Thursday-Application: Introduction

Thursday-Application: Introduction

Thursday’s work is somewhat different from the work that precedes it and at the same time serves as a «bridge» to the work that follows. It is the day that we dedicate to interpreting the meaning of the original message for our modern audience.

Needless to say, clearly understanding the actual meaning of our passage in order to communicate it to our listeners is of utmost importance. It cannot be done accurately without having done the previous exegetical work. At the same time, the prior work will «lose» its inherent relevance if we are unable to define and explain that relevance for our contemporary world.

I would venture to say (both from my own experience, and from what I sense in the presentation of some others) that this work of «translating» for a different audience a message originally given to another audience in another time is often done more intuitively, automatically, and even unconsciously, than in a thoughtful and purposeful way. In many cases, this approach will not greatly distort the message. Most likely, the speaker has enough background as a Christian to discern and highlight the current relevance of the passage even in the process of drafting his or her teaching outline.

However, I hope it is clear that there may be more reliable ways to proceed. If we do not have clearly defined steps and criteria, it is quite possible that our teaching will suffer from some of the following flaws.

• We miss some points. (That is, we highlight the contemporary significance of some truths, but overlook others because we have not taken the time to identify all the points that should be interpreted. Consequently, the message as a whole ends up being incomplete.)
• Some points lack precision. (If we do not reflect deliberately on the actual meaning of each statement in our text, our applications may become too general, and as a result, we fail to give our congregation the concrete guidance or help that the passage offers.)
• Other points are underdeveloped. (If we do not reflect carefully on a given point, our explanation of its meaning is likely to be superficial. It is not so much that we present it vaguely or inaccurately, as that we simply do not extract all the nutrients that it offers.)
• Our interpretation may become detached from the exegetical idea of the passage. (This is the greatest danger. After days of effort to discover the original meaning of the biblical text, it is possible for us to lose our way in our leap to the present day. It is essential that what the passage says for today is clearly in tune with what the passage said for yesterday.)

In short, we could say that without a clear process for «translating» what was originally written into what we are about to say, we run a palpable danger of conveying (as biblical) contemporary meanings that may be (1.) incomplete, (2.) inaccurate, (3.) superficial, or (4.) misguided.

Thursday’s tasks offer somewhat formalized procedures that will help us avoid these problems.

Thursday’s Tasks

I continue to recommend one ongoing task…

Task 0. Continue with panoramic reading…

And it is possible that this simple task will begin to take on additional relevance as we move forward in our preparation. As we now focus more and more on expression rather than research there may be a tendency to «drift away» from the text. The lesson-writing process forces us to put in more of our own content: conclusions, structure, explanations, and illustrations. This task of continuing to soak in the text itself can be a good counterbalance and control.

That said, we need to move forward in our preparation, and the articles in this series will elaborate on what we need to do in a logical and practical progression. I hope it becomes clear how these 5 tasks address the potential problems outlined above. At the same time, I hope it becomes clear that performing these tasks will not only help you affirm the contemporary relevance of the text with conviction but will also contribute concrete content to the development of your final presentation.

• Task 1. Clarify the points to be interpreted and applied.
• Task 2. Apply the three development questions for each point.
• Task 3. Apply the interpretive grids to each point.
• Task 4. Summarize the applied interpretation for each point.
• Task 5. Compose the big idea with subject and complement.

Finally, to conclude our reflections on the task of interpreting the meaning of the text and preparing it for teaching, there will be a brief conclusion along with some additional ideas for the brave.

If you are already familiar with the process, download a Quick Start guide for Thursday-Application here.

Proceed to Next Task