I am a huge fan of these short term disciple studies that cokesbury has been putting out. Last night, we started Romans. I've done intro to OT, Genesis, and now Romans. I'm hoping I'll do intro to NT at some point, I just missed the class that was doing it last year.

Anyone that has participated in a Disciple study knows that there is a lot of homework. Thankfully these ones only meet for 8 weeks. I still managed to bring more upon myself by deciding to co-facilitate it. This is good though, because it gives me a reason to have to dig a little deeper and not just brush it off and not do the study.

So in our beginning class, we talked a lot about how Romans has influenced the church thus far. Romans is this book that runs deep. Last night we even discussed it as being this raging river that you have to wade through and sort through and struggle with. I dug that imagery. Many major leaders of the church have felt a profound impact on their faith due to Romans. From Augustine to Luther to Wesley, these major figures of faith have seen strikingly different things in Romans and have come away from the experience blessed... or perhaps having their heart feel strangely warmed.

Part of me was in a panic yesterday and didn't want to teach. Mainly because I don't always like or agree with Paul's interpretations of Jesus' message. This is a big text for Paul, and whether I like it or not, the church seems to be continually shaped by his letter to the Romans.

Is this a challenge? Of course. Am I up for it? Always. Will I struggle through the whole thing? I can only hope so.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 08, 2007 at 2:57 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.