I came across an interesting article at the Baptist Press website today. The article profiles a talk that Russell Moore gave at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary: Moore examines paradoxes in Scripture & ministry. What’s the story here?

Those of you who follow my blog know that I strive to be (near) perfectly ecumenical. IMHO, you don’t need to strictly adhere to the doctrine of any particular, or in fact any, denomination in order to count yourself a Christian. I do believe that you must commune with other Christians, and I believe that we have something to learn from all denominations. God can be found at Mass and a Bar Mitzvah. The church I’m affiliated with hosts guest preachers (and organists) every Sunday who are Methodist, Baptist, UCC, Unitarian, Episcopal, Lutheran, etc.  They’re all trained at the widest variety of seminaries. The resulting mosaic is like a stain glass window, stunning in variety and luminescence. So, it’s not the doctrine of the seminary that interests me here.

I love articles like this because they mean you don’t have to take just my word for it. Human beings respond to narratives. Understanding and experiencing the narrative(s) of the Bible helps make sense not only of the Bible, but of our own narratives. We bring the narratives of the Bible to life and into our lives in public readings of scripture.

It’s all about the narrative

Here are a few (admittedly cherry picked) quotes from Russell Moore, with my emphasis added.

“As the apostle John put it in his Gospel, the abstract and pre-incarnate word (mystery) is made clear to human beings in a narrative.”

“…not only because Christians need to know how to read texts, but because they need to read people.”

“The Bible is not a collection of propositional truth, but a grand narrative that cannot be preached as a theological or doctrinal treatise…”

The bible is not a book of listicles and laws. It’s about people, their struggles in daily life and their extraordinary encounters with the divine; all expressed through narrative. As readers, we read not to decode theological or doctrinal meaning, but to experience other lives lived in the presence of the living God.  We read to gain the kind of insight and wisdom that only comes from experience.

Lose yourself in the text

“…a deep familiarity with the narrative of Scripture itself.”

“Christians can communicate this word by being conversant in narrative and literary structures…”

The narrative form allows us to experience empathy, to more easily remember, and to share those experiences with others. There’s a reason Jesus taught in parables and not with worksheets. We all need to be more intimately familiar with the narrative of Scripture.

What is your story?

 “…the problem is not just that you won’t interpret the Bible rightly, but that you won’t be able to interpret people rightly.”

Sharing, even vicariously, in the experience of others gives us insight into their lives and can hold a mirror up to our own lives.  We’re commanded to love our neighbors.  This is only possible when we recognize what it is we have in common, for better or worse.

“Christians must pay attention to the plot of Scripture so they can explain it to another person who is looking to make sense of their own life’s narrative.”

Not just looking, but hearing. This is why we read scripture aloud. We give shape, direction and meaning to the lives of others.  We gain insight into the shape, direction and meaning of our own lives.  Our own stories.

Hear the Gospel!