We must feed our minds if we want them to bear Christian fruit.
The Christian Mind
…of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command…1 Chronicles 12.32
The Christian Mind
Harry Blamires (1916-)
“One of the reasons why we have no tradition of Christian thinking about contemporary affairs is that we have been thus taught so to view with disfavour any earnest attachment to ideas and ideals such as would bring the heat of theoretical controversy into the arena of practical life. There is no doubt that we have reaped advantages from this attitude in our national life. But we have paid the price in the decay and now almost total disappearance of the Christian mind. For the Christian mind cannot exist in vacuo. It can exist only as fruitfully influencing action and being fed or disciplined in turn by the responsive logic of events.”
The mind of Christ is shaped by a Biblically-based understanding of the times, by studying the issues and events of the day, and all the disciplines of life and learning, through the lens of God’s Word. In the process, we interact with people, ideas, cultural forms and institutions, situations, events, and the pressing concerns of the day, and thus strengthen our minds to think like Jesus, Who is reconciling the world to God and restoring all things to His original good intentions. Our minds will be fruitful for Christ to the extent that we, like those sons of Issachar, mighty men in their day, work hard to understand the times and to strategize Christian responses and courses of action. Christian pastors and teachers must take the lead in this, reflecting in their lives and ministries a large and growing interest in the world, and the determination to bring the mind of Christ to bear on all of life, for the sake of taking every thought and all of life captive for King Jesus.
How might you begin to reflect more of a sons of Issachar approach to life in your ministry?
Recovering Christian communication
Our Missions Partner Outreach program is designed as a life-based training curriculum, to help church members identify and begin working their Personal Mission Fields for the purpose of making disciples and advancing Christ’s Kingdom. I’m looking for some men to lead through this training program, and to help you see how our Missions Outreach Partners programcan help your church overcome its failure to communicate. If you’re interested, drop me a line at tmmoore@ailbe.org.
Introduction to Christian Worldview
Our course, One in Twelve: Introduction to Christian Worldview, uses twelve diagrams to provide a comprehensive framework for thinking and living Christianly in the world. It’s free, online, and available for you to study by yourself or with your leadership team, at your own pace and on your own schedule. For more information and to register, click here.
Does the Lord want to use you to help support The Fellowship of Ailbe? Please look to Him in prayer over this question. You can contribute to The Fellowship of Ailbe by using the Contribute button at our website, or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452. Thank you.
Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All quotations from The Christian Mind are from Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind (Ann Arbor: Servant Books, 1963, 1978).
