Fasting

“Fasting” by Scot Mcknight, published by Thomas Nelson


By the number of books published in the last few years, fasting has become a popular subject. Mcknight in this book believes that people fast for the wrong reasons. He believes that fasting is a ‘natural, inevitable response of a person to a grievous sacred moment in life’. We do not fast for the purpose of manipulating God or for certain expected results. Fasting is a natural thing that happens and should occur during times of grief such as the death of a loved one, sickness, sin, fear etc. He uses scripture, along with some early church practices, to back up and to support his definition.

He also believes that fasting is one of the most misunderstood of the Christian disciplines. The reason being that we have either lost or distorted the ancient idea of there being a unity between body and spirit. We have made a dichotomy between the 2, thus making the body evil and the spirit good (dualism). He goes on to show through scripture the unity that exist between body and spirit.

In his explanation and use of scripture to show the unity of body and spirit he fails to mention or use the verses in
1Co 6:13,18 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body….Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. An explanation of the meaning of these verses would have been nice and would have went along way in showing the unity of body and spirit.

I liked that he emphasised the fact that fasting is only food and drink related it is not doing without TV, facebook or some other item of interest. Those type of things that we do without he calls abstentance but not fasting.
He also ties fasting in with the church calendar and the practice of fasting among the early church, to encourage us to pick up/ start the practice of fasting.
The writer mentioned his feeling of hypocrisy as he was writing on the subject of ‘fasting’ then taking a break for lunch. I can understand those feelings for I felt the same way in just reading the book. This is not a book that you can read and set aside without putting it into practice.

Odds and Ends

Here are a few things (web sites, books, movies etc.) that I have enjoyed so far this year, and thought I would recommend them to you.

2 great movies I have watched this year: "Inception"- w/ DeCaprio it is about getting inside a persons dreams. This is a good movie with good special effects. I wish I had seen it at the theatres.
"The Social Network"- Great movie about 'Facebook'. Alot better than what I thought it would be and I will watch it again.

Favorite book: "Nudge" by Leonard Sweet. It is about nudging people toward God instead of pushing them. It is about using your senses to discern where God is and how He is moving in other peoples lives. (I hope to share some quotes from the book in a few weeks)

A helpful website for checking out non-profits and charity organizations that you may be interested in giving to is  http://www.charitynavigator.org/   I like it because it tells you how much money goes to the actual cause or need and how much goes toward fund-raising and the CEO etc. Some groups I will not give to nor endorse because their CEO makes too much for my liking (eg. Franklin Graham of 'Samaritans Purse' is paid over a half million dollars salary per year)

Another website/tool I have just discovered is http://www.evernote.com/  It is a place to store notes, pictures etc. etc. I have not yet discovered how to use everything, but so far it is great.

Holy Communion

“The Sacred Meal” by Nora Gallagher, one of eight books in, ‘The Ancient Practices Series’, published by Thomas Nelson.

This is a book about holy communion, the eucharist, the Lords supper or whatever you may want to call it. It is a time when the church celebrates the last supper with wine/grape juice and bread/cracker which symbolizes the body and blood of Jesus, which was shed for our sins. Some churches celebrate this weekly, some quarterly and others (like our church) on occasion.

This book is not a deep theological treatise on the meaning of the elements, nor is it a polemic in trying to convince us how often and what mode communion should be served. For the most part it is a book of practical, real life, stories in which the author ties in or at least tries to tie in the meaning of communion.

In the very first chapter the author shares the story of a family, who had just been notified, that their daughter was lost in a possible airplane crash. As many were searching and praying for the lost plane, communion was a web that stitched them all together, the human with the divine.

In other areas she shares stories to show that communion is a practice that makes us both aware of sin and makers of Gods kingdom. It helps us to understand that we are recipients of Gods blessing, Gods favor-grace.

Some choice quotes from the book include:

-“Transformation occurs in encounters, sometimes better named collisions, either with the self or with others or with the holy.” P.60
- “…communion is an act of the imagination” p.94
- “To be exalted by heavenly standards is to urge others to be exalted, too, to share in the bounty of being loved and loving.” P.128

This book will not make you change any of your communion/eucharist rituals but it may help you see communion in a number of different ways.

Great words from a man while He was in Jail

Today is the day we celebrate Martin Luther King's birthday and the cause he championed, racial equality. Since many conservative evangelicals were on the wrong side of the race issue decades ago, I think it is helpful to read some of the words that came out of that Birmingham jail. The letter was in response to several white religious leaders and an open letter they published, A Call for Unity.

Wikipedia explains:
The Letter from Birmingham Jail or Letter from Birmingham City Jail, also known as The Negro Is Your Brother, is an open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King, Jr., an American civil rights leader. King wrote the letter from the city jail in Birmingham, Alabama, where he was confined after being arrested for his part in the Birmingham campaign...

King's letter is a response to a statement made by eight white Alabama clergymen on April 12, 1963, titled "A Call For Unity". The clergymen agreed that social injustices existed but argued that the battle against racial segregation should be fought solely in the courts, not in the streets. King responded that without nonviolent forceful direct actions such as his, true civil rights could never be achieved. As he put it, "This 'Wait' has almost always meant 'Never.'" He asserted that not only was civil disobedience justified in the face of unjust laws, but that "one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws."

Here are parts of that letter:

I received a letter this morning from a white brother in Texas which said, "All Christians know that the colored people will receive equal rights eventually, but is it possible that you are in too great of a religious hurry? It has taken Christianity almost 2000 years to accomplish what it has. The teachings of Christ take time to come to earth." All that is said here grows out of a tragic misconception of time. It is the strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills. Actually, time is neutral. It can be used either destructively or constructively. I am coming to feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. We must come to see that human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and persistent work of men willing to be coworkers with God, and without this hard work time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation...

I have heard numerous religious leaders of the South call upon their worshipers to comply with a desegregation decision because it is the law, but I have longed to hear white ministers say, follow this decree because integration is morally right and the Negro is your brother. In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churches stand on the sidelines and merely mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard so many ministers say, "Those are social issues which the gospel has nothing to do with," and I have watched so many churches commit themselves to a completely otherworldly religion which made a strange distinction between bodies and souls, the sacred and the secular.

There was a time when the church was very powerful. It was during that period that the early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was the thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Wherever the early Christians entered a town the power structure got disturbed and immediately sought to convict them for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators." But they went on with the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven" and had to obey God rather than man. They were small in number but big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." They brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contest.

Things are different now. The contemporary church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's often vocal sanction of things as they are.
But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century.

taken from http://www.edstetzer.com/

Priceless- A book Recommendation

“Priceless: A Novel on the Edge of the World” A novel which I generally never read and usually don’t like. But this is one I can highly recommend, I could not put it down once I started it. It is a story of an American photojournalist who travels to Russian for an assignment, but ends up involved in a bigger job than he ever expected. He becomes involved in trying to free girls, specifically orphans, who are caught up in the sex trade/slave business.


The author, Tom Davis, is president of ‘Children’s Hope Chest’ a organization that helps care for orphans in a number of different countries (www.hopechest.org)

I enjoyed this book so well I am tempted to get his other novel, “Scared:A Novel on the Edge of the World”

Accountability

In a national survey by the Barna Group among people who describe themselves as Christian and involved in a church discovered that only 5% indicated that their church does anything to hold them accountable for integrating biblical beliefs and principles into their life. http://www.barna.org/

The scripture states, "Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow" (Hebrews 13:17, NLT).


I think it is interesting that in the mega church there seems to be no accountability of the leaders and in the small churches the people want to hold the pastor accountable but do not want the pastor to hold them accountable

Chasing Francis

“Chasing Francis” by Ian Morgan Cron and published by Navpress

This is a novel about a mega-church pastor who becomes disillusioned with rational, church as usual, Christianity. He takes time away from his church to visit his Franciscan priest, uncle in Italy. He then is taken on a journey to visit places and the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi, which revitalizes his faith. He returns to share his new found faith and his new vision for the church, only to be voted out of his church.

The pastors new vision is born from 5 words that is the essence of the teachings of St. Francis: transcendence, community, beauty, dignity and meaning.

I am not big into reading novels, but I was looking forward to reading this one because I thought it would apply some of the teachings of St. Francis in a more practical way, even though in a fictional account. I was disappointed. The book talks about his teachings but fails to bring it home. For instance, talking about Francis living for the poor, the best it could say for us is that we should learn to live more simply-What does that mean?

I appreciate the stance many in the church are taking against materialism and our consumerist life styles. But why wont someone draw a line? Why don’t the church be specific and say to purchase this item or to live in this size house or to drive this type of car is a indication of greed and materialism? The apostle Paul told the church at Corinth not to associate with covetous people. So that would indicate that the church knew who would be covetous. So, who do we say today is covetous? Have you ever heard of a church disciplining a member because they were coveting? When is enough enough?

With that said, if you enjoy novels and are interested in some of the basic teachings of St. Francis I would recommend the book. You will probably enjoy it.

Reasons To Work

Reasons to work

1. For the money
2. To be challenged
3. For the pleasure/calling of doing the work
4. For the impact it makes on the world
5. For the reputation you build in the community
6. To solve interesting problems
7. To be part of a group and to experience the mission
8. To be appreciated

Why do we always focus on the first? Why do we advertise jobs or promotions as being generic on items 2 through 8 and differentiated only by #1?

In fact, unless you're a drug kingpin or a Wall Street trader, my guess is that the other factors are at work every time you think about your work.
from www.sethgodin.com

"Outlive Your Life" book review

"OUTLIVE YOUR LIFE” By Max Lucado

Contrary to about everyone else’s taste I am not a big Lucado book fan. For me he is a little too wordy and takes too long to get to the point. In some instances this book is the same way.
This book is also dealing with a popular topic in book publishing circles and among churches these days. That we need to help those who are hurting, we need to be concerned about issues of poverty, hunger, homelessness etc. not just here at home but globally. This book is not the best on these subjects that I have read, but if you are a Lucado fan and have not read up on any of these topics it may be a good place to start.

With that said, the book begins with a fable entitled, “Father Benjamin”. Father Benjamin has died but what he has done is still living. Very touching and motivating story to begin with. Another story I enjoyed was the story of the football team in Texas who did what they could do to cheer and help their opposing team.
The chapter I enjoyed the most was the chapter on hospitality. Where Lucado encourages Gods people to be people of hospitality. He says this,

“Call us a fast society, an efficient society, but don’t call us a personal society. Our society is set up for isolation. We wear earbuds when we exercise. We communicate via e-mail and text messages. We enter and exit our houses with gates and garage-door openers. Our mantra; “I leave you alone. You leave me alone.”
Yet God wants his people to be an exception . Let everyone else go the way of computers and keyboards. God’s children will be people of hospitality.
Long before the church had pulpits and baptisteries, she had kitchens and dinner tables.”

How can so many people say they are Christians?

The newest Barna research confirms that cities in the South have the highest proportion of residents who describe themselves as Christian. Ninety-eight percent of those surveyed in Shreveport self-identified as Christian, as did 96 percent of those in Birmingham and Charlotte and over 90 percent of residents of Nashville, Greenville, SC/Asheville, NC, New Orleans, Little Rock and Memphis.
The lowest number of Christians, according to the study, inhabit the coastal states, particularly in San Francisco (68 percent Christians), Portland, OR (71 percent), Portland, ME (72 percent), Seattle (73 percent), Sacramento (73 percent), New York City (73 percent), San Diego (75 percent), Los Angeles (75 percent), Boston (76 percent), and Miami (78 percent). Even in the states with the lowest percentage of Christians, however, nearly three out of four residents call themselves Christians in every city studied. Additionally, weekly church attendance rates were found to be highest in Birmingham, Baton Rouge, and Salt Lake City, while the largest percentage of unchurched adults reside in San Francisco, Portland, ME, Portland, OR, Albany, Boston, Sacramento, and Seattle. Cities with the largest rates of megachurch attendance included Las Vegas, Orlando, Dallas, San Diego, Tampa-St. Petersburg, and Houston.
The Barna Group, 10/12/10

66 Love Letters

“66 Love Letters: A conversation with God that invites you into His story” by Dr. Larry Crabb published by Thomas Nelson
I like what the author said in the introduction, “The Bible is a love story that begins with a divorce. Everything from the third chapter of Genesis through the end of Revelation is the story of a betrayed lover wooing us back into His arms…”
From there the author attempts to figure out what God is trying to say to us in each book of the Bible. I enjoyed many of the authors insights, especially from the minor prophets. eg. In Amos the writer brings out the idea that the book is about ‘relational sin’ which ‘destroys relationships and eliminates the source of identity and joy.’
In the NT the writer brings out that the word translated ‘prayer’ in the book of Luke means to ‘wish forward’.
There are a lot of good insights from someone who is not a biblical scholar in this book. I would recommend having it on your nightstand to follow along as you read each of the chapters of the Bible.

"ABOUT YOU" Book Review

“About You” by Dick Staub and published by Jossey-Bass. This book is not just about being a Christian, but it is about what being a Christian will do for you- make you fully human. The author covers the topics from creation, to the fall, to our restoration and how all of them effect our humanness and how Christ has come to fully restore us. I particularly liked chapter 7 where the author gives 8 characteristics of what being fully human may look like.

To be fully human means:
1) to seek God and nurture your soul
2) cultivate your mind
3) creativity and excellence in all you do
4) developing In-person relationships in a virtual age
5) means learning to love, forgive and accept each other
6) means to embrace moral and intellectual certitude in a relativistic age
7) Rediscover the proper rhythm of human life
8) means to see the Image of God, value and worth in everyone you meet.

This is a great book. A nice read and easily to be understood. A good book for new Christians, someone wanting to understand what being a Christian is about and your pastor (there is a lot of good preaching material). I would give this book 5 stars.

MEXICO: THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE BEAUTIFUL

10 observations (not in any order of importance) from my recent trip to Mexico

1. Their bigger cities are no different than ours.
2. A wide divide between the rich and the poor. Average person makes $10.00 per day.
3. For the most part the people are content with what they have, though they have nothing of the luxuries that we have.
4. Their churches seem to share some of the same problems that we have eg. What type of music to use in worship.
5. Church location is not a priority. Many churches are in hard to find places.
6. People are very hospitable. Eager and excited to serve visitors.
7. Lots of tortillas and salsa
8. Did not see any overweight people.
9. No toilet seats (Why?)
10. They need a real move of God.

Heresy-"Colors of God"

“Colors of God” by Randall Peters, Dave Phillips, Quentin Steen published by Biblica Publishing. This book is subtitled, ‘Conversations about the Church’. It is a conversation by 3 guys who are part of an emerging church in Canada.


The only thing I can say is that I am glad that I am not part of that church. In chapter 5 Quentin says that they are wanting to deconstruct our modern understanding of the gospel and they propose that their idea is “more faithful to the New Testament, to the scriptures as a whole, and to church history”. I am not sure what NT they are looking at, what scriptures nor whose church history they are reading but it sure does not measure up to the NT, scriptures and church history that I am aware of.

These guys are strong ‘once saved always saved’ believers, no matter what. They would fall into the category of ’easy believism’ or as Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, they preach ‘cheap grace’.

Just for one example, on p.60 Quentin says that even though, in the face of death (persecution) I deny Christ because of my fear of death, ‘God and I are as good as ever’.

If this is the case what does ‘persecution’ even mean? Too bad that all the martyrs of church history and even present day martyrs has not heard these guys’ message. They would have lived a long time and many would still be with us today (sarcasm).

These guys must not be aware of what Jesus says in Matthew 10:33, But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

The problem that those who believe, as these guys do, is that in their attempt to emphasize grace, they rob grace of its transforming power. Yes, Gods grace is powerful.

Through grace God not only forgives our sin but he transforms our lives. Our sinful past is forgiven and we have power to live above it. Paul says, >“I have become a new creation in Christ Jesus, old things have passed away and behold all things are new” (2 Cor.5:17)

Stay away from this book. It will not help or encourage you. If someone happens to give you a copy-trash can it.

Why Muslims Commit Sucide

Everyone seems to be wondering why Muslim terrorists are so quick to commit suicide.

Let's see now... No Jesus, No Christmas, No television, No Cheerleaders, No car races, No football, No soccer, No pork BBQ, No hot dogs, No burgers, No chocolate chip cookies, No lobster, No nachos, No Beer nuts, No alcohol, No Beer !!!!!!!!

Rags for clothes and towels for hats. Constant wailing from the guy next-door because he's sick and there are no doctors. Constant wailing from the guy in the tower. On your knees facing east most of the day. More than one wife. You can't shave. Your wives can't shave. You can't shower to wash off the smell of donkey cooked over burning camel dung. Your bride is picked by someone else. She smells just like your donkey.

Then they tell you that when you die it all gets better!
I mean, really, is there a mystery here?

T.S. Eliot

You say I am repeating
Something I have said before. I shall say it again.
Shall I say it again? In order to arrive there,
To arrive where you are, to get from where you are not,
You must go by a way wherein there is no ecstasy.
In order to arrive at what you do not know
You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance.
In order to possess what you do not possess
You must go by the way of dispossession.
In order to arrive at what you are not
You must go through the way in which you are not.
And what you do not know is the only thing you know
And what you own is what you do not own
And where you are is where you are not.

Wanted: Navigators not map readers

The quote is from Margaret Wheatley and was part of a reflection on the US Gulf crisis:

“…People who are lost in the mountains or wilderness, who either survive or die by the choices they make, at first fight to make their old maps work. They do everything possible to make the old maps fit the present circumstance—but they never can. In wilderness situations, this grasping goes on until the person is confronted with the fact that they’re about to die. They will survive only if they acknowledge that there’s no way out of their present peril; they must give up their old maps and acknowledge that they’re truly lost. Once they recognize this, they begin to notice where they really are, what’s going on, what’s useful information available here and now. They make new maps and find their way home.

A good article found at www.nextreformation.com titled 'navigating missional waters'. It is about the need for the church to put away their old maps and become navigators

Bosnia

I thought this was some great words and testimony from our missionary in Bosnia

Reflecting

It’s been rewarding to sit and reflect over the past two years living in Bosnia. Missional living has transformed my life. I am not an extraordinary person but just wholeheartedly believe that just as Christ lived among those who were considered the least of humanity, so will I. As my head grew in knowledge of the small Bosnian community tucked away in the mountains my heart also grew to really love the people. I love them so much that I faced the humiliating struggle of learning language, and I was accepted into the culture.

I spent my time with women who are waitresses by day and prostitutes by night. I slowly realized that I was the only person in their lives who truly cared about them. My dear friend Ivana recently made a plan to pursue a new career, she now believes she is capable to do something valuable. The night before I left, I found Ivana in tears. The men in her coffee bar were so drunk that there was a physical fight and as Ivana tried to calm the situation she was cursed and spit upon. She said, “No more. I can’t do it anymore.” We cried together, she hugged me really tight, and said softly in Bosnian, “Crystal, you are the only person who ever saw me and loved me. Everyone treats me like a machine. I never knew what love looked and felt liked until I met you.”

Ivana is seen by the community as someone who is unlovable. My time in Bosnia has opened my eyes to learn that it is easy to love people who are kind, honest, and have something to offer you. It is much harder to love those who lie, cheat, and are corrupt. However, to truly be salt and light to the world, you cannot separate yourself. In order for salt to be effective it must be out of the container. Light naturally penetrates darkness.

Home for the summer:

Jesus Manifesto

“Jesus Manifesto” by Leonard Sweet & Frank Viola published by Thomas Nelson

This book is about Jesus, not his life while on earth, but his life lived through you. The authors contend that we must get back to Jesus. “If the church does not reorient and become Christological at its core, any steps taken will be backwards.”

The beginning of the book began slow, the authors seemed to want to be devotional and inspirational, but failed on both counts.

With the chapter titled, “A Ditch on Either Side” the book became more interesting and practical. That believing the right things or doing the right things is not what being a Christian is all about-it is about following Jesus. The way, the truth and the life.

From there, they say, that following Jesus is not a cause. But it is a life lived beyond ourselves, stressing the point that it is not about us but about Him.
That in our desire for justice, it is not justice per se that we need or want but the Just One who is Jesus.
The authors state that Jesus was rejected everywhere except at Bethany. Then they give some ways that he was accepted and relates that to how we should accept Him.

I liked this quote, “While Jesus wasn’t political in the modern sense of the word, He was political in this sense; Christ was the beginning of the change of the world. He inaugurated a new creation. And he showed us how prayer might set us on the right road to peace before politics.” p. 119

Another quote, “The earth awaits a body of Christians in every city who will receive Jesus utterly and completely.” p.158

I give this book 3 stars. It was to propositional (something you would not expect from Sweet) and clichéd. It would have been better with some real life examples of people who are allowing Jesus to live through them today.

Book Review

“The Gospel You Never Heard,“ What a Protestant Bible written by Jews says about God’s work through Christ, by David I Rudel

I had mixed feelings about the book. At times it seemed the author was working on a study of certain words without really knowing exactly where he was going with it. For example he begins by questioning that Jesus was the only way to heaven, but then he never gives a solid answer nor does he return to the question.
Another example is that he never seems to answer the question that is on the cover of the book, Who goes to hell?

On the other had he does a good job of emphasizing and putting a new perspective on many words that we relate with the gospel. 'Repentance' is not faith but a changed direction in life, too many times we fail to distinguish the difference between faith and repentance. I like how John Wesley distinguish the two he said that salvation is the house, faith is the door and repentance is the front porch. In too many evangelical circles we have failed to cross the front porch.
Another word the writer stresses is 'salvation'. Salvation is not saved to go to heaven but saved to live a new life which was preceded by faith and repentance.

I would have liked to seen the author do a better study on the word sin. For I feel a lot of theological controversy surrounds a working definition for sin. For example some questions for sin that needs to be answered would be, What sins are we accountable for? Do we and must we sin everyday? And if we have to sin everyday how does that equate with us having salvation from sin?

I would give the book 2 stars