Are You Facing a Problem or a Mystery?

I’ve been struck recently – recently as in the last 10 years or so! – by how frequently I hear people (and especially people in the church) name the challenges in front of us “problems.” We have a problem in church attendance. Biblical illiteracy is the problem. The problem is that people have a poor understanding of stewardship. Etc. I understand this urge. Faced with a challenge – and even more a challenge that has at its heart a threat – we tend to turn to our problem solving skills. That makes sense: we are, I believe, by evolutionary disposition and experience very capable problem-solvers. (Evolution definitely favors the...