Book Review: Praying With Jesus - A Year Of Daily Prayers And Reflections On The Words And Actions Of Jesus

Eugene Peterson is one of the most prolific and best-loved Christian authors writing today. He is perhaps best known for ‘The Message,’ but has authored numerous other books mainly in the area of Christian spirituality. Peterson is renowned as a scholar and language expert, but also writes extraordinarily well. I remember hearing him say in an interview that he often spends days reworking just one paragraph to get it exactly right. Through the strength and beauty of his words, Peterson is able to open doors for his readers into deeper understandings of God, discipleship and Scripture.

This book is not one of his better known ones, but really should be. It is classic Peterson – beautifully written and deeply profound and because of its nature and style would make a perfect Christmas gift – hence the reason for including the review now. As the title implies, it is a year’s worth of daily readings – both prayers and reflections – on the words of Jesus.

Peterson works his way through the Gospels of Matthew and John, and encourages his readers to remove themselves from the hurly-burly hectic pace of daily life and to read, listen and pray “with the natural, comforting rhythms of Jesus’ own teachings.”

Peterson reminds us that when we read Jesus’ words we are not looking for information as much as companionship and our aim should be to become shaped and molded by what we encounter. Peterson encourages us read with Jesus in a way that “shapes the heart at the same time it informs the intellect, sucking out the marrow-nourishment from the bone-words.”

Thus, the aim of these devotional readings and prayers is to help slow us down – to discipline ourselves to quietly sit at the feet of Jesus and just soak in His Spirit and Nature. And as we learn to pray regularly and frequently as Jesus himself did, it is through this attentive apprenticeship (or discipleship) that we can discover new depths of relationship with God and others. As Peterson himself says, we can discover "a world in which repetitions deepen into intimacies and a long silence is as eloquent as a sonnet."

I have read my way through this little book twice (separated by a year) to aid in my personal devotions, and really cannot recommend it highly enough. It is jam-packed with wisdom to the point that I actually got more out of it the second time round than the first. It would make a fantastic Christmas gift, but be sure to buy yourself a copy at the same time since you will gain personally so much from it (and no, I am not paid to say that!).

Book Review: Future Leader

It comes with a certain amount of relief to read a Christian leadership book that is not overly unbalanced towards the whole ‘bigger is better’ and ‘onwards and upwards’ kind of thinking that has tended to dominate lately. It is a great strength that the Christian leadership movement through movements like the Global Leader Summit has paid more careful attention to the world of commercial leadership, but sometimes this focus has resulted in the loss of certain fundamental principles of leadership that Scripture emphasizes: Principles such as servanthood, humility and the vital importance of a well-managed interior life.

Viv Thomas’ book ‘Future Leader’ manages to get that mix right. He uses the best of organizational management research but always filters it through very Biblical models. Thomas rightly asserts that “Leadership is a key to success in any organization,” and then engages with what it means to get leadership right in a post-modern context as it is guided by Scripture. Thomas acknowledges that leadership can never be black and white in a world that is filled with ambiguities, and that leaders have to face the great challenge of wisely moving others through messy and confusing circumstances that might never have clear answers or solutions.

Thomas begins by reminding his readers that crucial to all Christian leadership is the realization and embrace of God’s call to lead. He writes, "The great Christian leaders are identified by the quality of their conversation with God." Thomas goes onto describe this ongoing conversation as the “inscape” of the leader as he compares the very different leadership styles of Pontius Pilate and Jesus under the same pressure-filled circumstances. Thomas describes how Pilate would have been a much better leader if he had paid more attention to his “inscape,” or his inner world and character. Thomas speaks of leadership in "blurred times" and our need to find clarity during such times. That clarity comes from re-asserting our followership of God. Thomas warns us to not confuse ‘vision’ with our own agendas because that will inevitably lead to clashes with others.

Building on all of this, Thomas tells us that a good leader will have three main qualities:

1. They will be driven by compassion, not obsession.
2. They will be rooted in relationships, not systems.
3. They will promote life, not self image.

Essentially, Thomas is saying that leadership is always a reflection of our “inscape” – whether that is rooted in Christ and conversant with God - or whether it is more indulgent in ego issues and self-glorification. Before our best-laid plans, great vision, purpose and accomplishments, there is character and the calling to relationship. Within this Thomas not only takes us through a deep and very helpful look at some biblical examples of leadership that will help us affect and change the future for good, he also stresses the vital importance of mentor relationships by detailing the lives of some people who have inspired him.

‘Future Leader’ is clearly written and infused with both wisdom and compassion, resulting in a compelling manifesto of leadership that is thoroughly biblical that provides valuable guidance to every leader's necessary escape from a compulsive and perfectionist approach to his or her role, and into a Christ-rooted leadership that serves in love rather than fear.

Book Review: Hope Against Darkness - The Transforming Vision of Saint Francis in an Age of Anxiety

Richard Rohr is a brilliant thinker who writes fluently on a number of different topics relating to human spirituality. In this book, Rohr speaks as a modern prophet who powerfully challenges the current setup of our society and calls us to significant change. In this way, Rohr reminds us of the hope that Christ always offers in confusing times.

Rohr tells us that the age we live in can be termed the “age of anxiety,” and thereafter paints a bleak picture of the prevailing thought, culture and attitudes of our society. So much of how we think, act and treat others is based upon our deeply-rooted anxieties, and results in cultural biases, prejudices, oppression, greed and excessive victimhood, - basically, all our personal inner “darkness”. Rohr points out that this “darkness” results in religious, scientific and cultural fundamentalism and also in what may at first glance appear to be the exact opposite - nihilism. Rohr writes:

"It is much easier to look for someone to blame, sue, expel or expose when there is no coherent meaning or divine purpose in the world. Someone has to be at fault for my unhappy life! As long as we keep trying to deal with the mystery of evil in some way other than forgiveness and healing, we will continue to create negative ideologies like fundamentalism and nihilism in all their endless forms. One demands perfect order; the other denies that it is even possible. Jesus does neither, but lives on the horns of the human dilemma."

Instead of investing blindly in those people and institutions for some sort of misguided security, or conversely living with a sense of victimhood and looking to those same people and institutions as scapegoats, Rohr encourages us to follow the way of Jesus. Here Rohr looks to Christian tradition for mentors who have followed the way of Jesus despite similar social and cultural challenges. Rohr uses the life and example of Francis of Assisi because he believes that Francis lived and thrived in a very similar age to our own.

Rohr describes in detail how following Saint Francis' way to forgiveness and love, and "owning the darkness," can bring us out of the gloomy postmodern depths in which we find ourselves. For example, Rohr says that we all too easily embrace hate instead of love when we feel anxious, because hate is easier to take up and more quickly gives us a sense of control and temporary power over situations that we are fearful of. Rohr writes:

"Hate unites a group quickly, it gives a person identity even if it is a negative one, and most of all it takes away doubt and all free floating anxiety. It gives us a place to stand that feels superior and in control. Hate settles the dust and ambiguity that none of us like. Hate is more common and more immediately effective than love."

Yet, the consequences of hate are immensely destructive to all. This is why Rohr encourages us to follow after Francis and be prepared to “live the emptiness of not knowing" for "You do not have to create all the patterns and you do not have to fix all the failures. What else would be the beginnings of peace? Only people who have moved beyond ego and controlling of all outcomes, only those practiced at letting go, see fear for the impostor that it is. To be trapped inside of your own small ego is always to be afraid. Perfect love casts out all fear. (1 John 4:18)."

Rohr can always be counted upon to offer wonderfully fresh insights into both Scripture and modern society. He is a deep thinker who is able to craft his thoughts together into words that will really make you think, and then think again. I especially loved how he uses the example of Francis of Assisi, a man who followed Jesus so closely and developed his spirituality in a similar age of anxiety to our own. This book is highly recommended!

Book Review: When Christians Get it Wrong

Lately, it has become trendy to write about how negatively Christianity is perceived and how Christians need to accept responsibility for this and more importantly do something about it. There are at least 5 or 6 books that have come out recently regarding this, from the immensely popular ‘UnChristian’to Jason Berggren’s provocatively named ‘10 Things I Hate About Christianity.’ All of these speak to huge problems within Christianity today, and we really should be listening carefully to them, but what I enjoy particularly about Adam Hamilton’s contribution (When Christians Get It Wrong) is his special ability to take complex, controversial ideas and clearly and gracefully explain them.

Hamilton is a Methodist minister of a large church in the States called The Church of the Resurrection, and was also a key-note speaker at the 2010 Global Leaders Summit. This particular book was originally a sermon series which he has bulked out into a book and stemmed from a conversation he had with a young man who carried extremely negative perceptions of Christianity. Hamilton looks at five particular areas of negative perception in Christian behavior; including science, politics, other religions, the problem of evil and homosexuality. All of these areas have their particular controversies and Hamilton spells out how Christianity has tended to ostracise others in the way it has approached and dealt with them.

Hamilton believes that the often errant Christian approach to these issues has raised barriers that prevent people from coming to Christ, and quite often these barriers are formed out of nothing more than our own hypocrisies, prejudices and fears that we hide behind words like “scripture,” “doctrine” and “truth”. In each case, Hamilton affirms that Christianity should be engaging with these controversial areas, but should be doing it in a way that is far more authentic, graceful, loving and thoughtful. As he systematically works his way through each larger issue, Hamilton proposes alternative understandings and approaches that might help people to Christ rather than hindering them. In each of these, he also lays down some challenges in widening our understanding, changing our attitudes and improving our behavior to those we might disagree with. Hamilton also helpfully includes some examples of what it looks like when we “get it right.”

You may not agree with all the conclusions that Hamilton draws, but we can all certainly learn from the behavior adjustments he challenges us to. At the end of the day, what we can all agree with is Hamilton’s desire to remove those unnecessary and sometimes downright cruel stumbling blocks to Jesus that Christians often erect in their churches and general thinking. Hamilton’s common sense wisdom and thoughtful grace shines through every page making this book well worth reading, but don’t just take my word for it because I have included below a recommendation by the renowned pastor and academic Scot McKnight:

“If there was one pastor in the United States to whom I'd go for pastoral wisdom on the issues that divide us and that need pastoral words of warning and compassion, it is Adam Hamilton. Even when one does not agree with each of his proposals, one will come away refreshed, enlightened, and determined to ‘get it right.’ Because we sometimes ‘get it wrong,’ we learn that the only way to get it right is the way of humility, confession, compassion, and renewed commitment to a deeper integrity.”

Book Review: Second Choice - Embracing life as it is

In ‘Second Choice: Embracing life as it is,’ author Viv Thomas examines how modern society teaches us to live our lives. Thomas challenges the popular assumption that only people who are famous, rich or outwardly successful are counted as being significant. He says that this unhealthy obsession of ours means that we live with idealized versions of how life should be. So whenever our life hits tough times, or things don’t work out as smoothly as we initially imagined, we are left feeling insignificant and as if we have somehow failed. We stop living to the full because our first choice world is no longer open to us and we lose much hope and meaning as a result. We live with a sense of disappointment and growing bitterness.

Yet, Thomas insists, second choice events are part and parcel of all life, they are by no means an indication of a lack of significance. Our lives can have tremendous impact and meaning even if all our first choice dreams crumble around us. To illustrate this possibility, Thomas uses the book of Daniel to throw light on the ‘second choices’ all of us inevitably face. Daniel’s first choice world was thrown into turmoil by his exile and translocation into a new country and vastly different culture that made it extremely difficult for him to live a faithful and God-honouring life. Using Daniel’s experiences as he was forced to operate in this ‘second-choice’ scenario, Thomas explains how wonderful things can still happen if our own lives are dislocated by unfortunate circumstances.

“Second Choice” is well-written and absolutely littered with wisdom. It is by no means a long book, and is easy enough to read, but Thomas’ reflections on Daniel’s experiences, which he intersperses with contemporary stories and personal experiences, is more than enough to leave you thinking for a long time after you finish it. Thomas’s own personal depth, and his experiences as a leader of long standing is clearly evident throughout and if you take the time to grapple with his words you will definitely be enriched as a result.

Whatever you ‘second choice’ circumstances may be - sickness, redundancy, relationship difficulties and more – reading this book will help you to face these realities more maturely and negotiate their difficulties more wisely. God’s intention for us is life in all its fullness and our second choice situations can become places of “grace, community, imagination and maturity if we learn to embrace life as it is.”

Book Review: Searching for God Knows What

Donald Miller, whose best known book is the New York times bestseller Blue Like Jazz, is one of the more popular young Christian writers at the moment. He has been compared with Phillip Yancey, but in many ways is an entirely different writer. Miller has a far more conversational-type style, is less structured, and is not as well researched as Yancey. However, Miller does bring some fantastic thinking to his works, which with his casual style, excellent stories and entertaining humour is probably the reason he is so well received, particularly in the young ‘Emergent church’ set.

Searching for God Knows What is by no means a perfect book, but it is challenging, humourous and very authentic. Miller believes that the greatest desire of every person is the desire for redemption. Every person is continually searching for redemption (or at least the semblance or feeling of it) in his or her life, believing countless gospels that promise to fix the brokenness, but cannot always fulfill that promise. Typically their pursuits include the desire for fulfilling relationships, successful careers, satisfying religious systems, status, and escape, and all of these are part of humanity’s fall.

Miller believes that the inability to find redemption through these ‘gospels’ leads to chaotic relationships, self-hatred, the accumulation of meaningless material possessions, and a lack of inner peace. He outlines how the gospel of Jesus, while the true gospel and the only way to find meaning in life and real redemption, has often been presented in a false way leading people to miss out.

Miller uses his great strength in writing – a very personable and likeable narrative style – to describe how he became an atheist at age 18 because he encountered a version of Jesus’ gospel which he found deeply unsatisfying, and in fact now believes was idolatrous. Miller believes that Christianity as a religion should never be presented as a formula, its tenets broken down into bullets or step-by-step points to fit modern Western thought patterns. Miller also believes that our competitive and materialistic dog-eat-dog world has entered Christianity, and we have become far too quick to judge others based upon pre-decided rules and tenets, instead of viewing them (and ourselves) through the lens of our relationship with Jesus.

At its very core, and Miller argues this again and again, Christianity is relationship and seekers should be presented with biblical stories rather than steps to salvation. Miller talks in detail throughout the book about Jesus, and his role in the salvation of humanity, and how relationship with Jesus is the most important part of the message, and not any rules or guidelines setup by organizations and institutions. Miller argues effectively throughout the book that this relationship with Jesus should affect the way we live, how we view others and ourselves, and promote justice, compassion and care for the poor.

Reading Miller is much like talking with a good (and wise) friend over a cup of coffee or in a small group setting. Due to its simple narrative style, this book can be devoured in a few sittings, but there are a few profound statements and stories that will leave you thinking for quite a while longer. This is not to say that Miller’s book is without weakness. Like any good friend or fellow Bible study member, his thoughts are there to be dialogued with and not accepted wholesale. They need to be carefully considered and chewed over, which I think, is the intention of the book. For example, I found that Miller’s understanding of how propositional truth affects relationship to be fuzzy, i.e. what we do believe about God IS important because that will affect how we relate to him, we cannot dismiss all doctrine as being an unnecessary hindrance to relationship. Miller also shares the typical Emergent church weakness in that he challenges the present systems of church really well, but seems unable to come up with compelling alternatives. Still, this book is definitely worth reading because Miller clearly IS a wise and thoughtful person who has much of value to share.

Book Review: Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament

One of the most common laments of your average Bible reader is how much they struggle with the Old Testament. Whether it is because of the violence, or the strange, almost other-worldly customs, or even just the endless lists and genealogies, the Old Testament is at best ignored by many Christians, and at worst viewed with a great deal of suspicion and anxiety.

Christopher Wright does not agree with this viewpoint at all. In fact, he believes that the Old Testament is an incredibly valuable spiritual resource for Christ-followers because it was so essential to the formation of Jesus’ identity and mission. Wright is convinced that Jesus’ own story is rooted in the story of Israel, and that understanding the story of Israel will broaden and deepen our understanding of Christ.

Wright is an acclaimed Old Testament scholar, but wears his scholar’s mantle lightly and instead writes with a good communicator’s instinct for the lack of awareness and appreciation that the average person might have in regards to a subject he is so utterly proficient in. Wright is obviously passionate about the Old Testament and the importance of studying it, but he is equally passionate about convincing his audience to agree with him on this. The result is a book that is designed to draw the average reader past the misconceptions and prejudices, and into the incredibly absorbing world of the Old Testament.

Rather than tackling the Old Testament en masse, Wright takes 5 chapters to relate Jesus to the following five themes – story, promise, identity, mission and values. Each chapter is fascinating, and will give you plenty to think about as you learn more about just how much the Old Testament can increase our appreciation of the Jesus story. In his own words, Wright sees the Old Testament as telling “the story which Jesus completes”.

My favourite part about this book is how it does succeed in deconstructing various misconceptions and prejudices about the Old Testament, and also how it lays down solid foundations for the reader in instilling excitement and lending new appreciation to the very scriptures, which shaped so much of Jesus himself. This book comes highly recommended and is well worth reading, especially if you are one of those who find the Old Testament scary, off-putting or obsolete. Read this book and I am sure that Wright will convince you otherwise.