Exploring Jesus’ creative power:

The intellectual ground held by both those who believe in biblical Creation and those who believe in atheistic evolution is certainly a space fraught with dangers for ministers like you and me.

Some of us ministers, being trained theologically, do not feel well-equipped to address fascinating yet complex scientific topics like the genetic code, phylogenetic trees, and paleontological evidence. When faced with such difficult issues, we may fall back on just teaching people the basic gospel message. Others of us may recognize the need to address the area of Creation but run unprepared into the fray. Sometimes, we create more chaos than clarity. The question is, Is there an effective way to disciple people regarding Creation?

The importance of addressing Creation

It is important to discuss Creation for several reasons. First, researcher David Kinnaman has identified that a significant number of millennials leave the church because they feel that our congregations are shallow, anti-science, and not a place that allows for the expression of any doubt.¹ His research demonstrates that avoiding the topic of Creation is not an effective discipleship strategy.

Second, the beliefs that we hold regarding our origins affect our picture of God and, consequently, our relationship with Him. For example, a minister may feel that it is intellectually necessary to fully integrate biblical Creation with evolution, which will result in the position known as theistic evolution. The negative impact of theistic evolution, though, is that it cultivates the view that God restricts Himself to following the natural laws that we normally observe in nature. Over time, such a view can subconsciously diminish our confidence and awareness that God can perform supernatural miracles in our lives.

Clearing up some misconceptions

To begin with, it is worthwhile to clear up some misconceptions. First, there is a belief that science and Christianity are fundamentally in conflict. However, this is an unfortunate misunderstanding. Science starts from the position that the universe has an orderly structure that our rational human minds can understand. Since God is the intelligent Designer of both the structure of the universe and our minds, He provides the rational foundation that science needs to be successful. That means that science and Christianity are not fundamentally in conflict.²

Second, many people believe that the critical issue is scientific evidence. Evolutionists will point to what they believe is a growing mountain of scientific data that supports evolution. Creationists, on the other hand, will offer scientific evidence that they claim indicates a recent Creation. However, the real issue is not primarily scientific evidence³ because we are all dealing with the same physical data. Rather, the fundamental issue, therefore, in the dialogue between Creation and evolution is about the nature and existence of God and the way He acts in the universe. It is important to recognize that we are dealing with theological issues, not scientific ones. This means that, as ministers with theological training, we are actually well-equipped to address fundamental concerns.

Practical steps to effective discipleship on Creation

Let’s now turn to seven practical steps that we can take to effectively disciple people in our congregations with respect to Creation.

Personal, Spirit-led shaping. First of all, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to shape us personally in this area so that we are prepared to disciple others into a deeper understanding of God and His work of Creation. Therefore,

Step 1: Pray for grace-based knowledge and wisdom. It is very easy to charge into conversations about Creation and evolution relying on our rationality and wisdom. However, like Daniel and his three friends, we need to ask God to give us knowledge and wisdom in this area. Because we all have limited understanding and fallible rationality, we can easily misinterpret the evidence. Seeking God’s grace and wisdom opens to us the opportunity for us to receive greater, divine knowledge on this important topic.⁴

Step 2: Develop a Word-shaped worldview. As ministers, we need a worldview shaped by the Word of God. We must spend time reflecting on the Creation account found in Genesis 1 and 2 and other biblical passages such as Psalm 104, Proverbs 8, and John 1. Reflect on what these passages tell us about the nature of Jesus as our Creator, and then permit the Holy Spirit to use His inspired Scriptures to mold your worldview.

Step 3: Identify and evaluate your personal origins position. Basically, interpretations regarding the origins of the universe, our planet, and life on our planet fall into five categories: (1) theistic evolution, (2) progressive creationism, (3) young life on Earth, (4) young human cosmos, and (5) young universe.

Learn more about each position, and identify which one you currently hold. It also is important to evaluate your position and let the Holy Spirit guide you toward a position that is possibly more consistent with the Bible.⁵

Grace-based engagement. It is now time for us to step outside of the quiet reflection of our pastoral offices to engage in Creation discipleship within our congregations and community. Therefore,

Step 4: Listen with respect and care. Because we live in a world filled with a wide spectrum of beliefs and positions regarding our origins, we need to view people in our pastoral care and within our circle of influence the way that Jesus would. No matter what people’s views were, He valued and welcomed them as beings made in the image of God. Jesus listened to them in order to understand their interests and questions. Irrespective of their concerns or their position on Creation, most people want to know the truth.⁶

However, Jesus did not just leave people where they were. As author Max Lucado has pointed out, “God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus.”⁷ That includes Jesus’ knowledge and understanding of Creation. This insight is supported by author Ellen G. White: “In every human being He discerned infinite possibilities. He saw [people] as they might be, transfigured by His grace.”⁸

Courageous leadership on Creation. There comes a point at which we need to directly engage with the Creation issues themselves. But we should do so only as we are personally being led by the Spirit. Therefore,

Step 5: Lead your members in prayer and study of Scripture. Since the Holy Spirit can guide your church members into truth, it is important to lead them to pray about the issues at stake. This cultivates the spiritual attitudes of humility and teachability. It is also important to encourage them to study relevant passages in Scripture to learn more about God and His work of Creation.

You may wonder why we would commence with prayer and the study of Scripture rather than start with the scientific issues. Jesus told His disciples, “ ‘When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth’ ” (John 16:13, ESV) and prayed to His Father, “ ‘Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth’ ” (John 17:17, ESV). White confirms the significance of this: “It is through false theories and traditions that Satan gains his power over the mind. By directing [people] to false standards, he misshapes the character. Through the Scriptures the Holy Spirit speaks to the mind, and impresses truth upon the heart. Thus He exposes error, and expels it from the soul. It is by the Spirit of truth, working through the word of God, that Christ subdues His chosen people to Himself.”⁹

Here, we see the spiritual importance of allowing the Holy Spirit and Scripture to shape our understanding of Creation with respect to our spiritual growth and sanctification.

Step 6: Engage with scientific issues. As pastors, we can address the scientific issues in one-on-one conversations, in small group settings, and as a congregation in discussions on topical issues. You may facilitate such open discussions, or you may invite Bible-believing experts to speak on topics of interest to your church members and congregations.

Perhaps you may wonder where such discussions will lead. As you facilitate these conversations, you need to keep a few things in mind:

a. Nature contains significant evidence of intelligent design, including the fine-tuning of the universe, the genetic information found in all of our cells, and the irreducible complexity of living cells.

b. All scientific theories and conclusions rest on assumptions. It is important to dig deep and identify what they are. Often, implicit theological assumptions are being made, such as the way God interacts with the world, which may need to be questioned and even challenged.

c. Certain scientific evidence points toward a recent creation of life on Earth and even of our planet itself. It is valuable to explore such data.¹⁰

Keep in mind that you are not alone in this journey. Ask for the Holy Spirit to guide you as you lead out in the discussions.

Step 7: Provide courageous leadership. Finally, you need to provide courageous leadership on Creation. Being a leader means that you are aware that you may not know everything and that people have differing positions regarding Creation. Amid all those positions, though, God is calling you to lead people toward the truth while also respecting their freedom to choose what they believe. You can provide such leadership in two ways.

First, you can be courageous and honest about your position. My position on Creation is that God recently created our cosmos.¹¹ In the same way, you can provide leadership by sharing your viewpoint.

Second, you can direct people in your congregation to your denominational stand on Creation. For example, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has summarized its position in its fundamental belief #6, “Creation.”¹²

Leadership does not mean that you try to coerce or force people to believe what you might believe. It means being courageous and honest about what you and your denomination believe the Bible is teaching. Leading people to worship Jesus as Creator is what the Bible is calling us to do: “And he said with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water’ ” (Rev. 14:7, ESV).

Conclusion

God is our Creator, and we are made in His image—this is our most fundamental relationship with Him. While the topic of Creation may be daunting at times, it is an exciting and spiritually fulfilling area to explore. Take courage in the fact that the Holy Spirit will guide you as you disciple people into a deeper understanding of Jesus’ creative work and power.