Brief look at Spiritual Disciplines and thier importance

Donald Whitney has a list of eleven disciplines listed in his classic work Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.  There are some here that may be surprising to some and not others. The list consists of Bible intake, prayer, worship, evangelism, serving, stewardship, fasting, silence and solitude, journaling, and learning. This is a great list for Christians to have at work in their private lives and even greater for the church as whole.  As to the importance of the disciplines Whitney says, “Think of the Spiritual Disciplines as ways we can place ourselves in the path of God’s grace and seek Him much as Bartimaeus and Zacchaues placed themselves in Jesus’ path and sought Him.”[1]

            I believe that if members of the local church started to practice any number of these disciplines on a regular schedule we would start seeing communities changed and lives transformed. Each of these disciplines has its on sense of power and how it can be effective. For instance fasting can make a difference in the lives of someone else or the person being fasted for. I say this because a year or so ago I was suffering from severe migraines for days on end without any relief, and the men of my outdoorsmen’s Bible study decided that they were going to take turns over the period of a week and fast for me. Some of the brother fasted for one day others for three to four days, and one brother who had never fasted before skipped several meals daily for several days. And at the end of that week I had chosen to fast not knowing their decision and after my fast my headaches ceased.  I was humbled and amazed by the sacrifice these men made and the way God showed up in all of our lives.

            Now imagine if we could get an entire body to realize the power that lies behind any of these disciplines. I think part of the trouble we have is that most Christians feel that they are not well enough equipped in how to do certain things.  I have heard the excuse that the reason some people do not pray is because they do not know how. I have explained that prayer is a conversation between you and God. Once we can get everyone on the same page it is awe inspiring the things that can happen. So find examples that can be used and start in your own life and try to incorporate it into the local body, either a Bible study or your church itself.

Review of Reformed Means Missional

As a man who loves reformed theology the title alone peaked my interest. I could not wait to get my hands on a copy of this work, seeing that I am a MDiv student and part of a church plant this book as a whole was very intriguing. This work was not very long and was not extremely difficult to read. I would almost call this an anthology since it is a compilation of multiple works. Each author takes a different point of the importance of mission ranging from race relations to healthcare and everything in between. Being someone who reads (a lot) this work was as enjoyable to read, as it was informative. I would caution those who are not reformed to not build an understanding of reformed theology from this work alone; while to those who are reformed I would encourage you to allow this work to encourage your understanding of missions. There was not one essay that was better than another they all reach for the stars while being grounded in solid theology. This work is a great read for anyone who loves missions and/or reformed theology. It makes a great intro into understanding how missions impact a whole community in all of its differing aspects. I received a copy of this work in exchange for a fair and balanced review.

Review of One Year to Better Preaching

One year to better preaching is a book that new pastors can find helpful. Pastors who have been in the game for a while will also find some things that will give them a new tool or remind them of one they had forgotten about. Overdorf did a good job in coming up with 52 different activities for the preacher to try. This work is not one I would recommend you sit down and try to read cover to cover; it is more useful as a reference tool.  There is a specific format he follows which works for the most part. He gives us a short story about the topic, then he offers an exercise to work on what he has introduced and then he has a section where people have tried it giving their testimony.  The testimony sections become a bit much after you get pass the first several chapters.  This book is not overtly large and not short by any means, it come in around 300 pages that is separated into 52 different lessons. Something else that was helpful was after certain topics he would list additional materials for the reader to review.  I was given a copy of this work in exchange for a fair an honest review.

Review of Five Points by John Piper

            If you are familiar with Piper at all then you know how much he loves Christ, the body and the Book. In this short book he gives us a good introduction in to the doctrines of Grace (a.k.a. Calvinism). He does something very interesting instead of sticking with the old acronym TULIP he switches the place of irresistible grace, and unconditional election. However, he does it in a way that it does not feel disjointed it actually seems to flow better; each chapter he writes builds upon its successor.

            Before he gets in to the points themselves he gives us a brief history lesson which I for one did appreciate. He tells the reader things like, “So the so-called Five Points were not chosen by the Calvinist as a summary of their teaching.  They emerged as a response to the Arminians who chose these five points to disagree with.” (pg. 12) He spends the majority of the rest of the book giving us detailed yet concise material dealing with each of the five points, and closes the book out with his and other pastor’s testimonies in how important Calvinism is to the faith, read especially the testimonies of Whitfield and Spurgeon. 

            I would happily recommend this work to anyone and everyone. It does not matter if you have been part of a reformed tradition for years this book can help you explain/argue your stance much better. And if you have no idea what I have been talking about this is a great introduction into reformed theology. I was given a copy of this work in exchange for a fair review, I did not have to give this book a good review in order to receive it.  So go pick up a few copies and have them to give out to those you know and those you don’t.   

Should Christians Litigate Against One Another?

Why is it better for Christians to lay down their rights and suffer injury than to litigate? In short, why shouldn’t Christians sue one another, and what’s wrong with litigation?

Provide a well-thought out answer to the question above, and address any collateral issues that come to mind, such as,

The failure of the church to teach this principle, or

The possible lack of receptivity in western-minded believers

            No, as Christians we should not enter into litigation with one another. There are numerous reasons why. One of the reasons is that we are supposed to be setting an example for the rest of the world to follow and if we are going around suing each other what type of standard are we really giving?  Jesus said that you will know who belongs to him by the love they have for one another. In John’s Gospel these are the exact words of Jesus, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”(John 13:35, ESV).

            Also, when we litigate against one another particularly it shows that we are unwilling to be wronged whether it is for the cause of Christ or not. Peter tells us how Christ handled persecution when he says, “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:23, ESV) Therefore if we are supposed to be like Christ we are to take persecution as though it comes with the territory.

            It is a shame that most churches will never teach on this topic, not because it is irrelevant for our time but out of fear. There are all of these mega churches preaching heresy, while the church that preaches truth is often condemned as being intolerant. While this principle should be taught even if it is on the larger scale of not expecting to be rich, and always healthy.  We want to believe that the life of a Christian is supposed to be easy with no challenges. But that is not what Jesus told his followers, he told them that if the world or even the religious leaders persecuted him because he was teaching truth that they would get the same treatment (Matt 10:16-25).

            In the west we have come to believe that culture influences the Bible and it is backwards, the Bible should influence society. And if that is the case we should be willing to give to our brother/sister in Christ and suffer that loss. Look at the believers in Acts who sold everything so that they could share and take care of one another as a community and a body/family of believers.  But our western mindset has taught us that we have to look out for numero uno,  and to get what is coming to me. That however is not what scripture teaches us it is the exact opposite and until we as a body can begin to exhibit love for one another and not take each other to litigation over things that can be settled at home the world will always think we are a joke.