An experience...

You might remember I blogged a while ago about Bizarro Tom (BT) and I needed to experience some things on a recent trip. Well, for good or bad that whole idea of experiencing things has been consistently going through my brain since. I'm struggling to grok this completely, and it keeps coming to the fore of my brain.

Just this morning, I'm reading an article on the use of Flash and Ajax in web pages, and the gentleman says

And a word to website designers: Most of the time, most of us aren't looking for an "experience". We're just looking to find stuff. Bear that in mind.
I get that...it makes sense to me...I want data, not an experience.....

or so I thought.

So I'm here at home, on the mend, and I'm not allowed to be up for more than 20 minutes every hour. And up is defined as not laying down. What a bummer it is for me! I have farm work to do! I have shop work to do! I HAVE WORK TO DO!

Okay, I got that out and feel better.

So I'm at home, mostly horizontal and I'm reading a ton. Recently, I've been working to finish up Covey's 8th Habit. And I got to thinking this morning about reading and experinces and stuff.

You see, I'm a prolific reader. I've always enjoyed reading. I can remember my parents coming into my room at night and taking away the flashlight I would use to read under the sheets. I can take a vacation by just selecting the proper book from the shelf, and I'm on an adventure! I can remember the first time I read JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series. It was when I was right around 12 years old, and it transformed my world! This really was an experience for me. I am able to read these books, just dumping myself into them and living them...I find myself standing alongside Frodo and Sam as they go through their troubles. Reading has always been an experience for me.

Reading Covey's book is not an experience for me. I can't lose myself in Covey's book even though I am enjoying it and appreciate what he has to teach me. It is different. It is just transferring data.

For the longest time, reading the bible was that way for me as well. I can remember right around the age of Tolkien trying to read the bible. My first attempt was a King James Version of the bible, and knowing how to properly read, I of course started at the beginning...

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day.

And I was bored. This was not an experience where I could lose myself in a book, but rather just transmitting data that I had no motivation to learn. I have begun to realize that is is the job of the preacher to make these stories come to life...make them an experience rather than just transmitting data. This is fundamental to talking about God. I've always been concerned when I preach about presenting this perfect truth without a) messing the truth up and b) making this incredible message boring. It is the job of a good preacher to make this truth of God an experience and drive people to get the data on their own. People should wonder

does the bible really say this

then go home and find out for themselves!

So, BT, the story is I can learn! I am beginning to understand more the value of the experience rather than just data. They both have their places, and can be used in their appropriate place.