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Truth that Transforms
SPU Faculty
Member
Contributes
to the New
Renovaré
Spiritual
Formation
Bible
Associate Professor of Theology Kerry Dearborn’s name
is in the Bible — literally. A contributor of introductions
and study notes for John’s three epistles in the newly
released Renovaré Spiritual Formation Bible,
her writing appears with that of such notable theologians
and authors as Richard J. Foster, Dallas Willard, Walter Brueggemann,
and Seattle Pacific University alumnus Eugene Peterson ’54.
“The average American owns nine Bibles,” says
Dearborn. “Yet to what extent do we allow Scripture
to transform our lives? If we take the Bible seriously, we
will look and be different.” Rather than making only
“surface changes” to our lives, she explains,
“God wants to use Scripture to enter and radiate from
the core of our being.”
That message is at the heart of the Renovaré Bible,
geared toward educated laypeople. “It’s not about
merely adding one more Bible to our shelves,” says Dearborn.
“It’s about bridging the gap between the devotional
and the academic and giving people new tools for application.”
After all, she adds, “Truth is something that transforms
us rather than something we master. We should have a dynamic
response to the truth of Jesus Christ as revealed in Scripture.”
When asked to write for the Renovaré Bible,
Dearborn says she felt honored and challenged: “I prayed
a lot about it. I was sensing God’s call to do this
— and I knew I wouldn’t be doing it alone.”
In approaching her writing, Dearborn took seriously the project’s
focus on God’s transforming
power through Scripture, a subject that is highlighted in
1 John, 2 John, and
3 John. It’s also a topic that’s been on Dearborn’s
mind. Every summer, she and her husband,
World Vision International Associate Director for Faith and
Development Tim Dearborn, pick a guiding question —
something
they discuss and ponder together for months. Last summer’s
question was: “If we
as Christians are reborn in Christ, why do we not live more
distinctive lives?”
That question comes out of the very texts about which Dearborn
was writing. In the introduction for 1 John, she writes: “Through
Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we have become
God’s own children, those who are ‘born of God.’
As God’s children, our lives will reflect the light
and love of God’s character.”
She continues that thought in her writing about 2 John: “…
truth is identified with the eternal Father and Son and is
thus a powerful shaping force that takes hold of us through
the Spirit.”
Dearborn says she sees such transformation in students at
SPU, from the time they arrive on campus until their graduation.
“It’s definitely happening,” she says, noting
students’ affinity with the University’s vision
to engage the culture
and change the world. “It’s a seed that’s
planted in students’ lives, and I think it makes a difference.
There is certainly a growing momentum
here on campus for transformation and radical discipleship.”
— BY Sarah Jio
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