Day 1

1. TWEET FROM SAM ALLBERRY

2. WHERE TO FIND HOPE AND HELP AMID THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION - SAM ALLBERRY

So apparently today is just all Sam Allberry, but honestly, this article was so beautiful. Sam is always thoughtful and kind in his presentations, putting not argument, but relationship first - something this girl wants to be better at.

Please take a moment to read this article to hear a bit about how the moral intuition has shifted, and how God is good in all of his ways.

Day 4

1. PAUL VANDER KLAY : DECONSTRUCTING WITHOUT LOSING CHRISTIAN FAITH OR IDENTITY

I forget exactly how I first stumbled upon Paul’s work, but I’ve found it very intriguing. He’s a pastor, and most of his YouTube conversations tend to be around world views/narratives. Often his videos remind me of my Philosophy class in college - quite a bit of it goes over my head, but I grasp enough of it to have moments where concepts click together and spark me toward new or deeper thoughts, and hopefully change.

One very interesting aspect of Paul’s content is that he’s willing to take video chat requests with almost anyone. (I think you just have to send in a request via a link in his YouTube video descriptions.) And then he shares a lot of these conversations on his YouTube channel, so I get the opportunity to hear him engage on a wide range of topics with people with very different stories, backgrounds and beliefs.

This video was talking to a 25 year old man, Michael, who currently is wrestling with his faith. Perhaps teetering on the brink of what is commonly now deemed “deconstruction” within Christian circles. But really wanting to grapple with, and longing to hold onto, a faith in Jesus.

Notes:

- God sends people on really long, weird journeys. Just look at Moses or Paul.

- (Quoting a story about Mother Theresa) I won’t pray for you to have clarity, but what I will pray for you is trust. Clarity is, in a sense, idolatrous, because then we can trust the clarity rather than Christ.

- (Quoting an interview with Tony Compolo) I knew you were wandering away because you stopped going to church. But church is the place to go when you can’t believe. And you might sit there the entire time and think “I don’t know if I believe this” but if you want to be a Christian - go to church! Find one you can tolerate!

- The internal struggle will not be resolved solely by argumentation. People don’t often decide to follow Jesus, or decide to walk away, based solely on an argument. It’s far more complex.

- Okay Lord, you’re going to take me down a road I don’t like? Okay. That’s normal for your servants. And I ain’t going to like it, probably, but I will do my best to trust you. That’s the Christian life

- These are the stories my God tells, and he uses people’s lives to tell them … Look at Mother Theresa. She thinks God has abandoned her, but yet spends her life serving the dying in Calcutta … There is no greater storyteller. I believe in that kind of God.

- The closer you are to Jesus - the harder it is not to follow him … Judas being the exception. 😅