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God’s joy and God’s pain are to give us a vision for each other and the world. The coming reign of God, and all it means in its already and not yet manifestation, incites us to creatively and imaginatively live Christ in the present, while we set our hearts and eyes on the horizon of the future.
Dr. Gregory J. Laughery
The way Christians relate to culture often borders on the absurd. Culture is not all good, nor is it all bad. To aim to be a full time embracer or negator of culture will simply throw those who represent the Christian faith into a ridiculous and untenable polarization. Selectivity is bound to be more helpful and realistic as we seek to interact with, transform, or change parts of our culture, all the while recognizing that we are those who live within it.
Dr. Gregory J. Laughery
When a relationship begins to fall apart due to serious sin on the behalf of one person, the culprit will have to change if the relationship is going to be sustainable. What often happens here is that the offender pretends to change external behavior, which is all too easy a solution. The idea here is, “just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.” The offender’s assumption is that if one behaves differently and better, that’s all that counts. Yet this is unlikely to be convincing for the offended as being a charlatan is part of what led to the breakdown in the first place. Several problems arise in this scenario, but the most severe is an issue of trust concerning who this offender is. An unknown identity increases suspicion. Real change and release has to come from an internal transformation and this must first take place between the perpetrator and God before it can eventually have an impact on the offended so that trust, the very essence of sustainable relationships, can begin to be built again.
Dr. Gregory J. Laughery
An unthinking and disinterested perspective has hijacked too much of the church today. Regrettably, there is a lack of thickness to Christian lives and stories and this miserably fails to represent the adventurous, lively, and truthful trajectory of the biblical text and the power of the Spirit. Thinking, creativity, and curiosity should be deeply woven into the fabric of all we say and do as we seek to engage Scripture and Spirit and to be symbols of light that are imaginatively contrasting the darkness of the world.
Dr. Gregory J. Laughery
The fragility of life breaks through and haunts us at various times. We’re never ready to face our worst fears, though there is not much that we can do to prepare for them. Life is sometimes like that. Heartbreak takes forms that traces itself upon our desires and etches its way onto our flesh and spirit. Yet, redemption is our weapon and hope is our shield against the onslaught of human brokenness and its consequences for those who live in the world.
Dr. Gregory J. Laughery