Some Important Messages

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Inspired: Reflections on Year of the Bible, Rachel Held Evans, and the Halfway Point of 2018

Rarely in my life has a year been so singularly focused in my spiritual journey than 2018. At the beginning of the year, Unity Presbyterian Church undertook the journey of reading the Bible through one year, and Alex and I vigorously signed our names to the banner committing to Bible reading time as a couple for the first time in our 8 years together.

I took on this challenge for several reasons: I haven't read the Bible from cover to cover since my freshman year of college; I wanted this chance for Alex and I to do this together; I wanted to walk with the congregation I serve as they take on this challenge. But I would say one of the great motivating factors was my stubbornness. I want to take the bible seriously. I want to make myself uncomfortable with the gritty, violent episodes of the Old Testament and wrestle with the seemingly chauvinist, non-inclusive axioms of the New Testament. I didn't want anyone to be able to accuse me of not taking the Bible seriously. (Not always literally, but seriously. theres a difference).




Warning: I'm about to say something shocking:


I really don't care for Christian writings.

I've read so many memoirs, self-help books, trendy new understandings of faith, and with very few exceptions (basically just Lauren Winner), I overall find Christian writing to be lazy, self-centered, and overly simplified. I've often wondered why we offer simple, trite, McDonaldized art to the Almighty God who demands our very best. So, needless to say, when faced with the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Rachel Held Evans' new book called Inspired, I approached this reading with a strange combination of trepidation and excitement. I wanted to fall in love with scripture again, but I was terrified to have my heart broken.




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I began to read Rachel Held Evans' work with my same skepticism. After all, I'm a pastor. I have two degrees in theology, and multiple awards for my Bible Trivia knowledge; I'm a gosh darn Bible genius, and I'll probably end up going through the book like a red pen on Red Bull, making theological corrections and poking holes into inferior insights. That is, if I can deflate my head long enough to see the words on the page...

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 But this skepticism faded away rather quickly. There was something seductive, earthy, and tangible about the words that flutter across the pages of this book. Whimsical, reimagined stories; gritty, raw confessions; thoughtful, challenging assessments. Inspired is a beautifully written collection of creative stories based on scripture paired with thoughtful, academic-but-readable reflections on scripture. Even with my academic background and my stubborn attitude, I found myself captivated on Evans' every word, drawn in like a fish on a hook.



The timing of reading this book alongside my journey through Year of the Bible was one of those serendipitous coincidences, kind of like buying Chips Ahoy and realizing you also have a can of Reddiwhip {best combination, or best combination? AmIRight?} Or maybe more appropriately, like breaking your leg in the parking lot of the emergency room. As I labor through the onerous task of Bible reading, I found Inspired to be a literal source of inspiration for me, a fount of realistic optimism, a fresh ointment for an old wound. Rachel has set up the chapters according to genre and roughly in sequence throughout the Bible. If I had had this at the beginning of the year, I would have led a small group to read through it alongside their Bible readings as a way of giving new perspective to challenging stories and encouragement when we get bogged down with the depressing stories of Judges and Kings. As is, I will be encouraging this as a study for the latter half of the year for our congregation. With a study guide available, this would be a highly engaging and easy-to-pull-off study for small groups or congregations. Rachel's theology is very much in line with mainline denominations, and her appeal stretches among multiple generations, genders, cultures, socio-economic statuses, and walks of life.

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The most compelling part of Inspired in my experience was the chapter entitled "Resistance Stories." In the world right now, progressive Christianity has a lot of wind in its sails. The PCUSA among other denominations made ground-breaking decisions about inclusion of the LGBTQ community with regard to marriage and ordination; protest marchers at the Women's March and March for our Lives touted signs with Christian messages; and more and more we are seeing people who are followers of Jesus Christ who look, believe, and act differently than we may have imagined 20 years ago. However, all too often, we progressives aren't leaning on Scripture or going back to the Bible to understand our world. Instead, we are dismissing parts of scripture as old, irrelevant, or too difficult.

What I love about Inspired, in particular the chapter on "Resistance Stories" is that Rachel gives us a very clear, biblical approach to social justice in our world. While much of this book reflects views that can be found in other academic works, her attachment to storytelling and scripturally sound theological perspective are unique and authoritative. This is the progressive manifesto we need in today's times. And while she offers an unapologetic progressive viewpoint, I find it to be compelling to a variety of political, theological and social perspectives.


An apocalyptic event or vision, therefore, reveals things as they really are. It peels back the layers of pomp and pretense, fear and uncertainty to expose the true forces at work in the world...


Without accusation, persecution, or blame, Evans exposes the idolatry, power differentiation, and syncretism of our world today in a way that all of us can connect to.

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Maybe you're like me and you're looking for someone to put your heartfelt struggle with scripture into eloquent words. Maybe you've never read the Bible and are looking for some guidance about how to start. Maybe you've read the Bible a million times and are looking for a fresh new perspective. Maybe it's time we all felt a little more..inspired.


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