January 11th, 2021

Hi there! As I am sure you are all aware, this world that God made is changing rapidly these days. As a church that believes in the concord of God and science, we believe that He used evolution as His means of shaping humans into what we are today. And even though biologically we have not seen much in the way of new evolutionary developments in the last several millennia since society has arisen, the society in which we live has begun to evolve at an increasing rate. At the same time, even as we evolve, God's nature and who He is remain the same. Considering it has been over 2,000 years since the majority of the Bible was written, there has been much discussion and rumination on the Bible, which has resulted in the rise of three distinct trains of thought regarding the place of the biblical texts in our evolving modern-day society. 

One perspective is that due to the vast differences culturally between the Jewish nation two-thousand-plus years ago and the variety of cultures around the world today, the Bible can no longer be used as a compass for navigating the moral waters we sail through these days. Those who subscribe to this position often find themselves either rejecting religion entirely or finding another, more modern way to access spiritual things. 

Another position is one of conservation; because God is perfect, the dictates and precepts of the Bible ought to be adhered to in both spirit and in actuality, and so, we must seek to recreate as much as possible the world of two thousand years ago today in order to bring about God's kingdom. In this perspective, most every deviation and change we have made in society can be seen as wandering farther from God's desired path for humanity.
 
The final position is one that acknowledges the cultural and historical framework in which the original biblical texts were written, as well as the ways in which society has changed since, and seeks to interpret the spirit of the Word in order to apply it as it pertains to the present day's technological, ideological, and cultural realities. This perspective acknowledges the timelessness of God's Word but also the reality that God created an evolving and adapting world. In a way, this perspective can be seen as somewhat of a middle ground between the other two options of wholesale acceptance or rejection. Under this more nuanced paradigm, we must distill what it is that the essence of Jesus' heart is in the biblical texts so that we may then apply that knowledge as we examine each aspect of our modern society through the lens of Jesus.

It is the position of Bluebonnet Hills that there are not enough citizens, Christians, or churches seeking to examine our world through this third perspective. As a result, growing numbers of people, especially in the younger generations, are finding Christianity and religion in general to be outmoded and/or obsolete, citing the historical atrocities of people who claim the banner of Christian in America and around the world as well as the political, economic, and ideological positions of many churches today that they see to be antithetical to what Jesus has called his followers into. If this trend continues, the voice of Jesus, the voice of hope, peace, love, and joy, will continue to grow fainter and fainter as our world continues to hurtle through the cultural cosmos. As Christians, regardless of whether you think modern-day criticisms of the Church are well-founded, I think we can all agree that we do not desire that outcome, and so we must do what we can to counteract the momentum that is building towards that end.

Thus, the intended purpose of this blog is to begin the work of considering and discussing our evolving 21st century world through the lens of Jesus, so that Christianity and its followers may better serve the Lord as well as understand how to revitalize the Church and maintain relevance in society today and into the future.

As this blog is just starting out, some of the form or nature of the posts may change as we seek to determine what exactly we feel led to use it for, but the present conception is that most posts will deal with a separate modern day issue, be it ideological, technological, a current event, or any other aspect of society and attempt to understand how we might view this topic as Christians seeking to follow the heart of Jesus. We also intend to post roughly weekly and keep most posts to a length of three to four paragraphs, but we will see how that pans out. Currently the anticipated authors of these posts are me, Kendall, and my wife, Ehigbor. 

Pastor Landon wanted to get a "young person's perspective" on these matters, so he asked us to undertake this task. Both of us have spent our entire lives in the church, me as Pastor Landon's youngest son, and Ehigbor as the daughter of her father who also has led a house fellowship for many years. Outside of our parents' churches, we have done our own independent study of the Bible and seeking of the Spirit of the Lord. With this in mind, while we share many ideological similarities with Pastor Landon, we do not guarantee or even necessarily intend that the posts on this blog 100% reflect his positions on these topics. Additionally, while we do our best to interpret the Scriptures faithfully and in line with what we understand Jesus' heart to be, we also know that we are human, and as such, we can only do the best we can with where we are in our spiritual journeys. This is to say that if you disagree to a greater or lesser extent with any of what is posted on this blog, we ask you to keep open hearts and minds and to give us the same grace and mercy that God has shown unto you. Even if you do not agree with everything that is posted, entertaining and challenging yourself with these concepts and ideas can help you to refine your understanding of the Lord and grow in your own spiritual journey, which should be everyone's personal goal when handling matters of God. Thank you for your time, and we hope to talk again soon!

May the Light of God surround and fill you.
 

--Kendall