Jude 2

I wanted to give you a brief wrap-up of some of my observations from my two weeks on campus at Fuller Theological Seminary:

• I will never read the Bible the same way again: I have new insights and understanding of the flow and cohesion of the entirety of scripture.

• God has some amazing people, of all ages, all over the world, doing incredible things.

• The overwhelming consensus of people from all over is that they/we are called to be God's instruments of justice and reconciliation to the marginalized of the world; the poor, the broken, the diseased, the displaced, the rejected, the hated...

• They largely sympathize with those who came to America for a better life, regardless of how they got here. Some marched with the illegals when they had the huge marches, and liken those marches to MLK's Selma to Montgomery activism.

• Outside of the world in which I live, Christians have a very casual view of alcohol consumption. (I confess to struggling with this for two weeks -- my holiness framework collided with my open mind.) Class often adjourned in the afternoon, and the discussions continued at Happy Hour.

• Almost every person I spoke to was an Obama supporter, regardless of denominational affiliation, region, age... yet none gave me much concrete in the way of policies with which they agreed; they simply are enamored with the rhetoric, the style, the call for "change" and the idea of electing anyone other than a white male.

• The younger leaders, from across the spectrum, espouse views I would classify as socialism-lite: they hate WalMart, and see that company as the source of all greed and injustice... they strongly believe that the government should provide universal health care for all, or that employers should be legally mandated to do so. They overwhelmingly feel that capitalism is a system based upon inherent greed and injustice.

• The internationals -- to a man/woman -- view America as one of the world's biggest problems, and not one of the shining lights of the planet.

Despite all of that, I found great love, fellowship, prayer, and support at a personal level, and learned much about the Bible from them all.

So much for having folks figured out, eh? Obama won Alabama, so what can I say? "The times they are a-changin'." I'm disappointed that America is viewed that way, but we're told that a lot so I'm not surprised. I am skeptical about how deep that sentiment runs in our culture when rubber-meets-the-road time, when the worst happens. I don't know. I just know I disagree. But, I know, too, that the WASP perspective is getting smaller in the distance as God moves on with the people He's calling and using today, and we've no right to regret it.

Pastor Gary wrote:I wanted to give you a brief wrap-up of some of my observations from my two weeks on campus at Fuller Theological Seminary:

• I will never read the Bible the same way again: I have new insights and understanding of the flow and cohesion of the entirety of scripture.

• God has some amazing people, of all ages, all over the world, doing incredible things.

• The overwhelming consensus of people from all over is that they/we are called to be God's instruments of justice and reconciliation to the marginalized of the world; the poor, the broken, the diseased, the displaced, the rejected, the hated...

• They largely sympathize with those who came to America for a better life, regardless of how they got here. Some marched with the illegals when they had the huge marches, and liken those marches to MLK's Selma to Montgomery activism.

• Outside of the world in which I live, Christians have a very casual view of alcohol consumption. (I confess to struggling with this for two weeks -- my holiness framework collided with my open mind.) Class often adjourned in the afternoon, and the discussions continued at Happy Hour.

• Almost every person I spoke to was an Obama supporter, regardless of denominational affiliation, region, age... yet none gave me much concrete in the way of policies with which they agreed; they simply are enamored with the rhetoric, the style, the call for "change" and the idea of electing anyone other than a white male.

• The younger leaders, from across the spectrum, espouse views I would classify as socialism-lite: they hate WalMart, and see that company as the source of all greed and injustice... they strongly believe that the government should provide universal health care for all, or that employers should be legally mandated to do so. They overwhelmingly feel that capitalism is a system based upon inherent greed and injustice.

• The internationals -- to a man/woman -- view America as one of the world's biggest problems, and not one of the shining lights of the planet.

Despite all of that, I found great love, fellowship, prayer, and support at a personal level, and learned much about the Bible from them all.

All of these refreshingly goes to show that God can use ANYONE to accomplish His purpose, and when we break past the "typical Christian" stereotype, we are opened up to a whole new world.

I'm discovering a lot of the same things living here in Springfield, MO. Took me attending a church outside of the COGOP to see them but still it is refreshing.

I've enjoyed your observations, Pastor Gary. Sounds like a really cool experience.

I may be a little slow on what you're talking about, but were most of the people from America, or from other countries?

Jennifer Smith wrote:I may be a little slow on what you're talking about, but were most of the people from America, or from other countries?

Mostly U.S. citizens, though some minister in other nations. One UK citizen, one Australian, one Singaporean, a couple of Canadians, one Egyptian, and the rest Americans.

Pastor Gary wrote:• The overwhelming consensus of people from all over is that they/we are called to be God's instruments of justice and reconciliation to the marginalized of the world; the poor, the broken, the diseased, the displaced, the rejected, the hated...

It is so refreshing to hear many starting to see this. It's not a "Social Gospel" as so many want to label it. It is people reading and seeing how God's heart has been broken by those that say they love him but don't reach out to these people listed.

• They largely sympathize with those who came to America for a better life, regardless of how they got here. Some marched with the illegals when they had the huge marches, and liken those marches to MLK's Selma to Montgomery activism.

I guess it's safe to say that Fuller is another liberal institution.

Full Quiver wrote:

• They largely sympathize with those who came to America for a better life, regardless of how they got here. Some marched with the illegals when they had the huge marches, and liken those marches to MLK's Selma to Montgomery activism.

I guess it's safe to say that Fuller is another liberal institution.

Depends on who you ask. The folks at Dallas Seminary don't think anybody at Fuller is saved because they are open to Pentecostal and Charismatic scholarship. The School of Intercultural Studies (in which I am enrolled) is the most conservative part of Fuller. The School of Psychology and School of Theology tend to be more liberal.

The views I reflected were not the views of the school, but of my fellow students.

Pastor Gary

Enjoyed talking wityh you on the Phone. In reading your wrap -up all I can say is welcome to the majority world.

• I will never read the Bible the same way again: I have new insights and understanding of the flow and cohesion of the entirety of scripture.

This point is probably one of the most overlooked areas of biblical Interpretation that I see today. One of the primary issues in Paul's theology is that of continuity and discontinuity between the old covenant
(God's word to Israel through the prophets and poets) and the new covenant ( God's word to his people through Christ Jesus communicated by the apostles and teachers).

Personally for me, the only way to find the elusive center is to better understand the flow and cohesion of the entirety of scriptures as you mentioned.

Full Quiver wrote:

• They largely sympathize with those who came to America for a better life, regardless of how they got here. Some marched with the illegals when they had the huge marches, and liken those marches to MLK's Selma to Montgomery activism.

I guess it's safe to say that Fuller is another liberal institution.

You should not use the word "liberal" if you do not know what it means.

OK, I'm game Forestwalker, educate me.

Pastor Gary wrote:
• Outside of the world in which I live, Christians have a very casual view of alcohol consumption. (I confess to struggling with this for two weeks -- my holiness framework collided with my open mind.) Class often adjourned in the afternoon, and the discussions continued at Happy Hour.

Let's discuss this over a beer!

I learned about this quote and many of your other statements while in the Marines.

There was more than one Chaplain I knew that would moderately partake of alcohol at Unit events. And many good Christians that would drink a beer or two as well.

But as you did, I struggled over this idea for a long time. I'm at a place now where I'm comfortable with someone drinking a beer and saying they're a Christian too.

But I don't promote or encourage it. I still believe that it should be discouraged...especially for those that can't handle themselves.

PastorDaniel wrote:I'm at a place now where I'm comfortable with someone drinking a beer and saying they're a Christian too.

Same here; I know many Christians who drink a bit, and I can sit at the table with them and enjoy their company with a glass of iced tea. I even know a few in COGOP who enjoy a glass of wine now and then... I am not judging their salvation... perhaps their judgment, but not their faith.

What I dislike is the sneaking and hiding and pretending.