Understanding Truth within a Global Conversation

As each of you are on your truth journey, we would like to recommend a specific exercise to strengthen your understanding of truth and challenge your thinking. We are involved in the Lausanne Movement and they have launched a Global Conversation leading up to next years Congress in South Africa. This is the largest interaction of evangelicals in the world and it is a wonderful opportunity to see how our brothers and sisters understand truth as it applies to key topics.

Take a minute to visit the Global Conversation page, read the key articles and jump in on the conversation. Click here to begin!

Why is this so important? We are convinced that unless you are asking questions from the larger world, challenging your assumptions and humbly listening to others, you will never grow as Christ intended you to. It is easy to become more and more entrenched in our own ways of looking at the world, but it takes courage and strength to reach out.

Now we are not saying that it doesn't take courage to stand for what you believe and to not be swayed by deception. But what we are saying is that we need to be always learning, always asking questions, and always open to what God may have for us today.

Blessings as you join this global conversation!

Check out some of the reviews posted on Amazon

We are getting some good thoughts posted to Amazon about the book. Here are a few of the positive along with some of the more critical. You can see the full reviews by clicking here. We are so excited to hear people talking about this topic and considering it as something that impacts their lives, faith, relationships and outreach.

"This was a transparent look at the three major ways of looking at truth: Positivism, Instrumentalism, and Critical Realism. It is easy to read and avoids the textbook word use that would normally fill a book on this topic. I thought the authors approached the topic with gentleness and grace and it was not an assault on anyone's point of view." J. TenBrink

"Jon and Mindy Hirst take you through our cultural troubled waters with a canoe and a paddle. They help to identify and avoid serious rapids that impede our understanding of how culture bound we are. This is not an easy canoe trip, but as you cross this river you will learn much about yourself and your assumptions. Give it a hard stroke and you will be rewarded."--Jim Reapsome

"Like anyone who tries to figure out where a story is going before he gets there, I had the positivists and instrumentalists pegged early in the story as positions the authors do not respect very much. Characters from either of these perspectives are, in the book's portrayal, hopeless; they are stuck in their epistemology. It is only the Critical Realists who have hope, life, and healthy relationships. I was, at points, surprised not to find the Critical Realists described as wearing capes, masks, and tights. . . What the Hirsts want is for people, especially Christians, I think, to consider two things: first, that though there is objective, real truth, you don't have a monopoly on it; and second, through communication and community we can all better come to know the truth and life that God offers us." - Not listed

"My criticisms aside, the book does a good job of introducing philosophy in a non-technical way to the layperson. I highly recommend it to any one who is having troubles with family or friends and they don't have the language yet to engage holistically with those people. This book is definitely written with positivists in mind, and seems to have in its purpose a call for positivists to rethink their positions and move "through the river." As one who has already moved through much of the river, the book did not really give me anything fundamentally "new" to chew on (but then again, new is overrated). It did, however, give me a good book to recommend to family and friends who want to learn the beginnings of philosophy and its relation to a holistic approach to God." Daniel Kam

"Epistemology was once a topic confined to the college classroom, but practical issues facing Christians today benefit from a critical look into the way we see the world. After all, those lenses affect the way we relate to other people and share our faith. Through the River is an accessible introduction to the conversation." Ian F. Eastman