My “Yes” and Why
“The best place to be is where God puts you. Any other place is undesirable because you chose it for yourself.” 17th-century religious Francois Fenelon, The Seeking Heart
When outgoing Lakelight executive director Ben Dockery phoned to tell me he was feeling God’s call away from the Institute and onto a couple of other ministry opportunities—all seeking to tap into Ben’s massive mind and heart—my immediate reactions were disbelief, then sadness, then doubt. What’s next for this needed ministry? How will we continue building upon the strong foundation my friend and colleague had laid so well?
And who would be crazy enough to try to fill Ben’s shoes?
Hello, my name is Harold Smith. And I indeed may be crazy. Yes, I was privileged to be asked by Ben to be a member of the founding board of Lakelight; a position that allowed me to speak into the launch of a ministry effort that spoke right to my heart. But could this interim truly keep pace with all the operational tasks of this expanding outreach? (Thank you, Ben!) Even more importantly, could I continue to finetune the vision and mission of this effort, and draw more women and men to embrace that vision as we together seek to be, in Tim Keller’s words, a counterculture for the common good.
Granted, God had seemingly prepared me for this latest “surprise” in my previous 35 years of editorial, publishing, and chief executive service with the global media ministry Christianity Today. Over those formative years I was blessed to witness the effect of content that sought both to bring greater understanding of God and his word into the lives our readers, and model how that understanding informs our thinking about the issues of the day. And even beyond that, how that deeper understanding can not only inform the living out of our lives in the home, the neighborhood, our communities, the workplace, and in the public square, but also transform the hearts of those seeking to rest their humanity on something other than the shifting sand of our wind-swept culture.
I believe that Lakelight has been uniquely called to play a part in this transformative process through its exceptional, soul-directed content that enlivens our theological and biblical imaginations. (I’m thinking here of our past classes on the Psalms, the doctrine of God, and the writings of C.S. Lewis and Tim Keller. ) And quality outward-directed conversations that seek to reflect the true light of Christ back onto topics as varied as the implications—ramifications—of AI on the very meaning of our humanity and navigating the politicization of the public square.
Eventually in my praying over this decision, it was the attraction of this life-shaping, culture-making pursuit that finally had me say yes. And that has me now asking God to use whatever I can bring to this, His venture, to his honor and glory alone.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
One of my first tasks in this new role will be to listen. Just listen. To Ben. To Glenn Wishnew, Lakelight’s associate director. To our board. To the rest of the Limelight team. And to you. What have we done well? What could we do a little better? What biblical, theological themes, what cultural topics would you like us to tackle? And what speakers/ writers/podcast guests would you like us to invite to help us and you tackle those topics?
(Feel free to email me at: hbsmith2@mac.com)
When I’m not spending my time listening, I will be working to ensure that the tone set forth in all of our writings and presentations is one of irenicism—a distinctive so desperately needed today.
I don’t need to tell anyone reading this that we live in an angry, at times ugly, increasingly more confused world. The tone of our rhetoric—across all media and even behind some closed church doors—is more rage than redemption. More disgrace than grace.
This is darkness. But taking our cues from the Apostle John’s opening lines of his mighty gospel prologue, we know Christ’s light still shines in such darkness. And the darkness has not, cannot, will not overcome it.
We will, therefore, continue to look to speakers and writers offering a variety of Christian perspectives—and occasionally even perspectives outside of our faith—to expand our understanding of the pivotal issues daily shaping culture and impacting us. Armed with this understanding, we can better engage the worlds we live in with charity and a convicted civility. Modeling respect in our discourse, and so possibly to win some to the One who is the Way, Truth, and Life.
Lakelight will continue to bring Gospel conviction and Christ’s love to bear on the demanding, confusing, and, at times, all-too-divisive issues of our day. We will seek to rebuild the plausibility of the Christian faith in the minds and hearts of our culture one person, one coworker, one family member at a time. Or to paraphrase philosopher Charles Taylor: We will help those who dare to believe, to believe. And help those who believe to live into the fullness of Christ and their life in him.
“I came,” Jesus said in John 10:10, “so that they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”
That is Lakelight’s ultimate mission. To present Truth that brings beauty that ensues flourishing that leaves hope.
And that again is why I said yes.
Lakelight Monthly
Curated resources, delivered on the last Saturday of the month.
By subscribing you agree to with our Privacy Policy and provide consent to receive updates from our company.
