Emergent theology is a very controversial topic. Critics say that it is watering down and diluting the gospel, while its proponents say that it is making the gospel relevant to our contemporary world.

According to Stoner, many who believe in Emergent theology are trying to domestic God. While Christians believe that God is love (1 John 4:18), and know He gracious and compassionate (Psalm 145:8), it can often be difficult to reconcile these truths with the fact that terrible things happen, such as the recent earthquake in Haiti. Ironically one of the chapters in the book is called God Is An Earthquake. No doubt many would object to this, but Stoner makes the point that God is in control of the universe. To illustrate his point, Stoner points out two incidents in the life of King David: taking the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, and the counting of David’s army. In both of these incidents God seemed to act in ways we cannot fully understand. Stoner also points out in the book that God never explained to Job why he suffered the way he did. The Old Testament is full of accounts of God acting in ways that seem beyond our comprehension. We cannot domestic God and put Him in a neat little box. As difficult as it may be, we must admit that God is good and bad things happen, both through nature and the evil acts of men.

Stoner also points out in the book that many who profess Emergent theology put more emphasis on caring for the poor than preaching salvation. No doubt the church is called to help the poor, and both the Old and New Testaments are full of references urging believers to be generous to the poor. While there is merit in helping the poor, the church’s primary calling is to preach salvation through Jesus Christ. Stoner admits that at times the church has gotten judgmental and bigoted with this mandate. However, he still contends that the message of salvation still needs to be preached. Some in the Emergent movement have watered down this truth, and in an effort to be polite have ignored the consequences of rejecting Jesus.

Stoner’s book acknowledges that the Emergent movement has some important things to say to the church, mainly  be open in worship, don’t allow minor things to get in the unity, and listen to what unbelievers have to say. However these things should never be used as an excuse not to preach the gospel or exalt Christ.

The God Who Smokes is ultimately about God, the One who baffles, surprises us, love us beyond measure, and is worthy of all our worship and praise. This was a highly readable book and I would recommend it.

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Mark re-discovers these four “spiritual loves” as: Heart – Compassion, Soul – Wonder, Mind – Curiosity, Strength – Power. In doing so he gives a fresh understanding to how we are called to love God with everything we are and in everything we do.

The book closes with a challenge and an invitation for the reader to join in the Reformation that this generation so desperately needs by going primal. And I agree, if those who believe and follow Jesus would get to the “soul of Christianity” and focus everything on loving God with all our compassion, wonder, curiosity, and power (heart, soul, mind, and strength), we would see world transformation.

This book was an easy and compelling read and I would recommend everyone to check it out!

The Official Description:

Be Astonished Again
We have a tendency to complicate Christianity. Jesus simplified it: Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. If we are to live out the essence of Christianity, we must commit to being great at this Great Commandment.

In Primal, Mark Batterson explores the four elements of Great Commandment Christianity: compassion, wonder, curiosity, and power. Along the way, he calls you to be a part of God’s reformation, starting in your own life.

As Mark writes, “Is there a place in your past where you met God and God met you? A place where your heart broke for the things that break the heart of God? Maybe it was a sermon that became more than a sermon. Maybe it was a mission trip or retreat. Maybe it was a vow you made at an altar. In that moment, God birthed something supernatural in your spirit. You knew you’d never be the same again. My prayer is that this book would take you back to that burning bush—and reignite a primal faith.”

Primal will help you live in light of what matters most and discover what it means to love God. It will help you become great at the Great Commandment.Similar Posts:

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Uncompromised Faith

The God Who Smokes

You can choose which book you’d like to review and you get to keep it!

Oh and I’d prefer a local reviewer so I don’t have to ship the book.

If you are interested, just let me know in the comments below…Similar Posts:

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The first part of the book is spent dissecting what he sees as the shortcomings of the modern church. The second is spent setting a foundation of the church that Larry says he would go to. This kind of church is built on 4 things: Spiritual Theology, Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Community, and Spiritual Mission.

Though this is a tough topic to write on, Crabb, who is known for his blatant honesty, does well. At times, it can seem like he is just complaining, but if you continue to read, you’ll find that he also offers ideas and possible solutions. You may get upset, or may get encouraged, but hopefully you’ll come out at the end with some ideas on how to build and restore the Church that Jesus envisions.

From the description:

What’s happening to the Church? Why are so many people who for decades have been faithful, steady churchgoers (and others who want to start going to church but can’t seem to find one that meets their needs) losing interest in even attending church, let alone getting involved? What is fundamentally wrong with the “types” of churches (Seeker, Bible, Emergent, Liberal, Evangelical) that dot the religious landscape? Larry Crabb believes it is time to rethink the entire foundation and focus of what we know today as church — everything we’re doing and are wanting to see happen. In his most honest and vulnerable book to date, the author reveals his own struggles in this area and then offers a compelling vision of why God designed us to live in community with Him and others, and what the church he wants to be a part of looks like.

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Most Christians believe that the Bible is the word of God. Most Christians also believe that the Bible is a source of wisdom, knowledge and inspiration. For them, the Bible not only records the beginning of creation, but the end of time as well. All Christians, regardless of their beliefs, generally agree that the Bible is a special book.

I think that Richard Foster would agree with this assessment. The first sentence of his book, Life With God: Reading the Bible for Spiritual Transformation, reads:” God has given us a written revelation of who God is and what God’s purposes are for humanity.”

People read the Bible for various reasons. Some people read the Bible to increase their knowledge of God. Other people read the Bible to support their particular point of view. Still others read the Bible like they read the latest self-help book, to feel better about themselves.

Certainly there is a place for reading the Bible in the ways listed above, but it does not produce the lasting fruit and growth that Richard Foster emphasizes. Foster wants Christians to read the Bible for transformation, not just information. He wants reading the Bible to cause change in our lives and keep us humble before God.

Foster points out the importance in reading the Bible from cover to cover. Reading the Bible from beginning to end allows the believer to encounter the Bible in its full context. When we read the Bible from start to finish, we fully enter into the stories of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Paul and others. We feel the agony of Abraham when called to sacrifice Isaac; stand in awe with Moses when he went to the mountain to meet God; and feel the agony of Jesus when He went to the cross.

Foster also points out that the Bible should be read with both our mind and our heart. When we read the Bible with our mind, we appreciate the different genres it presents. We read about the law, history, poetry, the major prophets, the minor prophets, the gospels, the epistles and Revelation and see how great God is. When we read the Bible with our hearts, we meditate on its contents and ask the Holy Spirit to change what needs to be changed in our lives.

Richard Foster has written several books on spiritual life and formation. His heart and passion is for Christians to grow closer to God and develop the mind of Christ. Life With God encourages Christians to read the Bible for spiritual growth and become more like Jesus.

buy A Good Nightnd Good Luck. He certainly would agree with Jerome, who wrote several centuries ago:”Make knowledge of the Scriptures your love. Live with them, meditate on them, make them the sole object of your knowledge and inquiries.”

I encourage everyone to read Life With God. More important than that, I encourage Christians to approach the Bible with a humble heart and encounter the God of creation and loves us beyond measure.

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The latest book from Mark Batterson

The Peacekeeper rip

hits the shelves today and I was able to get my hands on a copy a little early and just finished reading it today. So here are my thoughts:

In Wild Goose Chase, it seems that Mark’s primary goal is to inspire readers to break out of boring, status quo Christianity and embrace an adventurous life of following the Holy Spirit (i.e. the Wild Goose – based on the Celtic term An Geadh-Glas). This is something I think a lot of need a healthy dose of!

Throughout the book, he identifies the different cages that we get stuck in that hinder us from living the life that God desires for us and fulfilling the purposes he has planned. These cages are: responsibility, routine, assumption, guilt, failure, and fear. Not only does he identify the cages, but he offers some practical (and often challenging) advice for how to break out of them.

Mark does a great job of writing in an engaging and conversational style.  I could often sense his excitement as I read – and it is a contagious excitement! Part of what made the book such an easy and interesting read for me was the way he weaved the stories of his own experiences, the adventures of his friends, and the stories of several characters from Scripture together in a way that gave life to topics.

Back to Gaya dvdrip

Overall, this was a great book. When my wife asked me to rate it on a scale of 1 – 10, I gave it a 8. It’s a solid book, an engaging and exciting read, and I really want to put into practice the things I read. The idea of having a “life goal list” is one thing that I will be implementing. Yeah, I have some goals that are in my mind, but to prayerfully dream together with God and write down the visions for my life is something I feel inspired to do. Thankfully Mark feels so strongly about this practice that when you purchase the book you can receive the free download “10 Steps to Setting Life Goals” from the website chasethegoose.com

If you’ve felt like your faith has gotten dull or boring, or if you are ready to experience the adventure of life with God, than I highly recommend this book. It would also be a great book to read along with your friends.

• Nil by Mouth rip

Final Note: The mail has been slow, but I should be receiving an additional copy to give away, so be the first to comment and once it comes in its yours!

Everyone else can purchase the book now at Amazon – Wild Goose Chase: Reclaim the Adventure of Pursuing God

Summary:

Most of us have no idea where we’re going most of the time. Perfect.

“Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something….

Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure.” –from the introduction.

Author Bio:

download Dante's Peak

Mark Batterson is the lead pastor of Washington, DC’s National Community Church, widely recognized as one of America’s most innovative churches. NCC meets in movie theaters at metro stops throughout the city, as well as in a church-owned coffee house near Union Station. More than seventy percent of NCC’ers are single twentysomethings who live or work on Capitol Hill. Mark is the author of the best-selling In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and a widely read blogger (www.markbatterson.com). He lives on Capitol Hill with his wife, Lora, and their three children.

Roger Dodger video

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The Life You’ve Always Wanted by John Ortberg is an easy to read yet extremely insightful book on the Christian life.  The author himself describes it as Dallas for Dummies (referencing Dallas Willard) as the focus of the book is the spiritual disciplines, something Willard often writes about.  Full of real life examples and hilarious stories, Ortberg not only makes you laugh but he makes you think.  This is not a book that should simply be read quickly through and put on the shelf, but it is one that should be read and digested and put into practice.  TLYAW would make a great small group study and in fact I’ve used it several times as a Sunday school class.  One of the things that I love about this book is that it goes beyond just a theory of the spiritual disciplines and presents them as real practices for real life.

If you are interested in spiritual growth and/or the spiritual disciplines I highly recommend this book.  As I said before, it would serve as a great small group study as well as a personal study.  Related resources such as a DVD, leader guide, and participant guide are also available.

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As the title indicates, Earl Creps‘ first book, Off-Road Disciplines: Spiritual Adventures of Missional Leaders, is about the Spiritual Disciplines that help to shape “missional leaders.” In it, Creps takes the classic teaching of spiritual disciplines, brought to the forefront by Christians such as Richard Foster and Dallas Willard, and takes them “off-road”. In other words, this is not a book about the practices of prayer, Bible reading, solitude, and meditation (as important as those are). With a leaning towards leadership, he includes disciplines such as gaining perspective, reverse mentoring, missional efficiency, surrendering preferences, and passing the baton.
The book is broken down into two sections of off-road disciplines: personal and organizational.

At first, Creps’ writing style was a little difficult to get used to, but once I got going I was able to follow his thoughts easily. Earl uses a lot of real life stories and examples, many of them taken from his years of “field research” on the American church. This helps in making each discipline clearer and more practical, as I was able to relate to many of the stories.

Off-road Disciplines is not a book that you skim through or read quickly hoping to find quick little nuggets. In my opinion, some chapters carry more weight and impact than others, but each one has an important message worth reading and digesting fully. Furthermore, this is a book that is meant to be applied to life, not just read and put on the shelf. Each chapter issues a challenge to the reader to examine themselves and use the off-road discipline as a means of transformation.

Now, the word “missional” has become quite the buzzword in many Christian circles, but Creps helps to bring clarity to what exactly that means, not just in theory, but in practice. And after reading this book, I personally am inspired to live more “missionally.”

Overall, I found this to be a great book with hardly any shortcomings. I can see this being a powerful resource for church leaders, in fact I plan on facilitating a study of this book among the ministry leaders in our church. I recommend this book, whether or not you consider yourself a leader (which we all are in some way or another), as a valuable resource for helping you become a truly “missional” disciple of Jesus.

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