Guests:
Herbie Knochel
Tony Manz
Tom Waldbeser

Show notes:
Discussion Summary:
Trinity is part of elder body focus on core doctrine.
Intent is to help the ministry by better understanding core doctrine.
Elder body has been making efforts to teach well and learn well in areas not emphasized in the past.
Be careful to avoid "ditch" by demanding understanding of God's Word where God's Word doesn't offer or stretch meaning where it doesn't belong.
Identify boundaries where scripture is clear and not clear.
Be willing to accept mystery.
Studying scripture helps us appreciate God more and how he makes himself known.

Discussion Specifics:
How did we (elders) engage this study on the Trinity?

• Spend time reading: the Word, early church authors, middle ages and modern thought to get perspective on how humans have thought about God.
• Comparing various viewpoints strengths and weaknesses.
• Lots of discussion about how these viewpoints affected us.
• Spent time in worship as we reflect on God.

God is beyond us and we will never put God in a box.
Let God's word determine boundaries.
God has made an effort to show us who he is.
What are we doing with this effort? Creating teaching content for ministers to have a better understanding of core doctrine.
Identified scriptures that communicate trinity.
Become aware of God's use of metaphor and analogy to help us grasp difficult concepts.
Be careful to not take analogies and metaphors too far.
Become aware of many references to the Trinity that are not always obvious.
Examples of Old Testament references to Trinity, not just NT.
Affirm there is one God; one divine will; one divine mind.
There are 3 persons that are one God.
These 3 persons share glory and are interconnected.
The Trinity reveals true love and how it is other-focused.
The Trinity reveals true unity, how three function as one and not as independent agents.
Trinity is revealed in scriptural references to creation.