Basin Theology

Bruce Thielemann, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, told of a conversation with an active layman, who mentioned, “You preachers talk a lot about giving, but when you get right down to it, it all comes down to basin theology.”

Thielemann asked, “Basin theology? What’s that?”

The layman replied, “Remember what Pilate did when he had the chance to acquit Jesus? He called for a basin and washed his hands of the whole thing. but Jesus, the night before his death, called for a basin and proceeded to wash the feet of the disciples. It all comes down to basin theology: Which one will you use?”[i]

“Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.”[ii]
(Richard Foster)

Ponder...

Spend a few moments meditating, praying, even journaling about the concept of Basin Theology.

“When people are right with God, they are apt to be hard on themselves and easy on other people. but when they are not right with God, they are easy on themselves and hard on others.”
- John Newton

[i] Craig Brian Larson, , (Grand Rapids, Michigan: BakerBooks, 1993), 223.
[ii] Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978), 1.