Reading the scroll together

• [Justin Martyr] tells how the compositions of the prophets were read in the weekly meetings of Christians along with the memoirs of the apostles; the memoirs of the apostles indicated the lines along which the prophets' words were to be understood. (The Canon of Scripture by F.F. Bruce)

• “After this letter has been read to you, make sure it gets read also in Laodicea. And get the letter that went to Laodicea and have it read to you.” Colossians 4:16

Best-seller at Refuge

This past fall, a reading group began at Refuge. Like other fellowships, we have done book studies before (Radical by David Platt and Waking the Dead by John Eldridge are two that come to mind). And in the 90s and early 2000s I regularly led Bible studies either in our home or at another's usually employing the use of a guide to help (there's lots of good stuff put out by Intervarsity, Serendipity or Zondervan.) But this reading group is quite unlike any I have ever been a part of in my twenty-three years of ministry. A group of us are gathering together weekly to read the Bible. Period. After reading it then we talk about what we have just read. That's it.

While the 5-8 people who have chosen to join this group on a regular basis would defer to me as the group's leader I don't think that would be an accurate description of my role unless they mean I'm the guy who opens the room, turns on the lights and puts the coffee on. I think it would be better to refer to me as the group's “facilitator” simply because that's what I do – I get us going around 7-ish and wrap things up as the clock reaches 9. The format is simple: we read a chapter of Scripture and then reflect and make observations about what we have just read. When we feel we have exhausted the discussion we read the next chapter.

For the first couple of months, we chose the Gospel of Mark to plow through, usually covering two chapters a week. I love listening to the observations that different people make and the questions they raise as we worked our way through Mark: how frequently devils and demons are mentioned, for instance, and Jesus' teaching on end-things summed up in Mark 13. On the final week of Mark we covered chapter 16 alone, had an interesting discussion on the text note in most modern translations that reads, “The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20” (NIV) and concluded with a time of worship. Over the eight Wednesdays we read through Mark we went down some “bunny trails” now and again and diverted a bit from the text but it was always related to what we had just read or things we had always considered true that we were now perplexed about because it didn't jive with what we had just read. Of course, along the way we laughed together, shared our heart with one another and before we left had opportunity to pray for one another.

We have a little more to go on than this

It makes me think of the first Christians. There were no Gospel publishing houses. Like their Jewish forebears, the Bible as we know it today did not exist for them. They were just trying to figure it out this new movement they were a part of. They would write to Paul, for example, about faith-matters and he, in turn, would reply with answers to many of their questions. Or John would hear of trouble in a certain locale with some leaders behaving badly or teaching erroneous things. He would write a letter of correction and warning but always couched in terms of love and affection. For their part, a letter would arrive and in the next gathering of the Church in that community it would be read, discussed and, no doubt in some cases, the author's conclusions debated. For many of the New Testament letters it probably took more than one Lord's day to get through a single circular. When they were done with it they passed it on to another community via a merchant heading in that direction while they would discuss other writings at hand, the Old Testament Scriptures among them.

I'm certain there are a lot of things we probably missed in our personal study of Mark, things that no doubt a study guide prepared by a learned individual could have enlightened us on. But in return we heard each other's thoughts about certain parts of Mark's story that we may have missed if we had stuck to a “canned” curriculum. What's more, we have become more intimate with one another simply because the format we have chosen encourages people to share their opinion without the fear that may have the “wrong” answer.

Following our conclusion of Mark, given that it was early November we chose to read through the Petrine letters figuring we could easily get through eight chapters before Christmas. But two weeks ago we spent the entire evening in 1 Peter 3 and enjoyed a spirited and lively discussion about men and women and roles and calling. When part of your group has been nurtured in the faith in either a Baptist or Wisconsin Lutheran tradition, the potential for sparks to fly is very real. Last week, we never got past 1 Peter 4 as the conversation centered around the role of suffering in the Christian life. Peter wrote to a group of people who were experiencing trouble because of their profession of faith:

“Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. Then you’ll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.” (1 Peter 4:1-2, Msg)

Reading this sentence (and others in 1 Peter 4), someone new to the group sincerely wanted to know if you ever had the right to defend yourself in case a bad guy was coming for your family. That led to yet another spirited conversation that ran the table between villagers in Northern Syria defending themselves with automatic weapons to fight off ISIS thugs to dealing with a potential intruder in your home. Does “turning the other cheek” really work or is Peter telling us to take it on the chin if need be? At the end of the night, no one's position changed but the discussion had been life-giving and provoking. Those who disagreed with one another did not leave in a huff. It wasn't that kind of discussion anyway. Rather, we all realized that each of us have difficult people in our lives that requires a response befitting a disciple of the one who willingly laid down his life for all of us. That led to a time of prayer that each of us would respond in our particular situation in a way that would be pleasing to God.

I'm sure I'm overstating it but I think what I'm describing is what some call “spiritual formation” - the growth in “the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3). All of us believe a lot of things about life, about money, about politics, about entertainment and what “good” Christians should and should not do. We come by these opinions honestly – parents, friends, blogs, sermons, things that Christian celebrities and spokespeople say – and assume that they must be so because they are not illegal nor cause harm to another or because someone we respect says them. But the Word of God is to be our final authority, not what others say it says. I realize that apart from “No murder” (the sixth commandment), “No adultery” (the seventh) and other so-called black-and-white statements in the Bible, a lot of interpretations on more “grayer” matters can be lifted out of our study of the Scripture. But when we read with the company of others who desire to hear from God, it allows my preconceived ideas to be tested and proved or found to be erroneous and needing to be repented of.

An O.M.G. moment

Which is how this exercise got started. This past fall I began preaching a series from 1 Kings 22. The young King Josiah orders that Solomon's great Temple be refurbished and restored after years of disrepair. While the crews are working away they make a discovery of a scroll. The high priest opens it carefully only to be shocked at what they have found – it is the lost book of the Law. It is sent to the king and he orders it to be read. Not too many sentences in he rips his robe in a ceremonial and cultural way of saying O.M.G. In short, they have found the Bible (okay, it was only the Deuteronomy scroll, but still.) As the words of the revelation of God are read Josiah is only too aware how far he and his people have fallen, how far the nation is out of plumb. Shortly after the reading, Josiah receives word from the prophetess that indeed judgment is coming just as God had promised to the generation that first heard the words hundreds of years before. So we read to be reminded lest we forget, to learn from one another, to be challenged in our thinking, and repent when God's Spirit calls us to do just this.