Weekly Message from Bishop Will WIllimon 5.1.2006 Biblical Authority With many other churches, we United Methodists attempt to live under the guiding authority of Scripture. It is a never ending task to take the Bible more seriously and ourselves less so. In a recent book (Who Are You to Say? Establishing Pastoral Authority in Matters of Faith, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Brazos Press, 2005) Dale Rosenbarger asserts that pastoral authority rests upon biblical authority. Rosenberger asks, "Why the Bible (as opposed to Oprah's Book Club) as a guide to the life and light of God?" Rosenbarger quotes my good friend, Tony Robinson, who speaks with clarity about the Bible as our distinctive font of revelation, and as the basis of our identity as Christians: Why this book indeed? And what role do the scriptures of our faith play in the church? I sometimes draw an analogy to the Constitution of the United States of America. We in the U S. may find the constitutions of other nations to be interesting and instructive, but they aren't ours; We have a special obligation to our own Constitution We grant it an authoritative status so that we can remember and know who we are. It is crucial to our identity. In a similar way, while there are undoubtedly many beautiful and inspiring books, the Bible is our book in a twofold sense One, it is the creation of the church, of our forebears in the faith. Two, it reminds the church who and whose it is, and who and whose it isn't. (Anthony B. Robinson, "Back to Basics: Rx for Congregational Health", Christian Century, July 26, 2003, pg. 25.) Dean, L. Gregory Jones of Duke University, who was one of my outside agitators last year, writes about what the authority of Scripture means to him: The challenge to "allow scripture to question us" is also important for our own day - I have noticed how regularly I read scripture with my own interests in mind. At times this is rather prosaic, as when I simply read with the interests of writing a sermon or preparing a lecture or getting ready for a Bible study. But at other times it is more perverse. For example I [don't] read in a way that opens me to the vulnerability and surprise, that would put me and my assumptions in question. We all face this temptation of being so preoccupied with our own interests that we find it difficult to open ourselves to how God might question us. (L. Gregory Jones, "Welcome Interruption", Christian Century, June 1, 2004, pg. 31.) I find both of these quotes to be a thoughtful exploration of the challenge of allowing Scripture to have authority in our churches and in our lives. As each of us listens to scripture this week, and attempts to preach and to listen to the living Word, let us rededicate ourselves anew to the task of taking the Bible more seriously and ourselves less so. William H. Willimon
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