Status Updates From The Thrill of Orthodoxy: Re...

“Even now, Sunday after Sunday, we gather in churches all over the earth, and for a moment we get a glimpse of what’s coming. In fitful steps and starts, sometimes singing off-key or fumbling the words, we get a foretaste of the future, and we thrill to join the eternal song. As above, so below.“

“After all, the mangled body of a crucified Messiah is at the heart of our faith. The worst that could be done to us has already been done to Him, and there’s an empty tomb on the other side of that suffering. We know the future. We are not afraid.“

“Anytime orthodoxy is used to shut down conversation and rule out legitimate and sincere questions, we betray our confidence in orthodoxy itself. We lack confidence in the Christian faith to respond to the questions of the day and the doubts of the faithful… The church will never be a safe place for people to be honest and open about their struggles if all they hear from leaders is a strong denunciation of doubt.

“The victorious Christian life isn’t the sinless life; it’s the repentant life.“

“The staggering heights of Christianity‘s moral vision are set next to the boundless mercy and grace of God. The radical idea is matched by radical mercy. God‘s mercy does not lower the standard, but neither does God‘s standard diminish His mercy.“

“A god who only affirms you is a god indifferent to your betterment.”

“…Christians care about the details of doctrine because we love the God those doctrines describe.”

“Studying theology is not a distraction from good works. Sound theology is a fountain for good works that last.“

“When we assume the gospel, it is a sign we’ve lost sight of the beauty before us. We wander when we lose our wonder.“

“The church faces her biggest challenge not when new errors start to win but when old truths no longer wow. JRR Tolkien once said that the most regrettable feature of human nature is how quickly we become unsatisfied with the good.“