Weekly Video – Tim Conder, The Bible In Community

What if a corrective to and overly reductionistic understanding of the Gospel and the Kingdom of God were the Scriptures? Often applying the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid/Silly/etc) to the Scriptures undercuts its depth and intent under the illuminating work of the Spirit. Some things aren’t that simple. And, to attempt to make the Scriptures overtly simple often keeps the deep wrestling needed for formation at bay.

Facilitating a course at Biblical Seminary a few years ago I encountered some Mennonite students. My pastor growing up, an extremely conservative fundamentalist preacher, told me that if I were to venture beyond the Southern Baptist arena I would likely not go wrong with the Mennonites. These students began to describe the value of community in both making decisions, something I was familiar with in the Free Church tradition, and interpreting Scripture. The former allowed for a consensus built upon the perceived activity of the Spirit of God. The latter did the same and also provided a corrective for “my” interpretation.

I met Tim some years ago. In this week’s weekly video he is interviewed about his new book Free For All by my friend Spencer Burke. Sometimes guys like Tim are off-handedly criticized. Listen carefully and you cannot help catch his enthusiasm for the Scriptures and how they function in shaping Christian community.