Passing the torch
*waves* Hello out there.... (out there)....
Well, I guess if no one is going to answer me, I'm just going to keep posting more questions!
In light of the eminent (immanent?) graduation of the senior class (+Eric), let's ask for advice!
If you were to recommend one extra-biblical practice that has been beneficial to your spiritual walk to the incoming class of 2011 what would it be?
To restate - We know that reading your Bible, going to church, making good friends, keeping accountable, praying continuously are all good for your spiritual walk, because the Bible says so and encourages us to pursue such things, but what is something that you've found greatly beneficial that may not be so explicitly stated in the Bible that you would suggest to someone in addition to all of the above?
Put answers in the comments, mine will come later.
Labels: always resolving, mousings
posted by Mickey Sheu at
8:26 AM
6 Comments:
Reading Christian books, for sure. Old books (puritans), new books, commentaries, biographies of past Christians, and even people whose theology differ from you so you can know what the other positions are and can demolish their arguments.
Mickey did I steal your answer? haha
June 5, 2007 at 10:41 AM
Oooh, study doctrinal/historical theology:
". . . let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD" (Jeremiah 9:24).
June 5, 2007 at 10:45 AM
Listen to great sermons by great preachers. In that line of though, go to great conferences with great speakers. Try not to watch TV or movies, unless you do not lust like most people...
June 5, 2007 at 11:34 AM
Ah, you guys are all far holier than I am. My personal thought was, "Don't be afraid of car rides with people, and don't bring an ipod."
it's through the van rides that I got to know Dan Choi, my small group leader, Ryan Hsi, my president, some of my closest friends, and various other people that I simply would not naturally have gotten to know if I had to seek them out. But when I had the chance to sit with them on a long car ride, it has always (without fail) ended up greatly encouraging me and blessing me.
From retreats to sunday mornings to Resolved, those car rides feature prominantly in my memories of them.
June 5, 2007 at 6:19 PM
I, on the other hand, wouldn't read more Christian books if I had the chance to do the last four years over again. I'd read about the same amount, which wasn't very many but enough to help me engage with the people around me. It has been more important for me to establish trusting relationships with my neighbors than to try and "demolish their arguments."
I would choose my extracurricular activities carefully and consider how important they are to me before investing so much time in them. Kayaking and Red Cross volunteering were fun, but in retrospect I wish I'd gotten involved sooner with tutoring and rangering--if I'd thought ahead just a little bit more I could've committed more deeply to the activities that meant more to me sooner. It is hard to anticipate what will mean the most, but considering I tried out kayaking, Red Cross, Stanford Anthology for Youth, tutoring and rangering, I wish I'd opted for quality over quantity of involvement sooner. My church fellowships have been most important to me, and I wish my experiences with them hadn't been as fragmented as they have, but that was beyond my control.
If I could tell my freshman self something, it would be, "Don't fear the world." Coming into Stanford I was afraid of secular worldviews and defensive about my faith. I acted as though I needed to singlehandedly defend the gospel and my culture while converting everyone in my IHUM. Needless to say, that didn't happen. I was so defensive about my worldview that I wasn't open to learning about what other folks believed and why. Learning the kinds of things that move people deeply has been incredibly humbling over the last four years. Learning and re-learning God's sovereignty has been even more humbling and comforting--I don't have to have it all together, because He does. It's not ultimately up to me to defend the gospel--it's true whether or not I articulate it pristinely or live up to it as I should.
I'd also try to eat dining hall meals in more places with more people, and enjoy the fact that someone else was preparing my food, and a large number of options for it at that. That just doesn't happen in an apartment, so I hear ;o).
June 7, 2007 at 11:30 PM
Read about the marriage of good and truth.
Swedenborg's Universal Theology of the New Jerusalem is the best theology out there.
August 13, 2007 at 7:12 AM
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