Book Review - With by Skye Jethani

With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God
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 by Skye Jethani editor of Leadership Journal has provided for the church an accessible vision to what it means to be the body of Christ. The text follows a straightforward format where Jethani evaluates four postures that most people have before God. The first is "Life Under God". This perspective emphasises God's holiness. To please God the believer must follow his rule and regulations and come under his authority. The second posture is that of "Life Over God". This posture is basic unbelief where God is something that is either ignored or used for personal gain. The third posture is "Life From God".  Here the belief is that if we do the right things and live the right way God will bless us. This is the common posture in the "health and wealth" or "word of faith" movements. The fourth posture is "Life For God".  The desire within this system is to give one's life for ultimate meaning and purpose.  People who hold this view elevate the faith of the missionary or pastor who have "given everything" for God. These four postures are all found wanting in some way. So what is the Christian life supposed to look like in its posture? Jethani argues for a fifth way, "Life With God".  In this posture we discover what it means to live life alongside God. We join him in his mission and community.  This posture takes seriously the incarnation of the Holy Spirit within the lives of every believer.  Grace, mercy, and walking with God are the central factors. In this posture it is argued that we find an attractive and passionate relationship with God. I think that this is a very helpful book and strongly recommend it. The weakness is that there is lack of contemporary examples for this posture (which might be because there aren't any!).  I appreciate that there are three chapters of application, however, they are still somewhat ethereal and maybe not as applicable as they could be. I found myself still asking the "so what" question. I think this text is ripe for a follow up "workbook" whereby someone could process through their postures before God and then develop an understanding of what it means to do life "with" God.

Book Review - Right Here, Right Now by Alan Hirsch and Lance Ford

Right Here, Right Now: Everyday Mission for Everyday People (Shapevine)
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 by Alan Hirsch and Lance Ford is one of the most recent additions to the missional library. The book is very helpful as a primer for those entering into the conversation for the first time or for those who are trying to figure out how to move from ethereal to action. This text has a simple structure beginning with a "Briefing" by Hirsch where he summarizes The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church
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 in about 30 pages.  This forces him to be succinct and clear when dealing with the philosophical edge of missional thinking.  The book ends with a "Debriefing" where Hirsch is able to fill in any philosophical gaps that resulted in the rest of the text. The meat of the book is broken into three sections written by Ford with sidebar comments from Hirsch: Putting Our Hearts Into It (Missional Paradigm), Wrapping Our Heads Around It (Missional Analysis), and Doing Something About It (Missional Action). Putting our Hearts Into It covers the perspective or paradigm shift that has to take place for followers of Jesus need to make to really engage in missional activity. The shift is that of seeing the world with a "missionary's eye", the second is that of being people of peace, the third is getting a proper view of the gospel. Wrapping Our Heads Around It contains three chapters that cover issues surrounding our culture and how we ought to relate to it.  Ford adeptly critiques Western culture.  After that he argues for a missional lifestyle that frees us from the trappings of the American Dream.  Finally, he provides insight into how to understand the largely suburban world within which most American Christians find themselves. Doing Something About It looks at the systemic and practical approaches to creating a community wide missional approach. Ford discusses the house church and small group movement, followed by a practical approach to hospitality, and ends the section with a discussion on what it means to be scattered a people of God. Each chapter concludes with practical steps to take to help you activate what you are reading. I found this to be one of the most helpful books on the subject that I have read.  Hirsch and Ford have found a nice balance between philosophy and application.  The writing is down to earth and accessible. The only criticism I have is that in some ways this text can come across as very individualistic.  While community is discussed and the importance of relationships comes through, Hirsch's groundbreaking concept of "Communitas" is largely missing as a word to shape the conversation.  I think an opportunity was missed to bring this concept more into the mainstream.

Book Review - Church Planting Movements by David Garrison

Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World
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 by David Garrison and published by the International Mission Board is a very helpful text. I thoroughly appreciated this little book in its simplicity. David did not write more than he needed too. He laid out the need, the vision, and the how-to in a way that is easily grasped. This text is perfect for any person who is stepping outside of Western Christendom trying to figure out how engage the world in a more biblical way. Garrison defines Church Planting Movements (CPM) as "A rapid and exponential increase of indigenous churches planting churches within a given people group or population segment (8)." The key words being rapid, exponential, indigenous, planting. If one can grasp these things then we are able to replicate this model. I really appreciated the structure of the text and how succinct it is. He lays out the core components of a CPM in chapters 3-5 with a list of ten components each. He also provides the leader with answers to FAQ's and obstacles. The stories from countries around the world paint a clear picture of how CPM's work. I have two criticisms of the text. The first is that in the definition of a healthy church there is no mention of church discipline. This is a key component to keeping a church healthy in the long run. The absence of such has led to the downfall of most of Western Christendom. The second is that there are no stories of this happening in a Western context. While I understand that David works for the International Mission Board, if this is going to be global then it needs to include examples of this working in all contexts. It may be that this is not happening in the West. However, it seems unlikely since I can think of a number of CPM's that are being developed in metro Detroit, MI. All in all, I would strongly recommend this book. It will be especially helpful for leaders who are moving away from the Boomer Generation's "If you build it, they will come" mentality and the "attractional" mode of church.

The Lion King: A Wolf

In my previous post I suggested a method for evaluating culture. We are going to begin with an evaluation of the beloved Disney film, The Lion King
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. Evaluation The first question is, "What does this communicate about God?" The Lion King communicates very little about God. Actually, there is no sense of the divine. New Age philosophy is rampant where the created order is governed by the "circle of life". As beings pass from life to death they become disembodied spirits and act as overseers. There is a mystical Ape shaman who provides insight for Simba throughout his adventure. The second question is, "What does this communicate about man?" The Lion King communicates much about man. It presents a picture of humanity as having little meaning or purpose. The main characters go through life seeking to find their actualized potential. This is done through their good deeds or works. But, there is no overarching purpose, for at the end of the day they will be claimed by the "circle of life". The Lion King also implicitly teaches a Hindu caste system. Where those born to significance and power retain that role based on birth. One cannot escape his caste. Finally, there is a clear and overriding fatalism that pervades the film's characters. The third question, "What does this communicate about man’s greatest problem?" Man's greatest problem in the Lion Kings is other men. The lead characters must fight against the antagonists. Why? Because the antagonists are trying to escape their caste and live above themselves. The antagonists are lower level beasts seeking to rise above their place. The fourth question, "What is the proposed solution for man’s greatest problem?" The proposed solution is works. Simba and the rest of his protagonist friends must do good to overcome their enemies and put down their attempt to leave their caste. The other side of the coin is that Simba must give in to fate and embrace his place in the highest caste, thus perpetuating the "circle of life". This "circle of life" can apparently be shut down by those in the lower caste rising above themselves. Summary As you can see there are great problems with this film. It misses the mark regarding God and the divine. God is a personal and engaged being who sacrificially loves. Man is created in the divine image and their future is not sealed by caste or fate; but by their choices and responsiveness to their Creator. Each man will eventually receive exactly what they want. Man's greatest problem is not other men, but sin. The broken relationship between themselves and their God. This cannot be solved or repaired by man's good works but by the sacrificial working of God alone. The solution to man's problem is monergistic and is accomplished by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Are there any redemptive aspects to this film? Yes, one. The key one being the role that community plays. It is through community and relationship that Simba is able to "overcome". Conclusion The Lion King is a film that is deeply embedded with a faulty worldview. It embraces new age and Hindu philosophy. I would consider this film to be one that, while, whimsical, fun, musically good, and entertaining communicates a very dangerous worldview. The messages communicated will require a good follow up conversation with your children if they watch it.

Book Review: Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Conquering any Business Challenge

Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Conquering any Business Challenge.  It was given to me by a friend who said, "You have to read this.  It's pretty great." I was looking forward to reading it because I had already taken the leadership style inventory that goes with the book and found out that I was a "Wildebeest". That didn't seem very inspiring. You can read that last comment as "I was a bit skeptical".  I have read many books on leadership.  I could list them for you but, my fingers would stop working. Swanepoel, has however, brought a unique twist to the game.  He identifies seven key skills that a person needs to succeed in the Serengeti of leadership. I am a pastor and so I read Swanepoel's parable of the Serengeti through a bit of a different lens. I am not very interested in making a lot of money.  What I am interested in is making an impact. A big impact. As I read I tried to imagine the Serengeti of church leadership and how the skills of the strategic lion, the enterprising crocodile, the enduring wildebeest (me!), the risk-taking mongoose, the communicating elephant, the efficient cheetah, and the graceful giraffe, would play out in our community. The reality is that all of them, as Swanepoel states, are necessary.  The skills that he highlights are at the principle level and cross the chasms business, education, non-profit, and wherever else leadership is needed. I deeply appreciated the fact that in the Serengeti you could not go it alone.  Each of the skills worked together for the survival of the whole.  This is true in the church context as well. We must have teams who lead together. These teams must recognize the giftedness of the players and embrace one another's special role. I recommend you take a peak and think about what it would take to survive your Serengeti.
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THE ENDURING WILDEBEEST
Like the wildebeest, endurance for us in its simplest form is the ability to exert ourselves for relatively long periods of time. More specifically, it’s all about the ability to withstand hardship and stress. We need to remain steadfast and persistent in the face of obstacles. It‘s often not the fastest nor the strongest one that wins the race, it’s the one that stays the course and goes the distance.

Book Review: Counterfeit Gods

Timothy Keller is the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York.  His recent book Counterfeit Gods continues to cement his place as one of this generation's leading voices in calling the church back to where it belongs. Keller, however, has the unique ability to speak to the hearts of people who do not claim follow Jesus as well. The driving question that Keller is seeking to answer comes from a description of Americans by Alexis de Tocqueville who said that Americans exhibited a, "strange melancholy that haunts the inhabitants...in the midst of abundance. (x)" De Tocqueville analyzes this "strange melancholy" and comes to the conclusion that it is the result of taking an "incomplete joy of this world" and having that become the center of your life. Keller states, "That is the definition of idolatry. (xi)"  He goes on to say that an idol is, "anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give. (xvii)" This is the central motif of Keller's text.  He then draws us back to the reality that it is in relationship with Christ, the idol breaker, that we can be set free from our idol worship. Keller hits on topics like money, greed, power, politics, sex, and love. He grabs your attention with riveting personal stories from his life, his ministry, and from the headlines.  The economic collapse of 2008-09 plays a heavy role. If you come to this text with an open mind then you will walk away from this text with a challenged heart. It is strong in biblical exegesis as Keller works through key texts and draws out their central teaching and their contemporary application. I would say that the weakness of this text is that the issues raised are difficult and that in such a brief text they can only be given a cursory examination.  I would like to see Keller develop this text more fully at a scholarly level. I was deeply challenged by the book.  I was most especially brought to a place of deep consideration regarding the idolatry of religion.  I think that as a pastor I am easily swayed by this idolatry. I can get caught up in my Reformed, Presbyterian dogma and lose sight of the sacrificial savior who called me to follow him. Following a self-sacrificing savior is painful, difficult, and yet fully satisfying and glorious! But, the comfort of a religious dogma that provides all the answers is seductive and so easy to embrace. I encourage you to grab this little text and evaluate the idol factory in your heart.

Review: Equipped for Adventure

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Equipped for Adventure: A Practical Guide to Short-Term Mission Trips by Scott Kirby was published in 2006 by New Hope Publishers. It is a handbook for making short-term mission trips happen.  This is a holistic treatment of the process of making short-term missions a centerpiece of your church's ministry. Kirby casts vision, answers criticisms, and then proceeds step by step through the process of planning, organizing, actuating, and following up a mission trip.

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