Words of Wisdom Steve Bell Style

Every year I look forward to attending InScribe’s annual Fall Conference. This year was no exception. From the onset, I knew it would be different because it was being held at a camp rather than in a conference centre or hotel. A more “rustic” atmosphere meant we were more relaxed. “Retreat style” was the phrase that kept coming up.

A different location and style were not the only things that made this conference stand out, however. Although the official theme was “Words of Note”, another theme emerged: HEALING. In fact, this year the conference was more about “ministry” and less about “teaching/learning”. I believe attendees left feeling like they had been ministered to in profound—and perhaps not yet understood—ways.

I took away many nuggets as Steve Bell spoke into our lives through his music and his stories. I wrote a blog post for InScribe’s Professional Blog about it,  but I wanted to expand on some of those ideas here.

Nuggets from Steve Bell

“God has only one agenda for you: be the person he created you to be.” (Steve Bell)

You are God’s good idea! In fact, all of humanity is His good idea since we are made in His image. Remember that the next time you are angry with someone. We need a spirit of unity.

Ephesians 4: 11- 13 says, “And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,…” Notice that UNITY comes before knowledge.

It’s okay to have different opinions. We can disagree and still have unity. Start with what you know–that every person is God’s good idea—and build from there. Rage and anger are demons from the pit of hell and have no place. Raging and anger are beneath your dignity. Steve said, “My dad was a Baptist, but he didn’t need you to be one.”

“We’re all broken people so what makes you (me) think we have it right? Pick your theology; know what you believe, but understand there will be problems with it and hold it with an open hand.” (Steve Bell)

We are all God’s good idea. There is no one out there who doesn’t have a gift for me–something that I can learn from them. “Sometimes the best thing we can offer someone is to accept their gift.”

Iron takes on the nature of fire—heat and light. It retains it for a time but eventually, it will cool again. “Lay in the fire of God’s divine love in order to become by grace what God is by nature. Anything less is beneath your dignity.” (A quote from a saint)

“As an artist, what I don’t know is greater than what I do know.” Approach writing from the mindset of “what will I learn rather than what will I teach…” Unfortunately, many Christians are trying to “manage” God. Instead, embrace the mystery of God. (If you “get it” then you didn’t! Mysteries are just that–MYSTERIES!) Steve’s dad said, “Make your peace with powerlessness” (Alf Bell) Good advice.

Augustus said, there are two scriptures: The Bible and nature. Romans 1:20 supports this. “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (ESV) The two cannot be separated. As an example, First Nations people are people of the book of nature. We can learn a lot from each other. We need a reuniting of these two. There is no THEY, only US.

“As the bride of Christ, we can trust our spouse!” (Steve Bell)

We are made in God’s image – a communion of three. We are most fully ourselves when we live in community. This doesn’t mean we aren’t individuals, but we are who we are based on our communion with others: spouse, parent, child, friend, neighbour, co-worker… We require the other people. As an example, we wouldn’t eat a handful of one spice! But together, combined in a recipe they blend and create something delicious.