Is there someone in your life that shares your faith? Ask them a question today about their faith.
By Richard Jenkins
Recently I spoke with a friend of mine and he shared with me the shape of his faith throughout his own life. As a child, he did not see the need for church. But his parents were insistent that he at least attend worship and fellowship. In his teenage years, when his family moved to Oklahoma and to a new church, my friend realized how much the fellowship had meant to him. So, he decided to intentionally engage with the youth community at this new church.
With his new youth group, he experienced several meaningful mission trips. Trips that taught him the value of service, the value of getting out of his element and seeing the world through a different lens. These years he spent in youth group and worshiping at church spawned within him a sense of personal piety and a feeling of God's presence.
Later in life, he attended seminary. The school was more pluralistic, focused on postcolonial thought, and critical race theory. While these expanded his cosmology and theology, he still feels and believes that Jesus was God incarnate. Currently he practices prayer, study, and worshiping in Christian community.