Midweek Meditation: "On the Bible" (Billy Graham)

What has Billy Graham to say about the Bible? Lots.

• "Let the study of the Bible become central in your life - not just so you will know it, but that you will obey it."
• "It is man and not the Bible that needs correcting. Greater and more careful scholarship has shown that apparent contradictions were caused by incorrect translations, rather than divine inconsistencies."
• "The sword of the Spirit - the Bible - is the weapon God has provided for us to use in this battle between truth and deception. Make it a priority to wield that sword skillfully."
• "When we approach the Bible as history and biography, we approach the Bible in the wrong spirit. We must read the Bible, not primarily as historians seeking information, but as men and women seeking God."
• "Man is precisely what the Bible says he is. Human nature is behaving exactly as the Bible said it would. The course of human history is flowing just as Christ predicted."

BookPastor >> "Ministry Mantras" (J.R. Briggs and Bob Hyatt)

This review was first published at Panorama of a Book Saint on March 16th, 2017.

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TITLE: Ministry Mantras: Language for Cultivating Kingdom Culture
AUTHOR: J.R. Briggs and Bob Hyatt
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2016, (269 pages).

A mantra is a short word, phrase, or a chant. It can be a proverb or a wise saying. Inspired by Guy Kawasaki's words "Don't write a mission statement, write a mantra," authors Briggs and Hyatt have taken up the challenge to do just that for the Church ministry and Christian ministries in general. Writing a mantra forces one to choose only the most appropriate and significant words to project a thought or a meaning. It brings clarity to the hearers by first bringing clarity to the writers. According to the authors, mantras need four elements.

1. It is wise and truthful
2. The message is clear
3. It is compelling
4. It is memorable

A ministry mantra is basically describing the organizational mission or vision in a brief statement. It is important because its simplicity promotes clarity; clarity encourages creativity; and creativity inspires ease of communications. Briggs and Hyatt call it "the proverbial seeds of kingdom values planted in local communities of faith." They structure this book in 80 short chapters, with each chapter titled with a mantra. They supply mantras in two parts: for leaders and for the community. For leaders, there are sections pertaining to leadership; vision; motivation; ministry; pastoral care; leadership development; opportunities; success; and Self-Development. For the community, they write on matters to promote community; formation; tips on responding to conflicts; learning to do outreach and stewardship. Many of the mantras have given rise to creative thinking and opportunities to think out of the box. Some of my favourites are:

• "Leadership is Purposefully Choosing Whom You will disappoint"
• "Structure must always submit to Spirit"
• "Don't Try to make Church relevant to the crowds; Make the Gospel Relatable to the Context"
• "If they know you love them, you can say anything to them"
• "Ministry is Meeting People where they are and Journeying with them to where God wants them to Be "
• "Ministry happens in the interruptions"
• "The essence of discipleship i snot knowledge, but imitation"
• "Quit looking for leaders and start building them"
• "It's kingdom, not competition"
• "We will let you down: If we're close enough to help, we're close enough to hurt"
• "Community is made, not found"
• "Rotate your crops"
• "Church is free, but it ain't cheap"

Mantras are languages spoken or written in a clear and brief manner. It cuts away the spaghetti of mass information to yield an important point. While we can always say that context is important, being able to communicate something is better than people disengaging completely. In an attention-deficit world, many are jumping on the bandwagon of short quips and easy quotes. They prefer abbreviations and straight to the point messages. They have no time to bother with long essays. Reading has also taken a beating, with more people choosing electronic media over print. This is why I believe books like this will reach a segment of readers in a way that traditional books could not. It is a great resource for leaders to learn how to do ministry without letting unrealistic expectations overwhelm them. The mantras does three things.

First, it challenges our set thinking. Just because things have been done a certain way in the past does not mean it must be so for the present and future. Indeed, churches that are struggling tend to look back at the good-old-days, forgetting that the past can never be repeated in new contexts. By shaking up the status quo, leaders are forced to be creative and innovative in their ministry approaches. This does not mean throwing the past away. It means being open to change. This openness enables us to humbly seek God for what is best for the Church or ministry. Second. it helps us think out of the box. The ideas like "disagreeing without disengaging" forces us to learn how to disagree without running away from the disagreement altogether. For every conflict, there is a chance to learn more about the other parties and ourselves. Learning to work together is a core need in the Church. If churches fail to work together, what kind of a testimony will that present to outsiders? Third, the book may comprise of brief chapters but what it lacks in depth it more than compensates in the breadth of coverage of issues in ministry. 

JR Briggs is founder of Kairos Partnership and calls himself the Pastor/Cultural Cultivator of Renew Community. He has previously written a book entitled "Fail." Bob Hyatt is author, coach, and spiritual director. He is pastor and elder at the Everygreen Community as well as a staff member with Ecclesia Network.

Rating: 5 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Inter-Varsity Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

Midweek Meditation: "On Addiction" (Billy Graham)

In memory of the late Billy Graham, for the next two months, each Wednesday weekly will contain quotes from the famous evangelist.

• "Every generation becomes more addicted to the sedatives of life, to dull the pain of living."
• "Many people turn to alcohol to try to drown the cries and longings of the soul. Others attempt to quiet the longings of their souls in other ways. Nothing but God ever completely satisfies, because the soul is made for God."
• "Drinking has become one of the most serious social problems. It is basically the result of an attempt to escape from the responsibilities and realities of life."
• "This self-confident generation has produced more alcoholics, more drug addicts, more criminals, more wars, more broken homes, more assaults, more embezzlements, more murders, and more suicides, . . . . . it is time that we place less confidence in ourselves and more trust and faith in God."
• One of the characteristics of some drugs (such as cocaine) is that they make a person feel strong and alert - when in fact the opposite is the case. Don't allow yourself to be deceived."

BookPastor >> "Understanding the Culture" (Jeff Myers)

This review was first published at Panorama of a Book Saint on Mar 27th, 2017.

conrade

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TITLE: Understanding the Culture: A Survey of Social Engagement
AUTHOR: Jeff Myers
PUBLISHER: Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook Publishers, 2017, (576 pages).

This book is the third of a trilogy of books about understanding the world we live in.  The first is "Understanding the Faith" which deals with a survey of Apologetics, about how we can share the faith with others. It helps us to understand the place of theology and apologetics.The second is "Understanding the Times" which deals with the various popular worldviews existing today. Not only does it help us understand the different religious and existing worldviews, it gives us a chance to appreciate the biblical Christian worldview more. This is the third book which deals with specific topics regarding culture. It deals with common needs that we encounter every day. Topics like:

• Technology
• Arts and Entertainment
• Value of Human Life
• Sexuality
• Marriage
• Creation Care
• Politics
• Religious Freedom and Persecution
• Poverty Care, Poverty Cure
• Use of Force
• Justice
• Community Renewal

Midweek Encouragement: "What Will Matter" (Michael Josephson)

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.
All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.
So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won't matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end.
It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built; not what you got, but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success, but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.

What will matter is not your competence, but your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you're gone.
What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident.
It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice.
Choose to live a life that matters.

BookPastor >> "The Spirituality of Paul" (Leslie Hardin)

This review was first published at Panorama of a Book Saint on March 20th, 2017.

conrade

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TITLE: The Spirituality of Paul: Partnering with the Spirit in Everyday Life
AUTHOR: Leslie Hardin
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2016, (192 pages).

We have all heard of the famous Apostle Paul, how he turned from persecutor to persecuted; from Judaism to Christianity; from Pharisaic behaviour to Christlike follower. He is a theologian, a disciple, and a powerful orator. He is a visionary who has "intense religious" experiences." Much have been written about Paul, his epistles, his history, and the many heroic descriptions of his life. The same however cannot be said about his inner life. What is Pauline spirituality? How is the Apostle's spiritual life? What can we learn from Paul with regard to Christian Spirituality or Spiritual Formation? Is there a way in which we can find out about how Paul lives in the Spirit? Are the epistles in the Bible sufficient for us to understand Paul's spirituality? Compounded by the fact that ancient writers seldom write about themselves, it makes the task of describing Paul's inner life more challenging. Moreover, the purpose of Paul's letters is more about God's will for the Church and for the people he had been called to minister to. In this book, author Leslie Hardin gleans most of his material from Paul's epistles and the book of Acts. The others comprise secondary sources, other scholarly works, and historical evidence. He looks at nine spiritual disciplines before outlining the six marks of Paul's spirituality. These nine disciplines are:

Midweek Meditation: "The Perfect Church" (Mavis Williams)

The Perfect Church

If you should find the perfect church
Without one fault or smear,
For goodness sake! Don't join that church;
You'd spoil the atmosphere. 

If you should find the perfect church
Where all anxieties cease
Then pass it by, lest joining it
You'd mar the masterpiece. 

If you should find the perfect church
Then don't you ever dare,
To tread upon such holy ground;
You'd be a misfit there. 

But since no perfect church exists
Made of imperfect men,
Then let's cease looking for that church
And love the church we're in. 

Of course, it's not a perfect church,
That's simple to discern
But you and I and all of us
Could cause the tide to turn. 

What fools we are to flee our post
In that unfruitful search
To find at last where problems loom
God proudly builds His church. 

So let's keep working in our church
Until the resurrection.
And then we each will join that church
Without an imperfection.

--Mavis Williams