Apologetically Speaking

I promised—or threatened—to write a blog. My conscience has gotten the better or me and now I realize it’s put up or shut up. The last of the two would probably be the wiser and is frankly the most appealing to me. Never being one to pass up a good opportunity to refuse taking the simpler and wiser path, I will press onward. Maybe if no one reads it, I can quietly just make it go away.

I am titling it “Apologetically Speaking”, as you can see. Here’s why:

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am an unapologetic preacher of the gospel. It’s the blood in my veins. No matter how I twist and turn, this way or that, I come back to this one certainty which I cannot escape—and I’ve tried.

When I first studied theology, the school I attended had very high academic credentials for an evangelical denominational seminary. This is what attracted me. In fact, it was considered too liberal for many of its supporters, but that’s another story.

While I was there, I was steeped in the writings of all the contemporary theologians and appreciate their thinking. But when I left after three years of study, I had almost no faith at all. It was all head and no heart.

I struggled terribly in my first years as a pastor and came close to calling it quits. This by the way is a recurring theme of mine. What turned life around for me was discovering the work of Francis Schaeffer. I devoured his books which were like sunshine and electricity to me.

In brief, what turned life around for me was Schaeffer’s insistence that the Christian gospel is totally rational and can be spoken of in real concrete and logically consistent terms. In other words, faith is not something that floats out of touch with logical or scientific reality.

And so, this is what I do with my life. I try to express my understanding of why Jesus message and mission are totally consistent with reality that is liveable and understandable.

This is what I intend to write about in my blog. I hope you come back for the next installment. It will be the gripping tale of a visit to The British Museum. I bet that get’s the pot boiling!