Lynn Anderson, If I Really Do Believe, Why Do I Have All These Doubts? Simon and Schuster, 2000.
Referenced in: Strengthening and Renewing the Ministry Call
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
I have recommended this book to no less than 100 people personally, and have mentioned it frequently in my teaching and speaking. Lee Strobel also highly recommends it, and features Lynn as one of the interviews in The Case for Faith. If I Really Do Believe is an excellent resource for anyone who is weathering doubts, and quite valuable for ministers whose disillusionment about the church moves them to question their faith. In fact, it was Lynn’s own experience with recurring personal periods of uncertainty, even while in ministry, that led him to search for the insights he shares in the book. He dealt with unnerving questions:
Is the whole of Christian leadership a vast conspiracy of cover-up? Is the fraternity of Christian leadership, deep down, like the crowd who applauded the emperor’s new clothes? Is each one only feigning belief because he or she wants to fit in with the others?
He defines faith and what makes faith genuine, how faith comes and does not come. Next, he looks at the different forms of doubt, and how each contributes to the dark times of the soul. Then he discusses the journey of doubt, followed by five practical steps along the path to renewed faith. In typical Lynn Anderson style, the book reads like a conversation with a warm-hearted pastor, but feeds like a lecture from a seasoned scholar-churchman. I first read it as a burned-out minister, and I can recommend it out of my own experience.
From the Publisher
Faith is the most fundamentally important aspect of following Christ. Yet there are times in every believer’s life when the inevitable question arises in the heart and works its way to the soul: If I really believe, why do I have these doubts? The question may have been planted by tragedy or trial. It may have been ignited by rejection or heartbreak. It may even be as simple as an intellectual burr that can’t be shaken. If you or someone you know is asking this question, this book will bring help and hope to every heart in search of a deeper faith.
About the Author
Lynn Anderson has been in the ministry for over thirty-five years and currently serves as president of Hope Network, a ministry dedicated to coaching, mentoring, and equipping spiritual leaders for the twenty-first century. He received his doctorate from Abilene Christian University in 1990.
Anderson’s lifelong career of ministry has involved speaking nationwide to thousands of audiences and authoring eight books — including The Shepherd’s Song; Navigating the Winds of Change; Heaven Came Down; They Smell like Sheep, Volume 1; and If I Really Believe, Why Do I Have These Doubts?
He and his wife, Carolyn, live in Dallas. They are the parents of four grown children and the grandparents of eight wonderful grandchildren.
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