what do the navigators do?

WHAT DO THE NAVIGATORS DO?

When people ask me, “What do The Navigators do?” I often say, “We help people look at the Bible for themselves, to discover who Jesus is and how this relates to real life”. Then they ask, “How do you do that?” I reply, “We help people read the Bible by themselves and in small groups – and discover truth about life for themselves.”

Why do this? Why not directly give them the gospel message? Because there is an inherent power in God’s Word. One’s testimony or personal story is important but has little lasting power. Even when I describe the salvation they can have in Jesus, I am only summarizing what the Bible teaches. I want them to see the Gospel directly in the Word.

My earliest contact with The Navigators, and what drew me, was the emphasis on the Scriptures and The Lordship of Christ. I began to do written Bible study and to memorize verses. Both disciplines changed my life. Bible study, even in its simplest forms, was so helpful. The Lessons on Assurance, question-and answer studies, chapter analysis, verse analysis, eminent truths, outlines, applications, cross references – all drove me into the Word.

Memorizing Scripture opened gateways into the Word. Even though I memorized many verses without knowing their context, and even sometimes applied them out of context, God still used them in my life to motivate, instruct, and feed me. Some verses helped me live my life. Others were vital for grounding me in the truth and doctrine of the scriptures.

But the power was not in Bible study or Scripture memory. The power was, and is in the Word of God itself, as illuminated by the Holy Spirit. ‘All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness’ (II Timothy 3:16).

Our Calling and Core Values are rooted in the Scriptures, not in the minds of those who developed them. They were developed from the Scriptures, because we value the truth and sufficiency of the Scriptures for the whole of life. Navigators are people of the Book, which we bring to bear on the issues of the day and upon whose sufficiency we rely.

We do not worship the Bible. We worship God in the fullness of the Trinity. He speaks to us through:
The Incarnate Word – Jesus
The written Word – the Bible
The Living Word – the life of believers.

Churches, organizations, and movements rise and fall. Why do they fall? In most cases, a root cause is a declining reliance upon the Scriptures in public and private use.
Another factor is legalism and rigidity in practice and doctrine, truth separated from grace.

The Navigators are no different. The death-knell of our movement would be a departure from the authority of Jesus Christ, whom we know only through the Scriptures. We live as His disciple as the Scriptures instruct us. If the bible is not foundational, we are left only with our experience and traditions, which are both unreliable and selective.

In the Old Testament, the patriarchs, prophets, priests and kings depended upon a word from God, in the New Testament, the Word became flesh in Jesus. As He ascended, He sent the Holy Spirit who inspired the canon of the New Testament as the written expression of God’s new covenant. The Spirit has given us the only transcultural manual for the conduct of our lives.

Jerry White – International President of The Navigators.

“Without the Scriptures, I will automatically choose according to my own inclinations which are governed by temperament, upbringing, friends, culture, education – my personal experiences. It is knowing the Scriptures that protects me from natural, knee-jerk responses to circumstances. The word shows me how to stay consistent with God’s purposes” (Hebrews 4:12-13)
Jim Petersen – Retired International Vice President, Author of: Living Proof, Church without walls and The Insider.

March 2004