I think my outlook on life and on Christianity has been significantly shaped by about a dozen people. There are obviously more than that who have had some influence, but the list is probably about that long of those who I am very indebted to for some fundamental aspect of the way I think about things. On this list there are those who I know and have been personally discipled by, and there are also those who are preachers or teachers I have found online. I have benefited greatly during my college years from the Christ-centered use of my ipod.
David Blevins has helped shape my thinking significantly through numerous conversations over multiple years and also through the taking of his worldview class. Here are a handful of the things pressed on me by the worldview class...
1. There are good reasons for believing in God. Christianity is not a blind leap of faith against all evidence, though that is what many in the church today seem to do.
2. God wants me to love him with my mind, not just my heart. Therefore, I need to think deeply and well about God.
3. There are many forces in the world and many college professors who disparage the Christian message, but we need to be prepared to give a defense and a reason for the hope within, instead of lying over and just taking everything.
4. The Bible isn't simply a collection of true things, but it has a true unified message that speaks into a million different subjects. Jesus is Lord over all, not just church-y things. Jesus is even Lord of art. It is legitimate to wrestle with questions - while having humility about the answers - such as, what would God think about government?
5. Everyone has presuppositions. Everyone has a worldview. Everyone believes something. Everyone operates on some morality. It is better to live an examined life of intellectual and moral integrity. Christianity can put together the puzzle pieces the best out of all worldviews.
Thank you, David, for your heart for true discipleship, your commitment to the local church, and your counsel and challenge over the years. I am deeply indebted. I know that other worldview graduates - the category with which we self-identify - will join me in expressing that indebtedness. What an awesome picture of how the Body is meant to function, each part serving as God has gifted. Thank you!
I write all of that as preamble to a very interesting resource. David is currently doing a summer book study through Tim Keller's book "The Reason for God". Tim Keller is one of those who would make my list of highly influential people, though he is one from a distance. David Blevins and Tim Keller definitely do not agree on everything, though both definitely love Jesus, and they seek to love Jesus with all their minds. It is good, I think, to read a bit outside of your comfort zone and listen to teachers who don't just say all the things you already believe. In that way, I think it is good for me to prayerfully think through those areas where my significant influences disagree, and I bid you to do the same while always relying on God through his infallible, sufficient Scripture.
The first place I want to send you is to a course that Tim Keller co-taught with the late Edmund Clowney on "Preaching Christ in a Postmodern World". This is essentially Tim Keller's philosophy of preaching, which will add significant depth to what comes across in "The Reason for God" if you have time to listen to these talks. I have listened to probably about two thirds of them. These talks bring you back to Tim Keller's presuppositions about a lot of things, and I believe it is applicable even to people who are not called to preach because it basically comes back to what the Gospel is and how it is to be best communicated and given to people, topics relevant to every Christian.
The talks by Edmund Clowney are also interesting and worth a listen. He deals more directly with how Christ is to be exposited from all of Scripture. For instance, how do you preach Christ from wisdom literature or the story of David and Goliath or from Leviticus. The idea is that all of Scripture is unified, everything is summed up in Christ, and Jesus was constantly interpreting Scripture (which was just the OT when he was walking around) in light of himself. Very fascinating. The whole Old Testament, not just random bits, is a testimony to Christ.
http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/resources/category/courses/a/series/preaching_christ_in_a_postmodern_world/
I am also including a link to the syllabus for the course. Syllabus is probably not the right word. It is more like a book, but they refer to it as a syllabus. Reading parts of this may be more effective for some than trying to listen to all of the talks.
http://www.endangeredleadership.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/keller-on-preaching-syllabus.pdf
As always, I hope you are helped and encouraged, and as always, to God be all the glory!
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