How We Roll

This blog is devoted to studying the book of Luke. But first, some ground rules:

Rule #1 If you don’t know anything about the Bible, yer not stupid; yer normal.

Before I became a “Church Planter” I was a college minister for 12½ years. I made a promise from the word “go” when I took the job in January of 1995—a promise which led to a disturbing discovery about the plight of college students (and the rest of the adult population) when it comes to the Christian Bible.

The promise was, “if any of you want an hour/week of my time to study the Bible, I’ll make it happen. And yes, I said any of you. Whether you have gone to church all your life, or have never been to church before in your life, I will make the time for you.”

The discovery resulted from these Bible study interactions with several, but it is very well illustrated by telling you about Laurie.

Laurie arrived first for the Tuesday evening Bible study in the cafeteria of the College Inn. We were sitting at the table, chatting, waiting for everyone else to arrive, when I noticed Laurie’s Bible. It looked brand new. “Nice Bible. Did you just get it?”

“Thanks,” she said. “Actually, I got it at my Confirmation.” I did the math. I am not from a tradition which practices Confirmation, but I am pretty sure it happens several years before college….

“So…have you read it much?”

Her reply floored me. “To tell you truth, I’m kind of afraid to open it.”

And she wasn’t the only one. My big discovery was that just about every college student who held me to my promise was in the same boat. Whether religion was a new pursuit, or they had been in an “awesome” church youth group in high school (and even including most of those who had attended a Christian school) the vast majority knew so little about the Bible that they found it kind of intimidating.

As disturbing as that is, those college students are not alone. Same thing can be said for most church-going people in America today.

So—to repeat—if you are a person who knows so little about what’s inside the Bible that you are kind of afraid to even open it? Welcome to the club. That’s most people—even the Christians. Which leads to Ground Rule #2.

Rule #2 If I don’t explain it to you, that’s my bad; not yours. Ask. I will apologize, and I will ‘splain.

Ever try to learn something about computers from a Computer Engineer? Sometimes it goes pretty well—I happen to know a Computer Engineer who speaks plain English. However, sometimes—maybe most times—they start talking in computerese, and you are lost from the moment they open their mouths.

By the same token, ever tried to learn something about Christianity from a guy with a Masters in Ministry? I picked on the computer guys to make my point, but the same goes for just about any specialty. Accountants speak Accountantlish…truck-drivers speak Truckian. Pastors with letters attached to their names tend to speak Bible-ish or Christianese.

I don’t want to do that to you. So if I forget to explain anything, or speak Churchlish, please call me on it, and I will go back and ‘splain myself. Deal?

Rule #3 You don’t have to agree with me.

When I was a kid, Bible studies with people who didn’t yet believe the Bible were based on “agreement.” A Christian would sit down with a non-Christian and go through “Lesson 1.” At the end of Lesson 1, the “student” would have to agree to some conclusion. Lesson 2 was building upon that conclusion. So—if you follow—if the “student” didn’t accept or agree with the “conclusion,” the “teacher” could not move on the Lesson 2. Next week would be a repeat/enhancement of Lesson 1, as was the next session and the next until agreement happened on the premise from Lesson 1. All the lessons were the same, building agreement upon agreement until logic sort of…dictated that the “student” become a Christian.

Trouble with that kind of Bible study is that it often makes the “student” feel like they are being led down the proverbial garden path—even manipulated.

So—just in case you are a person who at present would not be accurately described as a “devoted follower of Christ,” please know that I am not going to do that to you. This study of Luke is not based upon agreement—as in you agreeing with me. The only person I am going to ask you to agree with is Luke, and only on one point. And, if you don’t want to agree to that? We can still roll. Agreed? (sorry; bad joke.)

K. Those are the ground rules. If you think of any more let me know. I’ll be back soon to get started.