Hiya Storied people!
If you’re new here: welcome! If you want to get to know a little bit about this community and newsletter and the purpose we’re trying to serve, definitely check out Issue #38 (archived issues are available to paid subscribers only!) This week we’re back to our more “devotional” format, where we offer some verses at the top, a personal essay in the middle, and some questions at the end. We’ve been on this for most of this year as we really want these newsletters to feel engaging and useful and give you a way to participate with them as a wider community.
We’re glad you’re here. Now let’s get into this week’s issue.
Gabby + Chris
Mass Produced Faith
By Gabby Llewellyn
“The problem is, many of the people in need of saving are in churches, and at least part of what they need saving from is the idea that God sees the world the same way they do.” — Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World
“Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?” — Job 5:9
“I’ve had it with you! You’re hopeless, you religion scholars, you Pharisees! Frauds! Your lives are roadblocks to God’s kingdom. You refuse to enter, and won’t let anyone else in either. You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You go halfway around the world to make a convert, but once you get him you make him into a replica of yourselves, double-damned.” — Matthew 23:14-15, The Message
If you’re like me, you were raised on a faith that was meant for mass production. The Gospel was the pamphlet, and we Christians (through the Great Commission) were God’s human printing press. As the daughter of missionaries, I grew up internalising the idea that sharing my faith was practically tantamount to having faith, and the more you shared it the better a Christian you were.
But never was that message more brutally distilled into me than when I joined the Christian campus ministry, Cru (formally known as Campus Crusade for Christ, which I believe speaks for itself!)