Top 5 Books of 2015

I don't get to the blog very often these days. I've plans to get it going, every once-upon-a-time blogger does. Most of the content I produce ends up as sermons or assignments though. Yep still studying. 18 months to go hopefully. But surely I could turn some of that content into blog posts... We'll see.

Anyway, I noticed I posted my top 5 books of 2014 and figured that since we are halfway through 2016 that I should at least post my top 5 books for 2015. Here we go, and in no particular order...

The Pastor as Public Theologian - Kevin J Vanhoozer; This would easily be the best book I read in 2015. Vanhoozer's central idea is essentially that the primary role of the pastor is to serve as a "public theologian." A theologian who with the biblical text in one hand and TIME magazine in the other, seeks to help a congregation to know the heart of God in the trenches of life. Or in other words, "The church needs pastors who can contextualize the Word of God to help their congregations think theologically about about all aspects of their lives, such as work, end-of-life decisions, political involvement, and entertainment choices." It resonated with me so much as it is certainly the pastoral lane that I feel called to, the Eugene Peterson lane, rather than of pastor as CEO, business manager, event-coordinator, motivator or visionary leader.

The Plausibility Problem - Ed Shaw; Ed Shaw is a pastor in the UK whose sexual desire is exclusively for members of the same sex. Despite this, Shaw believes that to act on these desires is outside of God's acceptable context for sexual relations. With this in mind Shaw shares his story and addresses common missteps that the church makes in attempting to help those with same-sex desire navigate their sexuality. It really is a must read (one of a number of "must reads") for those trying to sort through a biblical understanding of sexuality, a pastoral response in regard to sexuality and practical steps in thinking through and working out one's sexuality in a 21st Century context.

Sabbath as Resistance - Walter Brueggemann; Pretty much everything Brueggemann writes is gold and this little book is no different. In it, Brueggemann points out that Sabbath is not simply about keeping rules but rather about developing rhythms and realigning one's thinking in order to become whole; as a person and as a society. He speaks to a 24/7 society of consumption, a society in which we live to achieve, accomplish, perform, and possess. More and more and more. Own more, use more, eat more, drink more, consume more. Keeping Sabbath allows us to break this restless cycle and focus on what is truly important; God, people and life.

Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament - Christopher Wright; in order to properly understand Jesus we need to know the story that Jesus claimed for himself, the story that Jesus takes as his own personal back story. That story is of course the story of Israel. In this book Wright traces the life of Christ as it is illuminated by the Old Testament. This isn't about finding Jesus under every stone that can be turned in the Old Testament, i.e. typography on top of typography. Rather it is a fantastic help in understanding the BIG Story of the Bible as Christ understood the BIG Story of the Bible.

Wondrous Depth: Preaching the Old Testament - Ellen F. Davis; Davis' concern is what she calls a "shallow reading" of scripture; a reading of what we already know instead of an attempt to dig deeper for new insights and revelations. Davis demonstrates that preaching and biblical interpretation are essentially related to one another in that it is essential for preachers to engage in thorough reading and interpretation of scripture from the pulpit and encourage their congregations to read the Bible with depth and sensitivity.

Here are my other reads from 2015...

Magician's End - Raymond E Feist

Rides a Dread Legion - Raymond E Fiest

At the Gates of Darkness - Raymond E Fiest

Wondrous Depth, Preaching the Old Testament - Ellen F. Davis

The Art of Preaching Old Testament Narritive - Steven D. Mathewson

Kingdom Conspiracy - Scot McKnight

Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament - Christopher Wright

Daily Life in Biblical Times - Oded Borowski

Models for Interpretation of Scripture - John Goldingay

Sabbath as Resistance - Walter Brueggemann

Cloud of Sparrows - Takashi Matsuoka

Apporaches to Old Testament Interpretation - John Goldingay

Do We Need the New Testament - John Goldingay

James (NICNT Commentary) - Scot McKNight

The Plausibility Problem - Ed Shaw

Into God's Presence; Prayer in the NT - Richard N. Longenecker (editor)

Welcoming by Not Affirming - Stanley Grenz

The Pastor as Public-Theologian - Kevin J Vanhoozer

The Next Christendom - Philip Jenkins

The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh - Amos Yong

Beyond the Flatlands of Religiosity

What is a Christian?

Reading Scot McKnight’s One.Life at the moment and loving it. In Scot’s introduction he tracked a bit of his journey and his understanding of what it means to be a Christian and how that has evolved over the years. His story almost completely parallels mine (and likely many others).

Having grown up in a Christian home Scot got saved at the age of six, I was four but our story is essentially the same. At the conclusion of an evening service at church an opportunity was given to get saved, to accept Jesus into your heart so you could be forgiven of your sins. God so loved me that he sent his Son to give his life for me. Forgiveness was available if I accepted Jesus into my heart. I did this and became a Christian. Thus...

Definition One = A Christian was someone who has personally accepted Jesus Christ, who has found forgiveness through his death, and who is now on their way to heaven when they die.

From the age of 10 through until about 17 or 18 (both Scot and I) were very involved in our local church Children’s Church and Youth Group, (and loved every minute of it, I ended up staying in Youth till I was about 26 as a Youth Leader and Youth Pastor). Here I learnt all about bible reading (morning and night / Bible in a Year), memory verses, praying (even if only for 5 minutes and then stretching it to 6 minutes and then 10, 15, 20, and so on. I think an hour was the goal), witnessing and evangelizing, church attendance and service (we were at church or church meetings between 3 and 7 times a week). Being a Christian was doing all of these things. And of course being a Christian was also not doing a whole lot of other things. Drinking, smoking, having sex, playing sport on Sunday etc. (for Scot, a different generation, he also includes not dancing and not going to the movies). Thus...

Definition Two = A Christian is someone who reads their bible, prays, witnesses, attends church lot’s and doesn’t drink, smoke, have sex, play sport on Sunday (dance or go to the movies). You could call these personal private practices of piety.

A Christian was defined by a single moment of acceptance or repentance and then a whole lot of do’s and do not’s.

I won’t go on to steal all of Scot’s material but wanted to wet your appetite in regards to One.Life; perhaps being a book you should read. I will keep going a bit longer though.

Next Scot writes...

Every time the single-moment act of accepting Christ becomes the goal instead of the portal, we get superficial Christians. And every time personal practices of piety wiggle away from the big picture Jesus sketches for his followers it becomes legalism. And I became a legalist.

He then goes on to talk about a revolutionary process and journey of transformation he went through in regards to his thinking and understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. Which he outlines in this book One.Life; Jesus Calls, We Follow. My journey doesn’t quite track the same as Scot’s here but via the leading of the Holy Spirit in a different way my understanding of what it is to follow Jesus has been radically re-calibrated over the last 8 years or so. I just didn’t get it before.

What I understood about being a Christian was right; it just wasn’t right enough.

Definition Three = Read One.Life it will help you understand more clearly what it is to be a follower of Jesus.

In One.Life Scot (to quote the back page) calls you beyond the flatlands of religiosity toward a kingdom vision that will shape everything you do.

“After reading One.Life I made a silent covenant with God to read everything Scot writes from this day forward.” – Bill Hybels

I’m looking forward to using this book and many of its thoughts and concepts as a part of our discipleship process at St Luke’s.

Thanks Scot!

Quotes

Four quotes that are ringing around in my head at the moment...

"It's not about disembodied escapism but rather participatory physicality." - Rob Bell

"Rather than admiring you, a good sermon leaves people examining themselves." - Moyer Hubbard (my edit)

"If you want to build a ship, don't summon people to buy wood, prepare tools, distribute jobs and organise the work; teach people the yearning for the wide, boundless ocean." - Antoine de Saint-Exuprey

"Ubuntu - a person is a person through other persons." - African wisdom proverb

For different reasons each quote has me doing somersaults on the inside!

Gift & Grace

The more we know of life, the more we know that all we have is gift, all that we are is grace.

Thomas G. Long - Preaching from Memory to Hope

Freedom of Simplicity 4

Chapter 4 - Simplicity Among the Saints

For the Dessert Fathers and Mothers the world, including the church, had become so dominated by secular materialism that, for them, the only witness against it was to withdraw from it.

Celibacy is necessary for some forms of simplicity. Francis could not have done what he did if he had not been single. Nor could Jesus.

The Quakers chose simplicity in their attire, in speech, in vigorously opposing injustice and oppression.

These early 'Publishers of Truth,' as they called themselves, too with utter seriousness the task of hearing the voice of Christ and obeying his word. They would ask,'What does it mean to live faithful lives in our day?' and they fully expected to receive an answer.

We who live in a world of half truths and rationalizations and intellectual gymnastics that keep us from hearing and obeying the word of Christ need to hear the witness of the Friends. Because we live in a different culture, we must ask once again what it means to live faithful lives in our day. But we must ask fully expecting to receive an answer and fully expecting to be given the power to obey the call.

J. Hudson Taylor - 'Butter, milk, and other luxuries I cease to use, and found that by living mainly on oatmeal and rice with occasional variations a very small sum was sufficient for my needs. In this way he was able to use two thirds of his income for other purposes. He wrote, 'My experience is that the less I spent on myself and the more I gave to others the fuller of happiness and blessing did my soul become.'

My major takeaways...

Simplicity is not something new in the 21st Century. Even in the first century Christians were choising to live simple lives in order that their affections would be set firmly on Jesus and in order that they might better help the poor and the needy. That being the case, how much more the need for simplicity in the 21st Century!?! How would the saints respond to the extravigences of life that we posses today?

Butter and milk were once considered luxuries. Would we class them as that today? Many in the world would.

What do you consider luxury items? What do you consider nessasary? What is extravegent? What is enough? What do you have to have to live? What can you do without?

I find that the more I journey with the Holy Spirit, the more I practice simplicity as a discipline, and the more I think of others and their needs, the more my answers today are not what they were yesterday.

Freedom of Simplicity 3

Chapter 3 - The Biblical Roots: The New Covenant

This astonishment (of the disciples in Matt 19:24) was due primarily to their belief that the wealth of the rich young ruler was a sign of God’s special favor upon him.

And Jesus perceived how bruised and trampled in spirit people were because they were poor and felt that God was displeased with them. Repeatedly he opposed this false and destructive doctrine, showing instead that in the economy of God, the poor, the broken, were special objects of his blessing and concern.

Jesus further saw the wearisome burden upon those who had gotten riches and were trying to hold onto them.

Riches are deceitful precisely because they lead us to trust in them and Jesus saw that trap and the spiritual destructiveness which attends to it.

The life of Christian simplicity is necessarily tied to concern for the poor and defenseless.

Love is well-reasoned concern for the good of all. Love does not have tunnel vision. If I bring the needy into my home and destroy my own family in the process, I am driven by something other than love. These commands of Jesus must be understood with the broader context of the law of love. The biblical instruction is not meant to destroy us, but to set us free.

What we discover in the New Testament witness is the combination of penetrating criticism of wealth with a carefree, almost light hearted attitude toward possessions. It is a combination seldom found today.

In regards to the New Testament church sharing all things together: Please remember, we have no indication that what occurred in the early days of the Church was commanded of that it was even the right thing to do. This is not some pattern to be slavishly imitated. What we see is an incredible freedom to experiment with practical ways to flesh out the meaning of love for God and neighbor.

‘Why all this talk about miracles, divine power, and spiritual preparation? Can’t we just get on with the business of simplifying our lifestyles with all the God-talk?’ I answer that you are welcome to try, and God help you – because you will sorely need it.

There once was a time when I urged simplicity of life upon people indiscriminately. I would cajole,, shove, push, and often they would indeed change their lifestyle; but I found that it was all quite destructive. I discovered that simplicity is just another anxiety-laden burden until people experience God’s gracious power to provide them with their daily bread. Only as kingdom power breaks in are we free to live in trust.

My major takeaways...

1. Material wealth is never an accurate measurement of Godliness, of favor, of being in the will of God, or of living according to the will of God. Godly principles indeed bring increase they are a poor measurement of Godliness though.

2. The simple life makes room for the poor. Simplicity doesn't mean lack of resource, you can live a profoundly simply life while working in a job that earns plenty of money. Simplicity is the grip that the money has on you and your choices with that resource. The simple life makes room for the poor and chooses to bless and to include and to stand in the gap. We should never confuse simplicity for lack.

3. Simplicity has to be guided by the Holy Spirit. The simple life is so counter culture that it has to be Spirit led. You can't talk people into it, force people into it, or instantly embrace the concepts. The quite leading of the Holy Spirit is required.

Freedom of Simplicity 2

Chapter 2 - The Biblical Roots: The Old Covenant

Simplicity of the heart can flourish only in the fertile soil of trust (in God).

The creation story is the starting point for our understanding of simplicity. We are part of the created order and hence totally dependant. We are dependant on God for even our sense of worth as individuals. Our uniqueness and dignity are rooted in our creation in the image of God. Our value is not tied to wealth, status, accomplishments, or position. It is a gift. Obviously, this wonderful truth flies in the face of the modern tendency to define people by what they produce or have.

Notice how the fourth commandment of the Sabbath rest strikes at the heart of the everlasting itch to get ahead. We find it so very hard to rest when, by working, we can get the jump on everyone else. There is no greater need today than the freedom to lay down the heavy burden of getting ahead.

At the hear of the sin of covetousness is the inner lust to have. Covetousness is the idolatrous worship of things. The problem is that we, like the alcoholic, are unable to recognize the disease once we have been engulfed by it.

My major takeaways...

It is so easy for us to measure our worth and also the worth of others based the measurements of 21st Century society rather than on the truth of God's word. Wealth, status, accomplishments, and position so easily become the yard stick. It's ingrained in us. We have to break free from this and commit to not measuring ourselves or the worth of others by these things. Unless we do so we are trapped. We must do, achieve, and become, before we can simply be. Rather it is out of being (a person of worth created in the image of God) that we should be doing.

This changes all the doing. It is no longer a striving, no longer a means by which to feel valued. It is no longer a means by which to increase, accumulate, and consume. Rather it becomes the doing that is the good works that we were saved in Christ Jesus for. Doing that brings blessing, impacts lives, and reflects the love of God. It becomes a simple doing, grounded in faith, hope, love, justice and righteousness.

Posessions

All plenty which is not my God is poverty to me - St Augustine