How would you define "Book of Faith"?

[Kurt Lammi]

In conversations that I have had with people - particularly other clergy - regarding Book of Faith, I keep noticing that there is a miscommunication about what "Book of Faith" means. In my understanding, "Book of Faith" is the Bible. What the ELCA is doing with this "Open Scripture. Join the Conversation" initiative is trying to get people to read the Bible more, to "become more fluent in the first language of faith: scripture." Some people I talk with think that "Book of Faith" means a specific curriculum - along the lines of "Here We Stand" or "Akaloo" or anything else published by Augsburg Fortress. So they keep asking, "When will more resources come out? Where are the Bible studies? Where is the curriculum?" It saddens me that some people - particularly some clergy - are misunderstanding what Book of Faith is about. This initiative is about a social change, not a curriculum. In previous generations, the emphasis was on sacraments (for example, a societal change from communion every now and then to communion every week), but now the emphasis is on the Bible. Word and Sacrament go together. The emphasis was on sacrament; now it has shifted to Word. Has anyone else needed to explain that what the ELCA is doing here is encouraging people to pick up the Bible and read it rather than publish a bunch of curriculum? Those pastors I spoke with who think it's all about curriculum are also very lazy in their preparation and teaching of the Bible. If that's true of most clergy in general, then it's no wonder why laity aren't digging into it either. If the pastors aren't interested in digging deeper into the Bible themselves, then the laity surely won't be interested either. (However, I think laity _are_ interested in digging deeper into it. They are just scared of it because they don't know how. Maybe that's the fear of some pastors too - they don't know how, so they rely on curriculum.) Am I alone in these conversations I have been having or have others experienced this too? Book of Faith is about a societal change to get people to read the Bible - such as through historical reading, literary reading, meditative reading, and Lutheran theological reading. The Book of Faith is the Bible; it's not a curriculum.

[The Rev Patsy Koeneke]

I would add that it is also a way to get a wider spectrum of people (more than just a local congregation) to enter into "discussion" about the Bible, to share thoughts, ideas and insights that may be helpful for us as 21st C Christians. I always learn more when I read, teach AND discuss - reading the Bible and commentaries, etc. is merely one dimensional; discussion is dynamic and helps the Bible "come alive!"

[Joe]

As someone who did think that Opening the Book of Faith was a course and has been disappointed about the material that has come out I hope that I am not going to get "yelled" at in this discussion.

I don't know if it was a mixture of getting a box at the church with the BOF "course" in it or if information has not gotten to me about what this Initiative entails. I assembled some leaders in the church together to go through the training and most of the people did not understand what the book was talking about.

I think there might be many problems in congregations when it comes to reading the Bible. From the conversations that I have had with very active members in the church that I serve is that they are mainly intimidated when it comes to reading the Bible. They come to Church and they go to Bible study and then they turn to their devotional books at night because they "do not always understand" the Bible when they read it at home.

The BOF challenges us to read the Bible in "Lutheran" ways and that is great but for most lay people that I know in order to accomplish all the things that the BOF wants them too "or suggests" they need an extensive theological library at home.

Solution? I am not sure -- perhaps a "toolkit" that helps them when they do read the Bible - I have not looked at the New Lutheran Bible yet but I am very interested.

[Susan Wisseman]

I have been traveling around all the conferences in the Metro DC synod and get the same sense of confusion. I have encountered several people who think all they need to "do" is Opening the Book of Faith study -- they believe that is what the initiative is all about.

I do talk about the difference between program and initiative -- that a program is usually some kind of set piece that has a life cycle. After the first couple of presentations, I had an epiphany moment, and I actually -- this is radical -- start with scripture! I read 2 Timothy 3:13-17 and speak a couple of minutes on the verses. At the end, I point out that we started with a very brief Bibles study as a model of how it could be done at meetings.

I speak to why they want to participate, and what the benefits could be. I also ask if they are reading scripture or are part of Bible study themselves. As others have noted, I ask what is it they are already doing...and what could be done to tweak it or enhance it. I think it is really important for everyone to know that this isn't really something brand new...and they are not starting from scratch. It's very much to do with being intentional.

As I talk about the ELCA's goal of 75% of congregations committing to the initiative, I also add that Linda Staats' challenge to have 75% of our households participating is a more significant goal. We need to be involving and including families of all sizes and ages.

I have been fascinated to note that the conversation very often leads to discipleship. The time is right...

This is the presentation I have been using:

[Katherine Harms]

I so agree with you. The Bible is so exciting, and there is so much to learn from it.
I have been teaching a class in which we use the catechism as our gateway to scripture, and as we discover the richness of teaching on which the catechism is based, we discover truth about the way God wants us to live. The catechism is easier to remember than the whole Bible, and it is like a framework or maybe a skeleton to which Bible study adds the flesh and sinews. In fact, I really like that image from the Ezekiel text for this week. For a lot of people, their image of the Bible is like that valley of dead bones. Studying it through the lens of the catechism helps us find the richness in it.
I have a great desire to help people learn how exciting the Bible really is.

[Erma Wolf]

I think this is a paradigm shift (gee, I've wanted to find a reason to use that phrase ever since seminary!) similar to what is happening in Youth and Family ministry. What I mean by that is the emphasis that this isn't another program/curriculum, it is a change in perspective and in way of life. I'm finding the same thing with Book of Faith initiative. This isn't a curriculum driven program; it is a total change in viewing how the Bible is the source of how we live our lives.

On the positive side, though, the request for curriculum can be seen as a request for tools. That's what curriculum is, after all, a tool. After all, if one is really unfamiliar with the Bible, where does one start? Curriculum is how we have been accustomed to answer that question in the past. It can still be part of the answer now, but BOF initiative is really trying to steer a different path. The new Lutheran Study Bible is a tool, with its margin study notes. The lectionary readings are another tool. The two-year daily lectionary from the LBW is a tool I have used (and still use) for both devotional and study of the Bible, and for others the daily lectionary in the ELW is a good tool for going deeper into the Sunday texts. And I have used a lot of the Crossways curriculum as tools to get people to go deeper in the Bible.
I think this is just going to take some time. But boy, is it worth it.

[Anna Marsh]

Yes, thank you all for this engaging conversation.

In response to your request Rachel, you're right that we have to careful in referring to The Book of Faith Initiative as simply "Book of Faith" as though the initiative is the same thing as the Bible, which is our Book of Faith. In our materials, we try to be very careful with this distinction, always remembering that the initiative supports our work to engage the Bible in our lives more fully--not vice versa!

However, I think the shorthand is inevitable--especially in a forum such as this one, which is a bit more informal. We just have to make sure that we are all aware of how important this distinction is--and to keep it straight in our minds and, maybe, as we talk with one another.

[Chad King]

This is an excellent discussion - the difference between the and "initiative" and a "program" are indeed significant, and certainly offer fodder for conversations with congregants. I find that we in ministry have had so many programs over the years... it is much tougher thinking about how to engage an initiative!

I do, however, want to add a voice for Augsburg Fortress in regards to the naming of the resources we develop to support the initiative.

We call them "Book of Faith Resources" because that is indeed what they are intended to be. Augsburg Fortress is the publishing ministry of the ELCA - and as the Book of Faith Initiative is such an important initiative for the ELCA, AF is developing resources to support the specific goals of biblical literacy and fluency. We call them "Book of Faith Resources" to differentiate them from other Bible studies because:

-All the resources follow at least one of the approaches to Scripture that have been laid out by the initiative (the four historically Lutheran approaches to reading the Bible).
-Resources have been designed to support the specific goals of the initiative (increasing biblical literacy and fluency).
-Resources are being developed to account for a wide range of levels of biblical understanding, which is part of the "for the whole church" aspect of the initiative (resources for seminary grads as well as resources for those who may have never opened a Bible)

For our part, we have been very careful here to create useful resources and not a program. There is no program, but a number of of different courses and studies to help congregations explore and encounter Scripture.

And I echo Kurt's original message - the Book of Faith is indeed the Bible. It is not about a curriculum or a program. That said, we do hope that the resources we create are helpful in getting people to open Scripture and join the conversation.

[Susan Wisseman]

I, too, have laity who struggle with the Opening Book of Faith. One person is very well versed in Scripture and is a great leader of study in our congregation. She felt it would take someone with seminary training to lead. This concerns me. Our church is so dependent on the "pastors" to have all the answers.

I think it would be wonderful to follow a more Orthodox approach, encouraging the laity to be as educated, if not more educated than the clergy! This may be a scary thought, but we leaders in the church should be ready for deep conversation with the laity.

Are some leaders/clergy scared of educated laity? Does the potential for being held accountable, or questioned scare leaders/clergy? Just because we may be scared, it doesn't give us the right to keep the laity oppressed in biblical illiteracy.

I think Rachel raises another important point about lay and professional leadership. When I am teaching, I often tell people the fact that I have an M.Div does not mean I have (or can remember! LOL) all the answers -- but we can look together. It's our job to raising and training up leaders and helping others to develop deeper Christian formation. I don't think our call as church professionals is about being "the" biblical expert in a congregation. In fact, it strikes me as dangerous.

[Anna Marsh]

Rachel,
I work for the ELCA as the Web Coordinator and Administrative Assistant for the Book of Faith Initiative.

I'd encourage you to visit our "About the Initiative" page at www.bookoffaith.org. There, you will find an explanation of what the initiative IS and what it is NOT, among other general comments. See especially this part:
The Book of Faith initiative is not a top-down, curriculum-based approach. Book of Faith is not a program, a course, a kit, a method, or a technique. The Book of Faith resources are not the Book of Faith initiative. There is no one way to implement the Book of Faith initiative.

I work closely with the staff at Augsburg Fortress, as do the other members of the ELCA Book of Faith Initiative Staff. I am sure that Chad or someone else will chime in to this effect, but YES!, we support people participating in the Book of Faith Initiative without the use of curriculum! The resources that AF has developed are intended to support the initiative, not encompass it.

The Book of Faith Initiative is a new model for us all, because every faith community who decides to claim part of this churchwide initiative has to design their own approach for that particular setting.

I do understand the confusion, both among leaders and among congregants. If you feel there is language we could use to make this distinction more clear, I'd be happy to talk further with you about it. You can email me at [e-mail] anytime. Help us help you! In the meantime, we can all talk with each other and our communities about what exactly it means when a congregation decides to take part in an initiative that doesn't have a specific roadmap. Hopefully, this will be a freeing proposition rather than a limiting one. This site is also open to anyone, ordained or lay, leader or participant--so whatever conversation we have here about BFI is not privvy only to leaders. We're all learning together what new shapes this will take and how to best talk about it.

This continues to be an interesting and important conversation. Thank you to all who are participating!

[Kurt Lammi]

Wow! It looks like there are a lot of us who are working to distinguish "Book of Faith" (ie, Bible) with the initiative by the ELCA to help increase Biblical fluency. Thanks to all of you for participating in this thread. It's great to hear all of your thoughts and see how we can support each other with this challenging situation. I look forward to reading future posts on here.

First, I think it's great that the ELCA is working on this Book of Faith initiative and encouraging people - rostered and lay both - to be engaged by the Bible. I also think it's really cool that this initiative and the Lutheran Study Bible happened to come about at the same time with no planning for that happen. (I see that as an example of God at work.) The Lutheran church _does_ see the Bible to be extremely important, and I'm very happy that now it is working on ways to help everyday people in congregations engage in a rich relationship with scripture. (Someone recently told me a neat quote about scripture, and I think they credited the line to Barbara Brown Taylor. The line was something like, "My relationship with the Bible is more like a marriage than a courtship. We're already in this lifelong relationship with each other. I just keep learning more about the other party." I think that's a good metaphor.)

Second, I think Augsburg Fortress has a very important role to play in this initiative. However, the trick becomes, "How can we encourage people to read the Bible without having them rely upon curriculum?" I agree that calling the materials "Resources" is a good thought, but it can sound confusing to people who want to take a leadership role in helping others read the Bible. Their train of thought is most likely, "If it comes from Augsburg Fortress, then it's curriculum." I know that it's difficult to get away from that way of thinking, but that's where a lot of people are. So, our challenge - as leaders in congregations, as members of congregations, and as Augsburg Fortress - is "How can we promote Biblical literacy without relying on an outside source?" That's not to say that supplemental resources are not important. I think they are very important - especially for people who are scared of reading the Bible because they don't know how to start. However, the trick is using those resources in such a way that they do not take over the key role of the Bible....which itself is always a referent back to Jesus Christ, the Word Incarnate. (Check out, for example, the model constitution for ELCA congregations sections C2.02 and C2.03. It talks about Jesus and the Bible. It says nothing about material published by Augsburg Fortress.)

From my experience, I see that people in congregations _want_ to read the Bible and know more about it. (So, kudos to the ELCA for promoting this conversation at this time!) However, they often don't know where to start. Given that, they typically either turn to the pastor of the congregation (since the pastor, hopefully, has knowledge about this) and/or a boxed curriculum. Both of those are authority figures - one is in person, the other is in print. Both are important, but both should be there to help to clarify the scripture. Also, both should work in such a way that the novice Bible reader can pay attention to them, but then be able to read the Bible on his or her own too. It should be a dialogue, not a dependency. It's like the famous line "Give a person a fish, they'll eat for a day. Teach a person to fish, and they'll eat for a lifetime." However, we also need to make sure that the person is given access to the lake! The "lake" is not just for clergy or other religious professionals. It's for everyone. (Think of Luther translating the Bible into German so the people could read it. He knew the lake was for everyone.)

I think it is quite possible for this Book of Faith initiative to have wonderful ripples throughout the church (and not be seen as a five-year push that eventually fizzles out). One example I have seen of it is in the congregation I serve. When I began my call back in October, at the first adult Sunday school class that I taught, I asked the people in the class what they wanted to learn about. Their answer was the Bible. They were hungry for it. So, we started reading the Bible together. I ordered the "Opening the Book of Faith" book and we read that together to give ourselves a framework for reading scripture. I must say that "Opening the Book of Faith" is an excellent book! It is a great way to help people answer the question of "Where do I start in reading the Bible?" We learned about the four methods of engaging the text - historical/critical, narrative, meditative, and Lutheran theological. Then, after we finished reading that book together, we started reading the Gospel of Mark. (The people wanted to read the Bible, so we're reading the Bible!) We have been reading one chapter a week and slowly working our way through the book. Their assignment for the week is to read the next chapter. Then, on Sunday, we read the chapter together - as a refresher and for those who didn't read it the previous week. Then my first question is always, "What stood out to you in your reading of the text at home or your hearing of it just now? What caught your attention or grabbed your ear?" And off we go! Then, in the course of our conversation, I'll remind them about things we learned with the "Opening the Book of Faith" book. Also, as a pastor, I can give them some background into the historical/critical stuff. But I am mostly there to guide the conversation and keep us on track. They do most of the talking....and it's great conversation. Plus, the people keep coming. They very much enjoy the class. They are very engaged in the text and in the conversation that we have together. Whether or not this class calls what they are doing "Book of Faith" they are indeed doing it. They are "opening scripture and joining the conversation". They are engaging the Bible and being engaged by it - and also reading it outside of the congregation setting too. I have an important role to play in the conversation as a pastor, but I am a supplementary resource. I don't say I have all of the answers, but I do say that we can struggle with the questions and engage the text together. Plus, it's incredibly fun!

For people who want to have this type of conversation and Bible study in the congregations of which they are a part, I offer this as an example of the way God is acting in this congregation. I do know, though, that some pastors do not feel comfortable with leading Bible studies. (It befuddles me as to why they wouldn't enjoy doing it or feel comfortable with it, but I know it happens....especially when they don't have a boxed curriculum on which they can rely.) I also know that there are some lay people who would like to lead these discussions too. For that, I thank God! Helping people engage in scripture is not the task of just the ordained. It is the task of everyone. However, I know that some people do not think they know enough to lead a Bible study group. ("How can I teach them about the Bible when I don't even know much about the Bible?") In this case, resources (such as from Augsburg Fortress) can be useful and important. However, it is imperative that everyone - teacher, students, pastors, Augsburg Fortress, etc - clearly articulate that these resources are supplements. They are tools. In other words, you should be able to use them - and then let them go. They should be like training wheels on a bike. Eventually, you take the training wheels off and you can ride the bike without them. Book of Faith resources should be training wheels to help people engage the Bible on their own - and, of course, in the community of the congregation - without the aid of the resources. (If the supplementary resources do their job well, they should eventually no longer be needed.) People will stop using the Book of Faith resources, but we need to make sure they never stop reading the Book of Faith (the Bible)!

Consider this metaphor. The Bible is the bike. The Lutheran confessions are the way that we are taught how to ride the bike. The Book of Faith resources (not the initiative) are the training wheels that are on the bike, but are given with the condition that eventually they will be taken off. The Book of Faith _initiative_ is people riding their bikes together. Sometimes, the bike is one with a baby carriage on it and we need some to guide us as we go along for the ride. Sometimes, it's a tandem bike and we ride it together in partnership with someone else. But, eventually, we ought to be able to ride the bike on our own....and, if someone falls off the bike or needs help riding, any one of us should be able to go over and give that person a hand so that the person can ride again. We are riding together. The main thing here is the Bible/the bike, not the training wheels.

Given all of the above, I want to say a quick word about sacraments. In previous generations, the push was on sacraments. ("We need to have communion every week instead of once a quarter or once a month.") Now, the push is on Scripture. ("We need people to open the scripture and join the conversation.") I think both are extremely important, but - in practice - emphasis on one seems to take emphasis off of the other. There is one extreme of the church now that is emphasizing sacraments over the word. There is another that is emphasizing word alone over the sacraments. However, it's not a zero-sum game. Emphasis on one does not have to remove emphasis on the other. We are a church of both: Word and Sacrament. Pastors are ordained into the ministry of Word and Sacrament. Luther defined the church as anywhere the Word is rightly preached and the sacraments are rightly administered. This is who we are - because these are the ways God feeds us. In emphasizing Biblical literacy now, we need to make sure that we continue to emphasize the importance of sacraments. For our engagement with scripture _is_ sacramental. Think, for example, of Ezekiel eating the scroll which God gave to him (Ezek 2:8-3:3) or the similar situation with the speaker in Revelation eating the scroll (Rev 10:8-10) As I looked up the Ezekiel reference, I read the larger context of it. For anyone who is feeling like a prophet who isn't being heard, for anyone who is trying to promote Biblical literacy but you feel like you're up against a brick wall, read Ezekiel 2:1-3:11. That sounds like it could be the story of people supporting the Book of Faith initiative but encountering all of these confusions and questions in the congregations. (This is just one example of why reading the Bible is so important. It's our story!)

Thank you for reading this lengthy post. I haven't posted in this thread for a while and your comments and the aura of what we are talking about just prompted me to write. Praise be to God that this is God's church, not ours, and that the Spirit continues to blow through it. Praise be to God for feeding us - in word and sacrament. Praise be to God for revealing Godself to us - through the crucified and risen Christ (especially during this Holy Week) who is the Word incarnate, for the written and artistic word which refers us back to the incarnate Word, and to the community whose proclaimed word always refers back to the incarnate Word.

[Amy Thoren]

Hi Kurt, I'm with you on almost all this.

Right - this is not a curriculum - it's about people picking up Scripture - the Word - and reading it - and experiencing it - hearing it and ingesting it and being changed by it. It's about an encounter with the living Word, essentially.

If clergy don't know that the Book of Faith is the Bible and that the Book of Faith Initiative is just that (an initiative) and not a curriculum, then we all need to get the word out more effectively.

The curriculum is there, in my opinion, to help empower other leaders in the congregation (not just seminary trained) to teach some of these things - and to help pastors do some ground work with folks. I found Rediscovering to be a very nice intro to how the Bible came to be. I (pastor) led it in my congregation, and though I supplemented it, it went very well and piqued a lot of interest. We've also had others lead it who said it was a good experience. At our congregation, we have done things like a Bible giveaway to get people interested in Scripture - it's all part of the initiative. I dream of having small groups within the congregation gather informally to read and experience scripture together - with or without pastors present. Our adult forums have been very intentionally about the Bible and related issues - we've not used any Augsburg curriculum for these but they've all been part of the initiative.

Since we started all this, I've had more than one person come to me asking which translation of the bible they should buy (people who have never bought a bible before). I'd say people are definitely interested and even eager! I think a lot depends on how the initiative takes shape in each congregation.

[Doug Kings]

I was recently at a conference clergy meeting where the opinion was expressed that the Book of Faith Initiative seems to have faded away. The heads around the table nodded in agreement. Just one sign there is some work to be done.

I have been skeptical of BOF from the start and remain so. Why? Because I don’t think its purpose or objective has been thought through at all. As soon as I saw this churchese phrase from the opening statement, I knew it was in trouble: “The Book of Faith initiative invites the whole church to become more fluent in the first language of faith, the language of Scripture, in order that we might live into our calling as a people renewed, enlivened, empowered, and sent by the Word” (emphasis added). When something intended for ordinary people can’t be explained in ordinary English, it’s already gone off the tracks.

I don’t want to this to be a rant, so I’ll try to be concise. The basic fallacy I see is the failure to accept that the Bible is a difficult book to read. Lay persons (and clergy!) are afraid of it for good reason. There are good reasons why fewer and fewer people read it or are familiar with it. It is an ancient book (collection of books, of course), by multiple authors, in languages which no one speaks and which are difficult to translate. It assumes a world view vastly different from our own. It often talks about topics and issues which are incomprehensible to us and/or of no interest to us.

Of course, someone can simply pick it up and begin reading and find it of value. People have done this on their own for generations. The reality today, however, is that for more and more people (especially if they’re under 50) this experience is of little or no value. They might as well be reading the phone book. I lead Bible studies. I use the Bible a lot in my preaching. And it’s hard work, in large part because there is so much explaining to do!

And so it’s perfectly understandable that people (including pastors!) are looking for curriculum. And of course, lay people think Opening the Book of Faith is difficult—that’s because the Bible is difficult. The statement that scripture is “the first language of faith” needs to be explored and debated, not assumed. Is this still true? Can it be true in the 21st century? There are real problems and questions here which this initiative is trying to sidestep. It won’t work.

The sexuality task force, with commendable candor, admitted the ELCA lacks a basic consensus on how to read the Bible. Without such a consensus, we will continue to flail about, squabbling among ourselves, uncertain of our mission. How the Bible should be read today is not obvious. Until we wrestle with those questions, this initiative is dead on the launch pad.