I've Finished Reading "How To Help People Change"

I was given this book by a friend to read. Prior to reading it, I had never heard of Jay Adams or read any of his books. I had seen his name one time mentioned in another book I was reading on preaching, but other than that I was unfamiliar.

This is a good book. It's a quick read at 200 pages and you'll find yourself making good progress thorough it pretty easily.

The book is based off of 2 Timothy 3:14-17 where Adams sees the progression that Paul uses in that passage as the basic flow we should use in counseling folks. Before I get to that, this book is as much as defense of actually USING the Bible in counseling as it is a handbook on the process to use when using the Bible in counseling. Adams is unapologetic in the fact that in too many counseling circles the Bible has been abandoned altogether in favor of "newer" psychological methods etc.

And so I digress here with this little diatribe. If we aren't going to use the Bible to counsel someone, what exactly is the Bible for? Is it a good storybook? A good placeholder on the coffee table? A dust collector? If we're not going to use it for counsel, wisdom, discernment, etc when people come to us with their broken and hurting lives, when exactly are we going to use it?

Adams makes a much more impassioned plea for nouthetic counseling in the book and you really should read it but I agree whole heartedly that the Bible is sufficient, able, and complete in being able to deal with all peoples emotional, mental, spiritual, and life problems. There isn't one area that the Bible doesn't address and if we don't think we can go to the Word, then we have a defective view of God first and His Bible second.

Okay, moving on. The progression that Adams sees is this:

1. Teaching
2. Rebuking
3. Correcting
4. Disciplined Training In Righteousness

And he spends the entire book unpacking why this truly is the best process to follow along with various warnings, exhortations, and explanations for those who would be counseling others. If you think about how this process plays out, it really does make sense which isnt' surprising -- don't you think God would make sense sometimes?

Anywho, it's a good book and if you find yourself in a position where you are going to be counseling others on a routine basis, this must be an immediate read. But even if you're not an elder, pastor, or Christian counselor, you could benefit from reading this as I think it would equip you well in counseling friends who are going through hard times or who are having serious struggles.

I've Finished Reading "Vintage Jesus"

I received Driscoll's new book as a free gift for attending the Text and Context conference. Prior to receiving the book, I had read Challies review and had seen the uproar the book has caused, especially in some more conservative circles.

So I was interested to read this book for two reasons. First, because I had never actually read a Driscoll book. Second, to see if all the criticism and naysaying was warranted.

After reading it, I have to tell you that I really don't get what everyone's up in arms about. Not only is this book a solid book on Christology and an absolutely through defense of Jesus, it's just downright funny and I suspect is going to be a powerful book along with Keller's "The Reason For God" in helping many churches hand good books to non-believing Christians to introduce them to what Christianity truly is about, namely Jesus.

To give you an idea, one of the blurb writers for the book is J.I. Packer. Do you really think Packer would lend his good name to a book that he believed was heathen or out of bounds. And I think that's what's driving so many people nuts is that they want to paint Driscoll as some out of control freak show, but they can't figure out for the life of them why guys like Piper, Mahaney, Keller, and Dever are building and developing strong pastoral relationships with the guy.

There's a huge effort out there to discredit him, but the more that is pushed, the more he is embraced and pastored by the modern-day apostles of the church. I digress.

The book is 12 chapters, has all the right indices, and is really a good read. It's all about Jesus and the various aspects of Christology. Since it's a book taken from a sermon series, you would expect it to be the same engaging style Driscoll always has.

As a side note, I saw a different Mark Driscoll than I've listened to when I was in Seattle last week. The man, from my perspective, is changing and growing. And that was evident last week. As God continues to work in him and through Mars Hill, I think the best is still in front of them and I think Driscoll could become even more influential than he is right now.

Anywho, good book and I'll leave you with an excerpt that flat made me crack up on the plane home from Seattle:

At this time I was also going to a Catholic church with my parents and in Sunday school they started telling us about Jesus. As they explained Jesus, I wondered if maybe his mom, Mary, had actually given Jesus a lobotomy. The Jesus I was told about could easily have passed for one of the kids in the ghetto daycares near my house who were pumped so full of NyQuil they would sit quietly and drool on themselves while watching cartoons until their moms came to pick them up after work.....Worse still, this weird Jesus seemed to really like sheep. I never saw a picture of him with a baseball glove or other kids, but I did see him with a lot of sheep. Sometimes they even made us glue cotton balls to construction paper in an effort to make our own sheep so that we could apparently be as weird as Jesus. In short, Jesus seemed downright freakish, definitely not the kind of guy you'd want on your baseball team because he'd never have the guts to slide hard into second to break up a double play or throw inside to a batter to back him off the plate. Rather, he'd prefer to pick flowers in the outfield and daydream about fluffy sheep while praying for his enemies and keeping his emotions under control. (pg 41-42)

Driscoll then goes on to describe a very different Jesus that the Bible portrays. You have to read the book.

I've Finished Reading "The Discipline Of Spiritual Discernment"

I wish this book had been around when I was 16. Of course, when I was that age, Tim Challies was probably that age as well so he wouldn't have much to say on the subject.

But now he has and this book is a good read for a lot of reasons. Number one, Challies really focuses on the fact that WE are responsible for our personal discernment. We should not be reliant on others to the hard discerning work for us. Ultimately we'll all stand before God and give an account for the choices we made and pawning it off on someone else simply will not do.

Second, Challies drives home the point that discernment must be based on truth. Not on our feelings, not on waiting on a divine magic eight ball to fall from the sky and tell us what we are to do. It's based on truth. I found the chapter on discernment of "God's will" really good. Tim makes the distinction that because there are two types of God's will, the one we waste most of our time trying to discern is typically the one God never chooses to revel to us. It's a helpful chapter that a lot of "mystics" really need to read.

Third, this is a good book because Challies pulls his insights from Scripture and bases them on truth. A lot of his influences have been the same as mine and they are the standard list of good solid reliable truth: MacArthur, Piper, Mahaney, Sproul, Ferguson, Harris et all. So you know he's reading the right people and being influenced in the day to day by people who have spent a lifetime discerning good and evil and movements and fads.

Fourth, this is a good book because Challies knows how to write. He does it every day at his blog (www.challies.com) and his book reflects his ability to keep the reader following along. I have to say that his illustrations and analogies at the start of the chapters were fascinating and appropriate. I enjoyed them and I've heard a lot of illustrations. He did a good job on that part of the book. Challies takes you through discernment and its':

• Challenge
• Definition
• Heart
• Truth
• How it interacts with God's will
• Gift as it relates to spiritual gifts
• Dangers
• Practices

Each chapter summarizes the key thoughts at the end of the chapter. There are helpful appendices and resources at the end of the book. He even throws in a study guide if you want to use the book as a group discussion topic.

It's 190+ pages and it's a good easy read. I whole heartedly recommend the book and think you'll get a lot out of it.

I've Finished Reading "Respectable Sins"

It's amazing how much reading you can get done during an ice storm with no power. I purchased this book a couple of weeks ago with a gift certificate to Amazon that I had received for Christmas.

I can't really remember off hand how I first heard about it but the title was what really intrigued me. I also wrote a little bit about it a few days ago.

I've read a few of Jerry Bridges' other works and have listened to a few of his messages and lectures via MP3. Other than that, I didn't know a whole lot about him. I have to say that after reading this book, I'm excited to listen and to read some more of his stuff.

If you look at the bio picture on the inside back jacket of the book, you'll see that Mr. Bridges appears to be in his fifties or sixties and I'm sure no one is going to confuse him with Mark Driscoll. And as you read this book, you'll definitely feel many times like it's your grandpa who is talking with you. He seems a little out of touch with 2008 America and his examples aren't really that poignant, but his words are extremely wise, pulled straight from Scripture, and should be heeded.

Bridges does a good job of getting at "the underbelly" so to speak of many things that plague Christian churches today and truly are the sins that are killing the church. He examines:

• Ungodliness
• Anxiety and Frustration
• Discontentment
• Unthankfulness
• Pride
• Selfishness
• Lack Of Self-Control
• Impatience And Irritability
• Anger
• Weeds Of Anger
• Judgmentalism
• Envy - Jealousy - And Related Sins
• Sins Of The Tongue
• Worldliness

All things that may not register high on the sin richter scale, but have definitely caused more disunity in churches than the gambling boats or adult video shops in town.

The book is 180+ pages and has 21 chapters so you're looking at about nine pages per chapter. It's a quick read and it's succinct and to the point. There's a brief notes section at the end but no general or Scripture index as they probably are not needed in this one. It's not so much exegesis as it is Bridges' thoughts on what He sees in the Scriptures and what he sees in the Christian practice.

This is a good one. And like I said, don't expect a lot of pop from the examples or illustrations Bridges' uses. But, the value of sitting next to your grandpa and having him share his thoughts on the world is invaluable and you'll get that feeling when you're done reading this book.

I would defnitely recommend it.

I've Finished Reading "Shepherding A Child's Heart"

I actually bought this book at the conference bookstore in October of 2006 at the Desiring God National Conference. It sat on the shelf as a "have to read but don't have time right now" book for over a year.

I shouldn't have let it sit that long. And if you have kids, you need to get this book. It's a great page turner, and Tedd Tripp has a thorougly Gospel-centered approach to parenting.

As a matter of fact, it's Carson, Piper, Keller, Mahaney all put through a parenting filter. Tripp forces you to examine why do you what you do as a parent. He makes you very uncomfortable and quite frankly drives you to repentance when he begins to poke his finger into your discipline methods and the ways in which you guide your children. He forces you to examine your motives. He forces you to take a long term approach to parenting. And the good thing is, that no matter how old your child is (even if they're a late teenager) this is a great resource to help.

It's broken into two parts:

1. Foundations For Biblical Childrearing
2. Shepherding Through Stages Of Childhood.

So basically he walks you through the theology of parenting and then helps you make applications. The book has 18 chapter and is a little over 200 pages long so each chapter is about 10 pages. It's very digestible in small chunks but is one of those that is not a "read once and put on the shelf" kind of a book.

It's a very helpful tool in the day to day responsibility of raising children to glorify God. I'll say this. Any book that starts with the first question of the Westminster Catechism instead of the leather couch in some shrink's office gets my confidence as a book most Christian parents need to read.

It has no general index and a somewhat short Scripture index but I'm not sure that those would add a whole lot to this work. Overall, you have to read it. I recommend it whole heartedly and only do so if you're willing to repent as a parent. I'll leave as I usually do with a chunk from the book:

It is imperative to be clear on this issue. Parenting is not just providing good input. It is not just creating a constructive home atmosphere and positive interaction between a child and his parent. There is another dimension. The child is interacting with the living God. He is either worshiping and serving and growing in understanding of the implications of who God is, or he is seeking to make sense of life without a relationship with God.

I've Finished Reading "Biblical Eldership"

I first heard about Strauch's book several years ago when I was attending a small Southern Baptist Church in South Carolina. The pastor was beginning to explore what it meant to move from committee lead structures to an elder lead structure for the church. From what I knew at the time, the book proved profitable for the group of men he pulled into the group to discuss the book, but seeing any change beyond simply what occurred in the study, especially in the structure of the church never happened to my knowledge.

It's situations like that and just an overall lack of understanding of the subject of eldership for which Alexander Strauch wrote this book. The reason it became of particular interest to me was because I envision and am committed to Eternity being lead by a plurality of elders and as such wanted to make sure I was as thoroughly versed from a Biblical standpoint as I could be. There are other works on the subject that I intend to read but I have a hard time believing they will top this one.

From the very beginning, Strauch makes an extremely strong defense why a plurality of elders is really the only Biblical option for church leadership. He cautions against the "pastor as superhero" model and also readily dismisses with exegesis of Scripture the idea of "ruling bodies or presbyteries" that govern multiple local churches at a higher level.

The book is broken into four parts:

1. Biblical Eldership (The different facets of it)
2. Defense Of Biblical Eldership (Strauch's personal defense)
3. The Exposition Of Scripture (The Biblical texts that have led Strauch to his position)
4. Related Topics (More operational and method related questions in regards to Elders)

The book is a 300+ pages and with it's attention to particular Biblical arguments is not (and really should not be) a fast read. It has a great Scripture index at the back and it will take a couple of passes to catch some of the finer arguments that Strauch is attempting to make. But this book is a must have for anyone leading a church. It's a great reference and in my opinion solid Exegesis of 1Timothy, Titus, and 1Peter as they relate to church governance and leadership.

Strauch's positions will most definitely fall within a complementarian camp and will very much line up with Piper and Grudem's summary of male leadership within the church.

You can't miss with this book. If you're a church planter, a pastor who sees where the structure of leadership in your church is falling short, or you've just come to wonder why so many of the newer churches are being led by people called "elders", this will be a good book for you.

I've Finished Reading "Christ Centered Preaching"

Wow, it feels like forever since I've done a book review. I haven't stopped reading, but it seems like the reading has been more scattered over the last few months than it has focused.

This was a book recommended to me at our last church planter's meeting by Jonathan McIntosh of The Journey. We had discussed preaching at that meeting and this was a book that he recommended to the planters that were there.

For the most part, the book lived up to its billing. However, it is definitely a practicioner's book. Chapell does a good job of walking through developing a Christ centered redemptive sermon.

At times, and I think the content warrants this, it gets a bit methodical and plodding. I found myself feeling like I was re-reading the same parts of the book over and over and over. For those who have never preached, or like myself who have preached a little but now see that becoming a much more consuming piece of life, this is a good book to lay the foundation and the fundamentals of practice before stepping onto the platform on Sunday mornings.

The book is broken into three parts:

1. Principles For Expository Preaching
2. Preparation Of Expository Sermons
3. A Theology Of Christ-Centered messages

It's almost 400 pages long including appendices, bibliography, and indexes so it's not necessarily the quickest read in the world. The bibliography is great and gives reference to more books that should time and money warrant, I would love to read.

Overall, I would say for anyone who is looking at planting a church, starting to preach on a regular basis, or feels like their preaching ministry is somehow off kilter, this would be a good book to put on the shelf and to make a reference.

I'll end with a quote:

When preachers perceive the power that the Word holds, confidence in their calling grows even as pride in their performance withers. We need not fear our ineffictiveness when we speak truths God has empowered to perform his purposes. At the same time, acting as though our talents are responsible for spiritual change is like a messenger claiming credit for ending a war simply because he delivered the peace documents. The messenger has a noble task to perform, but he jeopardizes his mission and belittles the true victor with claims of personal achievement. Credit, honor, and glory for preaching's effects belong to Christ alone because his Word alone saves and transforms.

I’ve Finished Reading “The Great Omission”

There aren't many good books on discipleship that I've read and the reason is because we as Christians want to reduce discipleship to a program or a series of steps that we can check off and then call ourselves disciples. As I picked up Dallas Willard's book (I've read The Divine Conspiracy as well), I had a pretty good idea that it would at least be thought provoking and challenging.

Say what you want to about his theology in some areas, or some of his thoughts concerning doctrine, but the one thing you can't say about Dallas Willard is that he doesn't cause you to think. And this book was no different.

Willard comes from my current stomping grounds of Southwest Missouri. He teaches at University of Southern California and is steeped in deep thought, philosophy, and psychology so you have to understand and read his book through that lens. And from the get go, he starts off with a great paragraph:

But in place of Christ's plan, historical drift has substituted "make converts and baptize them into church membership". This causes two great omissions from the Great Commission to stand out. Most important, we start by omitting the making of disciples and enrolling people as Christ's students, when we should let all else wait for that. Then we also omit, of necessity, the stop of taking our converts through training that will bring them ever-increasingly to do what Jesus directed.

He then takes non-disciples excuses to task:

In contrast, the non-disciple, whether inside or outside the church, has something "more important" to do or undertake than to become like Jesus Christ. He or she has "bought a piece of ground," perhaps or even five yoke of oxen, or has taken a spouse. Such lame excuses only reveal that something on that dreary list of security, reputation, wealth, power, sensual indulgence, or mere distraction and numbness, still retains his or her ultimate allegiance.

Throughout the book and if he writes it once, I know he wrote it in there twenty times: "Grace is not opposed to effort, it's opposed to earning". And you know, the more I thought about that, the more it really became true to me and right. We sit around as Christians sometime and expect God to do everything in regard to our communion and discipleship with Jesus. We wait for lightning bolts as Willard would say and we think God will magically turn us into these radical followers of Jesus that are going to set the world on fire and nothing could be farther from the truth. Willard makes a book long argument that effort on our part is very much needed and that in our effort, discipline, and empowered by the Grace of God, we truly can become authentic disciples.

One of the other things that struck me about this book is that Willard argues heavily for silence, solitude, Scripture memorization, and mediation as the primary means by which a disciple will grow and develop. He encourages the reader to take hour long solitude retreats at first and then develop those into day long and even week long times of being alone with NO noise, NO distractions, NOTHING and letting that be a time where God is allowed to form you. I'm going to take him up on this because I believe that so much what of what crowds out our growth with Jesus is noise. And to grow, we have to remove ourselves from it. Jesus did this. We should too.

Willard argues that the word "discipleship" has lost almost all of its meaning and he uses instead the term "Spiritual Formation" which if you've been paying attention lately is really what people are calling the growth and development of a disciple. How do we form our spirit and our hearts to be the heart of Jesus? That is the million dollar question.

All in all, I loved the book. Like I said, I took some great things from it. I left some things in its pages. Towards the end of the book, Willard dives off into psychology laiden speak and argues for the study of psychology as a way to understand spiritual formation. I see what he's saying but I think it might be overkill. I don't think we need to be psych majors to grow with Jesus. There may be some very ingrained stuff in us that psychology might help us understand and explore, but all in all, I think simply doing what Willard argues for and "being obedient to Jesus" is the first step.

I would whole heartedly recommend this book to a reader. As always, leave the bad, take the good.

I've Finished Reading "Life Together"

The title says it's a classic exploration of faith in community. I think that pretty much sums it up. 122+ pages on what true Christian community is and what it most definitely is NOT.

Do you have that feeling at your church like there really isn't a closeness? That somehow, even though you share so many macro-variables in common with those you live, work, and attend church with, that there is truly no bond, brotherhood, or distinguishing mark of an authentic Christian community among you? Do you feel as though your church is going through the motions, but somehow, Jesus isn't shining through in your fellowship or your community?

Have you ever thought "I wonder what the church is supposed to be like?". If you have those kinds of feelings, or you ask those sorts of questions, then this book is definitely a MUST READ for you. However, if you think that a true Christian life can be lived by attending church for one hour on Sunday, this book is probably not for you. Don't get me wrong. YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD READ IT, but, it will take a few readings of it for it to sink in and make sense to you.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer lived in Nazi Germany. His work was mostly underground in the later years, and he was executed just days before the liberation of Germany by the Allies. His other landmark book, "The Cost Of Discipleship" does for a Christian exactly what this book will do for a church. And that is to set the bar so much higher than what we are currently living at.

I can't write anything glowing enough to recommend it to you. However, I know that I will need to read it over and over to truly grasp some of the things that are said in it. The best way to recommend it, I feel are to include some quotes from it. Thata way, you can get a flavor for what you will find in its' pages:

The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and from the fellowship. We dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. So we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy. The fact is that we ARE sinners!

Sin demands to have a man by himself. It withdraws him from the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him, and the more deeply he becomes involved in it, the more disastrous in his isolation. Sin wants to remain unknown. It shuns the light. In the darkness of the unexpressed it poisons the whole being of a person. This can happen even in the midst of a pious community

The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists of listening to them.....So it is His (Jesus') work that we do for our brother when we learn to listen to him

Often we combat our evil thoughts most effectively if we absolutely refuse to allow them to be expressed in words.

The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer.

It is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world to share God's Word and sacrament.

It's a great book. Read it slowly. Let it sink in!

I've Finished Reading "Church Planting Landmines"

A book of church planting mistakes not to make in years 2 through 10. Written by Tom Nebel and Gary Rohrmayer, this is a fantastic book full of practical advice on church planting and the authors take years of experience and wisdom gleaned from seeing hundreds of churches planted to give someone like me looking at planting a church the best advice they can on how to do it right.

And I appreciate that, believe me! Some of the nuggets contained within the book include statements like the following:
"Church planters need to engage in the church planting process with their eyes wide open to both the possibilities and potential pitfalls. This book will help the visionary planter maintain a balanced, healthy perspective in the midst of the battle."

They balance their opinions with facts. Theory with practical suggestions that they've given the church planters they've coached. And it's not fluff. It's very real world, practical, helpful suggestions that if executed, can help make a church plant healthier and sustainable.

And at the same time, they don't sell out God in the process. In fact, they build and center it around Him which is refreshing in these days of "pragmatism". It doesn't matter what kind of website or mailings you have, if you're not praying and flat on your face before God, it won't be a church that makes an eternal impact. It may make temporal change possible, and may even create some moralists in the process, but in the end, it won't be a Christ-exalting church.

Their 10 landmines are:

• Ignoring Personal Health And Growth
• Lack Of Leadership Development
• Leadership Backlash
• Personal Evangelism Entropy
• Corporate Evangelism Entropy
• Inadequate Enfolding Strategy
• Fear Of Money
• Underestimating Spiritual Warfare
• Misfiring On Hiring
• Delaying Missions Engagement

It's 140+ pages of great stuff. Most of it is highligted in yellow and it will stay a constant companion over the next 18-24 months. If you're looking at starting a church, thinking of going to be a part of a new church, or just want to "re-energize" your church, this book has very helpful suggestions in doing so.

For further resources, Gary Rohrmayer has a blog called Your Journey at which he provides even more stuff to help us lunatics (I mean visionaries) who want to see a community of believers come together for the glory of God. You need to check his blog out. He also is a teacher at the seminary I'm attending. Wanna guess which class he teaches?

I've Finished Reading "When Sinners Say I Do"

I cam across this book while checking out some things at Sovereign Grace Ministries and because of some friends who are either getting married or in the process of getting close to being married, I thought it might make a good gift.

I was rewarded and the positive spin at the SG site proved reliable and trustworthy. It's 183 pages of fantastic counsel and wisdom for folks who find themselves waking up next to a "sinner".

I also have to say that there were times where I simply cracked up laughing and couldn't get it together. One such passage that tripped off the laugh-O-meter was:

Or how about this? Rather than watching the football game on your day off, you decide to do the repair project she's been asking you to finish. Five frustrating hours later you put the the tools away, and look to your wife for some expression of appreciation for your personal sacrifice. She glances at your work and says, "I wish you would have asked me before you did it that way." Cue the pyrotechnics!

And that kind of storytelling, honest writing, and conversational approach is throughout the entire book. And the refreshing part is that Harvey doesn't give you psyhobabble bullhockey to fix your marriage. Ultimately, the answer is in the Gospel. He takes the entire book to lay that out and show you how that practically plays out, but he doesn't try to give some trite "how to" in hopes of fixing your marriage. He's real. He's Biblical. He's right.

His focus on words such as grace, mercy, forgiveness, repentance, sin, etc just don't feel very good sometimes but he rightly diagnoses that if we get those words right in our lives and in our vocabulary, then our marriages will be much healthier and Christ exalting. What's more is that he basically postualates that our marriages are not about us. They're about God and glorifying Him. Wow! What a concept.

The 10 chapters cover ground such as "What Matters Most", "Mercy Triumphs Over Judgement", "Stubborn Grace", and "When Sinners Say Goodbye". And oh yeah, there's the obligatory and most anticipated chapter, which he saves until Chapter 9, on SEX. There you have it, you wondered if the book talked about it, and it does. "CONCERNING SEX" is the title of Chapter 9. Men mark it down! :)

All in all, I'd have to concur with all the positive reviews of the book. You need to read this one whether you're dating to become married, newly married, or married for 50 years. It's for you. You won't be disappointed.

I've Finished Reading "Community 101"

I read this book as a required text for the course I'm currently taking in seminary. The course is "The Theology And History Of Fellowship" and focuses on Christology (Jesus), Ecclesiology (The Church), The Trinity, and how all of that fits into both developing and fostering Biblical Christian Community today.

Gilbert Bilezikian is one of the founding members of Willow Creek Community Church. It is known that he was one of the first people Bill Hybels approached about starting the church and it was in Gilbert's back yard that Willow Creek began to take shape.

So as I approached this book, I thought for sure it would be a good exegesis and practical methodology for how to build, develop, and sustain Biblical community within the church. It wasn't. It's not to say that the book was all bad, but at the same time, it has a lot to be desired.

Not only is Community 101 not sound exegesis, it is a book laced with an underlying "egalitarian" theme. For those who just went "egalitarian - what the heck does that mean?", Egalitarian is a view of manhood and womanhood that essentially says there is no gender distinctions in roles and that man and woman are essentially equal in their characteristics, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Egalitarian approaches to church stress that men and women equally can hold any position of ministry in the church and that the Bible makes no distinction or prohibitions based on gender. Gilbert is certainly in that camp. And not only is he in that camp, he is most decidedly "anti-complementarian".

For those of you who went "complimentarian?". Complementarian views of manhood and womanhood say that God most certainly did have a purpose in creating man and woman and he gave each gender strengths and weaknesses that very much "complement" each other. While both genders are absolutely equal in God's eyes and in ther image of Christ, they do have God ordained distinctions arising from their gender and therefore, God has woven throughout the Bible how gender can play a wonderful role in bringing Biblical community, families, and a world together. Equal in nature, different in roles. That's the "complementarian" view of manhood and womanhood.

So not only is Bilezekian anti-complementarian, he is also openly hostile and disdainful of people who hold this view. Which sets him against the likes of John Piper, Wayne Grudem, Albert Mohler, John MacArthur, Mark Dever, et call. So Bilezekian definitely finds himself in lonely territory from a sound Biblical exegesis standpoints.

To be fair, he does make some good analogies related to the cross and how that enables biblical community. He makes somes good statements, but more than anything, the underlying theme is most certainly promoting egalitarian views of Biblical community. I found myself reading the book just waiting for the chapter on why women as pastors is Biblical and sure enough, it came around page 100. Bilezekian's book "Beyond Sex Roles" is also a furtherance of his views concerning the matter.

All in all, I found this book of no help in addressing the problems of seeing true community form in our churches. It's a personal rant by the author and his bias and opinions shine forth way too much. For a 101 book, it wasn't very good. You can definitely sense the "emerging" overtones in this book. High on rhetoric and fluffy words to evoke emotion, low on truth and suggestions on how to actually get that done. Also, he makes some really big statements about his views on certain texts of the Bible and gives no fair treatment to other views on the matter.

For anyone who wants a true, thoughtful, and Biblically sound treatment of "egalitarian" vs. "complementarian", you need to go here and read "Recovering Biblical Manhood And Womanhood" by John Piper and Wayne Grudem. Much more solid from a theological perspective.

I've Finished Reading "Nine Marks Of A Healthy Church"

Ok, so I know I'm really late to the party on this one but I just found out who Mark Dever was several months ago so give a guy a break.

For those who don't know who he is, you need to find out who he is and read this book. Mark Dever is the pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington DC. As a result of this book has come an organization called 9 Marks which you can visit here.

IF every pastor in America read the book and at least took the meat of it to heart, it would bring another Reformation to the church. And we are in desperate need of Reformation here in the United States.

So what are the 9 Marks? I'm glad you asked. I'll post them here along with some teasing quotes from each of the chapters. You have to get this book and go to the website. Your church can't afford for you not to.

Mark 1: Expositional Preaching
What does this all mean for our churches? Simply that the preaching of the Word must be absolutely central. It shouldn't surprise you to hear that sound, expositional preaching is often a fountainhead of growth in a church.

Mark 2: Biblical Theology
If we are to be a healthy church in such times, we must be especially careful to pray for leaders in the church to have a Biblical grasp of and an experiental trust in the Sovereignty of God. Sound doctrine, in its full, biblical glory, marks a healthy church.

Mark 3: The Gospel
These other messages -- "I'm OK, You're OK" "Whatever you think of as love is God", "Jesus Is Your Friend", "You Should Live Right" --these messages are messages other than the Good News Of Christianity. They are half true at best and are dangerously untrue when they are relied on as the Christian Gospel. But this good news of Christ's death the Cross as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of all those who would ever turn and trust in Him--this Good News is not make-believe. This Good News if for real!

Mark 4: Biblical Understanding Of Conversion
And so, our churches have come to resemble Elks Clubs And Moose Lodges more than churches of the truly regenerated. The cause of such a negative witness among reputed followers of Christ, must be in some part due to the unbiblical preaching of conversion by many pastors--with blame to be shared with the church congregations that have allowed them to do that.

Mark 5: Biblical Understanding Of Evangelism
According to the Bible, evangelism may not be defined in terms of results or methods, but only in terms of faithfulness to the message preached.

Mark 6: Biblical Understanding Of Church Membership
If you commit yourself to a church, you commit yourself to a local body of people who will try to help you work through such problems.

Mark 7: Biblical Church Discipline
What we actually need to do is to close the front door and open the back door. If we really want to see our churches grow, we need to make it harder to join and be better about excluding people.

Mark 8: A Concern For Discipleship And Growth
According to Edwards, while all these things may be evidences of true Christian growth, the only certain observable sign of such growth is a life of increasing holiness, rooted in Christian self denial. The church should be marked by a vital concern for this kind of increasing godliness in the lives of its members.

Mark 9: Biblical Church Leadership
Instead of searching for leaders with secular qualifications, we are to search for people of character, reputation, ability to handle the Word, and who display the fruit of the Spirit in their lives.

I've Finished Reading "Living The Cross Centered Life"

Ok, so I'm probably late to the party on reading this book but as they say "better late than never". You know, as I read these kind of books, I wish I had known about them earlier. CJ Mahaney just does a great job giving us all a fantastic reminder why the cross should be central to the lives we lead and the thoughts we think.

The book is 14 Chapters long (154 pages) and is a fairly short read. But the message contained in its pages is nourishing to the soul and very helpful.

Mahaney takes you all the way from understanding what the Gospel really is and why it should be central to our lives to giving practical suggestions on how to keep the cross at the center of your daily life.

For perfectionists like me, there is a chapter in this book that was awesome. In it, Mahaney talks about why the Gospel breaks the bonds of legalism and how those who strive for spiritual performance for their justification before God can simply quit "spinning plates" as he calls it and look to the finished work of Jesus on the cross for their right standing before a Holy Creator. I need that more than I'll ever know and as Mahaney suggests, I need to preach it to myself every day.

Jesus died on a cross and bore the wrath I was meant to bear so that I might stand before the Father and have him look on me as he looks on His Son. I am 31 years old and don't have the slightest inclination that I fully and deeply understand this truth. But I pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit that each day brings new depth to my soul in regards to the cross.

I've Finished Reading "A Hand To Guide Me"

I know I say this about most books, but this is a good one. Certainly not a "theology" book or a book "about God" in any way, but one that is very helpful nonetheless. Denzel Washington has collected 73 stories from people such as Hank Aaron, Muhammed Ali, Yogi Berra, Jimmy Carter, Jamie Farr (M*A*S*H*), Jackie Joyner Kersie, Cal Ripken, Ruben Studdard, Dick Vitale, John Wooden, Bob Woodward, James Worthy and a host of others. Each chapter is a 3-4 page story of their influences in life and who has influenced them the most. You'll read about predictable influences such as teachers, coaches, parents, etc. Each in their own unique way talking about how those people shaped and made a difference in the success that they now enjoy.

Denzel closes the book with this:

It's an incredible thing, the human spirit. It's what keeps us teaching, ever upward, and as I flip through these pages one last time I'm reminded of the powerful role we can play in someone else's life. The good people you've heard from here have all benefited from a guiding hand or two or three. They've been on the receiving end of some profound words of wisdom, or they've patterned their lives after men and women of principle. They've seen one good turn and helped it blossom into another. or they've made a mistake and managed to learn from it and move on. And that's the great lesson we can all take with us as we set this book aside and return to our lives. Keep open--to possibility, to opportunity, to wonder--or remain forever shut off to the encouraging outcomes that await us all. Change happens. The key is to keep reaching for that guiding hand and to keep extending our own. So go ahead. Train up a child in the way he should go...and watch what happens.

Now that is a great quote. But there is one thing absent from this book and from that summary. So I feel compelled to include it here. The guiding hand that very few in the book mention and very few of us ever give credit to is the sovereign, omnipotent, almighty hand of the living God and His son Jesus Christ. God orchestrates the people he will put in our path and he directs our paths from our youth. I wish the book would have closed with this, I think it would have been more appropriate:

"Then HE led out his people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.HE led them in safety, so they were not afraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.And HE brought them to his holy land, to the mountain which his right hand had won.HE drove out the nations before them; he apportioned for them a possession and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents." Psalms 78: 52-55

I've Finished Reading "The Treasure Principle"

Overall, a really good book by Randy Alcorn. He challenges the reader to truly think about why God has given you the resources He has. Is it so you can life a life of comfort and ease and cruise on into retirement (John Piper has something to say about that tragedy). Or is it because He expects and wants you to use your finances to glorify Him.

Randy gives six principles that he expounds upon greatly and then has 31 questions at the end of the book to guide you through finding out what God would have you do about your finances.

His 6 Treasure Principles are:

1. God owns everything. I'm His money manager
2. My heart always goes where I put God's money
3. Heaven, not Earth is my home
4. I should live not for the dot, but for the line
5. Giving is the only antitode to materialism
6. God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but rather my standard of giving

This book also shares a bit of Randy's personal story and what led him to write this book. Overall, a very good and short read (100 pages). Small book though so you could easily get through it in a day.

I've Finished Reading "Suffering And The Sovereignty of God"

And what a book it is. If you haven't become familiar with John Piper and his teachings, you need to do so for the good of your soul. This book is actually a series of messages delivered at a Desiring God National Conference a few years ago and the messages were just compiled into book format with some really nice additional content that is helpful.

Have you ever struggled in life when you've gone through hard times and suffering. Have you ever thought of giving up on your faith. Has God ever felt so distant you didn't know if he was there. If that's the case, then I think this book would be nourishment to your soul. It's an easy read (205 pages) with some AWESOME appendices. Don't miss reading those.

To give you a flavor of what you'll get in the book, I'm including a poem and a hymn that a couple of the speakers used in their messages. I hope they are as helpful to you as they were to me.

"I stood a mendicant of God before His royal throne

And begged him for one priceless gift, which I could call my own.

I took the gift from out His hand, but as I would depart

I cried, But Lord this is a thorn and it has pierced my heart.

This is a strange, hurtful gift, which Thou hast given me.

He said, My child, I give good gifts and gave My best to thee.

I took it home and though at first the cruel thorn hurt sore

As long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more

I learned He never gives a thorn without this added grace,

He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face.

---Martha Snell Nicholson

And the hymn....

How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord,

is laid for your faith in his excellent Word

What more can he say than to you he has said

to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed

for I am your God, and will still give you aid;

I'll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,

upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call you to go,

the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;

for I will be with you, your troubles to bless,

and sanctify to you your deepest distress.

When through fiery trials your pathway shall lie,

my grace, all-sufficient, shall be your supply;

the flame shall not hurt you, I only design

your dross to consume and your gold to refine.

E'en down to old age all my people shall prove

my sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;

and when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,

like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne.

The soul that one Jesus has leaned for repose,

I will not, I will not desert to his foes;

that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I'll never, no never, no never forsake.

It's good stuff. God honoring, Christ exalting, soul nourishing words. Add this one to your library and add it's transforming power to your soul.

I've Finished Reading "Twelve Ordinary Men"

Overall, a fairly good book. John McArthur does a good job of portraying each of the apostles as they are represented in Scripture. At the beginning of this book, he issued the challenge of being able to name all twelve. I could have come close, missing probably one:

1. Simon Peter
2. Andrew
3. James
4. John (The Disciple Whome Jesus Loved)
5. Phillip
6. Matthew
7. Nathaniel
8. Thomas
9. Judas (Not Iscariot)
10. Thaddeus
11. James The Less
12. Judas Iscariot

I thought the book was a decent biographical portrayal, but WAY TOO MUCH verbiage spent on the ordinariness of the apostles. Anyone, who has studied the Bible at all, would know they were ordinary men. Addressing that at the beginning of the book would have been great and then just sticking to the bio sketches, but McArthur for some reason felt the need to HAMMER that point over and over again in each chapter dealing with each Apostle. Once again, not bad, just overkill.

One thing I did appreciate was the inclusion of early church tradition as to what happened to each of the 12 post-Pentecost. Also, as usual, McArthur did a good job of explaining tradition, customs, and context of the time at which the Bible took place. A good read and a quick one (198 pages)

I've Finished Reading "Aftershock - Help, Hope, And Healing In The Wake Of Suicide"

First off, I want to preface this conversation with the fact that on January 8th, 2007, my mom took her own life by overdosing on prescription medication. She was a great woman, and a great mom. She was a single parent who did the best she could to cope with all that life threw at her. Her father died of 3rd degree burns when she was 18, she lost a baby sister to a drunk driver when she was in her early twenties, she was divorced, and she suffered from bi-polar disorder.

As I read this book (one given to me by a precious friend), I could identify with a lot of the feelings, emotions, and sentiments expressed by the folks who shared their story within it's pages. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the author of the book lives in Spartanburg, SC. I would like to meet him to thank him for providing this book. It may shock the folks who read this to learn that 85% of the US is affected by suicide and the statistics are rather alarming. Someone, if not everyone, much like divorce will be impacted by suicide at some point in time or another.

It's a good book with many good practical suggestions. I would only add to it that knowing Christ, Him Crucified, Resurrected, and Glorified, is the only lasting eternal salve that will heal an open wound left by suicide. The steps and suggestions in this book are extremely helpful and practical and would provide many helps to the wounded soul. But without Christ and the cross at the center of it, all of us are in danger of the downward spiral to where we see no hope.

Thank God and His Son everday that you have hope. It is a gift given to you by God, and you are a gift sustained by God. Thank you David Cox for this book. May it be a precious resource to those who are dealing with this "earthquake".

I've Finished Reading "The Reformation - How A Monk And A Mallet Changed The World"

Overall, a good book. A short read (150 pages). The book gives very short biographical sketches of the main reformers of the 1600's and 1700's (Luther, Calvin, Zwingli and others)

It also talked about some of the main theological distinctives among the different Reformer groups (Lutherans, Anabaptists, Mennonites, etc).

It really was an informative read, one I would recommend...my favorite part of the book was when it talked about Luther's Earthy side. And while it was his 95 Theses that changed the church forever, he was also human. After reading his biographical sketch, I feel like I can really identify with him. The book talked about the fact that Luther wasn't always proper and gave a quote that I have to include here:

But I resist the devil, and often it is with a fart that I chase him away

What a quote!