Beyond The Basics

Welcome! Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. Whatever time of day it is when you are reading this, I’m glad you stopped by. I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts with you on this page and hopefully have meaningful, engaging conversations with you as this page grows.

Who I am

First of all, who I am not: I am not someone who has a half dozen Ph.D.’s in biblical Hebrew or Theology or whatever. I’m no expert on the Bible, and for that reason I’m sure I’ll post material here that will be flat out wrong. I welcome discussion so that hopefully together we can come to a better understanding of what Scripture is trying to say.

I have been blessed with the most beautiful and supportive wife in the world, as well as an amazing and hilarious son who at the time of this writing recently turned one year old. Of course, I can’t forget my adorable and neurotic dog, a three year old pitbull mix with more energy than a nuclear power plant. I’ve worked in residential construction for just over a year here in the Tampa Bay area after working in commercial construction for the previous seven years all around the country.

Most importantly, I’m a follower of Jesus Christ. I grew up in the church with a father who was a pastor for most of my childhood. I went my own way for several years starting in my teens, but in my mid-twenties I started searching for God again. In 2011, I went to the Onething conference in Kansas City, hosted by the International House of Prayer. It was at that conference that the Lord ignited two main passions in my life: day and night prayer and worship, and a love for Scripture. I have been leading worship at various churches and houses of prayer ever since then and currently lead worship at Zion House of Prayer in St. Petersburg, Florida. I’ve been a student of scripture ever since then as well and those two things is what this page will be centered on.

What this page is

Primarily, I will be using this space to share my thoughts and meditations on what I read in the Bible. At times, I will also comment on issues surrounding the Church, missions, current events, and politics. As I continue to learn how to use this platform, my goal is that this can be a space for honest and constructive discussion around Scripture.

Full disclosure: I am not doing this as a non-profit venture. I plan to write here on a regular basis which will take up a lot of my time. It will take some time I’m sure, but my goal is to turn this blog into an income stream for my family. That may come in the form of advertising, premium content, subscriptions, or all of the above. I’m not sure where this thing is going to end up yet but I do want to be transparent regarding my intentions here. One thing I can say confidently: all regular blog posts will always be free, as I want this page to be accessible and available to as many people as possible.

What this page is not

This page is not intended to be used as a platform for me to impose my views on others as if I am right and others are wrong. That’s not to say there aren’t many absolutes that I believe to be true; nothing could be further from the truth. But I have not been formally trained in biblical scholarship so I rely on the work of others to learn about the Bible, and my purpose is to pass on the revelation that I receive from the Holy Spirit during my study to my readers to aid and inspire them in their own study.

This is also not a space for me to take sides in political fights or to spout the latest conspiracy theories. I’ve been down both those roads in the past and they only led to angry Dan. I don’t like angry Dan! I prefer to stay away from that stuff. I may comment on current events from time to time but my prayer is that those comments come from a place of humility, compassion, and biblical wisdom.

My approach to Scripture

I would like to lay out several important approaches I have to interpreting the Bible:

1. The Bible was written mostly by Jewish people and therefore is a human document inspired by the Holy Spirit. God did not put the authors of the Bible in a trance and dictate the words to them; He gave them prophetic insight into what He was doing in their generation and future generations and inspired them to write that down.
2. There are many applications of scripture but only one interpretation. If there are multiple interpretations, then scripture interpretation is subjective and can be made to say whatever we want it to say.
3. The Bible should be taken literally unless otherwise indicated by the Bible itself while also taking genre into account. Poetry will of course include all kinds of symbolism and metaphors and colorful language to evoke emotion and response. Apocalyptic literature will include lots of symbolism, sometimes otherworldly. But there will also often be an angel present to explain the symbols.
4. All scripture points to Jesus. Luke tells us that Jesus explained to the disciples on the road to Emmaus “what was said in ALL the scriptures concerning Himself.”
5. We cannot fully understand scripture without understanding the context. Each word and sentence is written within a larger narrative and must be understood within that narrative. Taking verses out of context is unhelpful at best and can be dangerous at worst. In addition, understanding ancient Jewish and near Eastern cultures can further illuminate our interpretation.
6. The Bible is intended to be used for meditation. Psalm 119:97-98 says, “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me.” Meditation on scripture brings wisdom and revelation of the nature and character of God.

This intro turned out quite a bit longer than I expected. Maybe a sign of things to come? Anyway, I’m looking forward to this journey. Feel free to leave a comment!