Archive - March, 2009

Monday Book Giveaway

March 30, 2009 in Books with 54 Comments

stone_crossings.jpgHere is an opportunity to win a free book. 

The book?  An autographed copy of L. L. Barkat’s Stone Crossings: Finding Grace in Hard and Hidden Places.  This is an opportunity not only to receive a free book but also to get acquainted with a very good writer. 

I read the book shortly after it was published.  I was moved.  

Some clues about the book can be found on the back cover. 

Sometimes it’s hard to see.  And even harder to receive.  When you’re hurt or angry or confused or doubtful, grace can seem as hard to grasp as sky. 

But actually, it’s as real and solid as stones: tangible, weighty, something to hold on to, a way through streams of pain, shame, and abuse.

In these pages L. L. Barkat shares her own painful, powerful story with us.  Weaving in truth from Scripture, words from other writers and stories of people who’ve come alongside her in her journey, she shows us the unexpected ways and places she’s discovered grace: grace that has helped her open her heart to love, discover a way past fear, find freedom from shame.

Her story will help you find the rock of God’s grace in the midst of your own broken, hard places.  And his grace will give you a new story to tell.

When I began reading the book, I was especially moved by her opening chapters on shame and the messiness of life (often caused by "messmakers").  For example, notice this sentence:

It seems that Adam felt like I used to feel — that it would be comforting to hide in darkness, that it would be a relief to flee from the God who walks around knowing what I’ve been up to. 

To be eligible to win the book, simply leave your name in a comment on this post.  Names will be collected throughout the week (through next Monday), and a drawing will be held in my office the following Tuesday.  If you win, you will be notified and an autographed copy of Stone Crossings will be mailed to you.

Interested?  Leave your name in a comment.

Update

March 30, 2009 in Spiritual Life with 0 Comments

coffee45.jpgOver the next two weeks, I will post an interview with Byron Weathersbee of Legacy Family Ministries about his new book, "Before Forever."  This book is authored by both Byron and Carla Weathersbee and is written especially for seriously dating couples.

I will also post a nice piece by Josh Graves, a minister in Rochester, Minnesota, and also a teacher at Rochester College.  Josh is a good thinker with a heart for God and people.

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Just got a Kindle2 (Amazon).  Very nice.  Right now, I am getting acquainted with it but am quite impressed.  I am amazed at how clear the screen is for reading.  More later.

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I have been using Twitter for several months now.  I am beginning to see some real value.  You can find me on Twitter if you wish (@JimMartin).

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A year or so ago, I heard Tim Keller speak of the value of book reviews for his ministry.  This is especially true as there are an overwhelming number of books being published.  This past week I read a wonderful review of a new biography about Flannery O’Conner entitled Flannery: A Life of Flannery O’Conner by Brad Gooch.  The review was in the New York Review of Books. 

For the last year, I have paid more attention to various book reviews.  Some I pay attention to because of the authors and some because the title or subject is provocative.  Sometimes I read the review and at other times I simply skim through the various titles.  Anyway, I am finding this helpful.

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I want you to know that I read EVERY comment and try to respond to most.  I value the time you invest in reading this blog and in making comments.

Question: What Blogs Are Meaningful to You?

March 26, 2009 in Spiritual Life with 17 Comments

computer.jpgAgain, I want to ask for your opinion.  I want to put together a brief list of meaningful blogs.  That is, blogs that are meaningful to those who read this one.

What blogs are meaningful to you?  

Perhaps there are blogs you check every day or several times a week.  Perhaps there are blogs you have been reading for a long time.  There may be blogs that you find yourself coming to again and again.

In a comment, would you mind leaving the author’s name, a link, and anything else you would like to say about the blog.

Oh, and please leave the name and link to your own blog if you write one. 

“I Don’t Have Anything Left”

March 26, 2009 in Fear, God with 2 Comments

desert.jpgOkay, I’ll have to admit I was jealous.

I watched him through my office window as he drove into our parking lot.  He was driving a canary yellow Corvette.  It was a shiny convertible and looked new.  He was a handsome, well-dressed guy.  As he got out of his car, I already began to resent him.

Oh, I didn’t know him.  He called my office earlier in the day and said he needed to talk with someone.  I had no idea why he wanted to talk with me.

We briefly shook hands and I could feel the self-pity within me.  Why was I here?  Why was I doing this?  This guy had what I wanted.  This guy appeared to have it made.

Then he began to speak.  "I don’t have anything left," he said and then he wept.  He told the story of his affair.  This affair cost him dearly.  It cost him his family, as his wife and children had moved out.  His wife had filed for divorce.  He went on to say, "I don’t care anything about my car, or money, or my job.  I just want my family back."

I sat there in that office, across from this broken man.  I silently asked God to forgive me for my stupidity and pride.  I had been jealous of this man.  I was jealous of what I thought he had while I took for granted the treasure I had in Christ.

We talked at length and then I prayed with him.

There are times when I think about this conversation.  I think about this conversation when I begin to feel slighted that somehow someone seems to have something I do not.

The truth?

I am a rich, rich man.  Any man or woman who is in Christ knows something about riches.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding (Ephesians 1:7-8).

It is true.  We have been chosen for riches.

Yet far too often, we become jealous of someone’s luxury car, their fifty-yard-line season tickets, their spring break destination, their good looks, their house, their weekend house on the lake, their ability to make money, their beautiful jewelry, their incredible entertainment system, their huge flat-panel HD television, their expensive clothes, their well-connected friends, etc.

What is it that causes you to feel jealousy toward others?  What is it that causes you to place more value on the treasures that others may be driving than the treasures you have in Christ? 

Question: What Do You Suggest?

March 24, 2009 in Books with 30 Comments

books.jpgI would like to ask for your opinion.

I was recently visiting with a friend who is an avid reader.  She would like to begin reading some books with a Christian orientation.  She is asking me for recommendations.  My first thought is to recommend C. S. Lewis (Mere Christianity, Screwtape Letters, etc.).  I would also like to recommend something more contemporary such as Tim Keller’s The Reason for God or N. T. Wright’s Simply Christian.  I would like to put together a list of ten books. 

What would YOU include in such a list?  (I’m not searching for the ten best or most important books.  Rather, I am just trying to help this person get started in her reading.)

Christian Book Expo

March 23, 2009 in Places I've Been... with 1 Comment

On Saturday, Charlotte and I went to the Christian Book Expo in Dallas at the Dallas Convention Center.  This was a gathering of book publishing companies that featured over 200 hundred Christian authors.  The gathering was open to the public.  For attendees this was an opportunity to hear these authors in various seminars and panels as well as roam through thousands of books.

In the morning, we went to a Christianity Today panel entitled "What is the Emerging Church?"  The panel featured Kevin Deyoung, Tony Jones, Scot McKnight, Brent Harris, and Alex Harris.  Charlotte and I spent a few minutes visiting with Scot and Kris McKnight after the panel.  

That afternoon, we went to another Christianity Today panel: "Does the God of Christianity Exist and Does it Really Matter?"  This particular panel featured Christopher Hitchens, an atheist and author of God is Not Great, and four Christian authors, William Lane Craig, Lee Strobel, Douglas Wilson, and Jim Denison.

The discussion was interesting on several levels.  It was very civil and all participants were gracious.  Yet, there was something about the format that just didn’t seem to work very well.  At times, it felt awkward with the moderator and four other believers reacting to or questioning Hitchens.  It seemed somewhat disjointed and without any real direction at times. 

In many ways, the comments made by these Christian apologists and by Hitchens were predictable.  Nothing really new or unusual.  Douglas Wilson seemed to connect best with Hitchens.  They had previously been in similar settings together and I sensed that they genuinely liked one another.  Yet, Wilson also asked some of the most interesting and probing questions regarding Hitchens’ presuppositions.  

It was great to see Bob Matthews, who I went to school with many years ago (Dallas Christian).  It was also good to meet Michael Hyatt whose blog I enjoy.  (You might enjoy reading his post regarding his three days at the same event.  You can read his latest post regarding the Expo here.)

Places I’ve Been

March 20, 2009 in Places I've Been... with 2 Comments

You might enjoy looking through my new Alltop page.  This page reflects some of my interests.  If you haven’t visited Alltop yet, you might enjoy looking around.

Notice this nice piece by Josh Graves on what he learned through writing.  Very good.

Read this post by Dan Kimball the other day and the link to Bob Hyatt on their concern for video venues.

John Dobbs has written on the value of Twitter.  If you are wondering about the value of Twitter, this would be a good post to read.  (I have been using Twitter for about a month and am just now beginning to see its value.)

L.L. Barkat on "So are you ‘just’ a writer?"

Andrew Jones on "The State of Faith-Based Online Communities."  Some very interesting reflections.

Michael Hyatt on "Eight Reasons I Love G-Mail."

Scot McKnight on "A Brother’s Wisdom" (Reflections on James).  This is an outstanding series.  He has now posted twenty of these reflections.

When Ministry Becomes a Breath of Fresh Air (Part 1)

March 19, 2009 in Church, Ministry, Renewal with 10 Comments

Prayer_Lookout2.jpgMany people read this blog.  People who serve in a variety of vocations read these words.  If you are a Christ-follower, there is a sense in which you are a minister (servant) no matter where you are and no matter what your vocation.  Such ministries are important — very important.

There are others who serve churches in very public roles.  Sometimes you may be referred to as preacher, pastor, minister, etc.  I was thinking today about what I want to remember in this particular role.  Much of what I will suggest is applicable regardless of your role or occupation.

God can use ministers to be a breath of fresh air in a church.  The enabling power for this kind of presence is the Spirit of God.  The challenge, however, is for us to make godly choices regarding our ministry. 

1.  Choose to be gracious.  I spoke with a couple visiting our church about a month ago.  They were from out of town.  They told me a little about their congregation and their minister.  They didn’t say they liked him or didn’t like him.  They simply said, "He’s a bit cocky, you know."  There was not much I could say. 

2.  Teach/preach from the overflow.  Do you preach each Sunday?  Do you deliver a message?  Do you teach a Bible class?  There is absolutely no substitute for reading and studying the Bible.  There is no substitute for being prepared.  This teaching/preaching is a sacred calling worthy of time, effort, and prayer.  Yes, I read widely.  However, in this role I must always be reading something that will help me think about what I will be preaching.  Some shortcuts may come with time and experience.  Other shortcuts (i.e., copying sermons from the Internet and preaching them as my own, etc.) will in fact shortchange the congregation and will be a detriment to the integrity of my ministry.

3.  Love the people in your congregation and community.  If you love these people, they will usually be forbearing and forgiving.  If they sense you don’t love them, then it really won’t matter what else you do.  For a couple of years, a young minister worked with a good church in a smaller community.  His last year there, he berated them publicly and talked down to them.  He made it known to the others on the staff with him that he was frustrated with this church and their backward thinking.  He then resigned and abruptly moved on to a larger church in a large city.  Many people in his former congregation feel like he used them.  Right or wrong, they believe that he came to that church so that he could posture himself to move to something bigger and better.  What struck me as especially sad is that these people felt used by him instead of loved by him.

4.  Be God-conscious instead of self-conscious.  It is so easy to get consumed by ego.  If we are not careful, we will believe that what really counts is to be well-known, to be in much demand as a speaker, and to preach for a church that many people are paying attention to.  As a result of this focus, it is easy to compare, to become jealous, to "keep score," and to crave recognition.  It is tempting to want to become "Christian" celebrities, hoping that people will clamor for our attention.  Far better to remember our calling and aim to please God, trusting that he is enough.

5.  Focus on your own walk with God.  Far too many ministers treat congregations as if they were science experiments.  "Let’s do this to them and see what happens."   Others become far too focused on trying to will the church to do this or that.  Do you know that the very best thing I can do for the congregation I serve is to simply be who God has called me to be.  I do far more good by focusing on my own love for God and for others.  I do far more good by being a godly person who loves his wife and children.

(Again, I think these are useful for those who are not "ministers" as well.)

What else would you add to this list?

Theobloggers and Awards

March 19, 2009 in Spiritual Life with 1 Comment

The good people at Theobloggers (who host this blog) have asked me to mention that this blog is a finalist for a Christian Blogger Award at this year’s Christian Bloggers Luncheon at the Tulsa Workshop.  You can cast your vote by visiting this link and register for the luncheon by visiting this link.  Winners will be announced at the luncheon.

(The Tulsa Workshop is an annual gathering of people who are predominantly members of Churches of Christ.  The awards are, for the most part, in recognition of blogs written by people associated with this group.)

When You Feel Anxious

March 17, 2009 in Stress with 2 Comments

worry.jpgWhat do you worry about?

•    School – Where will I go to college/grad school?
•    Tests – Will I pass the test?
•    Job – Will I get the job?
•    Relationships – Is he the right person to marry?
•    Parents – What will my parents think?
•    College – How will I pay for this?
•    Money – How will I/we make it this month?
•    Future – What will I do?
•    Marriage – Whom will I marry?
•    Wedding – How will I get all of the preparation done?
•    Bills – Why did I buy this car?  How will I ever pay for it?
•    Decisions – Which job should I take?
•    Children – What is my child doing?
•    Your health – What if I have cancer?
•    Your future – What is going to happen to me?
•    A combination of a number of the above!

Worry is something that I know how to do.  I suspect that when I worry I am primarily thinking about my own need to "fix" something and my utter inadequacy to do so.  There are some things that you just can’t fix.

I can recall nights when I have lain in bed and imagined.  Sometimes I relived the past (accompanied by some worry).  I thought about a conversation or a meeting that took place and worried about the implications of it.  At times I relived the past by imagining having made a different decision and then thinking about what might have been.  At times I have worried about failures from the past.

At other times I have worried about the future.  What is going to happen?  Where will we live one day?  What will we do?

I read again this week the familiar Scripture in Matthew 6:25-27.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

1.  God invites us to trust in him regardless.  I have a friend who inspects homes for a living.  The other day I heard him say that when he pulls his truck in front of a house, he always prays before going to the front door.  He prays for these people and prays that he will do a good job with this inspection.  My friend understands that we are called to live in daily dependence upon the Lord.

2.  God invites us to live in daily dependence even in the midst of a struggling economy.  This is an opportunity for so many of us to learn a new kind of dependence on God.

3.  God invites us to bring our anxiety before him in the context of faith.  This is not a call to some sort of indifference to what is happening in our world, economy, culture, etc.  The key to dealing with anxiety and worry is not indifference but faith in God.  This allows us to stare reality in the face and deal with the hard, cold facts of life.   

Perhaps those of us who are church leaders/pastors/ministers/etc. would do well to follow Hezekiah’s example in II Kings 19:14ff when he faced an impossible situation with Sennacherib, king of Assyria.  He prayed, "…Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God."  Some things just can’t be fixed and simply need to be given over to God.

The good news is that you cannot fix so many things that are broken in your life or ministry.  Yet, we are not called to be a people who have a fix for whatever might be broken.  Rather, we are a people who hand it over to God.    

 

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