Well when I first started reading I felt very disheartened, like there was no hope to stopping this epidemic. But as I read on my pulse quickened and my heart rate went up and I couldn't believe it but I started to become excited about what I was reading. In chapter 2 they talked about renovating Sunday School and Youth Ministry but they didn't just leave us hanging, wondering how to do that, they told you. Apologetics!!!! This is something that is not new in our church or Ardent, but now they are encouraging us to make this a priority, so encouraging. After reading this I totally felt on fire to plug into apologetics more for not only my own growth but for our teens as well.
In chapter 3, I was surprised that they basically were saying that if a person is questioning the trueness of Genesis then they probably aren't going to believe what the rest of the bible has to say. I never looked at it this way, but it really makes sense. Another question that surprised me, was when they were asking the non-church attendees what they missed most about church and their response was "I miss worshiping God". Wow that is so powerful. And the next sentence says that we are dealing with souls and not statistics. This gives me hope because even though someone isn't being obedient in their walk with Christ they still have a desire to worship Him. To me that is even more evidence that God is real. This book is really great and I so appreciate all the research that went into it.
Now I am probably going to have to stop watching TV altogether because with everything that is already on my reading list, I think I'll be adding some apologetics reading too.
It's exciting to hear that you're challenged by what we're reading! I am too. The stretching has begun. :o)
ReplyDelete