Things I've Learned This Summer

As I trek back to that "other world" of Westminster tomorrow, I have thought tonight about some things I have learned this summer. The summer is always my time to process everything I've learned at Westminster and translate it all into my own language. But it's also a time for me to grow in other areas since it's really the only time I have for "other areas".

1. I love the Church. For many, this is obvious, but I really struggled with connecting with the Church. Growing up in Texas, I wasn't really ever taught that you were supposed to connect to a body of believers. It was always a place where I went to meet God and then go home. In college I learned that Church was actually a place to serve and help. But it wasn't until this summer that I really began to grasp what it means to love the Body. It's been an exhausting and exhilarating experience.

2. Through my "Summer of Religious Diversity" (which I am not done with by the way), I have learned to appreciate people. It's easy to demonize people's belief systems when they aren't actually attached to a person. Which is okay, until you start to treat the person the same way. It was such a great experience to see people practicing their beliefs in a simple and communal way. I learned to respect people's beliefs and people who believe differently than me.

3. I am pretty much a postmodern at heart. Of course, this may get me into some trouble, but I just can't help myself. I do find that authors like Derrida have important things to say about texts and we shouldn't as evangelicals throw the baby out with the bath water. It does in fact seem to me that there is "nothing outside the text." My questions now are "What does this mean for Scripture" and "How do we filter this idea through a Christian worldview?"

I am sure there are others, but that's all I have for now...