Sublime

No person, whoever he or she is or wherever he or she lives, is denied the grasp of God’s heart. We are cherished by God, hunted by God, redeemed by God. And having experienced this, we are reminded that we are called to be bearers of God’s love and truth, and, as bearers, we are to bring that love and truth into our culture, where there exist the

Henry asserts that Jesus comes to us as an experience of love and acceptance, as a friend.

As one of the people, Beecher could more clearly claim God’s love. God, Beecher could say as a regular bloke, wants us to feel loved, to be happy and not miserable. Instead of having us cough up blood as we climb the hill of holiness, this God wants to be our friend—just as your pastor does.

But preaching the Gospel is a function of trying to reach the human heart, whether people are poor or rich or middle class. And the bad breaks and tragic mysteries of life exist in plenitude in a city parish.

Warren’s building, and his own style, represented an openness, even a partnership, in helping individuals find their own purpose by allowing Jesus to help each person flourish and overcome the malaise that the age of authenticity seemed to leave in the wake of its individualized freedom. Yet Warren did not do this by speaking against individualized