The Wisdom of Stability

We’ve all experienced the temptation to run when things get tough. The problem from running from our demons is that they will be waiting for us when we arrive at our new destination. We can never escape. This is what The Wisdom of Stability is about – staying put and facing our demons.

If a trial comes upon you in the place where you live, do not leave that place when the trial comes. Wherever you go, you will find that what you are running from will be ahead of you.(35)

The Wisdom of Stability is great for anyone who is contemplating leaving because they are facing trials. The wisdom in this book is that it encourages people to stay put and deal with their demons. Too often in the body of Christ (and in life in general) when we face conflict we simply pick up and move on to the next church. While we avoid the conflict in the present moment we only delay the inevitable – face the demons within or move on to the next church.

It is only by sending out deep roots that we will ever come to the place of stability necessary to deal with life’s struggles. In fact, the body of Christ is designed to help one deal with one’s inner demons. Conflict is to be worked through rather than avoided.

“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” – Matthew 18:15-20

So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. – Matthew 5:23-24

Stability is a sign of faith that Jesus can meet us and help us wherever we are. We have been conditioned here in the US to avoid stability. We leave for college far from home. After college we move to a new location for graduate school. We spend a few years traveling and working allowing our employers to relocate us at will. Then we move again to complete a terminal degree and jump right back into the work and travel motif. There is little room for stability.

What The Wisdom of Stability lacks is a discussion of the need for some to move about. While monasteries are rooted they were founded by people who were called to travel. Many of the leaders of these movements (we even call them movements) were on the move. Jesus himself was on the move and called his followers to follow him. While there are those who were told to “return home and tell of all that God has done for you” there were also those who were told “you will be my witnesses unto the Gentiles.” There is a balance that must be achieved between movement and stability.

Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness

Jerry Cook sets forth to articulate his philosophy of the church in Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness: Being Christians in a Non-Christian World.  While it would seem from the title that the book is about these three values they only appear intermittently throughout the book.  Rather than an articulation of love, acceptance and forgiveness, this book is a look at the difference between church as a field and church as a force.

Chapter one looks briefly at the prerequisites of the church’s ministry: love, acceptance and forgiveness.  “If people are not guaranteed these three things, they will never allow us the marvelous privilege of bringing wholeness to them through the fellowship of the church.” (12)  The church must learn to enjoy people, so they can like people, so they can love people.  The church must learn to communicate the significance of each individual through the act of acceptance.  The church must learn to forgive as they have been forgiven.  Cook reminds the reader that love is not license for misbehavior.  Acceptance is not agreement.  Forgiveness is not compromise.

Chapter two addresses the need for a guiding philosophy of ministry.  Such a philosophy is essential if the pastor is to avoid three common pitfalls of pastoral ministry: (1) pastoring from crisis to crisis; (2) becoming trendy; (3) simply accepting what is handed down to them.

Chapters three through eight address the concepts of church as a field and church as a force.  The church as a field is characterized by its need for visibility and attractive programming. Its goals are focused on attendance, budget and facilities.  The church as a field accomplishes ministry by bringing people into the facilities and pulling them out of the culture.  What motivates the church as a field is getting people in and keeping people in because people serve the facilities, pay for the facilities and keep the facilities from shrinking.  The main danger with this approach is second- and third-generation mediocrity.  The founding generation may be well enough excited but the second- and third-generation have no stake in the accomplishments and they begin to settle for mediocre.

The church as a force, on the other hand, is characterized by an emphasis on worship, training and fellowship.  The goals of the church as a force are personal: each member coming to wholeness, equipped and released into the world to minister.  The church’s ministry then is the automatic result of great healing, which is, great outreach.  The motivation is wholeness and holiness in every person.  These realities are recognized by the church as a force:

• The saints are already equipped for ministry by virtue of being filled with the Holy Spirit.  They only need opportunity, permission and guidance.

• The power is in the gospel, not the presentation or the delivery.  Let the people share the gospel.

• Ministering is not inviting people to church services.  Inviting people to services is called “inviting people to services.”  Ministry is serving people.

• Every generation must equally disrespected.  In other words, they all count!

• Teaching a biblical lifestyle – going beyond mere biblical knowledge – is best done within the context of the family (Deut 6 and Eph 6).  Therefore, train your families to train their children and train your families to bring those without family into their family.

• Schism and conflict are never left alone, but confronted directly and firmly for the sake of the body. (Titus 3:9-11)

• The people are primary and the building is secondary, maybe even lower.

• The church is present in the world as a servant bringing healing.

In the final chapter, Cook offers his closing thoughts on leading a church as a force.  First, he offers to sure ways to kill the church: micromanagement and unfocused methods of delivery.  Two questions we must always ask are: (1) Are we reproducing the life of Christ in our congregation? and (2) Are we ministering as Jesus in our world?  Those who lead the church as a force will demonstrate the following characteristics: authenticity (the ability to live life with the members of the church), a clear and reproducible lifestyle of following Jesus, an appreciation of the natural network of friendship, and will be a collector of stories that demonstrate God’s power in fresh and contemporary ways.

First, what the book doesn’t offer is an explanation of love, acceptance and forgiveness.  These themes are briefly mentioned but not explained in great detail.  One is left with the understanding that they are important and you’ll know them when you see them.  There is no discussion on how to cultivate these virtues within the body.  The book’s chapters also seem to lack any coherent connection as they jump from church staff, to marriage, to programming, to discipleship in the family.  Each of the chapters are wonderful and provide the reader with food for thought, but they simply don’t flow together to form a meta-narrative.

What I appreciate about the book is its consistent look at what it means to be the body of Christ.  I agree with the author that too few pastors have seriously considered their theology of the body of Christ.  I recently wrote a brief pamphlet for my denomination of the subject of the body of Christ and was surprised by the paucity of resources.  Jerry Cook gets it absolutely right when he writes,

One thing working all kinds of devastation in the life of the church is the failure of  the leadership to have a solid philosophy – a well-defined concept of how a church ought to operate and why.  In the absence of such a philosophy, pastors tend to do one of the following: (1) they pastor from crisis to crisis, (2) they pick up on the current fad, or (3) they simply subscribe to a concept of church life handed down to them. (27)

The people themselves are the ministers and Sunday morning is a meeting of the church staff.  If this is true then Sunday mornings should include ministry reports, personal reports, brainstorming, evaluation and feedback, admonishment, updates, directives, calendaring, training, fellowship, etc.  Staff meetings are much more participatory than the typical Sunday morning worship service.  If it really is a staff meeting then that means we must really work for someone, i.e. Jesus the King!

People must be trained in their gifts and given permission to use their gifts.  Permission and authority have to be given away by the leadership.  Responsibility must be retained by the leadership.  This is scary but it seems to be the secret to every member functioning.

The church is people, redeemed, filled with the Holy Spirit, equipped to serve, meeting needs everywhere in Jesus’ name.  The church focuses on worship, training and fellowship because these are the things that produce Spirit-filled people who can meet other’s needs in Jesus’ name.  Therefore, the pastor’s job is to equip the saints, not meet their needs.

The body must disrespect every generation equally – in preaching, song selection, style, structure, programming, etc.  They all matter to God so they must all matter to us.  This is why every generation must be connected to the life of the body in a vital and visible way.  Age-appropriate experiences and programming is great, but they must not become substitutes for the body of Christ.  The goal of children’s ministry and youth ministry then is to integrate them into the life of the body of Christ.

The family is the God-designed context for discipleship of children.  This is most clearly seen in Deuteronomy 6 and Ephesians 6.  The church often fails, its children’s and youth ministries often fail, and even its private Christian schools often fail at discipleship because the church fails equip families to engage in the process of discipleship.

“The answer is in the room.”  This phrase must become the heart of the members.  They must learn to see themselves as the solution to the problem, not the professionals.

The church must always ask two questions: (1) Are we reproducing the life of Christ in our members? and (2) Are we ministering as Jesus in the world?  Everything we do must produce a resounding YES to these questions.

Review of “I Am a Follower”

Mine was a love-hate affair with Leonard Sweet’s latest book, I Am a Follower: The Way, Truth, and Life of Following Jesus.  The premise of the book, “It’s never been about leading,” (from the front cover) has been a growing interest of mine in the midst of all the business-model-leadership books I have been asked to read, chose read and forced to read.  None of them have taken seriously what it means for Jesus to be the head of the church, the Shepherd, the one in charge.  Sweet’s book comes close, but not without some baggage.

I Am a Follower opens and closes with two “Reel to Real” clips that ask the reader to go online and watch two videos.  Creative, but not helpful for the unmotivated.  The main body of the book is composed of four parts: place, way, truth and life.  Each section ends with a series of group questions (a group study guide of sorts).  The sections are broken down into small (2-5 page) mini-sections, which makes the reader at times feel like he or she is accomplishing much.  However, the short sections also lend to a sort of “scatter-brained” feel to the book.

The first section, “Vece: The Place,” sets the framework for the discussion.  Here, Sweet quickly browses the landscape of leadership models and supports the idea that the leadership myth is on its way out.  For him there are two fundamental, biblical categorical imperatives in this regard: (1) Jesus is the Leader; (2) We are his followers. (27)

The second section, “Via: The Way,” looks at what it means to live missionally as a follower of Jesus.  First-Followers (a term Sweet likes to use for authentic followers of Jesus) live a different way.  The life of a first-follower should be characterized by a series casting, setting something out in front to which one moves toward.  What first-followers cast is hope, heaven, love, joy, peace, patience, trust and rest.

The third section, “Verita: The Truth,” looks at what it means to live relationally as a first-follower.  Current leadership models tell us that we are the leaders and others are the followers.  A right relationship with Jesus (the Big J) puts us in the position of being a follower (little j) who points the way for others.  He challenges the current strengths movement, expert advice and the professional clergy model.  These, he argues, are unbiblical and create false categories (i.e. clergy vs. laity).

The fourth section, “Vita: The Life,” looks at what it means to live incarnationally as a first-follower of Jesus.  Such a life means a life of active discipleship.  There is no substitute for living life together and pointing others along the way.  One sign that the church has gotten it wrong is that very few pastors, let alone laity, can answer the question, “Who discipled you?”

I agree with Sweet that the church in the West has looked to Wall Street far too frequently for her guidance.  We’ve replaced Jesus with celebrities and have turned body of Christ life into entertainment.  His description of “casting” is a beautiful reminder of what it means to follow Jesus.  Followers of Jesus should be the most joyful, hopeful, trustful, peaceful, restful, loving, heaven-oriented people on earth.  One quote sums it up well, “Our guardian angels are bored.” (125)

I also agree with Sweet that what we should be are actual-event witnesses as opposed to expert witnesses.  “We often try to be expert witnesses for Christ instead of being actual-event witnesses to what we have seen and experienced in our own lives.  We prefer to talk theory of Christ rather than to talk about our life in Christ.” (156)

Perhaps the greatest moment of this book is found in the short section, “Implanted, Not Imprinted.” (240)  Sweet compares much of USAmerican (another term he is fond of) Christianity to the natural process of imprinting among birds.  A baby duck will imprint the first moving being it sees.  If it happens to be the mother duck, great.  However, if it happens to be a barking dog then its mother will “forever be a barker, not a quacker.” (240)  Too many Christians have implanted cultural Christianity rather than have experienced Christ implanted in them.

This book also had some down sides, both aesthetic and intellectual.  Shane Claiborne is quoted on the cover saying, “Leonard Sweet is a theological poet.”  If you happen to not be fond of poetry you will find some of his descriptions and anecdotes to be over the top.

He also has a habit of quoting widely in this book.  Now, there is nothing wrong with included a plethora of voices, but quotes without context can be dangerous.  For example, he quotes Pelagius, a well know heretic by many accounts.  He quotes a Sufi poet and makes a brief reference to the meaning of the name YHWH, which sounds dualistic and anti-Genesis. (233)

He also makes a biting critique of all things strengths related.  His argument his based on a misinterpretation and application of Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” and God’s statement, “My strength is made perfect in your weakness.”  As if his push against learning to operate within the unique talents God has given each person isn’t bad enough he criticizes those who seek to know and use their Spiritual Gifts.  He is of the mindset that these are automatically determined and one cannot help but operate in them.  And if that is not bad enough, he uses Joyce Meyer, another heretical teacher by many accounts, as an example of what God can do with weak people, “Her great weakness [(her voice)], the personal characteristic that most troubled her, was used by God to be her greatest strength once she turned over her entire self to God.” (165)

In the end, the book is worth the read for those who are interested in understanding followership more than leadership.  I’m not sure what long lasting impact this book will have on the discussion, but Sweet certainly has been an influential voice in the West and is worth considering.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Peace Be With You

David Carlson begins his book, Peace Be With You: Monastic Wisdom for a Terror-Filled World, with these words, “I began to understand in my formative years that following Christ would come with no clear map.” (ix)  Peace Be With You is an intimate look at such a mapless journey in light of the attacks that have come to be known as 9/11.  Not content with revenge and retaliation, Carlson sets out on a journey into the world of monasticism to see if he can discover a different kind of response; a response rooted in the practices of prayer, silence and solitude.

The book is arranged geographically looking first to the desert, second to America’s heartland and finally to New York.  In the desert he begins to ask, “Does the Christ whom I worship see the world with its religious divides, or does Christ see beyond that to the suffering of our world?” (49)  In other words, in the desert he discovers a community that did not seek to place blame (they never mentioned Islam or Muslims in their interviews), but one that sought to address the issue of suffering through prayer.  Carlson concludes that the monastic model found in the desert offers a new way to be community.  This community is built on mutual submission and servanthood rather than domination. (74)  In the desert Carlson leads his readers to discover that, “There is no way to get around the fact that Jesus makes a very unnatural demand of his followers.  He asks us to to forever remain turned toward the Other, to seeing my worst enemy as my neighbor.” (91)

In America’s heartland Carlson travels to the Abbey of Gethsemani to hear the heart of the community that formed Thomas Merton.  Merton’s vision, according to Carlson, was that each person would see themselves as “walking around shining like the sun” and that others would see them in the same way.  Carlson left “Merton’s Men” with the insight that wherever and whenever human beings isolate themselves hell is present on earth.  However, he also learned that “God is always with us, lurking in the Other, our neighbors, the very ones we wish to avoid.” (121)  Perhaps the most profound insight Carlson offers his readers is this, “Christ has already healed the world – we just do not act in light of that truth.” (142)

Carlson arrived in New York, the last leg of his journey, with fresh insight into the presence of Christ in the aftermath of 9/11.  If Christ is to be found, he will be found in the Other, our neighbors.  He writes, “What problem in the world would not be approached with more humility, creativity, and energy if we saw in our neighbor the presence of God?” (230)  He concludes the chapter asking the age-old question, Could God not have done more to stop all of this?

The book has several strong points.  First, if one is not familiar with the diversity of monastic life in the United States he or she gets a virtual tour of the more profound monastic communities; profound because they have shaped and continue to shape Christianity.  Second, the book presents community, one founded on mutual submission and servanthood, not only as one possible option but as the superior option.  In order for community to grow and be healthy we must see in each other what we can’t always see in ourselves.  My greatest delight in the book is found in the closing paragraph, “Forgiveness, not the death of anyone [i.e. Osama bin Laden], is the only exit from our via dolorosa, the only path to resurrection joy.”

On the other hand, Peace Be With You has several marks against it.  First, it is not extremely engaging.  I enjoyed the content, but the style of writing was difficult for me.  Let me just be honest, I got bored.  (This book took me several months to read!)  Like I said, though, the content is good.  Second, and most disturbing to me, is that the book ends with the all too often cliche of shaking one’s fist at God and wanting a “more powerful deity.” (254)

All in all I would give the book two stars.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Books that Have Influenced Me (… or My Recommended Reading List)

Someone asked me the other day to make a list of the books I would recommend.  So, here’s a start in no particular order.

• Discovering an Evangelical Heritage by Dayton
• Responsible Grace by Maddox
• Surprised by Hope by Wright
• Why I’m not a Calvinist by Dongell and Walls
• Heaven by Randy Alcorn
• Across the Spectrum by Boyd
• Recovery: A Guide for Adult Children of Alcoholics by Gravitz
• John Wesley’s sermons (especially the contemporary translation by Kinghorn)
• Decoding the Church by Snyder (and just about anything else by Snyder for that matter)
• Documents of the Early Christian Church by Bettenson
• The Story of Christianity by Gonzalez
• But If It Dies by Pearson
• John Wesley: A Theological Journey by Collins
• Me, Myself & Bob by Vischer
• The Universe Next Door by Sire
• Handbook on the Pentateuch by Hamilton
• Backgrounds of Early Christianity by Ferguson
• Cost of Discipleship by Bonhoeffer
• The Great Omission by Willard
• The Divine Conspiracy by Willard
• Praying in the Wesleyan Spirit by Chicolte
• Lord, Teach Us by Willimon and Hauerwas
• Rule of St. Benedict by St. Benedict
• Daily Roberts by Demaray
• Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
• The Little Flowers of St. Francis translated by Demaray
• The Deeper Journey by Mulholland
• Imitation of Christ translated by Demaray
• Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Schazerro
• The Gift of Being Yourself by Benner
• Sacred Rhythms by Barton
• The Only Necessary Thing by Nouwen
• Christ of the Indian Road by Jones
• Spiritual Classics by Renovare
• Devotional Classics by Renovare
• The Preacher by Petersen
• It’s Your Ship by Abrashoff
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Covey
• In the Name of Jesus by Nouwen

Enjoy and feel free to add to the list!

The Great Omission

In The Great Omission, Dallas Willard asks the question, What has happened to discipleship in the church?  The answer, as the title of the book suggests, is that it has been omitted.  Of course, the title of the book is a play on what Christianity has called “The Great Commission,” which records Jesus’s final words in the Gospel of Matthew,

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (28:18-20 NRSV)

Willard argues that the church has done a decent job of making converts and baptizing them, but when it comes to the final part of Jesus’s command, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, the church has failed.

Part one looks at what it means to be apprenticed to Jesus.  In chapter one, Discipleship, Willard argues that discipleship is for all believers and that the cost of non-discipleship is too great to ignore.  Chapter two, Why Bother with Discipleship?, gives four reasons to take discipleship seriously: (1) nothing Jesus taught suggests that we can receive forgiveness at Jesus’ expense and having nothing more to do with him; (2) apart from discipleship in kingdom living we remain defeated; (3) only discipleship results in inward transformation; (4) discipleship results in the kind of life where all the power of God is present for life and godliness.  Chapter three, Who Is Your Teacher?, makes the case that we are all being taught; the only difference is the teacher.  Chapter four, Looking Like Jesus, explains the goal of discipleship: to become the kind of person who naturally lives like Jesus.  Chapter five, The Key to the Keys of the Kingdom, suggests that grace is opposed to earning not effort and that such a life of discipleship is not possible apart from the practice of silence, solitude and fasting (a theme that is carried throughout the book, along with memorization of scripture).

Part two looks at the connection between spiritual formation and character formation.  Chapter six, Spiritual Formation in Christ Is for the Whole Life and the Whole Person, describes life in Christ: a life of obedience to Jesus; it is a spiritual matter; it is about a life that comes from God; Christian spirituality is super-natural; it is about spiritual formation (our inmost being taking on the character of Jesus); is not aimed at the heart only; it affects our powers (i.e. thought, etc.) at large.  Chapter seven,  Spiritual Formation in Christ, seeks to define spiritual formation (from a Christian perspective).  Spiritual formation, in general, involves spiritual activities, often referred to as spiritual disciplines, shapes the spirit and is shaped by the Spirit.  Christian spiritual formation includes obedience to Jesus, disciplines that give Jesus permission to work in us and is characterized by renewal through the words of Jesus.  Chapter eight, The Spirit is Willings, But …, looks at the necessity of the body in the role of spiritual formation.  Practices, carried out by the body, become habits; habits become choice; choice becomes character, for good or for bad.  God’s grace enables us to strive with all diligence toward Christ-likeness; after all, grace is opposed to earning, not effort.  Becoming like Jesus involves an intentional plan of attack comprised of change in vision, intentions and means for a life of godliness.  Chapter nine, Living in the Vision of God, looks at how leaders full of vision are often turned into memorabilia by their followers when they make the mission the vision.  Chapter ten, Idaho Springs Inquiries Concerning Spiritual Formation, is a question-and-answer session between a local church and Dallas Willard that summarize the material in the book so far.  Chapter 11, Personal Soul Care, focuses on some practical places to  begin: allowing God’s love to abide in us; keeping God before us through Bible memorization; practicing solitude and silence.

Part three looks at discipleship of the soul and the mind.  Chapter 12, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation, and the Restoration of the Soul, is a philosophical discussion of the human soul and how it is affected by such practices as memorizing scripture, silence, solitude and fasting.  Chapter 13, Christ-Centered Piety, looks at the message of historic evangelicalism and its connection to spiritual formation.  Rather than the modern concept of evangelicalism (the divinity of Jesus, the Bible as the Word of God, and the necessity of being born again), spiritual formation is rooted in the historic (and more biblical) concepts of evangelicalism, which are: conviction of sin; conversion; and testimony.  Chapter 14, Why?, is another question-and-answer session that focuses more on Willard’s experiences and his advice to college students.  The final chapter, Jesus the Logician, looks at the importance of understanding Jesus to be an intellectual; the world’s greatest intellectual, to be sure.  Willard argues that until we understand that Jesus is doing intellectual work with the tools of logic and begin teaching people in the same manner we will not be able to make disciples.

The remaining five chapters are devoted to brief reviews of books that have influenced and aided Willard in his own spiritual formation.  These books include: Letters by a Modern Mystic by Frank Laubach, The Interior Castle by Theresa of Avila, Invitation to Solitude and Silence by Ruth Haley Barton, Deeper Experiences of Famous Christians, and A Room of Marvels by James Smith.  As a “Parting Word”, Willard suggests that the place to begin is with oneself.  We must first be a disciple of Jesus and then, once we have some substance of life in Christ, we become witnesses to Jesus.

Willard raises a great question in this book, What has happened to discipleship?  Anyone will appreciate his insistence upon learning to obey Jesus’s commands with the goal of becoming the kind of person who naturally obeys Jesus.  Any other goal, such as not doing what we know is wrong, only leads to a modern practice of Pharisaical righteousness.  Willard hammers home several truths, as he sees them:

• grace is opposed to earning, not to effort
• spiritual formation simply is not possible apart from memorizing scripture, solitude and silence (even more so than prayer!)
• we are spiritual to the extent that our lives draw their direction and strength from Jesus Christ
• formation is impossible apart from the body of Christ
• formation and discipleship must be intentional, and most of modern Christian experience is emotional
• without Christian formation, a life of quiet desperation is all we have to look forward to
• it is not enough to practice vampire Christianity, accepting just enough of Jesus’s blood to get into heaven
• we must learn to see Jesus as an intelligent man – the most intelligent – if we are going to take him seriously

The glaring problem with Willard’s book is his great omission: a comprehensive plan for teaching converts to obey everything Jesus commanded.  He makes note (several times) that he has never encountered a church with a comprehensive plan for making disciples in this way and yet does not set out himself to offer such a plan.  Of course, he might respond that such a plan cannot be corporate if it means ignoring the individual’s unique personality and location in life.  However, I think he could still make several suggestions.  (In fact, he does without elaborating when he writes, “I would not be a pastor of a church that did not have a program of Bible memorization in it, because Bible memorization is a fundamental way of filling our minds with what they need.” pg. 58)  One might also realize that he is a dualist influenced more by Greek philosophy than Hebraic thought when it comes to the make-up of the mind, body and soul (see 186-87).  However, this position does not make the book useless to the monist.

All in all, The Great Omission is a great book that every pastor and those serious about becoming disciples of Jesus should read.  In the end, Willard will not do your work for you, but he will challenge you, encourage you and get you thinking and asking the right questions.

But If It Dies by B. H. Pearson

I am told that B.H. Pearson, or Uncle Ben to those who knew him, was an extraordinary man of God.  Wildly successful in ministry, he never slept more than four hours at a time and never went a day without taking a two-hour nap.  The key to his success was this, “Find a team of people you can work with and stick with them.”  He served as a Free Methodist pastor and missionary in the USA, Mexico and Colombia.

But If It Dies is a poetic biography of the life of Charles Cowman.  More than a biography of Cowman, it is a look at the life Christ lived in Cowman as he spread the gospel seed throughout Japan.

A man’s life is more than a span of time or a chronicle of experience.  Many a biographer has meticulously provided the data of a life without discovering its genius.

Here is a profile which pays more attention to the source of the stream than to its flow – to the Seed more than the fruit.  We may go even deeper.  This is really a profile of Christ seeing in Charles Cowman the “travail of his soul” and being profoundly satisfied. – (from the preface) Dr. William A. Gillam, Vice-President of The Oriental Mission Society

Our God is a God who works through death and resurrection.  Jesus told his disciples, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone.  But if it dies, it will bear much fruit.”  But If It Dies is a look at what happens when one is willing to sown into the work of the kingdom without regard for anything other than dying and producing fruit.

So ended the husks of fact.  But facts are less than truth.  Truth is life.  The life is in the seed, not in the husks.  The future of the seed is the life within.  Every man is a seed.  Some seed produces wheat, some produces thistles.  Only what the seed is can multiply.  A seed is known by what it produces after it dies . . . after it dies . . . Death issues in fruitfulness.  That is the miracle of a seed. (ch. 1)

Herein lies the difference between a Christ-centered life and a personality-centered life.  The personality-centered life is found in the husks and will disappear when the husks wither and die.  The Christ-centered life is found in the seed and continues to produce a harvest, especially after it dies – perhaps only after it dies.

You have to give God time if you want an oak.  An acorn matures slowly … frozen in winter, burned in summer, lashed by hurricanes.  Its toughened maturity at last seems to defy decay.

… Hidden in God’s will.  He would know as he moved forward in obedience.  He would know as he let go of his all to take God’s all.

… A paradox?  Yes!  A seed that clings to life forfeits its life.  A seed that fears to die insures its death.  ”If it dies, it bears much fruit.”  ”Much fruit!”

… Seeds produce new things – mutations – things never seen before.  It is true of roses, dahlias, oranges, avocados.  It is also true of missions.

… Give God a chance.  If you are seed, let Him sow you! (ch. 5)

Being obedient to the will of God is the sum of Jesus final command to his disciples.  It is a “long obedience in the same direction,” as Eugene Peterson (and Nietzsche) put it.  One learns the will of God by doing the will of God.  It takes time – time and time again of being obedient, of letting God sow you.  Seeking to preserve things as they are is the first step in the wrong direction – it is the first step toward death that bears no fruit.

The students were thrust forth into the streets to find the lost.  They learned how to win souls by winning souls.  They became personal evangelists by doing personal evangelism.  They preached what they learned.  They learned what they preached.  The divine fire got into their bones.  Upon them was, “Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.” (1 Corinthians 9:16)  (ch. 6)

The answer is in the room.  We have enough to begin.  Jesus selected 12 disciples to be with him.  But he also selected them to be sent out into the towns and villages to cast out demons, heal the sick and preach the good news.  Their training was hands on – they learned in the doing.  They produced fruit by being sown into the field.

How often Christians’ words or actions libel their Lord.  ”God is not big enough –”  ”Christ is not strong enough –”  ”Calvary is not sufficient –”  ”We are not able …”

… Charles E. Cowman and his companions knew that when a vine stops growing it dies.  When a mission ceases expanding it ceases.

… The treasury is empty – whose treasury?  Empty treasuries produce full hearts.  Great needs make great pray-ers.  The less we have the more we need God’s fullness.  Desperate situations drive us to God.  We trust in God when we cannot trust in money.  When we see the bottom of the barrel we seek the face of the Lord.  When the last dollar goes, the way of faith appears.  Christians then cash Heaven’s checks. (ch. 7)

The command is to go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded.  When we cease doing any part of this then the great commission ceases among us.  It is not about money, resources, personnel, methods, programs – it is about obedience.  Let us fall to our knees and pray to the Lord of the harvest.

The Great Commission was given to eleven men in the “no income” bracket.  Jesus left the Early Church neither gold, funds, nor properties.  He told men apparently without resources to evangelize a hostile world civilization.  He did promise them Life – His abundant Life!  He promised them the Holy Spirit.  By the Holy Spirit He gave them “His Word” – the Flaming Seed.  That was all Christ gave them to evangelize every man on earth.  He gave them nothing?  He gave them all the world – if they would evangelize it.  No wealth?  He gave them the wealth of every man if they brought that man to Christ. (ch. 8)

It has never been about location.  It has always been about locomotion.  We cannot worship a God who constantly on the move by remaining in a stationary building.

Get at the work and do it, that’s the thing.  We act as if we had a lifetime in which to evangelize the world.  We just leisurely take our time to it, when – “The work that centuries might have done, must crowd the hours of setting sun.” (ch. 9)

God’s “shall-be-dones” are heaven’s “have-been-dones!”  Earth is where God waits for men to catch up with him!

… ”Greater works than these!”  Could it be?  It should be – will be!  Jesus said it.  A seed must fall into the ground and die.  Then it produces …. …. after it dies …. (ch. 11)

Evangelize everyone in every house of every nation.  It costs less than war.  It gains more than conquest.  It enriches Time and Eternity.

… Know the joy of seeing dead raised, demons cast out; of healing for soul and body, of fellowship with those of alien blood reaped by the Lord’s sharp sickle of the Spirit. … Until He comes … “GO ON WITH THE UNFINISHED TASK!”

If we are waiting for permission, we already have it.  If we are waiting for resources, they are already ours.  If we are waiting for power, it has already been given.  If we are waiting then we will certainly die with know harvest.  But if we are willing even now to be sown into the ground – and die – then we will produce a harvest for the kingdom.  Amen.

Doing Virtuous Business

Doing Virtuous Business: the Remarkable Success of Spiritual Enterprise by Theodore Roosevelt Malloch combines one of my favorite subjects with one of my least favorite – ethics and money.  The book is short (only six chapters) covering the concepts of virtual capital, virtue, the Christian triumvirate of faith, hope and charity, the hard virtues, and soft virtues.  The author interlaces conceptual teaching, historical anecdotes and modern testimonies to make his point – capitalism and the free market are the best expression possible when infused with spiritual capital.

Capital is that which is accumulated through various inputs into the economy.  Economic capital refers to monetary resources accumulated.  Social capital refers to the social inheritance one generation leaves for the next.  Spiritual capital, therefore, is the spiritual inheritance one generation leaves for the next, primarily the capital of virtues.

Malloch’s virtues include: faith, honesty, gratitude, perseverance, compassion, forgiveness, patience, humility, courage, respect, generosity, discipline, chastity, and thrift.  Some of these virtues are what the author calls “hard” virtues, while others are “soft.”  Hard virtues are those that exhibit themselves primarily in action and, if unchecked by the soft virtues, tend toward selfishness.  The soft virtues are those that primarily form the inner person.

While there are several aspects of the book that I don’t agree with there is some capital to be gained.  First, the author makes a compelling case that opponents of capitalism have overlooked the potential of capitalism to better humanity.  I agree that if business was done virtuously, as the author describes, then humanity’s condition could be bettered.  However, there is no shortage on non-virtuous business being done these days.  Second, the author is (in my opinion) absolutely right in his implicit insistence that faith and business should not be separated.

Since I am not a CEO I cannot comment on the cover’s claim, “Every CEO should read this book and regain the moral energy to lead both their firms and the global economy.”  However, I can recommend the book to anyone engaged in business and seeking to be faithful to God.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Tithing by Douglas LeBlanc

Another installment in the Ancient Practices Series (of which Phyllis Tickle is the General Editor), Tithing: Test Me in This by Douglas LeBlanc looks at the ancient practice of tithing.  Tithing is a collection of 11 testimonies of God’s faithfulness in light of tithing.  (There are actually 12 testimonies if you count the very short epilogue.)  Tithing includes a study guide for individuals and groups with two to three questions for each chapter.

Tithing is par for the course for this series – a lot of experience but little scriptural or historical engagement.  This series introduces its readers to several ancient practices but does not help them understand the biblical foundation of those practices.  (The Liturgical Year by Joan Chittister is the exception.)  Tithing is no different.  There is no explanation of the concept of tithing as presented in the Hebrew Scriptures and absolutely no attempt is made to explain tithing in light of the New Testament.  If one is looking for a more exegetical discussion on tithing this is not the book to find it.

However, the strengths of this book are not to be ignored.  As I read the stories, which come from a variety of ecclesial backgrounds, I was encouraged by God’s faithfulness and challenged to ponder my own habits of giving.  LeBlanc’s style of writing and investigative journaling is fun to read and accessible to both veterans and beginners in the arena of tithing.

In the end, I would describe this book as encouraging, but not informative.  If nothing else, it provides examples of men, women and communities who have taken seriously God’s call to giving and the faithfulness of God to care for these.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

The Sacred Meal

Nora Gallagher, The Sacred Meal (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2009).

Part of the Ancient Practices series, The Sacred Meal is a look into the practice of Communion (or Eucharist).  In this book Nora Gallagher reflects on her own experience with communion and invites the reader to join her in imagining “a new story regarding Communion, rather than the one you may have experienced or heard about.” (73)  The book is short at 137 pages and offers a brief study guide for each chapter offering one or two reflection questions.