rebelling against low expectations
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a classic story that resonates with everyone, even if they have not seen the movie or read the story. Mention the yellow brick road and prepare to be transported to the land of short, blue-clothed Munchkins and flying monkeys. But I am amazed by this classic story’s deeper message for Christians. The main character, Dorothy, is carried away from the gray...
Recently, I spent an afternoon with my youth group distributing food to people in our community. Somehow, the topic of apologetics came up in a conversation between me and one of the adults. After they told me they have no interest in learning why they believe in Christianity, I asked them one of my favorite questions. “What are you going to do when a friend, who is not a Christian, asks you for...
I was staring at my phone, waiting for a message from my good friend. I felt pretty confident about the last text message I had sent him. I was proud of myself; it was so well thought out and full of truth. Finally, my friend’s message came through. Upon reading it I was suddenly filled with frustration and anger. “Well, Ryan,” it read. “We are both just on different paths, headed to the same...
A friend recently asked me on an Instagram Q&A, “What’s your preference—apologetics or theology?” Honestly, I couldn’t pick one or the other. Both have been so essential to my growth as a follower of Christ! As I discussed that during the Q&A and a few others resonated with my response, I realized that the relationship between apologetics and theology is seldom discussed in the church...
We live in an anti-intellectual age. To grasp this, all we have to do is observe the surrounding culture. Seemingly everywhere we look, our feelings are valued over reality and our emotional experiences over reason. Anti-intellectual Christianity This spirit of anti-intellectualism has not only invaded the culture but the church as well. In worship, sermons, and even evangelism, one’s subjective...
I’ve struggled with it. You’ve struggled with it. We all have. Does God really exist? Billions of people think that the Bible is false, and Christians are sometimes tempted to believe them. Jesus can start to look like a fairytale at times because of how bad the world around us is. “Is God real?” This question isn’t bad in itself, but we need to make sure we come to the right conclusion. We need...
“‘Agree to disagree’ is reserved for things like ‘I don’t like coffee’ … Not human rights.” These words were posted on Facebook by Rainbow Rights, an LGBTQ+ support group. In the textpost, they stated that anyone who supports racism, sexism, or homophobia is going against, in their words, “basic common decency.” To anyone who would disagree, the textpost says, “We do not have a difference of...
rebelling against low expectations
