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The sword of the Spirit, Paul says in Ephesians 6, is the word of God—but what is that word? Obviously Paul is not referring to our present-day Bible, which was not even written at the time. He does not use the Greek word logos, which with its connotations of reason and logic is the root of the word apologetics, but the far less common word rhema—declaration, utterance, pronouncement. And what is the declaration that accompanied the coming of the Spirit? "You are my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

Perhaps the dagger that will slay not just the tired dragon of secularism, but also the sirens of consumerism and the wraiths of sentimentalism, will be not a logos but a rhema. The demonstration and practice of love in communities that live, pray, play, and—yes—think together has always been the real apologetic. In those shelters, where the greatest battle is against our own resistance to love, the church may find an answer to our generation's skeptical shrug.

Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

In 1997, Christianity Today examined the vision and frustrations of Francis Schaeffer.

L'Abri's site offers more information about the community.

There are several sites devoted to the life and writings of Francis Schaffer, including The Shelter and Antithesis.

Crouch is editor-in-chief of re:generation quarterly.

Many of Crouch's other writings are available at his and his wife's Web site.

Earlier Andy Crouch columns for Christianity Today include:

Consuming Passions | One man's "testimony" from the First Great Mammon Awakening. (July 10, 2001)

Generation Misinformation | Forget the latest PowerPoint seminars on Generations X-Z. (May 16, 01)

Dead Authors Society | We're no longer interested in tasting death but only little morsels of cheer. (Mar. 28, 2001)

Promises, Promises | Our technology works. But all idols do at first. (Feb. 21, 2001)

A Testimony in Reverse | I have discovered how inconvenient it can be when God actually does speak. (Feb. 5, 2001)

Crunching the Numbers | A modest proposal for measuring what really matters in church life. (Dec. 20, 2000)

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September 3 2001, Vol. 45, No. 11