Theology (and studying the Bible) is Messy

The above statement sounds somewhat paradoxical, but I'm finding it to be more and more true as I mature in my faith. It also impacts the way I preach and teach.

We've been through some tough sections of Scripture as a church recently that are pretty messy and can't be easily packaged into a neat and tidy summary or takeaway.

Some of the texts leave more questions than answers, and I'm okay with that. I long ago left the idea that my theology can be neatly arranged into dogmatic bullet points. We were given 66 books of the Bible to wrestle with for a reason: life is messy and complex and can't be explained in a one-page document.

I long ago left the idea that my theology can be neatly arranged into dogmatic bullet points.

But as my uncertainty in having all the answers grows, my confidence in God paradoxically seems to grow with it. Part of that is the realization that our faith is primarily eschatological, meaning it will never fully make sense on this side of heaven.

Here's just four somewhat random pieces of advice on embracing a more messy faith, particularly for those who regularly preach and teach the Scriptures and theological concepts to people:

1) The biblical text is not meant to be mastered, and we are not master interpreters. We must continuously experiment with its meanings through praxis and a plurality of approaches.

2) Theology is and always will be fallible and should be approached humbly. I'm not saying anything terribly groundbreaking when I say that so-called systematic theology is less persuasive than it used to be, especially among certain generations.

3) Lean into mystery slightly more than methods in your study, application, and preaching of Scripture. It's okay to be a mystic and a theologian.

4) Make sure your messages are more invitational--into the story and mystery of God--than informational. Information impresses people; invitation mobilizes people.

Again, nothing groundbreaking here, but there's a freedom--and even increase in faith--that comes in not having all the answers.