Mars Hill Goes Whacky
Well, I just moments ago finished Mars Hill, a very interesting experience. As a leader, I naturally want things to be productive, and I just can’t tell if that, whatever that was, was productive. It was the sort of free flowing discussion that is hard to describe. We have a text we generally follow, but increasingly we tend to come off task rather easily but they tend to be discussions everyone wants to have, or so it seems. We ranged from the image of God in man (Imago Dei,) to eschatological discussions of the nature of heaven and our existence in it metaphysically.
I am always amazed at the range of opinions offered and defended (half the time I think they defend them just to do it.) But, I must confess allowing this kind of openness generates a real excitement and interest in theology. I suppose, as misdirected, undefined and loosely argued as Mars Hill can sometimes be, it achieves its goal none the less: education through exploration.
I am always amazed at the range of opinions offered and defended (half the time I think they defend them just to do it.) But, I must confess allowing this kind of openness generates a real excitement and interest in theology. I suppose, as misdirected, undefined and loosely argued as Mars Hill can sometimes be, it achieves its goal none the less: education through exploration.
posted by Joe at 10:44 PM
4 Comments:
I am pleasantly refreshed to hear you speak such things about this Mars Hill study so commonly refered to. Stagnance has, to my knowlegde, produced but little fruit among the hearts of those who practice it. Many times I find myself motivated to move when jarred from my own small world of self praise for the rather trivial quantity of knowledge that seems to stick inside my skull. With prayer and patience many things which seem insubstantial can be used by God for good. I happen to know that this Mars Hill study is, and has been, capable of producing spiritual growth. May it continue to do so.
It’s true that stagnancy has rarely produced solidity or profundity in Christendom. Yet, as I have mentioned in another post, change for the sake of change is useless as well. My fear with Mars Hill tends to be tied to the question, “are we inquiring with value?” With you good brother, I tend to think we are progressing with value despite what often appears to be our wild wanderings.
Given that an individual soul cannot be seen but by Him who created it, I do not know that your question is answerable short of divine inspiration. However, I would say that I share the same concerns as you, all the while holding a certain reliance upon the input of our heavenly leader, who seems to have all hearts within his own grasp even though that rebellious nature of Adam still holds sway upon our will. I do not personally feel as though the changes occuring in me are inherantly good, but I would say that since I am starting from the bottom, any change, by odds, has a good chance of raising me up even if only a little.
And remember also that whatever wild wanderings may happen, they happen because people are actively thinking about God and the nature of the universe in which He and His creation exist. This is a good thing. I don't think that you have to worry too much about the value of these enquiries at present. You have a diverse group committed to discovering their spirituality and the undercurrents of Christianity that flow to the heart of all things good and all things evil. You have a group committed to understanding that which is hard to intake and hard to grasp as their own. Let them wander as you do, because they will always come back to the core of it all, God. In short, the little excursions that the people of Mars Hill undertake may circle round and round and never really amount to anything at the moment, but they are tools that will at some point unearth something more profound than originally thought. He who listens will eventually speak.
God be with you Joe.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home