Living in a Genesis 3 world

Mike Leake has been writing on suffering and the church. Here's how the first installment begins:

I remember in college being told that every church needs a purpose statement. In fact this principle extends to even the marketplace. Wal-Mart has a statement of purpose, your local car dealer probably has a statement of purpose, even my barber has a purpose statement. However, there is one statement that the Church needs that Walmart, the car dealership, and hopefully your barber does not: a statement on suffering.

The reality is that we live in a broken world filled with broken people. We live in a Genesis 3 world and not a Revelation 21 world. Therefore, people suffer. And when people suffer people have questions. We all want answers to suffering. The church needs a robust statement on suffering. Better yet, the church needs a robust statement on suffering that fuels a meaningful response to suffering.

Part 2 is also worth reading.