Jeff Adams

Last week Cheryl and I headed across the city to Heartland Community Church. The pastor had asked me to do training in basic hermeneutics (biblical interpretation) with some of his teaching leaders. The senior pastor had seen my book Searching for Truth in the office of another pastor who recommended it highly to him. I was pleased but surprised to hear that. I always seem to be amazed that anyone reads any of my books, but it’s fun to write them. (A propósito, ese libro ya existe en español y está disponible en Realityliving.org.)

As an evangelical Presbyterian church, Heartland comes from a rich heritage of Bible study. I knew that some of the people there would have formal theological training and others none at all. I tried to aim in the middle and speak with a passion for Bible study that would encourage all of them to go beyond where they are now. There’s not a lot of “teaching” that can take place in a little more than an hour, but I ended the session by giving each of them a copy of my book. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with the crew at Heartland and were very blessed by their sweet and eager spirit.

After my teaching time, each of them shared what they got out of the session. I was encouraged that each had picked up on different aspects of what I said and had something to take home. As I suspected, it was not as much about learning some deep, new truth, but rather being impressed with some different perspective on a basic truth with which they were already somewhat familiar that made the difference.

I’ve always said that most everything that is really important in our faith walk we learn in the first couple of years of being a follower of Jesus. It just takes the rest of our lives to learn to live and apply those truths in a wide range of circumstances – and to remember them! Many people waste their lives by searching for some Bible code, secret truth or hidden meaning no one has ever seen before. There is no secret code, password, handshake or hidden meaning.

Years ago I was in South Africa to teach basic disciple-making to a group of tribal pastors. They had come to Johannesburg from various locations and we met each day at the YMCA downtown. Most of them had little formal education. While there, I was asked to speak in the chapel service of perhaps the most highly regarded seminary in South Africa.

What a contrast! The seminary was in the high European style. Students and faculty wore academic gowns and the pulpit was high enough in the air to give one a nosebleed in the rarefied air between the stained glass windows.  My objective that morning was to communicate this same concept of giving continued and constant attention to the basics of our faith.

I spoke highly of the seminary and how thankful each student should be for the opportunity to receive such a quality education. I really meant it. They were learning Greek, Hebrew, systematic theology, church history and enjoyed the privilege of hearing some of the finest scholars in the world. I did not mean to be the least bit judgmental or critical, but I simply said, “While you can be thankful for such a rich education, keep your perspective by remembering that anything that takes 8 years of graduate studies to understand and is beyond the comprehension of my pastor brothers down at the Y is probably not all that important in the grand scheme of things.”

That statement certainly brought mixed reviews from my academic brethren. Some applauded while others felt that I was belittling the importance of their education. My purpose was not to minimize the value of education (something I greatly value), but to help those of us blessed to have an advanced education to keep the proper outlook and not get too full of ourselves. Those of us with a Ph.D. (that stands for Piled Higher and Deeper) can continue to pile on the knowledge, but if we neglect the foundation – the basics – it will all come tumbling down.

Baseball’s spring training begins this week, and professional ball players will spend a lot of time going back over the fundamentals of the game. There certainly are special techniques and knowledge that professional ball players possess, but the day they forget about the basics that little boys and girls learn in youth leagues across the country, is the day their game begins to fall apart.

Let me encourage you to stop looking for the secret that never existed. Stop wasting your time fantasizing that the newest book or latest web site, seminar, class, or DVD is going to have that one key that puts your life into focus. It won’t. Jesus admonished the Ephesian church to return to their first love. I admonish you to go back to the basics and get them down.

Someone once asked legendary Swiss theologian Karl Barth what was the one great truth he learned in his remarkable academic career. His answer was this

 Jesus loves me,

This I know,

For the Bible tells me so.

Karl Barth got it.

Following our time at Heartland, I got a call from a friend that got me thinking even more about the importance of honing the basics. Talking about the experience at Heartland, we got to discussing my career and hers and the many parallels as far as attention to basics go. I was so fascinated by what she was saying, I asked her to put some of her thoughts down on paper. Stay tuned right here and I’ll share them with you.  Meanwhile, what are the basics in YOUR life that need work this coming Spring? It really is all about the basics.