Perhaps other religions are not false as much as they are the truest way to the respective end they advocate. This is the thesis S. Mark Heim proposes. Heim advocates two truths: (1) Other religions may be true and valid paths to the religious fulfillment they seek, and (2) "There is a relation with God and other creatures made possible in Christ that can only be realized in communion with Christ" (p. 32). By considering the possibility of the truth of both propositions, interreligious dialogue can be more focused. The truly crucial questions become not "Which religion is true?" but "What end is most ultimate, even if many are real?" or "Which religious end constitutes the fullest human destiny?" (pp. 4, 31).
Christ is the only way, but the only way to what? This is a question that Christians need to better answer in order to converse more intelligently with advocates of other religions. The Christian end is not independent happiness (folk religion), pure consciousness (new age religions), unity of one absolute Self, emptiness (Buddhism), loss of consciousness of being (atheism), eternal submission to God (Islam) or personal enlightenment (Hinduism). Christianity offers a fuller view of the end -- an end that involves personal relationship with the God whose very essence is relationship. No other religion proposes such an intimately personal end. This is a coherent and consistent view of ultimate reality. This is Christianity's "religious end." Relations are the "ends as well as means. There is nothing more real on the other side of them" (p.58). Most other religious ends are relationless ends. Thus, the religions themselves may very well be the best means to the end they respectively propose. Heims suggests that insofar as they are true, they result in a limited relationship with God. However, one doesn't have to embrace all of Heims' proposal to benefit from his profound insights on the Trinity and the glorious "religious end" of personal communion with the living God that is the hallmark of Christianity.
The Bible presents us with many truths in tension -- paradoxes -- that, if embraced, give us "much bigger faith in a much bigger God" (p.xiv). We must engage our minds in working through these paradoxes in order to know God better. Embracing one side of a biblical tension while ignoring the other side results in extreme, unbiblical belief. This book is hit-and-miss. Some of the chapters are very fresh and provocative, most notably, the chapters on God's mercy/justice and God's immutability. Some are too nice and tidy, seemingly removing the very paradox they attempt to explain. I find it surprising that Lucas refrained from dealing with some of the greatest paradoxes: God is one and three; humans are depraved and dignified; the Bible is human and divine; Jesus is God and man; the Christian is saint and sinner; salvation is already and not yet, etc.
"Christian faith is really Christian practice." Jones demonstrates that the great doctrines of Christianity (Christ is Lord, God is Triune, etc.) "are not primarily intellectual concepts to be believed or disbelieved. Rather they are objects of contemplation that can evoke new insights and personal transformations if meditated on" (p.16). Ancient Christianity is full of spiritual practices such as the "Jesus prayer" intended to increase our awareness of God's presence, aid us in coming to an increasing understanding of our motivations, and change our patterns of thought and behavior (the last two items usually assigned solely to psychology in our therapeutic culture). As an ordained priest and practicing counselor, Jones compares and contrasts Buddhism and Christianity primarily in relation to their respective practices and how they positively transform the individual and challenge the cultural norms. I especially enjoyed Jones' emphasis on the importance of a commitment to the respective spiritual practices of one's religion in order to truly understand and know one's religion and one's life. Transformation comes through practice, and not simply through the mind. Whether one agrees with all of Jones' perspectives, his emphasis on the importance of transforming practices as the heart of religion is a much needed corrective for gnostic Christianity focused only on beliefs.
Diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease at thirty-five years of age, Philip Simmons wrote a series of essays until his death chronicling his thoughts and experiences as the disease progressively overtook him. He describes his journey as "learning to fall" -- "the work of learning to live richly in the face of loss" (p.xi). His prayer is that he would "fall with grace, to grace" (p.12). He clearly admits that his spiritaulity is ecclectic. He proves this by quoting everyone from Marcus Aurelius to the Dalai Lama. (For Christians, he includes Jesus, Paul, the author of The Cloud of Unknowing, and Thomas Merton.) He discovers that "a flawed life can still be a full one" and that "broken dreams can bring us more fully awake" (p.28). Through reflections upon life prompted primarily by the wonders of nature and the sacredness of the ordinary miracles we take for granted, Simmons shares what he learns through his personal tragedy. Most of us are blind to the blessings that constantly surround us. God's presence pervades all things. Simmons gives good counsel when he warns "Don't wait for a tragedy to start appreciating the little things in life" (p. 7).
It is possible to "believe the facts but miss the meaning" of the Bible. The purpose of the Bible is not to communicate scientific facts or objective history. Its purpose is to communicate the message of God to us in order that we might know God experientially through the Bible. "Words seek to communicate, to relate. God, through his Word, seeks a relationship with us" (p. 41). If the Bible is treated as a therapeutic textbook or science manual, it is being misused. The Bible shows us God's heart by showing us Jesus and calls us to respond with personal loving trust in a personal God who personally speaks a message of good news to us through its pages. Reynolds book is a nice reminder of the importance of viewing Scripture as a means rather than an end - the difference between bibliolatry and knowing God!
Genuine spiritual growth involves both outward and inward journeys. The heart is personally affected and the heart is given to others. By addressing both dimensions of spiritual growth we can promote individual growth that is not guilty of individualism. Hagbert and Guelich have provided a faithful life-map to help navigate the difficult roadways of the heart that lead to authentic spiritual maturity. For a more detailed presentation of the contents of this great book, see A Roadmap for the Spiritual Journey.
This book addresses the same subject matter as the book above -- stages of faith -- but in an overly technical manner that saps the life out living! Clinton has a 23-page glossary full of specialized terms needed simply to understand his theory! When you boil down all the jargon, Clinton is simply saying that a leader grows spiritually over time through conflict, trials, challenges, and victories. However, the way Clinton says this is so dry it made me want to die. Read The Critical Journey instead.
Lewis argues for a universal Tao or First Principle that provides the sole source for value judgments. Abandoning this universal law leads to "men with empty chests" -- the abolition of man. Lewis arguments seem dated in our postmodern world. Arguing from the foundation of a personal God (who is not a proposition, law, or principle) rather than from an impersonal moral law seems to provide a better starting point for moral and philosophical reflection.
"The mind which asks for a non-miraculous Christianity is a mind in process of relapsing from Christianity into mere 'religion'" (p. 218). C. S. Lewis' classic treatment on miracles still contains much food for thought. His reflections in the final chapters on the restoration of all things in Christ are great.
The seventh and final part of Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series. The final chapters on the restoration of all things are told beautifully and enchantingly. I want to go to Narnia!
Bonnie has written a great book about how adults think about children and how it affects their parenting. Childhood is often sentimentalized and romanticized. Children are often assumed to be either completely innocent or absolutely sinful. Bonnie brings balance to the discussion by demonstrating the complex challenge of parenting. "Children are not entirely virtuous nor entirely depraved. Rather, they are a complex amalgamation of imperfection and potentiality" (p. 144). Children need "care that respects them as persons, regards them as capable of good and bad, values them as gifts, appreciates them as demanding of serious labor, and views them as agents" (p. 164). Parenting is tremendously challenging, but also offers the possibility of an immensely rewarding and transformative relationship with another person. Great book! The section entitled "Children as Spiritual Agents" (pp. 148-157) is worth the price of the book alone!
Ignatian spirituality forces us to wrestle with God over who we are and how we are living in the current place we find ourselves in life. Margaret Silf provides a helpful introduction to Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises. Her section on ordered vs. disordered desires is excellent.
Ok, I'll admit it -- common sense doesn't always come easy to me. That is why any advice is always good advice to me. Lieberman certainly overstates his case when he assures his readers that his "psychological secrets" will give them control and influence over every situation, but he certainly does give some helpful advice. I especially appreciated his sections on getting others to like you, tests for true friendship, and getting people to follow through good leadership.
"It's just a story" is a flippant response that must be rejected. Stories are a powerful truth medium and should never be considered inferior to abstract reasoning. Stories are truth and we are our stories. According to Daniel Taylor, professor of English at Bethel College, "You are your stories. You are the product of all the stories you have heard and lived... They have shaped how you see yourself, the world, and your place in it" (p. 1). Our stories give our lives meaning by connecting the disparate events of our lives together. "Stories link past, present, and future in a way that tells us where we have been (even before we were born), where we are, and where we could be going" (p. 1). Stories weave the experiences of our lives together into a cohesive and coherent "plot line" that allows us to find meaning and purpose. "Seeing our lives as stories, rather than as an unrelated series of random events, increases the possibility for having in our lives what we find in the best stories: significant, purposeful action" (p. 21). Click HERE for an extended analysis of Taylor's excellent book.
The subtitle practically says it all. Lieberman hopes to liberate his readers from a frustrating life of "conditioned responses, encased in a cocoon of ideals, habits, fears, and beliefs." Many of the questions are provocative. Many of his answers, though brief, truly give insight into common human attitudes and actions. Numerous times in reading the book I felt like Lieberman knew me personally because the descriptions were precisely accurate. Scary! An interesting, helpful -- even if basic -- resource.
McNeal believes "the church... has largely forsaken its missional covenant with God to be a part of kingdom expansion. It has, instead, substituted its own charter of church as a clubhouse where religious people hang out with other people who think, dress, behave, vote, and believe like them" (pp. xiii-xiv). By focusing on building the perfect church, growing the institutional church, enlisting more workers in church work, and assuming that church involvement results in discipleship, the church has largely abandoned its missional call to the world. "Church activity is a poor substitute for genuine spiritual vitality" (p. 7) and yet this is what we often offer to people. People are looking for genuine spirituality and they don't believe the church has much to offer. Furthermore, they are convinced that "church is for church people, not for them" (p. 10). We have led them to believe this. Christianity is not an institution, but a movement. It is not lived in a church but lived by the church in the world. Like Israel before, the church has forgotten why it exists -- to join God "in his redemptive mission in the world" as a "chosen instrument of God to expand his kingdom" (which is not necessarily to be confused with his church). People "don't trust religious institutions because they see them as inherently self-serving" (p. 18). Who gave them that idea? The finger points to us. Don't we assume that church is for us and our kids? Don't we assume that church should be a place where we are comfortable? Who gives church leaders most grief when they feel their needs aren't being met? McNeal is right. The church has lost its influence because it has lost its identity because it has lost its mission (p. 18). Do we want to do church or be church? If the latter, this book provides helpful insights! A great challenging read!
When asked, "What's wrong?" men usually respond with "Nothing's wrong" effectively negating all further discussion. This response also prevents men from working through their feelings. Generally speaking, men do not know what to do with their feelings. Society accepts only a narrow amount of emotional expression from men -- mostly anger and aggression. Thus, men tend to be uncomfortable with their own feelings and the feelings of others. Because of this, men fail to learn how to identify and express their feelings in a healthy way. Put simply, men are emotional illiterates. This is tragic, for it keeps men from living a whole life. "Not to be aware of one's feelings, not to understand them or know how to use or express them, is worse than being blind, deaf or paralyzed. Not to feel is not to be alive" -- (Dr. David Viscott). Men need emotional as well as intellectual intelligence. "Emotional intelligence is 'awareness of one's own feelings as they occur' -- it is being smart in dealing with your feelings" (p. 39). Thinking and feeling are not at odds, but are complementary. Thinking leads to feeling just as feeling leads to thinking (p. 40). In order to live a whole life, men must notice their feel, identify their feelings, and express their feelings -- regardless of whether they are weak or strong. Feelings are not wrong (they just are) nor are they feminine. Sporting events are not the only place where one is allowed to feel strongly! This is a great introduction to an important topic that men must embrace or risk living only half a life!
Whether you label it post-Christian, post-Constantinian, or postmodern, Spencer Burker is right in warning that "the cultural shift now transpiring carries grave implications for the church" (p. 15). Spencer Burke, webmaster of TheOoze.com, one of the most popular "emerging church" sites on the web, allows us to listen in to conversations concerning leadership, learning, spiritual growth, ministry, missions, faith, and evangelism. These are dangerous conversations from Christians frustrated with the current state of the church who struggle with the desire to be church rather than simply just do church.
Church leaders have focused so much on techniques and strategies to get people into the front door of their church building that they have neglected to consider why so many people quietly slip out the back door - most of them never to return. According to William D. Hendricks, most of these people have not lost faith in God. They have lost faith in the church. They have "grown disillusioned with the church and other institutions of Christianity" and have "lost the energy and enthusiasm they once had for programs of spiritual development." Consequently, they "are now looking elsewhere to meet their deepest spiritual needs" (p. 11). This is an important book for church leaders to digest. For an extended review of this book, Click HERE.
"[E]vangelicalism as a religious identity is at best vague and at worst hollow" (p. 188). This is the conclusion of D. G. Hart's analysis of the branch of conservative Protestantism which goes by the name "evangelical." He advocates abandoning the term altogether. Coined in the 1940s, "evangelicalism" was used to describe a mediating position between separatistic Fundamentalism and mainline Protestantism. A group of conservative Protestants hoped to offer "an improvement on both liberalism and fundamentalism... [by] combin[ing] the best of both, the social involvement and activism of the former with the theology and evangelistic zeal of the latter" (p. 25). As the heirs of German pietism and American revivalism, evangelicals "looked more to the experience and actions of the individual believer for evidence of authentic faith than to the forms and order of the institutional church and her clergy. In fact, one of pietism's legacies... was to regard ecclesial expressions of Protestantism as synonymous with nominal Christianity" (p. 117). Unlike historic Protestants, evangelicals have always been suspicious of identifying themselves primarily through their church association, resulting in a stunted (and sometimes, nonexistent) ecclesiology. Individual experience, not church life and dogma, are at the heart of evangelicalism. Therefore, evangelicalism has difficulty in forming communities of theological depth and substance who have a great sense of connectedness with a historic past. Instead, evangelicalism usually unites people by reducing unity to the lowest common denominator through the complete rejection of historic tradition. In short, evangelicalism attempts to be the conservative Protestant movement, standing up for historic orthodoxy, while at the same time diminishing the importance of historic orthodoxy, trading it for doctrinal fads and evangelical celebrities. Evangelicalism's greatest strength is its organizational might. It creates broad coalitions. Yet, the very attempt to unite people outside the context of shared church polity, practices, and historic creeds has done the very opposite of what was intended by undermining doctrinal faithfulness and ecclesiastical identity. In the end, evangelical attempts to preserve "historic orthodoxy" fail to resemble what earlier generations understood orthodoxy to be. Though evangelicalism finds its origin in revivalism and pietism (both of which were hostile to tradition), evangelicalism has now become its own tradition that has one common thread that holds it together -- the utter denial of the authority of traditions (pp. 82, 120). Because tradition is devalued, Christian celebrities (usually entrepreneurial innovators) are celebrated, becoming the glue that holds the movement together. Indeed, one could argue that evangelicalism centers more on the likes of Billy Graham (or even James Dobson or Tim LaHaye) than it does on any doctrinal core that resembles the richness of historic orthodox tradition. Evangelicalism as lowest-common-denominator, "old-time religion" has "severed most ties to the ways and beliefs of Christians living in previous eras" (p. 19). The intellectual shallowness of evangelicalism is demonstrated in its faddishness. In order "for an evangelical mind to exist it needs to drink from Roman Catholic, Reformed, Lutheran, Anglican, or Eastern Orthodox streams" (p. 186). As a movement mobilizing masses of people, evangelicalism has been a success. "But as a shaper of a tradition, evangelicalism has been an utter failure. Its breadth has come with the price of shallowness, while its mass appeal has generated slogans more than careful reflection" (p. 187). One does not have to concur with Hart's conclusion to abandon the label "evangelical" in order to benefit from his provocative and insightful analysis of evangelicalism. Indeed, it is evangelicals who need to listen most carefully to his criticisms in order to broaden and deepen the tradition!
Written in 1972, Buscaglia's book remains relevant. As a professor, he realized that we spend more time studying everything except that which we long for and need most -- love. We don't expect to understand automobiles, cooking, mathematics, etc. without diligent study and reflection, and yet we expect to naturally understand love. Love is learned. It does not just happen. And yet all of us have the potential. Buscaglia's book is an exercise in discovering one's potential to love by "finding out what [love] is, what qualities make up a loving person and how these are developed" (p. 45). Truly loving involves much vulnerability and effort: "for to be a lover will require that you continually have the subtlety of the very wise, the flexibility of the child, the sensitivity of the artist, the understanding of the philosopher, the acceptance of the saint, the tolerance of the dedicated, the knowledge of the scholar, and the fortitude of the certain" (p. 144).
Humanity cannot be explained in terms of itself. Psychological, political, sociological, and biological studies of humanity cannot fully explain humanity because human beings are also spiritual beings, created to be the "dwelling place" of God. By rejecting this, we become our own idolaters, losing our self, others, God, and beauty along the way. Orthodox writer, Olivier Clement, attempts to break down the hubris by reminding us of the ancient truth that "the person is a mystery, intellible only by the contemplation of the Trinity" (p. 27).
A great king clothes himself in a begger's cloak, meeting a lowly maiden at her level, in order to win her love and affection. With this parable as his starting point, James Gettel describes the numerous ways God veils his glory to help us understand his great love. God wants us to freely choose to share his life and love. We must willingly choose God if we are to rightly respond to God's movement of love. Gettle argues against those who either deny the freedom of the human will or assume all acts of the will feed the human ego: "not all exercises of our own wills are egotism, and we need to exercise our own wills to escape egotism. Rejecting personal will... is not the way to vanquish sins. Our greatest authenticity comes from orienting our lives to their source... rather than seekihg independence and creating our own ways with a lack of understanding... We need to live beyond ourselves not in terms of eliminating our wills... but in terms of reorienting our attention and trusting in God" (p. 72).
"For the Christian... salvation is bodily. It is accomplished by the body of Christ, into which our bodies are incorporated... In short, bodies are made to be saved. Union with God does not take place otherwise than by incorporating our physical bodies into God's. And bodies mean senses" (p. 9). God delights in our enjoyment and creativity with the use of our senses. In this book, Gorringe outlines how the senses are instruments of grace, how they can be used for evil, why the pleasurable use the senses is not the same as fleshly sensuality, and how desire can be our own undoing without proper restraint.
In this classic book, Lewis attempts "to solve the intellectual problem raised by suffering" (p. xii). Although he sets his goal too high -- there is no completely satisfying answer to the problem of evil -- he does provide some helpful reflections on why evil exists and on what purpose it may have in God's world. The problem of evil is not just an intellectual problem but an emotional problem as well. Intellectual answers alone are not enough, but one can provide helpful insights and lessen the blow. His discussion of hell and heaven, however, are worth every bit of the price of admission!
Spiritual formation must be holistic, embracing the physical, emotional, social, spiritual, professional, and private aspects of life. I truly respect Pagitt's attempt at reimaging church. It is much needed! I wonder whether this church will continue past Pagitt. Many of his parishioners (who write throughout the book) indicate how centrally important Doug's presence and leadership is. However, the spirit of this work is contagious. It certainly provides an alternative perspective on doing and being church that is worth considering.
This collection of Lewis' tortured reflections following the loss of his wife, Joy, are painful to read. Lewis is completely transparent about his grief, the challenge to his faith, the difficulty in remembering his beloved, and the fear that the pain may never end. What an incredible book from one with such an brilliant mind and imagination! Only one with strong faith could experience such great doubt! Sorrow is not a state, but a process. All those who have suffered deeply know this. This is a great book to give freedom, understanding, and hope to faithful saints who are caught up in present sorrows. I'm grateful Lewis' shared this with us.
The "natural loves" - familial love (storge), friendship (philia), and romantic love (eros) - must be guided and transformed by Charity (Lewis' term for agape - God's kind of love). Only in this way are the natural loves rightly ordered and eternally fruitful. When pursued for their own sake, the natural loves become twisted and disordered, losing their beauty and becoming demonic. For an extended analysis of this book, click HERE.
Is there a God or is God simply the projection of human need, a fulfillment of deep-seated wishes? Freud answers "No! Grow up!" Lewis answers, "Yes! Wake up!" Lewis answers Freud's contention that religion is simply wish-fulfillment by arguing that perhaps it is Freud who is projecting his wish-fulfillment by wishing that God does not exist. Dr. Nicholi compares and contrasts the lives and teachings of Lewis and Freud. In the end, Lewis's life is demonstrably more satisfying and peaceful. Great book!
"The goal of the spiritual journey is the transformation of self... the self is where we meet God" (p. 14). This truth is taught by many great saints, among them, Augustine, Thomas a Kempis, and John Calvin. In this short book, Benner discusses how true self-acceptance is the starting point of truly knowing God. We spend a great amount of energy denying reality. Yet, "the truly spiritual life is not an escape from reality but a total commitment to it" (p. 62). "As we see how deeply loved we are by God -- in our depths, complexity, totality and sinfulness -- we dare to allow God more complete access to the dark parts of our soul that most need transformation" (p. 60).
Ever since I read Into the Depths of God, I've been a fan of Calvin Miller. His most recent book is a series of essays on the classic hymn, "Jesus loves me." The book is a bit haphazard in its treatment of this great theme. I found the hardback for $3 (it is usually $18), so it was well worth that price. For those new to Miller, start with Into the Depths of God.
Living in community is a gift of God's grace that we often take for granted. This is a classic treatment on Christian community. Bonhoeffer reveals how the ideal of community can ruin real community itself. He shows how each church member's individual acts impact the whole, since we are part of the body whether we choose to be or not. Under ministry he highlights the importance of listening, serving, and bearing the burden of other's freedom in Christ. Finally, he considers how confession brings sin to light. Great book!
This is one of the most fun books I've read in years! A paradox is "a statement that seems absurd or self-contradictory but... turns out to be true. Paradox is a particularly powerful device to ensnare truth because it concisely illuminates the contradictions that are at the very heart of our lives." Grothe has provided a large collection of paradoxes for our enjoyment and instruction. Great stuff! Great fun!
We need to listen to the criticisms people make against the church. We need to take them seriously, for there is truth in all of them. Harries addresses twenty-one common criticisms against the Christian church. Some responses are better than others, but overall, this is an interesting and helpful book.
A good leader shapes the culture of the church by creating an environment where transformation can occur. The church is not meant to be a refuge from the world but a force in the world. McManus gives great advice on church leadership in our contemporary age.
Grace illustrates a number of childlike qualities that we should strive to emulate in the Christian life, including spontaneity, wonder, amazement, delight, joy, vulnerability, and creativity.
Christianity has always existed within a cultural context. Every expression of Christianity is therefore enculturated. If this is the case, how is it possible to construct a theology for the postmodern world that is consistent with historic Christianity and yet relevant to our new time in culture. The answer: the "rule of faith" contained in the historic creeds of the church. The rule of faith is the historic and doctrinal core of the church -- the universally accepted framework of faith from the church's beginning. We must return to Classical Christianity in order to be relevant to our postmodern culture. This is the second time I've read this book. I am even more convinced of its essential truth and importance!
Another book I read again. A very good introduction to how to reinvent church in light of the postmodern culture. Great stuff!
This book changed my life in 2002! It was my favorite book of that year. I recently read it again, and now realize how much of its insights I have incorporated into my life and world view. Great book!
This is a thoughtful, ecumenical, helpful introduction to Christian spirituality. We all thirst for God. Some seek to satisfy their thirst in things that only increase the thirst more. We are called to satisfy our thirst in God. A Christian Spirituality that embraces all of life is necessary in order to do this. Our call to love God with our whole selves demands that we have a spirituality that encompasses all of life. By reflecting on the variety of expressions of Christian spirituality this book contains we can be liberated from our own time, place, and biases.
Reading this reminded me anew of our desperate need for a greater understanding of our Christian heritage. Church history gives perspective to contemporary issues. Until the church learns to break free from its a-historical blinders, it will be condemned to repeat the same mistakes again and again. Furthermore, it will miss out on the rich treasures that are ours -- if we are only willing to put in the effort to discover them! This is a great volume with which to start such an endeavor!
What a major letdown! This book seemed promising. The information is simplistic to the extreme. Most of the information is directed to megachurches or megachurch wannabes. Finally, the font is simply ugly.
Question reality! What does one do when one's deepest convictions about reality are profoundly shaken? What does one do when illusion and deception are far more preferable than reality itself? Why unplug from the Matrix? Why choose to wake up when staying asleep is more comfortable and less demanding? The Matrix is more than a sci-fi action movie; it is a metaphor for life. The world we live in is a matrix of sorts -- controlling, manipulating, and enslaving us through its pervasive lies, illusions, and deceptions. It takes great courage to break free -- to unplug. It is easier to remain plugged in. The pursuit of happiness is more easily enacted from within the Matrix. But true freedom is unknown until we choose to unplug, no matter the cost. This is a great book about important life themes. It both sheds light on the movies as well as on life and its meaning.
What a fantastic, accessible, and helpful introduction to postmodernity! Smith does a great job of explaining postmodernity, constrasting it with modernity, and explaining how to minister in a postmodern context. The world has changed. We must get over our culture shock. We must stop throwing grenades in our culture wars. We must understand in order to communicate to the world that exists, not the world we wish existed. This is a helpful tool to begin the process.
Bolsinger has done a great service for the church. He has provided an accessible and practical introduction to church life that is rooted in the Trinitarian life of God. He writes, "in a day in which there are ample discussions about 'church things' (worship styles, organizational strategies, denominational structures, cell groups), church environments (seeker-friendly, user-friendly, purpose-driven, mega-churches), and church goals (numerical growth, spiritual growth, theological fidelity, mission and evangelism), there has been a gross misunderstanding of what the church is" (p. 14). We need a recovery of good ecclesiology. At the heart of Bolsinger's vision of church is this "ancient biblical imperative" that is rooted in the Triune life of God: "As God is, so the church should be. As God does, the church should do. With the result being that the more the church is like God, the more individual souls will become like Christ" (p. 11). We need true spiritual community in order to be transformed into christlikeness. We can only reflect the image of God in community. Furthermore, every major part of the Christian faith is communal. We are "the People of the Table" who find our identity in participating in the divine life, represented most clearly in corporate sharing in the Lord's Supper. This is where true spiritual life is found! Fantastic and important book!
Knowledge of God is possible, but only by admitting and embracing the complete inadequacy of knowledge to know God fully. Only love can embrace God's fullness and pierce the cloud of unknowing -- a cloud of darkness that arises from human limitations and God's unfathomable greatness. In many ways, The Cloud of Unknowing is a very helpful corrective in our day. The author maintains a near-impossible tension in regard to extremes. He is rational without embracing rationalism, contemplative without embracing quietism. He recognizes the limitations of language while maintaining a high regard for Holy Scripture. He renounces all creatures while remaining convinced of the glorious transformation of all creation. He advocates losing self but not losing individual personality. He advocates personal experience of God without rejecting participation in the corporate expression of faith. These are all difficult positions to maintain. The tension remains high as does the potential for misunderstanding and abuse. Yet the author does an amazing job of maintaining these tensions throughout his work. For an extended analysis of this book, click HERE!
Through complete detachment from earthly things the soul is prepared to receive the fullness of God. "Ris[ing] from everything that is not God, away from himself and all created things" the spiritual man begins his descent into greatness (46). Paradoxically, to reach the highest state of human existence we must descend to the lowest depths of humility and self-denial: "the deeper we sink, the higher we rise, for height and depth are here [in the divinized person] identical" (143-144). This paradoxical pattern of descent/ascent finds its source in the work of Christ (Philippians 2:5-11). It is this pattern that is the basis for Johannes Tauler's (1300-1361) spirituality. For an extended analysis of his work, click HERE.
In order to be a successful church it is vital that we measure success rightly. Wes Roberts and Glenn Marshall encourage us to reconsider how we determine success: "Success in ministry is commonly measured in terms of attendance, budgets, buildings, and programs. Do you really believe that's how Jesus measures success?" (12). In contrast to these criteria, Roberts and Marshall challenge the church to measure success "in terms of faithfulness, endurance, and perseverance in the calling that God gives to us" (p.13). This may or may not include increased attendance, bigger budgets, or better programs. "[W]e can't consider ourselves successful simply because we draw a crowd. Much more is required of us" (56). The authors are not against such standards of measurement as long as they take second-place to the only true measure - being and making disciples of Jesus Christ. "Church growth may, in fact, be a fine result of your work. But it shouldn't be the goal of your work" (33). Our challenge is to truly believe that discipleship - the lifelong process of personal spiritual formation into the likeness of Christ - is the standard for success. "Somehow, we must learn to measure success in terms of being and making disciples. Are the varying kinds of people in our congregations growing in spiritual maturity?" (166-167). Our problem is that our identity is so wrapped up in inappropriate standards of success: "Let's face it: Much of our identity has to do with what we think are important measures of church work: attendance, money, successful programs, and facilities" (66). We are not being faithful to the Great Commission simply by drawing a crowd. Faithfulness to the Great Commission requires making disciples. Thus, the church's major work is spiritual formation in the context of loving community. This work begins with us - our commitment to personal and corporate discipleship by sharing life together in a community of faith. Roberts and Marshall have written an important book. In our pursuit of bigger and better, it is easy to forget what matters most. True success begins and ends with discipleship. It is odd that we would need reminded of this (given that the word "disciple" occurs 269 times in the New Testament), but it goes to show how blinding "success" can be when it is not measured by a biblical standard.
This is a fascinating book about the Baptist preacher, Roger Williams, who was the first person to speak of a wall of separation between church and state. Though now admired as a great defender of religious liberty and the founder of Rhode Island, Williams was despised by many in his day and ultimately exiled from Massachusetts Bay in 1635. His commitment to liberty of conscience caused him to be a man without a home on many occasions. At best, he was viewed as a contentious troublemaker, at worse, an ungodly heretic. Yet his views on religious tolerance arose, not out of indifference to religion, but from deep religious conviction. For an extended review, click HERE.
What is the difference between selfish ambition and appropriate assertiveness? Lack of ambition among Christian leaders can lead to fulfilling only the minimum requirements of ministry. Too much ambition can victimize churches, using parishioners for personal gain. We live in a tension: We want to be part of a community but we also want to stand out in the community. "The challenge is to discover how to be an individual in community, and how the community can affirm individuality" (37). Only godly ambition can allow us to serve the community by being the best we can be without fighting to be better than others. Schnase offers some great material to help in discerning between good and bad ambition. Highly recommended for Christian leaders.
This book could have been half its current size. The point is well made, but goes on too long. People are defecting from the church for various reasons. Some because of the convenience of "virtual church"; others simply to save their faith. Schaeffer challenges us to stay the course with our churches, even when it is difficult to do so. "As strange as it may sound, problems with others in the church is not a surprise or some kind of divine confusion; it is part of His plan for us to grow in Him. Pleasant experiences, happy moments, and always supportive people would be a wonderful way to live, but it would not do much to strengthen our faith or character" (109). He continues: "True Christian love is not a mushy, sentimental feeling; it is a deliberate act in full view and knowledge of others' failings and shortcomings. it loves not because people are so lovable but in spite of the fact that they are frequently not. This is the way God loves us, and this is the way He wants us to learn ot love one another. The imperfect church is the perfect place for Christians to learn the lessons of love" (110). The chapter on virtual church and friendship vs. fellowship are worth the price of the book alone.
We leaders are capable of great self-deception. According to McIntosh and Rima "we are capable of transforming even the most selfishly motivated action into an act of sacrificial altruism in our own minds" (43). There is a dark side to leadership, and unfortunately, it often is the force behind much of our efforts. "[B]ecause ambition is easily disguised in Christian circles and couched in spiritual language (the need to fulfill the Great Commission and expand the church), the dysfunctions that drive Christian leaders often go undetected and unchallenged until it is too late" (14). Christian leaders must be willing to admit the reality of this dark side and do all in their power to overcome it in order to keep from abusing those under their charge. This book seeks to address such abuse.
What does it mean to take a vow of poverty in a nation where poverty is rampant? What is the significance of God's preferential love for victims of poverty and injustice for a nation where these things abound? Latin American theology sheds insights on such questions in a way that North American cannot. Gutierrez presents his view of Christian spirituality and its particular expression in Latin America. Liberation from sin, death, and injustice through the work of Christ appropriated by his Spirit is at the heart of his theology.
This classic book on community life is chock full of great insights on community life! It is profound and practical. Jean Vanier has spent much of his life ministering to mentally handicapped people in small communities. The insights he has gained are appropriate for every expression of community -- including family and church life! Fantastic book!
Samuel Rima hopes to save pastors who are "unwittingly entranced and obsessed with the mega-church amulet" (10). Can the right formula guarantee church growth? Of course not! And yet, countless pastors are seduced into thinking that this is so. Even worse, even more parishioners believe this to be the case, placing needless pressure and unrealistic expectations upon their leaders. One searches in vain to find the "church growth" strategies and advice advocated by growth gurus in the New Testament. Instead, the emphasis is on leading a godly life resulting in works of love. God sovereignly brings growth. Trusting in techniques and strategies can make us forget this central truth. Generally speaking, the only evangelical pastors given a voice in the public forum are the mega-church pastors. Those who have not won the "numbers game" are considered failures and are not worth listening to. Though we should not remain stagnant or become ingrown and selfish, we must maintain confidence that God brings growth as God desires. "God grows the church to fulfill his own purposes and for his own pleasure. And every often in ministry there come times when we experience a direct and powerful clash between our needs for personal success and the sovereign actions of God" (53). "It is vitally important that we as spiritual leaders recognize that we can do our very best and in fact be doing everything right and still not realize the growth and ministry expansion for which we long" (84).
What does one get when one channels medieval Catholic spirituality through the lens of Protestant theology? The answer: Johann Arndt's spiritual classic True Christianity (1605). Labeled by Albert Schweitzer as "the prophet of interior Protestantism," Johann Arndt presents a mystical theology that is thoroughly rooted in the soil of Lutheran doctrinal distinctives. Consequently, his work provides a good starting point for wrestling with a mystical spirituality that is grounded in Protestant theology. Click HERE for an extended analysis.
This is a textbook for my class on pastoral counseling. And, like a textbook, it is somewhat dry, boring, and tedious. It's claim to "comprehension" is not without warrant. All in all, it is a helpful introduction to major schools of counseling with Christian critiques of each.
One of the most profound treatments concerning God's secret workings in the soul in order to completely purify his people for the purpose of deep spiritual communion. For a complete analysis, click HERE.
Gerald May does a fantastic job of making the message of The Dark Night of the Soul accessible to contemporary people. His background in the mind sciences gives him great insight in applying St. John's teachings. Great book!
Alain de Botton argues that every adult life is "defined by two great love stories": the quest for sexual love and the quest for social love - love from the world. The first quest is "well known and well charted"; the second "is a more secret and shameful tale" (5). This book is fantastic! For an extended review, click HERE!
Let's face it: we Christians are a bunch of silly people at times -- especially when it comes to our love/hate affair with culture. Our attempts to provide an alternative to so-called "secular" culture often end up boring, uncreative, unimaginative, pale and sanitized imitations of what the world has to offer. Rather than truly offering something counter-cultural and transformational, we usually settle for something sub-cultural and legalistic. To top it off, our inability to be self-critical of our own fads, fancies, and fetishes makes us even more pathetic. Books like Turners help us to gain a fresh perspective on how insufferably silly we seem at times. This book is funny and sad at the same time.
Wayne Brown is sick of the kind of Christian living that seeks to control life through formulas, principles, and programs. He calls this mindset the "culture of Right Christian Living." It is "a pragmatic and programmatic approach to faith that is so convincing, so pervasive, so widely accepted, that we are often impotent to resist its influence" (14). No matter what noble objective you desire to achieve -- "a stronger marraige, better-behaved kids, more effective prayer, a larger church, even political influence" -- there is a Christian formula to guarantee success. However, "real life" tends to run into our formulas and expose them as reductionistic half-truths that promise more than they deliver. Thinking the problem lies with us rather than our simplistic formulas, we try harder -- until finally we are discouraged. Brown calls us back to the way of Jesus and "love's freedom" (16). He reminds us that God himself is "the blessing" we desire -- and God is available always and in every situation. He calls us to seek true personal transformation rather than simple solutions to life's problems. It is in the common routines of life that God is actively working to transform us. This demands learning to see God with a different set of eyes -- and expectations. All of the challenges that we think stem from our inability to properly implement God's principles may be the very problems God wants to use to transform us. "More often than not, the abundance we seek will be found within the imperfect particularities of our lives. To seek for it elsewhere is to seek for something other than God" (72). God is able to bring "water from stone." God's refreshing presence flows forth from the very common and very apparent stones that line our lives' paths. Brown asks us to consider, "Can you imagine Christ in your suffering with you, or is he your Christ only if and when the suffering goes away?" (87). Our demand for control and guaranteed blessing through Christian formulas is not a manifestation of faith, but of fear. If [we] are looking for a system of faith that will solve the dilemmas of parenting, courtship, or career, the system will most certainly break down" (184). Perhaps we need to consider that the opposite of faith is not doubt, but control. A great book with a much-needed message in our technological culture bent on controlling rather than living life.
Jean Vanier spent so much time ministering to mentally-challenged individuals that his thoughts on community are precious. For example: "I differ from Aristotle over certain aspects of anthropology, particularly over his definition of the human being as 'a rational animal', a definition which excludes people with mental handicaps from humanity. I would sooner define the human being as 'someone capable of love'" (xv). Though I prefer his classic, Community and Growth", this book has some choice material.
Herbert McCabe is a brilliant thinker. He has given me hope that the Thomist tradition is still vital, helpful, and relevent. The chapters on Aquinas' teaching on the Trinity and the importance of "Christ suffered" in the Creed are worth the price of the book alone. Great stuff!
It's tragic that Tom Stella rejects so much of the core content of Christianity. Why? Because his spirituality is so rich! Though I share many of Stella's negative reactions to the "fundamentalist" aspects of Christianity he critiques, I don't think he needs to reject so much historical orthodoxy in order to recover "a faith worth believing." For example, he rejects Jesus' uniqueness as "one sent from heaven" or "the one and only Son of God" (47). And yet, Jesus certainly plays a significant role in his spirituality. I do long to possess the kind of spirituality that Stella writes about, but I think I can do it while retaining some of the aspects of orthodoxy he rejects. Mind and heart, ancient and future, mystical and historical -- this is a faith worth believing!
What a fantastic book! Lukefahr presents four levels of happiness: (1) physical pleasures which are quickly attained; (2) achievement in work or play through discipline; (3) relationships nurtured over time through faithful commitment; and (4) a relationship with God. Each level provides happiness. Each level of happiness also has limitations -- and corruptions. Though many of the pleasures of the first three levels are legitimate, we ultimately find ourselves hungering for something more. That something more is the happiness of the fourth level -- the happiness of knowing God. This is a great book with a great message that takes the pleasures of life seriously while also exposing their limitations without God.
Apocalyptic dramas provide a voyeuristic view from the safety and security of heaven on devastating war, mass bloodshed, and unrelenting violence outpoured on a world God leaves behind: a world where the powers of evil rule and God's Spirit has departed; an environment where injustice and evil are tolerated in the name of God's prophecies -- prophecies that must be fulfilled; a culture that is overwhelmingly evil, forcing Christians underground to evangelize people from their bunkers through high-tech media such as the internet and satellite phones; a place where Christians carry high-powered artillery to ward off evil. This is the world of Left Behind. It is an ugly, brutal world -- a world that cannot be saved, restored, or renewed. Thankfully, the picture it paints is not biblical, but the product of an overworked imagination intent on seeing that unbelievers "get their due." The message of Left Behind has no connection at all to the Book of Revelation -- a book of hope; a book that demonstrates that it is the self-giving love of the Lamb that is the ultimate power, not military or political might; a book that is about Jesus and his love and his patient warnings to a rebellious world, not about antichrist and his evil. I am saddened by evangelicals' inability to see that they have been duped by an eschatological system that is not even 200 years old. In the process they have been sold a picture of power and prophecy that has little to do with the power of Jesus in the weakness of suffering love and the prophecies of Scripture which are primarily addressed against moral injustices and given in order to spur repentance. This book is a helpful first step in renouncing the violent, hateful, separatistic message of the Left Behind series and recapturing the true message of hopeful restoration of all things in Christ through the power of his love expressed most chiefly in his cross. The bunker mentality has got to go. God so loves the world! He will not leave it behind!
Ruth presents contemplative prayer in a manner that most evangelicals will be comfortable with. In her book, Ruth provides helpful insights concerning the practice of contemplative prayer. I have implemented a number of her insights and have found them incredibly fruitful in my times of prayer. Repeatedly, I have found that the peace and calm I experience in a few short minutes carries with me throughout the day. For an extended review, click HERE.
This book is exactly what the evangelical church needs - a prophetic challenge to reconsider our perception of God by throwing out what is not true about God. Using an approach that is very similar to the apophatic way (we know God best by negation rather than affirmation - by what God is not rather than what God is - because what God is goes far beyond our ability to ever comprehend), the authors deconstruct the popular evangelical ideas that God is nice, male, white, American, or a capitalist. Knowing what God is not is not equivalent to not knowing God at all. By exposing our false ideas about God, we are able to see God more clearly. God is not nice, but God is kind. God is not the god of American civil religion, a god of and for the United States, but God is the god of the nations. Neither America nor American ideals hold any special place of favor with God. Instead of fighting for "one nation under God" we should be striving for "one church under God." However, many "patriots" are more willing to pursue the former than they are the latter! Though many would shirk over "dying for their faith" or even more "killing for their faith" and are often incredibly confused by people who would, we seem to have no trouble "dying for our country" and "killing for our country." This should cause us to examine our allegiances. When our pledge of allegiance to country overwhelms and obscures our allegiance to Christ and his church, something has gone afoul. This is an important and challenging book in a day when many equate faithfulness to the Christian faith with American patriotism.
By reading contemporary psychological categories into the Church Fathers and medieval mystics, we misread the mystics. They were not primarily experientialists. Indeed, very few actually write of "spiritual experiences." On the contrary, many of those who are now labeled mystics actually argued against experientialism through their apophatism. For example, "John's 'dark nights' are the metaphors not of experience, but of a dialectical critique of experientialist tendencies" (227). The very label, "mystic" is of recent origin. Therefore, mysticism should not be equated with experientialism. The primary claim of the mystic was not to have "experienced God." If anything, their great claim was "to the experience of the absence of God" (262). It is not - as a contemporary experientialist reading assumes - the "experience of negativity" that is described, but rather it is "the negativity of experience" (the absence of "experience") that is described.
The Hungarian scientist and philosopher, Michael Polanyi,rightly understood that the unwarranted belief in total objectivity arose from an unachievable demand for absolute certainty in knowledge. He argued that all knowledge is "personal knowledge." Therefore, no "objective scientific facts" have special veto privilege over all other fields of knowledge -- philosophy, religion, metaphysics, ethics, etc. I believe that integrating Polanyi's thoughts with the insights of great Christian thinkers of the past results in an epistemology that concurs with contemporary postmodern insights on the limitations of language and knowledge without completely abandoning the possibility of objective reality and personal confidence - in other words, an epistemology that does not lead to complete despair that language is no more than "word games" or assume that personal knowledge is nothing more than one's opinion, tastes, and individual preferences with no relationship to truth or reality. I wrote two extended essays on Polanyi's philosophy: The Myth of Certainty: Personal Knowledge as the Gateway to Reality, and Life in the Real World: Our Personal Commitment to Endless Discovery in a Meaningful Universe.
The church is to be an accepting community of outrageous love. Sadly, our judgmentalism gets in the way of the realization of this goal. The church is not perceived to be a loving community, but, on the contrary, "the church... is perceived as being less loving and less accepting than most other communities" (46). Instead of pursuing greater love for others as the chief mark of the Christian we pursue being right as the chief mark. "We have tended to define ourselves as the promoters of good against evil and have often seen ourselves as specialists on good and evil. We have consequently become judges of good and evil rather than lovers of people regardless of whether they are good or evil" (66). We did not have this right in the Garden of Eden; we do not have this right now. "The essence of sin is that we play God. We critically assess and evaluate everything and everyone from our limited, finite, biased perspective" (68). We cannot judge others except from a position of superiority. By cutting others down through judgment we can raise ourselves up. In this way, we use others for our own self-exaltation: "the judgment is invariably self-serving" (71). This is corporately expressed in judgmental Christian communities: "Religious idolaters need to believe that the sins they commit are not as bad as the ones they avoid. Though they of course must acknowledge that they are not perfect, they need to be convinced that at least they are not like those people -- the targeted group of sinners they tend to avoid" (88). This judgmentalism perpetuates hypocrisy and religious posturing. People can't be free to be honest and real in such an environment. "So long as people suspect they will be judged because of (for example) their dishonesty, their abortion, their secret addiction, or their sexual cravings, they will not risk bringing these things out of hiding" (181). Only when the church seeks the priority of love in all things will it become like its Lord. Note: The chapter "The Center is Love" is worth the price of the book alone. It is one of the best extended treatments of the centrality of love in the Scriptures that I've ever read.
Incredible theological insights from a master Catholic theologian. The chapters on "preaching as a sacrament of salvation" and "problems and nature of Pauline mysticism" are brilliant! Penna presents truth with an academic flourish that remains warm and experiential. Great stuff!
Schweitzer argues that Paul's mysticism is unique -- not rooted in hellenistic mystery religions, but in real participatory union with Christ. In order to understand Paul's mysticism, one must not simply focus on individual redemption (forensic imputation, personal forgiveness, etc.) Instead, one must connect Paul's being-in-Christ emphasis with Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom. By relating the eschatological, juridicial, and mystical dimensions of Paul's theology together, one comes closer to the heart of Paul's message.
Human cadavers are used for some crazy things. Blossoming plastic surgeons practice their science/art on detached human heads. Dead human bodies are used as crash test dummies to analyze accident impact tolerance. Dismembered body parts are shot into with live ammunition in order to evaluate blast impacts. Human corpses are snatched, dismembered, dissected, mummified, and even eaten. But don't let this bother you too much: the natural process of human decay is none too pretty either! Mary Roach handles a very difficult topic with grace, dignity, and a good dose of humor. I often found myself squirming and laughing out loud at the same time. Her main moral point is that we all should consider donating our organs for transplant or scientific research: "The point is that no matter what you choose to do with your body when you die, it won't, ultimately, be very appealing" (82). Of course, we do not have to wait until we are dead to give ourselves away for the good of others. Regardless, this is a fascinating and (strangely enough) enjoyable book.
John Stossel is a self-proclaimed "classical liberal" (181) whose libertarian beliefs make him appear conservative when set against the totalitarian left who demand that no voices are heard other than their own. Because the totalitarian left dominates so many popular media outlets, John Stossel's reporting often ruffles feathers. He began his career as a consumer reporter. Many of his exposes led to government action. Over time, Stossel realized that government regulation simply made matters worse. He then began to expose government waste and problems with "public interest" groups. This made him the bad-boy of the media. Stossel emphasizes personal responsibility, the limitations of the law to promote morality ("morality is based on choosing the right option among many, not on doing what the law forces," 258), and how the private sector almost always does things better than government programs. At a time when many Americans are willing to give up their personal liberties for the sake of "no-risk" living, Stossel's book is a helpful reminder that our freedoms should not be so glibly given away.
We generally leave our thinking to others. This has resulted in an impoverished "human imagination that has become ossified, codified, and generally naturalized" (3). White warns us that we should not give over all thought to the talking heads on TV. We should think for ourselves: "thought out to be the liveliest thing we do" (21). Because we have surrendered thought to others, our imagination is weak -- we can hardly imagine another way to live. Without the imagination, we cannot change the way things are. "The imagination 'happily permits' criticism and the creation of alternatives" (24). The "Middle Mind" gives us the illusion of thought and imagination, but it is actually stifles the imagination through managed content that perpetuates the status quo. Entertainment, academic orthodoxy, and political ideology are the three great enemies of the imagination. White warns that we must learn to think for ourselves. When it comes to art, are "liking" and "not liking" something the only options we have? Are we a polarized nation of Beavis and Buttheads that can only conclude that something either "sucks" or "rocks." Do we no longer have the ability to imagine something different, something better. If we do not, there are plenty who are willing to perpetuate the status quo. We need an "imaginative revolution in the face of the ever-advancing National Security State" (78). We need to learn to see as if for the very first time. "The answer to the problem of the imagination is simply that we must learn to think change" (71, italics his). This hope challenges blind faith in the current state of things. Of all people, Christians should be willing to imagine a better world that is not bound by the constraints of how things presently are. Our Lord was revolutionary. Why aren't we? One does not have to agree with everything in this book to be thankful for the challenge to think, imagine, and change. Note: White demonstrates how even our "best" entertainment often simply reinforces the status-quo by giving a detailed interpretation of Saving Private Ryan that is incredibly interesting (44-51). I can't believe I missed what White so clearly saw!
"We often turn to God at our most vulnerable moments, when all seems lost unless God steps in. Why does God remain distant, silent, and hard when we call on him? If God doesn't respond when we need him most, then why pray at all?" (11). Sittser then proceeds to give great insight on how to handle "unanswered prayers." Sittser's book is perhaps the most comprehensive treatment I have ever read on this topic. He wrestles with the experience of unanswered prayer without descending to simplistic or hurtful answers. His insights are even more compelling in light of Sittser's past. Jerry Sittser's van was hit by a drunk driver eleven years ago. He lost his mother, his wife, and one daughter in the accident. He knows about tragedy, suffering, and the sorrow of unanswered prayers. This book is a great resource!
Life is more than evangelism, Bible study, and prayer meetings. These are good things, but they are a small part of life. For some Christians, these are the only parts of life worth living; the rest of life -- eating, drinking, working, playing, bill-paying, cleaning, and traveling, etc. -- is simply endured as bothersome, secular, necessary evils of life. Michael Wittmer seeks to change this mindset by showing us not only the meaning of life, but the deep and profound meaning in life. "Think about it. We spend most of our time on task that are not considered 'spiritual.' We brush and floss our teeth, mow the lawn, buy groceries, take our children to the park or zoo, read the newspaper, bake a cake, wash the car, press our pants, watch a movie -- all of which we do not so much because we are Christian but because we are human. Even full-time evangelists and missionaries must devote time to these merely human activities. Thus we are in deep trouble if leading souls to Christ is the only reason we remain on this planet, for most, perhaps 99.9 percent of what we do, is not that" (94-95). All God's creation is important to God -- not simply the so-called "spiritual" stuff. God created all things and declared them good. God is redeeming all things through Christ. The Word became flesh -- God's eternal declaration of the sanctity and goodness of creation! The physical world is not the problem. It is our perversion, distortion, and corruption of the physical world through human sin that is the problem. God will ultimately purify all creation by making a new heavens and new earth. Our ultimate end will not involve floating spirits ethereally gliding through clouds, but resurrection bodies firmly planted on terra firma. The goal of life is not to be "superhuman" but to be "fully human" -- fully alive, existing in harmony with God, others, and creation. Contrary to conventional Christian platitudes, "nowhere does Scripture hold out heaven as our ultimate goal. Instead, it informs us that heaven is merely the first leg of a journey that is round-trip... we earthlings were made to live here -- on this planet. This is where we belong. We're already home" (74). For this reason, the climax of God's redemptive plan is bringing heaven to earth through the person of Christ and the power of the Spirit. The emphasis of the gospel is not on "us with God" somewhere in heaven, but on "God with us" here on earth.
"Some books are written to comfort troubled Christians, but this is not one of them. Rather, this book will disturb and trouble the comfortable" (xiii). Having recently experienced a stroke, and consciously nearing the end of his life, Christian author Tony Campolo chooses to stir up the waters again. You do not have to agree with him in order to respect his passion and thoughtfulness. Conservative evangelicals dominate the airwaves, drowning out the voices of confessing evangelicals like Campolo who refuse to tow the Christian "party line." In this book, Tony addresses sexism, gay marriage, post-mortem salvation, scientism in all its forms -- Christian and non, Islam, and war. He proves that in many ways America is not in the moral decline that the Christian right regularly portrays it to be. We need voices like Campolo's! Why is it that the phrase "evangelical Christian" and the name "Jesus" draw such contrasting responses from people? Why do people respect Jesus and despise evangelicals? This would diminish if people were aware that the self-proclaimed representatives of Christian religion do not represent all of us.
We have a hard time facing our own limitations. It is easier to pretend that they don't exist. Eventually, however, our illusions are exposed. Because our limitations are real, McCullough invites us to view them as gifts that lead us to a deeper faith and a greater love. When we come to a limitation in life, we may discover life in the limitation. For example, we only really begin to love people when we embrace the limitations of relationships and realize that everyone will eventually disappoint us. Only then can we truly love them as they are, and not simply as extensions of our own ego. Another example: No matter how much knowledge we have, we all remain ignorant of so many things. This is multiplied by infinity when it comes to our knowledge of God. If we reject limitations, we become arrogant and ruthlessly dogmatic. If we embrace our limitations, we open ourselves to love, mystery, and reverence. Throughout the book, McCullough addresses the limitations of the body, relationships, achievement, morality, spirituality, romance, sex, public approval, money, freedom, pleasure, and time. Our limitations make us mindful that we are not God, and therefore, if embraced, they lead us to a deeper dependence upon God. This is a great book to help us find the life in our limitations and better pray the serenity prayer: God grant me the serenity, to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Easily in the running for one of my favorite books this year, this book about the spirituality of Alcoholics Anonymous is jam-packed with deep insights and profound wisdom. The authors are no slouches -- they quote from a wide variety of academic sources. Learning to live with one's limitations, the difference between willfulness and willingness, the importance of a community who shares stories and shares a common story, and insights on detachment, gratitude, and humility, are just a sampling of the profound offerings in this book. In short, anyone, regardless of their beliefs, can benefit from this great resource. I simply wish more Christian books were as "spiritual"!
I'm always trying to better understand what it means to obey Jesus' call to lose ourselves so that we might find ourselves, so I was immediately drawn to the title of this book. This book's primary purpose is to persuade us of the necessity of meditating two times daily for 30 minutes. Whether you are persuaded or not, Freeman's insights on Christian growth are second-to-none! He has fantastic insight on the spiritual life.
Some critics accuse Paul of perverting the pure message of Jesus. They suggest "that Paul was an innovator who brought into Christianity all sorts of ideas and emphases that complicated and spoiled the original, simple religion of Jesus" (2). The solution offered to reverse this perceived problem is to reject Paul and return to Jesus. Wenham proves that Paul's teaching does not contradict Jesus, but further develops Jesus' message. Paul ministers after the cross and resurrection and in a different cultural setting. This demands development and different emphases. Ultimately, Wenham convincingly argues that Paul is not the founder of Christianity; Jesus is. Paul is simply "the most influential exponent of Christian faith in the early church" (10) and one of Jesus' most faithful followers!
Strom provides helpful philosophical, historical, and social background to better understand Paul's writings. In the last three chapters he rails against the contemporary form of the church, arguing that the ancient church met for one reason: for the mutual edification of one another. Strom minimizes public preaching and worship events and argues for more graceful conversations within the church. Like many, I think he wants a small-group experience of community every time the church meets. Because of this, I think he inadequately undermines the value of event-oriented worship and its accompanying public proclamation.
Stories communicate more powerfully than statistics. A narrative teaches more than a list of facts. "You can rant and rave all you want over people who 'won't face the facts' or who 'ignore the facts' or who 'don't live in the real world,' but your facts won't reach them until you give them a new story" (52). The power of story is great. The stories we tell ourselves define who we are and how we live. Simmons teaches how to use stories in leadership but her book has wider relevance. Great book!
This is a fantastic introduction to Christian mystics and the mystical tradition -- a tradition that has existed throughout the whole of church history, but, sadly, if often neglected by conservative evangelical Christians. This is tragic. Because of our refusal to embrace the whole of the Christian tradition, many people have rejected Christianity and embraced alternative spiritualities. In this wonderful book, Johnstron introduces us to the basic strands of mystical theology.
In this book, Reynolds Price, a self-described "outlaw Christian," attempts to wrestle with the heart of Jesus' ethic. He is of the school that views Paul as perverting the pure religion of Jesus. He imagines three post-resurrection encounters, two with Judas on the topic of homosexuality and suicide, and one with the adulterous woman on the topic of women. In my opinion, his narratives shed little insight on these difficult themes, and perhaps, muddy the waters even more. Furthermore, it is eerie to see Jesus respond positively to Judas' homosexual advances and then not only condone Judas' suicide but lend a hand in the act.
What a great collection of stories and parables about spirituality! Anthony de Mello, although a Catholic, has real problems with organized religion (and sometimes, for good reason). This comes through in a number of the stories, but does not detract from the whole.
Benson writes of his journey back to God and hope after suffering a breakdown due to depression. He offers a few interesting observations about the deeper spirituality he has found in contrast to his fundamentalist upbringing.
This book certainly wins an award for the longest subtitle in recent history. McLaren could have nicely summed up his subtitle by calling himself a "hack theologian." The church does not simply need to change "style" in order to connect to the culture, we must change the "story" that we are telling to the world. The orthodox Christian story is so much greater, broader, deeper, wider, and more wondrous than most Christians let on. McLaren is leading in the right direction. May God grant him many faithful listeners!
"Thinking Outside the Church: 110 Ways to Connect with Your Spiritual Nature explores the dea inherent to a spiritual sensibility: that spiritaulity is everywhere and anywhere and cannot be contained or restrained inside any walls of worship. It does not deny that spirituality can be found when we exit the world and enter the church but only argues taht this narrows our spiritual experience to four walls, a roof, and an hour of religious service on Sunday morning. To 'think outside the church' means to think that everything outside the church can be found and should be found a spiritual experience as well. To think outside the church means to lengthen and broaden and heighten our worship in the world by expanding our definition of worship and the meaning of 'religious service'" (ix - x). Jennifer does this by giving a short introduction to 110 topics followed by a series of quotes from a broad selection of spiritual writers.
"People who are afraid to tell God, or even Jesus, how angry they are with him or them, are often glad to be able to take such anger out on someone like Paul, about whom they cherish no such inhibitions" (11). Paul's gospel is Jesus' gospel viewed in the new light after Christ's crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. This new state of things demands a complete rethinking of things: "But if Jesus really was the Messiah, and if his death and resurrection really were the decisive heaven-sent defeat of sin and vindication of the poeple of YHWH, then this means that the Age to Come had already begun, had already been inaugurated, even though the Present Age, the time of sin, rebellion, and wickedness, was still proceeding apace. Saul therefore realized that his whole perspective on the way in which YHWH was going to act to unveil his plan of salvation had to be drastically rethought... Saul was already living in the time of the end, even though the previous dimension of time was still carrying on all around him. The Present Age and the Age to Come overlapped, and he was caught in the middle, or rather, liberated in the middle, liberated to serve the same God in a new way, with a new knowledge to which he had before been blind" (37). This is an absolutely essential book for anyone interested in proclaiming the gospel!
"The ultimate of human happiness is to be found in contemplation." Namely, contemplation of God. As usual, Pieper offers profound thoughts about humankind's search for happiness. We experience various blessings in this life, but all -- even the best -- are inadequate. We never quite have enough. Ultimately, all earthly blessings are simply a foretaste of eternal beatitude -- contemplation of God. This contemplation is not simply thinking about God, but an intuitive resting of the soul's gaze upon God. "Contemplation is a form of knowing arrived at not by thinking but by seeing, intuition... Intuition is without doubt the perfect form of knowing. For intuition is knowledge of what is actually present; the parallel to seeing with the senses is exact. Thinking, on the other hand, is knowledge of what is absent, or may be merely the effort to achieve such knowledge... The validity of thinking, Thomas says, rests upon what we perceived by direct intuition; but the necessity for thinking is due to a failure of intuition... The contemplation, then, is intuition; that is to say, is a type of knowing which does not merely move toward its object, but already rests in it" (73-74). Great book by a great thinker!
"This book does not offer answers or solutions but is written in the conviction that the quest for an authentic Christian spirituality is worth the effort and the pain, since in the midst of this quest we can find signs offering hope, courage and confidence" (14). Nouwen recognizes the limitations of spiritual life "stages" and instead offers a perspective of Christian spirituality that wrestles with polarities we hold in tension. "we can become more aware of the different poles between which our lives vacillate and are held in tension. These poles offer the context in which we can speak about the spiritual life... The first polarity deals with our relationship to ourselves. It is the polarity between loneliness and solitude. The second polarity forms the basis of our relationship to others. This is the polarity between hostility and hospitality. The third, final and most important polarity structures our relationship with God. This is the polarity between illusion and prayer" (18). True growth involves moving from loneliness to solitude, then from hostility toward others to hospitality, and finally, from illusion to reality with God. This is another great book by Nouwen. His chapter on hospitality is worth the price alone!
What a fantastic introduction to seven key mystics and their respective themes. The chapter on "detachment" is worth the price of the book alone!
"To save the world we need something more biblical than higher standards. We need higher relationships" (2). Postmodern leader Leonard Sweet waxes eloquently on the priority of relationship over rules -- a relationship that flows from being incorporated into GodLife. In my opinion, Sweet makes too much of a distinction between belief and faith. He also spends a significant amount of time attempting to prove that Abraham should have argued with God (as he had done in the past) about sacrificing his own son. Whether he is right or not (and he very well may be right), he proves that relationships involve more than simply following rules. "'Yes sir,' 'No sir,' 'I didn't understand the question, sir' and 'No excuse, sir.' These kinds of exchanges may be good for military discipline, but they don't build a good relationship. Some people think these four responses make up the entire repertoire of our allowable exchanges with God" (54). Sweet continues, "With our children, we want more than their 'uh-huh' obedience... Would you rather have a child who obeys everything you say but doesn't want a relationship with you? Or would you prefer a child who is rebellious and contentious but who has a deep and affectionate relationship with you? What makes your children your children? The fact that they obey you? Or the fact that you take pleasure in them, delight in being close to them, miss them when they aren't around?" (54-55) Living "by the book" is not necessarily about correct procedures and policy, but of living the exciting and adventurous story of the Gospel.
This is a great academic resource in regard to how Christianity appeared to people in the Roman empire prior to Christianity becoming the established religion of the West.
In order to film a documentary on life in a fundamentalist church, Harvard graduate and son of a Methodist minister, James Ault, spent three years with Reverend Frank Valenti and his congregation at Shawmut River church. Rather than abstractly analyzing the fundamentalist phenomenon from an intellectual distance, Valenti plunged into its most important expression -- life in a local church. For an extended analysis of this provocative and interesting book, click HERE.
Christian instruction is pervaded by one-size-fits-all, generic, all-inclusive programs that overlook individual gifts, interests, and personalities. Thankfully, Gary Thomas possesses too much spiritual wisdom to force all Christians into one box. Using the rich and varied tradition that the historic church possesses, Thomas gives insight to nine different types of "spiritual temperaments." One of these is bound to describe you. Thomas teaches that Jesus possessed all the temperaments in all their fullness and is thus the ultimately model for all "sacred pathways." Great resource!
Want a better understanding of the postmodern mind in all its charming glory? You can't do much better than this book. Chuck is a senior writer for SPIN magazine and self-admitted pop-culture junkie. He seeks to make sense out of life through pop-culture -- and he does make a lot of sense! Along the way, he keeps us laughing. He begins with a confession that no woman will ever satisfy him because of media-generated "fake love" that he finds himself competing with making "it impossible to fall in love with any acumen of normalcy" (4). He ends with an analyis of Left Behind and rightly sees it as a "scare tactic" used to get people to believe in Jesus. In between he comments on learning about life through the computer game "The Sims," the one-dimensionality effect of reality TV on human life, the brilliance of Billy Joel (an unlikely "rock star" if ever there was one), life on the road with a GNR tribute band, and more.
I certainly appreciate Klosterman's writing and perspective -- he takes people and culture seriously without taking himself too seriously. At the same time, he seeks a deeper meaning behind the superficial veneer of pop-culture without taking it too seriously either. Though he would probably not admit it, he appears to be a God-haunted man. A number of passages give this away: "'But at some point, that power [in "The Sims" to harm people] is meaningless. It stops being interesting. You need to have somebody pushing back.' That reminded me of something. Or (perhaps more accurately), that reminded me of someone" (24). "Americans have become conditioned to believe the world is a gray place without absolutes; this is because we're simultaneously cowardly and arrogant. We don't know the answers, so we assume they must not exist. But they do exist. They are unclear and/or unfathomable, but they're out there" (98). "I think about dying constantly, and I think everybody else should, too... it's either the defining moment of existence or the final corporeal sensation in the universe's most remarkable coincidence. How can anyone not be consumed by that?" (227). "As far as I can tell, most people I know are like me; most of the people I know are bad people (or they're good people, but they consciously choose to do bad things). We deserve to be judged" (236). Regardless of the topic (and even though he denies it) Klosterman proves to be a deep thinker. He is much more complex than he lets on, which is perhaps one of the reasons he laments the dumbing-down of our culture: "We are losing the ability to understand anything that's even vaguely complex" (217).
I enjoyed Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs so much I immediately read Chuck's first book. In this book, he celebrates 80's heavy-metal. Although I wasn't a big fan of heavy metal in the 80's (I was a keyboard player who found keyboard-oriented bands more interesting -- and keyboards are notoriously hated by true heavy-metalheads), I am familiar with most of the bands Chuck writes about. In fact, I played many of their songs during my bar-band years (1983-1987). This book was not as good as Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs but it was still a fun read. There are many types of music which are guilty pleasures for me. I love overly pretentious, incredibly technical, epic rock of all kinds. That includes some - not all - metal. Finally, Chuck made a passing reference to Dream Theater in both books. (Although neither reference was particularly positive.) That alone makes me like him.
There is more to a story than the mere text that communicates it. The Christian faith is rooted in the Christian story which is ultimately God's story. There is really no other story than God's story. Our individual lives have significance insofar as they positively relate to God's story. This highly technical treatment of narrative theology is difficult to wade through but it does provide helpful nuggets concerning the centrality of story in the Christian faith.
The "center" of Christian theology is not a "mushy middle" but a "radical middle." It is vital that we restore a deep understanding of the center of our faith grounded in the work of the Triune God and revealed in the redemptive story of God. Fackre is always helpful to this end. "The center as span is grounded deeply in classical theological commitments, especially in the doctrine of the Trinity. The triune God as Three-in-One affirms the diversity and distinctions of Father, Son and Holy Spirit in a perichoretic unity. In this "coinherence," God is not just loving; God is Love -- Mutuality, Community, Sociality, Life Together. And who God is constitutes what God wills for the world: community, shalom, a life together in freedom and peace" (34).
This book recounts the true story of the greatest circus fire ever to occur which just so happens to also be the greatest tragedy that Hartford, Connecticut ever experienced. In 1944, 167 people were killed and almost 500 other injured when a big-top tent burned to the ground. O'Nan describes the day in excruciating detail. This book is certainly not for the squeamish or faint of heart.
The entire Christian life should be shaped by Jesus' modification of Israel's shema prayer: To love God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves. The uniqueness of forgiveness in the New Covenant is highlighted in Chapter 23.
Chesterton is an amazing thinker and communicator. Speaking from the early part of the 20th century, his insights still remain profound and provocative. For Chesterton, real life is found, not in public life, but in private life. It is in one's familial life that "dwells the fullness of our life bodily" (161). The rest of life is merely "sections" and "impressions." The real adventure in life -- "the wildest of adventures" -- is not found outside the home, but within the home. In the home, a parent -- especially the mother if she is the chief caregiver -- is a general practitioner. Instead of being the same thing to everyone -- like most wage-slaves -- she is everything to someone! Although dated, this is great material. In fact, it is its datedness (but continued relevance) that makes it valuable reading.
Change is the one certainty of life. Life is simply a series of transitions from one stage of human development to another. In this book, Mary Mercer identifies and describes the major life stages of a human person. Each major stage involves separation from previous attachments and lifts us to a higher level of self-awareness. Although each separation is painful, each new stage provides the potential to grow in our expression of love to others - to advance from merely desiring to be loved to actually desiring to love. For an extended analysis, click HERE.
Now, more than ever, this is the best single resource describing the progress of the Christian life I have ever read. The second edition is even better than the first. Recognizing that the church does not do a good job ministering to people at stages 4 - 6, Janet provides helps to working through how the church can help people through all stages of the journey -- and not simply through the first three! There is also an additional extended treatment of the mysterious transition known as "the Wall." This is a fantastic book that no Christian should be without! It will shed great light upon your Christian experience!
Sally Morgenthaler believes that the way we worship is directly connected to effective evangelism. In this book, she argues that authentic, Christ-centered worship is not only the goal of the church, but one of the chief means God uses to lead unbelievers to saving faith. For an extended analysis, click HERE.
"[W]e humans flourish when... meeting two higher-level needs that today's science is more and more appreciate of: our need to belong, and our need for significance, for meaning, for noble purpose" (ix). Meaning must involve more than the self: "To the extent that young people now find it hard to take seriously their relationship with God, to care about their relationship with the country, or to be part of a large and abiding family, they will find it very difficult to find meaning in life. To put it another way, the self is a very poor site for finding meaning" (x). We need a purpose outside of ourselves to live the good life. This is a quick, brief reminder of this important point.
The opposite of faith is not disbelief (a natural state) but unbelief -- a willed state of defiance against God. The spiritual state of unbelief is Desperation! (500) I read this at the recommendation of my good friend, Maurice Broaddus. I've argued elsewhere for the benefits of the horror genre, so I won't waste time here defending my interest. However, this is a book that makes my case. In this book, the "good guys" overcome evil by submitting themselves to God's will. The main character is a young boy, David, who is a recent convert to Christianity. Another central character is a hardened novelist, Johnny, who experiences a conversion near the end of the story -- and proves it by his subsequent personal sacrifice. In the end, Johnny teaches David that God's cruelty is subservient to God's love. My favorite line in the book comes from David's spiritual mentor, the Reverend Martin, "You can't say it from the pulpit, because the congregation'd run you out of town, but it's the truth. God isn't about reason; God is about faith and belief. God says, 'Sure, take away the safety net. And when that's gone, take away the tightrope, too'" (242).
Worship of God is "catholic" in the full sense of the word. White demonstrates this in his brief history of worship. His ultimate intention is "to recognize the cultural diversity inherent in Christian worship as in all human activities... It is indeed high tribute to Christian worship that it can be expressed in such an infinite variety of forms as to be adapted to countless cultures ranging over two millennia in time and worldwide in space" (10-11). What a great introduction to the breadth and depth of Christian worship throughout the ages!
If you are a pastor who is thinking of moving to another field of ministry, you need this book! This is a fantastic resource to help a pastor evaluate his or her present ministry and his or her future ministry possibilities. Whether you are transitioning from an associate to senior pastor, senior to associate, or from ministry to the marketplace, this is a very helpful resource to help you think through your options. My word to pastors: Get this! You'll probably need it someday.
I wanted to like this. My fear of being perceived as someone who is not "hip" or "cool" causes me to hesitate in saying anything negative about this modern, savvy, streetsmart paraphrase of the Bible. However, I just couldn't connect with it. It is "too cool" for its own good. My greatest fear while reading it was that I'd actually start speaking like it! (The same fear I have when I read books with "thees" and "thous" -- which I do a lot of.) Furthermore, if I had not have been familiar with the Bible in the first place, I'm not sure I would have made much sense of most of this book. Granted, some parts are better than others, so this book is not a complete throwaway. But it is no Message!
A fascinating book that uses the Jungian types to help plot the journey to wholeness. The authors provide insights on how one's "type" develops in expression over time.
By incorporating insights from a broad cross-section of Christian history and tradition, Spoto has provided us with an outstanding book on prayer. After a brief overview of the history of prayer, Spoto writes about prayer as petition, abandonment, serenity, and silence -- among other things. His chapters on petition and abandonment are second to none. These insights are priceless!
We are not what we do, what we possess, or what others think of us. To build our lives upon these things is a lie. The ultimate truth about ourselves is that we are object of eternal love. When we build our lives upon the false self, we build an illusion. That self cannot love or be loved by God, because it is not ultimately real. "This false, exterior, superficial, social self is made up of prejudices, whimsy, posturing, pharisaic selfconcern and pseudo dedication. The false self is a human construct built by selfishness and flights from reality. Because it is not the whole truth of us, it is not of God. And because it is not of God, our false self is substantially empty and incapable of experiencing the love and freedom of God" (86-87). This is a liberating concept to me -- now, if only I could practice it more! Regardless, this is the best introduction to this I've read so far.
The foreward summarizes this book well: "James Finley describes the spiritual life as the long and often arduous journey on which we slowly become detached from our false, illusory self - a self that is little more than the collective evaluations and affirmations of our surroundings -- and are opened up to receive a new self that is participation in the life of God" (13). Finley does this primarily through the study of Merton's material.
Merton provides deep and profound insights on Christ as the New Adam and its significance for humanity. Merton has much to say in regard to his "True Self/False Self" teaching. This book is fantastic!
Quaker author, Parker J. Palmer, calls us to stop killing our souls by “compartmentalizing” our lives. Instead, he invites us to live “divided no more” by uniting our inner and outer lives