Book Review: "The Grace of God" (Andy Stanley)

TITLE: The Grace of God
Author: Andy Stanley
Published: Thomas-Nelson, 2010.
Reviewed by: Conrade Yap

This is by far one of the best books on the subject of grace. Arguably, it can be even be ranked together with Philip Yancey's "What's So Amazing About Grace?" Deeply biblical, highly applicable and wonderfully quotable, Stanley has given the Christian public a wonderful and important gift with insights on God's grace in the Old Testament and the New Testament. He starts off well by addressing the position of grace.

"When we are on the receiving end, grace is refreshing. When it is required of us, it is often disturbing. But when correctly applied, it seems to solve just about everything. Contrary to what is sometimes taught, the opposite of grace is not law. As we will discover, God's law is actually an extension of grace. The opposite of grace is simply the absence of grace. " (xiii)

What the Book is About

Grace acknowledges both the seriousness of sin, as well as the magnaminity of grace and mercy. The whole Bible is in itself a Tour de France of grace. Stanley highlights the essence of grace through the biblical characters of Adam, Abraham, Judah, Joshua, Rahab, David, Jonah, Nicodemus, Samaritans, Paul and others. He packs his insights by allowing the reader to walk their doubts alongside. Gently, like popping the lid of a coffee can, he acknowledges the hard Mosaic laws God seems to demand out of the Israelites. Then he guides us to appreciate the aroma of grace coming off the laws of God, to reveal the heart of the law: God's grace. One of my favourite quotes deal with the purpose of discipline, and how God's law is an extension of grace.

"To a child all discipline feels like a curse, but to the parent, it's a way to teach two important lessons: disobedience has consequences, and obedience leads to freedom." (15)

My Comments
I love the way Stanley weaves in his interpretation of the Old Testament narratives through the lens of grace. He makes the ancient Old Testament books come alive with fresh and modern new applications. One of my favourites is the way he expounds the Ten Commandments.

"... the Ten Commandments do no stand in contrast to grace; they are introduced within the story of God's grace." (53)

For those who sees the Old Testament as a rigid rule book, it will be important to remember that the Israel of old does not have any laws like we do in modern times. In other words, at a time when Israel is in disarray and without law and order, God by his grace and mercy gave them laws to keep their own house in order. Giving the law is an act of grace.

Personally, I think that while Stanley does well in the Old Testament exposition on grace, the part from the New Testament is not as strong, except for the final chapter on the parable of the Prodigal Son. This last chapter, "How Sweet the Sound" is worth the price of the book. Now I learn to read that parable as the parable of the two sons instead.

This book is definitely my book of the month for November.

conrade

"Book has been provided courtesy of Thomas Nelson and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available October 2010 at your favourite bookseller."

Remembering Reformation Day - Oct 31st, 1517

Last Sunday was Reformation Sunday. Here is a cute video on what 'actually happened,' when Martin Luther pinned the 95 theses on the doors of Wittenburg on October 31st, 1517. This landmark day spawned the famous Reformation in the 16th Century.

How to Help the Grieving

TITLE: How To Help the Grieving
Written by: Conrade Yap
Date: 4 Nov 2010

“Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)

MAIN POINT: Three precious verbs to comfort the grieving. Use the LUV paradigm. Listen to them. Understand them. Value them that they are loved.

This week has been a challenge. One of my Church members are grieving right now, having lost their daughter. It is a time to grieve. It is a time to cry and mourn together. In times like these, sometimes we would like to help. We like to do some comforting, and maybe offer a word of encouragement. Despite our best intentions, we can fumble in our various ways. Clumsy words. Inappropriate actions. It happens. A popular question pops up regularly: How do we grieve and mourn with those who mourn?

Short answer: "If in doubt, shut up!"

I have gone through mourning. I mourn over the loss of my dad. I mourn over the deaths of dear friends. I mourn the loss of my peers. Mourning is a part of life. It represents a down moment for me. Sometimes, it makes me uncomfortable. I would rather get up and running, leaping in joyful deeds than to be stuck in the rut of helpless situations. Yet, grief and mournful times is a deep part of what it means to be human. Let me try to offer some tips for those of us wanting to help. I call it LUV.

Enjoying my Kindle

I'm enjoying my Kindle. I have visited the Amazon site more often than usual because of the ever increasing range of ebooks available. One of the coolest things is the availability of newly published books, both fiction and non-fiction that I can download, read like a book, and pay no postage! I'd thought that purchasing used books on the Amazon marketplace is the cheapest possible. However, the rapid download and not having to pay for delivery is simply irresistible. Here are some of my favourite links which I like to share with you.

1) Bestselling lists (including free ones) on Amazon Kindle - here

2) Direct Kindle Books Search on Amazon - here

3) Free eBook classics - here

4) New releases on Kindle - here

5) Free Books on Amazon Kindle - here

6) Free Books on "Religion & Spirituality" - here

7) Free Books on "Christianity" - here

8) Bibles - here

9) Books on the Knob (**Great resource for newly released books)

10) Free Christian-themed books on Kindle (updated regularly here)


With all the wonders of technology like the Kindle, all its capability, there is one problem: I think I am more fascinated with what the Kindle can do, than the actual content per se. Blah!

conrade

Leaving Church for Something Inferior?

TITLE: Leaving Church for Something Inferior?
Written by: Conrade Yap
Date: 27 Oct 2010

Throughout history, movements appear to follow a peculiar 5-stage trend. First, it begins with an uphill struggle for survival among the convicted minority. Second, once a certain critical mass is formed, it becomes a steady climb to reach a state of stability. Third, after the victory parade and the champagnes are shared around, complacency steps in. After all the battles have been fought, people lay down their combative arms and fall into a state of passivity. Why rock the boat? Why create another reason to fight? Live and let live. Fourth, with complacency comes a sense of boredom. Those who cared criticize. Those who don't care, leave. Insecure leaders see criticisms as a form of non-compliance. New battle lines are now drawn INSIDE the once victorious movement. Finally, while trying to maintain the status quo, soon the movement tapers downwards and shrinks in numbers. In some cases, members quit and leave the movement in droves.

Last week, I hear of another Church in the neighborhood that is planning to shut its doors for good. It belongs to a mainline denomination, albeit a shrinking one. The congregation comprises mostly the elderly folks. The young are non-existent. The past structures are there, maintained by a present congregation that is fast aging, moving toward a future that is increasingly non-existent.

On October 17th, 2010, LA Times published an article that gives another angle why people are leaving Churches in droves. It points to religion that dabbles with politics as the key reason for shrinking churches. It says that 'rapidly increasing numbers of young people are rejecting it (religion).' Preferring to choose no-religion as their defacto status, young people are not only not believing, but are finding all kinds of reasons to support their default non-religious affiliation. While the article "Walking Away From Church" hones in on the mixing of religion into political arena as the reason why the young feels turned off, I think the problem is more serious. Politics is not the main reason. It is spiritual apathy fed by religious superficiality.

A) Spiritual Apathy
Why are the young less accepting of religious matters? Why are there more old people than young in many traditional Churches nowadays? Even Churches that try to stay 'relevant' to the young are not getting lots of results. The reason is I believe is 'prosperity.' Francis Chan, in his book Crazy Love, talks about the chief cause of lukewarm Christianity. He identifies 'prosperity' as the main culprit. This reminds me of Jesus' warning to the rich man.

And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." (Matt 19:23-24, ESV)

Twice, Jesus mentions the man as 'rich.' This is so consistent with human nature. Remember the LORD's warning to Israel, 'lest you forget?'

“And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. (Deut 6:10-12, ESV)

Spiritual apathy begins with forgetfulness. When people are full, the temptation to look away from the LORD is the greatest. Material satisfaction can dangerously water down or numb our sense of spiritual hunger.

B) Religious Superficiality
This is a big one. In the previous section, when people are filled with riches, and are full, they are tempted to look elsewhere for other forms of satisfaction. Here, the opportunity to fill people with solid foundational grounding is missed when we swim only in the baby pool of religious superficiality. We fail to equip the people to swim in deeper waters. Even though people have a propensity to resist change, leaders need to make earnest attempts to exhort the people toward solid teaching and learning to move beyond their comfort zone. This calls for sacrifice. This calls for diligence. This calls for prayer.

We need to embark upon developing a culture of discipleship. We need to establish role models at all levels. We need to plant strategic persons throughout the Church to be catalysts of change. We need to be prepared to make sacrifices on our comfort levels.

C) Secularism on the Rise?
It seems to me that secularism as an alternative to religion is a poor one. More likely, people who leave Churches and embracing secularism are not simply leaving for the sake of leaving. They are disgusted with the established religious institutions. This is what drives them to choose secularism, and not secularism per se.

The reason why I think secularism is a poor one is because it does not offer much hope for the future. It provides little comfort for pain and suffering in this world. It has no person that is in the same league as Jesus Christ. It has a very short history, and mainly exists as an anti-thesis to religion. Simply put, take away religion, and you would have removed mainstream secularism, often defined as a NO-RELIGION. In other words, its identity still depends on the word 'religion.' I think it is only a matter of time, once secularism runs out of gas, people will be looking for another alternative. Any alternative that does not culminate in the rest of God, will ultimately be futile. The wise man in Ecclesiastes has discovered it the hard way. Learn from him.

So why are people leaving Churches? Putnam and Campbell identified political interference by religious circles. I think that it itself is just scratching the surface. Spiritual apathy and religious superficiality are the hidden huge icebergs below that can sink not only the Titanic but the entire movement.

conrade

Leadership Is An Attitude

Yesterday, we had an interesting discussion about leadership in the Church. Together we tackled the issue of leadership, and the apparent lack of leaders we see in many places, not just internally. The sermon during the morning was on 1 Tim 3:1-16, an excellent passage about spiritual leadership. The discussion was lively, with a general feeling that we need more rather than a lack of leaders.

A) What the Sermon Touched On
The pastor addressed 3 main groups of people, those who are currently leaders, those who are potential leaders, and those who are being led.

For existing leaders, the exhortation is to take one's responsibility seriously, and to treat it as a serious matter rather than a hobby. This is such an important reminder. I remember times when people treats 'volunteer' positions with less urgency than 'paid' work. That is a total misconception about spiritual leadership. Monetary compensation should not even figure in such areas. If we are to apply Paul's instructions in this case, about not 'lovers of money,' such people should be removed from their leadership.

For potential leaders, the pastor urged a serious consideration of willingness to step up when called. As far as we are concerned, all of us are potential leaders, albeit in different ways. For a start, we are leaders at home. We hold leadership areas even in project management at work. We maintain a leadership stance when serving the community by giving feedback, directions and recommendations to the public at large. For Paul, the role of leadership (as overseer) is a noble task. This simply means it is a good and worthy cause.

For the rest of us, do not be too quick to disqualify ourselves from leadership. A major role we can play is to pray for our leaders regularly. Hold our leaders accountable by being willing to question policies that are not in line with biblical principles. Do not simply be dumb sheep misled by false teachers. Be discerning.

B) Leadership as an Attitude
I propose that we learn to see leadership not as a position or some spiritual ribbon to be won and worn upon our lapels. Leadership is most importantly an attitude. Ask anybody if they fit the bill according to 1 Tim 3? Chances are, modesty takes over. Heads dip. Eyes look elsewhere. People start to be embarrassed even to raise their hands. No one wants to be accused of pride or boastfulness. Should a method will not work in leader recruitment.

What about leadership as an attitude of willingness? Are we willing to be considered to be an overseer? Are we willing to desire a noble task? Are we willing to be faithful and to be man of one wife, or wife of one husband? Are we willing to be temperate? Are we willing to be self-controlled? Are we willing to be respectable? Are we willing to show hospitality? Are we willing to learn to teach? Are we willing to strongly resist drunkenness, violence and the love of money? Are we determined to manage our own family well? Simply put, are we willing to obey the call to leadership, and to prepare to be called? If we are willing to any of them, we become a leader in the making. This is the biggest application of this passage of scripture.

C) Leadership is Not Open-Shelf Shopping
Leaders are seldom found but groomed. They are not caught from the sky but taught from among us. Very seldom can we get someone outside and expect them to fit in our existing culture. Churches who have done that will readily testify to the difficulty in getting the right person for the task. Before we venture outside, look inside. Before we assume an open-shelf shopping mentality on the leadership market outside,  remember that there is no such thing as a born leader. There are more leaders in the making than leaders already made. The simple reason is that every context and situation is different. Leaders who have been successful in one area may not necessarily be equally successful in another.

Leaders are made and those who are willing to learn are one of the best leaders in the making. Someone once said:

"It is not the aptitude or the altitude but the attitude that will make a difference."

This is perhaps the single biggest application for 1 Tim 3:16. We may aspire for leadership (altitude). We may lead with skills and talents we have (aptitude). Those alone are never enough. We need an attitude of 'setting our hearts' on desiring God, to serve God faithfully in whatever contexts we live in. Leaders lead by example in firstly leading their own selves. How can anyone who cannot manage his own life lead others? Only with a right attitude can one not only lead himself, he can also lead others toward God.

Seek Christ wholly. Help others seek Christ solely. Until we can all live out our seeking, by becoming Christlike in all our ways. Leadership as an attitude is to lead by a lifestyle of glorifying God in all we do. This is attitude and requirement for spiritual leadership.

Leadership is an attitude.

conrade

My Kindle 3 Review

TITLE: My Kindle 3 Review
Reviewed by Conrade Yap
Date: 15 Oct 2010

I received my Kindle 3earlier this month. It came in a 7.5” length x 9.5” breadth x 2.5” depth box. The packaging is simple with a small USB connector charger, a folded 8-page quick start booklet and a Kindle. I ordered the basic Wifi-only model.

I am impressed with the size of the Kindle. Weighing at only 8.5 oz (about 240g), and only a third of an inch, the Kindle is a pleasure to hold. The page left and right buttons are conveniently located on both sides of the handheld device. Due to its lightweight, it is easy on the hands and makes a wonderful bedtime reading device. The best part of the Kindle is the extremely comfortable text reading contrast on the screen. It is not as glaring or as heavy as the Apple iPAD. It weighs like an average paperback. Under bright sunlight, the Kindle works like a charm, and reads even better than a normal paper book.

BIBLES
I enjoy reading my Bible on the Kindle. Some of them like HCSB, GOD’s WORD, are free. Others like the KJV, the NASB, and the NET Bible are quite reasonably priced. This is the single biggest reason why I bought the Kindle. The ease of referencing Bibles, commentaries, even the orignal Greek and Hebrew texts.

STRENGTHS OF THE KINDLE

• Light and easy to carry;
• Text quality is superb; The e-Ink technology is by far the most impressive;
• Easy to download ebooks; Though Amazon markets it under a minute, most of the time it is within 20 seconds;
• The buttons are nice to press, though it can be a little too tiny for those with thick fingers;
• There is a convenient MP3 player and a slot for listening via headphones;
• The text-to-speech function is a nice thing to have;
• Its battery life is superb (up to a month);
• Wifi functionality is a nice-to-have, better than the earlier versions.
• The PDF functionality is great.
• eBooks can typically be downloaded up to 6 separate devices. Thus, even if we lose the Kindle, we can always re-download the purchased books back onto our replacement devices or on free Kindle applications on the PC/Mac/iPad.

WEAKNESSES

• Its range of books on the Kindle Store is still smaller compared to its closest competitor, the Nook (Barnes and Noble);
• The WiFi functionality while nice to have is too slow. I tried using GMAIL and have problems navigating the cursor to logout;
• The page flips like it is blinking. I would have preferred the flipping to resemble more like leafing action rather than a black/white blinking effect.
• After having it for 2 weeks, the first time the Kindle appears to crash is when the screen turns up ‘blank’ and then asks me to re-download my purchased books from Amazon Store. Thankfully I had WiFi at that time, otherwise I would have been caught offguard when I could not retrieve any of my ebooks.
• No light. Thus no reading in dimmer environments.
• At US$139 per Kindle, losing the device can be painful. People may not steal a book, but they can quickly spirit away the little e-Reader when one is not looking.
• No numerical keys on the keypad. Thus typing numbers takes a few more clicks.

My Verdict
Given that the strengths outweigh the weaknesses, I would say that the Kindle 3 surpasses my expectations. I will expect that the next level of improvements ought to be the quality of the ebooks, that they be made easier to browse and to navigate, especially Bibles. Somehow, the Kindle seems to fits readers of fiction rather than non-fiction. Anyway, with the introduction of this new generation of Kindle, I believe that the eBook industry is poised to grow astronomically.  Yet, the traditional book is still something I prefer, despite the advances of the eReaders. Perhaps having both is the way to go.

By the way, if you do decide to buy a Kindle, do buy it by clicking here or on the links on this website. That way, I get about 4% credit for me to buy more books.  It costs nothing extra for you, but it helps me out. Thanks in advance.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade