Shifting Culture Ep. 331 Zach Lambert - Better Ways to Read the Bible
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Aug 12, 2025 Zach Lambert, lead pastor and founder of Restore in Austin, discusses transformative approaches to reading the Bible. He emphasizes the dangers of literalist interpretations and encourages a Jesus-centered perspective that cultivates love, justice, and humility. Lambert shares his personal journey of questioning faith within a Southern Baptist context and highlights the contemporary relevance of Scripture. He advocates for empathy and understanding, reminding listeners that engaging with the Bible can lead to personal growth and deeper connections across diverse beliefs.
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From Youth Rejection To Rediscovery
- Zach Lambert tells how a youth pastor's teachings conflicted and led him to stop engaging with Christianity for years.
- Reading the gospels later, especially John's gospel, reoriented him toward Jesus' life and teachings.
All Readings Carry Bias
- Seminary taught Zach that certain theological perspectives were treated as the default and others labeled "biased."
- He realized everyone brings social location and bias to interpretation, so no reading is neutral.
Check Genre And Context First
- Learn genre, context, author intent, and historical setting before making literalist claims about a passage.
- Treat Revelation and poetic texts as symbolic genre rather than word-for-word future timelines.
