There is this sense that certain voices have the ability to alter, encourage or redefine how it is one sees the world. These voices are saying nothing inherently new but in their describing of truth we see things newly. And so as I sat at The Sparrows today and began to listen to the voice of a theologian who continues to help me see newly I thought about teaching and about being a learner in the world.
I feel as though the past little while has been a wilderness of sorts. When you are out there the only thing that matters, as it relates to ones survival, is true wisdom. While locked in the dangers of the deep woods the keys to open views and flowing water are unmistakable. They are connected to lived reality. They are what we must know-and then participate in if life is to continue as we venture up and over passes. These are my five keys then, to risk sounding like those modern-minded writers who try to convince you that your life will be full of joy and free of pain if you just follow ‘these five keys’ to success to enlightenment to somewhere else to wealth. These keys are actually books, one of which I am in the process of finishing, and they have only unlocked doors or ways of thinking that disrupt my comfortable world.
It’s like I’m being kicked of the door steps into the streets of a world bigger and scarier and more loving and beyond my simple imagining when I interact with these voices. This world is relation and connection and is defined by revolution or movement kick-started by the creator God and unleashed anew by the first born over all creation. It is Jesus at the center of this truth, this true wisdom, that these voices are pointing me to.
abba’s child || brennan manning
sit, walk, stand || watchman nee
challenge of jesus || tom wright
resident aliens || stanley hauerwas & william willimon
the word militant || walter brueggeman
I’d be honored to hear what voices have you dreaming up new and old things.
