While Writing About Underdogs, Author Rediscovers Faith

Malcolm Gladwell became a bestselling author by writing books about unexpected twists in social science research, not books about religion. But his newest book, released this month, while still in the social science field, also speaks of the power of faith. And while writing the book, Gladwell found himself drawn to the Christian faith in which he’d been raised, but from which he’d departed. He now has re-embraced that faith and identifies himself as a Christian.

Gladwell’s story gives us an opportunity to think about the nature of our own interaction with faith, which may ebb and flow with the passage of time or the vicissitudes of life. Even committed Christians can have times when their faith struggles with uncertainty and belief in God comes down to a decision of the will rather than an assurance of the heart. So faith, as it comes and goes over the long haul, will be the topic of this week’s Adult Education. The PowerPoint for this week can be found here.

Some Billboard ads in Lubbock, Texas, and a related website and video, feature a tattooed Jesus, inked with the burdens and hurts he has taken upon himself to free others from them. The campaign is an evangelical effort, but some who have seen it have taken exception to it. The news about it gives us an opportunity to consider how the ways we visualize Jesus affect our faith in him, as well as to think about the value of unconventional evangelism and who might be reached for Christ as a result. So those will be the topics of this week’s Adult Ed. The PowerPoint for this week can be found here.