NT Wright and Dallas Willard have shaped my Christian life for the majority of my Christian life now. They are sages leading the way ahead for me as a disciple and minister. I’ll share a bit from their work on Wednesdays.
Here is a block quote from an older NT Wright source called Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship from 1994. The book is a series of sermons from his stay at Lichfield Cathedral in England.
And the resurrection of Jesus issues the surprising command: don’t be afraid; because the God who made the world is the God who raised Jesus from the dead, and calls you now to follow him. Believing in the resurrection of Jesus isn’t just a matter of believing that certain things are true about the physical body of Jesus that had been crucified. These truths are vital and nonnegotiable, but they point beyond themselves, to the God who was responsible for them. Believing in this God means believing that it is going to be all right; and this belief is, ultimately, incompatible with fear.
Joe Skillen 