This is going to be a bit of a whiny post, but what the hell, it's been a long time coming.
For all my readers out there who don't know the alternative meaning of "BS" (as in, apart from "bullshit"--pardon my French), it also serves as a comical short form for Bible Study. I happen to be a Bible Study leader at Hosanna, not really out of ability but more of just it happened that way, and I've got to say, it's not fun. I'm not talking about the kind of fun like you get out of playing sports or video games or going out with a bunch of friends. I'm talking about fun from Bible Study, from discussions, etc.
There are people who say that Bible Study is boring, mostly because it's usually not as
fun entertaining as other programs. This is the general attitude of most people (and by people, I mean Christian kids who come to Hosanna). You'd think it something to do with maturity and hope that the older ones would be more appreciative of the value of spending time to study Scripture as a group. For the most part, this isn't true. I'm not sitting here and claiming that I'm some high and holy saint who wants to condemn people, but this kind of stuff deserves to be brought into the light.
Here's the usual routine for Bible Study: Arthur (Youth Pastor) prepares a brief set of questions (some discussion, some more straightforward) and guidelines for BS ahead of time, BS leaders get together over lunch and get briefed on the materials, people show up for Hosanna BS Night, BS happens. Usually what happens is one cell group of boys pairs with one cell group of girls, meaning we've got 3 larger groups with maybe 10 people in each. There are 2 BS leaders for each of these (one from each cell group).
Of course, it's not really quite as simple as that. Throughout the course of BS, there's usually maybe only one other person in the group (apart from leaders) who happens to actually be there to learn. So all in all, there might be 2 or 3 people (including leaders!) out of a group of 10 who actually want to listen and participate in some thinking, reading, and learning. What about the others? Well what usually happens is they either stare blankly, chat amongst themselves casually (and loudly), or even just go
AWOL (this last one is more rare, but believe me, it actually happens). Of course, I have no problem with kids who want to stare blankly, want to talk, and want to wander. But when you're pulling that kind of BS while other people are trying to learn/discuss/do what we're supposed to be doing, then we've got a problem.
Honestly, I don't think this is the kind of attitude to take with something like Bible Study. I'm trying not to come outright and start ranting about people
dicking around during BS. I mean, taking into account that I'm just as much a sinner as everyone else, I've no right to go around condemning people for their actions. That's Jesus' job. But really, it wouldn't hurt to grow up a little, would it? Ironically enough, Friday's Bible Study was on 1 Corinthians chapter 3, which talks about Spiritual Milk vs. Spiritual Food and maturity of Christians.
Friday's Bible Study went pretty much terribly (as usual actually). Most people (excusing Benson) were mostly uninterested in the material at hand, and I honestly don't know what to do about that. If you've got no inner desire to hear God's voice, to read His word, to embrace His wisdom, then maybe you ought to be reconsidering who/what you really are.
The difference between a Christian and a non-Christian (ugly sounding word but that's the negative of a Christian) is that the Christian has a direct claim to God's everything through
Jesus Christ's redeeming work of the Cross, as far as the Bible is concerned. What happened to the relationship, the desire, and the passion that we're supposed to be filled with? Where's that longing to sit at Christ's feet and listen and learn? Where's the love of wisdom and all things good and godly?
I'm not saying that everyone should stop what they do and listen to me. God forbid that. I'm also not saying that I'm a great leader/discussion facilitator and everyone needs to be totally absorbed by me. I'm just saying, if we're all believers, children of the same Father, then why don't we love our Father by listening and obeying? I'm as guilty as the next in terms of lacking obedience, but I think we shouldn't be complacent with mediocrity. I actually like Bible Study, but not when it's completely lacking, so I don't expect others to like it like that either.
So what is it lacking? There are a few possibilities. It could be lacking proper/talented leaders. It could also be lacking pertinence/relevance. Or maybe we are lacking reverence for God and His word in the participants. I personally don't think it takes too much to lead a BS. I mean, Arthur has already prepped the general questions (mostly not intended as the only things to be done) and the leaders have already been briefed. All the leaders have to do is show up, get the ball rolling, and if all goes well, the material usually lends itself to discussion and whatnot quite easily.
Perhaps the Bible is lacking pertinence. Maybe the message found in THE Message (I'm talking about the entire Bible, not that translation) isn't relevant anymore. Could it be that the Bible, upon which Christianity is founded, has finally gotten too old and abstract to have practical value for the present times? Of course, to all these I'd have to say, "
WTF, no." How can the Word of God ever become useless, like some sort of spiritual appendix that, because of evolution, has become obsolete and unnecessary for a proper and healthy spiritual life?! If you're going to sit here and tell me/believe in your heart that the Bible is not important to a Christian's spiritual life, don't you dare call yourself a Christian. No other piece of written work should/could ever hold more importance to a Christian than the very words of God in written form, ready for consumption/digestion. So this one is a bit bogus too.
Finally, we arrive at the big one. Lack of reverence. This can also be read as a lack of fear for God's word. And if you'll notice, a fear for God is closely/inseparably linked to love for God in the Bible. We're talking about a holy kind of fear, not the kind where you've got to fear someone harming you undeservedly, or someone betraying you, or someone using you, or fearing the punishment of sin for the unbelieving, etc... The kind of fear here is the kind of fear where you would fear and respect someone who is completely deserving of all honor, so reverence is a good synonym of this kind of fear. There are tons of verses in the Bible where we are instructed by God to fear God:
1 Peter 2:17,
Deut. 10:12,
Ps. 118:4, and the list goes on.
I've got no problem with people being talkative and speaking their mind on digressions--I personally don't mind going on a tangent when discussing stuff since I think it's good to cover all bases, regardless of how distant they are. I doubt that we are expected to act like soldiers/robots and stay 100% focused like a laser on something until we finish it. That's silly and unrealistic. I do have a problem with people constantly, and I mean constantly, bringing up random stuff with nothing to do with the material at hand, not even remotely (and I can usually find connections that require huge stretches of the imagination to get), and basically talking over what's going on at hand. These I would liken unto people who talk through movies, plays, and just about anything they happen to be sitting in on.
If all you want to do is chat and have fellowship that way, you should just do that on your own time. And besides, that's what normal programs are like mostly. Do we Christians have such intense verbal diarrhea that we've got to be chattering away like annoying Pharisee monkeys 24/7? Is it that hard to sit and listen--not to other people or to the BS leader, but to God--for a little while? Then
there are the few people who, like I mentioned before, just go AWOL by getting up and leaving the circle. If you've got to go and do/take care of something, by all means, go, but at least give everyone else a warning, and not treat BS like some sort of casual affair you can join and leave as you please.
But ultimately it comes down to the general attitude of everyone towards something that will either make it fly or die. I have a feeling that it's not so much the structure or essence of Bible Study that makes it unsuccessful. I also don't think it's fair to blame leaders for crappy leadership if 1) you're not willing to come out and lead yourself, 2) there are no grounds for saying that or 3) you as one being led are refusing to be led. It's like blaming a teacher for you not doing your homework. As a BS leader, I can't help it if you yourself hate reading your Bible, dislike thinking about... well, stuff, and generally find no desire to seek God's face. That's your problem (and oh what a problem it is for all of us) and you've got to fix that or at least be in the process of sorting it out with God before you can start blaming others.
If you've got no interest in something and if you're going to choose to stay that way, then that's your problem. To those people. just don't come. Or if you come, I'm sure we could put you in a group with others like you and you can discuss whatever you want. I'm not saying that out of spite or anything, don't get me wrong. I seriously think that would work--people who want to BS will be able to do so, and people who want to just relax and not BS can do that too. Of course, we'd have to ask people to let everyone know about their intentions first, and I'm sure not too many people would be willing to admit the fact that they don't want to BS. I'd still rather people who are uninterested to just not come. Who do we think we're fooling? Sure we can put on pretty faces for friends on Sundays and Bible Study nights, but in the end, the only Person whose opinion matters will see right through your BS anyway. We should just save everyone and ourselves the trouble of being deceived and just be open and honest.
At the end of the day, it comes down to whether or not we are ready to fearfully love God by obeying Him and giving His Word the respect it deserves. If we're not, then we're not. That's not a problem or a damnable thing. We are simply too immature. For those of us who are like that, keep feeding on spiritual milk, but realize that somehow, someday, we need to be weened. To the others who genuinely find eve just an inkling of interest in the matters of God, good, keep eating and feeding on godly food. How else are any of us going to grow up?
PS: I'm sorry if me pointing out this poor testimony of Christ's work in such a public way sits badly with you, but hiding away this kind of BS that happens as part of some sort of secret tumor of the Church is exactly the kind of thing that would be an even worse testimony.
Labels: Christianity, Rant
