When the Truth Hurts

Accidental Pharisees

by Larry Osborne

Over the years various writers have tried to define Pharisaism.  It dates from prior to the time of Christ to the present.  It seems to simply have a different cultural context, but the foundations are the same in whatever generation it appears.  The pendulum swings, and humans react to religious norms by pushing back.  So liberalism is followed by conservatism, and vice versa.  It seems we can rarely achieve balance.

I agree with Larry that some of the more egregious sins of our day are the pride, exclusivity , and legalism.  There seems to be agreement that God expects his disciples to move toward holiness in their personal lives.  As with a lot of concepts, we have extreme difficulty defining it so that it fits every generation and culture. 

Larry tries hard and somewhat successfully not to get into religious ditches on each side of balance.  I do not know him personally, nor his journey, so I must try to understand his perspective gained from life experiences.  Having written a dissertation on a corollary subject (philosophical foundations for creating sects) I offer that Larry has a message that, if heard, could help to bring some balance to evangelical movements.    As always, our danger is to become the complainer about complaining.

Our Savior is our savior.  It is not in our definitions but in our dynamic relationships.  While our tendency toward institutionalization drives us to uniformity, the Holy Spirit emphasizes our unique personalities and giftings.  If you can’t say “amen” to this, you should cry “oh me” and pray for healing grace.

Heaven's Lessons

Heaven's Lessons by Steve Sjogren

Personal experience is the “proof” of whether we have incorporated biblical principles in our life.  As with many of us, we don’t usually discover who we are until we are pressed into a NDE.  Steve offers this sequel to “The Day I Died” and tells the rest of the story. 

Life’s lessons are sometimes overwhelming and it takes times to process them and make sense of them.  Steve is transparent in his struggle to accept not only the medical mishap, but the poor treatment he received from those who should have loved him deeply.  But processing these difficult times usually draws us closer to God as we are compelled to pray to survive.

Although my circumstances have been different, I can concur with Steve with each of the lessons.  My journey did include some major medical issues, and I spent five weeks in a hospital and about two years recuperation time.  The last lesson he shares is the greatest:  Be Thankful.  Scripture not only teaches us to “give thanks IN everything” (1 Th 5:18) but also to “give thanks FOR everything.” (Eph 5:20)  By human strength alone, that is not possible.  But with God’s great reservoir of grace, we learn not only to accept these afflictions, but to see how God uses them to enrich our lives as well as make us more effective for the kingdom. 

This book is not literary genius, but it is a life story of remarkable grace!

Look Before You Lead: How to Discern & Shape Your Church Culture

Dr Aubrey Malphurs has created a significant work on the culture of the church.  Very few have attempted to define the culture much less address the essential impact this has on our functioning within the church. 

Many have approached evangelism by trying to enculturate groups with their particular culture.  That has very little impact in raising the level of Christ-likeness over the long term.  Others have tried to reduce evangelism to simply getting people “converted,” i.e., making a decision for Christ.

The tough work is always to disciple people and that requires changing cultures.  Dr. Malphurs gives us a comprehensive view of culture.  On pages 28-31 he gives us 37 characteristics of culture in the first “layer” of understanding and I’m sure that is not exhaustive, though each one is important. 

In Chapter 4 he gives insights on the second layer, or values.  This section is worthy of spending considerable time in prayerful study in order to discern what a church’s values really are.  After fifty years in ministry, I have yet to encounter a church board who really understood their own personal values, and very little of their church’s values. 

In Chapter 5 he moves on to discuss core beliefs.  Core beliefs, not stated doctrine or theology, determine how we act in real-life situations.  On page 60 he gives ten reasons why beliefs are so important.

One measure of great leadership is the ability to define your current location on the spiritual journey.  If you don’t know where you are or who you are, it’s nearly impossible to plan a strategy to move forward.  Dr. Malphurs gives great insight on discovering a church’s culture and a pastor’s culture; both are essential understanding.

The second half of the book provides the process for shaping the culture.  I love his term for pastor as the “culture sculptor.”  With the large appendix he includes many tools to help accomplish the transformation of culture.  While he has presented much of the academic insights, none of this can be accomplished without the empowering of the Holy Spirit.  We all naturally resist change, but God can energize us to truly fulfill the Great Commission.

Proverbs Indexed

Gus Dallas provides a subject index for the book of Proverbs.  He provides no commentary or additional insight into this great book of wisdom.  In a way, God’s Word speaks for itself and is sufficient to accomplish the purpose for which it is written without additional comment. 

For someone unfamiliar with the Proverbs, this index might provide a resource to encourage one to seek biblical truth on the various subjects.  If it encourages someone to discover God’s insight on a particular subject and to accept and implement the truth, then his effort to create the index is worthwhile.

I was interested in Gus’s rating system of “good” and “bad” which was really more of an application of truth.  There is no “bad” truth.

However one approaches the scripture, there is value in reading, studying, and applying it.  However, the editing was weak as evidenced by all the typographical errors which creates a distraction to studying.

Since I have read the book of Proverbs at least 100 times, the index is of little value to me.  However, I could easily recommend it to one who was new to the scripture.  For them it would make a handy guide and could encourage additional study.

When Old is New

A review of 20,000 Days and Counting by Robert D. Smith

This book was a quick and interesting read.  I don’t think there was a single new thought throughout and yet I found it inspiring.  Similar to some of Og Mandino’s books where the messages were to the point, and extra verbiage was avoided. 

I think the fact that this was an intensely personal story, and certainly not an attempt to establish himself as a major author, gave the book an authenticity often missing in self-help books.   I certainly was reminded of the brevity of life, and the importance of utilizing our time wisely.  Few people achieve even their own dreams, much less dreaming big enough dreams. 

If my calculations are correct, I have lived over 24,000 days, and my mother has lived nearly 34,000 days.  While we seldom are good self-evaluators, it is my hope that I will correctly see the major impact that my mother has had, not only on her family, but on others as well.  My prayer is that I, too, will make a major contribution with my life.

I especially like these chapters:  Living Each Day as if it were Your Last, If We Can Learn How to Die, We”ll Know How to Live, and Motivation is a Myth.  This is certainly a recommended read.

When a movie becomes a book!

"Rudy" by Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger

I remember well watching the film, “Rudy.”  Even though it has been nearly twenty years, the spirit and inspiration that it incited can still be felt!  So it was intriguing to see the book come out almost two decades later—the opposite of most processes.

The book was not a disappointment, because it added significant dimensions to “the story.”  The story is told in the first person, and that connected well.  I think Rudy is correct that “the story” became bigger than his life because of the principles that were engrained in the story.  It is such a wonderful contrast to the deficiencies so prevalent in our current culture.  It promotes the value of the large family (and I fully identify with that being the 13^th of 15 children.)  It presents the dogged determination of a charactered person and espouses values such as loyalty, persistence, self-control and responsibility.  The book gives great details missing in the movie and helps us to see inside the heart and mind of Rudy.

Another connection for me was that my grandson was named Jeffrey Ruettiger, and is affectionately called “Rudy.”  He already is a joy to the family showing traits of persistence and adventure.  It certainly is my hope that he will emulate these positive qualities as he grows older and will accept the responsibility to pursue a God-given dream even when encountering giant obstacles.  When you read the book, I hope you will discover the “message” for yourself, and write your own successful life story.

Jesus: a Theography

Jesus:  A Theography by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola

The title itself should be an alert that something is different.  The authors have coined a new word, theography.  Perhaps it will become a new genre in books, but since it is unique enough to apply to just one person, maybe not. 

The book is a long read—requiring more than an afternoon sitting.  At times it was documented well enough to be a scholarly treatise, but at other times it was obvious that the writers were simply story-telling for the masses.  Whichever mode the authors were in, they were challenging old paradigms of concepts concerning the Christ.  While I did not find anything contrary to scripture, they often used their imaginations to stretch our thinking about Jesus.

I must admit that the first half was an analytical time for me weighing the various assertions, but by the time I was 2/3 through the narrative, my mind was often contemplating the fuller meanings suggested by the text.  I found it fascinating to see all the other connections between the two testaments.  While I knew many, there were fresh ideas throughout the book.

This will be one book I will re-read, not only with a high-liter but with a notepad.  It has launched me into new understandings of our great Savior.