Psalm 137 and Lament Teams

In my opinion, we had a FANTASTIC conversation this morning! Thanks to all you who offered great insight.

Reading Psalm 137 (especially the last verse) confronts us with a reality that we generally ignore when we are in church. Created in God's image, we have a wide range of emotions going on inside us. Yet we sometimes feel as if we have to keep all the negative ones bottled up inside to ourself.

Who would ever say publicly in church something like, "Happy is...he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks!" What!? I can hear someone respond instantly by asking, "How could we even think something like that!? We are supposed to love our enemies!"

Well...an unspoken assumption in most of our corporate worship times is that the only legitimate expressions of worship are positive and joy-filled. Thus, in class we explored the appropriateness of LAMENT in our gatherings. Instead of just having conversation about a praise team, what if we also worked to have a lament team?

Even though this brings a little bit of laughter, I wonder how (and when) we could seriously entertain the idea of encouraging lament among us.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:

1. What would it look like to have a corporate lament service? Have you ever experienced this?
2. Based on a closing question in class, do we need to reconsider what we do in our funeral services? How so?
3. Why do you think most people are so uncomfortable with sharing any discontent about God with others in church?

Rated 'i' for Ignore

Have you ever been truckin' along in your Bible, come across a passage of scripture that you had no idea what to do with it, and rather than pause a second to make some sense of it just kept right on going? That is me more than I'd like to admit! There are some passages of scripture that are just straight up confusing! Why is that in here? How am I supposed to apply this?

Even more, sometimes I feel like I'm unable to actually say that in church! It is as if I know better than to ask why that passage is in there! I'm somehow already supposed to know how that applies to my life!

Well, I'm wanting to create a little safe space where we take a look at some of these passages, passages that we'd like to ignore. Some passages I have NEVER heard preached! Some passages are mentioned only in passing without any depth. And some passages should only be talked about in appropriate places!

This 10-week class series is entitled "Rated 'i' for Ignore: 10 Biblical Passages We'd Like to Ignore." Beyond looking at specific passages of scripture, I hope also to see more vividly the human element of God's divine word. The Bible reveals stories of God in perfectly messed up lives!

In the end, I hope that we can be more realistic and honest about our own "messed-up-ness" (since that is a real word)! These passages have something to say to us who humbly recognize our own inadequacies before the Almighty God who forever reigns above all!

You can bookmark the series link to peek into our conversation.

Rated 'i' for Ignore

As I read through the Bible, I regularly run across difficult passages that make almost no sense. At least I sometimes want to ignore it and just keep right on reading, because touching that would mean...well...uh....I mean...okay, let's move on. Many things run through my mind as I have these interesting encounters with God's word!

"What in the world is that doing in the Bible?" "Did I misread something?"
"How can that be what I'm supposed to do?" "I can see why no one ever talks about this passage." "These are impractical and archaic nowadays." "Those things sound unchristian!" "What if baldness really can be reversed?" "Surely this means something else." "Does this sound like God?" "Am I a moron?" "What else is going on here?" "There is NO WAY that I would even think about bringing this passage up for serious discussion in a Bible class at church!"

Well, even with the bald joke implanted above, the time has come. I am venturing into a 10-week Adult Bible Class at 9am on Sunday mornings at Huntsville Church of Christ starting January 22, 2012 that peruses some of these passages that we would like to ignore. I'm calling it, "Rated 'i' for Ignore: 10 Bible Passages We'd Like to Ignore."

I'll leave you hanging right there, knowing that more will come. Deeper purposes do lurk behind the surface waiting to explain why such a class would even be offered. Trust me! Confidence and conversation wait to reveal themselves.

In the meantime, I'm curious what Bible passages would you never touch, even with an 144,000 foot pole?