Exploring Intimate Theology

Beliefs of the Heart invests in Intimate Theology, drawing each of us into meeting God in every area of our lives.

Latest Articles

Read our articles with the idea of connecting with God, an intimacy with the eternal.

What Does God Sound Like When We Sin?

July 27, 2022 by Sam Williamson

Years ago I told a friend of an embarrassing, recurring temptation. Over the next month, he shared my secret with dozens of people, spicing up my …

There Is Hope in Our Suffering

July 6, 2022 by Sam Williamson

After my junior year at University, I wanted to spend a summer abroad, but money was tight, so tight that my Sunday feast was Raman noodles. I found a …

Controlled

May 4, 2022 by Sam Williamson

Years ago I read a study asking people to list their earliest memories of world news. The results were fascinating, but I wanted to test them for …

Chasing Lovers

April 27, 2022 by Sam Williamson

During its first fifteen years, my old software company only worked with domestic clients. In the late nineties, we landed Oxford University Press (a …

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Cornerstone Content

The following articles represent key categories of my expressions of Intimate Theology: Hearing God, Grace and Morality, Nurturing the Life of God in Us, understanding Cultural Creep, and Christian Leadership.

Hearing God: Conversation Is the Point

August 25, 2021 by Sam Williamson

When I was growing up, my dad taught me to sail our small Sunfish sailboat. We took month-long summer vacations. We always camped on lakes, so we …

I Wonder If Sunday School Is Destroying Our Kids

July 23, 2013 by Sam Williamson

Several years ago I met with a woman distraught by her son’s rejection of Christianity. She said, “I did everything I could to raise him right. I …

The Secret of Connecting With Another Soul

July 28, 2021 by Sam Williamson

Early in my career, a client asked me to meet with her president for an hour-long lunch. Her president was an industry innovator, but, she told me, he …

I Wonder if Our Agendas Crucify the Life of God Within Us

October 18, 2016 by Sam Williamson

Seven years ago I met a mother in anguish because her smart, capable son was living in an abandoned house, playing reggae music on the streets, and …

When Obedience Doesn’t Make Sense

May 17, 2016 by Sam Williamson

When my family moved to Detroit, the summer between my first and second grade, Tommy was the first friend I made. He too was the son of a pastor—so we …

The Starving Lion

November 1, 2016 by Sam Williamson

A business owner I barely knew once phoned to see if we could meet. He was an aggressive entrepreneur, a roaring lion among his peers. Yet on the …

Hearing God in Conversation

Learn More about Hearing God

Almost everyone I meet longs to hear more from God. Sometimes it’s for direction and sometimes simply to know his presence. But we have concerns (How do I know it’s really God’s voice?) or we just don’t know how to recognize his voice.

Begin the engagement!

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What people have said about, Hearing God in Conversation:

Eugene Peterson

Pastor and Author

I picked up your book out of curiosity and I couldn’t put it down–and I read it straight through. (It made me late for dinner.)

Gary Wilkerson

President World Challenge

This is a remarkable book. It’s filled with humor, insight, and sound theology. I highly recommend Hearing God in Conversation.

Wayne Jacobsen

Pastor and Author

If you want to grow in your ability to recognize how God makes himself known to you, I can’t recommend a better guide than Sam’s Hearing God in Conversation.

Learn about: Is Sunday School Destroying Our Kids?

Don’t worry, I don’t think it is. But it can. God is calling us into an child-like intimacy with the Father which we need to continually soak in. We need an Abba and we need the Father.

What is the difference between Christianity and mere morality?

The world needs morality. Oppression thrives when consciences are abandoned. But we need more than morality. We need the gospel of grace.

How do we grow in grow in grace without abandoning morality; how can we be moral without becoming moralistic, and how do we grow in morality through a grace-fueled life?

Join thousand of readers who have delighted in this story-filled, thought-provoking book on grace, and who have grown closer to their Father.

What are people saying?

This is the best book I’ve read in a long time (and I read a lot of books). — LH

This is the most brilliant book I have read recently. I feel like I highlighted almost everything, because everything was wonderfully insightful and thought provoking … Thank you very, very much for this substantial book. — Jolene

Will be reading and re-reading this great book all throughout my life. – Jinwoo

This book is a must-read for every Christian, whether they are a new convert or a seasoned saint! — Michelle