Jesus Cropped from the Picture

The SLIMming Effect

people value expositional preaching, because it has a steady stream of information, but it frequently lacks connection of facts to the overall Story.

An example of factualism is the SLIM approach to the study of end times (eschatology). Jesus’ Story is cropped out of the picture by making eschatology a mental exercise (Rationalism) to figure out “when Christ would come to rescue me” (Individualism), rather than how “Christ would overthrow the powers of evil and take his rightful place on the throne.” Eschatology becomes less about the exaltation of Christ and more about what Christ could do for the individual . Particularism The Rationalistic impulse to break the whole into component parts for further analysis is particularism. This analytical approach has produced profound blessings through medical and technological advances, and also provided helpful biblical scholarship for the Church. The separation of the Bible into chapters and verses is an example. But the tendency to break the Story into smaller categories has had a deleterious effect. Christians are taught to use these techniques by reading the Bible verse by verse, word by word, syllable by syllable, breaking it down to the smallest degree so the meaning can be micro-analyzed. Rarely is there a connection back to the overall context of the Story of God’s redemption (Kingdom of God), leaving believers deprived of a global perspective.

Christians often receive a series of fragmented thoughts that have no connecting point beyond their personal experience. Those who take

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