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This is the third book of Malcolm Gladwell, and it’s three in a row for books of his that I’ve truly enjoyed. He has a unique way of unveiling the assumed and revealing the patterns and reasons we don’t realize are present.

In Outliers, Gladwell examines success stories. One of the most well known characters in the book is Bill Gates. The book is an easy read of complex subject matter. Gladwell is a master storyteller, and he weaves compelling narratives around empirical research to engage the reader. You’re drawn deep without realizing you’re enjoying sociology.

One paragraph toward the end of the book summarizes his findings succinctly:

Superstar lawyers and math whizzes and software entrepreneurs appear at first blush to lie outside ordinary experience. But they don’t. They are products of history and community, of opportunity and legacy. Their success is not exceptional or mysterious. It is grounded in a web of advantages and inheritances, some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky – but all are critical to making them who they are.

Gladwell’s conclusions are remarkable, but they are not new. Throughout the book, I caught myself nodding as his meticulous research and narrative simply verified a much older assertion:

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. (Proverbs 19:21Proverbs 19:21
English: World English Bible - WEB
21 There are many plans in a man’s heart, But Yahweh’s counsel will prevail.

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And…

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. (Proverbs 16:9Proverbs 16:9
English: World English Bible - WEB
9 A man’s heart plans his course, But Yahweh directs his steps.

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I picked up Josh Harris’ latest with the eager expectation that I might be using it in personal discipleship with other guys. Harris is the pastor of Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, MD. This book was billed as a one that, well, “dug down deep.”

I anticipated that the book would take basic Christian teachings (doctrine) and helpfully unpack them for those eager to learn. It did do that, but the unpacking was definitely of an autobiographical nature. Perhaps I should have taken the subtitle seriously – “Unearthing What I Believe and Why It Matters.”

The first couple of chapters recall Harris as a Christian poster boy author of fame that tries to live down his I Kissed Dating Goodbye notoriety now that he’s a pastor. It seems that he really struggled with the Christian attention and fame that he received as a result of that book. It was interesting, but again, it was a segue from what I hoped to be able to use and receive from the book.

While there are some helpful chapters, it really never digs down deep. However, two chapters stood out as being worth reading:

1. Chapter 4: Ripping, Burning, Eating - This chapter does a great job exposes how we use the Bible (and how we ignore it when it doesn’t line up with how we prefer to live). In it, he expounds on how “doctrine” is NOT a bad, stale word. Rather, doctrine means truth, teaching, or standard, and without doctrine, we will quickly orient our lives around our own preferences.
2. The last chapter (11) on “Humble Orthodoxy” is one of the best in the book. It urges us to not seek “rightness” on an issue but to seek righteousness. Too many folks in the church would rather win an argument than a soul.

Harris is on the money (as far as my theological tribe is concerned) about how he explains the teachings of the church in this book. It’s very readable. However, you may want to check out other resources for a more thorough and deeper treatment if you’re really curious. In addition, if you’ve read Dug Down Deep and have a different opinion of the book’s impact or contribution, I’d love to hear it.

Imagine a world in 2088 where everyone has neural implants enabling them to enter VR (virtual reality) and access the Grid (internet on steroids) at any moment. Because of the implants, a human can process information much faster than ever before. In this same world, Christianity – as well as other religions – is almost extinct. The endless pursuit of information, entertainment and sensory stimulation has choked out the spiritual.

That’s the world you’ll encounter in David Gregory’s The Last Christian. I read it after receiving it for free as part of Waterbook Multnomah’s Blogging for Books program. I honestly didn’t have high expectations for it. So often Christian fiction fails to compare in quality and imagination to the mass market. I was pleasantly surprised with this book.

I was hooked from the first chapter, and over the last three days, I’ve devoured the book. It’s imaginative – truly. On top of that, there’s a powerful message about the importance of living a full faith.

The protagonist attempts to re-evangelize America, but her attempts sound stale, trite and canned – much like many attempts at evangelism today. The author calls us to reexamine the New Testament and recover a thoroughly biblical – and dynamically compelling – way of leading people to faith in Jesus Christ.

If you’re looking for a summer thriller, look no further! Buy it here!

This little book can destroy your way of life as an American. If you’ve embraced “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” as yours by right, then you should continue to do so without the message of David Platt, pastor of The Church at Brook Hills, or you’ll be be forced to evaluate your citizenship.

In essence, Platt points out that the teachings of Jesus slay the American dream. The Christian does not have the right to selfish pursuit of self-satisfaction.

Platt’s actual writing style is curt and pointed, it may be that the message itself shapes the tone of the book. Platt takes American Christians to task for thoughtlessly ignoring the plain commands of the New Testament in relation to lifestyle, possessions and life purpose.

I see it as an uncomfortable followup to Francis Chan’s Crazy Love. Reading these two books back-to-back will most assuredly kick a comfortable Christian in their blessed assurance.

We have unnecessarily (and unbiblically) drawn a line of distinction, assigning the obligations of Christianity to a few while keeping the privileges of Christianity for us all. In this way we choose to send off other people to carry out the global purpose of Christianity while the rest of us sit back because because we’re “just not called to do that.”

Platt urges Christians to return to mission and embrace the purpose of God for their lives. It was not to accumulate and spend and ignore the needs of those around the world (or across the county).

He recounts the story of a friend who journeyed to a remote village in southeast Asia to share the love and truth of Jesus Christ. Upon entering the village in which not a single person had ever heard the name of “Jesus,” he was offered a Coca Cola by one of the tribesman. Platt comments,

A soft drink company in Atlanta has done a better job getting brown sugar water to those people than the church of Jesus Christ has done in getting the gospel to them.

Platt’s book is not unique. There have been identical voices over the past 100 years in American culture echoing the same message. Francis Schaeffer was one. Keith Green sang a similar message. Platt happens to be the latest young voice to this rising chorus. Perhaps a new generation will take the message seriously.

While I was challenged by the book, I think that it also needs the balanced corrective of God’s deep and majestic love for His people. Platt comes across many times as simply… angry. The book seems to need a great dose of the joy and love of God.

While the salvation of the nations is a mighty and preeminent goal of the church, we cannot allow ourselves to be motivated by guilt. This book comes across as heavy on that.

While guilt is an excellent motivator, it’s a poor sustainer. We must look our Father in the face, come to terms with the amazing grace that has made our own salvation possible, and then in humble gratitude and eager joy embrace God’s mission for us all in a way that magnifies Him and not the nations’ needs.

Platt calls for his readers to join him in a “radical experiment” over the course of a year. I’ll leave you to discover the five challenges of that experiment as you read the book. However, I can guarantee (as does Platt) that if you should accept the challenges, your life will never be the same, and you’ll discover the joy of waking up from your American snooze and experience the beauty of truly living.

This book was provided for review by the by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. You can download a preview of Chapter 1: Someone Worth Losing Everything For here.

“The belief that God punishes and blesses us for our actions is not only superstitious, but there is no evidence to support it.” Is Smith reading the same Bible (both Old and New Testaments) that I’m reading?
“There is only thing that separates us from God, and it is not our sin. It is our self-righteousness.” He provides no scriptural context for this amazing statement that flies in the face of a mass of scriptural testimony to the contrary.
“God is never described by Paul as being angry. Anger is a human emotion.” These statements are in the middle of a wonderful description of how God’s wrath is actually an expression of His holiness. However, even if Paul doesn’t describe God as “being angry,” there is a wealth of other scriptures that do seem to demonstrate His anger. It may be that author’s definition of anger needs to be rethought.

This small book makes for an easy read, but I encourage you at the outset to not plow through it just to say you’ve read another book. Rather, chew through it, and reflect, enjoy, and drink deeply of how Morgan spins a spiritual tapestry.

I had the privilege of getting to meet Bob Morgan last spring when he came to preach a revival at Rose Hill Freewill Baptist Church in Monticello, Arkansas. Our church regularly hosted an event designed to encourage ministers called NCourage.

The pastor at Rose Hill, David Ponder, graciously informed me of Morgan’s visit and offered to set him up to speak at NCourage that week. We partnered together to buy a case of books to give out: The Red Sea Rules.

A year later, I’ve just read it. Morgan tells the story of the Israelites deliverance from slavery in Egypt, and in doing so gives ten rules for handling hardship:

1. Realize that God means for you to be where you are.
2. Be more concerned for God’s glory than for your relief.
3. Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord.
4. Pray!
5. Stay calm and confident, and give God time to work.
6. When unsure, just take the next logical step by faith.
7. Envision God’s enveloping presence.
8. Trust God to deliver in His own unique way.
9. View your current crisis as a faith builder for the future.
10. Don’t forget to praise Him.

The way that Morgan unpacks each of these rules in such a short book is marvelous. As he consistently points to a God who made a way for His people through a sea, he urges us to trust this same God to make a way today through our impossible situations.

Don’t race through the book. Enjoy the journey.

In a world that denounces terrorism and too often uses incendiary language of condemnation to describe one another, it’s rare to find voices of core values. Ted Dekker and Carl Medearis recount a breath-taking journey into the Middle East in 2009 to sit down with Muslims and “radical extremists” to ask them one simple question: What do you think of Jesus’ command to love our enemies?

I’ve been a fan of Dekker for a long time as the creative genius behind the fictional Circle Series. I was anxious to read Tea with Hezbollah because of that and due to the insanity of the project itself.

As I turned each unbelievable page, I found myself immersed in the peoples of the Arab world and their responses to the question. Dekker and co-author Medearis sit down to share conversation with Muslim and “terrorists” in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan and Syria. It was no cake walk.

The true-life tale spins out like a Hollywood thriller, albeit with decidedly anti-climactic conversations. Rather than try to interpret each interview and its political or religious influences, the authors simply give you the transcripts and leave the conclusion-drawing to the reader.

I’ll admit I struggled with the responses of those interviewed, but I was also confronted with my own Americanized Christianity. Time and again, the authors relate that they were in search for the Good Samaritan in the Middle East. Was there anyone still in that war-torn but faith-saturated region of the world that could love their enemy?

Interspersed with the interviews is a powerful story of one young girl’s search for family and connection in Lebanon. It has a happy ending, and it is an amazing complement to the overall message of the book.

If you struggle with seeing Muslims as your neighbor and extending them the same love of Jesus Christ that was and is today extended to you, then this book may be the beginning of a paradigm shift for you in attitude and faith.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group and can be purchased here.

It’s amazing the power of what’s been done before. I believe I first heard the term “chronological snobbery” from John Piper. He used it in an effort to communicate the danger of the cult of “now” and our culture’s obsession with the latest and greatest.

This embrace of the temporal should certainly be warred against in the church which all too often in its ever-reaching quest to be relevant sometimes overreaches and begins to dilute the power and purity of its essence by embracing trends and movements that may prove damaging in the long run.

This book is a reminder – perhaps a rebuke even – to the church, particularly the Methodist tribe – of some of our roots and things that have been used by God in the past to accomplish life and cultural change. It’s a study of John Wesley’s strategies of group discipleship that turned 18th century England upside down and according to some actually aided in the creation of an informed, industrious and respected middle class for the first time in history.

Wesly formulated his group discipleship method through trial and error and constant comparison to how he interpreted the movement of the early church in the New Testament. From his tireless efforts to communicate the Gospel of Christ to the outcast and lower rungs of England’s 17th century society, he was able to witness the Lord doing an amazing work to elevate the status and spiritual life of the people to whom he involved in his comprehensive system of whole life discipleship.

Wesley’s approach at its highest point had five distinct rungs of involvement, with the highest rungs only attainable by those who had proven faithful at the entry levels. His distinction for advancement was ignorant of class or economic level (a drastic departure for England’s society at the time) but was rather completely centered in the willingness of the individual to grow, change, and develop.

The five rungs were:

1. The Society – a large group that assembled mainly for teaching and instruction by a qualified teacher.
2. Class Meeting – members of the Society would break apart and be led by layman in these groups that targeted the behavior. They were expected to apply what had been taught in the Society, as well as meeting the standard of conduct that Wesley and his leaders had drawn up for them (and these were comprehensive).
3. Band – these were smaller groups intended to address the affective, or emotional. They were intended to challenge the disciple in his or her love for Christ.
4. Select Society – this was a level for leadership that involved training and mobilizing to meet the needs of the other levels.
5. Penitent Bands – these were still in development by Wesley, and they were the most sparsely implemented. Essentially, they dealt with special cases of addiction and behavioral issues (a significant precursor to the recovery movement and things like AA).

Wesley’s methods (which led his followers to be called “Methodists”) were so successful that after a beginning of only 20-30, it involved tens of thousands by the time of his death.

Author Michael Henderson identifies eight foundational principles that enabled the successful propagation of Wesley’s system and the influence of the gospel through it:

1. Human nature is perfectible by God’s grace.
2. Learning comes by doing the will of God.
3. Mankind’s nature is perfected by participation in groups, not by acting as isolated individuals.
4. The spirit and practice of primitive Christianity can and must be recaptured.
5. Human progress will occur if people will participate in “the means of grace.”
6. The gospel must be presented to the poor.
7. Social evil is not to be “resisted,” but overcome with good.
8. The primary function of spiritual/educational leadership is to equip others to lead and minister, not to perform the ministry personally.

It is Henderson’s expansion of each of the above eight principles that makes the book a dynamic and profound read.

In this day of explosion and continued renewal of small group ministry in churches, leaders must and should review the successes and mistakes of the past – particularly those of Wesley – in order to be a good steward and practitioner of the truths that were learned and applied to the 18th century society of England.

The transferral of many of these concepts to 21st century small group ministry might revitalize ministries and churches as they seek true transformation in the lives of members and participants. The study of Wesley’s methods might also help us avoid his mistakes and excesses.

I waded through the first story, F-bombs and all. Then came the second story with more of the same…

What?!

Really?!

If these are the “Best American Short Stories of 2005,” we’re really hurting.

I was looking for brilliance and all I got was bawdiness. It’s hard for me to read stories and appreciate their content when they’re clothed in profanity. Sorry. There are too many really good books out there to waste any more time on this grab bag publication.

This is one of those generational message books. It seems that often the Lord seems to raise up a message and a book for a particular time in the life of His church. Henry Blackaby’s Experiencing God was/is one of those books that surfaced in 1990. John Piper’s book, Desiring God (1986) is another, in my opinion.

Francis Chan is the pastor of Cornerstone Community Church in California, and as a dynamic and uncomfortably authentic communicator, he is able to couch a stinging rebuke of western Christianity into a gracious and loving message. It is biblical exhortation in 21st century style.

I love a book that asks great questions. This is one of those. Some of the questions are hidden in the middle of chapters, but a few that I caught and pondered were:
• Isn’t it a comfort to worship a God we cannot exaggerate?
• Could it be your arrogance that makes you think God owes you an explanation?
• So why does God still love us, despite us?
• Do you love this God who is everything, or do you just love everything He gives you?
• Are you satisfied being “godly enough” to get yourself to heaven, or to look good in comparison to others?
• Is the idea of the non-fruit bearing Christian something that we have concocted in order to make Christianity “easier?”
• Was your decision to follow Christ flippant, based solely on feelings and emotion, made without counting the cost?
• Do you know that nothing you do in this life will ever matter, unless it is about loving God and loving the people He has made?
• Why do so few people genuinely find joy and pleasure in their relationship with God?

These are just a sampling. Any one of them is enough to ponder seriously and lead to life-altering change.

If you haven’t read the book, imagine what he says rather than just what he asks.

It’s interesting to note that Jesus Christ taught similarly. In Luke 9.25, He asks, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?”

It’s all about a love relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It’s been my life theme, and Chan’s Crazy Love challenges you to make it real.

I have read the Circle Trilogy and reviewed Black and Red on my blog. I was thrilled to see that Thomas Nelson publishers was offering Green as part of their blogger review program.

After receiving it from them, I tore into it, and after a week of steady reading, I have to say that Ted Dekker’s prequel of the Circle Trilogy is superb. Dekker has effectively created a spiritual epic series that is moving, powerful and provocative.

Green opens on Thomas of Hunter’s life years into the future of the Circle – a group of Elyon’s followers. They are living lives of seclusion from the Horde and a new group called Eramites. Both of these groups have rejected Elyon’s ways. The Eramites follow the counsel of an audacious leader intent on destroying the Horde, while the Horde rejects Elyon completely and instead follows the teachings of the evil being Teeleh.

After years of Elyon’s silence and supposed absence, things are beginning to unravel in the circle. Thomas’ own son, Samuel, questions the ways of Elyon and whether he is even alive.

Dekker portrays a startling parallel in this fictional series with the apathy of the church. His tale exposes the tendency of Christians to withdraw from the world rather than seek to redeem it with the gospel of Christ.

Green is a real nail-biter and it sets up the conflict between good and evil, holiness and pragmatism in a profound way. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all Dekker’s books so far. This was no different.

Buy Green now!

Even before I was able to read this dynamic account of Brother Yun’s life as a Chinese pastor and underground church leader, my book was persecuted. I found it on the floor one morning with the front cover partially ripped and chewed off – a victim of our dog.

The Heavenly Man will definitely challenge the Western Christian’s comfortable assertions of one’s right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” So many American believers claim those rights that they forget they are found in a Declaration of Independence – not in the Word of God.

In fact, it should concern every Christ-follower that too many American churches equate democracy with Christianity and the tenets of capitalism with the teachings of Christ.

The dramatic experience and story of Brother Yun is one of torture, faith, persecution, and soaring victory. Yet it is a deeply disturbing one.

Yun is gracious in his comparisons of the faith life lived by Chinese believers and that lived by Christians who are not persecuted daily for their beliefs. However, you can’t help but marvel as you read page after page of accounts of healings, miracles, signs and visions and compare them to our own poverty of the same.

His perspective of the miraculous is powerful, as is his reflection on living in a country whose political system is defiantly opposed to the Gospel:

Once I spoke in the West and a Christian told me, “I’ve been praying for years that the Communist government in China will collapse, so Christians can live in freedom.” This is not what we pray! We never pray against our government or call down curses on them. Instead, we have learned that God is in control of both our lives and the government we live under… God has used China’s government for His own purposes, moulding and shaping His children as He sees fit… We shouldn’t pray for a lighter load to carry but a stronger back to endure.

On the signs and wonders:

Many Christians have also asked me why miracles and signs are so prevalent in China, but not so evident in the West. In the West, you have so much. You have insurance for everything. In a way, you don’t need God… In China, the greatest miracles we see are not the healings or other things, but lives transformed by the Gospel. We believe we’re not called to follow signs and wonders but instead the signs and wonders follow us when the Gospel is preached. We don’t keep our eyes on the signs and wonders; we keep our eyes on Jesus.

I can’t recommend this book enough to those who are steeped in Western churchianity. If you’re offended by that term, “Western Churchianity, then you most definitely need to get a grip and understand that what too many embrace as Christianity is actually what Paul describes to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3.5 happens in the last times. It’s only dead religion – “a form of godliness but denying its power.”

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. (2 Timothy 3.1-5)

If you’re looking for a reading prescription to renew your perspective and allow your heart to drink deeply of God’s heart for the nations, I’d suggest the following books:

• From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya, by Ruth Tucker
• Let the Nations Be Glad, by John Piper
• Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (if you can, find a Perspectives class and take it!)
• The Heavenly Man

What other books or resources are you familiar with that will be good electro-faith-shock therapy for a comfortable Christian?

I’d close with these words from Brother Yun, “I can assure the Western church with absolute certainty that you don’t need any more church buildings. Church buildings will never bring the revival you seek… The first thing that is needed for revival to return to your churches is the Word of the Lord.” God’s Word is missing. Sure, there are preachers and thousands of tapes and videos of Bible teaching, but so little contains the sharp truth of God’s Word. It’s truth that will set you free.”

Note
Brother Yun’s fantastic account of the growth, persecution and ministry of the underground church in China has been attacked significantly by some claiming he is a charlatan. Here is an excellent response to their attacks.

It’s not that I didn’t like The Toyota Way. On the contrary, the principles behind the Toyota Company’s process and philosophy are dynamic. This book, however, is drier than Corn Flakes.

I plowed through a full 50% of it before I finally set it down. The author was completely unengaging. It’s a shame to make the TPS (Toyota Production System) as boring as he successfully did. Because TPS is anything but boring.

Toyota’s revolutionary way of doing business has defined, and in some sense, is the model for lean manufacturing. For them, money is not the bottom line. Rather, making a lasting contribution to society is. That, and their people are the foundation of all they do and drive their ultimate decision making processes.

I took a lot away from the book – simply by skimming to get the dynamics and highlights of the material. In particular, we have even begun to implement some of the thoughts behind what is known as visual management by beginning a simple wipe erase board process in our church office. We had a friend and disciple of the TPS help our church staff implement the basics of it.

The Toyota Way as a book is a real snoozer. The Toyota Way is definitely not. Read the Cliff Notes or find another book on the business principles beside this one.