DEEP ROOTS (Part 2): Why study the bible? Reasons why studying the bible is still important.

It is a current theme in the evangelical church, especially in emergent type churches, to say that seminary and bible study in general are useless and something only for religious hypocrites. Doesn't the bible itself say that action is all that matters? We'll see that this is not the case.  In the emergent church especially there is a wing of thought that says that rigid doctrines are archaic, seminary is for Pharisee, and bible study is for people who are spiritually "fat" and don't want to serve. As with a lot of issues coming from the emergent church there is a lot we can learn from this, but the answer  to this problem is not to stop bible studies, or to stop encouraging seminary. The answer is not to jump to the opposite extreme, but to hold to both: that seminary, bible study, doctrine AND obedience and service are necessary. In fact as I have shown in the first deep roots blog, what we believe directly affects our obedience.

But I briefly wanted to quote some verses, that show that studying the bible is still important! Action alone is not what is needed. Studying the word + action is what is needed!

Does it make you a Pharisee if you test what your pastor says? To check it with Scripture and correct his error? NO! 

¹¹Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. - Acts 17:11

Does it make you a Pharisee to study hermeneutics (the right interpretation of Scripture) or to challenge people that misrepresent or twist Scripture? No!

¹⁵Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. - 2 Timothy 2:15


Does it make you a Pharisee to discourage bible study, not teach the bible correctly, and judge others who want to study scripture deeper? Yes!

²⁹But Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.  - Matthew 22:29

So why go to seminary? Why study the bible? Because our Lord tells us to know the Scriptures, to handle them well, and to examine them to see if the things around us are true. It is our ultimate source of truth. 

The young emergent types are not the only ones among young Christians with opinions, however.  And there is a rising group that are in outward opposition to this type of thinking on doctrine and bible study. Christianity Today calls them the "young, restless, reformed." This word "Reformed" is often associated with the doctrine of election, but this article says that these young Christians have "less of a problem with churches that don't teach election than with churches that downplay doctrine in general." It goes on to say that many in the movement find unity under "concerns with seeker churches, church-growth marketing, and manipulative revival techniques."


What is the underlying issue then for the "young, restless, reformed? It is the authority of the bible; and rightly so. The bible has been subject to the movements of the age, as people have neglected it's authority for business/marketing techniques, persuasive speaking techniques, psychology, and even neglected it because of the good desire for justice and action.

But what does the bible itself teach? Is studying scripture or action more important to Jesus? Many emergent are saying action, others might say studying, but the Word says BOTH important. 


I pray that the church has a resurgence back to the true authority of Scripture over anything that opposes it.

The Individuality of American Christianity

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing..." Hebrews 10:25

This past Sunday got me thinking about something really important in our culture. In order to prepare for the overflow of attendance many churches will have to create an overflow room for Easter Sunday. Many churches, which are usually not completely full, will be so full that they need an overflow room, because it is Easter Sunday, so that is what people do; they go to church.

Now, is going to church on Easter Sunday wrong? Of course not, but this brings to light a greater problem: America's Christianity is often only individual. some people are only going to church once a month, maybe once a season, and sometimes once or twice a year - Easter and/or Christmas.

In our post-modern culture today, Christian and non-Christian alike, the idea of Church attendance has been minimized. Even Personally, when I was in college, I spent many Sunday's sleeping and told myself that "attendance is not important, all that is important is my personal relationship with God."

This type of thought is rampant within our post-modern culture where individuality is valued over community. Why go to church? If we have a individual relationship with God, and the priesthood is for all believers, why does going to church even matter? I can read my bible at home; I can pray at home; I can worship with my I-pod; my Christianity is personal, individual, and not communal. I believe this is a big problem, because Christianity has always been BOTH personal AND communal; it is BOTH individual AND community.

Gathering together does matter. Taking communion together does matter. Fellowshiping, encouraging, and loving each other Christians does matter. Worshiping together as a church does matter.

As we see from the bible verse above, this is not a new problem; in fact the early church dealt with this problem, and Hebrews 10:25 is a Scripture principle that encourages us to be in church community, not just on Easter, but regularly. 

Everyone, if you claim to be a Christian, find a biblical church, become a church member, because we need each other. Let us not fall into the extreme of saying that church is useless and let us find the balance and paradox of the a relationship with God and Christianity as BOTH personal AND communal.

We need community. We need others believers. We need the church.

"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing..." Hebrews 10:25

Anger, yes or no?

"Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for this anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." James 1:20

Do we not all need to hear this? I know I need to hear this. It is so easy for me to get angry for no reason, or angry at my wife, or be quick to give my opinion, instead of hearing someone, but this is not the attitude that produces the righteousness of God.

So what does this passage mean?  Well, first we can conclude that God does get angry, we need to avoid the extreme that He is never angry. We see this in Matt 3:5; it is not correct to say that Jesus was just a softy, but it is true to say that He was God, so His anger was always righteous! We cannot excuse ourselves as always having righteous anger.

Bede, an early church commentator in the 600's AD, says "Even if anger seems justified in human terms, it can never be right in God's eyes. A human judge who looses his temper, even if his decision is a right one,  cannot imitate the justice of God, who always judges in perfect tranquility of mind."

Also, Oceumenius, another early christian commentator, gives the solution, "it might be wrong to be slow in other things, but when it comes to anger, tardiness is the right policy."

Maybe that is what James means, slow to speak, slow to anger - this is what prevents us from irrational,unrighteous anger - slowness.

Here is our beautiful paradox in this practice. Are we to get angry? Yes, but no. Are there unrighteous things that should duly anger us? Yes, in love, but not in temper or raw emotion.

O, how I need to repent, and submit to this teaching of Scripture, by God's grace and Christ life in me. 

- Ty

Looking like a worship leader

Last night I was reading Luke. I came across something, among other things, that has really had me thinking about the way we all do worship.

So what is a worship leader, or a musician at church, supposed to look like? I think if God had something to say about it, he wouldn’t really care what we do on stage-the style or any of that- I think God would really care how we live. He has a history of only caring about how we live.

But in Luke a group of people come up to John claiming righteousness because they were  ’children of Abraham.’ But he tells them to repent, and they ask him what to do. John the baptist says:

“Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food should do the same” (Luke 3:11).

This should hit us all to the core. So many times we forget the sin of coveting and greed. I do. I think as worship leaders we have flipped it; I think we have missed it sometimes. It is not about looking supper cool so that people will come watch us. It’s about ”living our lives as a living sacrifice, for this is our spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1).  John goes on to say that one day someone will come to help us with this, and he will baptize us in the Holy Spirit, and change us from the inside out. We sing that all the time, it’s a lot harder to live it.

Applying this is challenging. Recently I have been convicted by numorous verses that show how the  early Christians kept what they needed and gave in their excess – this is very contrary to the American culture. But specifically with clothes, in order to attempt to live my life for true worship leading, I have made a commitment to only buy clothes from thrift stores, and hopefully buy no clothes at all. So just to let everyone know, if I don’t look as “trendy” anymore, that’s why – if I ever even did at all.

But a good example is my best friend Darren. He has walked around for the past 2 months in a pair of Levi’s with a patch on the back. That’s awesome. Clothes are clothes, and there are some people without them; and when we clothe them, we clothe Jesus (Matthew 25).


This idea of giving is a lot deeper than just clothes, but hopefully this is a step in the right direction.

We have two choices. Look cool now and look back on it later and think how stupid you looked. Example, Journey picture above;
or, clothe Jesus and have an eternal impact and reward. Not much of a choice.

-Ty