What I'm Reading in 2013...So Far

Although I am incredibly fond of cracking open a good book, I find that the pace of life presents its own challenges for my reading goals. Nonetheless, I've given it my best shot in 2013 to start (and perhaps finish) some good reads. 

Here is a brief breakdown of what I'm trying to knock out in the first quarter of the year:

Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling by Andy Crouch 
As a Boston University trained theologian, Crouch (editing director of the Christian Vision Project) presents an excellent and well thought-out case as to why Christians should be pioneers of "culture creation" within our societies. Outlining the options of condemning, critiquing, copying or consuming culture, Crouch presents a fresh option for the church: creating culture. The author argues that, once upon a time, the Church broke ground as leaders in the areas of academia, health care and literature/arts. Since then, we've simply lagged behind what the culture at-large has already crafted. Crouch continually challenges me in this book to look for ways to lead our culture in creating fresh approaches that cause the world to take notice of our Source of creativity: our Creator.



The Utter Relief of Holiness: How God's Goodness Frees Us From Everything That Plagues Us by John Eldredge
Ok...I'll admit it. I've got a literary crush on Eldredge's works. So that's probably why I pre-ordered this book and have been tearing through it quite rapidly. In the midst of reading a lot of brain food, I always find John's words are the respite I need in my life. As usual, Eldredge builds on his theme of pursuing a life that allows Christ to make us holy AND whole. I knew I'd like this book when, in his opening pages, John writes that "a great deal of time and energy here is spent trying to make people behave. And it is right...and it is wrong...What you see in Jesus is what he is after in you." Halfway in to this work, it truly is an "utter relief" to be reminded that only God can make us redeemed and whole.



The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
I've quickly discovered that my fiction pick of early 2013 isn't the same flowing type of read as Tolkien's other popular works. Written shortly before his death, the author of The Hobbit attempted to craft a series of tales that explained the creation of Middle Earth and the "First Age" of the Elder Days. Paced more like a historical textbook than a carefree tale of hobbits and dwarves, this book still provides a great escape for the Tolkien Nerd in all of us. Even though I prefer the epic style of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Silmarillion remains a classic in the way it beautifully expands the universe of Elrond, Galadriel and Gandalf himself.

On a rainy day like today, I strongly recommend a good cup of coffee and any or all of these thought-provoking works.

Fighting Off The Wolves

"The moment you wake up each morning, all your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists in shoving it all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other, larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in." - C.S. Lewis

Although the motion picture, The Grey, wasn't the "Liam Neeson-takes-names" action flick I thought it would be…it was still quite entertaining. I'll never forget how well the actors portrayed the urgency of starting fires in the wolf-infested woods of Alaska. Without an arsenal of weapons or safe shelter, a strong fire was the only hope the characters had of staving off the hungry, flesh-eating predators. 

As C.S. Lewis once stated, our only hope in "shoving back" the animal-like rush of our hopes, anxieties and expectations each day…is prayer. Not a simple "bless this food and all the people in the world" type of prayer. Not a "all about me" prayer either. Yet, the prayer where honesty and intentionality collide is where we commune with God and find hope.

When Paul wrote Timothy, he helped the young pastor in Ephesus understand the significance of prayer. He reminds his protege to present "petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings" before God. In essence, Paul is saying to "bring it all" before the Creator. He is big enough to handle it all. Petitions go beyond our personal needs. If our hearts are fixed on the gospel, we understand that the lost around us have the "great need of salvation." Intercession literally means "to fall in with someone" and "to draw near so as to speak intimately." In other words, our prayers for the lost and unreached should produce a compassion that "understands the depth of their pain and misery." We also focus on the "thanksgivings" of our lives…even in the midst of depression, tragedy and death.

This type of prayer constructs within us two primary fruits. 

First, the more attention we divert away from our world and to the great needs of the lost, impoverished and suffering…the more we see that our role is one of many on a grand stage. The Story of Redemption is the most beautiful of history and God wants us to see it and understand our role in giving Him glory. When we take the focus solely off of our needs, He is most glorified and we are most satisfied, as Piper would say.

Second, we experience the amazing privilege that Christ purchased with his blood. Paul said we have this honor to boldly approach the Lord because "we have one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for us all." This earth-shattering truth challenges me not to waste the blood of Christ completely on my needs, but to move towards a gospel-centered prayer life.

So today, with all of my wild "wolves" of desire, self-absorption, and narcism, I'm fighting off the wolves by setting ablaze the fire of prayer. A fire built on the fuel of "me" will die down all too soon. Yet a fire built on Christ-focused prayer will keep away the hungry predators.

Hindering Hurdles

Have you ever engaged in a conversation with someone, identified yourself as a Christian and quickly realized you had to qualify your descriptor? It happens often in our culture. It happened to me and my friend Jarred the other day. We settled in to our seats at our favorite Starbucks and struck up an exchange with our new retired friend, Lou. It was obvious to us that Lou did not share the same evangelical viewpoint. So when we pointed over I-75 to show Lou where we worked, that look of "Oh…you're those types" spread across his face. 

Now to Lou's credit, there are a myriad of issues that Christians, namely evangelicals, have raised higher than others. And not all of these issues deserve the center stage position we've given them. Whether we've become more partisan-happy than politically-responsible or divisively-driven than socially compassionate, many claiming to follow Christ have taken important issues and made them more "visible" than the Gospel. As Barna Group research has shown, many Americans see Christians as simply, "hypocritical, anti-homosexual, sheltered, too political and judgmental." Are social, political and ethical issues important? Yes, but not at the expense of blocking people from seeing Jesus…first.

Before I point my finger too long at the fundamentalists, let me make my confession. I have a tendency to take this the other way. Sometimes, due to my jaded and cynical view of unhealthy tradition, I'm tempted to abuse my freedom in Christ to "upset the apple cart." I'll go one more level of transparent….sometimes I thrive off of the shock factor. I become so frustrated with the pace of certain leaders that I go for "shock and awe" out of frustration rather than "truth and love." But maybe that's just me.

In Acts 16:1-5, Paul advises Timothy to become circumcised before visiting Jewish Christians. Wait a minute! Just a few verses earlier, the church had decided that circumcision was NOT a prerequisite of salvation. So is Paul simply reverting to his default mode of pharisaical requirements? A deeper investigation of the text shows that Paul is lovingly discipling Timothy. He's NOT encouraging him to ADD to salvation through rite of passage. He's teaching him to remove all hindering hurdles so people can see the simplicity, depth and beauty of the Gospel. 

In other words, Paul could be saying, "Should these Jewish Christians grow up and get over the circumcision issue? Sure they should. But's let's allow Christ and His Gospel to be on center stage and then we'll tackle these issues later." Paul's reminder to young Timothy: let's remove any hinderance from them seeing the Gospel first and foremost. 

What am I doing this week with those I encounter? If I allow the ceremonial, political, ethical, social to be the centerpiece of conversation, the best I could hope for is behavior modification. And that's neither deep or eternal. My prayer is to remove the hurdles so others can hear, see and respond to Jesus.

Tone Matters

We've all committed the mortal sin of social media. I know I have…too many times. We either post something controversial in the heat of the moment…or…we weigh in on someone else's conversation because we can't help ourselves. 

Embarrassingly, I cannot count the times I've responded to an important, but secondary, issue in the heat of the moment. Rather than take a deep breath, wait a few hours (if not a day or two) and respond thoughtfully, I've shot from the hip and asked questions later. 

Looking deeper into Acts 15, we not only see the blue print of how to do church…but also how "NOT" to do church. The issue: John Mark. The ones holding opposing views: Paul and Barnabas. The result: sharp disagreement and a parting of ways. Paul's second missionary journey began with disunity and emotional wounds due to the ancient equivalent of a Facebook spat. 

The outcome of their dispute wasn't a simple "let's agree to disagree" conclusion. When the text says they had a "sharp disagreement," the greek word for that phrase is "paroxusmos." This word means a "severe argument based on intense differences of opinion." These disciples weren't debating the strength of SEC football schedules. The tension was as thick as Butch Cassidy in a Bolivian gunfight. Emotions were more than likely flaring up. Character was probably attacked.

Once again, this provides a blue print of what NOT to do. Maybe it's because we are passionate people, but it seems as though Christians are some of the first ones to forget that tone matters. When we engage in public conversation…tone matters. When we express our views politically…tone matters. When we discuss sharp doctrinal differences within the family of faith…tone matters. 

First, it matters because Christ prayed that our love for each other would display the glory and greatness of God (John 17:20-26). The world around us already witnesses enough character assassination, finger pointing and demonizing in everyday culture. If the church displays this same disunity, are we really pointing them to the beauty and unity of the Cross? Civil discourse should be one of the greatest hallmarks of disagreement within a New Testament church.

Second, the current generation of young adults won't put up with it. If they see shots fired, they will simply walk away. But as people who claim to belong to Christ, Kinnaman says that "we need models for the next generation not only of intellectual rigor, but also of humility and generosity of spirit…a good place to start this endeavor is with fellow believers."

So that's where I'm living this week. Learning to think before speaking (or posting) so that the Cross will remain central and disagreements will be heavily seasoned with humility. 

As Kinnaman states, "over and above our debates, we should cultivate a spirit of Christian unity, purpose, and mission."

Friendly Fire

Ok, the nerd in me can't resist. After watching The Avengers twice (don't judge), I can't help but make a spiritual parallel with one of my favorite scenes. (This is a spoiler-free parallel). There is a scenario at the beginning of the film where three of our heroes are not fully aware that they are all fighting for the same cause. Therefore, the geeks watching (me included) smile with uncontrolled joy when Thor, Iron Man and Captain America square off deep in the forests of Western Europe. 

Although this is an epically engaging battle to watch, the characters slowly realize that they all have the same objective in mind: to stop the plans of evil ones. Yet, they discern that all of the fighting over "how's" and "why's" prevent them from accomplishing the ultimate "what." Ok, so let's make the jump from the Marvel universe to the "real" world.

Unfortunately, we do this rather consistently in the church today. We stake our sacred ground and make it bloody by fighting battles over the "gray" areas of Scripture, church culture or personal preferences. By "gray" areas I'm referring to those things that are not directly prescribed in God's Word, yet we mount an attack to defend them. Are some of these "gray" areas important or worth discussing within our communities of faith? Absolutely. But not unlike our avenging heroes, we must ask: Are the "how's" and "why's" keeping us, as the church, from the ultimate "what?"

Of course our ultimate "what" is to find satisfaction in Jesus and proclaim His goodness and gospel to the ends of the earth. But what roadblocks do we inadvertently build that keep others from seeing this concluding truth?

One of my favorite authors, John Eldredge, paints a picture in his newest book (Beautiful Outlaw) concerning our drift towards pharisaical morality rather than a deep love of Jesus and His mission. Eldredge writes, "Loving the culture of church is not anywhere close to the same thing as loving Jesus. The Pharisees loved their religious culture - the long prayers, the solemn garments, the honor bestowed upon them for being members of the clergy. But they hated Jesus." (p. 139)

In other words, do we…do I…attack brothers and sisters in Christ with "friendly fire?" Do we unintentionally keep others from experiencing the warmth of grace by placing unnecessary requirements on their yoke? Weighing others down with "gray" areas comes more naturally than we think. Just ask the Early Church's Jerusalem Council. They had to investigate this when they saw Jews blocking Gentiles from experiencing satisfaction in Christ. What "gray" area did they take to the mat? Circumcision. What a painful (pun intended) realization. Rules and requirements lifted higher than Jesus. Political and cultural affiliations lifted higher than Jesus. Sound familiar?

Therefore…we must be very careful. I must be very careful. Are the hills that I think are worth dying on, simply keeping someone else from understanding grace and mercy? Do my "gray" areas come before me and others truly experiencing Christ?

Once again, Eldredge painfully reminds us that, "smoking or swearing would draw much more concern than ignoring God in most Christian circles." What banner do we raise higher than all others? What hurdles have we placed on the path to embracing grace and confessing Christ? 

The world around us will have a difficult time seeing Jesus when we spend our time drawing blood from others. When society notices our bruises inflicted from "gray" areas…they will walk away. They already see that every day. Yet when they see Christ lifted high…in the midst of our differences…in the midst of our gray areas…they will see something worth uniting around. 

Today I'm challenged to put down my weapons…and raise high the banner of Christ and His goodness.

The Art of Mentoring

"They (Paul and Barnabas) preached the Gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith." - Acts 14:21-22 

Somewhere along the way, our American Christian culture created an elite, celebrity-type of hierarchy that placed full-time missionaries at the top and "regular" small group leaders at the bottom. Please do not misunderstand. Our ultimate aim is to take the beautiful, chain-breaking Gospel to the ends of the earth. Therefore we should do nothing less than lift up international missionaries to the Father daily. We should also support our brothers and sisters through our financial giving AND our physical "going" to partner with them in their work. 

But let's rewind the missionary timeline for a moment. How did that missionary arrive at their spiritual and geographical destination? Who instilled in them the passion to see ALL people groups worship the Living God? Who invested in them the time necessary to help build doctrinal stability to point them to the nations? Who refused to give up on them when they doubted the Bible's authenticity, rebelled against its precepts or challenged its authority?

Now in reality, it was probably a team or "village" of people who spent time shepherding their hearts. Hopefully, it was first and foremost, the parents who raised them in a gospel-centered home. But even sound research shows that when a "trusted elder" comes alongside of the parents and reinforces the same truths…the seed takes root in deep, deep soil. 

This is where a "mentor" who disciples is vital. Now in our Christian culture here in America, I believe we've overcomplicated the role and function of a mentor. Look again at the above passage. What did Paul and Barnabas do? They simply strengthened and encouraged the new followers. Did this take time? Yes. Patience? No doubt. But at the end of the day it wasn't like they had to write 90-page papers for Systematic Theology or dissect each element of apocalyptic literature. They simply strengthened and encouraged. 

Now when it comes to mentors who invested in me alongside of my parents, there are many, many names that come to mind from yesteryear. But my childhood friend (whose blog you need to read at thejarred.com) and I agreed to mention one of our mentors from our adolescence in our blogs this week. Partly because its Charlie Musick's birthday, but also because Charlie played a subtle, yet significant role in our lives. 

I'll never forget one Sunday night after our traditional stop at THE Dairy Queen in the Waverly Plaza, Charlie offered to give me a ride home. On the way to my Cedar Hill Drive abode, Charlie strengthened me by helping me identify temptations that were obvious in my walk. He also encouraged me by affirming specific gifts he saw in my life that could be used for the glory of God. 

As with many things in our American culture, we sometimes attempt to overcomplicate and market the art of mentoring. But there is no hierarchy. It's a false measurement. We've been called to simply "strengthen and encourage" as we go. We've been instructed to intentionally make disciples, love them and tell them to "remain true to the faith."

It may not sound like much in light of the daunting global task to take the gospel. But exponentially…that is HOW we take the gospel. By mentoring one heart at a time. Let's not take our opportunities lightly this week. 

I'm eternally grateful that Charlie understood the simplicity of this discipline. I simply hope to emulate what he did for me and Jarred.

An Opposite Reaction

Two weeks ago on Friday, April 20, an independent advocacy organization called the China Aid Association (CAA) reported a sweeping, but not surprising move, on the part of the Chinese government. Effective immediately, the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA), an arm of the People's Republic of China, is launching a nationwide effort to eradicate house churches in the communist nation. According to the report, this strategy will be carried out in three, comprehensive stages.

First, the SARA will conduct a thorough investigation of every house church and compile a dossier on these congregations. Next, the government will "persuade" these churches to lose the name "church," stop proselytizing and register their "gathering" with the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. Finally, the churches that do not abide by these sanctions will be eliminated by the Administration. The pressure has already begun to build. The CAA randomly surveyed numerous house churches and 95% of those questioned said they are feeling the effects of this new move. An astounding 85% of house churches surveyed said that dossiers have already been complied of their congregation.

As we watch this tragedy unfold from the comfort of our American churches, our response should be two-fold. We should first and foremost pray for the persecuted believers of China. They are not obscure, nameless people whose proximity keeps us apathetic. They are truly our brothers and sisters in Christ. To love them and lift them up to our Father is not a spiritual suggestion, it is a supernatural mandate straight from the mouth of Jesus (John 15). Let us beg God for every tear they cry and drop of blood they shed to break our hearts. 

Second, we should be incredibly careful when we pray for them. Our initial temptation, living in a nation that enjoys freedom and comfort, is to pray for the immediate end of their persecution and imminent justice for their torturers. Yet, we must listen to the actual requests of our brothers and sisters across the globe. They will be the first to say, without hesitation, to not pray for the lessening of persecution, because this will decrease the speed in which the gospel will be spread. Our international families know the depth and truth of Tertullian's statement that "the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church." 

Padded pews. Climate-controlled facilities. Relatively safe communities. Virtual religious liberty. These things are not inherently unacceptable or un-Christlike. We should celebrate our freedom and be grateful for good gifts. Yet these luxuries do prevent us from completely grasping the scope of how the Spirit uses persecution. It is used to extend the Gospel throughout unreached regions like wildfire on a hot, dry day. In other words, the actual proposed "elimination of house churches" in China, will probably have the opposite reaction the government is looking for which is…an increased velocity of the Church in China!

So how should we pray with our limited understanding of persecution and our propensity for safety? When our work for the Gospel meets vicious opposition, how should we lift this need to our Father? We would be wise to listen to and echo the prayer the early church prayed in the midst of life-threatening risks:

"And now, Lord, consider their threats, and grant that Your slaves may speak Your message with complete BOLDNESS, while You stretch out Your hand for healing, signs, and wonders to be performed through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." (Acts 4:29-31)

In the midst of opposition, will we pray for safety…or boldness?