Jesus Cropped from the Picture

EPIC or SLIM?

fellowship, and live the Spirit-filled life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

An EPIC mentality helps a church operate as an army engaged in spiritual conflict, walking in step with the Holy Spirit, representing him with honor, and using freedom in Christ to be creative in outreach to the world. 50 This kind of perspective results in boldness, purpose, courage, and a sense of urgency. How-To Video vs. Epic Story The SLIM approach emphasizes propositional statements, outlines, and linear logic that appeal to the mind, much like a “How to Build a Deck” video purchased at Home Depot. In fact, one way to recognize a SLIM mindset is to reflect on the manner in which a person reads this very chapter. A SLIM approach would be limited to the analysis of the precise meaning of each concept, phrase, and word (Linguistic-Mental), in an attempt to arrive at Rationalistic truth. However, an EPIC approach is not limited to outlines and logic, but employs images, metaphors, and narratives as additional ways to communicate truth, appearing much more like The Chronicles of Narnia than the How-to video . For example, an EPIC reading of this chapter would include rationalistic analysis, but would also seek to understand the big picture, and how the concepts fit into a larger scheme or narrative for the glory of God.

Categories Versus Wholeness Because Rationalism seeks to reduce ideas to their component parts, and separate them into categories, SLIM distinguishes activities as

63