Book Review #2: Spirituality According to Paul

The first week of February 2012 my wife, Sandy, and I had the opportunity to attend a retreat for pastors at the beautiful Laity Lodge at the HEB Foundation Camp outside Leakey, TX. The accommodations were wonderful. Our suite in Black Bluff, the 3-story premium housing complex, offered unparalleled views of the river and scenery as the structure is built on the side of a bluff, actually hanging over the Frio River. The food was gourmet quality. We enjoyed spending 3 days with other pastor-couples. The teaching was provided by Rodney Reeves, a professor at a Baptist university in Missouri. We enjoyed his conversational style of teaching. I read his book before the retreat: Spirituality According to Paul: Imitating the Apostle of Christ.
http://www.amazon.com/Spirituality-According-Paul-Imitating-Apostle/dp/0830839461/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355843958&sr=1-1&keywords=Rodney+Reeves
 
The back cover states: “Spirituality often evokes images of quiet centeredness, meditative serenity and freedom from life’s pressures. Contrast Paul, who promotes a cross-shaped spirituality for fools making their way through life’s trials. The brand images are crucifixion, burial and resurrection… surely a counterintuitive marketing program for living spiritually!”
In other words, Reeves’ book isn’t your run-of-the-mill instruction manual on how to make yourself feel better or gain more control of your life through a nuanced set of spiritual exercises. Instead, he sets out to “uncover Paul’s ways… how he lived out the gospel.” Reeves fleshes out, in 236 pages, what it means to participate in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ… Paul’s template of spirituality. The main theme of the book is to learn to imitate Paul’s spirituality as Paul’s goal was to imitate Christ, and then invite others to imitate us.
 
Here are a few startling quotes from the book, the kind of statements that made me stop reading and think and pray…
“When Paul gained Christ, he lost everything… Those of us who are Americans, living the comfortable life, pursuing the American dream… what did we lose when we gained Christ?” (Pg.25)
“When a man promises to be faithful to his bride, he is making a promise not only to her, her family and his family but also to the entire congregation… to every sister in Christ, to every brother in the Lord… Sex outside of marriage defiles the whole church…” (Pg.142) His chapter on 1 Corinthians 5 is worth the price of the book. He challenges the secular culture’s contention that sex is a private act between consenting adult and has nothing to do with the community. Unfortunately American Christians seem to have bought into this extremely self-centered view of sex and marriage.
“We can see now why Paul didn’t believe in tithing.” (Pg.159) That’s right, according to Reeves, Paul taught something far more challenging and rewarding than tithing.
 
Rodney Reeves’ book offers a deeper look at the teachings of Paul and yet always brings those teachings around to solid, practical application and challenge. It was one of my main sources as preached through the first 7 chapters of 1 Corinthians this year. It’s a book that challenges some of our assumptions about what it means to be a Christian… to follow, that means imitate, Christ. And it is surprisingly easy to read. I recommend it to those brave souls who want the challenge of self-denial and a cross-shaped life of following Christ.