My silence gave room for more to be said, "This isn't new!"
"You are right. This is not new. The Bible tells us, 'There is nothing new under the sun"( Eccles. 1:9). We are also "commanded to sing a new song" (96:1-3). This does not mean a new truth, but a new way. Each culture and each generation have a different way of communicating. It will never be the same, but the message always stays the same.
I created the 6 Acts of the Bible to help a group of women in an Asian context develop a basic metanarrative of the Bible. I discovered that their group loves to use the story in motions. I worked hard to take the entire Bible down to a simple outline that I could share simply, quickly, and it would be easily reproduced.
The irony is I never got to teach it to them. Circumstances happened and we did not get together. I LOVE YOU MY DEARS AND I PRAY FOR YOU.
But God had a plan. I discovered that many of my partners worldwide love the story in motion, too. God opens doors weekly for me to share.
One leader in Africa this week told me that when he shared it in church the whole room went silent with anticipation.
This morning a leader in South Asia told me that he and his team are discovering that this simple method makes the message clear.
This is why I will teach this way. It opens people's hearts to hear the message of what God did through history clearly.
Is this dumbing down the gospel? NOT AT ALL! Quite the contrary. It is making people smarter. A good teacher will bring a truth down to the most irriducible part. Once the most basic truth is grasped then layers of knowledge will be added. It is through the layering of truth that greater depth can be grasped.
Please listen, share and teach so all can know how God has moved through history in their behalf.
