Faith and Other Flat Tires

Andrea Palpant’s Faith and Other Flat Tires is a personal memoir about the doubts about God she developed as a missionary child in Africa.  There were a lot of things I liked about this book.  For example the writing was incredible.  Being a writing instructor myself, I always get a little giddy when I come across a Christian book that actually shows some knowledge of the craft.  Palpant’s background in Communications definitely shines in this book and makes it an enjoyable read.

Her story is also fairly typical of God’s grandchildren, a.k.a. kids who grew up with true believing parents that wanted nothing more than to serve God with all their heart.  These kids usually don’t really get their parents or the God they serve but have a hard time finding any contentment in the world.  Until they really give their lives to God and have their own relationship with them, they also can’t find contentment in the church, so they end up thrown all over the place in their beliefs. 

Been there, done that.

The major drawback of the book is that she structures it around John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress and the journey that Christian takes, but she definitely focuses more on Christian’s pratfalls, then on some of the elements of Bunyan’s metaphor that exemplify God’s part in our walk like Help, Goodwill, Faithful, Hopeful, The Shining Ones, the Lord of the Hill, etc.

The lack of these characters’ traits shows through in Palpant’s memoir as well.  Even in the grand climax where she returns to church, she doesn’t necessarily do it because she finds much hope there, but just because it’s better than the other options.  There’s no relationship with Jesus, no revelation of God in her life, just a meandering fall back into church community.  It’s a lot like Ignorance stumbling up to the City on the Hill in Pilgrim’s Progress.  It doesn’t go well for him.

So I’m torn.  I really liked the book, but in the end I’m not sure where Palpant stands when it comes to faith.  Did she decide to follow Jesus or not?  I hope that I’m just missing something and the answer to that question is “yes”.  But I certainly wouldn’t recommend the book to anyone struggling with their faith.  It’s just as likely to turn them away from God, as turn them back to Him.  On the other hand, she paints a really good picture of the struggle of faith that every child who grows up in it will undoubtedly walk. 

And it’s well-written. Let’s not forget that.

Ultimately, I’m on the fence with this one.  I liked it, and I didn’t like it.  I’d recommend it, but I’d also not recommend it.  I guess you could say that Palpant’s confusion about how she feels about faith has left me feeling confused about how I feel about her book, which I’m sure leaves the reader confused about this review.  And if you’re wondering if this is the book for you, all I can say is ‘maybe’.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.  All opinions are my own.

Unashamed to Bear His Name

When the term “Christian” was first coined in Antioch, it was a term of derision.  These “little Christs” were creating such an upheaval by promoting things like being good and loving that the ancient world decided the best course of action was to kill them.  Since then the term “Christian” has had its ups and downs, sometimes it was the status quo, and sometimes like today it has born negative connotations. 

However the name has been viewed one thing is certain, being a true follower of Jesus Christ has always born a stigma that led to persecution no matter what society His followers lived in; sometimes persecution came even by those bearing the name “Christian”.

The stigma of bearing Christ’s name is the topic of R.T. Kendall’s book “Unashamed to Bear His Name”.

Kendall points out that the Gospel itself is offensive, so anyone who claims that it’s true and lives accordingly must be by association offensive.  The Gospel says, we’re naturally evil—opposed to God.  We can do nothing good.  People tend to have a problem with being called evil, never mind the good news inherit in God’s promise to forgive and transform us in all righteousness; they just don’t want to admit to being evil in the first place.

However, Kendall also points out that a lot of Christian circles are offensive unnecessarily.  If the Gospel offends someone, so be it.  But there’s no point in being purposively offensive like some groups out there.  The Westboro Baptist folks come to mind in this area: God judges, not us.

The thing that really floored me is that Kendall is by all accounts a charismatic Calvinist.  I didn’t even know such people existed.  It was awesome reading, and a different perspective on most things than I’ve ever encountered.  A lot of his beliefs mirrored my own; for example, miracles without a presentation or the Gospel don’t accomplish much.  You can read what I wrote about the subject in  Healing and God's Heart.  

Kendal goes so far as to say that you can recognize a true charismatic revival by whether the Gospel is shared or not, and he points to the recent Lakeland revival as an example of a fraudulent revival.  Considering what came to light about the leadership there, I’d say he is probably right. 

I can’t say this book will be for everybody.  In fact, I’m sure most who read it will find it offensive because in love he critiques conservatives and charismatics for being offensive for every reason but the Gospel, but I loved it, and I think Jesus words in Matthew 11:6 “"And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me” applies very well to the words of Truth in Kendall’s book.

I was provided a copy of this book from the publisher for review.  All opinions are my own.

8 Thoughts on Christian Imagination

For the first ten years of my life, I was an only child, and during that time, my dad worked nights and my mom worked days, and I spent a lot of time alone.  During that alone time, I read a lot of books, watched a lot of movies, and created a lot of imaginary worlds.  (I also set the house on fire twice, but let’s not talk about that right now.)

All that time spent imagining led me to be a fairly creative person, but it also led to an exaltation of my thoughts and desires above the real world.  Any time things got too real, I’d go watch a movie or start daydreaming about the life I wished I had. And worst of all, any time God tried to intrude in my life, I’d use my imagination to pretend He wasn’t and rationalize how God didn’t exist.

When I came to Christ, I gave up everything that used my imagination: all the movies, books, writing, drawing, painting, everything that I worried might engage my pride or divert my eyes from God.  But recently God has been telling me to reengage with those things for His glory, so I’ve been trying to figure out exactly how the imagination fits in our relationship with God.

Read today's Proverbs and Wisdom article for 8 things I've been thinking about when it comes to Christian Imagination.

Forget Going Green! Go Light!

Back in 2005, before I was even born-again, a group of evangelical leaders got together to talk about that all-important issue that has got every Christian on their toes and ready for action. No, no not evangelism.  It’s that other “E” word:  Environmentalism.

The New York Times quoted the Rev. Rich Cizik as saying, "I don't think God is going to ask us how he created the earth, but he will ask us what we did with what he created."

Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve never read that verse in the Bible.  Maybe I missed it.  Maybe somewhere in there Jesus said, “Even as you’ve done to the planet, so shall it be done to you,” or maybe it was even something like “And on that day many will come to me and say Lord, Lord, I recycled my bottles and cans in your name, I gave money to save the wetlands in your name, I even ran a half-marathon to raise awareness for the near extinction of the rainbow toad in New Zealand.”

Of course, I’m being completely facetious here, but on judgment day God will inquire of us something that is true.  It will not be how environmentally conscience we were.  It will not be how many species we saved.  Rather He will ask, even tell, us how we treated our fellow man and by proxy Jesus (Matthew 25:35-46)

People are the conditional of eternity, not the environment.  We are not called to Go Green.  We are called to be light in the world.  Addressing environmental issues that adversely affect people like polluted drinking water is definitely part of that, but it is not the over-arching focus for the Christian.

To be honest, I was so amused by the prospect of evangelical leaders presenting environmental issues in this fashion.  I started another blog with this topic as its focus.  Visit the link below to read more:

Halfway Herbert

Francis Chan tells us the story of Herbert who never finishes anything.  He finishes half his homework, he eats half his dinner, and he only brushes the top half of his teeth.  That’s why all his friends call him Halfway Herbert.  And when Halfway Herbert crashes his bike into his dad’s car, he tells his dad a half-truth so that he won’t get in trouble.

Halfway Herbert soon learns that a half-truth is a whole lie, and Jesus doesn’t take us halfway, He wants us to give Him our all. 

In the author’s note at the end of the book Chan writes, “The typical American pattern is to tell our kids about the love of Christ and wait until they are older to teach them about what it means to follow Christ.  Let’s not sell our kids short.  Let’s not underestimate what the Holy Spirit can do in the lives of our children.”

This is why I love this series of children’s books that Francis Chan has released.  They teach biblical truth in an accessible but unreserved way to children.  I find myself as convicted as the children in the stories by the lessons that are taught.

I highly recommend Halfway Herbert and any of the Francis Chan children’s books for the children in your family.

Buy It Now $9.35

Why are Christians so Power Hungry?

There are a few different types of power hungry Christians that I’ve met over the years.  There are the Dominion groups, both conservative and charismatic, who want to take over the world for Christ the king, either politically, socially, or spiritually.  There are the signs and wonders groups that want to call down fire from heaven anytime they should so desire.  There are the legalists who like to rule over their followers through condemnation.  And there are the traditionalists and denominationalists that set up hierarchies of power to maintain proper distance between individuals and God.

The thing is all of these groups have taken elements that Jesus taught and built man-made traditions around them.   But the kind of power a Christian should seek can never be found in man-made traditions. 

Jesus once told the disciples, “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven." (Luke 10:19-20)

Jesus also said, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

If you want to know power, seek to know God.  He doesn’t need your help to bring His kingdom to earth, He doesn’t need your help to perform signs and wonders, He doesn’t need your help to convict sinners, and He doesn’t need your help as mediators when dealing with people. 

But when you know Him, when you speak to Him and He speaks back, when you submit to Him and obey His commandments, when you love Him with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might, He will endow you with power from on high to accomplish His will on Earth, which might include all those things mentioned above.

The point is don’t start out thinking you know what’s best when it comes to wielding God’s power.  You are not a superhero out to save the day.  Don’t pray, “God give me the ability to do ‘x, y, or z’.” Rather, seek God’s face because He’s God.  Get to know the One who gives and takes away.  Pray, “God I want to do whatever you want me to do today.  I’m totally submitted to You because I love You.” Serve Him in your weakest moments just as lovingly and confidently as in the moments where it seems like all of heaven is at your beck and call, not because of anything He can do for you, but because of Who He Is:

The I Am, The Beginning and the End, the Creator, the Almighty One, Savior, Deliverer, Provider, Healer, the Jealous One, Merciful and Just, Father, Bridegroom, Brother, Friend . . . Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty who was, and is, and is to come!

Futurecast: What Today’s Trends Mean for Tomorrow’s World

George Barna and his Barna Group are some of the most trusted names in market research for Christian ministries, non-profit organizations, and various media and financial corporations.  While in 1984 the company was originally founded as a simple research company, in 2004 the company regeared its focus to research and facilitating transformation based on that research.

Futurecast is a collection of the most recent data on the Christian demographic in the nation coupled with Barna’s predictions for the next 5 years based on that data as well as transformative suggestions on how to act on that data.  One of the biggest changes those familiar with Barna’s early years will notice is the steer away from trying to initiate social change from the top down (government, business, education, etc), to focusing on how we can impact individuals for the kingdom in our sphere of influence. 

Personally, I think that should be obvious, but I know many Christians, and I’m sure you do too, who would rather take on the government in all its abstract bureaucracy than tell their neighbor about Jesus.  But as Barna points out, individuals make up society.  Reaching one person who reaches one person who reaches one person who reaches one person is an exponential catalyst for social change. 

If I had to pick one thing to critique, it’s Barna’s championing of the home church movement as something new and separate.  While I wholeheartedly support the home church movement in the U.S., I don’t think it needs to separate from the legacy church and form its own denomination like Barna implies. While he doesn’t push it too strongly in this book, I just finished another book that Barna coauthored entitled Small is Big where that idea is presented pretty forcefully (Click here to read my review of Small is Big).  However this critique is at best a side-note to Futurecast and doesn’t detract from the book at all.

Overall, the numbers Barna presents in his book about U.S. culture and Christianity are not overly shocking, though there are a few surprises in there.  If you’re at all interested in where our nation stands in terms of its Christian culture, then I recommend Futurecast whole heartedly.

Thanks to Tyndale Publishing for sending me a free copy in return for my honest opinion.

Buy it now: $16.49

Small is Big

Tony and Felicity Dale | George Barna

What is a church? Is it a denomination, a building, or is it a people?  Are two or three enough to be a church like Matthew 18:20 suggests?

In the book Small is Big, the Dales and George Barna present a look at the growing movement of simple churches spreading throughout the world.  Perhaps the most famous are the house churches of China, which have spread out of a necessity via a repressive government. (See Brother Yun’s Heavenly Man and Paul Hattaway’s Back to Jerusalem)  The stories that have come out of these churches have caused many traditional church goers begin to wonder if they were missing something about what Christ intended His church to look like.  Small is Big looks at models of simple/house churches in the world, what goals of the simple/house church should be, how these churches relate to legacy and mega churches, and also the Dale’s experience in planting and networking simple churches.

Overall, I loved the book.  I have pushed off this review for days trying to think of things that I could critique, and while I can certainly point to doctrinal issues I don’t necessarily agree with, the overall position they take is that the simple church, the legacy church, or the mega church are all God’s churches, and He should be the ultimate power and authority of every position of leadership, revelation, counseling, outreach, and doctrine.  And it’s hard to argue with that because it’s true.

The one thing I did disagree with, that I think is worth mentioning, is the notion that simple churches are largely incompatible with legacy or mega churches.  That they cannot be small groups of those larger churches or that members of the simple churches have to give up going to their larger churches and just focus on their simple church.  I think simple church leaders would benefit greatly by having a legacy or mega church home, especially one that was willing to be a network hub for their churches with a pastor or leader who could give resources, guidance, and prayer when it’s needed rather than just dividing the simple church or networked church from the rest of the body.  I see simple churches as fingers and hands.  They are more outward focused than most of the body, and they do a lot of great, skillful work, but separated from the arms (legacy) and the torso (mega), fingers don’t have much strength or purpose.  The Dales admit to receiving a lot of help from these sources, but they discourage those starting simple churches from continuing to attend at legacies and megas.  It seemed to be a contradiction.

All in all, Small is Big a great resource for the simple church movement beginning here in the West.

I received a free copy of the book for review from the publisher.  All opinions are my own.

Christian Elephants

Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. (Romans 19:12)

I think vengeance is an aspect of God's character that we don't think of very much, and when we do, it is often in the wrong context: namely that we think he should avenge someone who has wronged us.

And yet, God is in the business of revenge. There's a story from this year that backs up this truth, in which a herd of wild elephants have been rampaging in cities in India attacking those that have persecuted Christians. You can read more here:

http://www.archdioceseofcolombo.com/news.php?id=851

I was skeptical, so I looked at Indian papers to see if anything was printed about the attacks, and sure enough there were quite a few stories about the elephant attacks. Apparently yesterday, a pack of jackals attacked as well. However, there was no mention of the segregation of only the persecutors of Christians except on Christian sites.

However, there was one really interesting store that seems to collaborate the elephants mission. There was a report of an elderly Christian woman, Sapari Pradhan, who stepped in front of the elephants to stop them from attacking her persecutors. One elephant lifted her from the way, kept her at a distance and the other elephants continued with their mission, which was reported from an eyewitness and is not in the all of the Christian accounts. However, it is reported in an Indian paper, though they do not mention that the woman was a Christian: (http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/10/stories/2009011056340300.htm)

Crazy! I'm sold.

Praise the God who avenges and protects!