Doing bible study always has a great effect on me. One of the things that drew me to this career in ministry was the opportunity to spend time learning about the Bible. After nearly thirty years of study this part of the job still excites me. That doesn't mean that a lot hasn't changed since those early days. In the beginning there was still a definite need to just learn how to do research. Then came the time when the balance between heart and brain came into play. I would like to think of myself as a biblical conservative who does not mind thinking critically. To me what the scripture says remains tied to the why it says it or how we apply it. Experience still teaches me that we miss this far too often in study. We have those who randomly quote verses with no idea that their application has no relevance to the meaning of a text. We also have more than a few who only see scripture as history or a statement on ancient cultures. One of my key beliefs is that we will never get what the Bible means unless we connect with what it meant. It seems to me that this is all the difference between building a house on sand or rock. My faith always wants to be related to the rock.

God's word is such an amazing thing. Without boring you with statistics or details just know there is no other book in the world like it. No other religion has such a collection of authors who speak with one voice on God's divine purpose. Sometimes a person will start spouting the usual garbage about it being less than truthful. One person that I knew years ago even tried telling me how Catholic priests wrote it around 300 AD. Did you realize that there is more evidence on the authenticity of the Bible than there is for some of the works of Shakespeare? You can ignore scripture if you wish but explaining it away just does not stand any test. Some contemporary writers are making more than a few dollars by dismissing the scripture as an invention of religious people. Again, you should know that their so called evidence really is nothing more than poorly expressed failures of scholarship. The explanations given against the Bible take more faith than trusting the Bible as we have it. So concludes this section of my rant for the night.

Today was a day for another discovery for me. The connection is that it happened while I was reading through some passages prior to our church conference tonight. Now understand that in my theology the scripture is true. I believe in Genesis even though I also can see how various disciplines of science can validate it by analysis. I sometimes want to laugh over the latest breakthrough in archaeology that verifies a biblical account. The historical setting of the Bible is always a fascinating study for me. God's word always seems to explain itself given enough time or study. I recognize that some parts of our Bible can seem hard to grasp. My money is still on scripture every time. It speaks to me to my mind along with my heart. Where did I turn during the time of my diagnosis? It was the Bible where I went to find direction. All of this is to say that my faith is in God's word.

Yet there are occasions like today when my reading leaves me with some tension. It was while reading John 17 that my mind began to ask questions of my heart. This is the section where Jesus speaks and then prays for the unity of His followers. Words are directed both to the followers who audibly heard those words along with those who would follow through the years. God knows that this passage is one covered more than a few times in my ministry. But today I really wondered if this unity is possible in our lifetime. Some of my questions are the result of reading various blogs related to Baptist life. My thought is that Jesus could be quoted as saying that wherever two or more Baptists are gathered together there will be a fight. Some of my questions arise out of my own experience of being a minister. To see a truly united group of people would be a miracle on par of the Red Sea at the least. I wonder if we enjoy our fussing and fighting more than we do much else in church life.

Here is the really sad part of all of this. There will be no answers to this conundrum given in this post. So far no sermon in my arsenal seems sufficient to bring about unity. There doesn't seem to be any small group exercise entertaining enough to yield a new sense of community. That does not mean that some won't try to lessen the ideals of the words of Jesus. You may find select groups who agree on a single doctrine or a collection of a select few beliefs. Problems arise when they attempt to branch out into discussion on other ideas. This is when the group has to divide yet again into a smaller size. One thing is true from my experience. When or if God graciously moves in a fresh way is the time unity becomes the closest to a reality. Revival usually is not the sound of some ecstatic utterance but the willingness to say "I'm sorry." To me, that is why unity is hard to attain. Think about it.

Bro. Trey