Book Review: The Resignation of Eve by Jim Henderson

When I picked up this book I was expecting to read about burnout among the hardworking female volunteers in our churches.  What I found instead was a quantitative and qualitative study of what women think about their roles in the church today.  The Barna Group did the quantitative part of the study.  Jim Henderson then found women in different locations and denominations and listened to their stories.  Henderson organizes these women into three groups: 

                1. resigned to accept their roles, including women who are content with being excluded from certain roles because they believe it is biblical and those who tolerate limitations as a trade-off they are willing to accept for the sake of harmony/husbands/children;

                2. resigned from the church, including women who went to parachurch organizations where they had greater freedom to use their gifts and women who were failed by the church (heartbreaking stories of abuse) and

                3. re-signed, including women who pushed back and carved out a niche in which they could use their gifts in service to the body of Christ.

I found this book to be thought provoking, especially since I am in a church where women play important roles, but are not ordained.  Since my spiritual gifts are not in any area that would require ordination, I had never really thought much about the issues this book raises.  Henderson challenges men and women to think about women's needs and women's gifts in light of how Jesus treated women. This is must reading for church leadership in every denomination, since Barna warns that service by adult women in churches declined 20-30% between 1991 and 2011.

I reviewed this book for Tyndale House publishers in return for a free copy of the book.

Attention Public Schools: Why not Value Achievement over Attendance?

This Diane Tran case in Texas has got my blood boiling. For those not familiar with the case, Tran was sentenced to 24 hours of jail time by Judge Lanny Moriarty for oversleeping and missing school too much. Nobody in authority seems to care that Tran was abandoned by her divorcing parents and worked a job and a half to help her older brother stay in college and to help support her younger sister. Nobody in authority seems to care that Tran is an honor student. She is unfortunate enough to live in a state with compulsory attendance until age 18, so she got turned in by her helpful high school "education professionals."

While there are many issues involved, including finding the deadbeat parents, my focus today is on the whole idea of universal compulsory attendance laws. Why should the state care how many days a kid goes to school as long as there is proof said child has mastered the curriculum? Why should high school honor students on track for graduation even be subject to compulsory attendance laws? The answer is simple: government-controlled schools are paid according to how many kids are occupying seats. Obviously if compulsory attendance laws were about academic achievement, kids like Tran would be cut some slack.

Gifted children suffer from compulsory attendance laws. Depending on the state, gifted children are trapped with all other children in boring, repetitive classes until the age of 16 to 18. Homeschoolers suffer from compulsory attendance laws because these laws are used as justification for state oversight of home and private schools. Compulsory attendance laws are a burden on responsible parents and responsible students.

Who benefits from compulsory attendance laws? Labor unions benefit as young people are kept out of the work force and public schools benefit because they get paid for body counts, not for educational outcomes. End of rant—for now.

Viral by Leonard Sweet: A Must Read!

While Leonard Sweet has written this book specifically to help the body of Christ minister to today's culture, the information in this book can also help parents and teachers  bridge the technology/culture chasm that separates them from their kids.  Technology has not just changed the devices we use for communication--it is changing the ways we think, communicate and relate.

Sweet dubs the emerging culture TGIF: Twitter, Google, iphone, Facebook.  The two groups of Christians he addresses are the Gutenbergers and the Googlers, the word-based Christians and the relationship-based Christians.

Gutenbergers, named for the inventor of the printing press, value the written Word of God.  Over the past several centuries they have expanded global missions, translated the Bible so that diverse peoples can read the Word for themselves, created an impressive array of church programs, and given humanity big ideas like religious toleration, the rule of law and freedom of speech. They tend to value individual effort and the accomplishment of goals.  Their methods were amazingly effective in many ways for the culture that preceded the recent revolution in communication technologies.
 
Googlers, named for the dominant search engine on the internet, value relationships.  In many ways, Googlers seek to reestablish the human relationships that formed the backbone of pre-industrial societies—and to accomplish it using cutting-edge technologies.  Like neighbors over picket fences, they read each other's tweets and status updates.  They are lost if their phone battery dies and they lose connection with their network of friends.  While Gutenbergers fear that Googlers' relationships are shallow, many Googlers would counter that they interact with their family and friends more regularly than a workaholic Gutenberger.  Through blogs, tweets and social networking profiles, Googlers can create a network of influence and relationships that can lead to opportunities to advance the Kingdom.

If the church is to reach a lost world, it must reach the world as it is, not as it was.  Gutenbergers like myself need to learn the culture and learn to value human relationships over church programs, people over policies.  Working together, Googlers can help the Gutenbergers enjoy relational evangelism (the kind Jesus did) and avoid nasty legalism.  Gutenbergers can learn the language of the new culture while maintaining their rightfully high regard for the Word of God and helping Googlers achieve depth as well as breadth in their lives.

I highly recommend this book for bookish curmudgeons and iphone addicts alike.  Sweet's writing style is conversational, but he includes enough footnotes to let you know he's not just making this stuff up.  This book is practical and theoretical, broad and deep--great reading for everyone.

Please be aware, I received an electronic review copy of this book free from the publisher, Waterbrook-Multnomah.

Book Review: Unashamed to Bear His Name by R.T. Kendall

According to Kendall, "The most predictable thing in the world is to be scandalized or stigmatized for your total commitment to Jesus Christ." So why do we act surprised when it happens? In this book, Kendall shows us we are in good company when we are misunderstood, gossiped about, ridiculed, slandered, libeled and even assaulted and killed. Didn't those things happen to Jesus, the apostles, the prophets, and believers of all the ages?

The scandal is the gospel itself—the true gospel, not the prosperity gospel, which actually attracts people despite (or because of) its falseness. The real gospel offends because it is exclusive (Jesus is the only way) and it includes bad news (you are a sinner, bound for hell, with no way to save yourself.) The true follower of Jesus must be unashamed of this.

Old Testament examples abound as Kendall makes his case. Noah accepted the shame and stigma of building a boat miles from the sea. Joseph lived through prison after Potiphar's wife spoke vile lies about him. David accepted the scorn of his wife, Michal, refusing to apologize for dancing as he brought back the Ark of the Covenant.

Especially helpful in accepting our own stigmas is his exposition on Mary and Joseph. There was the stigma of suspicion—the assumption that they had conceived Jesus before they were married. There was the stigma of no vindication—Joseph died without seeing Jesus resurrected, and Mary died n a world where most people believed the lies about Jesus' body having been stolen instead of resurrected. Their vindication comes in eternity, not in time.

Are we willing to bear the name of Jesus and the stigma that accompanies it? Are we willing to live without vindication on earth? Kendall lays out the case for why we should be unashamed of the shame.

I received a copy of Unashamed to Bear His Name free for review from Chosen Books.

Book Review: The Jesus Mission by Stephen K. Scott

Stephen K. Scott has presented an excellent account of Jesus' incredible mission to Earth.  The mission was planned before the foundations of the Earth and was implemented to perfection.  Learn about the 27 missions Jesus completed and the 4 missions Jesus gave to His followers.

Scott searched Scripture and found 11 primary missions:  missions that tell us why Jesus came.  They include: to testify about the truth and to do His Father's will.  The 16 tactical or supporting missions include: to perfectly fulfill the law, to heal the blind and to raise Himself from the dead.  Jesus' mission could only be performed by Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit.  If he failed, we all would die in our sins.  Reading about these missions will overwhelm you with gratitude toward the God who initiated these missions on your behalf.

I especially liked Part 3, which Scott begins by stating, "You can't follow Jesus if you are not sure about who He is." Scott then has a word for our world today: Jesus was not a socialist (or Santa Claus or anything else we decide we'd like him to be.)  He cites the parable of the vineyard owner (Matt. 20:1-15,) the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14-30) and the story of the servant in Luke 17:7-10.  Jesus will not accept the labels we place on Him to fit our own agendas.  He knows His mission and He knows our mission.  We need to be doing our part of the Jesus mission instead of twisting Jesus into an image we find more to our liking.  In light of all He accomplished for us, how can we refuse the mission He has given us?

I received a review copy of this book for free from Waterbrook-Multonomah publishers.  You can find it at Lifeway.

The Jesus Mission by Steven Scott (Ch. 1 excerpt)

Another Book Review: Angels are for Real

Review: Angels are for Real by Judith MacNutt

This book, with its endnotes and references, would be good for launching an independent study about angels: Are they real? What do they do? What does the Bible say?

Good:  The author shares heartwarming, reassuring stories of believers being ushered into heaven by angels, preachers and missionaries protected by angels, and people experiencing miraculous healing or deliverance from imminent danger.   Especially interesting are eyewitness accounts from the Yom Kippur War in which thousands of "Israeli soldiers" were seen on Israel's borders and stayed there until the real solders were able to arrive with their arms.  The surprise attack by Israel's enemies on their highest holy day did not surprise the God who made a covenant with Abraham!

The anecdotes are combined with scripture references to angels: seraphim, cherubim, fallen angels and other messengers.  Quotes from early church fathers are included as well.  MacNutt also quotes from the apocryphal books, but not nearly as much as she quotes from scripture.  References are provided so you can do further research as you wish.

Of possible concern to some readers is MacNutt's charismatic perspective.  You may not agree with everything in this book.  Of course, what is the point of only reading books that agree with you and never present you with any questions or challenges?  The combination of stories, scripture and scholarly research means this book offers something to everyone.

All in all, this is a well-written and well-researched book.  The author studied from Genesis to Thomas Aquinas to Billy Graham.  She gives anecdotes form Catholics, evangelicals and charismatics of all ages.  I am more confident than ever that God has His hand all around us—His Spirit, His Word and His angelic servants.

I received a free copy of this from Chosen Books for review.

Dug Down Deep: A Great Introduction to Christian Theology

Why study doctrine?  Joshua Harris gives the best reason I've heard yet on page 76 of Dug Down Deep when he says"…Why spend time figuring out a way to hold on to church attendance and Christian tradition and even Christian morality while not really believing much of anything about Jesus except that he was a really great guy?"  Doctrine tells us what we believe, which in turn tells us why we do what we do.

This book is an introduction to the fundamental doctrines of Christian faith for those who do not want to wrestle with a systematic theology textbook.  A chapter by chapter study guide makes Dug Down Deep an excellent teaching tool for mature middle school students through adults.  Harris concentrates on the non-negotiables of the faith, such as the deity of Christ and the authority of Scripture, while avoiding denominational distinctives, making this book appropriate for most churches.

Especially meaningful to me was Harris' account of the familiar story told about the railroad conductor who is forced to flip a switch and kill his son, trapped in the gears, in order to save a train full of people.  I heard this supposed illustration of God and Jesus when I was younger and was always bothered by it.  Joshua Harris explained why it bothered me:  Jesus was not helpless and trapped!  His death was not a tragic accident.  Jesus chose, before we were even born, to lay down His life out of His great mercy and love.

Finally, Harris concludes with a call to "humble orthodoxy" rather than using doctrine as a club against one another.  On page 217 he states: "Here's what deflates my arrogance faster than anything else: trying to live the truth I have."  Indeed, we should all think of this when tempted to pride!  This is a book I will place in my church library and recommend to pastors and teachers.

You can find this book at Lifeway.com.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.