Book Review #4: Last Night in Twisted River

I love a good story. The best movies are simply good stories. It’s never the special effects that make the movie for me; it’s the story. Movies almost never tell the story as well as a novel. If there is one exception in my view it would be, To Kill a Mockingbird, but I digress. A good novel tells a riveting story that has heroes and villains, conflicts and adventure, mystery and characters that feel like personal friends by the end of the story. John Irving is a great writer capable of telling stories that suck you in and make you feel the sadness, joy, fear, and dogged determination of the characters. So it was with great anticipation last spring that I began his novel Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving.

The main characters are father and son, Dominic and Danny Baciagalupo, who begin in a Maine logging camp (Dominic is the cook) and flee a determined lawman after a tragic accidental death. The story is too long, takes too many weird turns, and has too much gratuitous immorality. It’s one of those books that halfway through it you think, “I’m really not enjoying this at all, but I’m too far in to stop now… and maybe it will get better.” It didn’t. So I don’t recommend this Irving selection. Instead, I would recommend A Prayer for Owen Meany, another Irving novel.

http://www.amazon.com/Prayer-Owen-Meany-John-Irving/dp/006220422X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356130135&sr=1-1&keywords=a+prayer+for+owen+meany+by+john+irving

It will have you laughing out loud and then crying. The main character, Owen Meany of course, is unforgettable. He’s a dwarfish little boy who is absolutely convinced he is God’s instrument. So if you’re looking for a great story, skip “Twisted River” and go with “Owen Meany”.

Book Review #3: Rebecca’s Revival

The first African slaves landed in North America at Jamestown in 1619. None were Christians. When the Civil War began in 1861 the vast majority of African-American slaves were Christians. How did that happen? How and why did people enslaved by white Christians embrace the Christian Faith? 100 years after the Civil War it would be the Black Church, led by Martin Luther King Jr. that would bravely stand against the oppression of racism, and become the center of the Civil Rights Movement. Jon Sensback tells the story of the rise of Christianity in the African slave community of the Virgin Islands that was to spread to America. It’s a marvelous story with a freed slave its center. The book: Rebecca’s Revival, Creating Black Christianity in the Atlantic World. http://www.amazon.com/Rebeccas-Revival-Creating-Christianity-Atlantic/dp/0674022572/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355846912&sr=1-1&keywords=rebecca%27s+revival+creating+black+christianity+in+the+atlantic+world

The back cover of Sensback’s book claims, “Rebecca’s Revival is the remarkable story of a Caribbean woman… a slave turned evangelist… who helped inspire the rise of black Christianity in the Atlantic world.” That isn’t hyperbole; it is indeed a remarkable story that’s fascinating as well as inspiring. The freed slave Rebecca became a believer at a young age. At 18, in 1736, she met a German missionary sent to St. Thomas by the Moravian Church. Rebecca would eventually marry that missionary and become one of the greatest evangelists the Church has ever known. It’s a story filled with unexpected twists and turns, euphoric successes, and heart-breaking losses. It’s a story of God working through a black woman who displayed amazing faith and courage. Rebecca went on to serve the Lord on 3 continents, North America, Europe, and Africa. She became a spiritual mentor to whites as well as blacks.

Of course, there were many reasons that African slaves converted to Christianity, but Sensback offers this as one of the primary reasons: “…the sense that Jesus was their friend; his word refuted the brutal degradation they endured daily… Christian worship furnished a refuge for the oppressed.” (Pg.91) Rebecca and the Moravian missionaries carried a message of hope to most oppressed people in the 18^th century world.

Looking for a good read over Christmas? Rebecca’s Revival is a worthy consideration.

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.

December 16 Semon Homework

At the conclusion of each message I give a homework assignment to the congregation. Here's the assignment for December 16, 2012...
Homework: Continue to work on memorizing Psalm 23.
Give thanks for your place at the table of the Lord and pray for someone you may or may not think of as an enemy, but one who has yet to respond to the invitation to the Lord's table.

Blessing: “May you drink deeply of his cup of joy as his anointed, and extend mercy and grace to those not yet at his table. Amen.”

In Case You Were Wondering

I like books. I can browse the shelves of Barnes and Noble for hours on end. I like novels, biographies, history, sports-books (especially about baseball players and golfers), books that challenge me spiritually, and, of course, the Bible. There are different means through which our faith grows; reading is a big one for me. It’s a good thing I like to read, because it is essential to my job. My sermons are enhanced by what I read. I cringe at the thought of how uniformed and boring my sermons would be if I stopped reading.

I’m a slow reader, a plodder. It may take me 2 months to read a book my wife knocks out in 3 days. I may be slow, but I’m persistent. Usually I’m reading 4 or 5 books at the same time. I keep a couple in the office that I read for the job. I always take a book with me if I’m going to be waiting in a doctor’s office or in a barbershop. I keep several books beside my favorite recliner at home and a couple more beside my bed. I love starting a new book, wondering if the story is going to capture my imagination or the spiritual insights are going to push me to think deeper about my faith. I love finishing a book and placing it on my shelf like a shiny trophy, unless it’s a great novel, and then I feel sad when it ends. I keep a running list of the books I’ve read. So far this year I’ve read 27 books, some very good ones, and some not-so-great ones. Just for fun (fun for me anyway), I thought I’d post brief reviews of every book I’ve read this year… just in case you were wondering what I’m reading. My goal is to post one review a day. Here’s book review #1…

Is Hell For Real or Does Everyone Go to Heaven? Edited by Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson.
http://www.amazon.com/Hell-Real-Does-Everyone-Heaven/dp/0310494621/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355337175&sr=1-1&keywords=is+hell+for+real

I began the year with this small paperback book that is basically a response to the controversial book Love Wins, by Rob Bell, which I read in 2011. The book offers 5 chapters by 5 different Evangelical theologians who answer questions such as, “Is hell for real?” “What did Jesus say about hell?” and “Does everyone go to heaven?” The best chapter by far, in my opinion, is the one written by J.I. Packer. He gets right to the point when he states, “…the task of the universalist is to circumvent the seemingly clear New Testament teaching on eternal punishment.” (Pg. 67)

Then he turns the argument on its head insisting, “Everyone… deserves eternal punishment in hell, the supreme mystery is that God should save anyone.” (Pg.70)
He makes a strong case for taking seriously both the dark sinister nature of sinful humans and the shocking love of a holy God who moves to save them. Authentic Christians have disagreed on the issue of hell and who ends up there for 2000 years. Neither Rob Bell nor J.I. Packer is likely to get the last word. Bell’s book is well worth reading too. There is a loving kindness in Bell’s writing toward unbelievers that is too often missing in books by Evangelicals. Did Bell win me over to the Universalist point of view (that all people are saved and go to heaven in the end)? No. I agree with Packer, that in terms of the New Testament, Universalism is wishful thinking. However, there is one statement from Rob Bell that I do completely agree with: “It is our responsibility to be extremely careful about making negative, decisive, lasting judgments about people’s eternal destinies.” (Pg. 160)

My gospel witness is more inclined toward emphasizing the shocking love of God, than the reality of His eternal wrath. The Apostle Paul put like this: “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?” (Romans 2:4) (NIV)

While I’m certainly not for compromising the truth, I learned long ago that it isn’t my job or my place to make final judgments on people’s eternal destiny.

December 9 Sermon Homework

At the conclusion of each message I give a homework assignment to the congregation. Here's the assignment for December 9, 2012...

Homework: Continue to work on memorizing Psalm 23.
Reflect upon the past dark valleys the Good Shepherd has led you through.
Write them down and what you think God wanted you to learn from each one. Give thanks to the Good Shepherd and ask for faith strength for your present valley, or the next one to come.
 
Blessing: Isaiah 9:2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
“May you see the light of Christ our Lord and trust him in all your valleys. Amen.”

Advent

I remember the first year our family celebrated Advent. I grew up in a non-traditional, non-denominational church without an Advent tradition, and so did my wife. We were young parents when we discovered Advent. It was a new idea to us, and we thought a great way to teach our 3 daughters about the true meaning of Christmas. We were young and poor. We lived in a mobile home and shared one car… a Ford Pinto. Buying a fancy Advent wreath wasn’t an option, so Sandy created one. She wrapped an empty Kleenex box with Christmas wrapping paper, poked 5 holes in it for the candles, and we had our center-piece of hope, joy, peace, and love. Our girls were aged 3, 1½ and newborn. For small children, just lighting a candle was an exciting experience. Amy, our 3-year-old was thrilled when we told her she would get to light the first candle.



To add even more excitement to the experience we included a little drama to the story. After gathering the family around the Kleenex Box/Advent wreath Sandy made some excuse to leave the room as I told the girls that we had a very special visitor coming to celebrate Advent with us that night. Right on queue Sandy came back into the room with scarf on her head and shawl around her shoulders. “My name is Mary,” she told the girls, “I am the mother of Jesus.”

She proceeded to tell the Christmas story from the perspective of Mary. The girls were completely mesmerized. Amy lit the first Advent Candle and “Mary” said her good-byes and left the room. When Sandy came back into the room Amy said, “Oh Mommy, you missed Mary!” And so began our family Advent tradition.

Advent is a time to celebrate light in the midst of darkness symbolized by the Advent candles representing the hope, faith, joy, and love we have in Christ.  The candles remind us of the light of God coming into the world. The light from the candles grows brighter as each week comes closer to Christmas.  Finally the fifth candle is lit on Christmas Eve representing the birth of the Savior, the light of the world. Advent is great way to teach our children about the true meaning of Christmas. There’s an endless supply of Advent resources on the internet. Just google “Advent” and start looking.

Dec 2 Sermon Homework

At the conclusion of each message I give a homework assignment to the congregation. Here's the assignment for December 2, 2012...

Homework: Continue to work on memorizing Psalm 23.

Get an Advent Devotional. 3 worth considering…

Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas (various authors)
God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
Celebrating Christmas with Jesus: An Advent Devotional (Max Lucado)

Blessing: “May you know the rest, refreshment, and restoration of the Good Shepherd that you may faithfully follow Him in the paths of righteousness. Amen.”