Wayne Grudem, in his Systematic Theology describes union with Christ as a phrase that summarizes several different relationships between believers and Christ. Through these relationships with Christ, Christians receive every benefit of salvation. These relationships include the fact that we are in Christ, Christ is in us, we are like Christ, and we are with Christ. The key union with Christ Scriptures are Colossians 2:8-10; 3:8-11 and Ephesians...

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is a term associated with the work of Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton in Soul Searching: The Religious Lives of American Teenagers.  Smith and Denton use these terms (MTD) to describe the common religious beliefs of American Youth. The essence of MTD includes the belief that 1) A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth. 2) God wants people to be good, nice, and...

Some time ago I picked up Dan Allender’s book about the importance of story, To Be Told: God Invites You to Coauthor Your Future. I was definitely intrigued and then attempted to take the essence of the Allender’s work and apply it to my life. Here are a few thoughts that got me started. Perhaps this will be helpful to you, especially as 2012 comes to a close and you reflect on your 2012 life story. According to Allender,...