A Place for Mystery

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

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

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

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

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.