The Simple Pastor
Simplicity & Generosity
The early church: unbelievably generous: I’m reading Henry Chadwick’s history The Early Church and there are some ... http://bit.ly/a5CIUn 12 hrs ago
Church planting is not an easy thing to do, there’s a tonne of things to learn and to think about. Good reasons to have some good books on the subject and I’d recommend from the outset adding David Stroud’s Planting Churches, Changing Communities: A hands on guide to successful church planting.
It comes from the Newfrontiers family of churches and draws much of its material from within that network, however much of the advice would be useful or helpful no matter what your denomination or church movement.
It doesn’t particularly deal with theory or theology but very much concerns itself with the practical and personal side to church planting. What’s your vision? What qualities do you need? How do you manage your time and gather people? How do you build community and maintain momentum? What do you need to be ready to launch publicly? As a result of it being broken down into its various parts and with regular quotes and anecdotes from church planters you can motor through this book quite quickly. However if you’ve never planted a church before, you want to be making extensive notes and refer back to it regularly.
I guess I have one slight reservation, one that was flagged up by Howard Kellett not too long ago, when he said,
“In truth “you only launch once” is very much the language of the big company product launch, reaching the self focused consumer. So the more I reflect on the term the more I don’t feel comfortable with Godfirst Church Cheltenham as a Sunday morning product and even less at ease with the idea of Jesus followers as consumers.”
And there is the underlying idea that what you need to make your church fly are good musicians, good teaching, good kids work and a comfortable venue. My some what jaded reaction was ‘Perfect if you want the middle classes’. But if you’re planting into the inner city, or a rural area, or even just your average working class neighbourhood then you may not have any of those things and still be a great church.
Now I know Dave and I know he knows that. So now you know that I know that he knows or whatever. But the point is, in the book there’s this edge to consumer values that made me a bit uncomfortable and I know it’s not just me because one of the contributors to the book has said so.
None of that stops this book though from being on the shelf of every church planter and every church leader who hopes one day to help a church plant or send leaders. This is hands on, down to earth helpful stuff.
I didn’t know much about John Milton except that he wrote Paradise Lost. I’m not really a fan of poetry so that’s not something I ever expect to read either. Still I decided to pull this little book by Rex Warner off the shelves and learn something about one of the greats of English literature. Sadly I came away disappointed. The author writes,
“Since the aim of this essay has not been either scholarship or objectivity, but only to give a personal view of those elements in Milton’s life and work which most appeal to one reader…”
As a result this is more eulogy than biography, the poems are perfect, Milton’s brilliance and righteousness are themselves almost without flaw, his intelligence second to none. Ho hum.
I did learn a few things such as Milton serving in Oliver Cromwell’s government as ‘Secretary for Foreign Tongues to the Council of State’ whatever that is. At least I can place Milton a little better in English History now.
But I didn’t learn much else, I don’t really feel I know who Milton was, his influences, his faith, his troubled relationships, nor even really his politics. Nor have I really grasped what makes him so great a poet and writer. So it would be hard to recommend this book, in fact I’ve never read a book quite like it. Not enough help to inform the uninitiated and nothing new to those already appreciating Milton’s works. I just don’t know who this book is for. Which may in part explain why it is no longer in print.
If anyone knows of a good biography on Milton, let me know in the comments. Thanks
According to CS Lewis the one unique thing about Christianity is ‘grace’, so perhaps there is nothing more important in living a Christ-like life than getting a really good firm grip on grace.
And Terry Virgo’s God’s Lavish Grace is one of the best books available on grace. If I can illustrate it this way, I think Philip Yancey’s What’s So Amazing about Grace? is the best book that illustrates grace, the stories demonstrate grace beautifully. Just a wonderful book.
Virgo’s book on the other hand teaches you about grace, it equips you with a more thorough biblical grasp of grace in the life of a believer, the difference between grace and law, (the treatment of Romans 7 being first rate) and how to both give of ourselves fully without drifting back into a functional works based faith.
As a church we’re going to spend the autumn looking at grace and this book provides a superb foundation. Highly recommended. Essential reading in fact.
Apparently in America the house church movement is taking off which is curious because in the UK the house churches of the 1970s and 80s are now warehouse churches or in schools or theatres or wherever. We’re seeking the buildings just as those who have had massive campuses are thinking they should let go of them.
Anyway, the subtitle to this 1988 book by John Noble is ‘A call to action from a prominent leader within the movement.’ Having found myself, in the sovereign plan of God (although it felt like ‘by accident’) in a restoration movement with its roots in house churches I like to read about its history and critiques from the outside and within, so I saw this going for next to nothing and decided to dip in.
John Noble has been a leader in the Pioneer network of churches since its earliest days and this book would have been written around 20 years after the heady days of the beginnings of the house church and charismatic renewal in the UK. As such it is an ‘insider’ view and for some of it you’d need to be ‘in’ to pick up on the names, prophecies and references.
There’s much that is familiar – foundations of grace, charismatic worship which is Jesus centred, generous giving and team leadership. All these things were affirmed then and remain so now. The chapter on hospitality and shared lives however didn’t ring true to my experience in this sort of church for the last 20 years – more the exception rather than the norm to discover families sharing life together or opening their home beyond the nuclear family.
In 1988 Noble detected ‘a settling down in many of the new churches. There is a grasping for middle-class values which in themselves are not wrong, but are not Christian either’. Which was spot on and on the whole, I think, those middle class values have had the upper hand. Although if the values aren’t Christian then for the Christian they are wrong, so this was a pulled punch I think.
Then come the challenges to remain committed to word, works and wonders. I’m grateful that in Newfrontiers we’re seeing an increasing number of healings, deeper commitment to engage in society at every level and to keep doing our best to faithfully preach the Bible.
We differ on the inclusion of women in eldership (not as so many detractors say to leadership) with Noble being egalitarian. Followed by a short chapter encourages the agenda being picked up by the Everything conference to influence culture and to see the kingdom advance through evangelism and one on working with other denominations and branches of the church.
The chapter titled ‘Objective 2000′ is interesting given that we are now ten years on the other side. Sadly his hope that the ‘last ten years of the millenium are actually going to be a tremendous period of ingathering’ wasn’t fulfilled.
Noble ends with a curious piece of eschatology that sees different ages in the Bible linked to the various days of creation in Genesis to conclude that we are in the sixth day before the return of Christ for a 1000 years (the 7th day) after which is the 8th and unending day of the new heavens and new earth.
All in all this is an interesting snapshot of the values and hopes of the new church streams 20 years ago but 20 years or so from their inception. As you would expect many still hold while others have changed. It’s an interesting read if you have an interest in this growing niche of history but otherwise not one to particularly seek out.
I’m trying to read some of the books that have been hanging around for a while and this one was an old A-Level history text book. So Europe 1815-1945 by Anthony Wood isn’t the most gripping of reads but remains fascinating nonetheless.
Dealing with 130 years of European history inevitably means a big picture approach however the book would have benefited from fleshing out the lives and personalities of the more dominant figures (Metternich, Bismarck, Napoleon III, Tsar Nicholas, Kaiser Wilhelm, Emperor Francis Joseph, Cavour, Wilson, Churchill, Hitler, Lenin and Stalin etc…).
The book regularly deals with social, economic and internal political developments across the various parts of Europe but it comes alive when dealing with the international political scene. So much happens in a relatively short period of history the consequences of which we are still living with.
We enter at the end of the Napoleonic wars and Europe remains under the sway of kings and emperors. The dominant powers are Great Britain, Austria and Russia with a humbled France and the growing power of Prussia. The Ottoman empire is still huge but waning. Revolutions come and go but the industrial revolution takes hold and with it the birth of powerful ideas – socialism, communism, trade unionism, democracy.
By the mid 19th century old nations disappear and new nations arise, the map of Europe is redrawn with the unification of Italy and Germany. The nations of the former Yugoslavia, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Finland, Albania, Greece didn’t yet exist in their current form.
Imperialism and the growth of Empire shapes the world map and we begin the descent into the madness of WWI. Never has there been a conflict so pointless, so damaging with the loss of so many lives. If ever you wanted a conflict to illustrate the senselessness of war then the first world war is the place to look.
From there Europe changes all over again as monarchies give way to republics, new nations arise but everything is fragile and fascism offers strength and boldness. The second world war in many ways the opposite of the first mobile, dynamic, unjustified aggression and justified resistance.
I’ve been educated and fascinated simply be becoming freshly acquainted with these events, seeing the growth of globalisation and the intertwining of economies, the struggle for ideas, the drift towards unification in Europe and the willingness to go to war.
I intend to read some more history soon.
I discovered Bill Clinton’s Giving: How each of us can change the world a few months back for the bargain price of £2.50 down at the haven that is Hay-on-Wye. I was hopeful.
It’s a straightforward enough guide to giving, talking about money, time, things, skills. It also takes a look at giving into a variety of areas such as micro-finance such as Kiva, or to entrepreneurs, foundations and NGOs and the role government plays in poverty reduction.
It’s a view of the world that very few people could provide, with almost unparalleled access to the world’s biggest organisations, richest donors (like Bill & Melinda Gates), biggest stars (like Bono) that allows him to see the best ideas, the best practices and the best opportunities. And there are a lot of good ideas around, from the chess clubs that help raise exam performance in the poorest schools in the US, or malaria reduction in Rwanda its evident that there are a lot of people working at doing a lot of good. There is hope.
There are a lot of resources too, with plenty of links to useful organisations and a helpful bibliography. I’ve noted a few of the books to try and get hold of.
The emphasis is on encouraging giving but it demonstrated to me that the world knows very little when it comes to the issue of giving, the sums and percentages are quite small and the framework for giving quite limited. It’s quite an opportunity for the church, we could be (and absolutely SHOULD be) at the forefront of giving – people who regularly hit 10% minimum and desire to go far beyond it.
However this is not a great book, the style is quite dry with one case study after another, no real passion and no real style in the delivery, inspirational stories told without inspiration. Workmanlike was the word that ran through my brain as I read this book. I devour books on giving and this one was tough chewing, not because it’s bad but because it’s dry.
If you’re involved in development work then actually this gives a good big picture of some very interesting and innovative programmes, if you don’t have faith then this indeed may be a good book to read on giving, but there’s a bigger and richer world on giving out there for those of us who follow the Great Giver.
The Trials of Theology: Becoming a ‘proven worker’ in a dangerous business is a collection of essays from voices past and present aimed at keeping the student of theology in touch with the God who is the both the object and subject of our study.
With contributions from Augustine, Luther, Spurgeon, BB Warfield, Bonhoeffer and CS Lewis the first part alone makes this book both readable and worthy of purchase. They cover the heart and soul of the student, why we depend on God’s grace, why devotions and worship matter to the theology student, why community matters and some dangers to avoid.
The dangers are clear that our understanding and adoration of God can be ‘lessened’ not heightened by greater knowledge, that we can depart from faithfulness and spiritual vitality. We can become empty vessels devoid of treasure who have mistaken their role as clay for that of potter.
The second half from voices present features contributions from John Woodhouse (Moore Theological Seminary, Sydney) on the trials of being at theological college, Don Carson on Biblical Studies, Carl Trueman on Church history, Gerald Bray on systematic theology and Dennis Holliger on Christian ethics.
I found this section harder going, Carson’s essay aside, and found it less vibrant, a bit more wordy and sluggish. However, I would have been very grateful if someone had given this to me before I set off to study theology and even more grateful if they’d taken the time to see if I’d read it and taken it in.
Studying theology is a wonderful privilege and one I didn’t make the most of us, I succumbed to the dangers perhaps even before arriving at university and I’d certainly feel more competent as a leader had I paid more attention or been inspired by the voices from the past.
Recommended reading for all those about to begin theological training and study, and a good reminder for those of us who still dabble.
I recently reviewed Martin Downes book Risking the Truth and Martin has responded with a response to my review which I’m grateful for. This is good because this is a healthy debate. There are areas where I may not have been sufficiently clear and while of course there may well still be disagreement we can at least be clear about it (and hopefully gracious).
Martin helpfully expands on the motivation behind the book quoting 1 Timothy 6:3-5 and then writes,
“Part of the reason for the blog, and the book, is to promote a better understanding of these issues [heresy] and to promote responsible ways of handling them. In order to do that we have to take error with apostolic seriousness. In some circles there is a lack of seriousness about error, in others this seriousness can tip over into pre-occupation. We have to safeguard ourselves from both of these dangers.”
This goes some way to responding to my comment that the tone of the book was ‘defensive and fearful’, as Martin explains,
“The defensiveness is bound up with the nature of the book. I set out to ask questions about the errors that we are facing and how we should respond to them. Defending the faith is commanded in Scripture (Jude 3, 2 Timothy 1:14, Titus 1:9; Rev. 2:2, contrast that with 2:20). So being defensive is not, in and of itself, something negative that we should shy away from or feel bad about. Every day as a parent I protect my children from harm. So, the adjective is appropriate, and to be expected. In fact the apostle Paul uses militaristic language on several occasions to describe the Christian life in general and the work of pastoral ministry in particular.”
In many ways I understand this, the subtitle is after all ‘handling error in the church’ and as I said in the book there are several very helpful chapters, especially those dealing with a specific doctrinal focus. But let me expand on Martin’s reference to protecting children from harm, which is something every parent must do. The question is not simply a matter of whether or not this is an important task (it is) but what is the best way of doing so. How do we prepare our children for the inevitable moment when they face danger?
Let me switch metaphors to something I feel I know more about, football. Some teams approach a game determined not to lose, others approach the game setting out to win. Both teams will be aware of the dangers the opposition present but their ways of dealing with that are very different. One team puts 11 men behind the ball and its backs to the wall for 90 minutes, the other team still has a defence but seeks to score as many goals as possible.
So before I stretch the analogy too far, I hope I’ve made my point. Even though the questions Martin asked were about the dangers we face, the answers rarely equipped me with more confidence for Kingdom advance but left me hoping just to survive the onslaught of error from inside and outside the church, or in some cases worry that I wasn’t adding to the error!
So much for defensive, but what about ‘fearful’? I think it has to do with ‘tone’, some very healthy people are very worried about getting sick. Talk to one of those people and you will probably leave quite worried about your own state of health. As I read, an impression of what is being conveyed to me builds, this is of course very subjective and other readers may respond differently and that’s fair enough, but this was my impression.
Martin then responds to my description of the ‘narrow’ view of some of the ‘reformed’. Martin writes,
“On who might be saved or not then we must be as broad and narrow as Paul is in 1 Corinthians 15:1-10.”
Which I’m happy to agree with, I just wasn’t convinced all the contributors to his book did. Let me explain because it relates to the next point where a convinced ‘cessationist’ sounds forth about charismatics. Let me just add though that Martin had hoped to include Grudem and Driscoll but they were unavailable and rightly points out that other disagreements existed and that’s fair enough. My point was again broader than the cessationist vs charismatic disagreement but it serves well as an example. To that contributor charismatics are in error, it is heresy and those who practice it are deceived and then went (I felt) further to imply that they probably aren’t even Christians. Lines were drawn in places quite different to 1 Cor 15:1-10.
This left me personally feeling that by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, actually wasn’t enough. Instead it needed to be a specific kind of ‘faith’. I doubted if I’d be able to share communion with many of these men who I one day hope to stand alongside for eternity and worship Jesus with them, and that I think is sad.
Nearing the end now, I said “all claim that the Westminster Confession and others like it are not Scripture but equally it is true that you won’t find anything in Scripture that contradicts these confessions either!” To which Martin replied,
“This is par for the course. Whether you hold to a fairly minimalist evangelical statement of faith or a more maximalist Reformed confession, you only want things in there that you believe Scripture teaches. If it’s not in Scripture then you don’t want it in your confessional statement.”
Which isn’t quite what I meant, so perhaps I should have been clearer. If I asked all of the people whether the Westminster Confession, for example, was equal in authority to Scripture? All of them (I hope) would reply ‘no.’ If I reframed the question and asked, ‘Does Scripture teach the Westminster Confession?’ you’d expect them to answer positively. What concerned me was how closely entwined the two documents seemed, one a simple elucidation of the other, to believe the one is to believe the other but also the converse to not believe the one is to not believe the other.
If you start with the Bible this is fair enough, if I don’t believe the Bible I won’t believe the Westminster Confession. But what if it’s the other way round, is it true that if I don’t accept the Westminster Confession (or at least not all of it) I don’t accept the Bible? And the answer, it seemed to me from some of the contributors at least, was ‘yes.’ Which was why I expressed my concern.
Lastly, I commented on the ‘seriousness’ of the whole enterprise of involvement in the church and a question as to whether there was any joy in it. Martin responded by saying,
“That the accent in the book should be on seriousness does not mean that there is an agenda to suppress or neglect joy. To even suggest otherwise would be to cast aspersions on these men and their ministries.”
No aspersions intended. Two observations in my life have I guess informed this response in me, so I’m quite prepared to say that this could have been my reaction to the book, and not the book itself. Firstly, let me reflect on my upbringing as an example. Growing up in a Christian home we had a fairly conservative approach to a Sunday as a family. We dressed up and we went to church where my father was pastor but the rest of the day became about what we couldn’t do and not about what we could do. No TV, no football, no going round to friends because it was ‘the Lord’s day’ and so on so that sooner or later Sunday became the most joyless day in the week rather than the most joyful. This was a shame.
The other observation is that the most miserable, dour, joyless Christians I’ve ever met have all been ‘reformed.’ It happened too often to simply be a personality thing, instead it seemed that it was a culture thing. The ‘joy’ was in how serious everything was. Getting a smile or a laugh from these guys was nothing short of a miracle but then they didn’t believe in those.
Now I don’t want to tar the author of this book with that brush but I felt that the same ‘culture’ of gravity was evident in the answers and I reacted against that culture.
One of the greatest discoveries I’ve ever made was when I realised I could enjoy worshipping Christ, that it should make me both weep and laugh, that this grace that saved me should at times cause me shout at the top of my lungs ‘hallelujah’, that I of all people should delight in the freedom that Christ has won for me on the cross, and I’ve not discovered a way to do any of that without smiling or letting that joy cross my face. I hope the contributors would join me in this, but I worried that they wouldn’t.
Heresy is a dangerous thing, it can shipwreck faith and so pastors and leaders must learn how to recognise it and handle it well. To that end, portions of this book succeed admirably while others, in this reader’s humble opinion enlarged the field of heresy unhelpfully.
Reading this book was a frustrating experience. Any story about surviving the Rwandan genocide and learning how to forgive should be both deeply shocking, moving, challenging. In some ways this book is, but it falls short in so many ways.
First the positives. It is a compelling story, Eric Irivuzumugabe and his uncles spent nearly two weeks hiding high up in some cypress trees while all around them the genocide raged. Their survival was amazing and in some cases miraculous, the stories of those that died horrific. Eric’s testimony of how God saved him, taught him to forgive and then help others do the same is wonderful.
However, the writing is of fairly poor quality. It is possible that Eric did indeed narrate the story as you read it in the book. The book may be in effect a transcript. In which case it needed some editing. But (in my personal opinion) when dealing with something as inherently dramatic as Rwanda in 1994 when it comes to adjectives less is definitely more. Phrases such as ‘brutish guns’ or ‘the militia like rabid wolves’, ‘peering into the black atmosphere’ just get stuck in your throat. Why not just ‘peering into the dark/night’?
So I just found it irritating, the writing got in the way of a good story. The task of the writer is to be invisible so that the power of the story shines through. This wasn’t the case here.
Secondly, it lacked sufficient context – the map was inadequate (not worth including) and the history and background limited – the glossary at the back is just about adequate with some basic errors (it mistakes population of Kigali for population of Rwanda). It doesn’t even mention neighbouring Burundi Sadly, for many we need educating about what happened and this did barely enough to set the scene across the nation so that as we listened to Eric tell his story, it all made sense. The description of the RPF (the current government) as heroic is not exactly nuanced.
I won’t go on, I just felt disappointed. The story deserved better.
Risking the Truth: Handling error in the church by Martin Downes is a collection of twenty interviews, plus an introductory and two concluding chapters, with a variety of reformed church leaders and professors from around the world. Interviewees include Carl Trueman, Tom Schreiner, Michael Horton, Mark Dever, Michael Ovey, Ligon Duncan and Greg Beale and so should give readers a good insight into the concerns and issues that reformed leaders believe they are facing.
The whole tone of the book is somewhat defensive though, the questions posed are all about the dangers reformed Christianity faces. The world is full of error, heresy, false teachers, sin and the devils schemes and if some of these leaders are to be believed the church is worse.
The book is at its best when the interview has a specific focus such as Greg Beale on inerrancy, Robert Peterson on the doctrine of hell, Ligon Duncan on the Federal Vision and New Perspective on Paul and Kim Riddlebarger on amillenianism against dispensationalism. These interviews are interesting and insightful as each has a specific and clear contribution to a broader debate and will serve pastors well.
Conversely the other chapters are less interesting and less helpful, the questions are generic and don’t always add very much to anything in particular unless you’re interested in that particular pastors point of view. The one exception to that is the interview with Conrad Mbewe giving as it does the perspective of a reformed pastor in Zambia which brings a different and unique viewpoint.
The world of the ‘reformed’ is increasingly in the spotlight, enjoying something of a revival especially in the USA and yet despite this resurgence remains a group, if this volume is anything to go by, is defensive and rather fearful. So while this volume is aimed at those inside the reformed movement it will do little to attract others to reformed Christianity.
Here are a few observations from the various interviews, firstly it would be a mistake to view ‘reformed’ as a uniform block. There are narrow, very narrow and extremely narrow views as to who is acceptable and who might be saved. I find myself excluded by many.
One view put forward is that anyone who claims ‘the gift of miracles and healing is a crook and a liar’, while ‘tongues speaking is gibberish’ and the main theological dangers confronting us today include the introduction of drums into worship, the use of humour, powerpoint and women reading the Bible in church.
Secondly, all claim that the Westminster Confession and others like it are not Scripture but equally it is true that you won’t find anything in Scripture that contradicts these confessions either!
Lastly, it seems that being ‘reformed’ remains a very serious business indeed, being a Christian remains a serious undertaking, teaching in a seminary more serious still while leading a church is such a serious business that one wonders where joy is to be found among those who love the ‘doctrines of grace’.
I’ve been meaning to review this one for a couple of weeks now. Tony Hawks has made most of his varied career as an entertainer it seems from writing. I’ve certainly laughed now through three of them.
Hawks specialises in weird travel, after all Round Ireland with a Fridge, & Playing the Moldovans at Tennis, are hardly standard travel fare. This is life at is creative, unplanned and slightly chaotic edge.
In this case Hawks buys on a house in the south of France following a conversation about his purpose in life while down the pub with some of his middle-aged mates. It turns out neither to be a disaster nor especially dramatic but mildly amusing in the way you might expect when you get a clash of cultures and a bloke who’s idea of planning is to get out of bed in the morning.
It’s not as laugh out loud funny as Round Ireland with a Fridge (His attempts at buying a van is funny though) and it gets a bit maudlin towards the end as Hawks finds love, but its entertaining and amusing, with a nice line in self deprecation and a comics view on life, love and the French. Worth a read if you’re on holiday, especially if you’re in France and you don’t want your brain to have to make much effort on anything.
John Stott is 89, and few men have had such a profound influence on evangelicalism in Britain. If you were fortunate enough to be sitting down with him and were to ask this man who has followed and preached Christ for more than 60 years for his distilled wisdom and advice in how to do that great task better, I’m confident you would be all ears. It would be foolishness not to listen very carefully to everything he had to say, they should have a profound impact on your life.
That’s the approach I took to reading this, his final, book. Pay close attention, this man knows more than you do about following Jesus, a lot more. So in this short book John Stott advocates for eight undernourished themes of discipleship with the hope that we as a result we would start paying more attention to them because the radical disciple is one who is deeply rooted in Christ.
First that we would be non-conformist to the patterns of this world and respond bravely to the challenges of pluralism, materialism, ethical relativism, narcissism so that instead we might be conformed into Christ’s image.
Second, that we are to prioritise Christlikeness in his incarnation, his service, his love, his endurance and his mission.
Third, that we would grow to maturity through a deep and profound vision of who Christ is.
Fourth, that we would rediscover a right relationship with creation and care for it.
Fifth, that we would see that the call to follow Christ is a call to a life of simplicity.
Sixth, that we would live in balance – balance between individual discipleship and corporate fellowship, balance between worship and work, and balance between pilgrimage and citizenship.
Seventh, that dependence is God’s created intention for us. Dependence first on Him but also on others.
Lastly that we face death in the light of salvation with greater courage, hope, willingness and joy.
On a personal note, I was heartened simply by the fact that he had chosen to include a chapter on simplicity and that he described the Christian life as one marked by ‘simplicity, generosity and contentment’ (p22), three words which are the watchwords of this site.
This is a wonderful book written with grace, humility, sharp insights and gentle but telling wisdom. Not all the chapters hit with equal force or power but taken as whole this is not a book to be ignored. I would give all leaders in all churches this book and challenge them to live just one of these areas more fully and I’m convinced we’d be better for it. Highly recommended.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer is one of my spiritual heroes, a man of action, deep faith, author of great books, sharp theological mind and practised in simplicity and community. He is most of the things I wish I was. His The Cost of Discipleship has been one of the most influential books I have ever read. I am therefore a fan.
This short book is a great way for anyone to be introduced to the man, his life and something of his legacy by someone who knew him well. Renate Bethge was Bonhoeffer’s niece and wife of Bonhoeffer’s biographer and closest friend Eberhard Bethge. No one did more than her late husband to make Bonhoeffer known to the wider world in the aftermath of the second world war.
Containing photos, reflections, poems and a straight forward outline of his life this book does all you’d hope for in just 88 pages. It was a privilege to spend an hour reading this and being reminded of a 20th century martyr whose life and work continues to exercise a profound influence on many.
Over the past year I’ve read a number of books on the issue of Christianity and homosexuality. Some have been about helping those who want to leave the gay lifestyle behind them, some have been about the differing views of Christians on the issue, some have been about defending Christianity against homosexuality and still others about the way forward on a theoretical level.
Love is an Orientation by Andrew Marin does none of those things, instead it’s the way forward on a practical, personal level. Marin was a self-confessed homophobe who began to change when 3 college friends all came out to him as gay (or GLBT). Since then he has sought to build bridges between two warring communities – the GLBT community and the church. On the whole it seems he has done a remarkable job.
Marin is a missionary to the GLBT unreached people group and this book is in part about cross-cultural mission and seeking to understand the culture in order to bring people to know God’s love. The aim of the book is to ‘elevate the conversation’ away from the traditional battle grounds so that there is genuine dialogue, relationship and trust and so avoids easy answers.
I think sometimes he avoids a bit too much, so for example he says a few times that, “if we could only release control of what might happen down the road in a GLBT person’s life when Jesus enters, I promise that God loves his children enough to always tell each of them what he feels is best for their life.” (p85)
Sounds nice. What God feels is best for their life. And I can work that our for myself can I? Just by listening hard? Listening to my feelings? Trusting my heart? This is, for me, one of the weaknesses of the book is that it holds to the individualism of the 20/21st century and it is the individual who decides what is ultimate and that usually leads to conflict.
Pastors in particular are in the uncomfortable position of concern for the body corporate and individual, its integrity, its discipline, its witness and holiness. There are no easy answers to that but its unavoidable that all those issues come sharply into focus if a practising gay joins the family.
Marin, to his credit does argue (rightly) that as people come closer to Jesus, if their hearts and lives are laid before him change of some sort is inevitable, that is what happens in a surrendered life. But the challenge to all (straight or gay) is to surrender everything, sexuality included.
It would be interesting to see how his thought matures, whether he will write something for the church leader or even more intriguingly if he wrote something aimed at those in the gay community who are seeking Christ or engaging with the church.
A few other observations, the guy cries a lot. Maybe I’m just hard hearted and not heard as many anguished stories but there is an awful lot of blubbing going on. A few times ‘research’ was mentioned without reference which isn’t helpful because we can all quote that sort of research and it really needed better referencing.
This is an important book because it recognises that the debate about homosexuality is also a debate about real people and in this case people that are often vulnerable, often defensive, often hurting. It’s a good reminder for the church to have. Marin will be speaking at Spring Harvest in 2010.
Sometimes it seems that God is silent when He should be speaking. Knowing how to know that God is there at those times is the basis of this book. Gregory has clearly had her own struggles this area and this sense of understanding and empathy is the book’s strongest point. There are some moving stories, some flashes of a sharp sense of humour and the odd memorable turns of phrase but not enough to make this a recommended read.
Gregory adopts a conversational tone in her writing but there are only so many times that an author can write, ‘don’t misunderstand me’ before you wonder whether she shouldn’t have made her point a little clearer in the first place. It’s this looseness in writing and lack of clarity in thought at key times that unfortunately left me wondering what the point was.
This isn’t a bad book but neither is it a particularly good one and when it comes to knowing a God that seems silent there are great books available. It just doesn’t reach the standards of say, a Philip Yancey or a John Ortberg. It’s crowded territory for books such as these and I fear Silent Savior will struggle to stand out.
No spin, sleaze or scandal…Just Politics is a brand new title edited by Krish Kandiah of the Evangelical Alliance.
It’s an easy read with virtually no section being more than 3 or 4 pages long and lots of different contributors. The book opens with short messages from Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg but avoids vote-seeking or any political favouritism. It’s also insightful featuring several contributions from 3 Christians, each an MP in one of the three main parties, giving you a feel for the calling, pressures and prayers needed for those who represent us in Parliament.
It gives links and resources and tips to getting involved locally or nationally, in politics in general or on specific causes. I’ve sent a lot of campaigning postcards and emails and have wondered how effective they are, the answer from the MPs was helpful, ‘not very’! Letter writing on the other hand remains incredibly effective.
I found the sidebar quotes and the sections like ‘top 10 reasons to vote’ and ’10 ways a church can get involved’ helpful as I’ll reproduce them for my church come election time.
It’s a different read to Votewise Now (review here) which addresses different issues and gives some analysis as to the different party positions. It’s intention is to engage Christians in politics and would be especially useful for first time voters in the upcoming election but helpful also to the disengaged voter and the leader looking for short accessible information. Both should be read and used.
Forgotten God:Reversing the tragic neglect of the Holy Spirit is Francis Chan’s second book after Crazy Love (review here). As in his first book each chapter is followed by a short inspiring biography of Christians that have influenced Chan.
Having read both his books now and begun watching the Crazy Love DVD with my life group, it’s clear I’m becoming a Chan fan. There’s one overriding concern that he has, western Christians are not living Christ-centred lives. We’re too comfortable and too busy doing whatever it is we’re doing but Jesus is the add-on not the centre. Most Christians look pretty much the same as most non-Christians except on Sunday mornings and that he, rightly, argues isn’t quite right.
In Crazy Love the diagnosis of the problem is that essentially Christians aren’t really understanding or being obedient to the things Jesus said. In Forgotten God it’s like receiving a second consultation from the same doctor who says, ‘Basically the problem is the same but try looking it at this way.’
So Chan delves into the lack of difference by wondering whether we’ve neglected the Holy Spirit and in doing so clearly knows he’s wandering into dangerous territory. But Chan knows he’s in a minefield and treads both wisely and carefully offering the usual challenges: to the conservatives to be not so quick to judge and the charismatics to be less weird in general. It’s good advice.
What Chan does so well is marvel at, genuinely pause and be in awe of some of the incredible promises/challenges of the Bible and in this case ones that relate to the indwelling Holy Spirit and take them seriously. In this he’s absolutely right, a life full of the Holy Spirit is a life transformed and that if we keep in step with the Holy Spirit we defeat sin in our lives. Sin is a failure to listen to the Spirit.
He doesn’t really deal with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues and other such ‘weird’ things are conspicuous by their absence or any discussion on ‘baptism in the Holy Spirit’. I did get the impression, though, that if you’re taking seriously the Holy Spirit’s presence when it comes to character, truth, righteousness, lifestyle, worship then you’re likely to take seriously the Holy Spirit when it comes to power.
Obvious, neglected and crucial were the words Chan used to describe our understanding of the Spirit and he’s probably right. So, with some caution regarding what is not discussed, this is a great book to read because it powerfully calls us to a life surrendered to the Holy Spirit.
I’ve been thinking for some time about how I use the computer and the internet, it’s probably one of the biggest daily challenges I face. Not simply in avoiding temptation but in not using it as a cover for idleness or avoiding the important work I need to do. Not only that but in discipling and leading youth and helping parents, the issues thrown up by mobile phones, social networks and general internet access issues are important ones.
So as always I sought out some books on the subject and came on this one in the bargain section our shop. Daniel Lohrmann has spent his career in IT security and is something of an expert in that field. It’s encouraging to see Christians be salt and light and seek to exert a godly influence in these fields. Virtual Integrity is his attempt to bring together his career and his faith.
It was a hit and miss read for me but with probably a few more hits than misses. I appreciated the way he dealt with broader issues than blocking pornography and ‘integrity theft’ is a bigger danger to Christians than ‘identity theft’ and one with a different kind of solution. The internet is not just a breeding ground for sins of the flesh but for gossip, greed, lying, deceit and so on.
His knowledge of the technology and the ways in which e-marketers seek to draw you in and to ‘tempt the click,’ gives you a sense of insider knowledge and his encouragement for Christians to seek to ‘surf their values’ is both wise and helpful counsel. His vision of a value-centred internet experience was thought-provoking and eminently sensible and achievable. These are all ‘hits’.
For me the book loses its way a bit as it morphs into a basic guide to installing anti-virus protection and parental controls. This was basic, ‘how to turn on your computer stuff’ aimed at the technologically illiterate. Don’t get me wrong, there is a place for that – everyone needs to learn somehow but I wasn’t convinced this was that place. Due to the speed of change the links may soon be redundant and this will date this book badly. Those passages led to a fair bit of skimming and the book lost pace and force for me as a result.
On the whole though, Lohrmann raises the issue of integrity well and makes it abundantly clear that God sees what you post on Facebook! Don’t do online what you would be ashamed to do offline, is a good rule of thumb but it goes beyond that to adopting positive values that transform the web and not simply keep us away from the vileness that is so abundant.
Worth reading as an introduction both to safe internet usage and the issue of online integrity.
I really like Grove Books. Their booklets are almost always well-written and provide readily available and accessible ways into a subject. You get an overview, a bibliography and a well-written introduction into whatever subject you care to imagine. Frankly I think they are an invaluable and under-rated resource for leaders & preachers.
I’ve been thinking about Counterfeit Gods for the series I’m preaching and this Sunday, it’s the issue of success. Simon Coupland’s exploration is very good. It demolishes prosperity teaching and the false equation of earthly and Godly success, yet shows how God wants us to succeed in life (just not the way everyone else thinks we should succeed). It takes a brief look at success in the OT (bit of a mix) and then the life of Jesus (another mix of success or failure or was his failure actually his success?) and then looks at how Jesus redefines success in relation to wealth and greatness, and to growth and victory.
Ironically, as I’m writing this, I’ve just received an email about an author whose best known book promises ‘the secret to effortless success, wholeness and victorious living’. I wonder if it involves being servant to all, persecution, humility, becoming less so he might become more and storing treasures in heaven?
Measured evaluation but uncompromising in asserting that the success God is interested in is Gospel faithfulness to the teachings and person of Christ.
Growing up I lived on WWII stories and I wanted to be a commando. Soldiers who fought in that war were heroes to me, including my own grandfather. Like most boys I wanted adventure, bravery and chances to make history.
War, it turned out wasn’t nearly as glamorous as I thought and amongst the heroes are some cowards and the real reason courage and bravery stand out so brightly is because there is an awful lot of fear around. Next to great good was great evil and I was no longer in a rush to kill anyone. My commando dreams were over.
So for a long time I paid little attention to stories from WWII but just had this little pocket of respect and admiration for those that went through that war, a war that perhaps we’ll never see the like of again.
Not too long ago I watched Band of Brothers on DVD and that stoked the interest a little. A quick search on BookMooch and before you know it Pegasus Bridge by Stephen Ambrose is on my doorstep, free of charge and it’s a cracker.
It tells the story of the first troops to go into action on D-Day, D company of the British 6th Airborne division that had to secure and hold two Normandy bridges so that later armoured troops could begin the liberation of France. The book works because it is focused on a single company and a single objective and because it is filled with the oral stories and accounts of those that took part on both sides.
It manages to be both historically factual and capture the tension and drama of an operation that was audacious from start to finish. It is even-handed in its assessments of the combatants. The Brits had great well-trained soldiers with superb information and intelligence gathering but inferior weapons, the Germans with the superior numbers and weaponry but with a mess of a command structure.
D-Company arrived by glider unnoticed and secured their objective, and were then oddly used as cannon fodder instead of repeating the feat in other crucial operations. I read it in a day, partly because it isn’t long and partly because it’s a gripping tale that restoked my admiration for ordinary men doing extraordinary things in unbelievable circumstances.
I believe Jesus when he said 'life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions'. I believe he offers something better. This blog is mostly about that search.
I'm also a church pastor, a bookshop owner, a husband, a father, a keen runner, reader, and motorcyclist. These and a few other things make guest appearances from time to time.