You read books like UnChristian, and you read magazines like Relevant and you listen to preachers like Rob Bell or Mark Batterson, and you get this sense like we are on the right track. Like we are a part of a movement that is more about what we stand for than what we stand against, and that we really truly care for and about people. You get this sense that maybe we have began to steer the bug ugly ship of Christianity back on the course that Jesus intended when he created the church a couple thousand years ago. But then you hear people who are fanatically defensive and completely delusional in their outlook on other human beings (enter the Obama/Warren commentators), and you wonder. Are we making a difference? Are we making Christ famous or just out clanging cymbals and making noise for our cause? I know that there is hope, because hope was the central message of Jesus’ life. And I know there is a brighter day on the horizon, because Jesus promises a brighter day, he reminds us that we can be a part of that brighter day. It is tough to tune out the talking heads who misrepresent Jesus everyday, but I know that it is my job to do what I am supposed to do, where I am supposed to do it, and continue to love God and love people. That gives me hope.