{"id":9311,"date":"2022-02-28T14:51:08","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T20:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.twocities.org\/?p=9311"},"modified":"2022-02-28T14:51:08","modified_gmt":"2022-02-28T20:51:08","slug":"thinking-christian-an-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/?p=9311","title":{"rendered":"THINKING CHRISTIAN: AN INTERVIEW"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Thinking Christian: Essays on Testimony, Accountability, and the Christian Mind\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"625\" height=\"550\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen style=\"max-width:100%\" src=\"https:\/\/read.amazon.com\/kp\/card?preview=inline&#038;linkCode=kpd&#038;ref_=k4w_oembed_549MDtM5GFhgaG&#038;asin=B085GMHGZG&#038;tag=kpembed-20\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Moore: What motivated you to write <em>Thinking Christian<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Spencer: I approached <em>Thinking Christian<\/em> with a couple of motivations.\u00a0 The first came from teaching \u201cDeveloping a Christian Mind\u201d for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rightonmission.org\">Right On Mission<\/a>.\u00a0 Students struggled to understand the examples and context of Harry Blamires\u2019s 1963 work titled <em>The Christian Mind<\/em>.\u00a0 I wanted to offer an updated treatment of Christian thought that wrestled with matters of contemporary concern.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The second motivation was more personal.\u00a0 My last two years in higher education were physically and emotionally draining.\u00a0 In addition to dealing with major budgetary and enrollment issues that would result in staff and faculty layoffs, we were also dealing with a public relations crisis due to a variety of accusations.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Thinking Christian<\/em> was my way of reflecting theologically on some of the dynamics I experienced during those last two years.\u00a0 Writing the book became my way of coming to terms with that tumultuous period of life.\u00a0 Looking back on the process of writing <em>Thinking Christian<\/em>, I would say that each essay is the fruit of a deep period of prayer and study.\u00a0 My goal was to contribute to the church\u2019s thinking and to rediscover my own sense of contentment in Christ.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Moore: Over the years, I have read many books with titles like <em>The Christian Mind<\/em> by Harry Blamires, John Stott\u2019s <em>Your Mind Matters<\/em>, and <em>Love Your God with all Your Mind<\/em> by J.P. Moreland. How does your book make a fresh contribution?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Spencer: <em>Thinking Christian<\/em> makes a couple of unique contributions.\u00a0 First, I\u2019ve attempted to highlight the need for a church capable of training Christians to think Christian.\u00a0 The church needs to counter the world\u2019s logics so Christians learn to approach the world as a people who look and listen with theological eyes and ears.\u00a0 For instance, James urges us to be slow to speak, slow to anger, and quick to listen.\u00a0 While Christians would likely affirm James\u2019s command, it isn\u2019t always clear that we have embraced James 1:19-20 on social media platforms that increasingly encourage us to be quick to speak, quick to anger, and slow to listen.\u00a0 Counter-acting that latter logic seems to me to require a community that trains us to use a biblically rooted theo-logic.\u00a0 I hope <em>Thinking Christian<\/em> makes a contribution in that respect.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The second contribution is related to <em>Thinking Christian<\/em>\u2019s evaluation of Christian thought in the digital age.\u00a0 The church has not adequately considered the implications of new technologies and technology practices.\u00a0 <em>Thinking Christian<\/em> offers some direction for thinking about issues like Christian testimony and accountability by reckoning with the new media and technology environment in which the church seeks to offer a faithful witness.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Moore: What are some of the best practices you have seen for getting out of our self-imposed echo chambers where everyone agrees with one another?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Spencer: First, just as Israel\u2019s king was to write a copy of the law every year, we need to keep God\u2019s word close.\u00a0 The goal is, in part, to ensure that we do not come to believe that our incomplete understand of the world is complete.\u00a0 God\u2019s word has a way of disabusing us of such notions by constantly reminding us that we only know in part.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Second, we have to create quieter spaces in our lives.\u00a0 We have to turn down the volume so we can think more deeply about our decisions and the positions we hold.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Finally, we have to set aside our \u201cus versus them\u201d mentality which creates unnecessary conflict that keeps us from understanding the perspectives of others.\u00a0 That mentality conditions us to react to \u201copposing views\u201d by doubling down on our own arguments.\u00a0 If we can learn to approach others as people seeking to make a contribution, we can maintain our convictions while evaluating the ways information sources help and\/or hinder our ability to see more faithfully what God is doing.\u00a0 This orientation requires the humility to recognize the incompleteness of our own views.\u00a0 That humility will help us resist the echo chamber.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Moore: What are some tangible things that pastors can do to equip Christians to be ready to give a loving <em>and<\/em> thoughtful engagement with non-Christians?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Spencer: I think pastors would do well to remind congregants that everyone feels the brokenness of the world in different ways.\u00a0 As Christians, part of loving our neighbors involves learning how they feel the world\u2019s brokenness and how they seek to address it.\u00a0 Once we understand our neighbors, we can proclaim Christ as the only and final solution to the brokenness they see.\u00a0 There is a place to address specific individual sins and to be proactive in sharing the gospel, but I\u2019ve found that non-Christians are more willing to consider the gospel when I listen to them first.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Of course, in today\u2019s world who we are in our one-on-one interactions with non-Christians will likely need to match who we are in our digital interactions.\u00a0 As such, pastors also need to encourage congregants to consider their witness comprehensively.\u00a0 So often we fool ourselves into thinking that liking, posting, sharing, and commenting are effective ways of changing the world when they may actually be distractions pointing the world away from Christ.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Moore: In your book, you mentioned James Clear\u2019s comment that \u201cwe don\u2019t rise to our goals, but rather fall to our systems.\u201d For those not familiar with Clear\u2019s work, would you describe first what he means, and secondly what bearing that sage observation means for Christian learning?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Spencer: I\u2019m always quick to say that earning a PhD isn\u2019t simply about being disciplined or intelligent.\u00a0 It requires a support system.\u00a0 My wife, for instance, supported me financially and emotionally while I completed by coursework.\u00a0 My goal was to earn a PhD, but without the support systems of my wife and others, I\u2019m not sure I would have achieved that goal.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Clear is making a similar point. \u00a0Our systems can hinder our ability to achieve our goals because they create environments.\u00a0 All environments afford us certain opportunities while withholding others.\u00a0 If we try to reach goals within a system that does not afford us the opportunities necessary to achieve those goals, it will be far more difficult, though not impossible, to achieve them.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><b>When we apply this understanding to Christian learning, we will likely recognize that we exist within systems that have no interest in seeing us be and make disciples for Jesus.\u00a0 As such, the goal of faithfully witnessing to Christ is made more difficult by the systems in which we exist.\u00a0 We need a system that fosters and supports discipleship.\u00a0 The church is to offer such a \u201csystem.\u201d\u00a0 If it&#8217;s\u00a0not, we all need to address it.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><strong>Moore: Your wide and eclectic reading, especially writers outside your own Christian tradition, models an intentional desire to not be stuck in your own echo chamber. What are some things that first motivated you to delve into writers with very different worldviews than your own?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Spencer: My interdisciplinary focus developed out of my rather odd career path.\u00a0 I\u2019d pursued a PhD in theological studies with the intention of becoming a faculty member.\u00a0 I wanted to write and teach.\u00a0 As it turned out, I started my career as an assistant dean of an online department before transitioning into a role as academic dean and now as president of a Christian non-profit.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>While I was learning the ropes as an administrator, evaluating pedagogical strategies, guiding education finance, and overseeing marketing and recruitment, I made an effort to think theologically about systems, process, policies, and curricula.\u00a0 Doing so required me to interact with business, educational, psychological, and sociological literature.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I came to appreciate the way that interdisciplinary engagement challenged me to think theologically.\u00a0 The novelty of other fields made me explore the scriptures and do theology in ways I would not have otherwise.\u00a0 It has kept me open to new ideas and insights, as well as helping me to clarify my own biblical and theological convictions.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Moore: What are a few things you hope your readers take from your book?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Spencer: Ultimately, I want readers to recognize that Christians have a unique capacity to proclaim Christ in a fallen world.\u00a0 We need to say and do what only we can.\u00a0 We can\u2019t allow political, socio-cultural, or economic crises to overshadow God and the gospel.\u00a0 We can participate in these realms, yet fixing political, cultural, and economic problems has to proceed from an unwavering commitment to be and make disciples.\u00a0 Only Christians can proclaim the gospel in deed and in truth.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I would also like readers to recognize our need to conform our speech and behavior to a theo-logic that is less concerned with solving society\u2019s problems than pointing to God\u2019s solution for the world\u2019s brokenness.\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t mean we ignore the world\u2019s brokenness.\u00a0 As James notes, practicing pure and undefiled religion involves engaging that brokenness. It does mean that we aren\u2019t called to fix the world, but to live faithfully within it.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I hope readers walk away from <em>Thinking Christian<\/em> with a renewed desire to build the body of Christ, to outdo one another in showing honor, and to observe God\u2019s teachings, however inconvenient or ineffective it may seem to do so, so that the world may seek Christ in us.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; Moore: What motivated you to write Thinking Christian? Spencer: I approached Thinking Christian with a couple of motivations.\u00a0 The first came from teaching \u201cDeveloping a Christian Mind\u201d for Right On Mission.\u00a0 Students struggled to understand the examples and context of Harry Blamires\u2019s 1963 work titled The Christian Mind.\u00a0 I wanted to offer an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,71,154],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-interview","category-thinking"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9311"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9312,"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9311\/revisions\/9312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.twocities.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}