Jonah - The Three R's Remediation
It is amazing to me that after Jonah preaches to Nineveh and its inhabitants repent, Jonah gets all salty because some plant/gourd leaf withered, leaving him in the hot sun. I like how the Old King James translation puts it: "But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered." Smote, now that is a word that has fallen out of favor.
Jonah had gone outside the city to sit in the shade and was hoping that God would crank up the hellfire judgment regardless of the true evidence of repentance. Now Jonah needed to get thrown back into the Sea to cool off his hot head! How soon he has forgotten. We never hear what happens to Jonah after this situation...probably not a good sign. Although Jesus does mention that he is a Jonah-sign of sorts to people who act a lot like Jonah but are blind to it.
Jonah was in need of some serious remediation. The Bible does not candy coat the saints and to say that this little incident puts Jonah in a bad light is charitable. If the Bible is a fabrication of myths as the skeptics think, maybe useful for little children stories and old womens' consolation, how devilish it is to reveal the weaknesses of its heroes. How so much like life when you really get to know them as they are rather than how they appear to be. It is hard to shake that reality test of the Bible...if it is not true, really true, why does it comport with existence as we know it so well?
There is a man by the name of Dr. Bill Daggett who has created the "Three R's for American Schools Model: Relevance, Rigor, and Relationships." It is not just the school system that needs to take heed, the Church has to go back to class on these "Three R's ."
Relevance - It is really sad that our culture has seemingly never needed the Gospel so desperately yet seems so inclined to chase pseudo-salvations of the world. The Bible shows us how to reconcile our past regrets, to forgive, to live in the present with purpose, and to face our future with hope. The deep issues of life center on such themes. Crap like "The Secret" goes by another name. Selfish.
Think about the deep hatred between the Jews and the Arabs. Do we really think that piddling "Peace" agreements brokered by the United States are going to reconcile these enemies, many of whom would rather die, and take as many of the enemy they can with them into destruction, than forgive.
It is up to the Church to teach the world what these themes look like with a human face. If we can't connect the Scriptures to the problems and adversities and even joys that people encounter, we need to relearn the basics.
Rigor - Too often seeker-sensitive churches are good at getting people into the pool of Church yet tends to keep them on the shallow end. in this video of Bill Hybels from Willow Creek he explains what his church has learned in regards to rigor. It is only fair to let him to articulate the controversy first profiled in Christianity Today. Since Willow Creek is the model for "Seeker Sensitive" it is a good case study. A Disciple is one who is under the discipline of God. Discipline is not a bad word. The unruly and sinful self is the enemy.
Relationships - The apostle James, in very hard times in the early church, admonished the brethren to "Be quick to listen and slow to speak and slow to anger." James has a way of hammering home hard truths into our souls. Many hard-core believers in their zeal to stand for God often create unnecessary damage by throwing grenades on people rather than diving on the grenade. What we are doing is condemning people when we should be caring for them.
Enough said.
Jonah had gone outside the city to sit in the shade and was hoping that God would crank up the hellfire judgment regardless of the true evidence of repentance. Now Jonah needed to get thrown back into the Sea to cool off his hot head! How soon he has forgotten. We never hear what happens to Jonah after this situation...probably not a good sign. Although Jesus does mention that he is a Jonah-sign of sorts to people who act a lot like Jonah but are blind to it.
Jonah was in need of some serious remediation. The Bible does not candy coat the saints and to say that this little incident puts Jonah in a bad light is charitable. If the Bible is a fabrication of myths as the skeptics think, maybe useful for little children stories and old womens' consolation, how devilish it is to reveal the weaknesses of its heroes. How so much like life when you really get to know them as they are rather than how they appear to be. It is hard to shake that reality test of the Bible...if it is not true, really true, why does it comport with existence as we know it so well?
There is a man by the name of Dr. Bill Daggett who has created the "Three R's for American Schools Model: Relevance, Rigor, and Relationships." It is not just the school system that needs to take heed, the Church has to go back to class on these "Three R's ."
Relevance - It is really sad that our culture has seemingly never needed the Gospel so desperately yet seems so inclined to chase pseudo-salvations of the world. The Bible shows us how to reconcile our past regrets, to forgive, to live in the present with purpose, and to face our future with hope. The deep issues of life center on such themes. Crap like "The Secret" goes by another name. Selfish.
Think about the deep hatred between the Jews and the Arabs. Do we really think that piddling "Peace" agreements brokered by the United States are going to reconcile these enemies, many of whom would rather die, and take as many of the enemy they can with them into destruction, than forgive.
It is up to the Church to teach the world what these themes look like with a human face. If we can't connect the Scriptures to the problems and adversities and even joys that people encounter, we need to relearn the basics.
Rigor - Too often seeker-sensitive churches are good at getting people into the pool of Church yet tends to keep them on the shallow end. in this video of Bill Hybels from Willow Creek he explains what his church has learned in regards to rigor. It is only fair to let him to articulate the controversy first profiled in Christianity Today. Since Willow Creek is the model for "Seeker Sensitive" it is a good case study. A Disciple is one who is under the discipline of God. Discipline is not a bad word. The unruly and sinful self is the enemy.
Relationships - The apostle James, in very hard times in the early church, admonished the brethren to "Be quick to listen and slow to speak and slow to anger." James has a way of hammering home hard truths into our souls. Many hard-core believers in their zeal to stand for God often create unnecessary damage by throwing grenades on people rather than diving on the grenade. What we are doing is condemning people when we should be caring for them.
Enough said.
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