Taking something apart and putting it back together …

Growing up I had an infautation with learning how things worked. Some suggest this is normal for young boys. I recall a transistor radio I took apart repeatedly to see if I could figure out how it worked. My parents bought me “an educational toy” giving me the opportunity to explore a number of “science” projects. One of the features was an electronics set which gave me the opportunity to learn how to wire a radio.

My ventures into taking something apart and putting it back together were more failure than success. Chances are if it worked before it would not after.

Now many years later I have learned there are some things you may take apart and put back together and gain some improvement. Other things still are better left alone.

Transitioning this into the life of a community of faith is quite interesting …

A transistor radio is static. Once produced it does not grow; it does not change. A church, local community of faith, is different. Chances are over time it is not what it was when it began. Sometimes this is for the better and sometimes for the not so better.

Occasionally it is healthy to take apart the “church culture” and cut away those things that tend to be more cultural than Scriptural/Spiritual. Too many times we mix our cultural context with our faith in unhealthy ways. We had some interesting discussions about that on Convergence in its early days. There was confusion around the idea that we are a “Christian” nation, in the sense, what we do is more right than others in the world. I am not sure this lands well when logically followed.

One area that is cultural, is the idea that the only true Scripture is the King James version of the Bible. The pitch is made with little regard to the implications. Were there other Scriptural translations prior to the KJV? If so, were they not “authorized”? As though the edict of a king makes Scripture authoritative.

Just one item in a long line of taking apart – now we need ohealthy wasy to put back together.

About the Author
Husband to Patty. Daddy to Kimberly and Tommie. Grandpa Doc to Cohen, Max, Fox, and Marlee. Pastor to Snow Hill Baptist Church. Graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Reading. Photography. Golf. Colorado. Jeeping. Friend. The views and opinions expressed here are my own and should not be construed as representing the corporate views of the church I pastor.

2 comments on “Taking something apart and putting it back together …

  1. says:

    How does one discern between those things that “gain improvement” by being taken apart versus those things which are “better left alone”?

  2. Anonymous says:

    Filters. One filter being the Scriptures. Two being the church in history. Three being the church today. All of this must come under the direction of the Spirit of God.

    We do know of times in the past where the church got it wrong – sale of indulgences in the Middle Ages and Slavery in 19th Century America. These must work together.

    Orthodox Christians would fall in the camp of everything should be left alone from the perspective of the Church Fathers, Scripture and Tradition.

    Scads of “deconstructionist” theologians showing up in a variety of denominations suggest it all needs to be taken apart.

    Some in between offer a way of both/and. They would suggest the need for reconstruction rather than follow the logic of some “deconstructionist philosophers” who suggest it is all word game in the end and we cannot rebuild anything due to the subjective nature of language so everything needs to be left undone.

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