Book Review of the Easy Burden of Pleasing God

The Easy Burden of Pleasing God
By Patty Kirk
ISBN 978-0-8308-4303-9
IVP Crescendo
Reviewed by Clint Walker

Sometimes we make things more complicated than they should be, or than they need to be. Patty Kirk says that there are some people who are making the Christian faith a spiritual equivalent of a Rube Goldberg design. So she has written The Easy Burden of Pleasing God as a counterargument against complex systems of spiritual ascent or demanding paths of discipleship.

Kirk argues that we need to live our faith as a life, not a job description. Too often, we have a to-do list of what we need to do to be a good Christian. We organize our lives to just enough of this, or do give this much, it an attempt to please (I would say appease) God. She goes on to say what God really wants is for us to live with him, walk with him, trust him, and accept his love.

If one truly walks in grace, and lives one's life as God's beloved, immersed in God's love, than good works naturally spring from that. Our devotion will lead us to love our neighbor, serve in missions, and the like. But the beginning has to be about being willing to allow God to make us his. Everything else flows out from that. At least, this is the lesson I get from the book.

This book is one of several books to come out in recent months that is a part of IVP's Crescendo line of books. This line of books is a set of books that has a target audience of Christian women. Look for several other high quality books to come from this line from IVP in the coming years.

In the meanwhile, grab this treasure with a cup of coffee, and read it slowly, bathing in the grace of God.

Book Review of Existential Reasons for Belief in God by Clifford Williams

THE BOOK:

Existential Reasons for Belief in God: A Defense of Desires and Emotions for Faith
by Clifford Williams
ISBN 978-0-8308-3899-8
IVP Academic
Reviewed by Clint Walker

REVIEW:

I have to admit. I am not impartial about anything written or said by Dr. Clifford Williams. Dr. Williams my professor in my Honors Introduction to Philosophy class my freshman year at Trinity International University. He was, infact, the teacher of the first class I ever took in college. His class was wonderful. It led a friend of mine to decide he was going to major in philosophy. And it taught us all how important it was to bring together the life of the mind and the life of faith.

It is no wonder that the first book of his that I have ever gotten to read is Existential Reasons for Belief in God: A Defense of Desires and Emotions for Faith. In this fine book Williams attempts to deconstruct the dualism between Emotions and Reason, Faith and the Intellect. He specifically does this in relation to decisions of faith, arguing that there is nohting irrational or immoral about having faith decisions generated by both our intellectual and emotional lives. In fact, as responsible humans, the realities of our emotional selves and our reason-driven selves should both be factored in to making wise, true, and ethical decisions. This is especially true regarding decisions about ultimate reality.

Existential Reasons for Belief in God is very deliberate and methodical in how it makes its case. It begins by setting the scene of arguments for faith in the world of philosophy, defining terms, and familiarizing his readers with the issues that need to be addressed. Then, it makes a well-reasoned argument in favor of "existential" arguments for faith in God. Next, Dr. Williams spends several chapters addressing objections to his thesis.

In addressing objections, Dr. Williams, true to his character, does not set up straw men to knock down. Instead, he addresses intelligent and thoughtful concerns with a lot of grace and equal measure of strong reason.

Next, Existential Reasons for Belief in God  takes a few more chapters to further commend the importance of both existential and intellectual paths to a life of faith.

The result is a wonderful resource, and a treasured book to be kept on my shelf for many years.
All in all, I enjoyed this book. I would not commend it to everyone, as it is pretty heavy reading for the average person. But, to those who love the world of ideas, and love doing a lot of in-depth reading, I would recommend this book heartily. Happy Reading.

Book Review of Paul through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in I Corinthians by Kenneth E. Bailey

A couple of weeks ago I received a promotional catalog promoting forthcoming books that were due to be released. I saw Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes and I had to have it.

Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes is written by Kenneth Bailey. For decades, Bailey has been known as an expert in Middle Eastern culture. He has lived and ministered as a missionary, pastor and professor in the areas the Bible people lived in. Along the way, he picked up new insights about the cultural context that God's Word was written in, and how the original hearers might have heard those texts.

His classic text was Poet and Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes. These texts helped readers see the parables in the gospel of Luke in a whole different light. Recently, Bailey compiled Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes, which offered unique perspectives on prominent passages in the Gospels. Now, in Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes, Bailey focuses his considerable intellect on the epistle of I Corinthians.

The book does not disappoint. Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes is deft at using literary analysis and cultural insight to communicate the essence of what Paul is trying to say in a simple and easy to understand way.   Instead of simply going verse by verse through the book of I Corinthians, Bailey also takes on the book issue by issue. Thus, while covering the whole book, he gets to address hot button topics such as sexual ethics, the place of men and women in the leadership of the church, freedom and responsibility in the Christian life, and the centrality of the cross and resurrection in true Christian experience.

I particularly enjoyed his egalitarian insights on men and women as partners in marriage and leadership of the church. In this section, he interspersed deft analysis with personal anecdotes of his experiences working among Mediterranean people. His perspectives on the commands for silence, and what that command did in fact mean  were both intelligent, and easy to pass on to others as I teach this passage.

First Corinthians is a popular book for many scholars to study and write about. There is a lot of work out there on this important book in the New Testament. Yet, none of what is out there in commentaries and other analysis is comparable to Bailey's unique perspective. I would recommend every pastor, teacher, and serious student of the word grab this book, purchase it, and add it to their bookshelf.  It is well worth the money!

*IVP provided this book for me in exchange for an honest review

Book Review of Excellence in Preaching by Simon Vibert

Information on Book
Excellence in Preaching: Studying the Craft of Leading Preachers
by Simon Vibert
ISBN 978-0-8308-3815-8
IVP Books
Reviewed by Clint Walker
 
Overview
Simon Vibert has written a unique text on preaching. In Excellence in Preaching, Vibert chooses twelve well-known, leading evangelical English-speaking preachers from three continents. He analyzes one or two of each of their messages, and points out the strengths of that particular message. Then, he has some take-away tips for preachers to better the execution of their craft.

Personal Response
I enjoyed reading through Excellence in Preaching. There is a lot to learn from this text. There is also significant room for improvement.

As I read through this book, I found a lot of helpful hints and tidbits about good preaching that I needed to hear. Some of the information was helpful because it confirmed my experience. This is especially true of David Cook's description of beginnings and endings.

David Cook likens preaching to an airplane journey. Most energy and concentration are required at the beginning and the end. The takeoff and landing are the most dangerous and require the most engine thrust. In between, while airborne, the plane may cruise along. In preaching beginnings and endings matter the most. 'Maximum thrust at the beginning. Maximum thrust at the end,' he says (p. 93)

Other information was helpful because it gave me a needed admonition. Such was the case when Vibert discussed John Ortberg when Vibert surmised, "Don't feel like you have to say everything every time you stand up to preach. God's story is a big story, and full explanation requires a lifetime" (p. 117)

Despite the helpfulness of this text, I thought it was rather narrow in its scope of preachers. President Obama's speaking style was referenced at the beginning of the text. His speaking style has some roots in the African-American preaching experience. Yet, there is not one African-American preacher on the "leading preachers" to be analyzed. There were no women on the list, and yet Beth Moore, Anne Graham Lotz and Joyce Meyer have had a huge impact on women around the country and around the world. There are very few preachers on this list that are not both conservative and evangelical. It would have been nice to see someone more thoroughly mainline who is also recognized as a great preacher.

Having said this, this book will sit on my shelf, and I will refer to it many times when I need a little kick-start or a fresh breeze in my preaching.

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Book Review for THE GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL GOD by James Bryan Smith

As most of the regular readers of this blog know, I have recently attended the Aprentis Conference in Wichita, Kansas. The Aprentis Institute and James Bryan Smith have developed a curriculum that takes much of the theology and spirituality that Renovare has been teaching for a number of years, and distills it into a series of books that are designed to be used as a curriculum for spiritual formation in the local church.

This curriculum is called the Apprentice Series, and every book in the trilogy begins with the phrase "GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL" in the title. While at the Aprentis conference, I was able to pick up the book GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL GOD on audiobook. I listened to it with my wife on our little mini-vacation this week.

Much of the content in the book is summarized by the subtitle which says, "falling in love with the God that Jesus knows." Thus, what much of the book does is address mental narratives we have accepted about God. It addresses false narratives that the world around us or we create, and replaces them with a new narrative that Jesus taught about that runs counter to those false narratives. Then, at the end of each chapter there is a "soul training" exercise that reinforces the lesson through the taking on of a spiritual practice for a week.

The soul training exercises may be challenging for some of us, but Smith is very realistic about how to integrate them into our lives. He takes his time, and he goes slowly. He explains them simply, and attempts to calm his readers anxiety. He begins his soul training exercises by encouraging people to sleep well for a week, which I thought was absolutely brilliant.

After listening to this book, I am eager to try it out in a church setting, and I am eager to read the next books in the series. I would also be excited to use these books in a together in ministry group at some point.

Book Review of Sanctuary of the Soul: Journey Into Meditative Prayer by Richard Foster

SANCTUARY OF THE SOUL
By Richard Foster
ISBN 978-0-8308-3555-3
Published by Intervarsity Press (Formatio Imprint)
Reviewed by Clint Walker

I love just about everything that Richard Foster writes. So, when I saw that he was writing a new book on meditative prayer I pre-ordered it immediately. It came out a little early, and I have been slowly plodding away at reading this book. I just finished Foster's book, and I have to tell you, it exceeded my expectations.

Sanctuary of the Soul is a guide to help believers in understanding and practicing meditative prayer. I have always found meditative prayer and contemplative prayer difficult. This is because I both have some emotional discomfort with the practice of mediation in a secular/interfaith context, and because I feel like a failure when I attempt to understand and practice contemplative prayer.

Many of the practices of slowing in meditative prayer that people find helpful are true across religious groups. These practices include manipulation of one's posture, the use of relaxation techniques, the intentional slowing and measuring of one's breathe, and other similar things. Having been exposed to transcendental meditation, and believing it to be a non-Christian form of worship, and seeing similarities between common practices of TM and some forms of what Christian leaders call meditative prayer, I find myself immediately off-put by the way I have been led in "contemplative" spiritual exercises in a Christian context.

Also, I have studies several books on meditative prayer, and I find the descriptions of these kinds of prayer difficult. Books like The Cloud of Unknowing, Madame Guyon's Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ, and Merton's Seeds of Contemplation make me want to give up on the contemplative journey altogether.

Thankfully for me, God has raised up men like Richard Foster to write books like Sanctuary of the Soul. Foster's brilliance in his writing is that he makes challenging spiritual practices understandable, and in a small way attainable. Often as I read Foster describe a spiritual practice, I recognize that I have already prayed in that fashion. Then I read on, and I find that he often gives me very practical help in how to pray better and more meaningfully.

I found this process I described happened often as I read through Sanctuary of the Soul. For instance, Foster gives clear instructions in how to enter into meditative prayer effectively. Specifically he speaks about walking your way into meditative prayer, or reading poetry as a way to slow your mind into a more contemplative state. These are basic instructions and helpful advice in the life of prayer, but they are also things we ofen forget when we want to become more prayerful.

I discovered that there were several times where God was leading me into meditative prayer, and I did not know it because I did not have the words for it. I felt less discouraged that I could not "do mediative prayer" right, and I felt encouraged to do it in my own way. The result is a sense of grace and peace in my walk with God, and that a new way of praying can "make sense". And this is truly a gift.

I recommend many of you go out and purchase this fine book. It will be treasured in my life and on my shelf.