For Some of Us, But Not All of Us

"For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die." 
— Anne Lamott (Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life)


Dear reader, I LOVE books. I'm a reader birthed by a Mother who was a reader, part of a family of readers. Have a couple thousand in print and am rapidly acquiring a few digital. Books are a big part of my life, and one, the Bible, has been the center of my life's work for many years now. There are books I have read many times, and authors I would dearly love to have a coffee with. Some stories have woven thread into my life's tapestry so well that they help make me... me.


So when I, someone who reads at least several hours a week, dozens of books a year gets to substitute teach in a reading class - a high school reading class - it ought to be just the brier patch I'd like. Well let me just report back from the halls of academia and let you know that just keeping 9th graders reading and not talking or whatever is a full time job, and even when they are reading, well... it ain't the Harvard Classics. It was disappointing to me.


There's so much you can receive from books - so much they can give you. Reread the quote from one of my favorite quirky writers of all time - Anne Lamott - above. That's what books can do. They can take you from wherever you are and send you to another time, another place. You can see the future, you can experience the past, and over time you find that books speak to you on a level past just words. You connect. You become.


This is the most connected generation in human history.


Except to what matters the most.

Hey David, What Have You Been Reading Lately?

It's been a while since I posted on what I've been reading and what's sitting on ready. Basically I read an awful lot during the week directly related to the Bible and its historical context. Then I read current information that might help me connect the truth from the Scriptures to life today. That goes on all week and what I'm reading might bear directly on this week, or it may be for a sermon or series that I'm working on for later.

God gave me the ability to read very quickly and retain a great deal of what I read. Then He gave me the tools of today and off I went.There are times though that I read outside my major focus - for information and for pleasure. It's amazing how often I read a blog post or hear about something and go off to find out more. Or Sean leaves a book around and I pick it up after he gets through with it.

And that's how I wound up with "The Hobbit" by Tolkien.

Having read the Lord of the Rings trilogy as well as the The Silmarillion, I realize I'm way late to this book. That said, it was warm, engaging, and a great story in its own right. The "back-story" of Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves was just as good as the Rings books were. Really liked it.

I finished a really good book earlier in the week called "The Unforgiving Minute - A Soldier's Education by Craig M. Mullarney. It traces his education from West Point, through his Rhodes Scholar experience at Oxford,Ranger School, and as a young platoon leader in Afghanistan. In each venue, he is tested and learns a little bit more about himself and life. I've always had an interest in the military and of course am a pastor in a military community, but I was drawn to the book by the title.

"The Unforgiving Minute" for the author takes place in Afghanistan when his patrol is under attack by the Taliban. One of his troops was killed by small arms fire and the action and the aftermath tear at his soul. I live with the knowledge that what I do as a pastor touches eternity. And I am not perfect. The "what if?" question is a part of my life too. Mullarney comes away changed but stronger. That's my goal too. Good book for people interested in leadership, in the education of a professional soldier.


We have an opportunity at our church to be God's agent of change for some neighborhood boys. They're rough, and at times disruptive. They can try your patience and then turn around the next minute and grab your heart. We all want to see God become first in their lives and our brief snippets of their lives don't seem to provide much influence. So I've been looking for help. Donald Miller is one of my favorite authors and has just written a book that's part a raw view into his own experience as a boy without a father and part call to action. I'm almost through with it - should finish it tonight - and it's both sad and encouraging.

It's a great book.

Up next:


My parents both worked in Willingham Cotton Mill in Macon, GA. Most of their families did too. I was born in a mill village shotgun house. So the stories in this book should resonate with me. Rick Bragg writes Southern about as well as anyone alive right now so it should be a treat.

And I'm beginning a study of the Psalms for a sermon series coming up.

What are you reading?

So David, What Have You Been Reading?

Glad you asked.

The Reason for God - Tim Keller - Still reading in it off and on. Good stuff.

The Great Game - Peter Hopkirk - Outstanding look at the history of Afghanistan and the region

Labyrinth - Kate Mosse - Kind of Dan Brown-ish. Pretty decent over all, good in spots.

I Finished It!

Now I remember why I loved the Classic Comic Books back in the day. Great start and awesome ending to the book, but seriously - it cut have been a third as long and been so much better.

What I'm Reading

Okay, I haven't finished Moby Dick yet. I HAD to take a break.

So I hit Amazon up for some books for me to read and pass along. I got a copy of Francis Chan's "Crazy Love" that immediately went to Amy, and two copies of "Do Hard Things" by the brothers Harris -one for John Anderson, and one for me.

I ordered it out of a Spirit-led conviction that we need to set higher standards for our boys at New Hope. Girls are on the way already, but we might get some help here too. What if our children and youth ministries were tightly focused on leading to Jesus and leading out into living Him out? Exciting stuff here.

Couple of other books I got.

"Why does God allow suffering in the world?

How could a loving God send people to Hell?

Why isn’t Christianity more inclusive?

How can one religion be “right” and the others “wrong”?

Why have so many wars been fought in the name of God?

These are just a few of the questions and doubts even ardent believers wrestle with today. As the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, Timothy Keller has compiled a list of the most frequently voiced “doubts” skeptics bring to his church as well as the most important reasons for faith. And in The Reason for God, he addresses each doubt and explains each reason.

Keller uses literature, philosophy, real-life conversations, and reasoning to explain how faith in a Christian God is a soundly rational belief, held by thoughtful people of intellectual integrity with a deep compassion for those who truly want to know the truth."

and


"Too often we see people react to what they don’t like about the church. In "From Eternity to Here," Frank Viola offers up the doctrine that causes him to act on behalf of the church. Make no doubt about it, Frank is a provocateur and an artist—and both come through in this book. Frank continues to challenge the church-at-large with a powerful mind, an impassioned voice, and a love for the bride of Christ. You need to get this book and wrestle with Frank through the biblical passages regarding our identity in Christ as His body and the mission our God has entrusted to us."
-Ed Stetzer, author of Breaking the Missional Code

Now That's What We're Talking About

I'm so sick of hearing that we must choose a demographic group to "target" with the gospel in order to grow.

Nothing could be further from the desire of Jesus for the church.

When I look out over New Hope on Sunday, though there are differences in pigmentation, I see my brothers and sisters in Christ. They are my forever family.

It is harder to grow when you don't segregate (word chosen deliberately) at church along racial, wealth, even lines of military rank.

Oh but when you grow, you can catch a glimpse of that whole "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" - RIGHT NOW!

I'll be buying that book, and trying to keep pressing forward in including all God's children in the New Hope family.

What I'm Reading Right Now

Steve Sjogren and Dave Ping have written a book to help people take the desire of wanting to serve others in Jesus' name from concept to practice. Designed to be used as a small group aid, I'm enjoying learning about how to help myself and others do more.

Great quote -

"Life was a story about me...In fact, I was the only one in every scene. I was everywhere I went. If somebody walked into my scene, it would frustrate me because they were disrupting the general theme of the play, namely my comfort or glory."
- Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz

I have to do more and encourage others to do more, to live out of and minister through the love of Jesus. I'm hoping Outflow helps me do this.

I'm Wondering If Wayne Grudem Is A Dog Lover

Books, books, books. Okay, I love books, and my friends at Amazon know that. They also know by the type of books I buy, that I love God. And maybe they've gone on my blog and have seen the pictures of Henley. But I'm wondering about their suggestion.

Amazon.com Customer,
We've noticed that customers who have purchased or rated Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine by Wayne Grudem or other books in the Theology > Systematic category have also purchased Dogspell: The Gospel According to Dog by Mary Ellen Ashcroft. For this reason, you might like to know that Dogspell: The Gospel According to Dog is now available. You can order yours for just $13.50 ($4.50 off the list price) by following the link below.

I do know that I have learned a lot about devotion from dogs. Sean told us today that Henley didn't eat for a full day after we left last week.
And I have experienced unconditional love more often from dogs than I have from people.

But I'll have to give this book purchase some thought. :)

Currently Reading - Your God Is Too Safe

Second time through this book. The author very candidly shares his struggles with a lack of motion and passion in his relationship with Jesus. Great personal illustrations as well as literary ones. Recommended to anyone who needs a spark.

Book Review - The Shack

A friend on a pastor's forum asked us if we had read "The Shack", a novel by William Paul Young. No one had, but several of us had heard a lot about it. Since I was curious, we went out this afternoon and bought it, and I spent a couple hours reading it tonight.

The fear for this book is that people will treat it as theology, instead of the story a father wrote for his kids. For some reason, people in America will take fictional material and try to use it in ways it wasn't intended. I do not understand how that can happen, but I am sure that it does.

Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill in Seattle, and an outspoken Calvinist, addressed the book specifically in a clip that's on You Tube. Just search for the shack and driscoll and you'll find it. He blasts it on several fronts - for "making a graven image of God", for "encouraging goddess worship", for "the heresy of modalism", and for dissing the Puritans. Okay, not the latter, I just get tired of hearing about them. I think he was way over the top on the graven images and goddess worship but on track on being careful about what could happen to people who aren't discerning of this fictional work.

As for the book, it's the story of a man who suffers some great pain - first from an abusive father who he poisons, then from the loss of a daughter to a serial killer. He struggles with "the Great Sadness" which robs his life of joy and color. He gets an invitation from "God" to the shack in which his daughter was killed.

And he goes.

The book spends a good deal of time after the first 60 pages, exploring the relationship between the Trinity as they deal with Mack, the focus of the novel. The author seemed to deliberately push some buttons by casting "Papa", the father as an old black woman, Jesus as a typecast middle eastern male, and the spirit as an asian woman. Sophia, the wisdom of god personified, shows up later.

Mack is helped to fully trust god and come out of the Great Sadness by the members of the trinity, and he deals with both of the worst events in his life. He comes away changed, and then there's a twist.

So...

If you are capable of separating fiction from theology, it's a good quick read. There's something inspiring about even fictional characters dealing with their demons, and it's nice to see god referred to as always loving and enthralled with his children. But again, it's a novel so we need to be careful not to port anything in it over to life that doesn't square with Scripture.

If you get your theology from Oprah, you'll be right at home. Not sure how you'll work that into the rest of the speculation from the Secret or Tolle's work, but maybe Oprah can help you figure it all out.

What Does My Reading Say About Where I'm Headed?

I'm here on my day off trying to get over a nasty cold and Bunny and Sean have headed out to Destin to pick up a few things. I've had three phone calls from members, read some of my seminary text, and watched a little TV. (Why do we even have TV - there's nothing there)

For some reason I glanced up and saw the books I have here on my desk. Now I have a couple thousand in my office at church, but these here at home are in sort of a rotation. I'm either using them for background information on what I'm currently doing, reading them for what I might be doing, or rereading them because something in them is causing me to think.

I like to think.

So here's the list.

They Like Jesus, But Not the Church - Dan Kimball
unChristian - Kinnaman & Lyons
The Cross and the Prodigal - Ken Bailey
Searching for God Knows What - Donald Miller
Breaking the Missional Code - Ed Stetzer
Matthew - the Holman NIV Commentary - Anders
Matthew - the Communicators Commentary - Augsburger
The Jesus Creed - Scot McKnight
An Unstoppable Force - Erwin Mcmanus
The Jesus Way - Eugene Peterson
Communicating for A Change - Andy Stanley
The Present Future - Reggie McNeal
Christ Plays In Ten Thousand Places - Eugene Peterson
Living the Questions In Matthew - the Navigators
Crossing Cultures - Lane
To Follow Him - Mark Bailey
A History of Christianity - Paul Johnson
The Moody Handbook of Theology

Man, I need to go find some good fiction. LOL

Book Stack - 21 Jan 2008

UnChristian - Kinnaman & Lyons
A History of Christianity - Johnson
The Moody Handbook of Theology - Enns
They Like Jesus But Not the Church - Kimball
An Unstoppable Force - McManus
The Jesus Way - Peterson
Communicating For A Change - Stanley & Jones
A River Runs Through It - Maclean
Jacob and the Prodigal - Bailey
Clouds Without Water - Austin
Present Future - McNeal
Under the Banner of Heaven - Krakauer
My Utmost for His Highest - Chambers

The Way of Jesus

We can't say Jesus is the way—"I'm going to follow Jesus"—and then use all the devil's ways. All the "I like to do" or "have a talent for" or "have an aptitude for" or "have a spiritual gift" language is popular in our churches, but we have to do it Jesus's way. The way Jesus did it is as important as the way Jesus is. I'm just trying to connect ways and means. The means by which we do something can destroy what we're doing if they're not appropriate. And I think the American Church is very conspicuous for destroying the way of Jesus in the ways we do church.

- Eugene Peterson from his book "The Jesus Way"

The Book Stack

Just thought I'd mention what books I have stacked on my desk right now.

Since I'm working through the life of David on Sunday Mornings:
A Heart Like His, Beth Moore
David - Charles Swindoll

Since I'm working on the life of Christ within this David:
My Utmost for His Highest, both original and updated versions
disciplines for the inner life - Benson
So You Want To Be Like Christ? - Swindoll
He Speaks Softly - Benson
No Holds Barred - Mark Roberts
Posers, Fakers, and Wannabes - Brennan Manning
Ordering Your Private World - Gordon McDonald

Since I'm Desperate To See God's Church Succeed In Its Vocation:
Out of Their Faces and Into Their Shoes - Kramp
Radical Reformission - Driscoll
The Church of Irresistible Influence - Lewis
How Should We Then Live - Francis Schaeffer
Simple Church - Thom Rainer
The Disciple Making Church - Bill Hull
Conspiracy of Kindness - Steve Sjorgen
Church Planting Landmines - Rohrmayer
Natural Church Development - Schwartz

And some others working their way into the reading rotation:
Living the Questions In Matthew - The Navigators
Rick Warren's Bible Study Methods - Rick Warren
The Incredible Patience of God -Adams
The Preaching Event - John Claypool
The Jesus Creed- Scot McKnight
Traveling Lightly - Eugene Peterson

I read everyday, a lot. I'll pick up one book and read it a while, then another. If I'm in study mode for a sermon or series, I'll devour everything I can on that text, context, and culture. So these are just the books that are here today. Stay tuned.