Category Archives: Books

Books, Ministry, Theology

In the Name of Jesus

Over the weekend I finished reading In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership by Henri J.M. Nouwen. Nouwen, an incredible writer, wrote this book to the new Christian ministers who are taking up the mantle as leaders in this post-modern world. As his text, Nouwen turns our focus toward the temptation of Christ in the desert. He believes that leaders today are tempted by expectations and desires contrary to God’s leadership.

Jesus was first tempted to turn stones into bread. Instead of bread, today’s leaders are tempted to be relevant. Chasing after being hip and new takes our focus away from leading others to God. The remedy for relevancy is prayer. Prayer helps us tap into what is truly important. Our egos take a backseat when prayer call shotgun.

Leaders today are not tempted to jump of the roof of their churches but they are tempted to do spectacular things to gain popularity. To avoid this trap, ministers should look to the question and answer session Jesus gave Peter:

After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Master, you know I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
He then asked a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
“Yes, Master, you know I love you.”
Jesus said, “Shepherd my sheep.”
Then he said it a third time: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, “Do you love me?” so he answered, “Master, you know everything there is to know.. You’ve got to know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.

In John 21, Jesus tells us the secret to popularity and that is ministry; serving the people we lead.

The final temptation for today’s leader is… leading. After this exchange, Jesus tells Peter, ‘When you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever you wished, but when you get old you’ll have to stretch out your hands while someone else dresses you and takes you where you don’t want to go.” Becoming a leader for Christ means being led by Christ. Sometimes we are lead where we want to but more often than not we are lead where it is uncomfortable for us. We are not our own. Leading means being led.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone who is a leader or who wishes to become a leader. It was a great little read that packed a theological whallop.

Amazon

Books, News, Theology

The Miserable

One Sunday night, the baker on the Palace de l’Eglise was just going to bed when he heard a violent blow against the barred window of his shop. He got down in time to see an arm thrust through the aperture made by the blow of a fist on the glass. The arm seized a loaf of bread and took it out. (The baker) rushed out; the thief used his leg valiantly; (The baker) pursued him and caught him. The thief had thrown away the bread, but his arm was still bleeding. It was Jean Valjean.

As I watched the news that other night I couldn’t take my eyes off of the looters.

I went to my bookshelves and pulled out my old ratty copy of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserbles. I began to read it again. This time with new eyes. Desperation on the pages matched by the desperation in the streets on my screen. It isn’t hard to understand bread, water, food, even candy. Take. Eat. Be well.

I just can’t understand the TVs. I cannot comprhend that kind of lawlessness.

Books, Theology

Question Your Existence

In the fall of 2001, I attended my very first Youth Specialties’ National Youth Workers Convention in Dallas. The night before the conference began I began wondering which classes I would attend. As I read the class titles I knew exactly which class I would attend first. Bright and early the next morning I took my seat in “Why Youth Ministers Should Read the Writings of the Existentialist.”

This class changed my life.

I found out a couple of things about myself and about others that day. First, I discovered that I am a complete nerd who enjoys getting up early in the morning and attending classes entitled “Why Youth Ministers Should Read the Writings of the Existentialist.” Secondly, I discovered that every human being questions his/her existence.

Of course youth ministers should read the existentialist. Teenagers question their existence more than anybody.

“Do I matter?” “Who am I?” “Where am I going?”

It isn’t until we’re older and have more bruises that we begin to ask these questions only to ourselves and a bit quieter than before.

After that class I began reading Kierkegaard. Theology, existentialism, philosophy: it’s all there. I keep the Essential Kierkegaard on my desk at work. Every now and then I reach over, open it up, and swim around his work. My favorite are his parables. If Jesus’ parables are about the kingdom, Kierkegaard’s parbles are about how we react to Jesus.

My favorite is about the Duck City.

There is a town where only ducks live. Each Sundy the ducks make their way to church. They waddle out into the street and waddle into the church. Each duck waddles to his/her own little pew and has a seat. The duck choir waddles in followed by the duck minister. He opens up the Duck Bible and begins to read to the congregation. “Ducks!” he quacks. “God has given you wings! With wings you can fly! With wings you can soar like eagles. No walls can confine you! No fences can hold you! You have wings and you can fly like birds!” All the ducks shouted, “Amen!” And they all waddled home.

Powerful stuff.

Everyday I get up. I brush my teeth and head to work. Throughout the day I continually have to ask myself one question:

Do I truly believe in Jesus Christ and His message or am I all quack.

Books, Ministry, Theology

I’ll Take Seminary For $1000 Alex.

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Those who know me well know that I have an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Many times this quest takes me closer to Ken Jennings than to Solomon but I continue to journey on. Right now I find myself having an internal battle.

Do I continue with my “formal” education and pursue a MDiv?

I say “formal” education because I am enrolled in the school of lifelong learning. I entered into this school when I began reading and I haven’t missed a day of class. Yet, I find myself wanting to return to school (at least part-time).

I have looked into Lipscomb and Abilene. Both great schools but I don’t want to study “in house.” I have been accepted to Liberty but, honestly, I can’t bring myself to enroll in classes with good conscience. I wish Dallas Theological had distant learning because Fuller, unfortunately, is a pipe dream.

There is another issue keeping me from returning. See, I have never been one to let school get in the way of my education. For every great teacher or professor that inspired my quest for knowledge I had 10 that crushed the dream. Professors that made me question how they became professors kind of turned me off to graduate studies.

I just don’t want to sit around and discuss high theology at the expense of going out and living theology.

A few weeks ago, Jordon Cooper posted a link to the Personal MBA, a collection of books that, when read and applied, would be the equivalent of a masters in buisness administration. He commented that there should be a Personal MDiv that achieved the same goal for a masters of divinity. He then started to solicit books and authors to create the Personal MDiv promising that Resonate Journal would publish the findings in the coming months. Well, unfortunately someone beat him to the punch. A Personal MDiv wiki-page was setup before Resonate Journal could publish its article.

While Cooper was soliciting ideas I kept glancing at my personal library. Almost 1000 books, many of which ended up on the lists. I had read almost half.

That begs the question: $20 a class (book) for the rest of my life vs. $350 an hour + books + time?

I would miss out on the collaborative learning though?

Correction: Who is to say that I would miss out on the collaborative learning experience? The modern/enlightenment classroom collaborations would be gone but what about the web, local ministers, blogs, book clubs, etc.? (There’s a box?)

What to do? What to do?

Books, Ministry

The End is Nigh

The end of my summer “vacation” that is.

As the campus minister I am on a twlve-month calander. So I don’t get the traditional summer off that all the other teachers get.

I am up at the school everyday which is good because… there are always students here. Right now the band is here, the football team is here, and the volleyball team just left. Later today, the cheerleaders will practice down the hall from my office. Being here at work is great because I get to be with these students.

The summer has been good. I have had a lot of work to complete and I have finished most of it. I am teahing two Bible classes this fall on two different subjects but I’m not sweating it. I feel really prepared.

I have my fall reading list lined up. Here is a sneek peek:

Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith
Rob Bell

The Naked Christian
Craig Borlase

The Spirit of the Disciplines
Dallas Willard

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg. I am working hard on collecting a handful of books to live with over the next few months. Much prayer and preparation come in choosing just the right books. I am working through The Chronicles of Narnia right now as well. I’m gearing up for “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” this Christmas.

That is all for now. Have a great day.

Books

Don’t Steal This Book (Idea)

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Two book ideas that have been floating around in my mind for the last few weeks:

First, Campus Ministry: The Other Ministry to Students would be about my misadventures in campus ministry. I considered calling it “So, When Are You Going to Do Youth Ministry?” in honor of the question that I’m most asked by my friends, mentors, parents, etc. There is a huge hole when it comes to campus ministry information. There is a good deal of Catholic books but on the Protestant side not so much. That is book idea number one.

Number two is a book in the tradition of ministry idea books like Youth Specialties’ Videos That Teach and Group’s Blockbuster Movie Illustrations.

I want to name this new book Firm on the Rock: Messages that Move You.

Using music illistrations from The Police, U2, R.E.M., Clapton, Dylan and many others I hope to give ministers and teachers a new perspective on these old favorites. The tagline could be something like “Redeeming With Soul”.

What songs would you like to see in this forthcoming book? Help me out with ideas.

Books, Popular Culture

Engage

Well, it is Christmas at Hogwarts and Harry is spending his vacation with the Weasleys. Or at least that is where I left them last night.

Unless you have been in a coma or under a rock, you now know that the sixth book in the Harry Potter series was released over the weekend. I am a little over halfway into Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and I am enjoying every page.

The controversy that surrounds this little boy is at times laughable. That was why I was a little unnerved when I saw an email entitled Worried About Buying the New Harry Potter Book? in my inbox. I was thankful that the article wasn’t some fundamentalist whack-job on how Harry Potter drinks blood and dances in the nude before the full moon. The article was an intelligent call for Christians to engage with this cultural phenomenom not to thow stones at it. The article, Harry Potter and His Critics, was written by Jerram Barrs and can be found at The Discerning Reader.

If you have time check it out. If not, here is a highlight:

I see the books as valuable because they consistently include the three fundamental themes that can be found as a subtext in almost all good literature: the beauty of creation, the appalling reality of evil, and the universal human longing for redemption — for a better world. These themes touch the way the world truly is, the way God has made it. J.K. Rowling does not profess to be a Christian, as far as I am aware, but she has insight into the themes that are at the very heart of what Christians understand to be true about the nature of the universe in which we live.

Self-sacrifice in these books is the primary means by which evil is defeated. Now that of course is the very heart of what Christianity says about the nature of the world. We come from God’s hand as those who have been made glorious. Life is beautiful as God has given it to us, yet it is appallingly twisted and broken by the reality of evil in our lives, and God Himself has made the ultimate selfsacrifice in the person of Jesus Christ to bring about the destruction of evil in the supreme act of love. He gave Himself to death to save the lives of others — to bring protection, renewal, transformation, strengthening, and redemption to us. Recognizing that this theme of self-sacrifice is running all through the series, it is extraordinary to me that there has been such a violent and negative response by Christians. One has to hope that it is the minority response rather than the response of large numbers of believers. I think this negative response is a tragedy for all sorts of reasons.

It is a tragedy in that there are many people who have failed to read the books with an open mind. The Word of God challenges us to be prepared to celebrate anything that is good and true, wherever it is found. Sadly, I think there are many people who are unable to see the good qualities that there are, either in the Harry Potter books, or in much else in popular Culture. Many of those who have criticized the books to me personally have not even read them.

Additionally, when these sorts of criticisms are made about books without a proper basis it causes an appalled and dismissive reaction to Christians in general and the Christian faith itself. That is a tragedy. Often Christians are indeed guilty of responding in fear to our Culture — criticizing, condemning, and cutting themselves off from it as much as possible. Anything that is popular becomes suspicious. And this is a very serious problem in the life of the Church. It is not that we should accept everything our Culture presents. But Christians should be prepared to celebrate what is good and cultivate Biblical discernment in the midst of our Culture. This is what any Christian should do in regard to the Harry Potter books or anything else. You will have to decide for yourself if the Harry Potter books are good for you or your children, but please do so in a way that is thoughtful and discerning according to the Biblical picture of truth, beauty, and goodness, not in a way that is suspicious of anything popular in our culture, or that is untruthful and unkind.

Some 450 years ago John Calvin encouraged people to read books by the ancient writers from Greece and Rome. He wrote instructions for the teachers in the school system he designed in Geneva, Switzerland, asking that they have the students read the great classics of Greece and Rome that were pagan and non-Christian. And he asked that they not criticize them, but rather encourage the students to celebrate what is good in them, and to learn from the truth that they could find in them. Calvin said on another occasion that it is a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit to deny that pagan writers like Plato wrote many things that are true and helpful. We must be prepared to act similarly in our day when it comes to the Harry Potter series or any other product of our culture.

Books, U2

Walk On Revisited

I just picked up the revised edition of Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2 by Steve Stockman. Right off the bat I noticed the added thickness and beautiful blue cover. There stands Bono dressed in black leather staring into the sky. The audience, with thier hands raised, look like they stepped right off a Hillsong worship album. Church is underway.

I was not planning on reading the book until school started in the fall. Alas, I could not resist.

I am in Searcy, AR for an administrator’s confrence. This is where I went to university. I spent most of my time in a small coffee shop called Midnight Oil instead of studying. I believe in not letting school get in the way of one’s education! So, instead of heading back to my hotel I stopped in for old time’s sake.

I pulled out my iPod and listened to Elevation as I read the foreward. Written by Steve Beard, the forward contained a couple of great nuggets.

(U2’s) lyrics unfold a world beyond the things that can be merely seen and rationally grasped. The music is not a simplistic mish-mash of yummy lyrics about skipping with Jesus through the fields of daisies. Instead, their songs wrestle with pain and frustration without catering to hopelessness.

Stockman does a tremendous service to those who follow Jesus, as well as those who aren’t traveling the path. To those who count themselves among the faithfull, Stockman will help you open the eyes of your soul to intellectually and spiritually engage the music that touches the deepest part of what it means to be human. To those who do not consider themselves believers, this book will go a long way in helping explain why U2’s music seems to scratch an unidentifiable itch. (xiii)

That’s all for now. I’m in the middle of listening to Boy as I prepare for chapter one. Go pick up this book!

Books, Theology, U2

It can change the world inside your head…

In my inbox this morning was the following article via Relevant’s 850 Words Newsletter It is written by Steve Stockman, author of Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2. The revised edition of the book is in stores today. Enjoy this great article.

As the author of Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2 and a pastor who has studied and preached from the U2 canon for more than 20 years, I’m often asked to speak about the band.

I have noticed that after my most recent talks on U2 here in North America, there are less questions about whether the band members really are Christians. That suggests to me that people are beginning to listen and discern instead of getting hung up on whether the music is “Christian.” However, there is still something suspicious in the evangelical psyche that is still not quite sure of how to view the world’s biggest rock band. One of the most frequently asked questions from these recent talks has been, “But how much do you think U2 has changed things?”

It is an interesting question and one that needs to be asked on a wider scale. In a world dominated by the arts in general and music in particular, how much impact does it all have? Can music really transform things? Do the arts have a function other than simply to dress or decorate the culture? The traditional approach within the Church has been to minimize any positive contribution that the arts can make but, in a bizarre contradiction, publish books about the bad influence rock music has on our youth. For many years, the cinema was an anathema, and many people grew up without televisions. The obvious reason was that these things could transform for the worse, but no one ever looked at their power for the better.

Marshall McLuhan, the great Canadian expert on the media, once said, “Anyone who thinks there is a difference between education and entertainment doesn’t know the first thing about either.” Another common phrase that people share with me at the end of a lecture is, “I have been listening to U2 for years and had no idea that there was anything Christian about them.” My immediate concern is not so much that they have missed what U2 has been all about but what other stuff has been sneaking into their brains unawares. Entertainment is packed full of education—not all of it good—and without discerning minds we could be falling for all kinds of poisonous lies conforming us to the pattern of this world.

In the same way, we need to begin to recognize that education that is bland, no matter how sharp it is on truth, will be blunted without an entertaining aspect to its presentation. Immediately there are those who will question my belief in the truth and the power of God’s Word to accomplish all that God intends for it. So let us ask ourselves about God’s truth and about how He communicated the Word to His people. Even a casual look at the Scriptures will show that God has always had similar views to McLuhan when it comes to education, entertainment and art.

The range of art forms used by God to share His truth is all encompassing. From the artwork of creation through stories, poetry, songs, literature, parables as well as dramas lived out and recorded—all topping the twists, turns and emotional involvement of any Hollywood blockbuster—God used the arts. Indeed, how closely related the education and entertainment are in the Scriptures might lead us to McLuhan’s most famous phrase, “The medium is the message.” In terms of Scripture, both are certainly intrinsically linked.

The use of the arts thus becomes a biblical model and mandate. Whether it was David playing music to soothe the soul of Saul or the prophets using poetry or drama to rage at the people of God or Jesus using parables to bring in the radical thinking of a new kingdom, these art forms made their impact and transformed things. For the last few hundred years, modernism has made the means of communication more objective and left the need for the arts outside the place of learning. Something has happened in the last 20 years to bring the subjective back with a vengeance. This is not some new heresy but simply the end of the systematic blip. The arts are back—more important than they have been for some time and as important as they should always be.

So does U2 change things? That’s a silly question. All entertainment does. None of it is neutral. Bono himself said recently, “Music can change the world. It can change the world inside your head; it changed my little bedroom when I was a kid. And it can change the world.” The U2 frontman is a believer. He has belief in many things. In the current Vertigo tour, Bono has been speaking of his belief that the people at the concerts can make a difference. He has been encouraging them to join the ONE campaign, wear their MAKING POVERTY HISTORY wristband and phone presidents and prime ministers and anyone in political power. Bono even exerts a belief in these shady politicians, never doubting that they want to do what is best in making poverty history but need public swell of opinion to help them achieve it. And, of course, his belief in God has fired his prophetic rage to be involved in these issues and also leads him to believe that miracles can make the seemingly impossible, possible.

This quote from Bono is a confession of his belief in the power of music and art in this process. Anyone who has been at a Vertigo concert will readily confess to the inspirational energizing spirit for good that wells inside your heart, soul and mind during and after the concert. Here are guys who entertain but are very much aware of the need to educate. Have they changed things? Profoundly in this one life of mine, but in the next year we might find that the entire world saw poverty become history. Don’t underestimate their contribution.

As U2 adds Live 8 to its European tour dates, hoping to squeeze London into the afternoon of their Vienna gig, can we believe that music and art have any power to change things? I think the answer is a resounding “yes.”

What an amzing thought. Not that U2 can make a difference but that anyone can. Sure, Bono uses his stage (literally) to speak about important issues that are close to his heart but, what about your stage? Your office? Your coworkers? What is burning a hole in your heart? Do those around you know you deepest longings? Make a difference. If 4 friends from Dublin matter, so do you!

Note: Don’t forget that Friday is “White Band” day in honor of the ONE Campaign. If you don’t have a white wrist band pull a Chris Martin and write on your hand or use tape around your wrist.