Mark Virkler's blog

The interview took place at Charisma headquarters in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Greene and the entire Charisma staff are incredibly hospitable and fun to work with. We all had a truly great time.

The interview was a fast-moving discussion on the role of story in Christian education. This applies to your home, a classroom or a message from the pulpit. . As you listen to this 30-minute podcast, you will see we covered a lot of ground. You will find keys to relating to your children, your spouse and your students in a classroom setting.

It is amazing how much we love boxes! The box I used to love the most was my theological box, as I am a theologian and I believed that my doctrinal box of rules of right and wrong kept me safe from deception and error. 

Narrative Theology – “Discourse about God in the setting of story” - Gabriel Fackre

It was because of a story that I became a Spirit-filled Christian. I was a student at Roberts Wesleyan College, having been saved in an ultra-conservative Baptist church. My theology was staunchly anti-tongues and anti-healing. Then a lovely lady invited Patti and me to her home for some great meals. She told us a story of how her family used to have to go to the hospital several times a year with illnesses, and since she started praying for healing for them, no one had gone to the hospital for the last couple of years. Wow! That didn’t line up with my theology, but it was an amazing story by a person extending friendship and a meal to us. I listened to the story, honored it and by the time I was done researching Scriptures with an open heart and mind, my systematic theology which said healing wasn’t for today had changed and I became a charismatic Christian.

The Bible tells us praying in tongues is a manifestation or gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). Therefore it obviously has great value for our lives. Even though our minds may say this is ridiculous baby talk and has no value, what do you suppose the value is? The following journaling is from Malachi Talabi.

This page serves as an index to a series of blogs on the topic of "Narrative Theology." These discuss the role of story as Jesus' primary teaching method. Since life is lived as A STORY, sharing stories powerfully impacts life! The links below will become active hyperlinks over the next several weeks as we post the blogs in this series. 

In my morning journaling I said, "God, I hate my personality! I am such a fighter. Why couldn't I be more of a lover. I dislike my passion to battle." The Lord spoke back in my journal:

"Mark, if I wouldn't have made you a fighter, you would never have fought for 10 years to learn to hear My voice. You would have never received the 4 Keys which have brought intimacy to your life and to those you have shared them with. Your nature to fight is a gift from Me which has allowed you to produce a gift for the world. So celebrate your willingness to battle and do not despise it."

Wow! OK, Lord, I celebrate the fact that I am a fighter, and that I am left brain, and that it took me 10 years to discover the right hemisphere in my mind. 

I always appreciate people who are willing to grow and be stretched, and here is a comment from Jackie who took our training on Hearing God’s Voice and is struggling.

I took the Hearing God's Voice course and have realized that this material is not Biblical. Though it is littered with Bible references, and seems to promote careful discernment at first, the scripture verses are out of context and the material promotes false ideas. Yes, we are called to be still at times, and yes God does prompt and lead His people, but the idea that all positive spontaneous thoughts are from God and any negative thoughts are Satan, and all analytical thoughts are from us, is totally unBiblical. I find instead that the Bible urges us to use our minds, to use wisdom and discernment and test everything to ensure it lines up with the Bible. In 2 Peter 2, it urges us to "crave the pure milk of the word" in order to grow, not tune to spontaneity. The Bible is the only trustworthy source of truth. Our spontaneous thoughts change depending on mood, circumstances, etc. How can we depend on them to lead us in godliness?