Sacred Compass: The Way of Spiritual Discernment Review

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Sacred Compass: The Way of Spiritual Discernment ReviewJ. Brent Bill's latest and most ambitious book in recent years should carry a warning label on the back cover:
1.) Your spiritual path may be dangerous to your health.
2.) Do not attempt this journey alone.
It's those two truths that set Brent's voice apart from a host of other spiritual writers who are crowding into bookstores these days with promises of 10 (or 30 or 365) Steps to Your Spiritual Success and often seem to send you off all alone on this personal quest for spiritual satisfaction.
Brent is a Quaker writer, rooted so deeply in the wisdom of this centuries-old tradition that he can't help but be honest about life's destination (which always lies is death and, in some cases, involves tragic death). At age 57 as this book is released, Brent can feel it in every fiber of his being that God doesn't want us to take this journey alone. God intends us to live in communities and to draw on the wisdom of those communities to help us discern the wisest spiritual paths ahead of us.
Now, don't get me wrong. This book isn't somber. It's not a downer. The golden Midwest meadow and bright blue sky on the cover of Brent's book reflects his own grounding in the steady ethics and expectations of middle-American life. After all, he lives near Indianapolis on a small farm and he works for the Indianapolis Center for Congregations, which is funded by the Lilly Endowment with a specific mission to help local congregations solve their problems. Over the years, he's helped to solve hundreds of thorny problems.
As a writer, Brent most recently wrote books focused on Quaker spiritual wisdom involving the simplest elements of life: light (that book is "Mind the Light: Learning to See with Spiritual Eyes") and sound (that book is "Holy Silence: The Gift Of Quaker Spirituality"). I've read and can heartily recommend both of them.
He's a practical Midwestern farmer, fixer and facilitator - drawing deep water from a denomination that stretches back more than 350 years and played a key role in shaping American values from our colonial era. This makes him a substantial spiritual guide, but never in a flashy way. Think of - oh, perhaps something like Mister Rogers Meets the Dalai Lama.

It's only natural that such a writer would point us toward a tool as the central metaphor for this journey. And the tool he selects is a compass - the hand-held device with a magnetic needle that points sort-of true North.
Unlike a host of other books you'll find in the inspirational sections of bookstores, this isn't a book with lofty passages designed to lift your spirits in the morning - but leave you sinking fast later in the day. This is a book jam packed with tips for organizing and shaping your journey into discernment.
And, note that I said "into," because it's not "toward" spiritual discernment - or "to" spiritual discernment - as if you'll arrive at a golden sign, hand lettered by the finger of God. Brent argues persuasively that this journey never ends and we're never quite sure where it will take us. It's that plain-and-simple honesty that I like best about this book. No false promises here. And, by the end of his book, just in case you didn't "get" the solid tap-tap-tap of Brent's rubber mallet to your forehead -- one of his final chapters is about a Quaker who felt led to a war zone and never returned.
If you've got a stack of those slickly produced spiritual books near your breakfast table, but they only seem to leave you hungry for the next hit of chicken soup - then try this more substantial diet from the heart of middle-American spiritual wisdom.
If you're part of a small group, you'll find that men and women will enjoy this book over a couple of months. You can even experiment with a sampling of the many ideas Brent describes throughout the book. The text is easy to read, the practical benefits of the ideas are crystal clear - and you should spark a good round of conversation each week.
Here's one last suggestion: If you plan to read "Sacred Compass" with a group, a fascinating companion book to read along with it is Nanette Sawyer's, "Hospitality the Sacred Art: Discovering the Hidden Spiritual Power of Invitation and Welcome (Art of Spiritual Living)." At first glance, these two books seem to be two quite different spiritual toolboxes - but the core of both books is an affirmation of communal connection.
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Hurt: Inside the World of Today's Teenagers (Youth, Family, and Culture) Review

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Hurt: Inside the World of Today's Teenagers (Youth, Family, and Culture) ReviewMy roommate was given this book a few months back. Since I work with the Jr. High group at church, I figured I might find it helpful, so picked it up. What I found was a thought provoking book on today's youth sub-culture.
The book focuses most on high school students or mid-adolescents as the author calls them. His premise is that adults have started abandoning kids early in life, making the transition from childhood to adulthood a longer and harder process. Teens draw away from adults, not as much out of rebellion, but to cope. The majority of this book is devoted to various aspects of teen life and how it develops and plays out. Chapters such as Peers, School, Family, and Sports hit the nail on the head. And I'll confess I found some shocking stuff in the chapters on Sex, Ethics, and the Party Scene.
I did have some problems with this book. At times, it seemed to go too far into the self-esteem trap. Yes, we need to care for kids, but we also need to acknowledge that not everyone is created equal, something that seemed to be over looked at times. Still, most his examples were of things going too far in the other direction, which makes his points very valid.
Another area was the various ethics discussions. While many of these chapters were eye opening for me, he never addressed ways to teach morals. In fact, he seems to blame adults for problems such as cheating but never blames the kids or discuss how the problem should be addressed.
The last two chapters are a discussion of ways to solve the problem of abandonment, but they seem to be impractical and fall short. City wide meetings for everyone involved with youth? What we really need is a radical shift in our entire culture. Not that I'm exactly sure how to go about doing that, either. So I'm probably little better then he is.
On the whole, this book is an eye-opener about the problems today's high schoolers face. While not perfect, it should be read by anyone who cares about today's teens. Maybe then we can come up with workable solutions to let them know we do care.Hurt: Inside the World of Today's Teenagers (Youth, Family, and Culture) Overview

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LeadershipNext: Changing Leaders in a Changing Culture Review

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LeadershipNext: Changing Leaders in a Changing Culture ReviewEddie Gibbs brings a vast array of experience and research to LeadershipNext, so if anything, readers will get an index of many of the new of trends and writing in leadership. Gibbs puts the information on leadership, churches, culture and trends together in a coherent book for leaders of churches. He contrasts quaint styles of leadership that have become ineffective with styles of leadership based on new science, the early church, business models and changes in culture that have proven more effective in "post-Christendom." Gibbs applies his leadership theories and data to church models, both traditional and emerging.
Gibbs also provides warnings to leaders in order to avoid pitfalls and failure. He advocates a team-building, participative style of leadership that accomodates the needs of emerging churches.
For church leaders, I think this book is a must read, as it is based on the reality of the culture and the reality of traditional models of churches. Gibbs understands the paradigms and dynamics of both churches and cultures and shows how leadership must interact in these contexts to help build the kingdom of God.LeadershipNext: Changing Leaders in a Changing Culture Overview

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Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church (The Leadership Network Innovation) Review

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Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church (The Leadership Network Innovation) ReviewRaw.
We clicked because I drive a 1978 Chevy truck that gets single digits to the gallon and has a bacon air freshener and no functioning speedometer and because I fashion myself as the seld-appointed leader of a heterosexual male backlash in our overly chickified city filled with guys drinking herbal teal and rocking out to Mariah Carey in their lemon yellow Volkswagon Cabriolets while wearing fuchsia sweater vests that perfectly match their open-toed shoes. (p. 147)
Funny.
Scrambling for ideas, I agreed to cance a Sunday church service to let some of our long-haired public radio types take us outside to do a joint art project they had proposed....As a truck-driving jock who watches a lot of Ultimate Fighting, I can honestly say it was the gayest thing I have ever been a part of. (p. 71)
Real.
Emotionally, ministry proved to be more exhausting than I could have fathomed. Because I deeply loved my people and carried their burdens, the pains of our people's lives began to take a deep toll on me. Many nights were spent in prayer for people instead of sleeping, and even on what were supposed to be days off, my mind was consumed with the painful hardships and sinful rebellions of our people. (p. 68)
Mark Driscoll's latest book, Confessions of a Reformission Rev. Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church, is a fantastic look at life in ministry. I have a great deal of love and respect for Andy Stanley and Rick Warren, but their stories don't match my stories in ministry. Mark's story of the growth of his church is a wonderful and real look at a man on a mission, with strong theological convictions, and who loves Christ's church and the city of Seattle.
It is raw. He is blatanly honest. But if many could get away with it in ministry, we would do the same thing. He is a passionate man who doesn't have time to say things in flowery words. His story is real. It is an honest look at the hard life of ministry, and the pain and anguish we go through as ministers. And all the while, it's a picture of one sold out to Christ and his mission.
He is theologically conservative. He spends time unashamedly distancing himself from a hermeneutic that is liberal and relative. He believes the book, studies theology, and is passionate about teaching that.
Each of the chapters chronicle a period of time in the growth of Mars Hill. It is encouraging to see the struggles and the faith. It is encouraging to face many similar situations and see how others handled it.
I truly think this is a must read for all church planters and for those of us in ministry it should be highly considered. Few pastors are able to be real and transparent enough to let others see their pain and hardache and fears. Mark is a real man. And his story is compelling.Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church (The Leadership Network Innovation) Overview

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Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures Review

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Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures ReviewEddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger's *Emerging Churches: Creating Community in Postmodern Cultures* (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005) is a much-needed book.
For all the antagonism and/or paranoia about the Emergent Movement or Conversation or Churches, Gibbs and Bolger give a 5 year researched-based presentation.
Guess what? Their book gives scant attention to Brian McLaren or any of his books. Shock of all shocks! What? I thought Brian McLaren WAS Emergent?? You mean there's more people involved than just Brian?? Over 50 leaders are interviewed and quoted and it's hard to find Brian McLaren among them. Shock of all shocks.
The nine (9) core practices of emerging churches are well-defined and illustrated with comments from those who are "practitioners" of contextualizing the gospel of the kingdom of God in the postmodern world.
The nine (9) core practices are:
1. Identifying with Jesus (and his way of life)
2. Transforming secular space (overcoming the secular/sacred split)
3. Living as community (not strangers in proximity at a church service)
4. Welcoming the stranger (radical and gentle hospitality that is inclusive)
5. Serving with generosity (not serving the institution called "church," but people)
6. Participating as producers (not widgets in the church program)
7. Creating as created beings (this is a great chapter!)
8. Leading as a body (beyond control and the CEO model of leadership)
9. Merging ancient and contemporary spiritualities.
"Emerging churches destroy the Christendom idea that church is a place, a meeting or a time. Church is a way of life, a rhythm, a community, a movement" (236).
For those who might be fearful of "the emerging church" and who want to learn about what the Spirit is up to in this global movement, then Emerging Churches is the book to read. If read with an open mind and a teachable heart, readers may just find themselves persuaded to "get in on" an epoch of change that gives Jesus Christ, community, the Bible, creation and other people back to them in fresh and exciting ways.
Gibbs and Bolger show that "modernity" began with the creation of the idea of secular space, that is, space where God does not reign or is not welcomed. With that idea the church was marginalized to the private sector and perpetuated the myth of secular space. Rather than the world and all in it belonging to God as the Psalms declare, the modern church create "God's house." The modern church is God nicely packaged and parceled out as the church sees fit. "Come in here, to us to find God."
Postmodern Christianity exposes the lie of "secular space" and celebrates the reign and imminence of God everywhere and at all times.
Get Gibbs and Bolger's book. Read it. Reflect and have fun thinking about it
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Finding Faith: A Self-Discovery Guide for Your Spiritual Quest Review

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Finding Faith: A Self-Discovery Guide for Your Spiritual Quest ReviewAs a rather progressive postmodern recovering-Evangelical I found this book to be a breath of fresh-air. While this book does fall into the category of apologetics, it is most certainly not an "Evidence That Demands a Verdict" or "Many Infallible Proofs for Christianity" style book. It's entire approach is radically different and immensely relevant to today's postmodern culture. Rather than focusing merely on cognitive arguments that are supposed to rationally convince people of the "absolute" truth of Christian beliefs, "Finding Faith" takes an existential approach that deals with the real life hang ups that postmodern individuals will have about Christianity. In other words, McLaren recognizes that postmoderns don't care so much whether Christianity is true as whether it is good.
Of course, postmoderns aren't entirely unconcerned about truth. They're not going to buy into something that is just obviously false. But what is much more important to them is whether our beliefs are livable, workable, and worthwhile. They want to know not "Is Christianity true?" but rather, "Will buying into the Christian faith make me into a better person?" And McLaren is brutally honest about the fact that when most non-Christians look at what Christians are like, what they see tends to repulse them. Too often we Christians present our worst face to the world: our bigotry, our arrogance, our legalism, our lack of cultural and social sensitivity, our tacky art, kitsch merchandise, and bad music, our lack of philosophical depth or intellectual nuance, our sexual or financial scandals, our abortion clinic bombers, our homophobic preachers, our aggressive culture wars and paranoid right-wing conservativism, and worst of all, our lack of visible unity and our inability to even love one another as Christ commanded. To be honest, there are times when I even wonder why I put up with it all and still claim the name "Christian", and I've been a Christian all my life. Can you imagine how someone seeing all this from the outside must perceive us? Can you think of any good reason why a decent, thoughtful, non-Christian person would want to risk taking on all that ugly baggage and even begin exploring Christianity? Well, Brian McLaren recognizes this huge risk that spiritual seekers take when approaching Christianity, and he has aimed "Finding Faith" at providing them with reasons to give Christian faith a second chance.
Don't get me wrong, McLaren doesn't skimp on the intellectual side of things either. He has whole chapters analyzing atheism, agnosticism, pluralism, etc. However, even his approach to these is atypical. McLaren doesn't make grandiose promises about logically and conclusively proving his point of view. He recognizes that as finite and fallen creatures it is impossible and absurd to claim absolute certainty about any of our beliefs. Rather he is up front about the short-comings of his arguments, but open about his own reasons for nevertheless maintaining Christian faith despite his lack of airtight proofs. This kind of honest vulnerability is a winning trait of this book, and one that I think would be very appealing to a non-Christian reader.
For me the bottom line is that this is one of the very few seeker-oriented Christian books that I wouldn't be embarrassed to give to a non-Christian friend. In fact, I plan to.Finding Faith: A Self-Discovery Guide for Your Spiritual Quest Overview

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Living the Story: Biblical Spirituality for Everyday Christians Review

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Living the Story: Biblical Spirituality for Everyday Christians ReviewIt is not for nothing that the authors of the book Living the Story: Biblical Spirituality for Everyday Christians named it thus, for it is a book that seeks to make everyday sense of a topic that is popularly perceived as a lofty and theological or worse, ethereal and unattainable. In fact it could just as easily be called Everyday Spirituality for Biblical Christians so clearly does it enunciate and demystify Christian Spirituality using language and expression that is easily grasped by the reader.
The book's form takes three parts. Understanding that Biblical spirituality is centred on love for and worship of a God of three persons it begins by exploring the nature of worship itself cultivating an understanding of how that worship is rightly directed towards Abba Father, how that worship is worked out in our lifestyles as disciples to Jesus Christ, and how our power to live that life of worship is accessible to us as temples of the Holy Spirit. Parts two and three of the book delve into the Old and the New Testaments exploring the spirituality as it was lived in the Bible and seeking to make it relevant to the reader for their life in the 21st century.
The history of man is a story, a great compelling story that cannot be told in its fullness unless it is told as part of the story of God. `Living the Story' recounts the chronicle of the `Great Story' through the narratives of the men and women of God in the books of the Old and the New Testaments drawing from their encounters lessons and instruction for us as to how to incorporate our lives into this greater narrative of the history of man. It draws also on the themes and revelations of the Biblical writers and the apostles to hand down ancient wisdom that has lost none of its potency in the intervening thousands of years.
In current society it appears to me that modern men and women lead compartmentalised lives allocating regulated space and time for the many facets of their world, family, career, social, emotional, financial and spiritual areas of life are attended to as and when they are at their most pressing. Clearly some press more often and harder than others and so get more attention and equally, some elements overlap each other and are attended to in concert but it is also my observation that spirituality is an element that is relegated to the least pressing of issues, or is brought out for special occasions or dusted off on Sundays. However, the intent of this book is to advocate an integrated approach to spirituality, one where life is infused with it rather than nodding to it on a Sunday in a `worship' service. Stevens and Green gently sacrifice the sacred cow of religiosity for the sake of practising the presence of God, living a life that experiences the power of God in a holistic, spiritually saturated way where man is walking with God daily and is involved in an authentic and rich relationship with Him, a relationship that infuses all areas of their life rather than one where life makes room for spirituality.
Critically, the authors examine the nature of Christian Spirituality in more than just the backdrop of the individual; they incorporate the quest, the story of the one into the context of the many, into the community of the people of God. For the journey of man, whether it is with God or without is a journey that is forged in community. Stevens and Green are not especially kind to the traditions and the routines that the body of Christ has slipped into as we fall more and more into the traps of modern life. They are particularly critical of the notion of fellowship as having been downgraded to watery tea and a biscuit after a Sunday Service, they urge us deeper into fellowship with each other, encouraging getting messy with each other's lives as did the apostles in the New Testament. Living in true fellowship where life is `done together' living an authentic Christianity. It is here that the biggest challenge lies for us in an individualistic urban society where there are schedules to keep, tasks to be completed and lives to be kept afloat in the face of stiff competition. It seems to me, and clearly, to the authors, that there has to be more to life than this. Christianity has to do more, it has to touch the sides as it goes down, or else it is no different than any other sop to spirituality that a guru or a master could concoct.
As a person who has been in and around church all my life I find it refreshing to read a spiritual guide that doesn't simply begin and end with pray and read your bible, go to church on Sunday and pay your tithe. Stevens and Green by no means leave these things out, nor do they pass over the sacraments of communion and baptism but they present all of these crucial elements of the Christian walk as part of the lifelong conversation between man and God.
The book is readable and applicable and for that it is of immense value. It doesn't preach and expound a set of religious rules and regulations that formulate a spiritual life. Instead, throughout its pages `Living the Story' introduces a loving and generous God, one who draws man to himself and elicits the worship he so richly deserves by his very nature, a nature of Love. The book achieves all this by putting in plain words the structure and manifesto of an authentic Christian life; a life that is enriched for the person living it and is attractive to those who live outside of its Christian context. Stevens and Green have accomplished a work that is more than a reference book for people exploring Christianity, it is a manual for those of us who want to (as Jonathan Swift once wrote) "...live all the days of our life".
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