03759

"if CTK-Durango is an experiment in anything, it's an experiement in the power of relationships." i think this is true of CTK in general, but it's especially true of our community here...or at least that's the goal.

sometimes i feel like this is a new thing, that i am learning all this for the first time...and that may be true in practice, but defintely not in theory. in so many ways what i am doing, in helping to lead this community in durango in the way we are going, is a natural progession of everything that has come before.

most recently, my thinking in the relational dynamic of what God is up to in the world has been pushed by eugene peterson's book, "Eat this Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading."

chip and i have been talking about this relational dynamic for a while...but again, for me this is the culmination of things that began some time ago, most likely in college through intervarsity and learning about the importance of community, through being mentored by the likes of jay d, through ron demolor's (mount hermon) mantra "the kingdom of God is a kingdom of right relationships," through prof. korch at western, through the philosopher john macmurray (see: the self as agent and persons in relation), through donald miller's relentless pursuit of the relational dynamic of the gospel (see: Searching for God Knows What), through conversations and doing life with rmac, through dave browning (lead pastor of the CTK network), through studying John with the nexus, and now live and in technicolor here in durango. it is no surprise that i am here in terms of my theology, hermeneutics, and praxis. and i love it.

here's what eugene is speaking to me about this (he's talking about how we read and interpret Scripture): "here's the thing: every part of the revelation, every aspect, every form is personal--God is relational at the core--and so whatever is said, whatever is revealed, whatever is recieved is also personal and relational. there is nothing impersonal, nothing merely functional, everything from beginning to end and in between is personal. God is inherently and inclusively personal. the corollary to that is that i, because i am a person, am personally involved in the revelation. every word i hear, everything i see in my imagination as this story unfolds, involves me relationally, pulls me into participation, matters to my core identity, affects who i am and what i do."

thanks eugene...