Animate: Faith is an adult education small group curriculum that is oriented for those in the progressive evangelical and moderate Christian theological camps that seeks to stir questions and conversations that will help us rethink, reform, and renew our Christian Faith. The official description is:

Animate is the new seven-session adult course from Sparkhouse.We brought together seven leading Christian voices to create an accessible, captivating exploration of big questions of the Christian faith – designed to spark conversation in faith communities like yours. From what we hear, it’s working.

Who Are The 7 Presenters:

Lillian Daniel                         Bruce Reyes-Chow      Nadia Bolz-Weber                 Lauren Winner

Shane Hipps                         Mark Scandrette          Brian McLaren

My Thoughts About Animate:Faith:

I am stoked for the work that Sparkhouse is doing in the area of small group curriculum. Finally, there is a well done, creative, down to earth, and theologically rich resource for churches who seek to facilitate discussion, not indoctrination, dialogue instead of debate. This series, done by some of the greatest voices in moderate evangelicalism/progressive Christianity, causes all who interact with it to think outside of their boxes and encourages discussion, dialogue, and dare I say a deeper relationship with God and the Christian faith.

The videos themselves are well done- about ten mins in length each and chock full of unique stories, questions, and theological ideas that refresh the listener. The illustrations and animations used throughout help to capture the attention of the audience, though I will admit that sometimes they are a little much (you feel like your watching Vegi Tales- just a really theologically rich version!). In the Animate:Faith series, we are led to talk about topics such as the basic belief in God, the Bible, Religion, Jesus, Salvation, the Cross, and Church in ways that are faithful to orthodox (and evangelical) Christianity and yet that breathe a new fresh life and perspective into them some of these tired old topics.The teachers are from a variety of theological and denominational backgrounds which brings fresh perspective to many of the topics for almost anyone who would sit down to watch this.

This resource could be used from High School aged kids up to your oldest adult class- I really do think everyone would find this very challenging and beneficial- not to mention fun. I am so excited to see what other curriculums Sparkhouse will put out, but Animate:Faith is truly a great start, pioneering the way in the reformation of the church today. I highly recommend this resource to all churches of all denominations.

For more information, visit the Animate website or check out the promo video below:

Is it singing? A church service? All of life? Helping Christians think more theologically about the nature of true worship, Rhythms of Grace shows how the gospel is all about worship and worship is all about the gospel. Mike Cosper ultimately answers the question: What is worship?

About the Author: 

Mike Cosper is one of the founding pastors of Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, Kentucky, where he serves as the pastor of worship and arts. He is also founder of Sojourn Music and contributes regularly to the Gospel Coalition blog.

My Thoughts:

What is worship? And how should Christians and churches engage in this act of adoration and exaltation of God? There are a lot of resources out there that attempt to answer this question, but Mike Cosper offers a uniquely Gospel-Centered perspective of worship in the local church. Bringing his expertise from directing worship at Sojourn Community Church, Cosper challenges us to rethink worship through what he calls the 1,2,3's: One Object, Two Contexts, Three Audiences. What he means is that our worship as a community is centered on God, taking place in our daily living and our corporate gathering, and is done in front of God, the Church, and the World. This very basic principles helps push us to create a worship experience that is God centered, well done, and holisitc in every day of our lives.

One aspect that I am excited that Cosper touches on is liturgy in worship. Liturgy is a structure, a flow, a means of telling the story of the Gospel every time we gather together. Cosper touches on the profound importance of liturgical elements of law and gospel, confession, contrition, and assurance as part of the Christian time of worship. These elements have a growing acceptance in both progressive and neo-reformed communities, which is an aspect of postmodernism that I am very excited about. Cosper touches on just about every topic you can think of in a very down to earth and practical level. This book is not so much for the worship leader in a church as it is for the congregants who is trying to understand why they do what they do at church. At the end of the book, Cosper writes for Pastors, giving advice on how to direct worship services and also offers a number of sample services that he has done at Sojourn.

This is a lay theology of worship that touches on a lot of very important topics but lacks theological richness and depth. The book is a great small group type resource and will likely help many people formulate their personal theology of worship.

I Give Rhythms of Grace a 3.5 Out Of 5 Stars!

Rhythms of Grace is Published by CROSSWAY PUBLISHERS and is available everywhere books are sold.

Grace and Peace-

Brandan

New York Times bestselling author Rob Bell, whom the The New Yorker describes as “one of the most influential Christian leaders in the county,” does for the concept of God what he did for heaven and hell in his book Love Wins: He shows how traditional ideas have grown stale and dysfunctional and how to return vitality and vibrancy to lives of faith today.

Pastor Rob Bell explains why both culture and the church resist talking about God, and shows how we can reconnect with the God who is pulling us forward into a better future. Bell uses his characteristic evocative storytelling to challenge everything you think you know about God. What We Talk About When We Talk About God tackles the misconceptions about God and reveals how God is with us, for us, ahead of us, and how understanding this could change the entire course of our lives.

How God is described today strikes many as mean, primitive, backward, illogical, tribal, and at odds with the frontiers of science. At the same time, many intuitively feel a sense of reverence and awe in the world. Can we find a new way to talk about God?

Pastor and New York Times bestselling author Rob Bell does here for God what he did for heaven and hell in Love Wins: he shows how traditional ideas have grown stale and dysfunctional and reveals a new path for how to return vitality and vibrancy to how we understand God. Bell reveals how we got stuck, why culture resists certain ways of talking about God, and how we can reconnect with the God who is with us, for us, and ahead of us, pulling us forward into a better future—and ready to help us live life to the fullest.

Pre- Review: What is Heresy?

Before I get started digging in to Rob Bell's new book, I want to take a moment to define my perspective. I am writing as an Evangelical Blogger. But before I am an Evangelical, I am a Christian. A big-tent, broad, orthodox Christian. This means that I adhere to the traditional tenants of the Christian faith that have been defined for nearly 2,000 years. These tenants are affirmed by every major sect of Christianity- Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox. These tenants are what the early Church councils agreed upon as a standard for theological orthodoxy. And these doctrines are summed up in the creeds of the faith. The basic tenants of true, orthodox Christianity are as follows:

The Nicene Creed:

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

From very early on in Church history it was understood that no one who affirmed these basic tenants of the faith was considered a heretic. One could disagree on anything and everything theologically- just not these core doctrines. These were the theological ideas that mattered. Everything else was generally up for speculation and debate. That included heaven and hell. That included atonement theories. That included  the doctrine of sin. Many of the major doctrines that we have divided over and often accused people of being heretics because of their lack of agreement with us on are simply not the essentials. They don’t make one heterodox. They don’t make one a false teacher. And they certainly don’t make someone a heretic, which literally implies that the person is outside the saving grace of Jesus Christ and is damned. A serious accusation indeed.

Many Evangelicals have written Rob Bell off as a heretic. Many (if not most) Evangelical bloggers are going to post about this book and say this is the final nail in Bell’s coffin- implying that he is a goner. He’s done. He’s not a Christian. I want to begin my review saying this- in any and all of Rob Bell’s works, I have never once found a heterodox/heretical statement of theological belief on Bell’s part. Never. Not in Velvet Elvis, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, Sex God, Drops Like Stars, Love Wins, and I did not find any heresy in What We Talk About When We Talk About God. Rob is infamous for asking hard questions. He pushes the envelope and asks “What if?” And whether you like that style of teaching or not is your own problem- not Bell’s. In a postmodern culture, a new generation of Christians has risen up that are asking the questions Bell is asking. We are struggling through these things. And that is why Bell has become such a go-to-guru for us- because he is one of us and understands us. He understands our desire to rethink, reform, and renew. He affirms our core belief that God is big enough, strong enough, and loving enough to handle any question or doubts we throw at him.

As I begin this in-depth review of Bell’s new work, I want to say this: I obviously don’t agree with everything Rob Bell says in this book. I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who agrees with everything in he has written in it. Rob does push boundaries and I do think it is safe to say that Bell can no longer be classified as an “Evangelical” in the modern sense of the word. He says some shocking things. But none of it- and I mean none of it- is heretical. None of it is actually new. All of the ideas Rob suggests in What We Talk About When We Talk About God have roots in the historic, orthodox Christian faith. For sure, this book is paradigm shifting. It will be wholly rejected by the conservative community (unfortunately). But none the less- it is still a thoroughly Christian work that can and will help countless people renew their faith in God. And for that, we all need to thank God for.

With that as my foundation, let’s take a look at the content of What We Talk About When We Talk About God:

My Summary (Spoiler Alert!):

The book begins with Bell suggesting that when we talk about God, we really don’t know what we mean. “I realize that when I use the word God in the title of this book there’s a good chance I am stepping on all kinds of land mines….and that’s why I use it… from people risking their lives to serve the poor because they believe that God called them to do it…to musicians in their acceptance speech at an Award show thanking God for their hit song about a late-night booty call, when it comes to God, we are all over the place.”But Bell proposes that the problem that we have with God isn’t even necessarily that we are all talking about something extraordinarily different when we speak of God. Instead, our problem is that many of our understandings of God fail to give us meaning, value, or purpose in life. In fact, for many of us, our view of God causes us harm. And that’s why Bell has written this book.

He says, “I’ve written this book about that word, then, because there something in the air, we’re in the midst of a massive rethink, a movement is gaining momentum, a moment in history is in the making: there is a growing sense among a growing number of people that when it comes to God, we’re at the end of one era and the start of another, an entire mode of understanding and talking about God [is] dying as something new is being birthed” (pg 3) (and yup, there is a typo)

That is quite a bold and beautiful statement. And Rob insists that though those wonderful words may be inflammatory for many, he is not “remotely interested” in being controversial. But he acknowledges that his concepts in this book may “skirt heresy” in a quote by German Theologian Helmut Thielicke: “A person who speaks to this hours need will always be skirting the edge of heresy, but only the person who risks those heresies can gain truth”. And with that, Bell dives in deep.

The first part of the book is addressing how many of our understandings of God are like Oldsmobile’s- outdated. Bell addresses issues like women in ministry, creationism, legalism, and eschatology as issues that many Christians are behind on and that they give us an image of God that is stale. Bell says that for many Christians, believing in that image of God “feels like a step backward, to an earlier, less informed and enlightened time, one that we’ve thankfully left behind.” (pg 7) With that understand, Bell asks the question “Can God keep up with the modern world?” Now naturally, many people are going to react against this kind of questioning- of course God is timeless and maybe the things we are learning and embracing now aren’t true and godly anyways right? I recently had a professor tell our class that humanity is actually going through an “Endarkenment” and that our knowledge is becoming less and less advanced. Where does that thinking come from? It seems that Bell is proposing- a stale and dated image of God. Images of God that cause many to doubt, scoff, leave, and hate the Christian faith.

Like Love Wins, Bell says that this book is based on a deeply personal journey he has embarked on- about the times that he has doubted everything and entered into dark nights of the soul. From the very first chapter, Bell has captured the interest of almost every human being, striking the chord for all of us that lead us to decide whether or not we believe in God. Bell says that this book is an account of “What I experienced over a long period of time…a gradual awakening to new perspectives on God-specifically the God Jesus talked about.” (p 13) Bell introduces his readers to his standpoint before taking us on the grand journey through the book. He says first, he is a Christian and second, he believes that all people love to talk about God. He is clear that this is not an apologetics book- he is not trying to prove the existence of God, but rather working from his foundational belief that a God does exist.

The entirety of the book centers around six simple words: Open, Both, With, For, Ahead, So. Bell explains each word and why it is essential to our talking about God:

Open because “we all drag a massive amount of expectations and assumptions…and that…will demand that we be open.”

Both because “language both helps us and fails us in our attempts to understand and describe the paradoxical nature of the God who is beyond words.”

With because “I understand God to be the energy, the glue, the force, the life, the power, and the source of all we know… I believe God is with us because I believe that all of us are already experiencing the presence of God in countless ways every single day.”

For because “I believe God is for every single one of us, regardless of our beliefs or perspectives or actions or failures or mistakes or sins or opinions about whether God exists or not. I believe God wants each of us to flourish and thrive…”

Ahead because “when I talk about God, I’m not talking about a dive being who is behind, trying to drag us to a primitive, barbaric, regressive, prescientific age…I want you to see how the God we see at work in the Bible is actually ahead of people, tribes, and cultures as God has always been…”

So because “So is the question about what all this talking has to do with our everyday thinking and feeling and living.”

And those words serve as the chapter breakdown for the entire book. What I will do in this review is give a brief summary of the content of each chapter and then respond at the end to the whole of the book. So let’s dive in:

OPEN:

In this chapter, Rob Bell takes time to talk about the universe we live in and how massive it is, how finite it is, and how it effects who we fundamentally are. He takes us on a deeply scientific journey through the universe and describes, with great factual detail, the “weirdness” of it all. Bell points out that over 96 % of our universe is “unknowable” and right in the middle of it all floats a planet called Earth. Bell delves so deeply into issues of time, matter, anatomy, and existence simply causing the reader to scratch their heads and say, “Wow…” In this section, Bell explains what the role of science is and shows how we all can appreciate it. Science answers the “How” but not the “Why”. Bell says, “Science shines when dealing with parts and pieces, but it doesn’t do all that well with soul.” (p 75) He shows that the two things- science and soul- have been separated in our world of divides over sacred and secular, but how fundamentally God exists and is magnified in both. “Because sometimes you need a biologist, and sometimes you need a poet. Sometimes you need a scientist, and sometimes you need a song.” Bell paints a beautiful picture of the reality that the miraculous does exist and cannot always be merely explained away. The conclusion of this chapter, Bell says that to be open is to “believe that there’s more going on here, that there may be reality beyond what we can comprehend- that’s something else. That’s being open.” (p 80)

BOTH:

In this chapter, Rob Bell points out the problem of using technical language to talk about God because of its limitations. Sure, we can describe God in very technical terms, but it will always fall short. “Intense experiences and extreme situations- like great pain and anguish, or unspeakable joy and ecstasy- need extreme, larger, gigantesque language because other kinds of words and phrases aren’t enough.” And God fits into that category. But also, sometimes words themselves aren’t adequate enough to describe an emotion or a sensation. To that, Bell asserts, “When we talk about God we’re using language, language that employs a vast array of words and phrases and forms to describe a reality that is fundamentally beyond words and phrases and forms.” God is just too vast for our language. And that’s why we get paradox. Throughout scripture, God is described in contrasting terms. Mother and Father, judge and friend, lawgiver and gracious. These words don’t complement each other- they describe fundamental differences, logical inconsistencies. These paradoxes make us fearful sometimes and sometimes they make us angry. And many religious or academic leaders attempt to end paradoxes because they just don’t jive. That’s understandable. Still others turn to doubt. But as Bell points out, “faith and doubt aren’t opposites; they are, it turns out, excellent dancing partners.” (p 92)But it’s important to realize that these paradoxes aren’t Gods “fault”. It’s because “when we talk about God we’re talking about…that which is crystal clear and that which is more mysterious than ever. And sometimes language helps, and sometimes language fails.” (p 91)  Our language evolves, our faith evolves, and our conceptions of God evolve. Sometimes, Bell points out, we act with so much certainty only to know that undergirding it all is the looming notion that “I could be wrong.” But that is fundamentally how faith works. That’s what it is.

WITH

In this chapter of the book, Bell addresses the language many people us about God. In most churches, a prayer will be prayed asking God to “show up” or “be present”.  We often here Benedictions like “God be with you”. But the problem with this language is that is subconsciously teaches us that God is somewhere else. Bell argues that this conception of God “can easily lead people to the notion that life, the world, existence, etc. is perfectly capable of going on without that God. That God becomes, in essence, optional.” (p 99)  But this is not the best way to view God. Bell proposes that God is always with us, right now. God is in all things, through all things, around all things, with all things, all of the time. And this view of God will change everything. Bell presents the case for God being present in everyone’s everyday life all of the time but a lack of awareness- or awakeness- on our part to see it. Using the Hebrew concept of “ruach” or Spirit of God that flows from God into all parts of creation, Bell uses the Hebrew Bible to paint beautiful images of God being the breath we breathe, the ground we stand, the source of our day to day life- but not in some mere metaphorical sense- quite literally!  Bell goes on to tell us how to be awake to see God in every breath of our lives. Bell says, “We have an intuitive awareness that everything is ultimately connected to everything else and I believe that is one more clue to which it is we’re talking about when we talk about God.” (p 116) In other words, God is present everywhere and in everyone. Therefore we need to be more consciously aware of this connectedness and in that, we shall see God. How beautiful. “We are involved, all of us. And it all matters, and it’s all connected.” (p 119) Bell suggests that fundamental to being aware of God in all things is the necessity of faith. “Everybody has faith…to believe God requires faith. To experience this world and its endless surprise and mystery and depth and then emphatically declare that is has no common source, it is not heading somewhere, and it ultimately has no meaning- that takes faith as well.” (p 124)  We all have the faith to see the beauty of God every day, but to experience the fullness of our lives requires us to slow down, breathe deeply, and gaze with more fascination than ever at the something mores’ that surround us all.

FOR

Quite simply, Rob Bell argues in this chapter that God is for every human being. God desires us all to thrive, to be ourselves. But many people’s conceptions of God are filled with against. Conditions. Bell argues that this is fundamentally a distortion of the Christian message.  We have all been told that God would bless us, love us, or anoint us if only we gave more, prayed, followed, believed, or had enough faith. But this is not the image of God in Christ. This is not the portrait of a God who is fundamentally for us all. Bell declares that this is the fundamental Gospel message which he defines as “Jesus’ announcement of good news and blessing over everybody who needs it… I’ve interacted…with people…who were operating under the conviction that if they could just get better- more moral, more disciplined, more holy….then they would be in or accepted or embraced or …affirmed by God….that is not Gospel. Gospel is shocking, provocative, revolutionary, subversive, counterintuitive good news that in you moments of greatest despair…sin…failing…falling short, God meets you there- right exactly there- in that place, and announces I am on your side.” (p 134-136) Bell makes the case that this Gospel calls us to change our way of thinking and understand that God is for us even when were not all together. “[This is] a radical word about our true selves, a word so fresh and unsettling and surprising that it requires us to trust that it is actually true, that God is indeed for us.” (p 152)

AHEAD

In this chapter, Bell addressed the idea that God is constantly calling us ahead, forward, more and more towards newness and innovation. And Bell bases his entire idea on the Biblical understanding of God. He uses God’s words in the Old Testament, “An eye for an eye…” which Bell argues was initially meant to lessen violence and injustice has been twisted by the religious to justify violence. And then Jesus comes. And he changes it. Bell points out many other examples of God’s innovative nature, always calling us ahead and foreword. “A careful reading of the Bible reveals a book about people having their minds blown and hearts exploded with a vision for humanity so thrilling and joyous it can’t be grasped all at once. It has to be broken down into a step, followed by a step….” (p 173) In other words, God is always calling us one step further, progressing ahead, and making way for new innovation. What a Nobel concept!

SO

In this final chapter, in good Pastoral spirit, Rob Bell offers practical applications of these “new” ways of speaking of God. Bell makes the case that God cannot be contained in buildings or words accurately- but that doesn’t mean we should stop speaking. He references the story of Christ’s crucifixion when the temple of the curtain was torn and God came out of the temple. But Bell suggests that this doesn’t actually mean God was actually confined to a building, but rather that our understanding of God was. Bell states that the whole world is God’s temple, holy, holy, holy. We are God’s temples. He is with us. Temples to the ancients and Church services us today, exist to remind us that “all of life matters, all work is holy, all moments sacred, all encounters with others encounters with the divine.” (p 183) Bell appeals that by embracing God in all things through Jesus, we will be more liberated, more freed, and more whole. This last chapter is truly an appeal for faith in Jesus, whether Bell would call it that way or not. Bell replaces the word “God” for “Jesus” and talks about the liberation, forgiveness, and newness of life that God desires to give us comes through Jesus Christ. And when we connect with Jesus, we are filled with an electric joy and wholeness that helps us see that every day, everything, and everyone is pulsating with the life of God who is all in all.

The book ends with a three-page Epilouge in which Bell asks us to “[say] yes, over and over and over again, a thousand times a day…its about waking up to that which is already happening, all around you all the time, in and through and over you, trusting that God is with us and for us and ahead of us….Now that’s what I’m talking about.” (p 211)

My Thoughts:

So now that I have summarized the content of Bells new book, I just wanted to take a moment and share a thought or two. First, I am thoroughly impressed and inspired by this new work. While there is some content that is likely going to cause some to scream “heretic”, this book is largely based on ideas that touch the core foundation of all faith. That God is for us, with us, and in us all. That is his not far from us. These thoughts are not new. They are not original to Bell. The come from lips of prophets of old, apostles, and from the Lord Jesus himself. While these ideas challenge many notions of contemporary westernized Christianity, I say “Amen!” It’s about time we rethought the notion of God. Not because we need something intrinsically new to say and believe- good luck finding that- but because we are so often blinded by our own lense with which we view the world. Rob Bell paints an image of God in this book that I am certain thousands upon thousands will find refreshing, revitalizing, and worshipful. I know I do. Rob makes it okay to believe in modern scientific discovery and hold a  robust faith in God. He makes it okay to doubt as a healthy and vital part of faith. He makes it okay to embrace paradox and unknowing. He does just what the early Christians themselves did- proclaims the mystery of our faith. Now that’s not to say this is the best book of the year. What We Talk About When We Talk About God is typical Bell, very similar to Love Wins in style and format while being a little redundant in content. If you’ve read or listened or watched Bell before, this book will not be shocking. He’s touched on almost all of the issues addressed in this new book elsewhere.

Its also important to realize that this book is not a theology textbook- Bell’s point in writing is rarely to create a theological treatise and almost always to stimulate thought, discussion, contemplation, and action from within the Christian community. And Bell is a master at such a task. But from a theological perspective as an Evangelical, I want to restate that I found nothing within the pages of this book that could or should be considered heretical. This book will offend those who are looking to be offended, inspire those who seek to be inspired, and will spark a new conversation about what we really talk about when we talk about God. And for that, I say “Amen!”

Grace and Peace-

Brandan

I give WWTAWWTAG by Rob Bell a 4.5 out of 5 Stars!

What We Talk About When We Talk About God is published by Harper Collins Publishers and will be released online and in bookstores everywhere on March 12, 2013.

This review reflects the views and opinons of the author only and was in no way influenced by HarperCollins Publishers or any other source.

This Review is Done In Partnership With:

Why did you choose to do this series on Ephesians and this book/topic?

I’ve been working through parts of Ephesians for a long time. Ephesians 5 is a really important section on marriage, gender roles, and relationships. Ephesians 6 is a really important section on spiritual warfare, Satan and demons, and spiritual opposition against the believer. Ephesians 1 is really big on predestination, election, choosing, and the pattern of salvation. So there are chunks of Ephesians that I’ve been working on, studying on, thinking on for a long time. I taught Ephesians a number of years ago but I don’t feel like I did a great job, so I wanted to do the book again. I’ve been preparing and planning and finally felt like it was time to go ahead and do that. 

This is one of your first major books that was written for a sermon series before the series was preached. Why? 

For years at Mars Hill Church we were strong in preaching and proclamation but weaker in discipleship and care. We grew to become a church with thousands of people and only a couple dozen small groups. Our pastors were buried in counseling, and our people were not mobilized to do the work of the ministry. Over the years, through lots of prayer, hard work, and trial and error, we’ve developed a way to better serve our people through something we call “campaigns.” We produce as much material we can on the front end of a sermon series so that our people have as many opportunities as possible to learn and grow. It’s not just the book, but also study guides, worship guides, small group curriculum, and more. We introduced the concept with Real Marriage in early 2012, and it’s worked really well. It’s a lot of work to prepare a full campaign in advance of every sermon series I preach, but at the very least we provide materials for our now 600+ Community Groups to walk through the books of the Bible that we study together as a church on Sundays.  

The whole concept of “grasping your identity in Christ” is rather heady and disconnected from “real life”. How do we practically live out our identity in Christ and what does it look like?

The concept actually has a ton of real-world application. In the church, we still go to the Bible to find out who God is, but unfortunately it’s common to depart from Scripture in favor of more “practical” sources when it comes to understanding who we are: social sciences, psychology, sociology. These disciplines may be helpful, but ultimately they fall short. 

In the book I share the story of Hannah, a young woman who grew up in the church. She walked away from Jesus as a teenager and found her identity in boys and her self worth in sex as they worshiped her body. The Holy Spirit ultimately convicted her of her sin, but rather than trusting in Jesus for a new identity, she believed she was nothing more than a guilty  sinner, filled with shame and remorse. Once she realized the truth of grace, however, that she was made new in Christ as a child of God, everything changed. “I have never felt so liberated in my life,” she said. Hannah has new joy, new desires, new hope, and a new future because she understands her new identity in Jesus. 

In the book you say that most of our underlying struggles in life are rooted in an issue of identity. Can you explain what you mean?

What we see in Genesis 1 is that God tells us who he is and who we are, and then in Genesis 3, Satan tells us who he thinks God is and who he thinks we are. He shows up and basically says, “Adam and Eve, I have a way for you to be like God.” God already made us like him (Gen. 1:26), but Adam and Eve fell for Satan’s lie. Our first parents disbelieved their God-given identity and instead sought to create their own apart from him. The result was the first sin and the Fall. We humans have had an identity crisis ever since, seeking to construct an identity ourselves while forgetting about the one God has already given us.

What is one thing that has changed in your theology in the last five years?

My theology hasn’t changed, but I am learning to emphasize certain truths that I’ve perhaps neglected in the past. For example, through the pen of Paul in Ephesians, God tells his church, “I do not cease to give thanks for you” (Eph. 1:16). Jesus appreciates us! I’ve often taught God’s omniscience as some sort of threat: he knows all and sees all of your sin. This is true, of course, but he sees more than just our sin. He also sees our obedience, our service, and our generosity. People may not appreciate all you do, but God sees what is done in secret. He knows we’re not perfect, but he appreciates us nonetheless. 

There is glorious encouragement in the omniscience of God for those who are obedient and faithful. This is an incredible concept that really transforms the way we treat other people. If you crave encouragement and appreciation from other people, you'll end up using them rather than loving them. If your appreciation comes from the Lord Jesus, not only will it be perfect, but also it will free you up to love and care for others without needing anything in return. 

We want to thank Pastor Mark Driscoll for his participation in this interview. You can pick up his latest book Who Do You Think You Are at a bookstore near you!

Grace and Peace

Brandan

My Journey Towards “Assurance”

When I began attending a large, fundamentalist Baptist church when I was 12, I prayed for Jesus to redeem me of my sins thousands of times. I went forward in altar calls. I wept over my sin and the reality of hell. Every night before bed, I would ask Jesus to come into my heart one more time just to make sure I had the bases covered. Yet through all of this, I was never “sure” of my eternal destiny. I feared the words of Jesus in the Gospels when he says that one the day of Judgment, many will come to him and say “Lord, Lord” but be met with the response, “I never knew you.” When it came time for my Baptism, I remember pulling aside my Pastor and falling down in the pew in utter despair, tears flowing the mighty rivers. I confessed that despite all of my apparent “fruit” and commitment to Christ, I didn’t think I was saved. My Pastor prayed with me there and assured me that I was a Christian. I got up, was baptized, and was satisfied that I was in fact, “in Christ”. For a few months. The struggle continued up until my first year in Bible College when I spent significant time in prayer closets asking Jesus into my heart. But as my understanding of what it means to be a Christian was fundamentally changed and corrected, my fear was transformed into faith.

What the Book Addresses:

I have to believe that if I had come across Greears book six years ago, I could have spared myself a lot of fear and pain. In this small, 121 page book, Greear very clearly answers some of the questions that lead many to despair. Questions like:

• ·         What does it mean that Jesus died in my place?
• ·         Does God want us to have assurance of salvation?
• ·         What is belief?
• ·         What is repentance?
• ·         What if I continue to doubt?
• ·         What about Baptism?

With questions like these, Greear provides very straightforward and Biblical answers to these questions. He points people away from the “feelings” of despair towards faith in the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. “Scripture never points us to our “feelings” for assurance…believing that salvation comes by faith alone is essential to gaining assurance…[for] saving faith looks outside of itself to what Christ has done, not back onto itself at what it has done.” Nothing in this book is exceptionally profound or “fresh” but this simple resource can and (Lord willingly) will provide great peace and assurance to the millions of people struggling to know if they are indeed in Christ. And for those who may not have submitted to the Lordship of Jesus with their whole heart, this book paves a clear path towards how to do that.

Greear confronts head-on the idea that "salvation" is something that can be "prayed". He says, "Salvation is not a prayer you pray in a one-time ceremony and then move on from; salvation is a posture of repentance and faith that you begin in a moment and maintain for the rest of your life." The reason a book that confronts these issues is so necessary in today's world is because so many Christians have been taught that their faith is an inward, personal, easy commitment which has caused the Church to loose its power, forsake its mission, and become nothing more that a gathering of "religious hypocrites" who confess with their mouths but don't believe (or live out) with their hearts. Christianity is about both confessing and doing, repenting and incarnating, and many evangelicals are realizing that we have missed the mark in our neglect to clearly teach this. Many may Protest this message, saying this "religion" or "salvation by works". But Greear answers this objection head-on, "Religion commands us to change out behavior, but it cannot change our hearts. It can tell us to do what is right, but cannot give us a love for what is right...Every religious message except for the gospel uses doubt and uncertainty to compel obedience...[but] God is not simply after obedience; He's after a whole new kind of obedience, the obedience that grows from desire. An obedience that obeys because it wants to, not just because it has to."

Greears new book goes hand in hand with David Platt’s newest book Follow Me, (which I have reviewed here) in tackling the “easy believism” that many watery evangelical churches often leave people with and calling for a radical grace-based discipleship that mimics the ways of Jesus. The message of these books is clear- that the call to follow Jesus is a call to submission, to bearing fruit, to working for His Kingdom and glory, to love, to abandon. It's a call to die and a call to live.

Conclusion

Overall, I believe that Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart is a great resource for churches and the struggling Christian to find peace and a firm foundation to stake their hope in. With that said, I give Greears new book:

4 out of 5 Stars

Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart is published by B&H Publishers and is available in bookstores everywhere.

About The Book:

What did Jesus really mean when He said, “Follow Me”?
Is it possible for people to say they believe in Jesus but not truly be born again? Is it possible for people to claim they have accepted Christ into their hearts yet not actually be Christians? Not only is it possible, but according to Pastor David Platt, it’s also highly probable. The author of the bestselling book Radical is convinced that many people in our churches today are misled as to what it truly means to be a follower of Christ. Western culture has drained the lifeblood out of Christianity and replaced it with a watered-down version of the gospel that is so palatable it isn’t even real anymore.
“Follow me,” Jesus calls. Two simple words that change everything. You will never be bored. You will always have purpose. You will never lack joy. But it will cost you. This call is not an invitation to pray a prayer. It is a summons to lose your life. A call to die. A call to live. Have you answered that call?

My Thoughts:

Over the past few months, there has been a stream of books on discipleship coming out of the neo-reformed/conservative evangelical movement. From Francis Chans recent book Multiply (forward by David Platt), to J.D. Grears "Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart", now comes David Platts new work, Follow Me (forward by Francis Chan) dealing with the issue of what it means for one to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ- a Christian. Now, as I said in my review of Francis Chans Multiply, I am not a fan of "discipleship" books because they tend to push on some very basic and often watered down principles of the Christian life while excluding many others. On one hand, much of Follow Me fits tightly in this category, yet on the other, David Platts teaching here is far from watered down and is a very poignant call to "wake up" to anyone who will pick up this book.

The premise of the book is that there are millions of people living in the world today who call themselves "Christians" but actually have no relationship with Jesus Christ. They have prayed a prayer, checked a box, or come forward in an altar call, but their lives remain unchanged and unfruitful. This book is more of a call to lethargic and nominal Christians to "wake up" with the threat that if they don't get serious about following Christ, they could end up before the throne of God saying "Lord, Lord" and receiving the fateful command- "Depart from me." This basic premise is a good one. It really is. Minus the "fear" aspect, there is truly a problem when, as Dr. Platt points out, 4/5 Americans claim to be a Christian and yet 1/5 actually are involved in a church. There is an issue when people think they're disciples of Jesus because they said a magic prayer and don't take up Jesus' call to live self-sacrificially for the sake of this world and the glory of his name. There is a problem when most people go around calling themselves followers of Jesus and yet live like they have never encountered him or heard his commands. This is a big deal.

My problem is, however, that their are two undergirding themes that this book laces in to that message that distract from its power- one, the idea that evangelical Christianity/Calvinism is true Christianity and are the only true Christians, and two, this principle of fear- Platt actually says that it is most probable that the majority of people in the Church today are going to hell (pg. 7). This for me is hugely problematic. I spent years praying every night for God to forgive me of my sin and make me a Christian again and again, fearing that if I fell asleep without reading my Bible I would surely be damned. Now Platt himself would reject this and agree that my lifestyle then was terrible. But his message based on fear is what causes this kind of mindset. It is not a fear of not truly being "in" that motivates a disciple of Jesus to follow closer to Christ, it is the joy of knowing that God desires you, loves you, and has forgiven you completely and is now expecting you to live as a beacon of this light of His kingdom to the world. I think that when we fundamentally change our perspective from fear to grace that we will be, in fact, more motivated to follow Christ with our whole lives. For the non-reformed reader who is not used to this type of speaking about the Church, one may be turned off to the broader and more important meaning and message of this book.

Aside from these two objections, I truly felt like the content of the book was practical, concise, and incredibly biblical. Platt writes with a sense of urgency calling Christians to a life of work. Active obedience of the commands of God to spread the Gospel of Jesus and build his Kingdom on the earth. A call to die to ourselves and live unto Jesus and his Kingdom. I can't think of a more important message for the lethargic Western Church today. This book will cause the Christian reader to really reflect on how we are following Christ and call us to a more radical (no pun intended) submission to his Lordship in our lives.

At the end of the book Platt drives home the message of the book by asking the reader to answer a few questions:

• How will I fill my mind with truth?
• How will I fuel my affections for God?
• How will I share God’s love as a witness in the world?
• How will I show God’s love as a member of a church?
• How will I spread God’s glory among all peoples?
• How will I make disciple makers among a few people?

These questions cause the reader to reflect and digest the content of the book which gives it a more lasting impact on our lives.

Overall, I was very pleased with Follow Me and had the honor of chatting with David Platt about some of the sections I had some questions about. This book is a powerful reminder that the Christian life isn't one of relaxation or laziness, but one of action, work, and even at times suffering- for the sake of the Kingdom and the Glory of God.

I give "Follow Me" by David Platt a 3.5 out of 5 Stars!

Author Interview:

For more of this interview, visit out YouTube Channel Here.

About the Book:

It is time for a new New Testament. Over the past century, numerous lost scriptures have been discovered, authenticated, translated, debated, celebrated. Many of these documents were as important to shaping early-Christian

communities and beliefs as what we have come to call the New Testament; these were not the work of shunned sects or rebel apostles, not alternative histories or doctrines, but part of the vibrant conversations that sparked the rise of Christianity. Yet these scriptures are rarely read in contemporary churches; they are discussed nearly only by scholars or within a context only of gnostic gospels. Why should these books be set aside? Why should they continue to be lost to most of us? And don’t we have a great deal to gain by placing them back into contact with the twenty-seven books of the traditional New Testament—by hearing, finally, the full range of voices that formed the early chorus of Christians?

To create this New New Testament, Hal Taussig called together a council of scholars and spiritual leaders

to discuss and reconsider which books belong in the New Testament. They talked about these recently found documents, the lessons therein, and how they inform the previously bound books. They voted on which should be added, choosing ten new books to include in A New New Testament. Reading the traditional scriptures alongside these new texts—the Gospel of Luke with the Gospel of Mary, Paul’s letters with The Letter of Peter to Philip, The Revelation to John with The Secret Revelation to John—offers the exciting possibility of understanding both the new and the old better. This new reading, and the accompanying commentary in this volume, promises to reinvigorate a centuries-old conversation and to bring new relevance to a dynamic tradition.

My Thoughts:

As a book reviewer, I generally try to stay away from reviewing translations, expanded editions, and new texts of Sacred Scriptures. There is often not too much to say, especially since I am not scholar. But when I received A New New Testament in the mail from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, I wanted to help get the word out. Nothing interests me more than early Christianity. The liturgies, writings, songs, and practices of the early Christians have so much to say to us in our post-Christian, post-modern world today. I often spend devotional time reading through the writings of the Apostolic Fathers because they have so much wisdom and truth to help expand upon the messages of the New Testament for us that most evangelicals often miss to our own detriment. So when I receive a New Testament that said "combining traditional and newly discovered texts", my interest was peaked.

Now, this version of the New Testament is a product of the Jesus Seminar. They have been busy pushing out editions of the New Testament recently. In fact, back in November I received a copy of Marcus Borgs Evolution of the Word: New Testament in Chronilogical Order from Harper Collins in the mail. I chose not to review that because, well, it was basically just the NRSV New Testament in a different order with intros written by Borg. It's a great edition, to be sure. But not much that I could really comment on. But this New New Testament is far more "new" and radical than Borgs Bible or any other New Testament translation I have ever seen (save only Harper Collins The Other Bible). This New Testament contains most of the traditional books of the established canon along with 13 new texts including:

• The Secret Revelation of John
• Odes of Solomon
• The Prayer of the Apostle Paul
• The Gospel of Thomas
• The Thunder: Perfect Mind
• The Gospel of Mary
• The Gospel of Truth
• The Prayer of Thanksgiving

Now to be sure, I think most Christian scholars would agree that most of these books actually don't belong in the New Testament. They contain historically inaccurate information or have their origins as forgeries or within small "Christian" cults of the first few centuries after Jesus. I also find it ironic that books that were likely considered canonical by early Christians- like The Shepherd of Hermes or the letters of Polycarp or Clement aren't included in this new version of the New Testament. But this is the Jesus Seminar after all. (haha)

But even if the books in this new collection are not truly Christian scripture, they can teach us a lot about what some groups believed and can help us expand our thinking on certain issues of theology that are addressed in profoundly unique ways in these texts. We need not be afraid of these texts, nor should we naively embrace them. No one is seriously proposing that. However, we can still expect to be enlightened through these works of the early Christian church. Overall, I think the New New Testament is a profoundly interesting and potentially faith-building work that can benefit Christians of all stripes and backgrounds.

A New New Testament Edited by Hal Taussig will be released on March 5, 2013.

About the Book:

(Fiction) Expert linguist Dr. Andrew Farley has discovered a device containing thousands of archived files that reveal a worldwide spiritual conspiracy. Operation Screwtape, the largest of these files, details an intelligent scheme to steal, kill, and destroy.

At great personal risk to himself and his reputation, Dr. Farley has translated this document and made it available to the world. What you do with this information is up to you.

My Thoughts:

I have to be honest- when I picked up this book I didn't expect much. Not because of the author or the theological content- I have been a fan of Dr. Andrew Farleys books for quite a while. But I always get nervous when people write Christian fiction, especially that is based off of other Christian Fiction (The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis) and when people write about Spiritual Warfare. So when I heard about Dr. Farleys new book I was very skeptical to say the least. It took me a while to actually pick it up and read it once I had received my review copy. But once I did, I couldn't put it down.

In this short work (184 Pages in all), Dr. Farley takes us through a hidden manuscript that has recently been revealed- a training manual of sorts- for demons. The manual is divided in to three sections: Steal, Kill, and Destroy, and outlines Satans plans to distract, distort, and destroy the follower of Jesus Christ. I know that sounds a little hokey, but I promise you, this book is filled with wit, theological depth, and Gospel-centered teaching that will challenge, convict, and entertain all who pick up this book. I should not that this book isn't actually on the topic of Spiritual Warfare at all- the topics Farley addresses are broad, from Baptism, to the Bible, to Celebrity Pastors, to the idea of an angry and condemning God- and how all these things (and many others) are actually tools of the enemy to distract the follower of Christ. I found myself cringing and saying "Ouch!" out loud as I read through some of the sections where Dr. Farley takes a no-nonsense approach in addressing the various topics that can cause Christians to be divided, discouraged, and disoriented. Yet the "Ouch" was not one of hurt but conviction and caused me to rethink some of the issues that have caused the body of Christ so much harm for so long.

Of course, no one will agree with everything Dr. Farley says, but I guarantee that if you take the time to read this book that your faith will be the better for it. This was a new genre for Dr. Andrew Farley and he has hit a home run with this book. The only criticism I can offer is that some parts of the book don't quite flow- but it's supposed to be a manual for spiritual war by demons, so I really can't be too critical. With all of that said:

 I give Operation Screwtape by Andrew Farley a 4.5 out of 5 Stars.

Operation Screwtape is published by Baker Books and will be available wherever books are sold on January 15th, 2013. (Available in E-Book NOW)

Author Interview:

Review for the Patheos Book Club Roundtable Discussion

For more information about the Patheos Book Club, click here.

About the Book:

Pastor Mark Driscoll answers the one question you need to ask: Who am I in Christ?

Being a Christian can be like driving in a foreign city. You try living on the straight and narrow but instead take a wrong turn onto the wide avenue of sin and temptation. In the process, you become discouraged and condemned, limping along in your faith—or giving up altogether.

But this isn’t the real Christian life. You can make a U-turn.

Drawing on nearly two decades of pastoring, Pastor Mark Driscoll knows that underlying our struggles in life is the issue of our identity. “The fundamental problem we have in this world,” he says, “is that we don’t understand who we truly are—children of God made in his image—and define ourselves by any number of things other than Jesus. Only by knowing our false identity apart from Christ in comparison to our true identity in him can we finally deal with and overcome the issues in our lives.”

You aren’t what’s been done to you but what Jesus has done for you. You aren’t what you do but what Jesus has done. What you do doesn’t determine who you are. Rather, who you are in Christ determines what you do. These are fundamental truths that Pastor Mark explores in depth throughout Who Do You Think You Are? Finding Your True Identity in Christ.

My Thoughts:

Over time, I have changed a bit from the super-reformed guy that I once was to a more progressive Evangelical and it seems that Pastor Mark has changed a bit too, moving perhaps further to the right. But I was none the less excited when his new book Who Do You Think You Are? was released because this seemed to be a new topic for Pastor Mark and it promised to be a lot less...rough?... then some of his other recent works.

Who Do You Think You Are? is a book about finding and embracing your identity in Jesus Christ as a Christian. Mark Driscoll takes a very broad angle in this book and captures a lot of the Christian life under the umbrella of "identity". In the opening pages of the book, Driscoll with a statement that I think sum up the whole message of the book:

"God's enemy and our adversary tempted our first parents to sin by creating an "identity crisis". The father of lies implied that their eyes were closed to their true identity and that their "eyes [would] be opened, and [they would] be like God... Here is the truth: God made us with our eyes open in his "likeness," which is our true identity. But Satan and people like him, with the same sinful motives (much like Leonards friends in "Memento"), lie to us about who we are in order to serve their own plans." (Pg. 5)

The purpose of this book is to get believers to find their true self worth, identity, purpose, and value, in and through Jesus Christ alone. A very nobel and needed topic indeed. Throughout the rest of the book, Driscoll hits on different aspects of the identity we have inherited through the Gospel. He includes a number of different "identities" (15 actually) including: Saint, Appreciated, Afflicted, Gifted, Adopted, Loved, and Rewarded. I have to say that I have heard a lot of teaching and read a lot about identity in Christ and Driscolls work is by far the most precise guide I have ever to seen to all of the things we are and have received through our relationship with Jesus. Driscoll intertwines deep theological truths, real-life stories, and very practical illustrations to help build his points, which I think he does very well. On the overall content and message of the book, I think Mark Driscoll has perhaps written his finest work. This book, whose purpose is actually to aid Mars Hill Church and the hundreds of Pastors around the country who have agreed to preach through a series in Ephesians by the same title with Pastor Mark, in their understanding and meditating on the sermon series that is to come. In essence, this book is a small group resource book to go along with the series- although it most certainly can be read as a standalone book.

With all of that said, there are a few issues in the book when we get passed the general teaching and message. Pastor Mark Driscoll is known for being edgy and for having a very controversial theology and way of teaching- and that does come through in this book. My friend Jimmy Spencer (author of Love Without Agenda) noted: I just wish Driscoll was not intellectually dishonest... "In Christ" really should read "My systemic version of Christ." It is true that if one is not working from a very conservative, reformed framework, then much of ideas and theology within this book will be foreign, at least, and possibly wholly inapplicable at most. Another friend, Bo Earle, a graduate student at Union Seminary NYC, continued Jimmy's point saying: "that's why I like the term "constructive theology "better than systematic theology, because it contains the admission that our "systems" are really constructions and are therefore contingent, historically conditioned, fallible, etc". The point here is that the entire foundation of Mark Driscolls book is based on the notion that his theology is the right theology and that permeates throughout the theology of the book and will make a book that could have been very helpful to the broader Church of Jesus Christ, largely inapplicable to many.

But I will once again state that walking away from this book, I was encouraged and felt a deeper grounding in the theological reality of my identity in Christ. I still stand firm that I believe this is most likely Mark Driscolls best work yet and will be very helpful to many in the conservative/neo-reformed Evangelical world. Mark Driscoll concludes the book with this powerful paragraph:

"In Christ, you are forgiven. In Christ, you are clean. In Christ, your captivity has been replaced with a new identity...So who do you think you are? If you love Jesus, serve him, follow him, and call him your Lord and Savior. There's good news: in Christ you have a new identity. And the great news about this good news is that once you really know and believe that, your life will be changed forever. Grace and peace to you in Christ" (Pg. 227)

Amen?

With that said, I give Who Do You Think You Are? a:

3 out of 5 Stars.

Coming Soon:A Follow Up Skype Interview with Mark Driscoll!