Spiritual Life and Leadership
The Lord was not only meant to be known on paper but known in our heart. He was meant to be experienced on a personal level. Spiritual Life and Leadership teaches you the beautiful balance between our wiring and how we can grow into deeper relationship with Him. How can we help others experience something we haven’t? Sharing the gospel begins with us, it begins on a personal level. His yoke was meant to be easy, pursuing a relationship with Him was never meant to be difficult or a hard path to take. Through the reading in this class you can learn how you experience God and how to lean more into that. Because our relationship with God is like any other it takes continuous work. It’s something we can continue to pour into on a day to day basis to stay in relationship with God. Reflect on your own relationships…what does it take to keep then afloat? I would bet frequent communication, maybe words of affirmation every now and then, spending time together, and so much more. But sometimes in relationships you have to accommodate other people and accommodate someone else’s needs. Similar in our spiritual disciplines, sometimes we must accommodate what God would want or pursue what God has for us to learn. This is also our greatest challenge in spirituality it won’t always look like we want or believe it should, but it doesn’t mean that isn’t what God’s intended. Believing in Jesus and following Him is living into freedom, that is the choice Jesus also died for.
Global Christian History
Do you believe that other cultures religious beliefs can impact our current Christian beliefs today? Christianity has shifted over the years and morphed into a compilation of beliefs, practices, and methods from those all over the world. It’s impossible to deny that it took the evangelism of many to get to where we are today. Through the studies of this class, specifically, looking at the context of Christianity in India, you can have a fuller idea and concept of our Christian thoughts today. Through these ideas I hope to encompass a shortened synopsis of understanding Christianity through the lens of other cultures and times. When reading the main text, Understanding World Christianity in India, we will explore four different times in India’s history: Thomas Christians and Syrian Christianity, Roman Catholic Missions, Protestant Missions, and Pentecostal Missions. Throughout the following pages, we’ll dive deep into the history to understand how Christianity came about in India today. Through these studies we can grasp a better understanding of the difficulties of Christianity, one of the most prominent issues being church and state, still being an issue in our world today. Many cultures deal with this seeming issue still today. We can learn and understand from other cultures and issues from the history of the past to lean towards a better future.
The Bible as Christian Scripture
There’s a beauty in understanding something when you understand its history. Where did it comes from? how did it come to be? How does the history affect us today? To understand a future, sometimes we must reflect on the past. To understand the Bible as Christian Scripture, we must understand how scripture came to be. When we dive into its history, we can see a beautiful picture of why the Bible is in fact Christian Scripture. What gives a text this Christian authority? Through this course we look into the history, development, format and practice of scripture we can see its historical value and Holy emphasis. Through these lens’ we can see the beautiful balance between a written text inspired through a Holy God. What we preach from the pulpit in turn says a lot about what we believe in scripture. They state it in this way, “What the interpreter believes about the Bible influences how the Bible is interpreted and practiced.” John Wesley breaks preaching the gospel into two parts: the first is that his interpretive strategy is text centered. Meaning we must attempt to understand text in its original language and original context to gain a full picture. Secondly, we are expected to seek after spiritual as well. This allows us to understand it’s theological meaning and practical application. He concludes that when you can pair the idea and theology of scripture with the grace of God we have the opportunity to present salvation. These paired have the ability to grow our congregation in wisdom and awareness to the “sanctifying word from the Lord God Almighty.”
Cultural Contexts of Ministry
What would it take to make you aware of the cultural indifferences right in your backyard? How aware are you of your own cultural intelligence? Half of the battle in today’s time is to have the bravery to have these types of conversation and that’s exactly what this class does. In an interview for this class I was told, “diversity is about numbers and inclusion is about giving them a voice.” This class teaches you not only how to have the conversations we should have already be having but also how to take steps toward action. Our research in this class will do no good unless we pair it with action and intentional progress towards a culturally diverse community and culture. If this is the goal, then how do we communicate biblical belief of cultural diversity and inclusion and transfer that passion into the hearts of those within your church? How do we create this lasting impact in our church to make change happen? We can begin this conversation with the question, “Who is my neighbor?” My immediate answer is, “those next door to me” or in other words, “those closest to me,” “those in my corner,” or “those that are similar to me.” I think much of our world today functions in the answer of, “my neighbors are those that I see.” This answer may work for many, but in the context of culture and equality that answer is nowhere near acceptable. This class takes you back to the biblical context to answer the question “who is my neighbor?” A story in Luke about a man from a different background and a different culture than other people. Why did Jesus use a story regarding a difference in culture to prove a point? And why haven’t us as Christians learned a lesson taught in scripture from thousands of years ago? Are we in the church just “cooperating” with evil as MLK once said? How has our church dealt with this tension in society and how are we going to deal with it now?
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