Top Books of 2014

I set a new personal record in 2014 by reading over 50 books. Like every year, some of the books were excellent and others were not. Looking back, here is my annual “top books” list, along with some honorable mentions. While I read many more good books, these are the ones that challenged me the most. This year I thought I’d publish my list before Christmas, to allow time to add to your list J.

1. Taking God at His Word by Kevin DeYoung. In a day when the Bible is being discredited from outside and inside the professing church, including the endorsement of anti-biblical positions on many issues, this is an essential read. In 124 pages DeYoung succinctly makes the case on the reliability and sufficiency of Scripture. DeYoung's stated purpose is "to convince you and (and make sure I'm convinced myself) that the Bible makes no mistakes, can be understood, cannot be overturned, and is the most important word in your life, the most relevant thing you can read every day" (page 16). Written in every-day and non-technical language this book should be widely read and discussed by students, parents, church leaders, families, church small groups, and churches as a whole. 

2. What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms How You Get Things Done by Matt Perman. It has been a long time since I have been personally challenged as much by a book as I have by this one. This book connected with me on several levels. First, as a Healthcare Process Improvement Specialist, I found the practical teaching on schedules, delegation, and efficiency/effectiveness very helpful. However, I especially appreciated the Gospel-centered approach to all of the issues covered. This book examined productivity and life focus in light of the Gospel and who I am in Jesus Christ. Perman's arguments are rooted in the fact that we are called to do good unto others as followers of Jesus Christ. He effectively supports his argument through the 350+ pages. Related, the section I found most beneficial was where he walked the reader the identifying and developing a personal mission statement, life principles, finding a life calling, and understanding life roles and responsibilities. Personally, this content has already been life transforming, as it has created a "laser beam focus" to schedules, commitments and ministry activity.

3. When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor and Yourself by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. This book challenged me to consider the best approaches to address material poverty in a Gospel-centered way that respects and helps individuals, rather than inappropriately throwing money and resources toward them; contributing to the issue rather than alleviating it. The book uncovers the history and root causes of poverty in our nation and world. Having finished reading the book earlier today, I’m still wrestling with my personal action steps.

Honorable Mentions that I Would Highly Recommend

·      Hamlet’s Blackberry by William Powers. A practical philosophy for building a good life in the digital age, this book examines how to live in our constantly connected world.

·      Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. This classic Christian allegory is a must read. However, I recommend a modern English edition.

·      Real Christianity by William Wilberforce. Written in 1797, this book could have been written in 2014. Wilberforce contrasts cultural Christianity with authentic faith.

·      Recovering Redemption by Matt Chandler. A book on change for the Christian and breaking from sinful patterns based on the Gospel and our position in Jesus Christ.

·      Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney. A  great book on the basic disciplines required for growth in Jesus Christ, including Bible intake, prayer, fasting, serving, evangelism, and journaling.

Great Biographies Read During 2014

·      The Thunder by Douglas Bond. A historical novel about the Scottish Reformer John Knox.

·      Amazing Grace by Eric Metxes. A biography on William Wilberforce, the 18^th century abolitionist and one of my personal heroes.

·      John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace by Jonathan Aiken. A biography about the former slave ship captain and author of the beloved hymn Amazing Grace. Newton was Wilberforce’s pastor and co-laborer in the abolitionist movement.

·      Fierce Convictions by Karen Swallow Prior. Another biography about a contemporary of Wilberforce and partner in the abolitionist movement, Hannah More. A compelling and challenging story.

Happy reading!

The Hourglass

Today on my 39^th birthday, I took time to reflect back on my life over the last four decades and look ahead to the days ahead. My life is like an hourglass where each grain of sand dripped is never to be regained. When the last grain of sand falls in my life, I will stand before the Lord to give an account about my life lived (Romans 14:12).  I want it to be a life lived well for Him. 

When considering the past, there are four* primary spiritual markers that have significantly shaped my life in Christ.

• My salvation. Sometime around 1986, I vividly remember asking Jesus Christ to be my Savior from my sins while watching a preacher on television. It was at that time that I became a new creation in Jesus Christ and the start of my journey in Him.
• God capturing my heart. As a college freshmen in 1994, the Lord “flipped the switch” on my heart and drew me back to Himself after several years of wandering and spiritual apathy. At that time He gave me a strong desire to learn His Word and start attending church regularly. WMBI in Chicago was a great blessing as I soaked up hours of teaching each week.
• Joining a church family. Three weeks before our wedding in 2001, Danielle and I were looking for a new church to attend. I distinctly remember the Lord burdening my heart to check out Maywood EFC. As one who grew up as a sporadic church attender in multiple churches, I never had the experience of getting to know others and being known as I have experienced at Maywood.
• Serving in junior high ministry. In 2002 God placed another strong burden on my heart- Danielle and I were to start serving in Maywood’s junior high ministry. While most people were running away from junior highers, He gave us a love and passion for them, which extended over many years. It was during that period when the Lord revealed and allowed me to start using my spiritual gifts of teaching, leadership, and administration. These gifts originally recognized while serving in the junior high ministry have expanded into many other areas since.

 While there is no guarantee that the Lord will grant me another 39 years of life (James 4:13-15), if He does, there will be additional  spiritual markers to record along the way. I want to live each day with intentionality and for Him, in accordance with Scripture:

So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16

Finally, I never want to forget that how I live in this short life will affect eternity. Donald Whitney stated, “as a relatively small rudder determines the direction of a great ocean liner, so that which we do in the small span of time influences all eternity” (Whitney, 162).  As the sand of my life’s hourglass continue to fall, I cannot delay in my decisions to live more for the Lord, “deciding to discipline yourself to use your time for the purpose of godliness is not a matter for delay and deliberation. Each hour that passes is another for which you must give account” (Whitney, 166).

Sola De Gloria!

*Of course there are other obvious markers in my spiritual journey such as becoming a husband and a dad, but these four have significantly impacted my roles and relationships.  

Reference

Whitney, Donald (2014). Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.

Hoof Beats

Ebola, Russian antics, Mideast unrest, North Korean craziness, Isis on the rampage, economies dancing on a knife’s edge, earthquakes in strange locations, and multiple weather anomalies. The list could go on. These are the subjects of newsfeeds in 2014. 

As a follower of Jesus Christ, many passages from the Bible come to mind when reading world events. Consider the following:

Matthew 24:3-8

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Revelation 6:1-8

Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.

When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”

When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

Regardless of our end times convictions*, we can’t ignore that it seems like Jesus’ return is soon approaching when comparing our world state with Scripture.  This begs the question for Christ followers- do we care?

Are we living as if everything will continue on as it always has for the last two thousand years, or are we living with an urgency- truly believing that Jesus could return at any time? How is it affecting our money choices, schedules, church focuses, relationships, pursuit of holiness, etc.? Even if Jesus Christ delays His return by another 1,000 years, we must remember that every person we encounter is potentially only one heartbeat away from standing before Him, either as Savior or as Judge. I know that my priorities need to be adjusted, how about yours?

Let us not grow fearful when reading today’s headlines, but let us grow more purposeful, remembering that we are ambassadors of our coming King, and charged to make His Name and the glorious Gospel message known.

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

2 Peter 3:11-14

* I personally am premillennial in my theology, and split between historical premillennial or dispensational/pre-trib rapture positions.

Choked!

Like a giant boa constrictor, weaving itself up and around my body until it tightens to crush and suffocate me, a culture of constant connectedness through the Internet is threatening to do the same in my life.

Research indicates the detrimental effects of our Internet culture, including an inability to concentrate, loss of “deep thinking”, and addictive traits such as “needing” to check email and/or Facebook every 15 minutes. I can identify with each of these effects. Additionally, much time has been wasted and lost while I am content to “swim in the shallows and pass the time with passing the time” (DeYoung, 82). Finally, in our Internet culture, I/we are never alone as illustrated in this summarized analogy from William Powers’ book Hamlet’s Blackberry:

“Powers likens our digital age to a gigantic room. In the room are more than a billion people. But despite its size, everyone is in close proximity to everyone else. At any moment someone may come up and tap you on the shoulder- a text, a hit, a comment, a tweet, a post, a message, a new thread. Some people come up to talk business, others to complain, others to tell secrets, others to flirt, others to sell you things, others to give you information, others just to tell you what they’re thinking or doing. This goes on day and night…a ‘non-stop festival of human interaction’.” He continues, “we enjoy the room immensely- for a while. But eventually we grow tired of the constant noise. We struggle to find a personal zone. Someone taps us while we’re eating, while we’re sleeping, while we’re on a date. We even get tapped in the bathroom, for crying out loud. But no one else seems to know where the exit is. No one else seems interested in leaving. In fact, they all seem put off that you might not want to stay. And even when you find the exit and see the enchanting world through the opening, you aren’t sure what life will be like on the other side. It’s a leap of faith to jump out and see what happens.” (DeYoung, 83)

Fighting the Snake

As mentioned in previous posts, the Lord has been teaching me much about how to order my days by considering personal mission, guiding principles, and identification of life focuses. The book What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done by Matt Perman has been instrumental. Fighting the “Internet snake” is not just a practical issue, but also a deeply spiritual one.

Jesus lived long before iPhones, Facebook, wireless, and email. Yet, He was constantly inundated by crowds, and sought out everywhere He went. However, Jesus had a key strategy to deal with the “constant taps” in his life:

But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray. (Luke 6:15-16, emphasis mine)

Jesus intentionally pulled Himself away to seek His Father. He kept this as His priority. I must do the same to grow in holiness, knowledge, and usefulness to Him. I must intentionally disconnect and allow time to think, reflect, study, and pray.

Even though I have implemented a few countermeasures to constant connectedness over the years, such as turning off my work email in the evenings and weekends, getting rid of my smart phone, and journaling, there is more I need to do in order to gain better control in this area of my life. While still considering specific steps, a few that have come to mind include:

•  Designating a weekly internet free day at home
• Limiting the number of items that appear in my Facebook feed and number of subscribed blogs
• Turning off my phone occasionally to minimize distractions
• Leaving my iPad at home or off more often, especially when getting together with family or friends
•  Only checking my email a few times a day, rather than “100 times” I currently check it.

 I will probably identify others. What ideas do you have or have put into place to release the snake’s choke hold on you?

May we all fight hard in this area, for God’s glory and His work in and through our lives!

Recommended Resources

Carr, Nicholas. The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.

DeYoung, Kevin. Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book About a (Really) Big Problem.

Perman, Matt. What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done.

Powers, William. Hamlet’s Blackberry: A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life in the Digital Age.

Half Built Walls

Make up Your Mind already…

Last week I announced my intent to step away from my blog and focus on other priorities. After further consideration, I won’t shut down the blog completely, writing periodically on topics related to my God-given passions and life goals.

The Old Testament book of Nehemiah is a phenomenal lesson on leadership and strategy. The walls of Jerusalem had been down for 140 years before God burdens Nehemiah to do something about it. Empowered by prayer and gifted with vision and strategy, Nehemiah obtained the buy-in from a pagan Persian king and key leaders in Jerusalem to rebuild the walls. Despite constant opposition, he divided up the work and the people completed the wall in 52 days. Yet, the project risked failure at the halfway point:

So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.

In Judah it was said, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” Nehemiah 4:6-10 (emphasis mine)

How often do we start a work and are tempted to abandon it when we grow tired, discouraged, or face continued opposition? This has been a recent battle for me. It would be so much easier to “throw in the towel” in a particular area of ministry, instead of pressing on. I know that this is not the solution. Rather, the solution is found in Nehemiah 4:14c, “Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome…” The Lord is great and His plans will succeed. He will bring growth. He will arrange the necessary components. He will bring the work to completion, just as he did in Nehemiah, because He is great and awesome!

I must press on, with a priority of prayer, and depending on the Lord to give me the strength and resolve for the work to which He has called me. Great days are ahead and I am excited to see how the Lord works, according to His great and awesome plans.