THE RENEWING OF THE MIND
A Conversation Imagined: Suppose Dallas Willard and Eugene Peterson were to compare notes today, reflecting on the life of the spirit. What might they say? Herein lies the advantage of the pen—or the keyboard: Their words outlive them, as does their influence. In “A Divine Conspiracy in the Same Direction” writer Paul J. Pastor sifts through Peterson’s and Willard’s printed pages to urge us on toward the quiet urgency of the spiritual life. “Decades are made of days,” Pastor writes. “But without the vision of decades our days become unmoored.” Both Peterson and Willard prompt us to live with holy reflection and meticulous intentionality, lest our days, consumed with comparative triviality, pile up into insignificant decades.
What Would It Look Like for the Church to Recommit to Scripture? It’s an ambitious undertaking, but we set out to assess The State of the Bible. What about Bible literacy, engagement with Scripture, the progress of translation, new publishing initiatives, the pace of innovation in digital resources? The report is framed by Glenn Paauw’s engaging retrospective and call for reassessment: “The Once and Future People of the Book.” “The uncomfortable fact is that as a community, today’s church can no longer be identified as serious, committed people of the Book,” Paauw writes. And he calls us to reexamine how we guide those who revere the Book but may be at a loss for how to most profitably read it.
The Peaceful Warrior: “Greatness always lies on the other side of our pain. Whether physical pain, or the pain of failure, or the pain of honesty, or whatever—there is a gift in it.” In the interview, Erwin McManus speaks from the depth of his own experience as he reflects on what it means to be a peaceable warrior. It’s a cry for integrity. “I am appalled,” he says, “at how many young pastors preach their hearts out with big words they have never lived.” It could sound judgmental if you miss the introspective edge—there’s a blush of retrospect in the words. But far from merely looking back, McManus is looking ahead. He’s thinking of what he will ultimately leave behind, and his aspiration is that it will be “a tiny fingerprint that will point people to the beauty of who Jesus is.” And that’s a worthy aspiration for us to emulate.
@JamesPLong
Editor
INSIDE THE MARCH/APRIL ISSUE
A DIVINE CONSPIRACY IN THE SAME DIRECTION
Eugene Peterson and Dallas Willard on the Quiet Urgencies of the Spiritual Life
THE STATE OF THE BIBLE
THE ONCE AND FUTURE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK
Imagine a New Future for the Church With the Bible
VOICES
7 Authors and the Compelling Ideas Behind Their Latest Books
OUTREACH RESOURCES OF THE YEAR
The 16th Annual Celebration of the Best in Evangelism, Apologetics, Cross-Cultural Ministry, Social Justice, Leadership and More
THE INTERVIEW: ERWIN McMANUS
Greatness Always Lies on the Other Side of Our Pain
PLUS: Jared C. Wilson on Reimagining Mission; Ed Stetzer on Evangelism and the Bible; Michelle Sanchez on The Whole Holy Bible; Kevin Harney on When “No” Is a Beautiful Word—and much more.