This series is an important milestone series for Catalyst for two huge reasons:

1. It is Ambitious.

In it we attempt to outline the core message(s) of scripture in a compelling and accessible way. It is a series that has been in the making since the beginning of Catalyst. Thus it is only after 3.5 years of reflecting on theological topics and teachings that we even feel ready to approach such a sweeping series- yet we do so with the acknowledgement that it must necessarily [and always] be a living draft. It will be in process for as long as we seek to love God with the whole of our minds [Mk 12.30].

2. It is Representative.

This series is the first that has been reviewed in its entirety by the elder team in advance and represents not just the solitary voice of the teacher(s) but the collective standpoint of Catalyst's leadership. We intend to post this series, or parts of it, on the 'what we believe' page of our website. It will also become an expectation of our current and future leaders to affirm. While we will always listen with an open mind and humble heart to all diverse worldviews, ideas, and perspectives... we will unapologetically stand by the truths explored in this series.

Method to the Madness

You'll notice a loose order to parts of the series as it moves through the five main units of the Scriptures. It begins with a telling of the whole thing up front [An Epic Saga], then breaks it down and moves through it again in more detail:

1. Creation       [Unfinished Beauty]

2. Fall              [Shattered]

3. Israel           [Exposed & ReVeiled] [Rescue Anticipated]

4. Jesus           [Samples of Another World] [Love Types "A" & "a"] [Solidarity & Immunity]

5. The Church  [The Gathered Tribes] [HyperNarrative] [Resurrection as Insurrection]

Finally, it anticipates a 6th chapter yet to come in the final message: "Holding Our Breath [with Hope]".

What is an Unfinished Beauty?

Our understanding of creation from scripture is that it was designed, not to be 'perfect' in a static sense (unable to get any better), but perfect in a dynamic sense (full of potential). In this we learn that we are meant to be co-creaters with God. Creative. Passionate. Active.

Even in a shattered world that is far from 'perfect' in any sense, we continue our work. We are also hopeful that oneday the God who began this epic saga will return to restore things to its original state as an unfinished beauty. Thus 'heaven' is simply a renewed creation where we are once again given our place as co-creaters to cultivate its unlimited potential. Yet even before that time, we work in a similar fashion... we create. And in our creativity we bring restoration wherever we can. Justice. Relationship. Beauty. These are the markers of God, his world, and his people.

A Comment on the HyperNarrative

In this series we also speak of a great story. A narrative. In a postmodern culture, people are skeptical of 'ultimate stories' that are supposed to explain everything (called metanarratives), as these have so often been used in the service of oppressive agendas, whether by:

-Science (think 'empirical naturalism' that denies the transcendent),

-Governments (think 'WWII - the bombing of Hiroshima that would be "worth it in the end"),

-Business (think 'unlimited capitalism that would trickle down to rescue the poor'), or

-Religion (think 'Crusades- that would liberate the Holy Land from Infidels').

As a result, people ask, "Can there really be only one definition of progress, or objective Truth?" En masse Westerners gravitate towards personal experiences and perspectives (called micronarratives) as the only thing we really can know. The hope is that this will increase tolerance and decrease oppression, violence, and evil. But there is a flaw with this kind of thinking as it ends up denying all truth in it's efforts to respect all truths as equal. Latent consequences, we call it 'Relativsim'. At best it leads to a society that lives tolerant and unexamined lives, simply doing what seems right to 'me.' At worst, it is a philosophy of despair. We offer another alternative; what we call a hypernarrative. So, to review:

A narrative is a story.

A metanarrative is an overarching story of all things.

A micronarrative is a story from a limited perspective.

A hypernarrative is a story of all things that can only be seen from a limited perspective.

In the pages of scripture we see an epic saga emerge from a kaleidescope of voices, cultures, stories, social locations, and genres. They all point from their subjective perspective to an objective reality: a God bigger than all of us, yet personally accessible to each of us.

The story of this God interacting with humanity becomes a HyperNarrative, a story of infinite proportion beyond what any of us can fully comprehend. Thus as HyperNarrative, it is paradoxically an objective metanarrative than can only be understood partially through our subjective perspectives (micronarratives). For example:

Just as we can only possibly see or experience a limited amount of what goes on in our world;

just as we can only read or watch a drop of the media available on the world wide web;

just as we can only know a tiny proportion of the people alive today;

Even more-so, we can only know God in part. Like a shape in a dark mirror [1Cor. 13.12].

This may sound discouraging to some, yet the key is that we can know more, and it can be True, and it is within reach. Yet there is always more...

Thus we reject the ugly arrogance of the metanarrative AND the relativistic naivete of micronarrative, for the mysterious beauty of hypernarrative.

We trace this story from the first to last page of the Bible and beyond... right into our own experience.

A Learning Community

We hope you enjoy this series. We encourage discussion and debate as we are called to be a learning community. Ideally you will discuss the ideas each week in your Life Groups.

Together we wrestle with God's truths in search of blessing that we can pass on to the world. Just as Jacob wrestled with God- and it became his name and the name of God's people: "Israel", which literally means- wrestles with God.

It was those who wrestled with God that were also blessed [transformed] to be a blessing [transformative].

That people was forged anew in Christ.

The Church.

Us.

Wrestle. Be blessed. Bless.

Journey Together. Live Different. Provoke Change.

Sincerely,

Dan Davis, Teaching Pastor

On behalf of the Catalyst Elder Team