A FIGHT CLUB I WANT TO JOIN

A review of Fight Clubs by Jonathan Dodson

This is the biggest little book I've ever read. I wish every author could cram this much pure awesomeness into so few pages. So much richness and power in fifty pages is rare.

The core of this book is a call to live the Gospel. Far too often discipleship focuses on the wrong thing. And Dodson points out how often accountability groups break down into coddling or legalism. I don't think its just accountability groups by the way, I think these tendencies exist in all forms of discipleship.

But Dodson calls us away from legalism and coddling to what he calls Gospel-centered Discipleship. The answer to the dangers of coddling and legalism is to recover Gospel motivations in our discipleship. Think of obedience based on delight in Jesus compared to legalism which looks at Jesus from afar only to discover examples of moral behavior, not to rejoice and delight in Him. Next we believe in both the promises and warnings of scripture. Drawn on ahead by the mind-blowing promises of God and prodded from behind by the warnings of a Holy God. Then there is the Gospel itself, which is both message (the report of the Good News which saves) and medium (the Person Jesus who purchased our salvation). Jesus has promised us that He will bring us to the end of our fight. There is also the call to begin and live the Christian life in repentance and faith. All of life is turning from sin and exercising faith in Jesus. faith that He will forgive and strengthen. Last in the motivation department Dodson points us to our need to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit and to depend on the strength that the indwelling Spirit provides. He makes the compelling point that even Jesus obeyed int he power of the Holy Spirit.

Dodson closes with a stirring call to fight our sin in what he calls Fight Clubs. These are groups of two or three people (of the same gender) who meet to help each other fight their sin. These Fight Clubs have three rules. 1] Know your sin, 2] Fight your sin, 3] Trust your savior. I personally felt challenged to recommit myself to mt accountability partners.

All in all a great little book. *****

PS - you can buy it or download it for free at http://www.theresurgence.com/

PPS - there are some great Fight Club questions in an appendix that address the motivations of the heart instead of external behavior only - very helpful.

IS THE GOSPEL MORE THAN A TICKET TO HEAVEN

Jerry Bridges starts his book the Gospel for Real Life by making two points. The Gospel is for believers not just unbelievers. And that believers must preach the Gospel to themselves everyday. So in terms of his first goal of convincing us that we as believers need the Gospel - he does this admirably and movingly. As for the second goal of teaching us how to preach the Gospel to ourselves, well I think the verdict is mixed. I think that I now better understand how the Gospel applies to my day to day life, but I’m not sure that I better understand how to preach the Gospel to myself. There was no point where he stopped and said, ok we’ve talked about propitiation here’s how you would preach that to yourself in this particular situation. It just wasn’t there. But I feel challenged to live the Gospel, to live in light of the Gospel, and I feel inspired to preach the Gospel to myself.

But his central argument is absolutely correct. That too many Christians feel that the Gospel is how we get saved and is the message that we share with others so they can be saved, but it is has no lasting impact on how we live. This view certainly has some truth in it, the Good News that Jesus has died to atone for sins and that we can benefit savingly through repentance and faith, certainly this is the message that we need to saved and that others need to hear so that they can be saved. But Bridges is right to tell us there is more to the Gospel than a simple ticket to heaven. The Gospel shapes how we live and is our motivation for Christian living.

But I want to highlight two chapters that highlighted for me the importance and impact of the Gospel. First is The Empty Cup which was an explanation of the Bible’s teaching on how Jesus absorbed wrath of God for us. This truth that God has no wrath left for us should change how we live. We need not walk around obsessed with whether God is mad at us for our sins, instead we should embrace this truth, confess our sins, and get back to serving our Lord. Because if we live defeated lives consumed with this kind of fear, we will not be faithful to our God. Embrace this truth, God has no wrath left for His children, Jesus took it all.

The second chapter I want to highlight is The Scapegoat. This chapter hearkens back to Leviticus 16. Where the sin offering is made on the day of atonement with two goats. One goat is slaughtered to atone for sins pointing to Jesus atoning work on the cross. The second goat was sent away to a remote place, this pictured a work of Jesus that is too often forgotten, Jesus bore our sins away. We have no more sin to feel guilty about. Remember the promise in Psalm 103:12 - as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. They are removed from us. Once we have come to Jesus we have no more sin to make us feel defeated and guilty. It has been punished and carried away.

So now we are free to make these objective truths subjectively real. We must remember we do not fight the fight of holiness to be saved or to earn God’s favor or to make Him love us. We fight this fight for His glory, for our joy, and for the good of the Kingdom. So lets take the Gospel truths and remind our weak hearts each day what our might King Jesus has done for us.

Thank you Jerry Bridges for another awesome book, you are a Pastor to many of us.

REVIEW - MAX LUCADO’S FEARLESS

Fear is an enemy to be conquered. This is a central thrust of this book. Fear is something that a Christian doesn’t have to live with and shouldn’t live with. Lucado spends 14 chapters addressing specific areas of fear that the Bible directly addresses. He does this in each chapter by taking specific commands from Jesus to be not afraid or fear not and applying them to our lives.

Lucado has a reputation of being a writer of fluff. I was told as a young Christian that his books would be a big help as a young Christian but I would need to move on to meatier books as I grew. Now there is an element of truth in this, but its not because of Lucado being a fluff artist. Rather it is because his audience is not bible scholars, it is the everyday Christian who is needs a word from the Lord that can be easily digested and applied to their lives. If you come looking for deep intricate theology you won’t find it, he doesn’t mean for us to find it.

But this is also his strength, because in this book he very clearly and accurately diagnoses many areas where Christians struggle with fear. So if fear is a struggle for you, you will find some help here. He addresses fear accurately and memorably. However, I do have a few quibbles.

There should have been more Gospel focus. The Gospel was presented in this book, however it was not consistently shown as the greatest reason to be courageous and have no fear. All the direction given was true and helpful, but it is the Gospel that most banishes fear from our lives. Also there could have been cohesion in the chapters - other than the topic of fear I found no connectivity from one chapter to the next. I guess if you like to bounce around in a book that would be a plus. My last complaint is a minor personal annoyance - why did he have to use a different translation for every Bible quotation. Now he wasn’t at Rick Warren levels, but it did get a little annoying.

Overall, good book, worth reading for new believers, and yes for all of us who struggle with fear.

SEDUCTION OF THE INNER CIRCLE

After the greatness that is Perelandra, That Hideous Strength feels like a knuckle-curve thrown from left-field. I mean the Space Trilogy’s concluding volume is set on earth and Merlin is one of its heroes. It was a good book, just a little unexpected; I’m told its due to the increasing influence of Charles Williams on Lewis.

But the most intriguing aspect of the story (to me) was the character Mark Studdock. He is a professor at the fictional college in the story and he has just become a member of the inner circle of faculty who really run the college. The odd thing is that he doesn’t actually seem to like the members of the Inner Circle, but he craves being accepted by them. It comes out in the book that he has abandoned one set of people after another, always trying to climb into higher and higher "inner circles." This is how he gets sucked into N.I.C.E., who are the real villains of the piece. Only after he has lost everything does he come to his senses and get his priorities straight. To his credit (what little he can be given) he is offered a chance to get back in and although tempted he refuses.

I think this temptation to want to be in the Inner Circle is universal, though maybe not as pronounced as in the case of Mark Studdock. If you’ve ever felt the thrill of a shared secret, passion, or hobby then you know what I’m talking about. Think of the camaraderie that comes immediately; think of the new dynamic that is created. I remember in high school there was a guy that I didn’t have much use for and he felt the same way. Then one day we discovered that we were both addicted to boxing and suddenly we were talking like old friends or a couple of chicks gushing about shopping (sorry about the stereotype). Something new had been created. Suddenly there was an "us" and a "them." Those who knew the thrill of a right-hook landing flush and those who didn’t (or couldn’t – the Inner Circle creates arrogance as well). He and I, and those who were missing out.

There is a danger of this happening to our Christian faith. With our churches, the danger is that "us and them" dynamic. With small churches, that danger is compounded by the consolidation of power in Inner Circles and the ability to know everyone well. But there is a danger for individuals as well. It can come by way of a fascination with a doctrine that has captivated us and then discovering a kindred spirit who shares this love. Instead of a doctrine, it could also be an author or particular book. But suddenly there is an "us" who loves so and so and "all those other putzes" who really should acknowledge the greatness of our doctrine/hero/view.

Why is this so bad for a Christian? The "us" and "them" circles inside the church hinder the Christian fellowship that is supposed to transcend all barriers. And circles that become Inner Circles undermine the Gospel itself. Inner Circles are exclusive by definition, but the Gospel demands that church be wide-open to receive all who repent and believe in Jesus. The Inner Circle is dangerous and seductive and must be fought.

FACE TO FACE WITH EVIL

Perelandra is my favorite C. S. Lewis book. In my less than humble opinion it is also his best. It covers some of the same ground that he covers in his non-fiction, but in the hands of a truly great writer story makes truth shine in neon unforgettable lights. And this is what Lewis does in Perelandra. And the scene where Ransom realizes that his antagonist Weston has become more and less than a man is particularly momentous.

This is the second book of the Space Trilogy preceded by Out of the Silent Planet and followed by That Hideous Strength. In the first book Ransom travels to Mars (Malacandra) and finds intelligent life there. Now he has been sent on a mission by the Eldila (angels, kind of) to do something on the planet Venus (Perelandra). There he meets the Queen who is living in perfect ignorance of evil, she relates naturally with Maleldil (Jesus). Then shortly a spaceship lands bearing Weston, Ransom’s antagonist from the first book. Quickly it becomes clear that he and Weston will do combat for the Lady’s future and for the future of all her children (she and the King have no children yet). She has been forbidden the fixed land but given freedom to live on the floating islands. Weston spends the book seeking to convince her to sleep on the fixed land against the command of Maleldil whereas Ransom urges her to obey the command. During the course of this long argument Ransom becomes aware that Weston is not quite Weston. There is one moment in particular when all clears up.

This is the moment when Ransom comes face to face with pure unadulterated evil. A thing which he describes in such a way that it sent chills down my spine and a bit of unease with the world that I live in. Ransom had come upon Weston using a long wickedly sharp fingernail to disembowel a frog-like creature. And this is the moment when he realizes that Weston is no longer Weston, that this thing only resembles a man, that Weston is no longer in that body, that it is being preserved undecaying but without true life in it. Then when it realized that Ransom had caught it in its evil . . .

“It looked at Ransom in silence and at last began to smile. We have all often spoke – Ransom himself had often spoken – of a devilish smile. Now he realized that he had never taken the words seriously. The smile was not bitter, nor raging, nor, in an ordinary sense sinister; it was not even mocking. It seemed to summon Ransom, with horrible naiveté of welcome, into the world of its own pleasures, as if all men were at one in those pleasures, as if they were the most natural thing in the world and no dispute could ever have occurred about them. It was not furtive, nor ashamed, it had nothing of the conspirator in it. It did not defy goodness, it ignored it to the point of annihilation. Ransom perceived that he had never before seen anything but half-hearted and uneasy attempts at evil. This creature was whole-hearted. The extremity of its evil had passed beyond all struggle into some state which bore a horrible similarity to innocence. It was beyond vice as the lady was beyond virtue.” 110-111

Weston isn’t quite Weston anymore. He is being indwelt by an entity of pure unbridled evil. What we would probably call demon possession/oppression. And this set me thinking about what it would be like to come face to face with evil. My first thought would of a vindictive schemer. But Lewis paints a very different picture. Hear Lewis again . . .

“Indeed no imagined horror could have surpasses the sense which grew within him as the slow hours passed, that this creature was, by all human standards, inside out – its heart on the surface and its shallowness at the heart. On the surface, great designs and an antagonism to Heaven which involved the fate of worlds: but deep within, when every veil had been pierced, was there, after all, nothing but a black puerility, an aimless empty spitefulness content to sate itself with the tiniest cruelties, as love does not disdain the smallest kindness? 123

At the bottom of this evil is a simple cruel desire to make others suffer. It is not a grand plan to storm Heaven. But, rather simply to wreak as much havoc as it can for as long as it can. According to Lewis then, evil is rebellion for the sheer joy of rebellion. I’m sure that that’s not all there is to say about the nature of evil, but this is surely more Biblical than Dante’s noble devil. Now I want to close with a last and most chilling account of the Unman (as Ransom called him) . . .

'But this is very foolish,' said the Un-man. 'Do you not know who I am?

''I know what you are,' said Ransom. 'Which of them doesn't matter.'

'And you think, little one,' it answered, that you can fight with me? You think He will help you, perhaps? Many thought that. I've known Him longer than you, little one. They all think He's going to help them -- till they come to their senses screaming recantations too late in the middle of the fire, mouldering in concentration camps, writhing under saws, jibbering in mad-houses, or nailed on to crosses. Could He help Himself?' -- and the creature suddenly threw back its head and cried in a voice so loud that it seemed the golden sky-roof must break, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.

'And the moment it had done so, Ransom felt certain that the sounds it had made were perfect Aramic of the first century. The Un-man was not quoting; it was remembering. These were the very words spoken from the Cross, treasured through all those years in the burning memory of the outcast creature which had heard them, and now brought forward in hideous parody; the horror made him momentarily sick.

Reflecting on Bradley’s Flyboys

I started this book with great excitement. Flags of our Fathers was one of my most enjoyable reads and finding that there was a sequel of sorts in this book I hurriedly got a copy. But the excitement turned to confusion. Then confusion turned to suspicion. The opening chapters turned back the clock of history and exposed some arrogant actions of our nation and he appeared to be blaming the US for the actions of WWII Japan. I began to fear that I had gotten another piece of elitist US bashing. You know the kind, they are ashamed to be American and spend most of their time talking about how backward and arrogant the US is (do you ever wonder why they don’t just move to France). As the book progressed I came to see that Bradley had other intentions for including the bits he did.

The arrogant act of driving our warships down Tokyo Bay had consequences beyond intimidating the Japanese. Japan came to see that they would have to change to keep up with the world, while not blaming the US it is clear that our actions contributed to Japans need to enter the modern world. Bradley carefully never blames the US for the twisted form of Bushido that was used to brainwash an entire generation, but our nation certainly had a role to play. Now at the time Commodore Perry had no idea what would come of his actions yet there were consequences. There are always consequences to our actions, small and large and we cannot easily escape them as I wished throughout the reading of this book. I wanted the US to be a spotless bastion of Democratic glory yet we came out spotted and our actions had many unforeseen negative consequences.

I have heard war described as an inhuman thing. This is certainly true. The very act of fighting a war, of taking human lives is goes beyond the pale of what we would allow in our everyday lives. The taking of life even accidently or innocently is regarded with horror, but it is the business of war, an inhuman thing without doubt. But what I learned in this book was that it also makes those who participate less than human. There are reports throughout the book about the Japanese soldiers torturing, beheading, and even cannibalizing captured soldiers (they were systematically dehumanized because their leaders believed it would make them better soldiers). But what I found most shocking was the reports of Americans who strafed schoolyards killing children. American pilots firing on fishing boats while returning or even shooting Japanese pilots as they were parachuting to the ground. I thought that Americans would be different since we were bound be Geneva conventions and had been raised in a society shaped by a Judeo-Christian worldview. Yet this inhuman thing called war turned young men into beings less than human at least for a time.

I learned a great deal in this book about our history, about the history of the pacific theatre of WWII. I also very surprisingly learned a great deal about the nature of war and its effects on people. I also learned a great deal about how far we can sink even though we are made in the image of God. But the lasting effect on me has nothing to do with American history; an old hunger was given a new dimension. The hunger for the return of Christ now has a new wrinkle for me. Because after Christ returns I will have no sin left to create horrific consequences, there will be no more war to take lives or deaden our hearts and make us less than we are even by nature. Let us long for the new world that Jesus will reign over where there will be true and lasting peace.

McCullough's Adams

I just finished David McCullough's John Adams, and it was an awesome read. I've been a book nerd my whole life and this was one of the best reads of my life. Despite the fact that it was huge and its sheer mass will turn some readers away, it more than repays those who are willing to invest the time in reading it.

Now I am personally convinced (after only reading this and 1776) that McCullough is one of our greatest living writers and I intend to real all of his books and I wish that he could live to three hundred and write a biography of every president and a history of every American war.

I want to point to two strengths of this book and McCullough in general. After reading this book I feel like I really know Adams. This is incredibly difficult for a writer to pull off. I have only really experienced this a few times and I read a lot of biographies, the only book comparable off the top of my head is George Marsden's biography of Jonathan Edwards. And I think that this is because McCullough is such a keen student of human nature and has the rare ability to communicate that understanding.

Second I loved that I was able to see Adams in all his human glory and shame. Unlike the presidential bio's I adored as a kid that presented the presidents as flawless heroes, here we see Adams as both vain and ambitious and simultaneously heroically sacrificial and loving and kind. This is something that we must always remember even our heroes are flawed fallen humans. This is very much in line with the Bible's presentation of man as both made in the image of God and as fallen sinner. Thank you Mr. McCullough.

PS - if there is a David McCullough fan club I would join it.

Reflecting on Twilight

The amount of attention that the twilight books and movie have received finally convinced me to watch the movie (I have not read the books). So the wife and I rented it and sat down to watch and I must confess that as a man nearing thirty I did not find the movie very appealing.

So after the movie I asked my wife why this movie/book has such a hold and power with her gender and especially the teenage variety. You see I found the obsessive nature of Bella and Edwards relationship to be, well, creepy. Edward is basically a stalker, sneaking into her bedroom to watch her sleep. Following her to neighboring towns. This is scary behavior. And Bella shows a complete recklessness in her love for Edward. He admits that he is really desirous of her blood and she doesn’t care because she trusts him. But how can she trust him she barely knows him and what she knows should terrify her. I found these things disturbing yet my wife said that there are the central appeal of the books. Women (young women especially) hunger for this kind of all consuming relationship. That 17 year old girls dream about this. (By the way I was a 17 year old boy once, Edward Cullen’s don’t exist)

So my greatest concern is that these books/movies provide a powerful reinforcement of an already unhealthy element of our culture. Many are tempted to turn their relationships into their idol. They see their romantic partner as the thing that gives their life meaning, Bella shows this in her reckless disregard for her own safety, the concerns and wishes of her father, etc. How many people cry out that without this person I can’t go on. When we come to this place in our lives we have an idol and I think that for young people (I’m told that some teenage boys read the books secretly) who are in their first flush of romantic notions this danger is especially potent. And this movie/book is powerful in its reinforcement and development of this idol.

As a father of two young girls I was very concerned about this movie/book so I went through the mental motions of having a talk with them about this book and I found that I simply could not encourage them to read it. It has no redeeming qualities that outweigh the negatives. So I do not recommend the reading of this book or the watching of this movie.

A Kingdom Without a Cross

I have been reading through Philip Yancey's The Jesus I Never Knew and one of the things that I really gleaned from his book is how Satan's temptation of Jesus kept recurring throughout Jesus earthly ministry.

The summation of the enemies temptation is this; have the Kingdom without the difficulty of the Cross. Amaze the people set up a military Kingdom on earth and do it without the pain, shame, and forsakenness of the Cross. This is what Jesus resisted and won out against in the wilderness against the enemy. And upon a cursory reading of the Gospel's we would think that fight over and done with.

But here is where Yancey's strange gaze has benefited me. This temptation is the central temptation of Jesus earthly ministry and it followed Him everywhere he went.

After the feeding miracle in John the people come to make Jesus King whether He wanted it or not, so he denies them their bread and preaches in such a manner that these Kingmakers cannot swallow. He was offered a Kingdom without a Cross.

Then he tells His disciples that He is going to Jerusalem and that He is going to suffer, die, and rise again (amazingly they don't catch that last part). Peter responds by rebuking Jesus. Jesus then does something that confuses a lot of us, He calls Peter Satan and tells him to get behind Him. Why call Peter Satan, he simply didn't want to see his friend and master suffer, right. Peter was playing the role of Satan here, once again Jesus was being offered the Kingdom without the Cross.

Then comes the strange night in the Garden where Jesus is so tortured in spirit that He literally sweats blood. How can we explain this when so many of His own followers died with courage and boasts. What do we make of Jesus asking for the cup to pass. That cup is the cup full of the wrath of God that He is about to drink in our place. It is so terrifying that Jesus expresses His horror at the Kingdom that comes with a Cross, but He never backs down. He rises from that last moment of temptation, when it appears to have been the strongest, and walks into the arms of His betrayer embracing the Kingdom with a Cross. He conquered fully.

This is a beautiful picture of our savior that should inspire our gratitude, love and devotion. But we must not think that we have heard the last of the enemy or the last of this temptation.

We face the same temptation today, we are tempted to build our churches by trusting in business models and church growth principles. We are tempted to think that our ministries should know only blessing and never suffering. We are tempted to believe that we should become Christlike overnight and not have to pay the cost of discipleship. We are tempted to expect the Kingdom to come without a cross, without suffering. Like our savior we must resist the enemy, deny ourselves, and take up our crosses and follow Him.

The Question of Normal

Awhile back I really enjoyed the movie I am Legend, to the extent that I wanted to read the book. Now I had a few worldview issues with the movie, but the book (which only shares a basic premise with the movie) raised many issues. The only one that I want to discuss is what I believe was the authors overall theme; which was the issue of what is normal and who gets to define what normal is.

I was pleased to discover that this was a thoughtful book that was going somewhere and had a point, the author was aiming at something. Now he chose a strange genre to make his point, but the point was clear nonetheless.

The story revolved around a man named Robert Neville who is the last human survivor of a plague that has turned the remainder of the human race into basically a race of vampires (not Bram Stokers however). Neville spends his days discovering the nature of the disease, killing vampires, and trying to survive. Early in the process of his study he reflects on the nature of the vampire myth; that they were a terrifying story of a people who lived in the shadows doing legendary horrible things. By the end of the book he discovers that they have learned how to control their disease and are building a new civilization that has no room for him. After he is captured and is about to be executed he sees many of the vampires looking at him with fear and he realizes that he has become the dark legend that will haunt their dreams in the future.

This is all driving to the subtle point made throughout the book, that normal is a social construct determined by the majority. Before the plague he was part of the majority that had determined that vampires were ok to hate and kill. Now the vampire are the majority so they are normal and now it ok for them to hate and kill him.

I'm sorry it took me so long to get to the point but, this book really got me to thinking about the concept of normal. And it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. The Bible doesn’t really seem to have a category for normal. There is true and false, righteous and unrighteous, good and evil, glory and horror, these kind of categories are abundantly found in the Bible but normal versus abnormal, well its difficult to find. But certainly as a Christian I had to believe that if there is a normal then it is God the creator who gets to determine who is normal and who is not.

The conclusion that I have come to is that there are two ways to think about normal as a Christian. For Matheson normal is something that gets voted on, but for us normal isn’t determined by our culture but by our creator, so the closest thing we would have to normal would be the purpose for our existence. There are many reasons given in the Bible for our existence, to exist in a right relationship with Him, to bring glory to Him, or to serve His purposes for the world. But it is here that we find normal, in our design. But I think that normal got a subtle redesign. The Bible says now that we are to be conformed to the image of Christ. This is our new goal. To grow to become like Jesus in His holiness, love, obedience to the Father, etc. So normal for the Christian is set in our design (which was marred at the fall) but is now also looking ahead to the future purpose for the redeemed children of God, likeness to Christ.

There is no voting only receiving from the creator. May we grow into greater conformity to Christ to the glory of God.

Reflecting on Visit the Sick by Brian Croft

In his little book Visit the Sick Brian Croft challenges us to a commitment to minister to the sick. I think for many Christians this might not at first glance be a welcome book. With the pace of life being what it is and with all the other demands on church leaders one more thing to think about or to move up the priority list might seem overwhelming or like an unwelcome burden.

Yet in this very small book (you can read it in an hour or two) Pastor Croft gives such a convincing challenge that all readers should feel not only convicted about the need for such a ministry (we already know its important in our minds at least) but also encouraged by the power of such a ministry.

He points both to the Biblical storyline; beginning with a creation where sickness was absent and ending with a restored creation where once again sickness is only a memory. Along the way we learn about Jesus’ commitment to the sick and the churches commitment to the sick. Several times in the book he also points to the churches history of caring for the sick, Richard Baxter for example. The remainder of the book contains some very practical and helpful advice on how to go about this ministry. I recommend this book very highly.

However it also left me wondering. Why do we need such a book? Why doesn’t the ministry to the sick in the Bible jump out to us. Is it the modern church conviction that ministry is for the ministers? That the Pastor is to do all the work of the ministry? Maybe partly. Is it just the busyness of life, that there simply is not time? Is it that we are so self-absorbed that we simply are unable to care about others? I think that’s closer to home. But I think another reason is that we fear the reminder of our own mortality. Some of us are afraid to die, even Christians are sometimes afraid of death. And those who are sick remind us that eventually we will get die.

As I read this book I felt the need for assurance in this Christian life. We who minister must minister from a place of assurance, but we also need to communicate assurance to those sick believers who are in need of assurance (unless we are not convinced they are believers).

PS - I want to offer some public thanks to the guys at Standing on Shoulders (http://standingonshoulders.net/) who gave this book away on their website. I was pleased to win it because I had honestly never won any drawing before and then I was pleased with the quality of the book. Thanks guys.

Inspiration from Soul Survivor

I just finished reading Philip Yancey’s Soul Survivor and instead of writing a normal book review (I have taken a book review hiatus, I will eventually write more) I will instead take his advice in the epilogue and reflect on those God has used to guide me in my journey in pursuing Christ.

Yancey has some odd mentors in his book that initially caused some worry on my part, but after he tells his story about growing up in a hate-filled fundamentalist church (not all fit this category but his certainly did) he struggled to trust the church or even God. We all have struggles and obstacles to faith. These may come from the rebellious nature of our own hearts or from the suffering that results from living in a fallen world or even from the enemy of our souls. Yet the journey is often confusing and with every believer it is unique and tangled, so bear with me for a few paragraphs while I take Yancey’s advice and reflect on my mentors in the faith.

First I must acknowledge the influence of my parents - Mom taught me to love - she thinks that she’s not very good at expressing love. Yet all of her sons have felt loved and learned from Mom how to share love in meaningful ways. Dad taught me how to be a man - that manhood doesn’t consist of grunting and spitting but rather is fundamentally about taking responsibility and being willing to sacrifice for others (in Dad’s case sometimes to a fault, sorry Dad but its true).

Second I would point to J.R.R. Tolkien. When I was in the sixth grade I stumbled across the Hobbit and was immediately hooked. I then went on to read the Lord of the Rings of course. What I learned from Tolkien was from his portrayal of heroes. Throughout my younger years (and to this day) my understanding of what a hero was came from Tolkien, one who courageously does what is necessary even when it means a great deal of suffering by one for others. This was what really captivated me. Seeing poor little Frodo suffering alone to save all of middle earth, that is epic heroism. Repentant Boromir fighting to the death so the little one’s can escape. I didn’t know it at the time but these are Christ-like heroes. In shaping my understanding of a hero, in some measure, Tolkien softened my heart to hear about the work of Christ.

Third (bear with me) is the Dalai Llama. In my junior year of high school I was once again prowling through the library (boy I was a nerd) and came across a book by the Dalai Llama where in very basic terms he explained what Buddhism was. I began reading there in the aisle and was captivated. He was answering questions from his perspective that I had never once thought to ask. I checked out the book and checked it out repeatedly for the next year. To a few friends I declared myself a Buddhist (sorry Mom and Dad). The positive that came out of this deception (for I became convinced that Buddhism is not true and actually does a very poor job of answering the big questions) was that I began thinking about spiritual things. I don’t think that before that moment I had ever had a spiritual thought in my life. So it was a kind of back-handed blessing, good coming out of darkness.

Fourth was John Lucas. John was the first person ever to invite me to any kind of Christian function. I had never been invited to church or BSU or anything like it in my life. Yet John took me to these meetings and shared the Gospel with me and after I became a Christian (and to this day) John has served as a guide and mentor to me as I strive to follow my crucified savior.

Paul Badgett was important for the biggest reason that it was under his preaching that I came to faith in Christ. But also Paul was faithful to proclaim the beautiful gospel simply and clearly week after week. Thank you Paul for feeding me the gospel.

Erwin Lutzer’s book Doctrine’s that Divide was the book that showed me that theology really does matter. That what we believe really does matter. This was the book that God used to kill all the post-modernism left in me.

Now I want to close with a few honorable mentions. Josh Owen allowed me to watch him be a pastor, husband, father, and theologian. He showed me that we can be all these things without neglecting our churches or our families, thank you Josh. Francis Schaeffer showed me that the Christian faith was intellectually beautiful and extremely logical, that we are not leaping into the dark. Mark Helton has shown me how to suffer with grace. My matchless wife has shown me the power of forgiveness and love (she has had much to forgive and little to find worthy of love).

PS - Yancey's book is a great read. His writing ability made this book hard to put down. But most of all the strange path that God used in bringing him safely into the fold was captivating. A worthy read and I've been inspired to read more by Yancey.

Top Ten of 2008

I recently saw that many of the blogs I read were featuring their favorite books published in 2008, I checked the books I read this year and discovered that I hadn't read enough books published this year to make a top ten list. So I decided to simply list my top ten books read this year. Some of them are pretty old some are new, but I loved them all. (Honorable mention: I read this little book of Yogi Berra quotes that made me laugh so hard). They are not ranked, I just put them in alphabetical order. Enjoy and feel free to share your favorite books of the year.

Steve Brown - Approaching God: How to Pray - great little book on prayer.

D. A. Carson - Ordinary Pastor - an encouragement to all of us ordinary pastors to persevere, and also for all of us ordinary Christians.

Murray J. Harris - Slave of Christ - revolutionized my understanding of an important biblical principle.

J. Gresham Machen - Christianity and Liberalism - Machen provided a devastating crituque of liberalism, in my mind completely establishing that Christian liberalism and Biblical Christianity are two different religion.

C. J. Mahaney - Humility - especially convicting was his challenge to always be discerning evidences of grace in others when many of us tend to see only the negatives, that chapter alone is worth the price of the book.

George Marsden - Jonathan Edwards - outstanding biography, made a man come to life when before he had simply been a set of sermons.

David McCullough - 1776 - really it should be a national holiday whenever a new McCullough book is released. We should at least throw some kind of nerdy party.

R. Albert Mohler - Atheism Remix - made us all aware of the new atheistic movement and then reduced them to ashes.

Bill Waterson - The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes - honestly it was a delight to find a collection of Calvin and Hobbes that I hadn't yet read.

Christopher Wright - Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament - my new favorite work of biblical theology.

Book Recommendation - The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn

Randy Alcorn is abundantly qualified to write this book. He participated in a peaceful protest of an abortion clinic that led him to be sued and sentenced to pay the clinic millions of dollars which he refused to do. The only way that he could avoid funding abortions was to make only minimum wage which he immediately did, resigning his pastorate and refusing his book royalties. Basically the closest a protestant can get to a vow of poverty. He learned to live with much less than he was used to and at the same time learned to give with less. So out of this background what he says about money and giving come from a place of personal integrity and experience.

The central thrust of the book is what he calls the Treasure Principle: the idea that you can't take it (money/possessions) with you - but you can send it on ahead.

He then unravels the Bible's teaching on the use of money throughout the book giving six treasure principles. I found the book very helpful personally and as a tool for a sermon series that is in the works.

Highly recommended for all Christians in our materialistic culture.

Top Ten of 08

Steve Brown - Approaching God: How to Pray

D. A. Carson - Ordinary Pastor

Murray J. Harris - Slave of Christ

J. Gresham Machen - Christianity and Liberalism - Machen provided a devastating crituque of liberalism, in my mind completely establishing that Christian liberalism and Biblical Christianity are two different religion.

C. J. Mahaney - Humility

George Marsden - Jonathan Edwards

David McCullough - 1776

R. Albert Mohler - Atheism Remix

Bill Waterson - The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes

Christopher Wright - Knowing Jesus throiugh the Old Testament

Love with Eternity in View

I have been reading Hugh Binnings Christian Love very slowly as a devotional aid and I came across this gem that I wanted to share with you.

What an unsuitable thing might a believer think it, to hate someone in this world whom he must love eternally; and to contend and strive with those, even for matters of small moment (importance), with bitterness and rigidity, with whom he shall have an eternal, uninterrupted unity and fellowship. Should we not be assaying here, how that glorious garment suits us? And there is truly nothing makes a man so heaven-like or God-like as this - much love and charity.

Hugh Binning, Christian Love, 27-28.

READING THEOLOGY IS BORING RIGHT

I have been told repeatedly that reading theology is boring and that church members will not ever read theology, we have to focus on programs and entertainment. Well I don't believe that advice and neither did Buddy Gray. He pastors the Hunter Street Baptist Church where they have started Theology Reading Groups (TRG's), and now over 800 people have read Grudem's Systematic Theology, and other theological works. It sounds absolutely intriguing and encouraging. So, I'm encouraging you to go read the article at Baptist Press.

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=28375

Reflections on Humility by C. J. Mahaney

I just finished reading Humility and it one of the rare books that I am sad to finish. It was a deeply challenging book that I wish every Christian would read and I am certain that every Christian would benefit from.

Mahaney defines Humility as “honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness.” I found that definition to be powerful. It was a humbling experience to be forced to realize that because of my sinfulness I deserve death and hell, that is what I deserve yet God has chosen to show me grace and mercy through the Cross of His Son. So when I look at all the good in my life I am forced to confess that I can take credit for none of it. It is all simply an opportunity to praise the goodness of my great God.

Two of Mahaney’s strengths shine in this book; he is always a gracious and is open about his own struggles. The book is not written as a learned treatise from a man who portrays himself as a paradigm of humility, rather as a shared education from a proud man pursuing humility urging us to join him in that pursuit.

Mahaney is also intensely practical. Throughout the book there is guidance on how to cultivate the attitude of humility. I found especially helpful his guidance on how to start the day and I am already benefiting from it. He advises that we should begin each day acknowledging our dependence on God and expressing gratefulness to Him. There is a great deal of practical guidance of this nature throughout the book. But starting the day in this fashion has changed the nature of how I face the obstacles of the day, how I approach the appointments and duties of each day, they are no longer seen as opportunities to work or to accomplish things or even simply to do what must be done; but rather as opportunities to rest in God’s strength and to see Him at work.

I commend this book to you and all the work of C. J. Mahaney. May God Bless him and preserve him so that he can continue to be a conduit of blessing to the church.

Reading Habits for Growth

I feel that the reading of books is personally a powerful aspect of my commitment to spiritual growth (not to replace or compete with the primary Spiritual Disciplines of Bible-reading and Prayer). However, like everything else in the Christian life we must be intentional about what we are doing. Growth in Christ never happens by accident. Sometimes it looks really confusing, but the seeds were sown and harvested, now I am not denying the work of the Holy Spirit in our growth. Nor am I denying the sovereignty of God in our spiritual lives, rather as a wise man once said, "we should trust God and keep our powder dry." Trust in the sovereignty of God should empower us and encourage us to strive to grow spiritually.

I think that this means that we should have a reading plan. I have combined the advice of John Stott and Albert Mohler personally and at the end of the post I will share my personal reading plan, not to exalt myself but simply to give an example of an intentional reading plan. John Stott says that every pastor should read for an hour every day, thus underscoring the importance of reading. Albert Mohler says that the pastor (I also think that this advice is helpful for all Christians) should read broadly and consistently in different categories.

I think we need to be careful to read toward our needs. For example, I read three books at a time, I have discerned three needs that I need to be addressing perpetually. I think that we need to have our minds informed and challenged. So I try to always be reading what I call a brain book. I also need to have my heart inflamed toward Christ. I call this my heart book, I try to identify authors and theme's that feed my soul (Christian biographies have proved especially powerful), we all need this in a continual manner. My last book is a book to keep my imagination alive, I am always reading a book of fiction or history to keep the old imagination alive and well. This is very important for a pastor, to stave off dryness or an overly academic air sneaking into the pulpit. I think that we also need to read toward our unique ministry calling. So if you are a pastor, read a book about being a pastor, the same for youth ministry or prayer ministry.

To get a little narrower, we need to read in different categories for our minds. As a pastor I have identified several categories that I must be reading in at all times, it functions as a rotation for my brain book. My categories are Theology, Biblical Studies, Church History, Practical ministry, Philosophy/apologetics, and the puritans.

Now in conclusion I want to explain why I shared so much of my personal reading habits. It's not because I think that mine are exemplary, far from the truth. I am really convicted about the need to be intentional in our reading habits, which is why I wrote this weird post in the first place, but it is also the reason that I shared so much simply to give an example of an effort to be intentional. The second reason is that I want you all to share your reading plan and give me some counsel on how I can improve.

Along these lines give a listen to the Mahaney, Harris, and Purswell. http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/Blog/post/Leadership-Interview-Podcast-1.aspx

A Review of Atheism Remix by Albert Mohler

I want to begin by saying that I am biased. I am a student of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary of which Dr. Mohler is president. I am also a regular listener to his radio show. Basically I’m a fan. Now in regards to the content of the book; I am a Theist, a Christian, an Evangelical, and a Baptist. Now with all (maybe not) of my biases on the table, let me say this is a good book. In a very succinct way Dr. Mohler addresses and exposes the errors of the New Atheists. A worthwhile read.

The New Atheists that Dr. Mohler highlights are what he calls the four horsemen of the atheist apocalypse. They are in no particular order Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris. He selects these four due to popularity and book sales. These are the first atheists to really strike a chord in popular culture instead of simply remaining in a passionate minority, the book sales show that something new is happening.

These four are serving as something new, they are evangelists for atheism. Not content to sit in ivory towers among other elites they are taking their message of non-belief on the road. They are bold, they are consciously rejecting faith in any God but the Christian God in particular, and they believe that theism of any kind is a cultural evil (to different extents) and that it should and will be eradicated. They also believe that it is time to abandon religious liberty (once again to different extents) since faith in God is so dangerous and they go so far as to question the right of parents to teach faith in God to their children.

Dr. Mohler evaluates the critiques of both Alistair McGrath and Alvin Plantinga. He finds both extremely helpful but underwhelming because both share the New Atheists acceptance of evolutionary theory. So in conclusion he contends that we must not advocate of defend the idea of God, but rather the personal God who has revealed Himself in the Bible.

Mohler is careful to point out that most of the people that we will share the Gospel with are not going to identify with the New Atheists, but they may be aware of their arguments and be influenced by them. However the New Atheists have picked the right battle. It is only the personal, supernatural God of the Bible that matters, and that is worth all the fuss.