Whoever desires to remain faithful to Jesus must communicate faith as he did, not by compelling assent but by presenting it as a true answer to basic thirst. Rather than looking back nostalgically on a time when Christians wielded more power, I suggest another approach: that we regard ourselves as subversives operating within the broader culture.

If prayer stands as the place where God and human beings meet, then I must learn about prayer.

When suffering happens, it forces us to confront life in a different way than we normally do.

A philosophy may explain difficult things, but has no power to change them. The gospel, the story of Jesus' life, promises change.

There is an "offense" to the Gospel no matter how graciously we present it. It includes the message that God, not humanity, is the ultimate judge of right and wrong, and that the choices we make here have eternal consequences.

Imperfection is the prerequisite for grace. Light only gets in through the cracks.

Perhaps the most powerful thing Christians can do to communicate to a skeptical world is to live fulfilled lives, exhibiting proof that Jesus' way truly leads to a life most abundant and most thirst-satisfying.