“Right church, right ministry, and right preaching start from a right understanding of the Bible.” That was how Rev. Dong Il Kim, pastor of Gracious Ark Korean Christian Reformed Church in Los Angeles, opened the Holistic Bible Reading seminar in early December.
Sponsored by the Korean Ministry council of the Christian Reformed Church and the Korean CRC in Orange County, Calif., the seminar brought together 20 pastors and seminarians with hearts for revival to listen to and discuss God’s Word.
“The Bible is the book about God who revealed himself; that is why we should avoid reading it from our human perspectives,” said. Kim. “Rather we should read it from God’s perspective.”
Rev. Seong Soo Nam from Orange County said, “How would you read to enjoy the Bible within Christian life? We, especially pastors for church ministries, can get many helps through Rev. Kim’s seminar because of the holistic understanding of our Bible on the basis of the redemptive historical perspectives.”
Many in attendance confessed that they usually found the Bible’s contents difficult and boring in their Christian faith and lives; in contrast, this seminar helped them understand the Bible’s themes. The intensive two-day seminar, which has been taught in both Korea and China, is designed to teach the Bible’s flow from Genesis to Revelation.
Rev. Tong Park, Korean Ministry Director for Christian Reformed Home Missions, said the seminar is one of many resources available for fellowship and continuing education for pastors and leaders.
About the Author
Jonathan Kim is a CRC pastor of Ye-Eun Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, California. He writes news for The Banner and lives in North Hills, California.