My son had spent most of his life in small towns. We had a wooded area in a backyard that he would explore, and when we took evening walks, he would run ahead of my wife and I till he got to the next corner. But in 2012, my family and I moved to the city of Chicago. The differences between small-town and big-city life became evident when my son and I were walking on Michigan Avenue. On the relatively empty sidewalks of rural Illinois, my son didn’t have to stay by my side. Michigan Avenue, however, presented different challenges.
Thumbnail courtesy of Canva.com & Stock footage courtesy of soundstripe.com
Originally published April 22, 2024.
James Spencer earned his PhD in Theological Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and an MA in Biblical Exegesis from Wheaton College. By teaching the Bible and theology, as well as evaluating modern social, cultural, and political trends, James challenges Christians to remember that we don’t set God’s agenda—He sets ours. James has published multiple works, including Serpents and Doves: Christians, Politics and the Art of Bearing Witness, Christian Resistance: Learning to Defy the World and Follow Christ, Useful to God: Eight Lessons from the Life of D. L. Moody, Thinking Christian: Essays on Testimony, Accountability, and the Christian Min, and Trajectories: A Gospel-Centered Introduction to Old Testament Theology. His work calls Christians to an unqualified devotion to the Lord. In addition to serving as president of Useful to God, James is a member of the faculty at Right On Mission and an adjunct instructor at Wheaton College Graduate School. Listen and subscribe to James’s Thinking Christian podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Life Audio.
