Annette's Final Review - Already Gone

I think one of the toughest things for me in reading this book is trying to figure out how to have balance!  It is obvious that apologetics must be taught in our churches, and that we must be an influence in our world!  But does anyone really believe that the Bible is going to be allowed back in our schools and courtrooms as a legitimate source?  I would LOVE to hope that could be possible...but is it the best use of resources to spend years fighting for that in court?  Is that going to change lives for eternity?

I think one of the most poignant questions Dr. Ham asked the 1,000 young adults was if church was essential.  53% said no.  That is disheartening.  But I think instead of making excuses or trying to "reason" why they would say that, I think we just need to seek wisdom from God.  Is that true in our community?  Do we care enough to seek God's heart about what to do to address it?  No matter what we try to do or say, the reason for this always comes back to hypocrisy.  That is a tough one to swallow.  And no amount of apologetics is going to solve that problem.  Christians must LIVE what they say they believe. 

The church is often falsely judged too.  Christians will never be perfect - we are people after all.  But if we learn to live the transparent life that Christ did, our witness will be more convincing.  We need to remember that our message should be about how Jesus Christ affects REAL LIFE.  The Bible is not some history book that doesn't apply today. 

I was excited about the things he shared about rediscovering church.  We've talked about this in life groups and worship rehearsals lately.  We're looking at the New Testament church and seeing that we have veered away from that in some ways.  It's not that we have to change everything we do.  It's that we're sensing a restlessness that is causing us to examine whether we're doing everything God has called us to.  The Gospel won't change, but perhaps our way of sharing it can. 

This book isn't just about answering the HOW TO's for changing these alarming statistics.  It's about challenging the church to examine the way they present Biblical truth, and the way we live it!  I'm okay with being challenged.  If we passionately seek God's direction, He will show us how to respond.