Two Days Worth - Monday
Apologies for not posting yesterday... it was... busy...
Monday we began our classroom work. First on the spot was the Reverend Bill Cliff for "Bible with Bill". Bill taught us as only Bill can teach, "Cliff's Rules of Biblical Interpretation".
1) The Gospel is always astonishing and if it is not astonishing you're not reading it right.
2) In the Gospel God always acts first.
3) The Gospel is never fair.
I have posted these rules here many times before but they always bear repetition.
Bill also talked about the need for our liturgy to be true acts of celebration, to quote him, "Liturgy is meant to be a celebration of our freedom." I'm pretty sure this brief sentence is going to be working on me for some time and I know it is going to surface in my work and preaching (stay tuned).
Our second presenter was Dr. Bill Acres who spoke about salvation history in his lecture "What is Religion? What is History? Who are You?" Dr. Acres spoke about the nature of modernity's wager and how we have come to put our trust in life expectancy and not in our sacred story. He told us, "We are called into the paradox between who we are alone, and who we are together." And that in point of fact we are all mysterious. Dr. Acres spoke in very metaphysical terms and concepts and I must admit I did have trouble following him as the concept of the "meta" is not something I have a good grasp on.
After lunch I chose to stay in the residence to ensure that I was available to any who may want to talk about the program or their lives. I was rewarded with many wonderful conversations and debates.
In the evening we used a Theological Reflection tool called Blobs. Blobs come to us from Pip Wilson. And is a great tool to help people unpack their feelings that does not require writing or even speaking if necessary.
The day closed with a brief worship, that I lead. And then off to bed with us - NOT! Many of us stayed up far too late talking, laughing and listening.
Monday we began our classroom work. First on the spot was the Reverend Bill Cliff for "Bible with Bill". Bill taught us as only Bill can teach, "Cliff's Rules of Biblical Interpretation".
1) The Gospel is always astonishing and if it is not astonishing you're not reading it right.
2) In the Gospel God always acts first.
3) The Gospel is never fair.
I have posted these rules here many times before but they always bear repetition.
Bill also talked about the need for our liturgy to be true acts of celebration, to quote him, "Liturgy is meant to be a celebration of our freedom." I'm pretty sure this brief sentence is going to be working on me for some time and I know it is going to surface in my work and preaching (stay tuned).
Our second presenter was Dr. Bill Acres who spoke about salvation history in his lecture "What is Religion? What is History? Who are You?" Dr. Acres spoke about the nature of modernity's wager and how we have come to put our trust in life expectancy and not in our sacred story. He told us, "We are called into the paradox between who we are alone, and who we are together." And that in point of fact we are all mysterious. Dr. Acres spoke in very metaphysical terms and concepts and I must admit I did have trouble following him as the concept of the "meta" is not something I have a good grasp on.
After lunch I chose to stay in the residence to ensure that I was available to any who may want to talk about the program or their lives. I was rewarded with many wonderful conversations and debates.
In the evening we used a Theological Reflection tool called Blobs. Blobs come to us from Pip Wilson. And is a great tool to help people unpack their feelings that does not require writing or even speaking if necessary.
The day closed with a brief worship, that I lead. And then off to bed with us - NOT! Many of us stayed up far too late talking, laughing and listening.
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