The Luckiest Man

How do you experience God's intimate, comforting, tangible presence? In The Luckiest Man, John Paine reveals how he found the answer to this most important of all questions--by facing a terminal diagnosis.

At middle age, John Paine thought he knew what it meant to have a relationship with God. He was a successful businessman, a well-respected Christian leader, a Bible teacher, and--outwardly, at least--the spiritual leader of his family. He was satisfied and thought he understood what it meant to know and experience God. But did he?

John's journey into true, mystical intimacy with God began when a neurologist diagnosed him with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, and said, "Go home and get your affairs in order." Seventeen years later, John tells his story, recounting the ways God intervened in his life, freeing him from all that prevented intimacy with God, even as John slipped into pain, paralysis, and further toward death.

In stunning, insightful prose, The Luckiest Man points to the God who lovingly, though occasionally painfully, drew John into the richness of friendship. In this profoundly moving memoir, John Paine reveals the secret to intimacy with God and provides hope to all who are in the middle of their own trials. They, too, will understand why John considers himself the "luckiest man." (less) [Thomas Nelson]

This was a difficult read for me.  Mr. Paine is fighting ALS.  I'm battling Progressive MS.  He's from northeast Texas.  I'm from southwest Arkansas, towns separated by about 2 hours.  His father was a hard man.  Mine was not as hard as his, but somewhat hard.  I grew up working on the farm where work was always hard.  We both played football.  Mr. Paine is only eleven years my senior.  Our diseases are different, but the symptoms at onset and speed of regression seem very similar.

Paine was successful in his career and business dealings.  I was pursuing science while working an engineering job to support my family.  I would say that I was average to mediocre at both.  What is meant is that I found myself jealous of Paine in the beginning because of this.  I thought, at least he got to be successful before he was robbed.  Oh, how much more Paine had to show me.

Reading beside my wife in the evenings, I saw myself more in him.  I saw how much I had to lay down and the truth of where I had placed my value.  How much more I was.  Paine painted for me a clear picture of what he was indeed before ALS and who God was making him into.  Paine's transparency convicted me in my battle with MS.  He had come to the point of intimacy with God.  I was too busy fighting disease to listen to God.  I was busy telling God what I needed rather than looking for God to speak into me what I needed to hear.

There are not words enough to recommend this book.  Mr. Paine's writing is excellent, and his message is important, for everyone, not just those fighting disease.  Read it with an open mind, soul, and a humble spirit.  Allow God to convict you.

Rise of the Servant Kings

The "how-to-get-it-right" book for today's Christian man--in marriage, family, work, friendships, with God in all of life.

Men are hungry for authenticity and for sound and bold biblical teaching on true masculinity. Every day men ask themselves questions about how to be better fathers, husbands, friends, and men, but it's difficult to find satisfying answers. Rise of the Servant Kings explains that true masculinity is found in absolute surrender to God, which always results in humble character and is expressed in courage and generosity. When a man truly understands God's desires, he will naturally express godly masculinity, Ken Harrison weaves together his experiences as a police officer in one of the deadliest areas of the country, with many years as a business executive and ministry leader, to share deep truths for men direct from God's Word.

After I requested this book from NetGalley, I noticed that the author was the chairman of the board of Promise Keepers.  To be honest, I didn't know that PK was still around.  I thought that the organization had ceased to exist around 2000.  A man taking on the duty of leading an organization from obscurity must have something to say.

Mr. Harrison wrote an excellent book of encouragement to men.  In keeping with PK philosophy and theology, the book encourages men to step forward and not be passive.  He tells numerous stories of his time with the LAPD and the truths he learned there.  Bringing these truths forward, he encourages men to live lives on purpose.

Letters to the Church

If God had it His way, what would your church look like?

The New York Times bestselling author of Crazy Love challenges readers to be the Church as God intends.
 

• Do you want more from your church experience?
• Does the pure gospel put you in a place of awe?
• Are you ready to rethink church as you know it? 

Sit with Pastor Francis Chan and be reminded that you are a part of something much bigger than yourself, something sacred.

In his most powerful book yet, Chan digs deep into biblical truth, reflects on his own failures and dreams, and shares stories of ordinary people God is using to change the world.

Chan says, “We’ve strayed so far from what God calls Church. We all know it. We know that what we’re experiencing is radically different from the Church in Scripture. For decades, church leaders like myself have lost sight of the inherent mystery of the Church. We have trained people sitting in the pews to become addicted to lesser things. It’s time for that to change.”

When Jesus returns, will He find us caring for His Bride—even more than for our own lives? Letters to the Church reminds us of how powerful, how glorious the Church once was … and calls us to once again be the Church God intended us to be.

This was a quick read but took a lot of processing.  I grew up in church.  All I have ever known is the way the church is done in the southeastern US.  I would default say that is the proper way to do church.  In college, I did take a course that challenged us to evaluate the modern church in light of what we read in the New Testament.  Chan brought those questions back to mind and then some.

Writing his standard get to the point, challenging the default way, that Chan has done in other books, he lays out a strong thesis for a new paradigm for the church.  Actually, not new but a reformation of returning to the old.  He purposefully does not lay out a plan of change or structure.  He places a challenge to the western evangelical church to look at how we are doing things in light of the Scripture.

Why are we doing what we are doing?

Why are we doing things the way we are doing them?

Are we honoring God or ourselves?

Whose kingdom are we advancing?

I was deeply challenged by this book.  I highly recommend this book to any Christian that holds to sola scriptura.

Christians in the Age of Outrage

Are you tired of reading another news story about Christians supposedly acting at their worst?
Today there are too many examples of those claiming to follow Christ being caustic, divisive, and irrational, contributing to dismissals of the Christian faith as hypocritical, self-interested, and politically co-opted. What has happened in our society? One short outrageous video, whether it is true or not, can trigger an avalanche of comments on social media.

Welcome to the new age of outrage.
In this groundbreaking book featuring new survey research of evangelicals and their relationship to the age of outrage, Ed Stetzer offers a constructive way forward. You won’t want to miss Ed’s insightful analysis of our chaotic age, his commonsensical understanding of the cultural currents, and his compelling challenge to Christians to live in a refreshingly different way.

I believe this book should be required reading before any Christian walks out their front door or turns on their computer/smartphone/tablet/charier pidgeon.  Dr. Stetzer has written an engaging book on the Christians proper action and role in the culture that exists today.

The culture around us in the West has changed dramatically in the last 20 years.  This is now a post-Christian culture.  The sooner that is understood by Christians, the better their engagement with those that are not Christians will become.  Yelling.  Being purposefully offensive.  Taking offense at everything one disagrees with.  These are not actions of Christ.  Dr. Stetzer explains clearly to the reader the how and the way for loving engagement with all people.

There are no words to express how strongly I recommend this book.  Thank you, Dr. Stetzer!  Well done.
Christians in the Age of Outrage: How to Bring Our Best When the World Is at Its Worst by Ed Stetzer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Learning to Speak God from Scratch

As America rapidly becomes a pluralistic, postmodern society, many of us struggle to talk about faith. We can no longer assume our friends understand words such as grace or gospel. Others, like lost and sin, have become so negative they are nearly conversation-enders.

Jonathan Merritt knows this frustration well. After Jonathan moved from the Bible Belt to New York City, he discovered that whenever conversations turned to spirituality, the words he'd used for decades didn't connect with listeners anymore. In a search for answers and understanding, Jonathan uncovered a spiritual crisis affecting tens of millions.

In this groundbreaking book, one of America's premier religion writers revives ancient expressions through cultural commentary, vulnerable personal narratives, and surprising biblical insights. Both provocative and liberating, Learning to Speak God from Scratch will breathe new life into your spiritual conversations and lure you into the embrace of the God who inhabits them.

I encountered this book in an odd location for me to find reading material.  Listening to the Bad Christian podcast, they had Jonathan Merritt on discussing this book.  I was very intrigued by the discussion and the topic of the book.  Planning on launching a church focused on outreach to people who are not familiar with church, this book seemed a must read.

Merritt does a fantastic job writing an engaging book about a topic that one would assume is a snooze fest.  In one chapter I actually found myself weeping.  Those who are familiar with church lingo are lost in speaking to those who are not.  Isn't it the job of the church to reach out to those who are not in the church?  To share the good news?  This book explains quite clearly to those in the church that the words that we are used to using are no longer useful.  We must learn to speak God anew.

Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life

The #1 bestselling author of Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther explores miracles in an inspiring response to the “New Atheists” 

Not since C. S. Lewis in 1947 has an author of Eric Metaxas’s stature undertaken a major exploration of the phenomenon of miracles. In this groundbreaking work, Metaxas examines the compatibility between faith and science and provides well-documented anecdotal evidence of actual miracles. With compelling—sometimes electrifying—evidence that there is something real to be reckoned with, Metaxas offers a timely, civil, and thoughtful answer to recent books by Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris. Already a New York Times bestseller, Miracles will be welcomed by both believers and skeptics—who will find their minds opening to the possibilities.

I do not generally read "Christian" books.  I find that they tend to be poorly written, especially the attempts at fiction, and trite.  This book was recommended, on Facebook by my pastor from college.  A man that I have a lot of respect for.  After investigating Metaxas some, my interest was peaked.  An author who has come to be known for his biographies of great people wrote a book on the subject of miracles?  He must have an exciting view.  I was not disappointed.

Metaxas covers the philosophy, theology, and metaphysics of miracles while also writing accounts from people who experienced miracles.  In writing about miracles, Metaxas provides his own reasonable definition.  This provides a good foundation for the rest of the subject.  Metaxas delivers an excellent metaphysical reason for why some may experience a miracle, and another does not.

I cannot recommend the book enough.  If you have any curiosity concerning miracles or what some may have claimed as miracles, this is a must-read.  If you believe that all who think miracles have occurred are kooks, this is the book for you.

The Gospel for Muslims

If you wanted to share the gospel with Muslims, could you?

There are over three million Muslims living in the United States today. Soon, if not already, you will have Muslim neighbors and co-workers. Does the thought of reaching out to them with the gospel make you nervous? How can you effectively communicate the good news with such large theological differences? The Gospel for Muslims can help make sharing your faith easier than you think.

Thabiti Anyabwile, himself a convert from Islam to Christianity, instructs you in ways to discuss the good news of Christ with your neighbors and friends. The Gospel for Muslims allows you to focus on the people rather than the religious system. Meant for the average Christian, it is not an exhaustive apologetic or detailed comparative study of Christianity and Islam. Rather, it compellingly stirs confidence in the gospel, equipping the reader with the basics necessary to communicate clearly, boldly, and winsomely.

Thabiti Anyabwile writes a very engaging text that is personal in origins and encouraging in its results.  Anyabwile keeps the reader focus on the fact that the Gospel is the Gospel no matter the person.  He did inform me of some facts about Islam that I was not aware of that I believe makes sharing the Gospel with Muslim friends and neighbors straightforward.  I never knew the Koran states the Torah, the Psalms of David, and the Gospels are divine texts.  Anyabwile cites the Sera for every statement he makes concerning Islam.  Due to this book, I want to renew relationships I have had with Islamic neighbors that have moved.  Great book.

Where I End

In May 2009 Katherine Clark was in a tragic playground accident and was paralyzed from the neck down. Though the doctors said she would never walk again, God chose to work a profound miracle. In Where I End Kate tells this compelling story and shares the deep theological truths that sustained her on this difficult road. Written in a reflective yet literary style, Where I End orients seasons of pain and suffering within the context of God’s tender, loving care.

This likely is the best first person story of pain, suffering, and overcoming that I have read.  Ms. Clark shares her story with exceptional eloquence.  She invited me into her life so fully that I could see my pain through her eyes.  Ms. Clark changes the discussion of Christian suffering.  She has helped me remove the question of "Why do I have MS?"  She has helped me see that the true question I should be looking for the answer to through my disability is "To what end?"  Anyone who is suffering with loss, open-ended grief, or physical struggles will be breathtakingly encouraged by this book.