Jim Wilder Part Two - The Solution Of Choice

We are back with part two featuring Dr. Jim Wilder in a new episode of, Talk With Me.

If you have been following along with my journey, or read my book Walk With Me: It's Not About Getting It Right, you know that I struggled with my faith journey time and time again. The more I looked for the 'right' set of religious beliefs or the 'right' way to be a Christian, the more I stumbled in perfectionism, performance and burnout. And the more I felt disconnected from God.

My quest for truth led me to some really interesting observations between our faith and how we were created. This is where I have found the book, The Solution of Choice: Four good ideas that neutralized Western Christianity, by neurotheologian Dr. Jim Wilder and Marcus Warner extremely helpful. I wanted to have this conversation with Jim to look back into some of the history of the church and the world and see how it can lead us into a greater understanding of what a relationship with truth looks like.

Was truth supposed to be something that we discovered to help us get closer to God? Or was truth always something we were supposed to discover as we walk intimately with Him?

"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31

Truth starts with abiding. In the Greek, to abide is something you continue. Its where you stay, remain and are continually present in. Jesus said, "He is the truth the way and the life," and for me this is the revelation of revelations. If God is also love, than both truth an love are one and indivisible. This means when we walk in truth, we should not be known by how right we are (which often leads us to division), but how much we love.

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35

Praying that this conversation will spark some thoughts for you and help you in your journey of walking with Him.

Part Two with Dr. Jim Wilder - Coming Soon

What is faith? What is the will and what roles do they have in our walk with Jesus?

Dr Jim Wilder Part Two

After my last interview with Dr. Jim Wilder, we were chatting around some of these thoughts that I have been sitting in since the release of my book, Walk With Me: It’s Not About Getting It Right.  For me, a large part of my faith journey is attached to striving and so often I get stuck wondering if I have enough faith or big enough prayers.  I was curious about how this works in our brains neurologically and what we can do, based on how we are wired, to have that mountain moving faith that I feel like I’m supposed

to have all the time. Or even faith the size of a mustard seed.

The bigger question growing within my spirit is how do we live from a relational trust where faith doesn’t become a place of striving and feeling like we are not doing it right or having enough. Jim encouraged me to read his book, The Solution Of Choice: Four Good Ideas That Neutralized Western Christianity.  In doing so, I had to invite Jim back for another conversation around some of the profound thoughts he has laid out that might give us a few key things to consider in our own faith journeys.

On the pages, Jim and co-author Marcus Warner give us the historical context to some of the movements that laid the foundations for our church and leadership models which often make our choices and our will the center of the Christian life. (There are more they write about, but for now, these are the things we will unpack together.) The question we have to ask today is this; does that align with how we were created for transformation? Is knowledge of the right thing to do and my will to do those very things supposed to be my focus? What other models exist that could lead me into the direction I’m seeking in my daily walk with Christ? What happens if I never really know the right thing to do, or my will to do them wavers depending on my circumstances on any given day.

One of my favorite quotes from the book is about hesed discipleship. Hesed being the Hebrew word for an unfailing love that God gives continually throughout the biblical narrative. “When hesed replaces truth as the foundation of discipleship, the whole model self-corrects. Placing love at the core of the transformation process allows truth, choice and power to play their proper roles and not bear a weight they were never intended to carry.” What excited me about this conversation is what would happen if we put love back into the place it was always meant to be and let our faith and our beliefs grow through our attachments to God and one another? Can you imagine if transformation felt more attainable and became a flow-on effect from love and not something we have to continually strive for?

Look for this conversation to drop soon! Can't wait to share this with you all.

Rise Up

“they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

-Isaiah 40:31

I was looking at this verse today and was studying the word translated here as 'wait.' In Hebrew 'qavah' can mean to wait, look for, hope, or expect.

Another definition that came up was 'bind together,' perhaps by twisting. I love that. So often, I have thought that waiting on the Lord to renew strength was all about His timing and my ability to be patient.

To interpret this text with the idea of binding myself to Him in places of my life that I need strength, helps me understand what mounting up with wings could mean.

Rise Up. I think that's the title for this piece. When we bind ourselves to Him - we rise up. It gives us wings to soar and we can continue to keep going, keep moving. Even in our greatest moments of sorrow, loss, hopelessness or adversity... we rise.  

#riseup

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