Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Review: Power of Together

Power of Together Power of Together by Jim Putman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Growing up as a Christian, I had never considered the church to be a place whereby it was a family. Leaders who were once upon a time, the most wonderful of spiritual parents or elder siblings, would disappear from life once they were reassigned to other locations or who left for other churches. Yes we were all taught (what I regarded to be spiritual gibberish) about weekly commitment to youth service, morning and evening sunday service and cell group. Because the church lacked a formal membership structure, and yet exercised discipline over extra-biblical matters (issues which do not have a Scriptural basis), I did not see a good reason to want to belong to such a dysfunctional family. Even when I had moved onto another church, I often debated fiercely with the pastoral team about how unconvinced I was of the value of church community. I thus had read this book with relatively sceptical lenses.

I was pleasantly surprised that I had enjoyed the read. I found myself cheering multiple times when Putman would candidly point out what was wrong with the church, but was happily disappointed that he did not share the same hatred and suspicion for the church and its leaders that I used to have. As I read through the book, I was relived to not have read allegorical assertions based on hermeneutically violent twisting of Scripture. Putman masterfully explains Scripture and sprinkles real-life stories from his church community in between the chapters. The accounts were gripping and authentic - not only providing just the heartwarming fairy tale endings, but also the pain and brokenness of the failed attempts to journey with certain individuals in Christian community and in his own family.

I regard myself to be a highly intelligent young thinker, and it is not too often that I would be brought to a position to consider that my theology is faulty. In reflecting about what I had read, I was compelled to reevaluate my attitude of "if I find that something about this church sucks, I'll just leave and go to another, or not to go to any at all." I think that I caught a bit of Putman's deep passion and love for the church. I hated (probably still vehemently dislike) legalism and dogmatic leadership, but I saw how his church community was based on sacrificial love and rock-solid commitment. Because it was not something imposed upon, but an invitation to enter into, it weirdly makes me want to be part of such a family! The follow up action I would take probably would be to read up on other books that talk about church membership to better understand the reason for such a practice.

I heartily recommend this book to all Christians, even those who (like me) are deeply suspicious of and/or have been hurt by Christian institutions and leaders.

I received this book from Baker Publishing Group's Blogger Review Program for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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Thursday, July 21, 2016

Keller on the effect of quick programs on new converts

I am compelled to reflect on my own christian walk as to whether it is a desire to submit to the Lordship of Christ, or if it stems from a desire of seeking my own will be done and demanding that my prayers be answered. Without a weekly exposition of Scripture, and a platform to faithfully apply the principles of the text as a community, we are but a sorry lot - bending the meaning of the original biblical author to try and bring about temporary moralistic behaviour change. Church membership, while it is a new concept to me, seems to be something that I think would be good for me to embark on a journey toward a formation of my heart condition to be more like my Creator's.

From Page 57 of Center Church  

Our truth-allergic, experience-addicted populace wants transformation but doesn't want the loss of freedom and control associated with submitting to authority within a committed community. Many "converts" seem to make decisions for Christ but soon lose their enthusiasm because they are offered quick programs for follow-up and small group fellowship rather than a lifelong, embodied experience of community. Many churches do not even have a process for becoming a member. As a result, converts' lives are often not visibly different from those in the culture around them. The older, more communal processes of traditional churches are better at bringing about a more thorough transformation of life.

Friday, July 15, 2016

Review: The Seven Laws of Love: Essential Principles for Building Stronger Relationships

The Seven Laws of Love: Essential Principles for Building Stronger Relationships The Seven Laws of Love: Essential Principles for Building Stronger Relationships by Dave Willis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Usually when I hear or read often repeated bible stories, usually a sense of excitement would not be the natural response. But Willis is exceptionally good in reintroducing the context in a modern day vernacular that I found myself looking forward to when he would highlight a bible character. Many pastors use the bible passages to illustrate a point in their sermon (I call it violence to Scripture) but what Willis does is exceptional - he utilises popular culture to illustrate the message of the bible in a manner that the modern audience can understand; he ably communicates the original message of the biblical author in the language of today.

Willis is a master story teller - his sharing of anecdotes of friends and family are precise in that they aptly illustrate a substantive he is trying to make (in some other books I read, I scratch my head in bewilderment when I try in vain to figure out why personal accounts were unnecessarily penned into the pages). While I sense that Willis' primary area of ministry is actually marriage counselling, I felt that the book was still highly relevant to both the unmarried and married readers. I especially appreciated the carefully curated list of date-night questions and marriage advice on pages 124-128, which were full of gems of wisdom.

The one section I was apprehensive about, and which led me to rate 4 instead of 5 stars, would be where Willis shared about how they had struggled to listen to his voice to give away their beat-up van to a ministry that needed it badly, and how eventually they received a brand new one as a gift. The account is fine, though I think it is imperative to stress that obedience may not always follow with a "reward" of sorts. Finally, postmodernity has influenced me much more than I would like to admit. And while I am conscious about my decision to take on a more gospel-lensed worldview, a book with the title that screams "LAW" possibly would not appeal to most millennials. Which is a pity, because this is a wonderful little book that I had thoroughly enjoyed. Perhaps "CREED" or "DIRECTIVE" would be potential synonymns to be used in place of "LAW" in subsequent revisions?

I received this book from the Harpercollins’ Booklook Bloggers Program for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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Monday, July 11, 2016

Review: Delivered from the Elements of the World: Atonement, Justification, Mission

Delivered from the Elements of the World: Atonement, Justification, Mission Delivered from the Elements of the World: Atonement, Justification, Mission by Peter J. Leithart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read an average of about a book each week, and this masterpiece from Leithart has got to be one of the highlights! The last time a book made such a profound impact on me, calling me to reflect critically and deeply, was probably when I read Edmund Clowney's The unfolding mystery (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...). This is first time I've read a book by Leithart, and my curiosity has been quipped to find out how his other more popular works are like!

Delivered from the Elements of the World is an exhaustive work dripping with biblical theology. If the popular books are a one course meal, bible scholars would find that this is a delicious buffet spread. Leithart skillfully communicates complex theological concepts in a manner that most lay people would still find highly accessible. For me, this is a wonderful example of vigourous Christian scholarship written with spirit-led conviction and wrapped with Christ-like gentleness.

I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this book. In time to come, even if I have to pare down my theological library, it has a very secure spot. I heartily recommend it primarily to bible scholars, and also to well-read laypeople.

I received this book from InterVarsity Press for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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Sunday, July 3, 2016

Review: Healing Breakthrough

Healing Breakthrough Healing Breakthrough by Randy Clark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was horrified when Clark described his allegorical handling of a bible passage as "typological" (p29). In fact, I was so incensed that I put the book down and only managed to force myself, a week later, to finish reading it so I could write the review and get rid of it. ‎‎

I was amused to find that Clark too was not in favour of hype (Chapters 4 & 5). I had assumed that "these hyper-Charismatic types" would be cozying up with the over dramatisation of hype as readily as with the violence to Scripture.‎

When I picked the book up the second time, ‎I was extremely cautious of what I would read and had expected to give the book a 1 or 2 star rating. Clark's sincere sharing of his journey with healing did not "weird me out‎." Rather, I found that I was often reflecting upon and reconsidering my own Theological position on healing (that prayer would be for a desire more for God than the healing; that a heavenly grace be granted in the pain and suffering rather the removal of the latter). I was surprised and rather pleased by the substantial discussion about unanswered prayer (Chapter 21), which I presumed would often be a taboo topic in healing circles.‎

This skeptic‎ found that he was thoroughly blessed by and was sincerely surprised to have enjoyed the read.‎ If Clark or the publishers correct the wrong use of "typological," I'd be happy to revise my rating to 5 stars. Nevertheless, I would recommend it to all Christians, to the reformed and the charismatic, to the liberal and the conservative. Ministers and Pastors should find the book especially helpful.

I received this book from ‎Baker Publishing Group's Chosen Divison Blogger Review Program‎ for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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