Through the River

Update From River Town

2011-10-20T12:18:00.000-06:00

This post refers to an analogy explained in the book, Through the River; Understanding Your Assumptions About Truth. For a brief explanation of the analogy, read the blog post http://throughtheriverbook.blogspot.com/2009/01/through-riverunderstanding-your.html.

The Valley Dwellers have lived on the far side of the river for some time now. The newness is beginning to fade and they are settling into their role in the community. They act as peacemakers and bridges between people. When a Rock Dweller meets an Island Dweller, there is often misunderstanding and frustration. That is where the Valley Dweller is most useful; to guide the conversation in ways that affirm both people’s beliefs about truth, but challenge them to think differently.

It is a liminal time for River Town, but very exciting as well. People are moving from one place to another trying to adjust to what their new way of thinking means for their everyday lives. Sometimes they may move from one place to another while having a storage unit somewhere else. I have heard one person comment that they brought a suitcase along with them. It’s difficult to change your thinking all at once, but over time and with patience it can be done to some degree.

The changes on the rocky shore and sandy islands are significant. The people living on the rocky shore are becoming more polarized with some people holding more strongly to their convictions and others deciding that things are changing and there isn’t much they can do to stop it. In the sense of the latter, there is more tolerance toward the island dwellers. The former are hoping that holding strong will delay the changes that seem inevitable. The rocky shore is still well-populated, but a great many people are moving into the islands.

As time goes on, many more people are leaving the rocky shore to live on the beaches. The rock dwellers know more and more people who are living on the islands and they are even beginning to have the ability to see the world through their lens at times. There is a growing confidence among the island dwellers that they have found the answer to the dilemma they had on the rocky shore, but some are beginning to have questions.

The valley community is growing as some people are coming from the islands to settle in the valley. There is a lot of room to grow with the land spreading out and rising into the mountains. It’s not a perfect life. Problems arise when an unknown gets in the way of immediate decision-making or when an old way of thinking creeps into what they are doing. The silos of the rocky shore make it difficult for the settlers from there to see life as a whole. For those who came from the islands, allowing logic into the discussion is an obstacle as they have for so long been opposed to that way of thinking. Still, the humble approach to learning helps them to work through these challenges with each other.

In this time of great transition, people’s truth lenses are changing. Maybe you have experienced a change in the way you view truth. If so, take a minute to share your story. We would love to hear it.

Is this the big one?

2011-04-17T20:27:00.003-06:00

Modern culture is going through the river of relativism in a dramatic way in this new century. It takes many forms. Sometimes it is a passionate appeal by another to live and let live. Other times it is a reasoned argument from a different perspective that calls into question what we believe. Whatever the source, many believers are surrounded by uncharted waters. While most believers grew up with a strong sense of certainty about their core beliefs, these times can rock any ones understanding of truth. In our book we called these moments Great Disturbances. They are the moments that can change how you view truth. You might go from a person who believes that all truth is knowable to a person who decides that there is no truth or that truth is a personal reality. You might also move, as we did, to the other side of the river where there is truth we know and truth we are learning. But how do you know when you are entering a Great Disturbance in your life? Let us share with you a few indicators: 1. You come up against something in your life that your current truth lens cannot explain or deal with. 2. You loose the ability to control your world and how you view truth and you are forced rethink your world. 3. You realize that the assumptions you based your life on are not as solid as you realized and you reconsider those assumptions given your situation. 4. You find that the answers that used to satisfy you no longer do and you invest in seeking clarity amidst the uncertainty. Does this describe you? If so you are probably going through a great disturbance and you have the opportunity to reconsider your assumptions about truth and ask God to give you clarity about how He wants you to know His character, His world and His plan for your life.

Telling Worldview from Personality

2011-03-01T20:26:00.003-07:00

When we talk about your truth lens (see previous posts) many times people assume that someone has a particular view of truth based on how they interact. But many times I have found that our social skills do not necessarily define our truth lens.

For instance, if someone is dynamic and excitable, you might think that they are a Rock Dweller (a person who believes they can understand truth completely and usually defends that position strongly). But people who live on the Islands or in the Valley can also have this personality.

So how do you distinguish personality from worldview? You have to get down to motive. A Rock Dweller is always sizing up what you are saying and deciding if it is true or untrue. An Island Dweller is not interested in whether it is true because truth is personal. A Valley Dweller believes in objective truth but views it as a learning process with those around them.

No matter what their personality, you have to find out the motives that drive their truth search and through those motives you will get a sense for where they are coming from.

An Island Dweller's greatest motive is harmony without dealing with the deeper issues. So they will always strive to equalize their surroundings and allow things to be "true enough." The Rock Dweller will affirm and praise what they agree with and try to dismantle what they disagree with. The Valley Dweller will define whether the idea being presented is part of the truth they know or if it is something they have to investigate and learn from.

Look below personality to get a sense for these ways of viewing truth.

What Can you Learn About Truth From Star Wars?

2011-02-18T20:09:00.007-07:00

Well, I'm sure someone has come up with many lessons from the Star Wars movies, but this blog is not one of them. However, I am going to use Star Wars images in order to make my point.

In our book we share about three truth lenses (glasses that manage our assumptions about truth) that are most common in the the Western world today. One of the examples that our mentor Dr. Paul Hiebert gave us was that of a picture.

The first truth lens is Positivism. A Positivist believes that all truth is knowable and can be objectively defined. They view the world like a photograph. This means that they spend their days trying to fill in the photo and get it as clear and crisp as possible.

The second truth lens is Instrumentalism. This lens rejects the idea that all truth is objective and says that emotion, story, and personal experience are key to understanding truth. They also say that truth is defined by such personal things that it cannot be shared with others because they do not have the same experiences as you have. Instrumentalists view their world as a collage. No two collages are the same. They each take on the perspective and approach of the artist and become unique representations of how they view the world.
The third truth lens is Critical Realism. This truth lens believes that there is objective truth but that it is understood and acted upon subjectively. That means that there is truth that we know and truth that we are learning together. This lens is best described using a montage. A montage is many small pictures that add up to one large picture. The unique parts look different, but they all make sense when seen in the larger context. A montage has a common view of reality but each piece of that picture approaches it in a different way.

So with this example in front of you, how do you view truth? What lens is defining how you approach your faith, relationships and outreach? We would love to hear your input.

Seeing Clearly is Dangerous!

2011-02-18T20:04:00.002-07:00

I am excited to be speaking at an event called Dangerous Man Day this weekend. It is a one day conference designed to help men live dangerously for God. As I have been working on the materials for the event, I have realized yet again how dangerous it is for us to see ourselves clearly.

The Evil One uses self deception as a key tool to keep us from obedience to Christ. We see it all the time don't we? We misunderstand who we are in Christ, what He has made us to be and how He is shaping us in His image.

That is why our truth lenses are so important. If Satan can mess with our these glasses that provide our assumptions of truth, then He can keep us from growing closer to God. But if we understand our assumptions of truth and seek to learn more about God through those glasses, then we can be powerful instruments in His hands.

Do you have the courage to understand your assumptions and to hold them up to the light of God's presence in your life?

Leading Through Disagreement

2010-11-18T20:35:00.003-07:00

If you are a leader then you have had to negotiate between people on your team who disagree. When there are two people together in a room there will always be moments of disagreement. Very few leaders handle these situations well. In fact, over the years some of the biggest complaints I have heard about leaders is their handling of conflict.

Well, conflict has a lot to do with your Truth Lens (the concept from our book Through the River). The way you understand truth defines how you will negotiate between two people who claim they have the truth on their side. In our book we have three communities along a river. The Rock Dwellers believe that all truth is knowable and that there is one way to view everything. The Island Dwellers believe that truth is personal and they do not try to impose their understanding on people from other islands because their are no bridges. The Valley Dwellers live in community and believe there is truth we can know and truth we are learning. That learning requires humble dialogue.

As you can imagine leaders from these three communities will approach conflict in very different ways:

Rock Dwellers will assess the two warring factions, weigh the information, side with the one they think is right and negotiate a surrender from the other side. This always leaves the other group defeated and disempowered.
Island Dwellers will look for a pragmatic solution that gets people working together again without being too concerned about trying to get to the bottom of the situation - since they don't believe that one answer is attainable.
Valley Dwellers will look for the piece of truth that is known and affirmed in Scripture and then build from there to have those in disagreement process their struggles and learn together. They will sacrificially stand in the middle and create an environment of humble learning because the process is just as important as the resolution.

We believe that Leading from the Valley represents a way forward for leaders who have been beat up and torn down by conflict in their organizations. What do you think of the way your Truth Lens might impact your ability to lead in conflict?

Understanding Leadership in Light of Truth

2010-11-07T21:12:00.005-07:00

I had a very interesting lunch with a believer who had read our book and wanted to chat about applying it in their local church. As we talked, I began to frame a new idea that I am very excited about. Our book focuses on helping the broadest group of people understand their truth lens and then figure out how to engage their world with this new-found understanding.

What we didn't spend much time on was "leadership." But as I talked to this reader about the book, I found myself talking about what leadership looks like from the Rocky Shore, the Islands and the Valley. As many of you know these three geographies in the town represent three different truth lenses.

If we have already talked about what it means to live understanding your truth lens, why is it important to think about leadership? Well, the simple answer is that leadership is about guiding people on God's mission (via Blackaby). These people all have a truth lens that defines how they view the world. Our leadership style is impacted greatly by how we view truth.

Over the next few weeks I will be posting some thoughts on what it means to Lead from the Rocky Shore, the Islands and the Valley. I hope you will join me for this discussion.

Looking at the World through a Both/And Lens

2010-09-20T05:41:00.002-06:00

As we continue to discuss the concept of a truth lens, it is important to develop simple tools to help us understand them better. I came across one of these recently. I call it the "Both/And Tool". This is a way of thinking that allows us to avoid the over-simplified truths that the rock dwellers (or positivists) rely on and allows us to think more deeply about truth. It allows us to consider both options and see the the truth in each of them.

Now the challenge is that island dwellers (instrumentalists) and valley dwellers (critical realists) both like the "Both/And Tool" for different reasons. The island dwellers who only believe in personal truth, view this tool as a way to coexist with everyone without having to define truth in any particular way. They hack this tool for their own purposes when they do this.

On the other hand valley dwellers (critical realists) use the Both/And Tool in a differnet way. It is not designed to keep people from having a foundation of solid truth, but it is used as a way to engage the community in learning together. That means that critical realists will acknowledge the truth they know and then use the Both/And Tool to interact about the truth they are learning in community.

I recently wrote a blog post about this for Lausanne called "Are you a Both/And Thinker?" Take a minute to read this great example of using the Both/And Tool.

A Special Announcement from Jon and Mindy

2010-09-12T22:08:00.000-06:00

As many of you know we have been in a ministry transition over the past few months. Please take a moment to read about our new role and rejoice with us in God's provision. Read our blog announcement here.

Visualizing Truth

2010-08-06T06:05:00.003-06:00

Recently we recieved an email from a "Through the River" reader. This is what she had to say:

"I was conversing with our Music Pastor's wife, and 2 other home school moms and we were talking about your visual picture of world view lens and the River Town. They all got out their blackberries and touch screens and wrote down the title of your book so they could go get their own copy. Because of your explanation I understand so much why were are so focused on world view. At our homeschooling convention - the theme of everything was world view.

I am contemplating teaching a class on your book to highschool students. It is so powerful. Thanks so much for writing it.....I am just so amazed at God's timing....right when I needed a book to explain it visually in a vivid way to Jacob. JT just picked it up today and is reading through it."

What a great testimony to the power of a word picture! It is amazing what can happen when truth takes on different forms. We have been so trained to read truth in arguments and propositions that we fail to remember that God is so much bigger than linear logic. God can use images, imagination, history, art, memories, and the list goes on and on.

We would love to hear from others of you who have read the book. How has God used the visual image of River Town to bring this truth into perspecitve for you?

Growing in Humility as we Live in Community

2010-07-27T09:49:00.001-06:00

I just wrote a blog post for The Lausanne Movement. As many of you know I am helping coordinate the Lausanne Blogger Network, social media and the Lausanne Blog. This week I wrote about truth and the Lausanne Global Conversation - especially about what happens when believers in community disagree. Take a minute to read the post and get involved in the Global Conversation!

Surviving the Commute

2010-07-19T16:12:00.000-06:00

I rushed to each light, only to wait in the hot car, listening to the radio chattering on. It was the morning commute and I learned to endure it—even enjoy the liminal time between my worlds. It’s was a time to think ahead to the coming day; a time to prepare. I needed this time. Life at work was so different from life at home. At home it was secure, sure, steady. I knew what to expect, and I knew the rules. Work was full of uncertainty. Different personalities and ways of thinking created conflict, discomfort and frustration. I never quite got used to these feelings.

Why is it that we think so differently? Why when I talk to some people do we just miss each other’s meanings completely? Could it have something to do with our ideas of truth? Maybe the foundations of our thinking are made out of very different materials. Maybe we live on two sides of the same river.

Through the River describes what it’s like living on the rocky shore of the river where people believe in a firm truth and rely on logic to get there. Many people today grew up in a world where this was the primary way of thinking. But then people began to get into the river and swim out to the sandy islands to live. They left the rocky shore because they could no longer believe that logic was the only way to truth. But they began to believe in a totally personal truth and became isolated from each other. Not happy with the sandy islands, some people returned to the rocky shore, but others swam onto the other side of the river. These people began to believe in truth that not only can be found through logic, but can be found in other ways—like personal experience and history.

In our lives, we can all think of people who live in one community along the river or another. Perhaps we live on one side and work on the other—commuting back and forth along the river. When I didn’t understand what the difference was, it was discouraging, disorienting and frustrating. But once I understood what the difference among people was in their view of truth, it became much easier to deal with.

One thing that helped me in relating to people in different parts of the river is realizing that it is not my job to change their perspective—to convince them of another way. Your assumptions about truth are not like your eternal salvation. You can be a Christian and live on either side of the river or on the sandy islands. So it is not imperative that I try to win people over to my way of thinking.

But though I may not need to convince people to think like me, understanding how others think helps my relationships and understanding. For instance, if I live on the rocky shore and work in the river, I know that pragmatism drives the decision-making of the people I am working with. Logic will not reach them, but relationships will. I know then that is important to build good relationships and to hear the stories of people in order to understand where they are coming from.

If I live in the river and go to school on the rocky shore then I know it will be important to have arguments for why I believe certain things. I will understand why truth comes first in all conversations, why the story behind things is secondary and why conversations turn to debate more often than not.

If I live on the far shore and come to visit either the sandy islands or the rocky shore, I may always feel at least a little out of place, but I have an advantage. I both affirm the belief in logic of the rocky shore residents and hold valuable the importance of story and personal experience of the sandy island residents. I can begin to build relationships with either person because we have something in common.

So the commute can be hot, frustrating, and tiring, but it can be done. By understanding how others think about truth I have the ability to work with people who think very differently than I think.

Shining a light on Truth

2010-06-21T04:44:00.001-06:00

I have just returned from the MAI Board meeting in Chicago. Serving with MAI is one of my great joys. The ministry trains and equips thought leaders – most of whom are authors or publishers in countless countries around the world.

When the chairman of the Board, Mark Carpenter, opened up our meetings he shared a story that impacted me and is a great example of the truth lens we highlight in our book. Here is how it went:

Mark shared how he and his son attended a city-wide cultural event held in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. One of the sponsors who hosted a part of the event was a local art museum that had a large sculpture garden as a key exhibit.

This museum’s event was a walk through the sculpture garden at night with each participant holding a flashlight. The participants would shine their lights on a sculpture when the guide was sharing about that particular work. Mark also mentioned that some of the sculptures were so big that the group had to work together with all their lights to bring the entire work of art into the light.

Mark went on to share how each of us on the board brings various experiences, ideas, etc. to the work of MAI. Each of us are shining our light onto the vision and mission of the organization to bring it into full view.

What an amazing analogy for truth!

In our book we share about the three communities along the river who view truth differently. The third community that we focus on is the Far Shore of the river and they believe that there is absolute truth but much of it is still unknown to us and has to be learned in humble community.

As I thought about Mark’s flashlight story, I realized that it is a wonderful example of the Far Shore of the river. The fact that the sculpture existed was not in question. Everyone knew it was there because the guide was talking about it. But the many visitors could not see it in the dark. To remedy this, they had to each shine their light on the sculpture to bring it out of the darkness.

That is the way it is with truth. We know that truth exists and that God is the master of it. He is our guide in the sculpture garden. But many times that truth is not clear or easy to see. But as we learn together in humble community and shine each of our lights on that piece of truth, it becomes much clearer.

Think back on this week and consider a moment when you and a friend, co-worker or family member were wrestling through a topic or idea. What light did you shine on the idea – what light did they shine on it? How did your interactions in community bring the idea into focus for both of you?

Big K little k what begins with k?

2010-05-27T06:10:00.002-06:00

How many of you remember that wonderful Dr. Seuss book about the alphabet? It walks through each letter and describes it with a charming mix of rhythm and humorous characters. The book also helps small children see the difference between the capital letters and the lowercase letters. That difference doesn't seem as important today in a world of lower-case logos and texting vocabulary, but it still matters.

Let's take the letter "k." When used in the word "kingdom" the size of the first letter has huge significance to us as Christians. With a capital "K," kingdom represents God's Kingdom in which we are participants in His plan for the world. With a lower case "k," kingdom represents our human efforts to control our situation and build influence for ourselves.

I am participating in the Lausanne Global Conversation leading up to the Lausanne Congress on Global Evangelization happening in Cape Town, South Africa in October. One of the key topics is partnership. One significant issues in partnership is the size of the letter "k" in kingdom. Throughout Christian missions and ministry we have seen many kingdoms come and go. They form around a powerful vision but in the end they are focused on themselves. Sometimes we see efforts and movements that are focused on the Kingdom of God. These efforts don't usually look as impressive in human terms but they recognize that the "k" must be a capital one.

There are many differences between the lower case "k" ministry efforts and the upper case ones, but one of the most significant is the ability to partner and work together. If we have many kingdoms to protect, partnership will always be a challenge. There are intellectual property issues, issues of who drives programs, challenges with keeping donor bases separate and distinct, and the list goes on and on.

But if our ministry efforts have a fundamental appreciation and commitment to the kingdom with a capital "k," then partnership is almost assumed. That doesn't mean it will be easy. People still have their own ideas, their own perspectives and human nature always kicks in. But if our context for ministry is the Kingdom of God, then those things can be overcome in His power and for His glory.

In our ongoing discussion about truth, this size of our kingdoms comes into play regularly. We talk about three ways of understanding truth in our book "Through the River." Each one of these truth lenses understands the Kingdom of God differently. Positivists who base their foundation in modernity understand the Kingdom of God as something that can be understood as we "grow in knowledge and truth." They want a kingdom with a capital "k" and expect that it will be clearly defined and understood. This means that positivism brings an expectation of certainty to a partnership. Essentially, they believe that the Kingdom can be understood completely and then implemented based on that understanding. The expectations of things being completely aligned and in agreement will be very high - so high that much of the time these partnerships only last a few years because the two organization's cannot agree and keep the same picture of reality for a long enough time period.

The second truth lens that we speak about in our book is instrumentalism. This truth lens says that truth is understood personally. For most of them the idea of kingdom will always be a lower case "k" because it is hard to imagine God's Kingdom in the broader sense. This group is the majority of people in Western Christianity today and is defined by pragmatism. That means that partnership is seen as a way for lower case kingdoms to be more effective and efficient but it is not done primarily to advance the Kingdom of God. This means that partnership will be pursued as long as it benefits the lower case kingdoms involved but will be abandoned if there is not clear benefit or if the benefit is only seen in the upper case Kingdom of God.

The third truth lens is critical realism and it is best understood as the truth you know and the truth you are learning. For this group of truth seekers, the Kingdom of God is a place of mystery on one hand and clarity on the other. I believe that this truth lens is particularly well suited for partnerships in the Kingdom of God. This is because critical realism says that there is absolute truth that we can all share as a foundation, but that most of God's Kingdom is still a mystery to us that we are learning about as we work. By acknowledging that we are learning in community but solidly established on the truth we know, we can humbly serve within the Kingdom of God without creating lower case kingdoms. This focus on community levels the field and takes the focus off of individual organization's and puts it on where God is at work.

So is your life oriented around little "k's" or the big "K"?

What the Bay Bridge Can Teach Us About Truth

2010-04-26T20:49:00.009-06:00

That iconic bridge in San Francisco that many people have seen in movies or as tourists is a powerful example of the change in how people understand truth. We got this insight after watching 60 Minute's segment about the new bridge currently being built.

The show focused on the race against time to build the new bridge before a major earthquake strikes the area. According to geologists it is time, but the bridge is far from done. There was the usual drama over time lines and budgets, but that is not what caught our attention.

When they were interviewing one of the builders, he explained how in decades past people thought that the best way to help a structure survive the earthquake was to build it as solid and sturdy as possible. But after a major earthquake hit the area and damaged many of the sturdiest structures, they are now focused on buildings that can sway and move. During the piece, they showed how one particular section of the new bridge had at least 6 feet of sway built into the structure.

What does this say about truth you ask? Well, in the last century the truth lens of positivism ruled the thinking of scientists, builders and financiers alike. This way of thinking said that all truth was knowable and claimed that the job of mankind was to build the most solid foundation possible by accumulating truth in an effort to collect it all.

But just as an earthquake shattered the illusion of safety in sturdy buildings, post-modernity and relativism shattered the idea that all truth was knowable. People began to look at those towers of truth they had built and realized that there were many hidden holes and cracks.

Today a new truth lens is emerging called critical realism (the one we share about in our book "Through the River"). This new way to look at truth says that there is a common foundation on which we can build, however the key to stability is having plenty of give in your structure that will allow for the tumult of the 21st century. Just like the new bridge, those constructing the framework for truth today are creating an environment that establishes the truth we know, but then realizes that there is much truth that we are learning together. The new bridge is dug deep into the San Francisco Bay so that the bridge is anchored firmly in the ground. But the rest of the bridge is attached to the solid tower and is designed to learn and adjust to each earthquake that might come.

So are you building your understanding of truth as a solid structure that strives to defy the earthquake of relativism or are you building a structure that is designed to hold fast by leaving room to grow and learn?

Why Truth is Important . . . its not what you think!

2010-04-18T20:04:00.002-06:00

I listen to certain Christmas songs all year round. Does that surprise you? Well, it certainly surprises me. Sometimes I wonder why I turn my Ipod to these specific songs when they are very much focused on the Christmas season. But as I listen to them I remember why and those songs bring my faith to life. They speak about Truth in a person . . . the Christ.

But thinking about Truth as a person is a very odd thing to do, isn't it?

Ever since Christianity's growth began to challenge the ideas and power structures of their day, the quest for what is "the Truth" has been at the center of wars, nation-building and cultural upheaval. Truth with a capital "T" has been our goal and we have taken extreme measures to discover it, define it and monopolize it.

But how have we defined and understood Truth? For the most part we have done so through a series of propositions. Ideas that are observable and reproducible. We developed the scientific method as a way to document and categorize these ideas as our understanding of our surroundings grew more and more complex.

In reality we have done the same with our faith. We have created volumes full of statements about what we believe and how they impacts our lives and actions. Those volumes become truth with a capital "T" and we use them as foundational for our understanding of truth.

There is definitely a place for this kind of knowing, but I want to stress for you another kind of knowing that is equally important . . . Truth incarnate. In Isaiah 48:17 God says "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go." We all believe that God is the source of Truth and the one who can direct us and guide us. But that is a pretty comfortable idea since God is this supreme being out there that never became something that we could touch or feel. Never, that is, until Jesus came as the incarnation of God to this Earth to bring salvation and redemption.

All of a sudden truth with a capital "T" has a name, wears sandals, eats fish, has nightmares and eventually died on the cross. That is the idea that I keep coming back to with these Christmas songs. The idea that all that is real, true and right was among us! People like you and me saw the God of the universe in human form and we have records of what He said and what He did. I love how Jesus says in John 14:6, "If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well."

What this means is that the things that Jesus chose to care about represent Truth. The people He spent time with and the stories He shared represent His values and His presentation of God's character to us. Every time I read the Gospels, I am amazed that I am able to see into God's mind through the actions of Jesus.

But if you truly believe that we can see truth with a capital "T" when we look at Jesus, then the next thing that God did is even more amazing. Once Jesus had left the disciples, the Holy Spirit descended and came to live in all those who believed. In fact, thousands of years later, we as Christ-followers still have the blessing and honor of having the Holy Spirit in us.

So does that mean that truth with a capital "T" lives in us . . . you . . . me? Does that mean that when I respond to the Spirit and not to my flesh that I am representing the God of the universe and showing His mind and His heart to others?

If so than our lives are incarnational and our actions can reveal the character, values, ideas, desires of God. And because God's Truth is so much larger than anything we as humans can fully grasp, when we represent God and put aside our sin and selfishness, we are revealing things that God wants others to see and know. Could it be that God might use you to reveal a new idea that fills out what He has already provided through thousands of years of other believers and through His Word?

That changes how I view my preparation for tomorrow. My thoughts, attitudes and actions could be used by God to bring Truth to those around me, or they could be used to satisfy my sin nature and the Prince of Darkness who plagues this world and torments so many.

Will my life be a tool for God to bring Truth into this world?

I cannot think of a question with more practical and immediate implications than this one!

What happened to the common foundation?

2010-03-31T21:29:00.004-06:00

I found this great infographic on Informationisbeautiful.net that shows how the Left and Right in US politics view the world. Take a minute to look at it on this screen or click on it to see the full size:

What struck me immediately about this image is that it shows the two sides completely separate. This is classic positivism (or Rock Dweller) thinking. The idea presented here says that you can either be on one side of the fence or another and that a person must select the picture puzzle that they want to build.

But what if at the bottom of this graph was another bar of all the common ideas and beliefs that both groups of people hold dearly within the system? All of a sudden we would see how those same foundational truths supported both perspectives in very different ways. Then it would be much harder to take a position of arrogance and criticism because we would see that the other side's ideas had at least some origins in a common truth.

A common foundation of truth as seen in critical realism (the Valley Dwellers) challenges us to look for foundational truth and then helps us to look at those around us through a posture of humble learning.

Doesn't that sound better than the friction we see around us today?

The Truth about Healthcare Reform

2010-03-23T17:55:00.001-06:00

Wow, what a debate. We have seen discussions, research, lobbying, arguments, protesting, spitting, name calling, and on and on. And in all of the posturing and sharing of ideas from one side to the other, the question you have to ask yourself is “Where is the truth?”

In this issue, that question is loaded and very challenging to grapple with. If ever there was a time when understanding and apply our truth lens (epistemology) would come in handy this seems to be it. In our book Through the River, we talk about three ways of viewing truth that we call truth lenses that exist and influence us today.

So why don’t we walk through the three lenses and how people in each camp might try to derive truth about the healthcare debate. It should be an interesting journey and I’m sure it will garner some dynamic responses! So strap on your seat belt and let’s go….

Positivists:
If you are a positivist (a rock dweller in our river analogy) you believe that your job every day is to add truth and subtract untruth. You also believe that truth is a picture puzzle and your job (along with those around you) is to uncover the pieces and put them in their place.

A rock dweller approaches the healthcare debate with a specific idea about the truth in this matter. Their job is to take every new piece of information about the bill, the players and the ramifications and hold it up to what they believe and either add it or subtract it. Because they understand truth as a picture puzzle, they believe there is one right answer about healthcare reform and that they must uncover it and champion it at all costs.

In essence they agree to agree or they break relationship. We have plenty of rock dwellers in this debate don’t we? In fact, entrenched positions and understandings of truth have been part of the very contentious nature of the debate.
Instrumentalists:

If you are an instrumentalist (an island dweller in our river analogy) you understand truth personally. You believe that truth exists, however you are not convinced that your truth can be shared with others. Instead of a picture puzzle, you view truth as a collage where everyone’s understanding and personal experience are summed up into this big dynamic picture that ends up looking a lot like modern art – interesting but not particularly like anything you can point to in life.

An island dweller approaches the healthcare debate in a very pragmatic way. They inventory their personal experiences, their understanding, their perspectives and the facts and come up with the truth that they know and believe. They may believe their position very strongly and speak adamantly about the healthcare issue, but deep down they don’t expect anyone to reach the same particular conclusion as they have reached. The truth is personal. In the end their perspective will be based on their healthcare experience and needs. It may also be based on their passion for the cause of either side of the argument. The key is that island dwellers have no bridges so in the end their view and perspective is their own and they must live with it as individuals.

The island dwellers agree to disagree, knowing that consensus is impossible. There are many people who hold personal perspectives about this issue but don’t pretend that others will agree; aren’t there?

Critical Realist:
If you are a critical realist (a valley dweller in our river analogy) you believe that there is absolute truth that can be shared and can serve as a platform but you also believe there is much truth that is unknown and can only be learned in community. Another way of saying it is that there is truth you know and truth you are learning. You promote the idea of objective truth but you insist that it is understood subjectively. That looks like a montage of many small pictures that come together to make a clear and powerful picture.

A valley dweller approaches the healthcare debate by working to establish the truth that they know…about the government’s past performance in similar programs, the specific elements of the bill, the potential implications and so on. Once there is a clear understanding of what is known within the valley dweller’s community (and validated by other sources), then that person begins to challenge his/her community to humbly learn together. They discuss the subjective reality, process the personal experiences, and look for new perspectives on the issue that could help them expand what they know.

This group agrees to learn together and does not break relationship even if they are not on the same page yet. This is a relatively new approach in our world and we don’t see a lot of people naturally taking this tactic yet. But what would the debate have looked like if they did?

Challenge
Ok, we quickly explored how people with different truth lenses might respond to the healthcare debate. Now here is your challenge:
1. What truth lens did you use when dealing with this issue?
2. As you reflect on each one, which one represents a Biblical approach and why?
3. Which one reflects the character of God incarnate – Jesus – as he interacted with challenging issues during his time on earth?
4. What will you do the same or differently when the next big truth issue comes up in your world?

The Journey of Truth as Tourism

2010-03-11T20:03:00.004-07:00

This month we continue to respond to the excellent articles being posted on the Lausanne Global Conversation site about pluralism and the struggle to understand truth. This is a key topic and was the focus of our book - Through the River.

Today we want to highlight one of the official responses to the article by Krish Kandiah who serves as executive director of Churches in Mission for the UK Evangelical Alliance. What I love about the response is the use of the analogy of tourism to talk about our truth journey. This ties in so well with our analogy of going through the river of relativism as people interact with truth.

In this response the author challenges us in two key ways:

1. There is a challenge not to be "tactless tourists" that simply ignore what those searching for truth are going through and demand that they understand truth the way we do. Here is a quote that I love, "The tactless approach to pluralism can lead the church to retreat into arrogant absolutism." This is so true. What we have seen as we have studied the way people view truth is that many fight away the uncertainty of relativism through arrogance. This is easy to understand because people are trying to reduce the uncertainty around them but it is a huge mistake because it makes Christianity so irrelevant to the larger community who is struggling with truth.

2. There is also a challenge not to be "reluctant tourists" that cower in the face of the pluralistic approach all around us. In our book we call the "reluctant tourists" the "island dwellers." They live out in the river of relativism on sandy islands where there is truth but it is completely personal. Unfortunately most believers in the West live in this world of personal truth where there are no bridges to others. I agree with this great quote from that section, "A fast-food message cannot compare to the nourishment offered by a local flavoursome organic church." What a powerful way to combat the idea that truth can no longer be anything but personal. In our book we talk about a third way that is very compatible with how this article approaches the subject. We talk about a humble approach to truth that is derived in relationship to God and in community with believers.

Our prayer is that this global conversation hosted by Lausanne will be a catalyst to bring that kind of truth discussion to the forefront.

Truth in a Human Context

2010-03-03T20:24:00.002-07:00

I am very excited about the upcoming Lausanne Capetown 2010 conference in South Africa. It is a key moment in the life of the 21st Century global church. You can follow Capetown on twitter at www.twitter.com/capetown2010.

This month the Global Conversation leading up to the event is focused on how our world understands truth. This is a key topic for this century and it needs some fresh thinking. I want to focus on one paragraph from Mark Chan's article in Christianity Today and on the Global Conversation:

"Our common humanity is a good starting place to share the truth of Christ. It is in the safety of genuine friendship, where trust is earned and respected, that we may honestly question assumptions. Christians can learn to sow seeds of subversion in the field of relativism by raising questions about the adequacy of moral relativism as a guide for life."

What I like about his approach is that he is starting from a position of human relationship when he talks about truth. The mistake we make so often is to force truth into an objective and sterile world. The age of modernity pushed this as the ultimate goal. But in making the truth sterile they also made it completely without meaning to humanity. It was a bunch of numbers and facts on a page without any context.

In the context of relationship we can validate the truth that we know and understand and commit to learn the rest of the truth in humble community. Mark did not really go there and I wish he would have taken that next step and challenged people not just to fight against relativism but to actively learn truth together.

One of the great challenges that we run up against in the "fight for truth" today is that people think they have to defend the truth. One of the things that Mindy and I have realized as we wrote the book with Dr. Paul Hiebert about our truth lenses is that the best defense for truth is a strong commitment to learning in community. It provides accountability and it also allows our understanding to be framed by what God is telling people across many backgrounds, cultures and experiences.

As we share about in our book, relativism is a natural progression from the short-comings of modernity. The key challenge I would like to throw out there is that the answer is not to pull people back from the raging river of relativism to the rocky shore of modernity. There is another side to the river where absolute truth can exist within the context of learning in community. That is what will appeal to those tired of being buffeted by the waves of relativism.

Is God bigger than your village?

2010-02-03T19:31:00.005-07:00

In Tom Steffen's book "Reconnecting God's Story to Ministry," he shares about the "blinders" that we can have when our worldview shapes our theology.

"Worldviews influence the development of theological categories of convenience; they also automatically create blinders to other themes of the Storybook. All theologies are local theologies, but Western theologies tend to conceive of themselves as containing the fullness of the truth. In fact, many Westerners don't believe that culture impacts ones's questions and interpretations of theology. They argue that one is able to remain cultureless while interpreting Scripture." (pg 87)

This idea of blinders is a significant one. Each worldview has a truth lens, as we talk about in our book, and many times those who hold a certain worldview believe that their understanding of truth is the only acceptable way to view it.

Tom does a wonderful job here jolting us out of that understanding and daring us to think that there could be more than one way to view something as deep and intricate as theology - the study of God. Paul Borthwick described this so well in the introduction to our book when he speaks of an encounter with an Ethiopian Christian and their disagreement. Here is what Paul said,

"We disagreed, but as we walked towards our next meeting, he (the Ethiopian believer) turned and said, "We must have these conversations, for if we do not, we will each end up with our own village God." (pg 4, Through the River)

That is powerful! Because many of us have the tendency to focus on our own beliefs and understandings of truth as the only way to view the world, we become isolated and we make God as small as our understanding and our reality. God is much bigger than a village, but for our comfort and security we confine Him to a space that we understand.

Now the opposite is no option either. Many people swing open the gates of their village and say that God is whatever you want Him to be. This is the prevalent way of viewing truth in our culture today. And those who have a village God fight it with all their might. But the tide is too strong. Why would you ever believe that God is as small as a village when you could set God free to be whatever anyone wants?

So that is where we (and Dr. Paul Hiebert) present a third way. We call it "the truth you know and the truth you are learning." In our book we share how those who have liberated their village God and have now found that a God without any absolutes is no God at all, have another truth lens to consider.

This truth lens we share as an third way is simply that there are absolute truths that we have identified throughout Christian history and can be confirmed within our setting. These are the undeniable truths of the faith. But there is also a huge amount of truth about God that we have not yet understood. That "truth we are learning" is slowly uncovered through our experience with God, through other cultures and through the unfolding of history. Slowly God is revealing more and more of Himself as we engage with other believers and humbly learn together in community.

So what truth lens do you have? Do you believe that all truth is knowable and that your village represents all of what God is? Do you believe that God is everything to all people and that personal experience defines who God is? Or do you believe that there is truth we can know and truth we are learning in community?

What you believe about truth matters? It colors your faith, your relationships and your outreach. Pray about it and share where you are in your journey of truth.

Prayer for Haiti

2010-01-25T19:48:00.003-07:00

We are all overwhelmed with the needs in Haiti, but where do we start. We believe firmly that we start with prayer. That is what we are doing in our church and in our family and we would ask you to join us in that. Jon has created a 30 Day Prayer Guide for Haiti with Eric Foley as part of their work with .W (doers of the Word - www.dotheword.org). Take a minute to visit Eric's blog and download the prayer guide. And please be sure to share here how you and your family are responding.

Useful Fictions and Silos

2010-01-23T10:14:00.001-07:00

We recently ran into another wonderful review of the book. Dan shares how creating useful fictions and silos for ideas were very powerful ideas for him. Do you know what he means? Take some time to pick up the book and check it out. We will be blogging more about those topics in coming months as well. Here is Dan's review.

A New Perspective on Through the River

2010-01-14T21:44:00.000-07:00

Take a minute to read a powerful review from a priest in the Orthodox Church about how he interacted with our book and the concept of truth lenses. Very well written: http://palamas.info/?p=1275

A Great Truth Story

2010-01-04T18:51:00.002-07:00

I just read a great story about one person's truth journey. David Wierzbicki recently wrote a year-end blog that chronicles his journey through the river and his ongoing truth search. I love the fresh and transparent way that David shares. Please take a moment to read about David's journey.

One of my favorite quotes in his post is, "I discoved a love of God that didn’t revolved around a need that every brick in my truth wall be perfectly fitted." This is such a key observation. Once we realize that our God is truth but that there is so much to learn about who He is and what He made, then we can humbly engage our world in exciting ways without feeling like our foundation is being shaken.

So where are you on your truth journey?

Applying Truth Lenses to Tough Issues

2009-12-02T21:04:00.001-07:00

One of the bloggers to review our book is working through a very difficult issue - homosexuality in the church. He worked to apply how our truth lenses might percieve this issue and we took some time to respond and give some feedback. Take a minute to read his review and our response.

Understanding Truth within a Global Conversation

2009-11-29T21:39:00.003-07:00

As each of you are on your truth journey, we would like to recommend a specific exercise to strengthen your understanding of truth and challenge your thinking. We are involved in the Lausanne Movement and they have launched a Global Conversation leading up to next years Congress in South Africa. This is the largest interaction of evangelicals in the world and it is a wonderful opportunity to see how our brothers and sisters understand truth as it applies to key topics.

Take a minute to visit the Global Conversation page, read the key articles and jump in on the conversation. Click here to begin!

Why is this so important? We are convinced that unless you are asking questions from the larger world, challenging your assumptions and humbly listening to others, you will never grow as Christ intended you to. It is easy to become more and more entrenched in our own ways of looking at the world, but it takes courage and strength to reach out.

Now we are not saying that it doesn't take courage to stand for what you believe and to not be swayed by deception. But what we are saying is that we need to be always learning, always asking questions, and always open to what God may have for us today.

Blessings as you join this global conversation!

Check out some of the reviews posted on Amazon

2009-11-24T20:45:00.003-07:00

We are getting some good thoughts posted to Amazon about the book. Here are a few of the positive along with some of the more critical. You can see the full reviews by clicking here. We are so excited to hear people talking about this topic and considering it as something that impacts their lives, faith, relationships and outreach.

"This was a transparent look at the three major ways of looking at truth: Positivism, Instrumentalism, and Critical Realism. It is easy to read and avoids the textbook word use that would normally fill a book on this topic. I thought the authors approached the topic with gentleness and grace and it was not an assault on anyone's point of view." J. TenBrink

"Jon and Mindy Hirst take you through our cultural troubled waters with a canoe and a paddle. They help to identify and avoid serious rapids that impede our understanding of how culture bound we are. This is not an easy canoe trip, but as you cross this river you will learn much about yourself and your assumptions. Give it a hard stroke and you will be rewarded."--Jim Reapsome

"Like anyone who tries to figure out where a story is going before he gets there, I had the positivists and instrumentalists pegged early in the story as positions the authors do not respect very much. Characters from either of these perspectives are, in the book's portrayal, hopeless; they are stuck in their epistemology. It is only the Critical Realists who have hope, life, and healthy relationships. I was, at points, surprised not to find the Critical Realists described as wearing capes, masks, and tights. . . What the Hirsts want is for people, especially Christians, I think, to consider two things: first, that though there is objective, real truth, you don't have a monopoly on it; and second, through communication and community we can all better come to know the truth and life that God offers us." - Not listed

"My criticisms aside, the book does a good job of introducing philosophy in a non-technical way to the layperson. I highly recommend it to any one who is having troubles with family or friends and they don't have the language yet to engage holistically with those people. This book is definitely written with positivists in mind, and seems to have in its purpose a call for positivists to rethink their positions and move "through the river." As one who has already moved through much of the river, the book did not really give me anything fundamentally "new" to chew on (but then again, new is overrated). It did, however, give me a good book to recommend to family and friends who want to learn the beginnings of philosophy and its relation to a holistic approach to God." Daniel Kam

"Epistemology was once a topic confined to the college classroom, but practical issues facing Christians today benefit from a critical look into the way we see the world. After all, those lenses affect the way we relate to other people and share our faith. Through the River is an accessible introduction to the conversation." Ian F. Eastman

Understanding "the truth we are learning" through Stories

2009-10-22T19:16:00.002-06:00

I came across a great speech by a Nigerian author the other day thanks to a friend of mine from Kenya. The author's name is Chimamanda Adichie and she told the TED conference that one of the great mistakes that we have made as people is to promote only one story.

She shared how when she was a child she only red European children's books and so when she began to write as a young person, her books were filled with snow, tea and other European things even though they were not part of her daily experience.

This happens so often. We tell a single story and expect it to accurately represent truth across thousands of languages, geographies, relationships and experiences. What I love about Adichie's challenge is that she is asking people to expose themselves to more than just the story that is most common to their experience.

Now as we think about truth, the key is what we share in our book. The three truth lenses have very different perspectives on the stories that we interact with. The rocky shore (positivism) believes that we should identify the one true story and help everyone get on that page and enjoy the richness of it. The islands (instrumentalism) believe that we should allow for countless stories to exist at the same time without any need to harmonize them. The far shore believes that there is a core story that runs through our lives as believers that we can share in common with everyone and that other stories add richness to the core story as they bring their experiences, cultures, relationships and history to the community of learners.

Take a minute to watch this powerful presentation and ask yourselves these questions:
1. What story is dominant in my life?
2. When other stories come into my path, how do I respond?
3. What can I learn from other stories that are not my own?

Question and Answer on Christian Post

2009-10-21T20:22:00.002-06:00

If you want to get some of the basics about the book "Through the River" check out the Q&A that Christian Post published.

Truth Lens Challenge

2009-10-15T19:49:00.001-06:00

Now that we’ve talked about the different truth lenses, let’s try on a different pair and see what the world looks like. Try taking off your Rocky Shore lens or your Sandy Island lens and try to see what the world would look like from the far shore on the Valley side.

Go through your day with the assumption that you don’t know everything, but that you can know some things. Put the truth you know and the truth you are learning into practice. How do you relate differently to people? How does your conversation change? Is your vocabulary any different? You might even find that there isn’t vocabulary for what you’re trying to say. That’s expected, since our language has developed using the Rocky Shore truth lens.

How is your attitude? Is it any more Biblical than it was before? Is humility creeping in? Are you in a state of learning?

Go ahead, try it on, and see what happens.

30 Days of Truth Teasers

2009-10-08T05:55:00.002-06:00

Since we have launched our book, we have been tweeting about truth under the name #TruthTeaser. You can see them all on twitter, but we wanted to share them on the blog as well. These 30 ideas are short but have a lot of kick to them. We have tried to sythesize many of the biggest most critical ideas in the book into these short tweets. We pray that they are helpful in your truth journey.

Your assumptions about truth are like glasses that affect everything you see.
Some people spend their lives adding truth and subtracting untruth.
Some people see truth as a personal matter. They live on islands with no bridges.
Some find truth they know and recognize that they are learning the rest in community.
If you insist that all truth is knowable then experts are essential.
Many arguments have more to do with your truth lens than the truth itself.
Personal truth seems freeing but ends in isolation.
Humility changes how you interact about truth.
Culture wars rise out of a fear that our understanding of truth is losing influence.
Personal experience brings new perspectives on the truth we know.
Tolerance raises love to the highest position at the expense of truth.
Our understanding of truth directly affects our approach to outreach.
Math is the language of those who seek to completely understand truth.
Relationships are the language of those who believe truth is learned in community.
Faith represents what we know, hope what we’re learning and love how truth is lived out.
Personal truth is convenient until someone else’s truth collides with mine.
We experience a great disturbance when our assumptions about truth fall short.
Many of us make certainty the focus of our truth search when clarity would serve us better.
When we say “ham sandwich” what do you imagine? What is a true ham sandwich like?
When objectivity is the goal, the richness of truth is lost.
On the island of personal truth you are one misstep away from the river of relativism.
Knowing feels safe, learning feels dangerous. Its easy to settle for some knowledge and give up learning more.
Living in community creates the opportunity to see truth as a journey
Every new idea can be seen as a threat, as someone else’s or as a new perspective to discover.
A picture is an exact image of reality.
A collage is thousands of ideas about reality.
A montage is thousands of ideas brought together into a whole.
Do you view truth as a picture a collage or a montage?
Your truth lens is a key part of your worldview.
Your view of truth will impact your faith, relationship and outreach.

Maps

2009-10-07T19:29:00.000-06:00

Maps are wonderful truth tools to explain life on the far shore with the Valley Dwellers (critical realists). The map represents some portion of reality, without representing the whole thing. A map of my neighborhood may have the fences drawn in, but a map of my whole town would omit that truth. It doesn’t mean that the truth of the fences does not exist, it just means that it is not part of the map.

So for the Valley Dwellers, you can understand truth without having the whole truth. A map can omit truth and yet still be true. This illustrates the truth we know and the truth we are learning. The truth we know may be the street names and the distance from one place to another. The truth we are learning may be the fences or the color of the mailboxes. We are not given an infinitely detailed map of reality. We only have maps to help guide us as we navigate our world.

An Intentional Journey: Thoughts after KKMS Interview

2009-10-01T20:47:00.003-06:00

So I (Jon) recently did an interview on KKMS in Minneapolis, MN. Great station and wonderful hosts for afternoon drive time. One of the things we talked about was the difference between evangelism from the Rocky Shore where people believe they can know and represent all truth to the Far Shore where people believe there is truth you know and truth you are learning.

As we talked about it a cool thought came out of the discussion. Really the main difference is that on the Rocky Shore you are trying to convince people that you can know all truth and if they accept your ideas you will lead them to a fuller understanding. A Rock Dweller holds out to people the idea that this is a key piece of truth that they must know as they strive to know all things completely.

Many times, those in the river of relativism or the Island Dwellers who represent isolated personal truth, feel that this is very arrogant. They have experienced other ways of knowing truth beyond reason and logic and are convinced that the people on the Rocky Shore are delusional.

Now on the Far Shore the Valley Dwellers do believe there is a foundation of truth. But the basic assumption about truth is different. They believe that a foundation of truth is possible in community and through the study of God's Word, but the rest is a process of learning together and trusting God. So when a Valley Dweller engages with a non-christian about faith, they explain the foundation but readily admit that there is so much to learn and so many things to know. They will even say that many of these things won't be known till we are in Heaven with God and that this is OK.

This approach to truth is seen by those in the river as much more humble and approachable. They still have to come to an understanding that there is a common foundation of truth, but it is easier for them to take a step out of the river towards the Valley Dweller's community rather than the harsher reality on the Rocky Shore.

The Valley Dwellers have a foundation but are very happy to go on a journey with non-believers as they study, think, talk, learn. This doesn't mean that the Valley Dweller's have given up their foundation of truth, but it does mean that it isn't a simple yes/no dialogue.

The greatest challenge with the Valley Dweller approach is that it requires deep relationships with non-believers and an investment that may never pay off in a salvation prayer. It requires a deep love and commitment to the person and an investment in their growth. This is a great sacrifice in our "microwave culture" where we want results quickly. That is the great challenge of life on the Far Shore - nothing is quick.

It is an intentional journey!

How you can be a Christian and use any of the truth lenses

2009-09-25T19:54:00.001-06:00

Each of the three truth lenses we have been talking about has its benefits and drawbacks. The Rock Dwellers have confidence and security, but at the same time deal with fear, as they are always in danger of losing their position as being right. The Island Dwellers can live in harmony with the people around them, but they become increasingly isolated from each other. They do not have to endure the argumentativeness of the Rocky shore, but they cannot make headway on any topic either. The Far Shore offers the security of knowing truth, but the humility that says that we are still learning. Still, the Far Shore is not in line with our language, and has some challenges communicating without sounding wishy-washy.

The important thing to know about the truth lenses is that you can be a Christian and use any of them. Your truth lens is part of your worldview. It does not define your relationship with God. It may affect it, but it does not define it. So, a person on the Rocky Shore can view truth in the solid, uncompromising way and still have a relationship with God. So, can the person on the sandy islands know God, even though they don’t believe their knowledge can be given to anyone else. Hopefully, as we know God more and more, our truth lens will become more Biblical. That is the hope for the Far Shore and the Valley Dwellers. With the solid foundation of truth coupled with the humility that recognizes individual perspectives, we hope to be pointing to a more Biblical truth lens.

Now that you understand truth lenses a little better. Try them on. Like glasses, see what the world looks like through each pair. Take them off and have a good look at them. Are your assumptions Biblical? What truth lens will help you further your relationship with God? What truth lens will help you to obey what God asks of us in the Bible? What truth lens will help you to reach out to others around you?

Prime Time America Interview

2009-09-21T21:31:00.003-06:00

If you want a 15 minute introduction to our book, our interview on Prime Time America is a great way to take a first step into understanding your Truth Lens.

Here are the instructions on how to download it:
Go to: http://www.moodyradio.org/brd_programarchive.aspx?id=31100 and scroll down to September 17. Listen to the "part 1" audio at minute 20 and you will be there.

Opinion or positivism (Rock Dwellers)?

2009-09-15T19:49:00.001-06:00

On a radio interview today, the show host, Bob Dutko from WMUZ, asked a very good question. To summarize the idea: What is the difference between holding an opinion and being a rock dweller in our analogy of River Town? Like many things, the answer is a heart issue.

An opinion by definition is a view that’s held at arms length, knowing that there is enough evidence to invoke doubt. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/opinion The question of truth lenses runs deeper. It asks about knowledge and the nature of that knowledge.

Positivism, or the truth lens held by the rock dwellers, tells them that they can know truth and know it fully, if they just work hard enough. It’s more than holding opinions, it is the belief that you are right without doubt or room for more information outside of logic and reason.

An Island Dweller and a Valley Dweller can hold opinions, but what their truth lenses tell them about their knowledge is very different. The Island Dwellers believe that their opinions are only applicable to themselves. The Valley Dwellers believe that they cannot know the whole truth fully in this lifetime, so an opinion remains an opinion as they discover truth in community.

Then comes the question. Can you be a Valley Dweller and believe in undeniable truth? The answer is yes. There exists undeniable truth, but we will never in ourselves be able to understand that truth fully in this lifetime. We can, in community, learn more truth than we know today, but we still “see through a glass darkly.” We do, however, as Christians believe in the One who does understand undeniable truth and have faith in Him and what He tells us in the Bible. In our book we share a great story and application about faith, hope and love . . . make sure to check it out.

When Humility Becomes Tolerance

2009-09-15T19:25:00.003-06:00

We were on WMUZ in Detroit today and the show's host Bob Dutko asked a very good question. I'm going to paraphrase the idea. He wanted to know the line between humility that leads to learning and truth and tolerance that leads to relativism and a destruction of truth. Great question.

The reason it is such a good question is that the line is very thin. In our book we talk about three truth lenses (ways to understand truth) that define most people in America today. Most of modernity focused on people who live on the rocky shore. They believe truth is completely knowable. However in the past 75 years or so people have gotten frustrated with this way of viewing truth. They moved to the islands because they wanted to allow for personal truth and they rejected the idea that logic and reason were enough. The Island Dwellers defined tolerance. They said that we can know truth but it is personal. This means that my truth is not something that can be transfered to you but is only applicable to me. In that situation there is no sharing or learning. All we can do is "live and let live."

But the islands became places of isolation so people moved to the far shore where people built a community that understood truth and had a foundation but realized that much of God's truth was not yet known. The Valley Dwellers focused on the truth they know and the truth they are learning. On the Far Shore, a common foundation of truth makes it so that you can learn together in humility. It is not "live and let live" it is "live and learn." In this community humility creates a posture where we can admit when we are wrong, set aside preconcieved ideas and allow others to help us see truth more fully in the context of relationship.

So the Islands allow for tolerance and the Valley focuses on humility. Both groups might use the same language, but their motives or reasons for what they say are very different. When you are interacting about our foundation of truth, Island dwellers will try to say that the discussion doesn't matter and people can believe whatever they want. I know, I was one. But Valley Dwellers will validate truth, discuss it, understand it and then move on to deeper things that they desire to know about their world, their faith and their God.

So as you are on your truth journey, be looking out for the fine line between humility and tolerance and be serious about pointing out the differences.

Foundations of Truth

2009-09-14T21:05:00.003-06:00

Philippians 1:9-11 (NIV)
"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."

So many times in life we settle for the basic truths of the Gospel. We stop at the things that we hear every Sunday. We ponder them but don’t ask, “What does God want me to learn next?” In doing so we miss out on what God really has for us.

It is vital that we understand the foundations of our faith. Nothing can be more important. But the foundations are just that. They are the beginning, the base. The question we have to ask ourselves is “What does God want us to build on that foundation?” The fruit of righteousness Philippians talks about is the result of what we build on this foundation.

We love this passage because it marries love and knowledge so seemlessly together. As we know more about God we are compelled to love others. And as we love others and humbly engage with them, God promises to be faithful and reveal new truth. That is what authentic relationships are all about.

Think about the last time you learned something new. What was the situation that surrounded your insight? Most likely it involved someone sharing something that they were learning and you then were able to grapple with a new idea in a new way. It might have been an author through a book, a speaker at a conference, a friend over coffee or a teacher in a classroom. The setting doesn't matter.

They key is that as we love God and love those around us, God uses our posture of learning to reveal His truth in powerful and life-changing ways.

So here is the question. What are you doing with the solid foundation you have received in Christ? Are you seeking deeper insights as you grow closer to God and reach out to others? What is God teaching you that is transforming your life for His glory?

A review on amazon

2009-09-08T19:12:00.001-06:00

Check out this review written by our mentor Jim Reapsome:

Jon and Mindy Hirst take you through our cultural troubled waters with a canoe and a paddle. They help to identify and avoid serious rapids that impede our understanding of how culture bound we are. This is not an easy canoe trip, but as you cross this river you will learn much about yourself and your assumptions. Give it a hard stroke and you will be rewarded.--Jim Reapsome

Pluralism—threat, acceptance, or opportunity?

2009-09-08T19:09:00.002-06:00

In our society today, we all have to come face to face with pluralism. We live among many cultures and viewpoints.

We can see this as a threat to the way we are used to thinking and struggle against it. Maybe this feeling is not on the surface, because we know that pluralism is tied to our freedom, but deep down we feel threatened.

Or, we embrace each viewpoint as equally valid even if they are contradictory. We learn to live with a sense of unsettledness to protect our freedom to think.

Critical realism, however, offers a different way to approach pluralism. This humble approach to knowledge can see pluralism as a learning opportunity. There are things we know and things we are learning together.

We do not have to accept every idea wholeheartedly, nor do we have to reject the sender when we conclude we do not like the message. We can hold an idea lightly as we spend time trying to understand the issue more deeply.

So how will you view pluralism in your life; as a threat, as something to be accepted, or as an opportunity for growth?

Launch Announcement

2009-09-02T19:50:00.002-06:00

We are excited to announce that our book is now on sale at Amazon and other sites. We are so excited to share this content with you and hope to have many good discussions on this blog and on our facebook group.

Purchase your copy today! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1934068039/

Become a Fan of the book on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Through-the-River/97523594915

Follow our daily #TruthTeaser on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/generousmind

Look forward to the conversation and to learning about truth together!

When Someone is So Close to Truth

2009-09-02T05:57:00.002-06:00

This morning I was reading in a devotional book called "10 Minutes a Day with Jesus" written by my friend and mentor Jim Reapsome. The devotional I read today was focused on Jesus' brothers. They were so close to their Savior, but for most of the life of Jesus, these brothers were not open to His message.

We all know people who are so close to the truth don't we? We have people in our lives who see witnesses of the truth lived out daily and who have read the truths in the Bible but who have not made them their own.

What a challenge to our own process of growing in knowledge and truth! Many of us wonder, what is keeping these dear ones from connecting the dots.

Some people want to have the full picture before they will accept anything. They search, define, process and consider until they feel they understand it completely. In our book we call this group the Rock Dwellers. They spend their time adding up truth and subtracting untruth in an effort to produce a crystal clear image of what is real and true.

Others only explore truth as far as it relates to their personal experience. They believe in truth but define it subjectively. In our book we call this group the Island Dwellers. They live on real islands where things can be known but there are no bridges to connect with others.

The final group believes in shared truth that we can all know but takes the view that there is much we are still learning. This group is called the Valley Dwellers in our book and they live in community and humbly journey together in search for greater truth.

Think about those who are close to the truth but have not opened their hearts yet. What are the barriers for them? Is logic their barrier? Is personal preference a barrier? Is the infinite possibilities of truth a barrier? The sooner you understand what their truth journey looks like, the sooner you can come alongside them and encourage them in their search.

Who knows, you might be the person God uses to move aside the barrier and open up His truth to them in a powerful way!

Truth Teasers

2009-09-01T21:18:00.003-06:00

As we launch the book this month, we have a fun little treat for all of you. If you follow our Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/generousmind, we will be posting daily #TruthTeaser tweets. These will be short little thoughts that help you get into our book's topic and focus.

You can also review the past #TruthTeaser tweets by going to the Twitter search page: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=TruthTeaser

Enjoy and please RT (ReTweet for those of you non-twitterers out there :) )

Truth is not a Burden

2009-08-26T05:59:00.004-06:00

In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Jesus walked on this earth as Truth embodied. He is the God of the universe in human form and in this passage He called to those listening and to you and me today to rest in Him. We don't usually think of truth and rest in the same sentence do we?

Usually truth has the connotation of hard work. Because of our legal system you hear terms like "burden of proof." We talk about "searching the Scriptures" for the truth. We could go on and on with the examples from daily life that give us the idea that truth is tough going.

But is it really supposed to be that way? That is a good question. The Bereans were praised for their searching hearts weren't they. YES! So what do we mean when we say that "Truth is not a burden"?

Simply this: Our life is a journey into a deeper and deeper relationships with Jesus. If Jesus is Truth embodied as we said earlier, then our life is a constant process of knowing truth as we become more intimate with Jesus. The wonderful part about knowing Jesus is this promise in Matthew. He says that if we come to Him and invest in Him, He will give us rest.

For so many years, we have viewed truth as a goal. We dig, define, and debate in our ongoing search for truth. The discipline of these things has its place, but in the process we have made truth a burden instead of what it was meant to be.

Jesus came and said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) So we begin our truth journey focused on Jesus. But soon the search for truth can take the place of the relationship with Jesus as the focus of our attention.

We are convinced that if your truth journey is focused on your relationship with Jesus, that He will make the ride a wonderful one as you get to know your Savior. There will still be late nights of study, and opportunities for intense discussion but the burden will be on Jesus' shoulders instead of your own.

The Real Story

2009-08-24T06:05:00.003-06:00

As we get ready to launch our new book "Through the River" next week, there is a bigger story of what God is doing in our lives as a couple. We would love to share that with you. We pray that it will enrich your experience with our book as you hear what God is doing in our lives.

Read our post on our Generous Mind Blog.

Truth Tweets

2009-08-19T20:59:00.003-06:00

Our book is arriving next week and will be on Amazon to purchase by September 1. We are very excited and our desire is to help you get your hands around what it means to understand your assumptions about truth. We believe it will transform your faith, relationships and outreach.

But we wanted to make it super simple. So we are launching a 30 Truth Tweets on our Twitter Feed. Starting September 1 you can receive one Truth Tweet each day that will give you a small insight into our book.

If you are on Twitter, go ahead and follow our feed so you won't miss a single day! www.twitter.com/generousmind

Accountabilities Role in Truth

2009-08-14T06:20:00.003-06:00

One of our great challenges in our truth journey is allowing others to hold us accountable as we travel. This accountability, is so central to growing in knowledge and staying clear of untruth. But we struggle with accountability don't we. I have been wondering why accountability is so hard and so I wrote the following post on our Generous Mind blog:
http://generousmind.blogspot.com/2009/08/generous-accountability.html

We would love your thoughts or ideas.

Humility and Critical Realism

2009-08-11T20:53:00.001-06:00

Critical realism is based on a humble approach to knowledge. It is the assumption that we cannot know all truth, but that we can know truth. It is humble by definition.

It’s clear that humility is important to God. There seems to be a relationship between humility and God hearing our prayers.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (New International Version)
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

(See also 2 Kings 22:19, Ezra 8:21)

If we are searching for truth, and are humble in our approach of the Almighty One, then he promises to teach us.

Psalm 25:9 (New International Version)
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.

We cannot see the astounding truth of the Scriptures if we are not humble. We need to get out of the way.

Jeremiah 44:10 (New International Version)
10 To this day they have not humbled themselves or shown reverence, nor have they followed my law and the decrees I set before you and your fathers.

Following God’s Word is an important part of learning God’s truth. By following his “laws and decrees,” we see His truth in action, being lived out in our lives. It is more than theoretical knowledge, but a holistic knowledge that takes the messiness of life into account.

How would Christian critical realists search for truth? They would first humbly pray and ask God to hear them. Then ask what He wants to reveal while living out the Scripture in their lives.

Why go through the river?

2009-07-03T20:21:00.001-06:00

In our upcoming book, we talk about changing your truth lens as being like going through a river. Unfortunately, there is no bridge, and the challenge is great. It takes a lot of effort to get you through the current before it sweeps you away.

So if it’s so hard, why go through the river? People usually go because of what we call a great disturbance. Something in their lives makes people question the foundation of their thinking and they go searching for answers. This could be the death of a loved one, the questioning of a good friend, or just a nagging sense that something isn’t adding up.

If you are having a great disturbance, maybe it’s time you considered going through the river. The book, Through the River: Understanding Your Assumptions About Truth should be available August 2009.

Trying to see straight

2009-07-02T21:42:00.002-06:00

In our upcoming book about truth, we coined the phrase "truth lens." This is a term that means the same thing as "epistemology." What does that mean you ask? It is the study of knowledge and everyone has an epistemology built into their worldview.

The significance of this is that underneath all of the things you know and the ideas you believe in is a set of assumptions about truth that guide your thinking. These assumptions have a tremendous impact on your daily life. The problem is that they are beneath the surface and so it is easy to skim over your truth lens and focus on the practical issues of the day.

Our hope by introducing this term "truth lens" is to make the idea accessible to you and to help you understand the truth lens with which you see the world. Once you understand your truth lens, your faith, relationships and outreach will make much more sense.

So we hope you will buy the book and follow this blog as we interact about this subject.

Why Foundations Are Important

2009-06-30T20:41:00.004-06:00

"We recognize that the taller and more expansive a leader's dream,

the deeper the foundation must be."

- Kouzes and Posner in "Credibility"

In a world that lives from minute to minute on cable news, your appearance and ability to act like you are in control are of huge value. But as Kouze and Posner so powerfully share in their book on credibility, the true measure of your impact and effectiveness does not come from your ability to put on a good performance. It comes from deep within.

The problem with "deep within" is that it is messy, complicated and hard to sell in a 5 minute news segment. But that doesn't really matter does it? In the end the foundational things in your life are much more critical to your faith, relationships and outreach than your ability to put on a good show.

Our book "Through the River" is about some of those deeper things. It is about a part of your worldview that defines how you understand truth. It is not easy to put in a box and you can't explain it in a 50 second elevator speech, but it changes everything about how you view the world. These assumptions about truth are called your epistemology - we use the term "truth lens" to bring it down to earth.

Your truth lens is what you use to define truth in every part of your life. It is foundational. How you view truth will shape your faith, the way you view other people and the way that you act out your faith in evangelism and service.

Now your truth lens isn't the only foundational thing you need to be finding out about . . . but it is a very important one. As you explore your truth lens, you will begin to understand why you struggle to get along with Uncle Joe, why you believe the way you do about a certain social issue and why you approach outreach a certain way.

Our effort in this book is to help you be aware of the truth lenses that are most prevalent in the Western world today and to help you decide which one will help you serve God most effectively.

I know you are too busy to learn about your truth lens . . . that's ok. Take time anyway. You will find that as you invest in the foundations, other things make much more sense. Your life can be lived much more on purpose and your impact is exponentially increased. Lets build some foundations together!

Dumb Outreach

2009-06-22T20:35:00.002-06:00

What a silly name . . . there is no dumb outreach from the perspective of the people being helped. But if you think about the quality of the encounter, dumb outreach is pretty common. Why is the quality of our outreach so poor when we have so many resources/materials and helps?

Most of the time we focus on tools and strategies for outreach and not on relationships. In the end our outreach teams are all about relationships and a tool might help. And in those relationships we tend to spend little or no time understanding how each other thinks about what we are doing.

Thinking about what you think with sounds obscure and confusing, but all it means is that we understand the assumptions that drive our actions. Do you understand the assumptions held by the people you minister with? In our upcoming book we equip you with the three core assumptions about truth that are prevelant today. At first pass it is easy to think that all Christians view truth the same - but they don't.

And how you view truth changes everything about how you reach out to others. In the coming weeks we will be telling you more, but take a moment and think about those you minister with in church, school, work, etc. Think about how they view the world and the assumptions they have.

Now you are on the track to trading in that dumb outreach for some smart strategic ministry.

Now What?

2009-06-20T15:40:00.000-06:00

So now that you understand the three most prevalent truth lenses being used today (Positivism, Instrumentalism and Critical Realism), what do you do with this information? You suddenly understand why your co-worker in the next cubicle always wants to argue with you about politics; she is using the positivist truth lens and is trying to get you to understand the right way to view things. But how does having this knowledge help you relate to her in a better way?

So let’s say that you are using the critical realist truth lens and your co-worker is using, like we said, the positivist truth lens. The first thing to ask is what you have in common in your view of truth. You can start there.

The critical realist truth lens and the positivist truth lens both value knowable truth. This is the starting point. You and your co-worker both believe that truth can be discovered and there is a right and wrong. You can spend a lot of time talking about the truth that is known and appreciating the world we live in. But what about when you disagree?

It helps to understand where you differ in what you believe. The divergence is in the knowing of truth. You will disagree about the degree to which something can be known. The critical realist will believe that things in our finiteness cannot be known fully on this earth. We are always on a journey of discovery, filling in a montage that gives us more and more information about the world but which is never complete. The positivist will be on a quest to fully know that truth in the here and now, putting together a picture puzzle where one missing piece ruins the whole.

One strength of the critical realist truth lens is the humble position from which it comes at the problem of truth. This humility is hard to argue with, though it may be seen as a weakness to some. It naturally changes a debate into a discussion.

Aside from the humble position, it is also important to come from a loving perspective. Love is a great healer, and can solve many relationship problems. Keeping love at a high level in your interactions with others will help in the development of your relationships.

A Place for Mystery

2009-01-06T20:03:00.000-07:00

This excerpt is from "Scraps," the thread and pieces of fabric that fell away as the quilt was made.

A Place for Mystery

Beyond affirming that faith, hope and love are key to understanding truth, there is another important concept that the Bible represents which resonates with critical realists. It is the idea of those things which God has not revealed to mankind. The Bible talks specifically about things that we don’t yet know. More importantly it allows for these things to exist without any prescription or assurance that humanity will ever know them fully. A great example of this is Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”

Stepping Outside of the Argumentative Culture

2009-01-06T19:52:00.000-07:00

This excerpt is from "Scraps," the thread and pieces of fabric that fell away as the quilt was made.

Stepping Outside of the Argumentative Culture

We live in a world of judgment. All around us the argumentative culture raises one voice and then another in their effort to be heard. Debora Tannen defines this culture this way, “The argument culture urges us to approach the world – and the people in it – in an adversarial frame of mind. It rests on the assumption that opposition is the best way to get anything done; The best way to discuss an idea is to set up a debate; the best way to cover news is to find spokespeople who express the most extreme, polarized views and present them as “both sides;” the best way to settle disputes is litigation that pits one party against the other; the best way to begin an essay is to attack someone; the best way to show you’re really thinking is to criticize.” (The Argument Culture pg 3-4)

In our world, each voice embodies experience, ideas, vision and resolve. But it is also laced with something else: contempt. Whether they are political pundits in Washington or rappers in New York, many people spend their entire lives focused on dominating those with whom they do not agree, hating the ones who sit on the other side of that invisible line.

These voices are truly destructive. The impact of their words is the destruction of many people’s ideas. Or worse yet, their hatred convert those who have opposed them and the other side lashes out with a similar vengeance.

NOTE: This piece was not meant to be without hope, but was meant to point to a problem we need to think about. The book brings a hope that we truly can step outside the argumentative culture and relate in a new and different way.

Truth Lenses, A Core Concept

2009-01-06T19:42:00.000-07:00

Suggested Title:
Through the River: Understanding Your Assumptions About Truth

Your understanding of truth impacts your relationships and your outreach. One of the keys to unlocking the truth all around you is your truth lens (epistemology). Your truth lens is a simple tool that frames how you will interpret truth and interact with others about that truth.

Today in the Western World there are three dominate truth lenses that help people to understand truth. Jon and Mindy Hirst, along with Dr. Paul Hiebert (renowned missions anthropologist), bring these three truth lenses to life using a simple story of a river town with three communities.

The Rock Dwellers live on the rocky shore and believe that their role is to add truth and subtract untruth until they have uncovered truth in its entirety. The Island Dwellers live on the sandy islands in the river and believe that truth is a personal affair that cannot be transferred to those on the other islands around them. The Valley Dwellers live on the far shore and believe that there is truth that we know and truth we are learning.

Most Valley Dwellers have come from the rocky shore or the islands and are bearing witness to another way to look at truth that has the potential to revolutionize life in the river town.

Through the River represents Jon and Mindy Hirst's efforts to take several key concepts from Dr. Hiebert's book Missiological Implications of Epistemological Shifts and apply them to a wider Christian audience. Its goal is to present the importance of knowing what you think with and understanding how it will impact relationships and ministry on a daily basis.

To be released Spring 2009, Authentic Publishing (IBS-STL Global)

Paul Hiebert's bio: http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2007/005/9.9.html

Jon and Mindy Hirst's bio: http://www.generousmind.com/explained.php

Book Summary

2009-01-06T12:58:00.000-07:00

Behind your every decision and relationship are assumptions about truth that guide your actions. They go unnoticed in your daily life but their influence guides your faith, your relationships and your outreach. Come and explore the communities that live in River Town. As you read this simple analogy, we will introduce you to the three most common ways to view truth today – we call them Truth Lenses and they are an important part of your worldview. We will watch as the Rock Dwellers, Island Dwellers and Valley Dwellers interact while using different lenses.

Every Christian wants their view of truth to line up with the Bible. This book will help you practice holding your assumptions about truth up to the light of Scripture. Our prayer is that as you understand your assumptions about truth, you will experience transformation in your life and relationships.

This book is the result of many journeys of discovery. Dr. Paul Hiebert helped to shape and form our view of truth. He came alongside two young authors and gave us the tools to share these powerful ideas with you. We take several key concepts from Dr. Hiebert's book Missiological Implications of Epistemological Shifts and apply them to a wider Christian audience. Its goal is to present the importance of knowing what you think with and understanding how it will impact relationships and ministry on a daily basis.

Your journey will change everything about how you understand what is true.

Welcome

2009-01-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

This blog is about a book being published by Authentic Publishers, expected to be released early 2009 with "Through the River" as part of the title.

Jon Hirst and I (Mindy Hirst) worked with Dr. Paul Hiebert to take some of the key concepts in his book on missions...and apply them to everyday life and relationships. It helps readers understand that our "truth lenses" are the reason that many of us do not understand one another.

The book challenges Christians by outlining the three primary truth lenses being used today and asking people to consider their truth lenses in light of the Bible. Hiebert's work is titled "Missiological Implications of Epistemological Shifts" --a big title for a little book that impacted us deeply. We hope our book will have a similar effect in your life.