Anderson Quote of the Month

First in a monthly feature in tribute to Dr. Ray Anderson, professor of Theology and Ministry at Fuller Seminary. He has taught me more about Jesus and ministry than anyone else and for whom I would not have survived pastoral ministry without. Truly a maverick way ahead of his time.


"I do not believe that Jesus Christ is the answer to a 'God-shaped vacuum' in the human heart, as a philosopher once put it. This is a nice text for a sophomore in a Christian college who is searching for an intellectual argument for the experience of God. The problem with a vacuum is that it is indiscriminate and will draw in anything that is floating around in the air. I am more attracted to the wisdom of Michael Polanyi who once wrote, 'Our believing is conditioned at its source by our belonging.' Psychologists tell us that forming early attachments, called bonding, is an essential basis for healthy and effective personal relationships in life. Jesus said, 'where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them' (Matt 18:20). I grew up with a strong sense of belonging. I have never had trouble believing." (from "Dancing With Wolves While Feeding the Sheep)

My Reflection: In a modernist approach to church, emphasis is placed on believing the right things, determining where and with whom you belong. Right beliefs (think "same" beliefs) is essential to apologetics. In my experience, this often leads to distinctions of being either in or out depending on your ideology, theology, or lifestyle. In a postmodern world, it is essential to recognize the importance of belonging in the process of believing. Certainly, not everything is up for grabs, there is truth to engage and own as formative as the people of God, but the context of this formation is the church. In a postmodern world, the church is the apologetic. It is the community of faith as a particular group of people that bears witness to what is believable and worth believing. Jesus himself said, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35). Where the church is struggling to live faithfully in the kingdom of God, where the church is wrestling to actually be a real community, you will find skeptics and seekers who encounter Jesus in a context of love and grace through the lives of its people.