About
Welcome! My name is Lianna, and I am a believer in the Triune God of the Bible—Father, Son, and Spirit. The biblical image that most speaks to my heart is that I am part of the Bride of Christ. I will be wed to him forever. What true bliss!
Additionally, I am an author and a graduate of Moody Bible Institute (BA in Women’s Ministry, Interdisciplinary with Music) and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (MA in Theological Studies).
I have written about child loss and the book of Jude. I also had the privilege of contributing a response piece in my grandfather’s excellent work on Christian missions and the Great Tradition of the Church.
Northern Illinois is home, where I live with my husband and second daughter; my firstborn enjoys glory.
I enjoy reading, following politics, playing oboe, spending summers in the pool, fondly reminiscing about our three-year stint as Texans, and—of course—hanging out with my sweet daughter.
My husband and I are members at First Free Rockford.
Books
Keeping the Faith is a Bible study that takes you through the heart of the book of Jude.
In Made for a Different Land, I share who God was to me after the stillbirth of my first daughter.
In We Evangelicals and Our Mission, my grandfather shows how The Great Tradition of the historic church informs missions.
I write a response.
Feel free to learn more about me through my testimony, beliefs, and theological commitments below:
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As a child, I chose to turn from sin and live for Jesus—I dearly wanted him forever. I believe this childhood decision was my seed of faith. But in the years that have followed, Jesus has led me to increase my trust in him and come to better understand my salvation.
Since childhood, I have believed in hell as a real place of future conscious suffering for those who don’t believe in Jesus. And, in my sensitive spirit, I have always been afraid of it. As a result, I have tended to show Jesus the best in me—and only the best in me. I have had difficulty showing him my sins.
Yet, as Jesus has led me on my spiritual journey, he and I have looked at my sins together—him revealing to me areas of sin that my efforts could not restrain. I have learned to rely fully on his grace, not the “best” in me.
As a result, I don’t have to be afraid anymore, but can have a relationship with Jesus characterized by grace and honesty. Meeting him in this way has changed my disposition, motivation, sense of peace, approach to fighting sin, and more. While I used to have difficulties with assurance of salvation, now I know that I will be with him whom I love forever.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
You can read more about the gospel here.
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If you’d like to learn more about my beliefs, you can visit these statements of faith: EFCA Statement of Faith, The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, and the 42 Articles of the Essentials of a Christian World View.
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I affirm biblical inerrancy as expressed in the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy.
I believe in penal substitution—that Christ bore the penalty of sin in the place of sinners.
I hold to the primary tenets of progressive dispensational premillennialism, affirming that the land, kingdom, and nation promises given to Israel await literal fulfillment in the end times and millennium.
I affirm total depravity, God’s sovereign power to save, and the eternal security of believers.
In missions, I embrace prioritism, focusing on the gospel proclamation to those who have not yet been reached.
In matters of worldview and apologetics, I am presuppositional, holding that all reasoning begins from the axiom of the authority of God’s Word.