Tag: review

Rich Froning’s book – a review

Confession: I don’t read all of the books that I review.

Oftentimes, I’ll get a book, read it enough to get the gist, then move on.

But I’m passionate about Crossfit. And anytime CrossFit and faith collide, I’m in.

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So when I got a copy of Rich Froning’s (on Twitter HERE) book*, I read it cover-to-cover. If you have any inclination towards CrossFit, you’ll enjoy this book. Rich chronicles his rapid rise to success in the CrossFit world, sharing his story from life on the farm to back-to-back “World’s Fittest Man” titles. Reading this book is like sitting down with Rich over a cup of coffee. Or, more likely, over a protein shake after a WOD. (workout-of-the-day)

Every time I read a portion of the book, I wanted to throw it down and start working harder. Rich’s work ethic and passion are infectious.

Equally infectious is Rich’s faith.** It’s genuine, and you see it laid bare in this book as he does battle against his own pride. I found his faith refreshing, bold, and courageous.

The big question Rich wrestles with throughout the book is, “What legacy am I going to leave when I die?”

Hopefully you’re asking something similar.

For Rich, faith and fitness go hand-in-hand. I’ve found the same to be true, which is why the book resonated so well with me. When I’m disciplined with my body, I find myself more disciplined spiritually.

This is a great summer read. And a great read just in time for this year’s CrossFit Games, as Rich looks to become the three-time champion for this sport.

Pick it up right HERE.

Question:

Are you a CrossFitter?

 

 

* all amazon links are affiliate links

**If you read the book, you’ll notice that a key player in Rich’s wrestling through faith issues is a guy named Donavan Degrie. Donavan’s my coach at the box where I work out, and I can see why he played such a key role in Donavan’s faith journey.

 

Pursuing God’s Love

My friend, Margaret Feinberg (on Twitter HERE or Facebook HERE), just launched a new 6-week DVD Bible study series called “Pursuing God” with Zondervan. The first two titles are Pursuing God’s Beauty: Stories from the Gospel of John and Pursuing God’s Love: Stories from the Book of Genesis. Instead of me giving my thoughts on the study, I thought you might like to hear directly from Margaret.

Ben: Where did you come up with the idea for this series?

Margaret: I reached a place in my own spiritual life where I felt disconnected from God. I decided to return to the foundations of my faith by reading through the Book of Genesis. Something sparked as I studied, and so I continued reading and rereading for more than 18 months.

During that time, I kept hearing a reverberation in conversations with people around the country who were looking for a Bible study that wasn’t topical but rather based on a book of the Bible—allowing them to really dive deeper into the Scripture. But they admitted that either they or some of the members of their small groups don’t have time to tackle an hour of homework a night. So I began to develop a study that created an equal playing field for the veteran believer who had time to do 30-minutes of homework a night and the young mom who barely has time to take shower. Both can engage in this study—whether or not they’ve done the homework that week—and explore the Scripture together. The study encourages participants to not only grow deeper in relationship with God but with each other as they discuss and share life together.

Ben: What are some of the unique features that make these resources different from every other resource available for small groups?

Margaret: Pursuing God’s Beauty: Stories from the Gospel of John and Pursuing God’s Love: Stories from the Book of Genesis are six-session DVD Bible studies with each session averaging 18 minutes in length—leaving plenty of time for discussion and digging deeper into the Scripture and topics covered. Pursuing God’s Beauty is filmed in an artist’s loft with an artist painting in the background—the picture complete with the final session. Pursuing God’s Beauty is filmed outdoors in Colorado with rock climbers in the background. Each lesson features icebreaker questions as well as experiential activities, and five after-hours studies each week are provided in the participant’s guide for those who want to dive deeper into the Scripture at home.

Ben: What is it that you hope people would get out of these studies?

Margaret: Studying the Bible is more than something for ‘religious’ people and is more than something done in isolation. Through these studies, we’re reminded the Bible was meant to be discussed in community, and its stories are powerful enough to speak to each one of us—wherever we are and whatever our circumstances might be.

Ben: Why did you select Genesis as one of the book of the Bible to dive into?

Margaret: It’s amazing to think that everything we see and encounter in our world today—whether in a place like this with breathtaking views or in a more urban context all began in Genesis.

I love this book of the Bible, because Genesis is the story of our beginnings. In fact, the first word of the Bible in Hebrew is beresheet meaning “in the beginning”. This is the story of our origins, where we began, the formation of our cosmos and humanity. It is also the story of alienation from God, from each other, and from the creation. It’s is also the story of his loving initiative to redeem the world back to himself.

The Genesis story matters because in order to understand where we are today, we must go back to the beginning. The past helps us understand our present and illuminates our future.

Ben: In studying the Gospel of John, you invite readers to explore the beauty of God. Unpack that a little for us.

Margaret: Ultimately, you and I were designed to be captivated by God’s beauty. And when we pursue His beauty—we can’t help but find ourselves on a journey… to know more about God, His character, attributes, ways and work, in our world. And the miracle of this journey is that along the way we find breathtaking portraits of salvation, redemption, and restoration.

Perhaps no book of the Bible paints a clearer picture of this then the Gospel of John. Throughout the Gospel of John, the beauty of God radiates in the person of Jesus Christ—the one in whom God displayed his whole heart for the world to see. It’s within the person of Jesus that we find the invisible attributes of God being made visible, on display like the fine pieces of artwork in this gallery—to be enjoyed, celebrated, and reflected upon.

For more info, check out PursuingGodBibleStudy.com.

I’ll be giving away one copy of each of these studies. To be eligible to win, leave a comment, ReTweet, or share on Facebook. Make sure you tag me so I can add you to the drawing! Drawing will be held on Friday, September 23rd, at 9:00 pm.

 

 

 

Matt Chandler & Philippians

I’ve recently picked up a copy of Matt Chandler’s new small group study on the book of Philippians.  It’s published by The Hub (formerly song of solomon).

I have to admit: I’m a Matt Chandler fan.  I stumbled onto his podcast a few years back, and have really connected with his preaching.  He’s easy to follow, funny, and engaging.  And to top it all off…his sermons are biblically saturated.  He preaches expositionally in a way that isn’t boring, and if you’ve spent much time under an expository preacher, you know that I’ve just given a huge compliment to Chandler.  For some reason, I feel like I connect with Matt’s style better than I do other big-name preachers.  Needless to say, I was intrigued by this study.

But great sermons and great preachers don’t always translate well into small groups.

Positives:

1. Chandler uses the same style of preaching in this video as he does on Sunday mornings. Like I said above, I have found it easy to connect with his preaching style.

2. There are very few questions. One of my critiques of Abide was that there were too many questions.  It’s easy to throw a plethora of questions into each week’s discussion.  The difficult part for writers (and editors) is choosing the best questions that draw out the most thoughtful, heart-searching answers.  They have limited themselves to a 10-question max, and the questions that they’ve presented are really on-point.

3. There’s very little required homework. I try to consistently encourage those in my small group to spend time daily with the Lord.  This curriculum gives them a natural place to start each day.  But the next week’s questions aren’t built upon the prior week’s homework…and that’s a good thing.  If you happen to miss a week, or get busy and don’t have time to look over the Scripture passage, you can just show up and immediately jump into the discussion.

4. “Diving deeper.” There’s a section each week that gives people the opportunity to go “deeper” in their own personal study of the passage.  I like when a curriculum gives flexibility to differing levels of spiritual maturity.

5. The memory verse. I’m not great at memorizing Scripture.  Ok…that’s a lie…let me try again.  I don’t try very hard to memorize Scripture.  But this study takes a verse from the passage that Chandler is preaching about, and encourages the group to memorize it.  I love how this study integrates the discipline of Scripture memory.

6. The Scripture passages are right there in the book. I like to take notes when I hear sermons, and having the Scripture passages right there in the book allows me to take notes right alongside the discussion questions that the group will be talking about.

Negatives:

1. The sermons are 30 minutes long. I’m not opposed to 30 minute sermons, but the problem that groups run into is that sermons of this length can eat into discussion times.

2. This curriculum is 12 weeks long. In my opinion, that’s too long.  If it doesn’t connect with your group, you could be stuck with it for quite a while.  But wait, you say…if my group doesn’t like it, couldn’t we just tank it and pick up another study??  Well… (see below)

3. It’s really expensive. The DVD set alone (3 DVDs) is $149.95.  That’s Beth-Moore-expensive.  I get it…Chandler and the team put a lot of time and effort into this series.  And it’s probably worth every penny.  But this price point keeps it out of a lot of people’s hands.

All-in-all, this is a great study.  I’ve gone back and read (in my personal study time) the book of Philippians, and have found a greater depth and richness to my study after having gone through this series.  This is really a 12-week immersion in the Bible.  You hear it preached.  You read it.  You memorize it.  You learn how to interpret/understand it a little better.  You discuss it.  You’re challenged to live it out.

Your small group needs to pick this study up.

 

Rob Bell, Drops Like Stars

Drops Like StarsI was able to see Rob Bell at TPAC’s War Memorial on December 9th.  I like Rob.  I think he’s innovative, pushing the Church to think outside of the proverbial box.  I thoroughly enjoyed his lecture.  It was a fascinating look at suffering, seeking to not answer the question of “Why, God?!?” but “What now?”  It was a compelling lecture/sermon, and if Rob Bell happens to come to your town, I highly suggest picking up a few tickets, and taking a few key leaders along with you.  You won’t be disappointed.

But can I nitpick for a minute (and that’s all it is…nitpicking.  If Rob could further explain himself on this point, it might have made more sense.  But, nonetheless…)?  In talking about the “art of solidarity, and the ways that suffering helps to bond us as we build community through shared suffering,” Bell mentioned “the cross, the ultimate act of peace and reconciliation.  God didn’t avoid suffering.”  Instead, God is with us through it.  Then he shared this:

The point of the incarnation is that there’s someone else screaming alongside us.

I get what he’s saying.  There’s comfort in the midst of suffering when we know we’re not alone.  And I believe that.  Suffering is eased when we live life in relationship with others who can share that burden with us.  That’s part of the goal of the Church (and the means of achieving that goal, too).  And knowing that God doesn’t leave me to my own devices when I suffer is a source of comfort.  However, it is not the point of the incarnation.

The main point of the incarnation is not that we have someone to walk through painful situations with us.

The point of the incarnation is that we weren’t good enough to save ourselves. Because of our sin, we needed God himself to come and die the death that we deserved.

A sidebar (and I think it’s important to make that subtle distinction) of the incarnation is that God is with us through suffering.  But it’s only a sidebar, at best.  The much better news is not that God is present with us through suffering, but that the suffering Christ endured is ONCE FOR ALL!  I don’t want to serve a God who merely weeps with me.  I want to serve a God who redeems me, who is more powerful than suffering, and who is willing and able to create a world where there is no suffering (Revelation 21:4), no crying, no pain, no death.

Don’t point people to the incarnation as God’s identifying suffering and weeping along with us.  Point people to the incarnation as hope that suffering will one day be complete.

Do you want a God who weeps with you? Or One who will redeem you from the curse of pain?

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

 

Part 2: Guest Post: A Review of McLaren’s “The Secret Message of Jesus”

Yesterday I posted the first half of a review of Brian McLaren’s book, The Secret Message of Jesus, from one of my friends, John Mark. You can read that post here. In this post, John Mark will continue to interact with the worldview of Brian McLaren. The reason that I find this helpful is that I evaluate curriculum a lot as small groups pastor. I want to make sure that I find the most Biblical, relevant, and helpful curriculum to put into the hands of the small group leaders at Grace Community Church. John Mark has done a masterful job evaluating McLaren’s book, fairly interacting with McLaren’s view, and showing where he feels it is strong and where he feels it is weak. We need to be careful when we recommend books and/or curriculum to others, and John Mark’s careful eye will help you think critically about The Secret Message of Jesus. To read more of John Mark’s thoughts, check out his blog.

The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren, Review part 2

How are we to relate to people with whom we have (sometimes serious) disagreements?

In the case of conversations and most lectures, I think too much important information is either tacitly assumed by the speaker and/or forgotten and misunderstood by the listener(s). I think McLaren probably spent most of his talk in the outermost ring of the target – on issues that he believes are contemporary implications and applications of Jesus’ message about the kingdom. He could assume much of the important interpretations of Scripture passages or mention the center and an arrow or two in order to justify his focus on caring for the poor (which was a/the major theme of the lecture).

Since McLaren did us the favor of putting his interpretation of Jesus’ message in writing, here is where we find the important beginnings (avoiding the metaphor of “foundation” out of deference to McLaren) of his worldview. There is plenty of lucid expression of important biblical teachings and relevant historical background to the Bible in this book. McLaren expresses appreciation for the writings of NT Wright several times during the book, and I noticed that influence during sections about competing Jewish sects during Jesus’ day, as well as in the chapter on the storyline of the Bible and the McLaren’s ubiquitous emphasis on the here-and-now transformative power of the good news about the kingdom of God.

McLaren’s defense of Paul as translating Jesus’ message into new imagery for the Gentiles, (and so) agreeing with Christ essentially is succinct and generally good (ch. 11-12). His chapter on conversion (“Getting It and Getting In” ch. 13) explains that process in five “moves” that admirably describe how to become a follower of Jesus (without using church language!). These strong points must be noticed as I evaluate the book; though I disagree with McLaren’s views at some major points, there is much that is good here.

I wrote notes in the book as I read and reviewed, so I could be nit-picky about everything. I’ll mention three major points that, if McLaren altered his views on these three things, would dramatically overhaul his worldview. First is the center of your diagram: what did Jesus (and the Gospel writers) mean by “the kingdom of God/heaven”? McLaren discusses it so much that I can only summarize his view. The kingdom of God is the inclusive movement Jesus began and the community it created. Jesus’ teachings, if followed, “would give birth to a new world” (4). The diagram you drew shows that Jesus and his disciples want to reorient people around Jesus’ teaching, and so change the way this world works.

In contrast, I think the kingdom of God is the active work of God through Christ and the Holy Spirit to bring creation under the authority of Christ (and his Church). McLaren makes an ancient interpretive mistake when we makes God’s reign equivalent to the sum total of Jesus’ disciples (most often) or to the disciples’ efforts to promote Jesus’ teachings (a few times in the book). Clarifying what I mean: when Christians obey the Great Commission (Mt. 28), we’re not “expanding the kingdom” – we’re calling on rebels and traitors (among whom we were born) to acknowledge that the King has already begun reigning and subduing his enemies. He grants clemency (forgiveness) to rebels who will switch their total allegiance. The Church expands.

The second major issue falls in the inner ring that touches the center of your diagram: how McLaren understands Jesus’ vagueness and use of parables. These elements are present in the Gospels. Yet they are not the total picture of Jesus. For instance, take Matthew’s Gospel. Other than the parable about forgiveness (ch. 18), the parable about laborers and reward (ch. 20), and those about the “end of the age” (ch. 25), most all the parables are spoken to the general public (esp. ch. 13, 21-22). Jesus tells his followers (13:10-17 and parallels) that he uses parables to intentionally exclude the masses and include his disciples. McLaren suppresses this explanation for Jesus’ use of parables. Other public parables were usually very clearly understood (21:45). Besides the parables, Matthew records long sections of direct, clear teaching from Jesus (ch. 5-7, 10, 12, 16, part of 18, 23-24). The times that Jesus was vague and used parables had purposes to them (that can usually be understood in their written context); we should follow the example of the disciples who understood Jesus’ message and were clear and direct most (or all) of the time.

The third major issue surprised me the most when I found it in ch. 8 of The Secret Message of Jesus. After observing that exorcisms as recorded in the Gospels may not be palatable to some worldviews today, McLaren says those exorcisms might point to larger problems. “What if it [practice of exorcism] is yet another sign and wonder pointing to his larger, less obvious strategy: to draw corporate or even cosmic evil out from the shadows and into the broad daylight, so that it can be seen and named and rejected and banished?” (63) McLaren lists some of the habitations of corporate evils spirits: government, political movements, religious parties, religious structures and hierarchies, professions, and family systems (65). Jesus particularly confronted the Roman Empire and the religious establishment of his day, says McLaren, the doing of which got Christ killed. In so doing, Jesus exposed the systemic evil in those institutions and was vindicated for letting himself be killed by rising from the dead. In effect, the cross of Jesus accomplished (or was intended to accomplish) a big, “scandalous” exorcism of corporate evil (ch. 8) and became God’s “repudiation of violence” (153). Suffice it to say that I don’t think this is a defensible interpretation of exorcisms, and it plainly is far from Jesus’ and the apostles’ interpretation of the cross.

It’s just a small step from McLaren’s abstracting of individual exorcisms on a corporate scale into a plan for nonviolent confrontation with any modern institutions or groups (the discussion guide encourages readers to find analogies to the political and religious factions of Jesus’ day). McLaren finds in Jesus a prophetic voice (ch. 3) that would encourage his followers to challenge the status quo of our day. Especially in view of the interpretation he gives to the cross of Jesus, I can understand how McLaren promotes the sorts of political and social activism I’ve heard he does. How would your views look on the diagram?

 

Guest Post: A Review of McLaren’s “The Secret Message of Jesus”

John Mark is one of my good friends. I served on staff with him in Taylorsville, KY, for a little over a year. He still serves there, in a small church, in a hard place of KY. I am thankful for his faithful preaching of the Word and his belief that the Gospel changes lives. I am thankful for the investment that he made in me, and the risk that he took in bringing on a young seminary student to lead the student ministry for the church whom he served.

John Mark is a thinker, and I highly value my time when I get to connect with him. He helps me categorize difficult things, and make those difficult things seem…well, not so difficult. One thing that I love to do is read. I enjoy reading a broad variety of content, and so I often read books whose authors I disagree with. John Mark has written a review of Brian McLaren’s book, The Secret Message of Jesus, in which he fairly critiques McLaren’s worldview. He disagrees with McLaren, but I hope that you can see and appreciate how John Mark picks out the helpful content of the book, yet disagrees in a non-attacking way with the overall philosophy. I hope you find this helpful. To read more of John Mark’s thoughts, visit his blog at http://jmandlaura.blogspot.com.  I’m going to post his review in two parts, so make sure to check back tomorrow for the rest of his review.

The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren, Review

The Secret Message of Jesus is Brian McLaren’s attempt to help people look at the message taught by the historical Jesus, so that people can then look through Jesus’ message to see how it can change everything (xviii). In the introduction, McLaren asks critical readers to keep in mind that he is not writing an exhaustive, technical, or even systematic book. Even so, I have tried to diagram the connection between the different chapters (each chapter seems to present one idea – sometimes two chapters present one idea together). I could not put all the pieces together until I drew it all with bubbles and arrows. I’ll describe my diagram as I go, but remember that McLaren does not endorse our graphic summary of his thought (He might disapprove of even trying to systematize his thought!).

Draw a target with at least three rings around the center. In the center is “the kingdom of God,” the major theme of Jesus’ teaching and his actions. In ch. 1 McLaren asks “troubling questions” that turn out to be modern implications and applications of that central theme; (Hint!) these areas would go just inside the outermost ring of your target diagram. His playful, original title tells you where he believes Jesus’ message will change everything: The Secret Message of Jesus: His Surprising and Largely Untried Plan for a Political, Social, Religious, Artistic, Economic, Intellectual, and Spiritual Revolution (4n1). The idea McLaren finds in Jesus’ teaching is something that could change our world today, giving “birth to a new world” (4) in our day and time. It is a realizable goal for the future derived from the Bible (=eschatology).

Draw arrows from the center to the words political, religious, and spiritual, because these three are the themes of ch. 2-4. McLaren says Jesus challenged the political & religious status quo of his day with his kingdom message. Jesus consciously fulfilled the storyline of the Bible, which addresses the problem of evil in the world (per McLaren) – a revolutionary, spiritual solution.

diagram1

Write these phrases in the inner ring that touches the center: vague metaphors, parables, signs and wonders, and exorcisms; draw arrows from them into the center and label them interactive relationship; draw lines from them outward to the other two rings and label those arrows confrontation, reconciliation, and cross/pacifism. McLaren says Jesus’ ministry both exposed people to the kingdom of God – the inclusive movement he started – and actually did the work of that movement. “Jesus resists being clear or direct” (39), and he never explained the kingdom in clear terminology (51). Jesus’ vague words draw people into conversation with him, and his inclusive and wonderful actions clearly demonstrate what the kingdom community should do by confronting the status quo.

diagram2

Write these phrases in the middle ring: disciples, Paul the Apostle, and expanding movement; draw arrows from this ring toward the middle and label them conversion and learning Jesus’ message; draw lines from the middle ring to the outer ring and label them different metaphors, new imagery for kingdom, prayer, longing, conversations, and realizable success. Paul in particular translated Jesus’ message into new figures of speech, but McLaren does not agree with scholars who think Paul started a different movement from Jesus. The disciples continue Jesus’ movement by picking fresh illustrations, by including anyone who is willing to radically rethink his/her life according to Jesus’ teaching, and by nonviolently confronting the status quo.

Now write harvest = consummation around the outside of the outer ring. McLaren believes Jesus’ message about the kingdom of God is “a glorious present reality that expands into an even more glorious future” (183n1). This includes the resurrection and the establishment of “God’s domination-free order” (190, from Walter Wink’s The Powers That Be, 64). **You have completed the diagram!

diagram31

A week ago a friend described a lecture by Brian McLaren that he recently attended. The crowd seemed to be largely favorable to McLaren’s view of Jesus (my friend was not among McLaren’s sympathizers), and my friend said one unsympathetic question toward the end did not receive a satisfying answer. How are we to relate to people with whom we have (sometimes serious) disagreements?

Check out the rest of John Mark’s review tomorrow!

 

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