I am told, and I pay lip service to the fact, that the Christian “is a new creation” –that in some real but mysterious way he carries within himself a new life, Christ’s life. But how far I am from really accepting in heart and action the fact that every day I pass Christ in the street, ride with him on the bus, and serve him at the shop or in the office — and that I am charged with the privileged task of ministering to his growth in the souls of my brethren.
Paul Hilsdale, Prayers from Saint Paul
Tag Archive for 'book'
David Sills is on faculty at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Before SBTS, he served with the IMB in South America. But, more than all that, he’s a really cool guy. I led a group from 9th and O Baptist Church in Louisville, KY of which David was a part. We explored an area just outside the city of Cuzco called Anta.
David’s love for the Latin American people, wisdom in helping them connect with Jesus, and encouragement to me had a significant impact on me.
I’m excited about his new book. David deals with questions that a lot of people struggle with as they think about missions. Questions like . . .
Do all Christians have the missionary call?
How can you know whether you have the missionary call?
Is the missionary call a lifelong call?
How does being single impact the missionary call?
What should you do if your spouse does not share your sense of call?
You can find out a lot more about the book here. The Missionary Call is officially out in bookstores and online.
This is a great idea. I’ve been spending way too much time digging and nixing on the Capture Arkansas website. Have you heard about it?
Here’s the deal. Arkansas Democrat Gazette is putting out a book (and DVD) of photographs of Arkansas. And, anyone can be in the book. You just have to submit your photographs and see what happens. Even if your photos don’t get voted in, you get to help shape the book by voting on other folks’ photos.
You might have noticed a new widget to the right (go ahead, look). That’s a link to my photos. Give me some love if you like them (go ahead, click). Maybe I’ll make it in. And, if you submit some photos, leave me a comment so I can go vote for yours.
Henri Nouwen wrote in “The Way of the Heart”…
In solitude I get rid of my scaffolding: no friends to talk with, no telephones calls to make, no meetings to attend, no music to entertain, no books to distract, just me - naked, vulnerable, weak, sinful, deprived, broken-nothing. It is this nothingness that I have to face in my solitude, a nothingness so dreadful that everything in me want to run to my friends, my work, and my distractions so that I can forget my nothingness and make myself believe that I am worth something.
Marriage creates a situation in which our desire to be served and coddled can be replaced with a more noble desire to serve others — even sacrifice for others. This is a call for both husbands and wives.
The beauty of marriage is that it confronts our selfishness and demands our service twenty-four hours a day. When we’re most tired, most worn down, and feeling more sorry for ourselves than we ever have before, we have the opportunity to confront feelings of self-pity by getting up and serving our mate.
Gary Thomas, Sacred Marriage, 186.
In 1066 Norman armies under William the Conquerer successfully invaded England. That event was commemorated in the Bayeux Tapestry, a remarkably detailed record of the events of the campaign. One of its scenes depicts a column of Norman soldiers on horseback. They are followed by the bishop of Bayeux, who is busy poking the last man with a large stick. The caption to this little scene read: “Bishop Odo comforts the soldiers.”Most of us would feel that this is the sort of comfort that we could well do without! Yet the Greek word for “comfort” can bear the meaning “urge on” or “encourage to do greater things.” There is a sense in which the Spirit does prod us, encouraging and empowering us to do things we otherwise would not — and could not — do.
Allister McGrath, I Believe, 81
Honor isn’t passive, it’s active. We honor our wives by demonstrating our esteem and respect: complimenting them in public; affirming their gifts, abilities, and accomplishments; and declaring our appreciation for all they do. Honor not expressed is not honor.
Gary Thomas, Sacred Marriage, 63.
In the end, said Brother Lawrence, it doesn’t take skill or a high IQ to come to God — just a heart totally sold out to the Lord, devoted to him alone.
Tyndale is publishing the book “Pagan Christianity” by Frank Viola and George Barna. It’s due out in January, but it’s already making people mad. Which only leads me to assume that it must be really good.
Here’s the argument the book makes: “Most of what present-day Christians do in church each Sunday is rooted not in the New Testament, but in pagan culture and rituals developed long after the death of the apostles.”
And the authors go on to make the point that this is not necessarily reason to throw them out, but that they should be re-evaluated and, in some cases, demoted.
Church buildings, sermons, choirs, seminaries, dressing up for church and a lot of other things church folk consider the important are called into question.
I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I actually get a chance to read it.
En Pos de lo Supremo, Octubre 27
The challenge that faces a follower of Jesus is not the difficulty of getting wayward or indifferent people to turn around and start going in the right direction. The challenge is our own relationship with Jesus.
The right questions are these:
Do I know my resurrected Lord?
Do I know the power of his Spirit living in me?
Do I put enough faith in Jesus and what he said that my actions are seen as imprudent by the world?
Or am I abandoning the humble position of unlimited faith in my Jesus (that which is really my only call as his follower)?
This guy took it (living biblically) to a whole new level. A.J. Jacobs, an agnostic Jew decided to dive in to the Bible headfirst to try to figure out if he was missing something. He spent a whole year doing his very best to follow ALL the laws of the Bible, as he says, “right down to stoning adulterers.”, which he did one day in Central Park. Here’s the story of how it happened:
Thanks to those pesky U.S. laws - and my conscience - it was particularly difficult to abide by this Old Testament law. I did, however, manage to stone one adulterer. Here’s what happened: I was in Central Park. I was wearing my most biblical garb - sandals, a walking stic, white clothes - and an elderly man came up to me and asked me why I was dressed so “queer.” I explained I was following all the rules of the Bible, right down to stoning adulterers. He said, “I am an adulterer, you going to stone me?” I said, “Well, yes, that would be great.” And I took out of my pocket some pebbles that I was saving for just this occasion. (The Bible doesn’t specify the size of the stones.) The old man actually grabbed the pebbles out of my hand and threw them at me. So I figured I should toss one at him in self-defense. And in that way I stoned.
His description of what he learned and his newfound reverence for the Bible and it’s adherents is fascinating and challenging. Relevant Magazine featured his story in the November 07 issue (Issue 29). In it he talks about the rules that were hardest to follow (stoning adulterers, not shaving beard) and rules he never violated (don’t sacrifice your children to Molech, don’t take your wife’s sister as a second wife). Another section talks about the 5 rules that were most life-enhancing. He said that 1) Keep the Sabbath, 2) Give Thanks, 3) Let Your Garments Be Always White, 4) Don’t Gossip, 5) Do Not Curse changed his life in a profound way. His behavior, over a year, began to change his heart and mind.
You can see the book here. It might be worth checking out.
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