Good, Clear Thinking . . .

As some of you may know, I run most mornings with my friend Caleb.  We have great conversations on a gamut of topics.  Recently he and his wife decided to be part of a church plant in Boston and we have been talking through this decision and its implications.  One morning we talked about what it is like to move somewhere and realize that many of the things you believe and practice are not universal.  This experience is fine when it deals with things like sweet or unsweet tea, grits, or the social pleasantries of sir and ma'am.  Recognizing that this applies to your faith is a difficult adjustment.  Asking "Is this a cultural preference or scriptural norm?" is something we all need to do.

After our morning jog and conversation I asked Caleb to write about this for my blog.  Here it is.

Bob Collins

President

I was born and raised in Greer, SC.  I was baptized as a small child in a Southern Baptist church. My family was there at most every opportunity. I was educated in the Greenville County School system, and the only years I was not a Greenville County resident were my few at Clemson University. There I met and later married a Tennessee girl, and we settled in Greenville. My friends and family have largely similar stories. I tell you this not so that you know who I am, but so that you know how I think.  

My wife and I are moving with our two year-old daughter to Boston to support a church plant. We were both surprised to feel called into this ministry.  We expected to live out our days in the sultry summers and mild winters of the South.  We have not spent years, barely months actually, preparing and planning to go.   But now, we will live, at least for a time, in Boston.  

When unexpected life change happens, the realizations of your new life come fast.  Here's my newest: I'm lazy.  I don't mean that I'm opposed to hard work, but that I'm susceptible to lazy thinking.  You see, when you have a story similar to mine (and if you're reading this I bet you do), then almost everyone you know agrees with you.  The things we don't say, but leave unspoken, are a part of our cultural foundation.  Since most in the South bring these same assumptions to any conversation, there is no need to be able to defend your position; we all already largely agree.  These common understandings range from the purpose of government, the source of truth, the chief end of man, and list keeps going. We are moving to a place where the foundation is different.  

I'm being forced to retrace my thinking. This effort should drive me to Scripture, because it is sufficient to frame and inform my thinking.  It does not clearly answer all of our questions, but it does give us major principles that act as our guide.  We ought to filter all of our understanding first through the Bible.  

As I begin, I'm afraid that I'm finding that those foundational truths of our culture aren't quite as Biblically-based as our "Bible Belt" moniker might suggest. Let's make sure that our national or regional identity, our political affiliations, and our educational background have less influence on the way we think than does the Bible. 

As you begin, you may find yourself agreeing with someone you would not have before or it may simply deepen your pre-existing convictions.  Both are progress.

A word of caution: Bob reminded me that a perfectly articulated Biblical worldview does not save souls, nor is it particularly attractive to a non-believer. That work of making dead things alive is reserved for God.  Good, clear thinking has its limits.   

Caleb Rogers