Epic

White Paper, Black Ink

On our way out of town through Carbondale last week as we made our way back to Georgia, Lynn and I pulled into Lifeway Bookstore in Carterville to spend some of my Christmas money.  As we buckled back into the car I turned to Lynn and said, "I can't even begin to put into words the rush of joy flooding through me at this moment" as I clutched my new books to my chest.

I love books.  I told somebody once, "There is nothing more comforting than driving into the driveway after a long day at work and seeing an Amazon box sitting by the door.  Get my wife, my golden retreiver, my laptop, a good cup of coffee, and a stack of books all together in one room and my life is pretty much complete.

That said, I thought I'd share with you some quotes from the first book I'm reading in 2007 (yes, I started early).  It's called, "The Shaping of Things to Come" and it's written by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch.

The book is a good analysis of the condition of the Western church today, where she has come from, and how she will need to take a missionary approach to understanding the changing culture and interacting with the culture if she hopes to regain any meaningful influence in the years ahead.  Here are some of the things I've underlined so far.

"The issue of cultural context  is essential because the missional church shapes itself to fit that context in order to transform it for the sake of the Kingdom of God."

"Above all, we're convinced that what will ultimately be required is Christian leadership that values imagination, creativity, innovation, and daring."

"When Christianity was recognized and accepted in 313 and then gained favored status with the imperial courts, it altered the fundamental mode of the church's self-understanding and its conception of its unique task in the world."

"The answer to the problem of mission in the West requires something far more radical than reworking a dated and untenable model.  It wil require that we adopt something that looks far more like the early church in terms of its conception of the church (ecclesiology) and its core task in the world (missiology)."

"Essentially the early church was a missional movement to its core.  It understood that personal conversion implied the embracing of the missio dei - the redemptive mission of God to the whole world through the work of his Messiah."

"It is Christ who determines our purpose and mission in the world (discipleship), and then it is our mission that must drive our search for modes of being in the the world."

"The heart of the problem is that we have been planting churches that are (smaller) carbon copies of the already beleaguered, failing Christendom-style church."

"In fact, it's more often than not been the case that Sunday services are planted rather than missional Jesus communities."

"The missional church recognizes that it does not hold a place of honor in its host community and that its missional imperative compels it to move out from itself into that host community as salt and light."

"Jesus, Paul, the disciples, the early church leaders all had a Go-To-Them mentality."

"We talk routinely about the "world out there."  What else can that mean other than that we, the church, are 'in here!"  This dualism has over 1,700 years created Christians that cannot relate their interior faith to their exterior practice, and this affects their ethics, their lifestyles, and their capacity to share their faith meaningfully with others."

"Because the missional church, by it's very nature, exists organically within its host community, it has had to abandon Western Christianity's dualistic worldview in favor of a whole-of-life spirituality."

Those quotes are from the first two chapters and should give you an idea of the journey this book will take you on.  Here's the Amazon link.  Click on it and perhaps very soon you can experience for yourself the heart-warming feeling of being greeted at your door by an Amazon box.

Book Review

Just finished reading In a Pit With A Lion On a Snowy Day a few days ago.  The author is Mark Batterson who is the lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington DC.  His church is a multisite church meeting in movie theaters at metro stops and is attended by more than seventy percent single twenty-somethings.

The subtitle of the book is "How to Survive And Thrive When Opportunity Roars."  I was looking forward to reading this as Lynn and I have recently come upon the cusp of some major new opportunities (which I'll share with you in a few days.)

The book is written around an obscure Old Testament passage from 2nd Samuel 23:20,21.  "There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warior from Kabzeel.  He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two of Moab's mightiest warriors.  Another time he chased a lion down into a pit.  Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it.  Another time, armed only with a club, he killed a great Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear.  Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with it."

Because of his heroic, fearless track record, Benaiah was selected by David to be the leader of his bodyguard unit.  Mark's  premise in this book is this:  "What if the life you really want, and the future God wants for you, is hiding right now in your biggest problem, your worst failure...your greatest fear?"

Overall this book was a mediocre read.  I've rated it 2 out of 5 stars.  Mark makes some good statements through the book, which I'll share with you in a minute, but the book never really drew me in and grabbed my attention as much as I thought it would. 

It is similar to a few other books in that it takes a small, obscure verse that you would typically overlook and attempts to build a philosophy of life around that verse; The Prayer of Jabez, Secrets of the Vine, and Seizing Your Divine Moment come to mind.  The last book I mentioned, Seizing Your Divine Moment (now re-titled Chasing Daylight) was written by Erwin McManus and is most similar to what Mark has now written here, though Erwin's book seemed to stir me more deeply and draw me into the pages in such a way that I couldn't put it down.  In contrast, it was a bit difficult for me to stay connected to what Mark was saying.  The verse is interesting, the premise I agree with, but in taking 170 pages to express the idea, Mark was a bit redundant, particularly in his repeating of the title far too many times through the book.  The book didn't take me anywhere or leave me changed upon finishing it.

That said, Mark makes some good statements.  Here is a sampling:

God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place at the right time.  A sense of destiny is our birthright as followers of Christ.  God is awfully good at getting us where He wants us to go.  But here's the catch:  The right place often seems like the wrong place, and the right time often seems like the wrong time.

Here's the point:  God is in the resume-building business.  he is always using past experiences to prepare us for future opportunities.

When we don't have the guts to step out in faith and chase lions, then God is robbed of the glory that rightfully belongs to him.

I think most of us are shaped, for better or for worse, by a handful of experiences.  Those defining experiences can plant a seed of confidence or a seed of doubt, a seed of hope or a seed of helplessness, a seed of faith or a seed of fear.

Small changes and small choices become magnified over time and have major consequences.  Everything we change changes everything.  Too often we fail to connect the dots between choices and consequences.  Every choice has a domino effect that can alter our destiny.

What will you miss out on if you let your fears dictate your choices?  Is being "safe" really worth it?  Maybe God wants to show you something about yourself or Himself, but you'll never know what it is unless you chase your lion.  And once you have the lion cornered in the pit, you'll discover that his roar is worse than his bite when you've got God on your side."

In A Pit With A Lion

Just pre-ordered this book.  Can't wait to read it.  Here's an excerpt:

"Your greatest regret at the end of your life will be the lions you didn't chase. You will regret the risks not taken, the opportunities not seized, and the dreams not pursued. Stopping running away from what scares you most and start chasing the God-ordained opportunities that cross your path."

In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day is inspired by one of the most obscure yet courageous acts recorded in Scripture (II Samuel 23:20-21):

Benaiah chased a lion down into a pit. Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it.

Here's the Amazon link if you're interested.

Thanks Eric, for sharing this!

New Free Book

The FREE BOOK OF THE WEEK selection has been updated with a new selection.  Go to the right side bar, look for "BOOK OF THE WEEK" and click on it to follow the instructions on how to get it.

Free Books

Lynn and I have been talking about thinning out our library for a while now.  We have a huge selection of books that are in good shape, but we no longer have room for. 

I came across a post on Seth Godin's blog about how to generate more traffic to your blog and he suggested giving stuff away for free.

So...here's the deal.  You'll notice a new section on the right sidebar called Free Book Of The Week.  If you want that book, here's what you need to do.  Simply refer people to this blog and have them post a comment to this post mentioning who referred them.  The person who sends me the most referrals during that week gets the book.  I'll contact you, get your mailing info, and then send it to you.  I'll even pay the shipping.  I'll then set up another list on the sidebar of book winners and in that list will be a link to your blog.

Let's have some fun and generate some buzz while helping me clean out a closet!