Andrew

I recently wrote an article about Intelligence in the church and I received some feedback regarding that article. The feedback was thoughtful and articulate, so I thought that I would address it because I thought it was important.

Why do Christians hate knowledge?

That question seems antagonistic, but it's a question that I've wrestled with over the years. When I was in High School I was isolated from the world in many respects. The church I went to was very anti-world and nearly all of my friends were professed believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I always thought my friends were intelligent and I thought that the leadership of my church was intelligent. Looking back I realized I made a crucial mistake.

I've been wrestling with something for the last 9-12 months. I believe that God might have been speaking something to me. My problem? I'm not sure if, or how, God speaks to people. I know that God speaks using the Bible and that people can receive hope and joy from reading the Word. That's not what I'm referencing. I'm speaking of a specific message dealing with the future.

A prophecy.

I've made the decision to start helping with my church's high school ministry. It wasn't an easy decision, nor should it have been. I've always been hesitant to step out and participate in any spiritual leadership position (even minor ones) because I believe God makes great demands of people in those roles.

Lately I've been trying to figure out who I am and where I am going. I believe I have a path set before me and I believe I am diligently walking down that path. I am still left with some feelings of doubt, however, and I can't figure out if that's my own personality or if I'm missing something.

Lately I've been engaging in what my pastor calls a "Media Fast" that involves abstaining from most forms of the media. I've turned off my radio, my TV, and (most of) the internet. The only internet activities I do are e-mail and work-related searches.

I was recently challenged to come up with a list of things not to do. The idea is this: I find out I have inherited $20,000,000 and simultaneously discover that I have at most 10 years to live. What sort of things would I stop doing? At first I thought it would be easy to come up with things that I would stop doing, but the more I thought about it the harder it seemed.