Justice is the focus

In a video on the ABC news site, Dan Harris hosts a ten-minute interview with five young(ish) articulate evangelicals who are showing the 'new face' of Christians in the States (and elsewhere).    Pastor Jon Tyson, of Trinity Grace Church [photo at left], Gabe Lyons, the founder of Q, Shannon Sedgwick Davis of Bridgeway Foundation, Tyler Wigg-Stevenson, the founder of Two Futures Project, and Nicole Baker Fulgham of Teach for America.

These are a high-powered bunch, possibly not entirely typical of your average Evangelical.   Their big focus is on issues, and how Christians see justice and mercy in the world.   Between them this group is working on child trafficking and kidnapping, education, nuclear disarmament, to name just a few.

One of them points out that the world should be a better place for most people because there are Christians working alongside them.

In spite of its ten minutes, this is a very short introduction to several people who are worth following up in terms of what they're achieving.   They may not be household names yet, nevertheless, keep your eyes on them. 

Click on the links above for more information on each of these people and what they and their churches or organisations are doing.

The Word Became Fresh: How to Preach from Old Testament Narrative Texts

About a decade ago one of my former customers encouraged me to read the first of Dale Ralph Davis’ Old Testament commentaries. It was on the Book of Judges, and subsequently, Davis produced commentaries on Joshua, 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings, all of which I acquired and read – usually more than once.

If six commentaries strike you as too much to get going on, then the solution is to check out the book Davis produced in 2006 called The Word Became Fresh: How to Preach from Old Testament Narrative Texts. While this book does focus on preaching the OT, it also gives a clear outline of Davis’ approach to studying the OT, and I believe you’d be hard pressed to find a better overview of OT Bible study anywhere.

This book, like Davis’ commentaries, is very readable and not at all heavy-going. Nor, on the other hand, is it lightweight; while Davis doesn’t have the room here to work in detail, as he does in the commentaries, he still discusses background and structure.

Davis is no slouch: he not only preaches what he writes, but he’s also a full-blown Bible scholar. His footnotes often contain the views of other commentators he disagrees with. While he’s never unpleasant towards these other writers, it’s plain he’s done his homework, and his reasons for saying what he does are valid.

He’s also a great storyteller. Both in this book and in his commentaries he backs up his arguments with stories from the American Civil War, or the Second World War (remember there are a lot of battles in the narratives!), or from his own experience. His own stories, like the rest of his writing, are full of wit and good humour.

He treats the text with great respect. If something is there, he sees it as being there for a good reason. If it’s obscure he’ll do his best to elucidate it, but he won’t speculate just so he can give an answer. Sometimes he admits that the answers aren’t easy for modern readers.

Perhaps his greatest gift is to remember that the Bible is literature. Time and again he clarifies the layout of a section or chapter by looking to see how the writer has planned the story. This is one of Davis’ great skills: to be able to see the structure in the midst of what might appear to be randomness.

A book for preachers, teachers and lay people.

Published by Mentor, a subsidiary of Christian Focus Publishing, UK. £7.99