Showing posts with label emergent church. Show all posts

I was in Barnes and Noble yesterday and there is so much Christian reading out there that it can be hard to know what we should be reading, what we should be cautious of, and how to tell the difference between the two. Well, I have developed a little system that I use, and I figured I would pass it on. This is by no means fail-proof, and this may weed out some good books, but if you are checking out an author for the first time, this might help you differ between God-honoring writing and theologically poor mumbo-jumbo.

Here it is

Look at the cover  - or the back of the book - or maybe a few pages from the front. There, you will usually find some critique from people who were given the book, prior to its publishing, to read through it and give their thumbs up.

Now - how does this help us? Well, I think it helps us filter out junk. People who have sound doctrine don't usually promote garbage, and if a book is crap you probably can't get anyone to promote it. So, here is the filter.

1 - Does anyone have anything to say about the book?
Sometimes you might run into a title that does not have any input for other authors or experts on the subject. This should be a warning. Now, I'm not saying that you should totally disregard this book, but if no one has commented on it, either they had no good things to say, or the author/publisher knew no one would have anything good to say, so they didn't let anyone comment on it.
Disclaimer - Again, this is not 100% full-proof. John Pipers new book has no such remarks and is awesome and theologically sound. 


2 - Are the people that are saying things about the book without name?
Often times there will be remarks on a book from a local magazine or newspaper. For instance, "Through Painted Deserts," by Donald Miller has only 2 remarks - one from a local Oregon newspaper, and Publishers Weekly. So that makes me think, "huh, do I really want what I reads validity to come from some no-name newspaper person in Oregon? Do we have any idea what they believe, what they think, or how they might align with our belief system? Those are good questions to ask. If no one is putting their name on it, they might be doing that for a reason.

3 - Are the people supporting the book people you know or are they at least sporting credentials?
I mean, lets be honest about it - some people just know people, and they often know people that think like they do. So their buddy reads the book, gives it 2 thumbs up, and they slap it on the cover. If I wrote a book, and put my bosses name on their, I would assume most people would have no idea who Rick Eimers is. So, ask yourself that question - who in the heck is this person?
And if you don't know the person, maybe look at who they are and what they bring to the table. If the guy has 2 masters and an M Div from universities that you agree with, maybe his praise is legit. If the person is actually a volunteer youth leader that they asked to write something out real quick, be a little skeptical.

Example - Brian McLarens new book, "A New Kind of Christianity," has 4 pieces of flare tied onto the back page.
           1 - Time Magazine  -1 point
           2 - Phyllis Tickle    - who?
           3 - Richard Rohr    -like a lion rohrs?
           4 - Adam Hamilon

Now, you may say, well Joe, you are just not versed in culture and who these upstanding and insightful people are. Well, you might be correct, but on this one I win cuz this book is full of crazy talk.



4 - A Good Example
Mark Driscoll has a new book out called "Doctrine." It is a guide to Christian Doctrine and belief. On the back, there are several quotes and these names and credentials follow:

Wayne Grudem, research professor of theological and biblical studies, Phoenix Seminary
Randy Alcorn, author of "If God is Good," and "Heaven."
James Macdonald, Senior Pastor, Harvest Bible Chapel, Chicago.
Craig Groeschel, Senior Pastor; Lifechurch.tv
John Frame, Professor of Systematic theology and philosophy, reformed theological seminary.
Daniel Akin, President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary


Then, on the inside pages there are 8 pieces of feedback from other people in christian leadership, theology, academia, and  literature.

That is a very good example.

Be careful little eyes what you read!

One of my favorite songs by Shane and Shane is called "Beauty for Ashes." The lyrics from this song comes from Isaiah 61, which is an awesome passage, but my recent reading in Jeremiah has drawn me back to the truth of this song.

Jeremiah 2:32 says this "Does a maiden forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number."

This passage started to make me thing about what it is that makes us beautiful. What is it that gives us worth? God compares himself to a young woman's jewelry or the wedding ornaments of a bride....things that set them apart, and add luster to what might be plain without the ornaments.

More and more I look around at the world (when the Lord blesses me with those slim opportunities to step outside of my selfishness and see the world just slighty through His eyes) and I see how much stock people put into making themselves look good. I do it myself with the phone I carry, the clothes I wear, even the way that I form my facial expressions. I....we....are constantly trying to draw peoples attention to ourselves and gain approval, when the truth of the matter is that I am grossly sinful and the only thing good in me at all is Jesus. He is my ornament, He is my jewelry, and the one thing that sets me apart, and makes my plainness something special.

Unfortunatly I think that as a church, we have followed where our flesh would lead in many of these areas. Please don't get me wrong. I am not a church-basher. Nothing makes me more angry then people who continuously write about what a joke the church is. I passionatly love the church, but I love it like a friend that needs to hear truth from me at times, and I impart that truth because I love them.

The church has entered into an arms race (to coin a Bryan Karas term) with the culture that we simply cannot ever win. To be plain about it, the world will always have more money, more inovation, and more people who care only about furthering their own fame to carry out their new ideas. You all know what I mean. I don't have to spell out all the detaila about how churches have taken the cross out of the building to make people more comfortable, or put of giant screens like a football stadium, or time their worship services to laser light shows. We have all read the articles and seen the news.

The question I would like to pose both to Christians and to the church, is what makes us beautiful? Do we really understand that all we have to bring to the table is ashes, and that Christ is the only one who can trade those ashes for His beauty? This is a call to trade. Trade the ashes that come in the form of money, houses, cars, clothes, accessories, facial expressions, food, lights, couches, cool flyers, music, movies, and anything else that you think makes you special or that makes your church special, and trade them for the true beauty of Jesus Christ living in us.

Beauty for ashes, and a garment of praise for my heaviness. Take this heart of stone and make it Yours. I delight myself in the richest of fare, trading all that I have, for all that is better.
-Shane and Shane