The book’s big idea is the importance of clearly focusing on just one “Mission Critical Initiative”—”a bold initiative that creates momentum and unites your church to make the greatest impact. For a season, it’s the one vision, one rallying cry, and one challenge that brings everyone together and becomes … a single project or event that initiates change.”1The mission critical initiative (MCI) is the one thing that you can do what will make the biggest positive change in your church. The balance of the book is full of supporting principles, best practices, and thoughtful reason.
Jones experienced advice about how to introduce significant change is worth the price of the book. There is much to commend his wise suggestion that you “leak, listen, learn, lead, and land.” He explains:
Pay close attention to your church’s official governance structure and its unofficial key players. Then begin to intentionally “leak” your idea to select leaders, chatting unofficially, and observing responses. Have one-on-one meetings with those who have the most influence. This will allow them to give input at an early stage. That’s key, because people will always support what they help create. Identify influencers in your organization and observe their initial thoughts and pushback.2
Recently I was asked to create an introductory leadership class for students at Ascent College. I was extremely excited to include this spiritual leadership classic as a required textbook. There is definitely leadership “gold” in this book. Two powerful metaphors summarize the key content:
First, Miller talks about the importance of spending time in the Soul Room with God before moving out into the Leadership Room where we seek to minister and lead. This is so true—and absolutely crucial!
Second, Miller gives us the easy-to-understand metaphor of the pitcher, cup, saucer, and plate. He explains:
The pitcher represents all that God is and all that He longs to pour into the cup of my life: His very being, His existence as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, His character, and His desires for my life.
The cup represents my life. It is the unique and distinctive cup of who I am—of who God created me to be and of all that God longs for me to become. God desires to continually pour Himself into the cup of my life until it overflows with His character and grace.
This divine overflow spills onto the saucer. The saucer represents relationships, the network of people my life touches, however frequently or infrequently.
Finally, the plate represents events, the places, and the organizations where God’s gracious presence in my life can further overflow through me and, at times, through my leadership responsibilities.
This Pitcher/Cup…Saucer/Plate process involves the whole of my being, the whole of my life. The Spiritual Formation of Leaders (p. 98). Xulon Press. Kindle Edition.
In spite of the fact the content about “generational issues” is a bit dated, my students at Ascent College loved the book and were excited to read a spiritually profound book that spoke in practical ways regarding life, ministry, and leadership.