Prayers for the Internet Monk

—Chris Krycho

This is an unusual post, but an important one. A while back, we highlighted a post by Michael Spencer, the "Internet Monk." Spencer has been one of the best-known Christian bloggers for quite some time, sort of a rebellious-but-still-orthodox counterpart to the likes of Tim Challies or Justin Taylor. His is a voice I've read and appreciated for several years, and though I've sometimes (often?) disagreed with him on various issues, I can honestly say that I've rarely seen someone who understands more clearly or more deeply that the answer to all of the issues facing the church is the gospel.

More Christ, not less. More awareness of the cross and the resurrection, not less. All the calls for authenticity in the church, all the calls for community and social justice and killing the pride that has been killing us—these are good things, but must be rooted in God himself, not in us. He has always understood that, and so I've always deeply appreciated his writing.

A few months ago, he was diagnosed with cancer. Now it's killing him. But he's walking it out well, by all accounts. We ask for your prayers for him and his family to be able to continue walking this out well—and for a miraculous healing, if God would be pleased.

I'll leave you with some thoughts from his wife, Denise, that were posted over at his blog today (you should read the whole thing):

It is with a heavy heart that I bring my latest update on Michael. We have learned that his cancer is too advanced and too aggressive to expect any sort of remission. Our oncologist estimates that with continued treatment Michael most likely has somewhere between six months and a year to live. This is not really a surprise to us, though it is certainly horrible news. From the very beginning, both of us have suspected that this would prove to be an extremely bad situation. I don’t know why; perhaps God was preparing us for the worst all along by giving us that intuition.

...

Michael went through a period of depression, as I’m sure you would expect. He seems to have come through that now, for the most part. He knows he is dying, and he says he is at peace. Though he will still say with unashamed honesty, “I don’t want it to all be over at age 53!” he has the confidence of knowing that he has run the race God set out for him. He believes he has done the work our Lord intended for him to do, and if the last task God has for him in this life is dying, then he will do that to the best of his ability.

HT: Justin Taylor