“I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now,” says Jesus.

“I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now,” says Jesus. 
 
The Holy Spirit speaks to the church; and we find ourselves rejecting some ideas that seemed like sure-enough certainties for centuries. The divine right of kings, trashed. Slavery, discarded; race-based privilege no longer credible. Male domination, rejected. Caste systems, overruled. Disdain for those who don’t fit prevailing patterns of masculinity or femininity, getting over it.

What is What Language Shall I Borrow: Reflections on Faith?

These are challenging times for the church, and especially for those responsible for a congregation. Ronald P. Byars, a former pastor, teacher, and now pew-sitter, reflects on how the varied “languages” of faith most effectively reach the faithful and the unfaithful in times both unfavorable and favorable.

Byars served as pastor of congregations in Fremont, Allen Park, Okemos, and Birmingham, Michigan; and in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1999 he joined the faculty of Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. He continues to write in retirement, living now in Lexington.