Q&A and Book Giveaway with Gene Jennings

It’s the 150th post here at mattamesblogs.com.  I like to do something special when we hit the big numbers around these parts.  You may remember my 100th post featuring an interview and book giveaway with Kem Meyer.  Since that time, I’ve been looking forward to the opportunity of doing the same with another great author and church leader: Gene Jennings.

Gene is the Associate Pastor of TrueNorth Church in North Augusta, SC, and has been doing the clergy gig since 1987.   His latest book, Laughing with Sarah, is one full of practical application for following Christ. With a collection of essays ranging from what the “Thanksgiving killer” is to the main business of your life, you’re going to find something in this book for you. 

Gene, where do you feel the boat can be missed in applying the Bible to everyday life between the mountaintops and valleys, and how does Laughing with Sarah help make that connection?

I think we “miss the boat” by not being familiar with the message of the Bible and its context. It seems that a lot of believers no longer read the Bible as a whole but seek a verse or two to solve their problems. It’s easier than ever to find a meaningful verse with all of the cool technology we have. Our society is ADD and we are guilty of looking for quick answers and succinct Bible verses to help us along the way.

Now, I’m all for Scripture memory and clinging to special verses of the Bible. I do it quite often. I guess my fear is that a lot of Christ-followers are Biblically illiterate when it comes to understanding the Bible as a whole. A lot of Bible teachers use the topical approach rather than an expository approach.

Let me define those two terms. The topical approach asks the question, “What does the Bible say about this subject and how can I apply it to my life?” It uses the Bible as a reference guide with answers that can be found in a concordance. The expository approach to teaching the Bible asks the question, “What does the Bible say in its context and how should I respond to it?” For example, if you wanted to do a study on faith you could look in a concordance or do a word search for verses with the word “faith.” That would be a topical approach. Or you could read the story of Abraham offering Isaac as a sacrifice and consider Abraham’s faith. That would be an expository approach.

They are both fine approaches to studying the Bible but I think it is lop-sided now. We tend to hear more topical preaching than expository and by doing so it limits our knowledge of the Scriptures. Think of it this way. Would you know more about a book by reading it cover to cover or by just picking sentences from random parts of it?

In life, we have mountaintop experiences and we also go through deep valleys. But most of the time we find ourselves somewhere in between those two extremes. Laughing with Sarah uses both approaches to the Bible to cover everyday life topics that we all deal with between the mountaintops and the valleys. It’s about being obedient to God and deepening one’s walk with Christ. It’s about putting things off, starting things over, being perpetually grateful to God and being constantly motivated to serve him.

You can find out more about Laughing with Sarah and get a copy of your own at http://www.LaughingWithSarah.com.

Congratulations to Thea Hedglin for winning an autographed copy of Laughing with Sarah. See the video of the drawing here.