Facts and/or Truth

By Bill Colburn

I am repeatedly fascinated by the tension held between 'fact' and 'truth' in the Bible. By this I mean that some things may not be 'factual', but could none-the-less be 'truth'. Why this tickles me is that it runs measurably counter to the way I was raised to think. I used to think that if the bible is truth, then what it says must also be unquestionably factual. If God is perfect then inspiration is perfect and thus everything it says must be fact.

It was in this logic that I recently listened to a preacher/friend interpret the bible story of the Rich Man and Lazarus - using metaphor as literal fact, proving that hell is a place where the unjust are eternally toasted and tormented. When I later mildly challenged his presentation, he responded with the belief that Jesus would not have told a story that wasn't factually accurate, right?

When folks are taught to think about inspiration in this way the result is a concocted interpretation of scripture that conforms to our need to fit God into our finite controllable little boxes rather than entering into a transcendent delight of worshipping the infinite, eternal, Creator God. The scriptures do not present themselves as a book of facts, but as a record of testimonies designed to lift us out of our limited perceptions into the humbling eternal truth of God who is far beyond even our wildest imaginations. Rather than grounding us in manageable temporal realities, it invites us beyond what can be seen and understood - into the realm of faith. The Bible, in many ways, is a projective, a spiritual Rorschach of sorts, eliciting faith through our life-long, daily interactions with it.

A couple of examples from the gospels may suffice to further agitate this notion. John the Baptist was imagined, by some, to have literally been Elijah - returned in the flesh - as Malachi promised. Jesus responded to the queries about his cousin with these words,

"if you are willing to accept it, my cousin John is Elijah".

If we are willing to accept it? Was John or was John not Elijah? At least that is how I once responded to the text. Uncomfortably, in 'fact', John the Baptist was not Elijah. Yet, in 'truth' he was. Don't you just love a 'yes and no' answer?

From another perspective, Jesus tells us that we can be factually guilty, yet simultaneously innocent. In Matthew 12, the disciples of Jesus were accused of breaking the Sabbath. Jesus never denies this as factual. Rather, he pointed the Pharisees back to the scriptures, to David who in 'fact' broke the law, but was in 'truth' innocent.

He then spoke of the priests who in 'fact' broke the Sabbath law, but were also, in 'truth', innocent. Here the facts pointed to guilt, yet the truth pointed to innocence. Why? Well, of course, they used the law lawfully (1 Tim 1:8). The law is not about the law. It was given to lead us to Christ, the compassionate one. Mercy trumps all other purposes for the law.

I used to be a formidably proud, narrow-minded legalist. I perceived scripture as merely two-dimensional. I needed to understand everything on that plane of plain facts. I wanted it all to make sense if it was going to be a part of my life. I spent most of my time trying to make everything manageable within my reality. Such an approach seemed unarguably reasonable. I could only imagine a God who spoke in eternally confirmable facts. I couldn't imagine God making divine accommodations for finite human minds. There wasn't any lisp, as John Calvin once wrote. As a result, there wasn't any room for the unexplainable - no opportunity for the Spirit - thus no transformation in my life.

When we insist on extracting only 'facts' from scripture rather than allowing the Spirit to use the scriptures to lead us to Jesus - the 'Truth' - we get bogged down and 'heavy laden'. There isn't any rest in a penchant for proving everything. Our rest comes in trusting in Christ alone, who is - in fact - the Truth. We need every letter of the law to lead us to Jesus, who gifts us with the Spirit, who, in turn, helps us to live out the spirit of the law - which is to be like Jesus.

Christian Music...Gross!

by Leslie Foster

What do a mysterious terminal illness, a pastor's kid headed for hell, and contemporary Christian music have to do with each other? Absolutely everything when it comes to the film Jesus People. Directed by Jason Naumann and written and produced by Dan Ewald and Rajeev Sigamoney, (full disclosure: I'm currently developing a film with Sigamoney) the film explores the lengths to which a father will go to save his son.

Sigamoney, who attends the Hollywood SDA Church (known to its members as The Purple Church), recruited dozens of church members to serve as extras in several scenes; and even to serve on the crew, including Christina Attiken, Susan Nwankpa, and Nathan French--who served as production coordinator, assistant property master, and production assistant respectively.

Shooting the film over a patchwork of weeks in order to accommodate the cast and crew's busy schedules, Naumann, Sigamoney, and Ewald crafted a provocative and funny story in which a good man, in his own misguided way, will stop at nothing to save his child. Believing his son is succumbing to worldly influences and having recently been diagnosed with a strange illness that his doctor warns is irreversible, Pastor Jerry decides to create a Christian pop group to win back his son before it's too late. Wading into the weird, alternative universe that is CCM, Pastor Jerry recruits a washed-up Christian singer and three unknowns to his band "Cross My Heart."

Those who enjoy the work of Christopher Guest or have been fans of the recent crop of mockumenary-styled television shows such as "Arrested Development" or "The Office" will immediately feel at home in the universe Sigamoney and Ewald have created, with its painfully awkward and self-concious moments. The film doesn't shy away from poking at Christian stereotypes and attitudes, but manages to pull it off with surprisingly little cynicism and, dare i say, lovingly.

There are most definitely uncomfortable moments and something squirm-worthy for everyone watching. Most people will leave offended by at least one thing in the film. In both the screenings I have attended, there have been moments of dead silence punctuated by a few nervous giggles several times throughout the movie. Does this detract from the film? It will for some, but it will keep them talking about Jesus People for days to come and I suspect the filmmakers had that outcome in mind.

Despite or perhaps because of its moments of uncomfortable truth, the mockumentary is the perfect format to explore the insular world of contemporary Christian music and in fact, the very insulated lives many of us who are Christians live. Jesus People manages to wrap dealing with death, fear of selling-out, hypocrisy, romance, and much more into a tight, very entertaining film. It is a rare commodity in its ability to mock the oddities of Christian life while respecting the characters at which it pokes fun. It is filled with laughs and more than a few gentle moments that will take viewers by surprise.

Catalyst West

by Kris Loewen


Discouragement is not supposed to be a word in a pastor’s vocabulary. We are visionaries. Eternal optimism is the name of the game. Our faith outweighs present realities. We envisage the silver lining. Right?

Yet something has gotten in the way of the idealism I had just a few years ago. I feel shame just writing it, but it’s true – and it scares me.

It’s not that my local church is somehow dysfunctional or at war (we’re not). It’s not even that pastoral ministry is different than I expected (it is).

It’s the lack of unity.

Not regarding the Adventist community amongst itself per se – but unity in terms of how Adventists relate with the rest of Christendom. Often when I interact with my Adventist friends about ‘non-Adventists’, I feel a spirit of judgment, cynicism, and a not so subtle ‘us-them’ dynamic (notwithstanding that unfortunate descriptor for Christians who are not Adventists).

A couple of weeks ago, I excitedly told a friend Christine Rohr’s story about her Prison Entrepreneurship Program in Texas (an enterprise in tangible grace: helping convicts learn life skills and stay out of prison after release). The immediate response? “Oh, so is it Adventist?”

Now this isn’t the end of the world and perhaps can be expected on some level. But it is illustrative of a issue many Christians hold in common with Adventists: we tend to think our club is better than everyone else’s; and when theirs is more dynamic, more relevant, and more vibrant, we tend to get cynical, frightened, or defensive rather than grateful for what God is doing. I wonder if somehow we think that if God is working amazing stuff over there with them, then our claim to be exclusively right might be in jeopardy. Do we silently worry, “Have we been passed over? Has God really chosen us?”

So we belittle. We shake our heads in pride, “If only they knew what we knew…then their silly project might mean something”. We identify the true ‘spirit’ behind their work. We push further and further away rather than closer together. This discourages me.


At the end of April, I had the opportunity to attend Catalyst West, a self-proclaimed ‘convergence of next generation leaders’, in Irvine, CA. Beyond the amazing testimonies and challenges of the various speakers (Erwin McManus, Rick Warren, Ravi Zacharias, Alan Hirsch, Guy Kawasaki, and Andy Stanley among others), the most impacting part of the three day week was the unassuming sense of unity and community that pervaded all aspects of the event. “Look at what God is doing here/there/everywhere!” was the theme. The thought of downplaying God’s work all over our country and world because of denominational minutiae did not enter my mind. More than anything, I felt a sense of honor to be alive at this time in earth’s history – when God is profoundly breaking through in new and amazing ways.

In John, 17, Jesus prays for us, those who would come to believe in Him without having physically seen Him. He could have asked God for many things, but He prays only that we would be one – unified with each other and with God. I believe that Catalyst is a spirit-led vehicle for helping that take place. It’s not perfect and there are pieces that get on my nerves (consumerist Christian trade show anyone?), but events like this have the potential to remind us all that we’re in something bigger than our little local congregation or even a fifteen million member organization. We’re part of the Body of Christ – we are his bride – together. As my friend Caleb says, “Jesus is coming back for a bride not a harem.”

The final presentation of the event was by a North Carolinian pastor with a southern drawl named Perry Noble (think ‘Larry the Cable Guy’ with a Greek New Testament). His message? “Don’t quit. Don’t stop. Stay faithful. God has called you – and he is working through you – and he will do great things through you. Stay the course. God will do what he promised”

It was the nail in the coffin for me.

Because he’s right you know. God is at work, his bride is still alive. And our faithfulness and courage in our unique callings is part of something much bigger than denominational squabbles. We are part of a worldwide movement – and if we allow ourselves to be inspired by what God is without a doubt doing everywhere, we will gain the courage to not quit here.