One of the men that I have had the privilege of connecting to his ministry in the last 5 years or so is C. J. Mahaney. C.J. is one of the founding pastors of Covenant Life Church outside Washington, D.C. He led that fellowship for 27 years before handing the reigns to Joshua Harris. C.J. also helped to start Sovereign Grace Ministries which is a network of like-minded leaders who are committed to establishing gospel-centered churches.
I have heard C.J. speak personally on a couple of occasions and listened to him online speak at several conferences with godly, gospel-centered men such as Al Mohler, John MacArthur, John Piper, and Mark Dever. He has shown a strong commitment to biblical exposition and sound theology. C.J. has written some excellent books including The Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing and Humility: True Greatness. Every time I have read C.J. or heard him speak I am impressed with his graciousness and humility.
Below is a post from C.J. about his recent decision to take a leave of absence from Sovereign Grace. As you read this, you will get a sense of the humility and godliness that mark this servant of God. Be praying for C.J. as he walks this journey over the next few months.
Ok. Let me first admit that my blogging in the last few months has been weak at best. I have had several blog topics in mind, but ministry responsibilities and the distractions from other things on the internet have often caused me to neglect any writing. Nevertheless, I am going to try to post more often and post things that are pertinent to my life, my leadership, and my developing theology and missiology. I am not ruling out the occasional gloat about MS State football or Red Sox baseball or the occasional "I hate the Yankees" post.
I know that this attention to my blog will be good news to the 8 or so of you who most often read my blog. I hope that my neglect hasn't caused you severe discomfort and if it has, please accept my apology. My hope is that posting more often might actually increase my readership. At any rate, it will give me an outlet to express my thoughts and hopefully keep me better connected to my friends who are interested in what I have to say. If you get a chance, post a comment every once in a while to let me know you are reading and what you think.
I like to read other blogs because they help me to think more deeply about my own life and theology. Here are a few that I have read the past week that would be worth your time to read:
The Enemy Next Door by Tim Challies - Challies has become one of the preeminent bloggers in the evangelical world. This post about our attitude towards unbelievers rings too true in most churches. God have mercy on us!
The Missional Idea in Scripture by Ed Stetzer - Great post by Ed. He's really on track in helping churches to understand our missional mandate. I love the reminder that God has always been a "sending" God and that if we are to be faithful to him, we must be on mission as well.
Vocation: Discerning Your Calling by Tim Keller - I love anything that comes from Keller's pen. This guy is on target and in the trenches. He is leading a great church in the heart of the mission field of New York. Great post on being a steward of your job. This is what missional living is about.
Do You Teach Your Kids the Gospel or the Law? by Elyse Fitzpatrick - another good post related to the messages we send our kids about the gospel. An important question for every Christian parent that we must constantly return to.
Immigration and the Gospel by Russell Moore - a very important post about a very timely issue. A few weeks ago this topic was a heated conversation on the floor of the Southern Baptist Convention. It concerns me that many times we let our earthly allegiance to the United States blind us to our heavenly allegiance to the kingdom of God and the advancement of the gospel. If you are concerned about immigration issues, read this first before you chime in with your opinion.
Ever since the birth of our newest addition Josh 5 months ago, my energy level and reading have been limited. I still have way too many books that I want to read than I have time for, but I am really feeling the pinch now. One of the authors I have enjoyed reading recently is Kevin DeYoung, senior pastor at University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan. Kevin is a sharp young leader with a deep theological base. Last year, I was browsing the racks at Lifeway and saw the book "Don't Call It a Comeback: The Old Faith for a New Day". I was intrigued by the title and saw that Kevin had served as the editor. I bought it and added it to my "Hope to read one day" list. A few months ago, I threw it in the bag and started reading it one night at my son's baseball practice. I quickly found it to be one of the most helpful and necessary books I have read in a while.
Here is the premise of the book. Kevin and a 17 other pastors and church leaders each contribute a chapter to the book. Each of these guys are young evangelicals who are solidly committed to sound theology, biblical exposition, and helping transform churches into relevant missional communities. The idea that birthed the book was an attempt by younger evangelicals to understand and define what the evangelical community looks like historically and what they believe about important topics like the person of Christ, Scripture, the gospel, justification, sanctification, the kingdom of God, social justice, homosexuality, and gender confusion. The authors identify and admit that there is much confusion in the church today about what constitutes the "evangelical" movement. The term has become a political identification that has lost grips with the theological roots that bonded the movement together for many years.
I am 42 years old and have been a Christ-follower for almost 25 years. I am a graduate of a conservative Baptist seminary. I have almost 20 years of ministry in church-related vocation. However, I admit that before reading this book, I had a very blurred picture whenever I heard the term "evangelical". I believe that my generation and the ones succeeding it have lost all identification with the evangelical movement. As a matter of fact, in some younger circles the term is avoided for fear that you will have to cover your face and shout "Unclean! Unclean!" As I read each of these chapters I was encouraged greatly that the theological truths that I hold so dearly are affirmed in a larger circle and are being embraced by men much younger than I. I am extremely pleased to see a return to biblical fidelity, theological accuracy, and missional relevance in the "younger evangelicals" today. I am excited that the prophecies a few years ago that spelled "doom" for this next generation have not come to pass. I believe that God is raising a generation of God-glorifying, gospel-saturated, and missionally-focused leaders that will change the course of much of the evangelical landscape in the next 20 years.
If you are under 40, I believe this book is a must-read. If you are a 20-something who has come out of your "youth group" mentality and are now looking for some substance to believe in regarding God, the Bible, and contemporary issues, you need this book!
I didn't make it to Phoenix last week for the SBC Pastor's Conference or Convention. However, I watched much of it online. I am excited about the opportunities facing us as Southern Baptists and especially the focus on much of the convention about engaging unreached people groups. Here is an excellent message from Ken Whitten that I hope inspires you and I to do more.
This is a powerful and painful video I saw years ago by Casting Crowns. It's a wake-up call for many that we need to be careful of even seemingly insignificant choices.
If you have read my blog in the past, you have seen me post prayer requests and updates for Matt Chandler, pastor of The Village Church in Dallas. God has anointed this man and gifted him to be a leader for this generation. He was diagnosed in December 2009 with a brain tumor and has chronicled his journey on his church's website. Here is a link to latest video blog he put up a few days ago. Great news!
Also be praying for Jonathan Bean, one of the pastors at The Church of Brook Hills. He was also diagnosed with a brain tumor earlier this year. He had some setbacks last week. Here is a blog where they post updates about him. Jonathan Bean
Right now I am sitting in my office with a cup of coffee and a messy desk from two busy weeks of ministry. I am critiquing my sermons from yesterday (not feeling real good about them) and preparing a sermon plan for the next few months. I have a Doctor of Ministry proposal that is way too far overdue and I have little motivation right now to get it done. My wife's car is in the shop with an electrical problem and I am dreading the final bill.
At the same time, the Southern Baptist Convention is taking place in Phoenix, AZ. I had planned to go this year, but several circumstances have kept me from doing so. I attended my first SBC since becoming a pastor last year in Orlando. It was my first time attending since 1996. As a pastor now, I definitely had a different perspective. I also was interested to see first-hand the discussion and debate surround the Great Commission Resurgence. It was a large topic of conversation in my local association and in my State Convention in the days leading up to the '09 SBC. I enjoyed the whole process and felt like while the SBC has a number of issues that we need to address, it is nice to know that I can be a part of the process and hopefully part of the solution.
There has been a trend for a long time of many younger Southern Baptist leaders to ignore and avoid the convention politics. I am 42. Most of my friends and colleagues my age and younger have been frustrated over the convention and have viewed it as a bunch of power-hungry pastors fighting over crumbs instead of aligning the convention for the future. I don't think that it's coincidence that the issues of declining baptisms convention-wide, detachment of younger SBC leaders, turnover in the convention entities, and the call for a refocus on the Great Commission are all aligning at the same time. I am happy to see from social media that a growing number of younger SBC evangelicals are starting to check back in. The rise of groups like Baptist21 and Advance the Church show some promise that positive change is attainable in the near future for our SBC family.
From my observation, most of the people in our churches have no idea what the SBC is, what it does, how it operates, and why it may be the last hope for conservative evangelicalism on a denominational level. We know the names of Lottie and Annie and pass the plates to support them. We have been a convention of churches with pastors who have a hard time cooperating with anybody or anything other than the Cooperative Program. We have created a false sense of health in our churches by using a methodology that inflates our numbers so we can answer that question "How many are you running?" while filling our pews with unconverted believers who have never been told that following Jesus will cost them everything. As a result we have a large State and National bureaucracy that is hard to define and harder to unite.
Do I know all the answers? Certainly not. I do have some opinions. Do I accurately understand all the issues? Not really, but I am trying to learn. Nevertheless, I wish I was in Phoenix so that I can remind myself that my church in rural Alabama is part of a wonderful family of churches that have the potential significantly impact the Great Commission. I want to be there to be part of the process instead of sitting in my office critiquing things without being part of the solution. I want to be part of a generation that takes the baton from a faithful generation that has run the race before me and hand it off to a powerful generation that is coming behind me. I want to be part of the generation that can stand soon and report that baptisms on a national level are increasing. I want to be a part of a generation that can report hundreds of new church plants in pioneering areas and list unreached people groups that now have disciples of Jesus and access to the gospel message. This is why I wish I was in Phoenix.
Here are some helpful links I have read today and recently by some much smarter bloggers than me about the SBC and the future: Ten Thoughts About the SBC - A very helpful post from Timmy Brister about some of our issues. Again. From Decline to Decision - An appropriate post by Ed Stetzer who is a gift to Southern Baptists. We need to heed some of his warnings.
One of my favorite Christian writers is Max Lucado. As a new Christian, my life and walk with Jesus was significantly impacted by the book Six Hours, One Friday. For many years I have gobbled up Max's new books and read through them. Max's writing is devotional in nature. He has taught me how to see and appreciate the grace and love of God on a much deeper level. Max is a pastor and writes profound truths in a simple, poetic style.
His new book, Max on Life, is a much different read from his previous ones. In this book, Max answers 172 questions from the thousands that have been posed to him by readers and church members in the last 25+ years. These are real questions from real people who have real struggles with life and faith. Max opens the book by helping the reader to understand that life is full of questions - real, important, and challenging questions. These questions radically impact our theology of God and our pursuit of Him. This may Max's most pastoral book so far. He shows the tenderness of a pastor and the craft of a theologian to provide honest, readable answers to real struggles. As you read this book, you are hit with the subject of the depth of God's forgiveness, the reality of pain and God's purpose in it, the reliability of Scripture, the personal struggle of prayer, reconciling the pain of broken relationships, balancing work, money, and the church, assurance of life after death, and how to grieve lost loved ones.
Overall, Max on Life is a very good book. It's written in such a way that someone can search through the questions to find one that they have been dealing with very easily. In most situations, Max provides very biblical and helpful advice. One of the strengths of the book is that it is extremely practical and deals with many of the questions that people are asking. The book's weakness is that it doesn't go into detail to really deal with some of the theological issues regarding sin, salvation, evil, suffering, etc. In an attempt to deal with questions in a timely way and within the space of one page Lucado skims the surface without providing a theological bedrock from which to make sense of these real-life issues. It may have been helpful if he would have offered some "For Extra Reading" recommendations for people interested in studying deeper. However, anyone familiar with Max's books will know that he writes from a devotional, pastoral style. He stays true to form in this book. That is what makes his books so endearing and helpful to so many people. I think Max on Life is a welcomed addition to most any layperson's library. Almost anyone would resonate with several questions and find themselves saying "That's a question I have had." It reads like having a cup of coffee at the local coffee shop and asking one of the most influential pastors some of life's most pressing questions.
I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Right now I am hanging out at my mom's house on her front porch. We've been here in Mississippi for about 4 days visiting family while my kids are on Spring Break. Whenever we are here, the central meeting point is the front porch. It's been that way for years. My mom's house is almost 40 years old. It's what I called "home" from 4th grade until I married and established my own home at age 28. It's a unique house in that there is a long front porch that runs most of the length of the front of the house with five columns that support it. For dozens of years it has been the central meeting point for the family. It's adorned with all kinds of plants in front, planter boxes, wind chimes, hummingbird feeders, two porch swings and three rockers. They don't make houses with porches like this anymore. Now, houses are made with large "great rooms" where the television set is the central point for the family.
The porch and front yard are one of the things that make visits home so special. This front yard has witnessed dozens of football games, times playing catch, and wrestling matches. From this porch my stepdad and my sons look for planes that we hear flying overhead. My mom and I had dozens of conversations about life, faith, and the future in these rockers. It's a place that makes you face your neighbors when they drive up and down the road. Now, we don't even know what our neighbors look like, much less their names.
Perhaps one of the reasons we have so many problems in families today can be traced to a lack of front porches. Perhaps one of the reasons why teens struggle so much with the issues they face can be the fact that their parents were more concerned with the "man-cave" than the front porch. I have read dozens of studies about the fact that children and teens who engage in weekly conversations about life are much less likely to engage in destructive behaviors. Maybe they should do a survey about the lifestyle choices of teens who grew up in a home with a front porch and how much time they spent on it with their parents.
I know my theory isn't full-proof. I know that a front porch doesn't insure good choices. I am fully aware that my brother and I made plenty of bad decisions and suffered the consequences for it. I just wonder how many more we would have made if we'd have spent more time in the den and not on the porch. Just a thought.
I have always loved Third Day. It's probably the Southern boy in me that resonates with the music. Here is one of their new songs that I think is awesome and also promotes the cause of adoption.
As a pastor, this is one of the questions I get asked a lot over the years. It usually comes up when someone is looking to buy a Bible for someone in their family or when someone who's been using King James since childhood finally decides to try something else. Honestly, it was not a question I gave a lot of thought to for the first 10+ years of my ministry. I would usually answer with "New International Version" because it was the most popular and every preacher I knew used it. However, sometime around 2004 I picked up a copy of Leland Ryken's The Word of God in English from a recommendation at John MacArthur's Shepherd's Conference. It was the first time I began to seriously investigate the issue of Bible translation and why it's so important.
First, you need to know that the leading factor driving most of the Bible translation market is "what sells." Most (not all) Bible publishers only want to produce what they can sell. Marketing is the master. This is why you see versions like the New International Version and the New Living Translation advertised so much. It's not because they are better translations. It's because they sell well, the publishers can put slick covers on them, and those names are familiar. Most publishers are not primarily concerned with delivering a faithful and true text of Scripture. What good does it do to have an accurate translation if you can't sell it? This is why the New American Standard Bible (probably the most accurate) still only encompases about 2% of Bible sales every year. John MacArthur tried to publish his first edition of the MacArthur Study Bible in NASB because that is what he preaches out of. His publisher denied it because NASB doesn't sell. It was only after he sold hundreds of thousands of NKJV editions that they agreed to release it in NASB.
The issue of Bible translation really comes down to understanding what drives translators. Basically there are two historic schools of Bible translation. One is the "formal equivalent" (FE) crowd which tries to be more "word-for-word" when translating. The other is the "dynamic equivalent" (DE) crowd which tries to be more "thought-for-thought." The FE crowd desires to get the most accurate translation to what the author says as possible. The DE crowd desires to interpret what the author was saying and then put it in more modern, understandable terms. Both of these ideas are difficult because of the syntax of the Greek language. Greek sentence structure makes a "word-for-word" translation difficult to read. However, trying to alter the text to fit a nice English structure can lose much of the author's meaning. The basic historical formal equivalent translations are King James Version, New King James, Revised Standard Version, and New American Standard. The basic dynamic equivalents are Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version, The Message, and the New Living Translation. The New International Version claims to be an balance between the two, but leans heavily towards dynamic equivalence in my opinion.
I have come to the conclusion that I want to have as accurate a translation as possible for both my personal study and for my preaching. I do have several versions that would be dynamic equivalence that I look at sometimes to see an alternative way to say a text. However, I think not having an accurate translation hinders people from being grounded in the sufficiency of God's word. There are deep theological truths buried deep within the greek words and structure. I don't think that a group of translators can accurately understand or convey what Paul or Peter were thinking enough to put it in modern terms. I think that DE translations have helped foster the rampant biblical illiteracy we have in the American church. We have more Bible translations than any culture at any time in history. At the same time, we have more ignorance to what God's word says and alignment with it than at any time.
A few years ago a group of scholars released a new FE translation called the English Standard Version. Crossway, a major publisher, has put a lot of money into marketing this very good text of Scripture. Several well-known scholars were brought in to work on the project and many strong expositors and preachers have endorsed it. Their website, esv.org, is an excellent one. You can read the Bible on there. You can work through a Bible reading plan. This is the Bible I preach from every week and will continue to do so for a long time. Here are some reasons why:
It's extremely accurate to the Greek text. I don't know Hebrew, so I can't comment on that. However, when I have translated and compared to ESV, I find it to be strong.
It's very readable. Although it is a FE text, it is not as difficult to read as KJV or NASB. It reads a lot like the more popular New International Version but stays much more true to the text.
It's affordable. Crossway has done a good job of keeping these translations where people can buy them. The Bible I preach from each week is a thinline version that can be bought on Amazon for about $20. The ESV Study Bible is one of the best I have ever seen and can be bought in hardback for about $30.
It's popular. Most of the guys I like to listen to preach are now using ESV. Men like Matt Chandler, Francis Chan, Mark Driscoll, David Platt, John Piper, and James MacDonald use it. These men are diligent, faithful theologians and scholars with a deep pastoral heart.
Here is a great video to watch with some endorsements:
I would recommend to every one of my church members to get a copy of the ESV and dive deep into it. Memorize Scripture from it. Rest in the fact that you can read it and know that you are reading a faithful text written much like the Apostles wrote. The issue of Bible translation is not a matter of taste. Not every version of the Bible says the same thing. It does matter what you read and what version shapes your theology and ultimately your obedience.
Here is a vimeo website by Crossway with other important videos on the ESV and Bible translations. There are some great interviews on there.
I was extremely excited a few weeks ago to receive an invitation to review David Platt's new bookRadical Together. I was profoundly challenged by his first book Radical and the challenges it presented. I recommended Radical to several people in my church who were deeply moved by it. Four families were so moved by it that the men helped form our first mission team to an unreached people group in West Africa.
Platt's new book is taking the message of Radical to a new level. He says that his purpose for writing this edition is "to consider what happens-or what can happen-when we apply the revolutionary claims and commands of Christ to our communities of faith." This book may actually be more important than its predecessor. One or two radical believers in a church are not much of a danger to the kingdom of darkness. An entire church of believers that are centered around joining together to take the word of God and the glory of God to every person on the planet is a serious threat. Platt's book inspires church leaders and radical Christians to do just that.
This book may be one of the most important books written and will hopefully shape the landscape of church culture. In previous years, much of what was written on church leadership focused on how to develop and prepare your church for growth. Success was measured by attendance figures and auditoriums. It played right into the hands of a baby-boomer culture where "bigger is better" and marginal Christians wanted a church with all the bells and whistles. Platt is tapping into the heart of the next generation. No longer is the measure of success for a church going to be its seating capacity, but its sending capacity. While Platt pastors a mega-church, he appears genuine that he is more concerned with his members being obedient to the Great Commission in his local context and globally to unreached people groups than he is that they enjoy the perks of a large auditorium and the latest high-tech audio/visual gadgetry.
Radical Together is deeply theological while at the same time very readable. Platt is a master of biblical exposition and drawing its implications into understandable principles. He also shows his mastery of language by creating dozens of memorable statements that sound much like what he shares in his sermons. The reader is drawn into a biblical gospel that measured more by self-denial than self-fulfillment. He is inspired to become a devoted student of God's word and a disciple-maker in his culture. Platt also makes no bones that building a biblical church is hard work that requires us to be radically faithful to God's commands in Scripture. This book will shape the ecclesiology of hundreds of thousands of average church members for the better in the months and years to come. I hope and pray that every member of my church will pick up and read Radical Together this year and begin a dialogue of what we are going to do to make disciples wherever we are and wherever God calls us to go.
This book was provided for review free of charge by Waterbrook Multinomah Publishers.
I downloaded a copy of this message last year and was instantly pierced by it. Dr. Voddie Baucham is a much needed voice in our time for the gospel and families. I believe every parent and every pastor and minister of the gospel should hear this message and evaluate our ministry structures to make sure that we are working to enable and equip parents to be the spiritual force for the gospel in their children's lives. Buckle up and make sure you are ready for this one. The implications for church youth ministry and homes is tremendous.
You may have already seen this. It's gone viral on the internet this week. There are few things funnier than watching a baby's expressions. This one will make you laugh.
If you have been connected to social networks like Facebook or Twitter or watch trendy news programs like "Good Morning America", you have probably heard a brouhaha that has arisen in the evangelical world over the release of Rob Bell's new book "Love Wins". (I would link to it, but I don't want to encourage anyone right now to actually read it." A few weeks ago the buzz started on Twitter as several popular pastors and bloggers like John Piper, Justin Taylor, and Denny Burk began to react to the release statement and video that Bell shared about his new book. In the video, Bell hinted at questions that suggest that he doesn't believe in the existence of a literal hell where God's wrath of sin will be poured out for eternity and that he rejects the idea that the vast majority of humanity will spend eternity there for rejecting God. While I don't have time or space in this post to share some of my reactions (I hope to do so later), I did want to help those who follow me to know a little about it. Let me be clear and fair, I have not read Bell's book yet. I cannot post a critical review of it here and do not intend to. However, I value men like Kevin DeYoung and Denny Burk and their reviews give me a good idea of the content of the book.
Up until last month, most church members in the traditional evangelical world had probably never heard of Rob Bell. I bet there were less than 10 members of my small church that have heard of him. Rob is a gifted and passionate communicator who leads a church called Mars Hill Bible Church near Grand Rapids, MI. From the beginning, Rob's primary associations were with leaders of the Emerging Church (like Brian McClaren and Tony Jones) and he became one of their rising stars. He has in recent years tried to distance himself from that moniker. However, it is apparent that he is closely identified with the liberal, neo-orthodox steam of that movement. I first saw Rob at a Catalyst Conference years ago. He spoke very eloquently on the Jews and prayer and intimacy. It was obvious that he was a creative communicator. It was also obvious that he was more interested in the mystical elements of the faith and not too concerned with exegetical accuracy. One of the tenents of the emerging church is a rejection of foundationalism and the authority of Scripture. They reject the idea of preaching and prefer to talk about "conversation". Rob's style fits this very well. He loves to preach from the standpoint of "questions" and painting in theological abstracts. This is classic post-modernism.
Rob's youth, artistic eye, and passion helped him secure a video deal with Zondervan to produce a series of videos called "Nooma" which are short films where Rob tries to deal with theological streams and abstract Christian ideas. The acting, music, and camera work in the videos appeal to older teenagers and young adults. Their lack of theological certainties are very appealing to a generation of 20-somethings whose nature is to reject heritage and try to forge their own paths. I saw Rob preach again at Catalyst 2 years ago and was disappointed in his message. His recent revelation about his views on hell and salvation are really not a surprise to those of us in the evangelical world who have watched him for the last 4 years. I think Rob has a good deal of narcissism and enjoys the controversy because it sells books and attracts people who want little theological certainty to his church. He's in an area of the country that has long lacked in strong evangelical churches. Rob is building his movement on the backs of people that want benefits of heaven without the personal accountability for their sin.
I have longs said that just because you can amass a crowd doesn't mean that you have a church. Bell is the latest person to validate that belief. I really do like Bell and his personality. I think as a communicator I can learn a lot from Bell's ability to connect with an audience. I admire his compassion for people. He has a very attractive sense of humor and uses wit and sarcasm very effectively. However, his theological beliefs scare me. They scare me because he has gathered an audience because of his trendy books so far (Velvet Elvis, Sex God, and Jesus Wants to Save Christians). I give "kudos" to Zondervan for dropping him as a publisher. However, there will always be publishers that are far more concerned with book sales than theological accuracy. He rebounded to find Harper Collins quickly and found someone who values currency more than heresy.
Last night, I saw a post to this interview that MSNBC's Martin Bashir did with Bell. I think even though Bashir is a secular journalist, he does a great job pressing Bell on his theological ideology. As you watch the video, notice how Bell seems to squirm when pressed and never really gives clear answers to the questions. This is classic Emerging Church uncertainty.
Here are some thoughts:
1. Bell never really answers the question about the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. His theological foundation doesn't allow him to choose between whether God is "all-powerful" or "all-loving" - which he is both.
2. "When we shed a tear, God sheds a tear." - Is Bell suggesting that God's compassion is ruled by our human emotions? Can he reconcile this God with Jesus lament over Jerusalem's unrepentance when they didn't seem to shed any tears over their condition?
3. Is salvation and "the dominant story of the Bible" really wrapped up in that God "is going to fix this place"?
4. I absolutely love how Bashir exposes Bell's ultimate theological flaw about the relevance of choosing Christ in this life. While Bell may want to espouse the pollyanna belief that talking about God's love will win over people, he doesn't seem to grasp that the foundational problem of humanity is "idolatry" and the rejection of God's love in favor of the loves of 1000 lesser lovers. The problem with Adam and Eve wasn't that they didn't experience God's love. They experienced to a level that nobody on earth since has. Their problem was that in their hearts, they exchanged God's love for the fruit that would make them "like God."
5. I love Bashir's comment that "you are asking for it both ways." He also has a great comment when Bell says he doesn't want to speculate about what happens after death by showing that Bell's whole book is founded on that premise. He says "you're the one who is speculating about the afterlife."
6. Bell says he believes our decision to trust Jesus in this life has "tremendous bearing", but never explains it and then tries to shift to question to a woman's inability to trust Jesus because she was abused by a pastor. If he really knew theology, he would be able to point that woman to the fact that no matter how strong the love of God, there are people (including pastors) who choose to follow sin and flesh that end up causing tremendous pain for others. God has to pour wrath on that sin in order to be just. The question is: who bears God's wrath - you or Jesus?
I hope to one day read the book. I think that Bell's book will not open up a new door to Universalism. It will actually force many of us pastors who are more concerned with preaching shallow sermons in order to keep the numbers up to have to pull out the Bible and deal with some difficult texts.
eYesterday I preached on the story of Rahab in Joshua. It was subtitled "The Transforming Power of Grace." Rahab's story is a often overlooked one in the Bible. She was a woman born in the wrong place and had the wrong lifestyle but crossed paths with the glory of the God of Israel and decided to place faith in a God who can part the seas instead of the gods of her people. Rahab found herself at a crossroad of life. Surely "prostitute" wasn't what she wrote in the ten-year plan of her senior memories book. She probably opened up an inn hoping to start a reputable business but found out that she had to make compromises in order to make ends meet. In the process, she became the town slut. She was nothing more than a commodity to the people of Ninevah - a means to an end. However, through the stories of the men who frequented her house she heard about a God who delivered a nation of slaves from the most powerful country on the planet, who sent plagues of frogs and locusts, and who parted the Red Sea to let them cross before drowning Pharoah's army.
These stories were nothing new. However, while most people in Ninevah heard the stories and began to make contingency plans on how to encounter this nation in the wilderness, Rahab began to believe that if there was a God that powerful then he was the one, true God. One wonders how the encounter began with the two spies that night. Was there something noticeably different about them when they came in? Did she offer her usual services only to be surprised when they said all they wanted was a bed? Did she notice that their dress or skin tone showed them to be foreigners? What is certain is that she decided her fear of their God was greater than her fear of her king. So she lied to the king in order to save their lives. She is never condemned nor commended for her lie. Her faith in this God was infantile and not yet established enough to believe that if she had given up the spies that they would still be spared. There had been no Shadrach, Mesach, and Abednego yet. There was no Daniel in the lion's den yet. However, her testimony "for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath" and her actions to save the spies revealed the repentance of her heart. Consequently, she and her family were all saved.
In the end, Rahab and her family integrate into the nation of Israel. She meets a man named Salmon and bears a son named Boaz who becomes the kinsman redeemer for Ruth. From her line come Jesse and eventually King David. From David comes the Messiah. Only God's grace can take a prostitute and from her body bring forth the lineage that would usher in the Messiah. That is grace.
Like Rahab, we all have baggage. We may not have stooped to selling our bodies, but we have all exchanged our love for God for 1000 other lovers much less glorious. But God's grace is sufficient to redeem and restore. Good news that we all need.
I was given a copy of Thomas Nelson's new book on Albert Pujols to review for this blog. Baseball is one of my life-long earthly passions. I am especially excited whenever I see an authentic believer in Jesus Christ have success and use that success to truly point people to Christ, not just give a verbal tag-line of thanks to "God". Pujols is the real deal. He is the best player in the game today, a future Hall-of-Famer, and a bona-fide, sold-out follower of Jesus. This book is another example of how he uses his platform not to broadcast himself, but his Savior.
This biography on Pujols is specifically written for the purpose of helping the reader to see the authenticity of Pujols faith. The writers of the book, Scott Lamb and Tim Ellsworth, are Christ-followers who write with a good understanding of theology and mission. They tell the story of Pujols success through the prism of his Christian faith. They trace his troubled upbringing in the Dominican Republic that led to his pilgrimage to the United States. They show how Pujols journey brought him in touch with his future wife, Dee Dee, who led Pujols to faith in Christ. They show how Albert grew deeper as a young Christian about the same time he broke into the majors and how Dee Dee plays a big part in grounding him. They also show Pujols commitment to being a man whose commitment to his family, to Down Syndrome children, and to relief work in the Dominican Republic flow from his belief that God has given him this platform as a stewardship to show Christ.
The book leads the reader through each of Pujols seasons in the majors up to the 2010 season. Significant highlights of each season are spread throughout the chapters. If you love baseball, you will love reading these. You may even remember some of the games like the home run off Brad Lidge in the NLCS. This book is a great recommendation if you know a man who loves baseball and could use a positive role-model to challenge them to a deeper faith. Most men who "don't read a lot" will stick with this book. It's also an excellent for older children and teenagers who love sports too.
Albert Pujols is a winner. Not because he will go down at the end of his career as possibly one of the top 10 ball players of all time. He's a winner because he has found out that life is about more than the glory of himself. It's about submission to Christ and exalting him to all people. He does that very well. He's also learned that God will not judge him by how many home runs he hit or how many times he struck out, but by what he did to glorify the Lord and what he did to expand His glory everywhere he can. For this reason, get this book. You will be glad you did.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
I'm a product of God's grace, a husband to Alison, father to four boys, pastor, disciple, student, reader, and a long-suffering fan of Mississippi State and the Boston Red Sox
and Humility: True Greatness
. Every time I have read C.J. or heard him speak I am impressed with his graciousness and humility. 
". I was intrigued by the title and saw that Kevin had served as the editor. I bought it and added it to my "Hope to read one day" list. A few months ago, I threw it in the bag and started reading it one night at my son's baseball practice. I quickly found it to be one of the most helpful and necessary books I have read in a while. 
One of my favorite Christian writers is Max Lucado. As a new Christian, my life and walk with Jesus was significantly impacted by the book 
, is a much different read from his previous ones. In this book, Max answers 172 questions from the thousands that have been posed to him by readers and church members in the last 25+ years. These are real questions from real people who have real struggles with life and faith. Max opens the book by helping the reader to understand that life is full of questions - real, important, and challenging questions. These questions radically impact our theology of God and our pursuit of Him. This may Max's most pastoral book so far. He shows the tenderness of a pastor and the craft of a theologian to provide honest, readable answers to real struggles. As you read this book, you are hit with the subject of the depth of God's forgiveness, the reality of pain and God's purpose in it, the reliability of Scripture, the personal struggle of prayer, reconciling the pain of broken relationships, balancing work, money, and the church, assurance of life after death, and how to grieve lost loved ones. 
from a recommendation at John MacArthur's Shepherd's Conference. It was the first time I began to seriously investigate the issue of Bible translation and why it's so important.
that can be bought on Amazon for about $20. The 
is one of the best I have ever seen and can be bought in hardback for about $30. 
I was extremely excited a few weeks ago to receive an invitation to review David Platt's new book 
. I was profoundly challenged by his first book Radical and the challenges it presented. I recommended Radical to several people in my church who were deeply moved by it. Four families were so moved by it that the men helped form our first mission team to an unreached people group in West Africa.
to review for this blog. Baseball is one of my life-long earthly passions. I am especially excited whenever I see an authentic believer in Jesus Christ have success and use that success to truly point people to Christ, not just give a verbal tag-line of thanks to "God". Pujols is the real deal. He is the best player in the game today, a future Hall-of-Famer, and a bona-fide, sold-out follower of Jesus. This book is another example of how he uses his platform not to broadcast himself, but his Savior.
