Musings...

After a week of hot weather, the rain has decided to make a comeback! So it's been a rainy couple of days now, much to my delight... though the gloomy weather makes me want to stay in bed & not study for my exams!

Australian Idol:
Yes, I'm still watching it!!! Ah, I'm so sad that Chrislyn has left the show! Thought she'd at least make it to the final 2! Drats, my SMS votes weren't enough! Well, now that she's gone, my next favourite would have to be Wes, especially after that stunning performance on the Michael Jackson theme night. He can really do the Jackson moves! Ow! Haha... Nobz & Popz, go check it out on Aust Idol website... hehe...

One Heart, One Mind, One Lord
Subiaco Church of Christ (i.e. the church I go to here in Perth) has prepared a 5 week devotional material for the whole church to use for this month. The idea is that everyone reads & meditates & prays on the same passage, reflection, etc. for 6 days of the week, and on Sunday, the service celebrates the theme for the week and the sermon to reinforce it. Even the small groups/Bible study groups will be going through these topics on the weekday (mine just did on Tuesday night!).

You can check it out at: http://www.subiacochurch.com/main_site/file_uploads/downloads/ONEjournal.pdf

The idea is that the whole church moves in the same direction for this whole month in terms of our thinking of issues, as well as for it to be an accountability exercise for each other. There's an encouragement to share what we've learnt/resolved with someone else for the purpose of spurring one another on & keeping each other accountable for it.

I've found it really enjoyable and thought-provoking. We've only finished the 1st week's theme which is on "spiritual growth", but I've found both the devotional & the questions at the end challenging. It's really about taking the next step in our spiritual growth, and putting into place practices & disciplines to help us grow, not just in knowledge but in our lifestyle. As part of the materials says:

"Christian maturity is not measured by one's capacity to articulate one's faith & interact with the doctrine on an intellectual level but one's capacity to put that faith into practice."

That's definitely my sentiment this whole year, reinforced by my time at seminary (which is pretty surprising given that a lot of what we do in class & assignments is "head"/academic stuff). Or as John Stott puts it, "We're not to be 'tadpole' Christians, i.e. big in the head but small in the body & arms etc." (or something like that.. haha..)

Reflections on studies at Seminary
Seminary, though still strong in producing doctrinally sound academic quality, has definitely challenged areas of my spirituality (or simply put, my relationship with God). I cherish the way it has forced upon me to re-evaluate my prior beliefs, whether about God, myself, priorities in ministry and evangelism, preaching etc.

If anything, I hope that Seminary will make me a more charitable person, particularly in light of other people's beliefs; to be more careful about being dogmatic on certain doctrines when there is clear ambiguity in the biblical text; or to not insist that there is only one way of doing ministry, when clearly God has equipped his church in so many creative ways beyond comprehension; and to also recognise that the way I read Scripture is coloured in many ways by my own culture & pre-conceived beliefs, while seeking to minimise them as much as possible, I'd rarely be able to be completely free from it.

It has also definitely challenged me to see that I was & still am very much a 'tadpole' Christian. That my spiritual growth these years have focused very much on the acquiring of knowledge... which is not a bad thing in itself. Our relationship with God IS very much dependent on our knowledge of him. If we don't know him, how can we relate to him in the right manner?

But I think I'm at the point where this knowledge needs to be translated into something far deeper & more meaningful. I yearn & long for a 'wholesome faith', in the sense that my whole being is caught up in my relationship with God - head, heart, hands; or mind, emotions, actions.

Another quote (from my apologetics lecture)
Faith in man answers to grace in God. As such, it affects the whole of man's nature. It commences with the conviction of the mind based on adequate evidence; it continues in the confidence of the heart or emotions based on the above conviction, and it is crowned in the consent of the will, by means of which the conviction and confidence are expressed in conduct. - G. Thomas -

Just a short one for now, need to hit my books again.. exam next week!