Be the Bridge

I like to read, a lot. And sometimes I come across a book that should be on pretty much everyone’s “must read” list. Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation by Latasha Morrison (Waterbrook, 2019) is one of those books.  If you haven’t done so yet, preorder it so that it will be in your mailbox when it releases this fall (expected to release on Oct 15).

                This book is the very personal journey, the very personal story of the author. Ms Morrison grew up hearing a version of history that didn’t seem fair, but it was history. And then came the day when, in a college class, she heard the unredacted version of what had really happened to her ancestors, and thousands of others who were bought and sold as slaves. The story of how people had looked down on them and tried to strip their humanity from them. But beyond that, she heard the story of proud civilizations, of kings and queens, and prospering cultures and communities. And the discomfort that she felt that day propelled her into a place where she could share the truth of what happened, and then put it into perspective: what does God think, and how can we get back to what it was supposed to be like.

                This book is the story of how the organization Be the Bridge came to be, of how a small group who met to discuss reconciliation has branched out and is now over 1000 groups across 5 countries. Groups of people who serve as ambassadors for racial reconciliation.

                Morrison writes from the heart about the lessons she has learned, and how they have impacted her. She shares episodes from her life, and she leads the reader into a new understanding of the story of slavery in this country, and hopefully how the age-old custom of “the victor writes the history books” is not, nor has it ever been, fair to subsequent generations.

                At level it seems that Morrison understands that the past is the past and can’t be changed. But she also knows that there is work to be done today so that the injustices of the past don’t have to be carried any further into the future.  If I can put into practice even a small part of what I have learned from this book, I will be a better person, and the world will be a brighter place for all of humanity—people created in the image of God, and really what more can we ask for than to be listening to and obeying God as he tells us how to show that we love Him: by loving others.

                I received an uncorrected proof copy of this book as a member of the launch team.

                5/5

Faith for Exiles

The other day I was collecting money at a charity event and someone asked if we could take anything but cash.  If the right person was there, we could use an app on his phone to take credit cards, but for the most part we were taking cash.  As we waited for the guy with the app to come back, we started talking, and this young man informed me that he had recently been at a crypto-currency conference, and tried to explain what it was. I just learning about things like venmo and square and this guy is talking about money that doesn’t really exist except, apparently, in cyber space. There’s about 45 years difference in our ages, we’re both Americans, we both were speaking English, but we might as well have been from different planets.

And that seems to be a major problem for our society and for our churches today. Different generations have different languages, different values, different aspirations, different work ethics, and yes, even different meaning for words that have been in use in this country for decades, even centuries.

            Faith for Exiles: 5 Ways for a New Generation to Follow Jesus in Digital Babylon by David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock addresses this issue in a research-based way, and look at what’s happening in local churches as the younger generations become totally immersed in technology, and older generations are quickly becoming left further and further behind.

            For some people it appears that the gap is so wide that it appears there is no way to bridge it, but Kinnaman and Matlock have hope that the Church will prevail. The differences are not as great as they mean seem at first blush. It will just take some willingness to see things through the eyes of another generation, and then trust that Christ has got this.

            I received a copy of this book from the publisher as a member of the launch team. I was expected to read the book and share my thoughts about it on my blog and by writing a review.

            Although I did not find this book as helpful as some of the other books I’ve read by Kinnaman, I would still recommend it to pastors and ministry leaders

4/5

Helping young men discover their identity in Christ

There comes a time in every boy’s life when he starts to question not only who he is, but who he will become. God has a plan for each of us, but so does the enemy, so as teens and young men we are forced to make a choice.  A major issue in our country, and many others, is that there is a lack of teachers, mentors, and disciplers to guide these young impressionable minds; and there is always someone or something trying to distract them from God's call on their lives.

                Alex and Stephen Kendrick, with Troy Schmidt, have a lot to teach young men about becoming the man that God wants them to be. Their book, inspired by the movie Overcomer, has a lot to say about sin, holiness, making wise choices, doing the next right thing, and in general becoming an adult who knows who he is, and is willing to share how he got there with the world.

                Revealed: Discovering Your True Identity in Christ for Teen Boys and Young Men (B&H publishing, 2019) is an easy read, in fact given the age group that this book is intended for, I’d say that it’s too easy of a read—if I remember myself correctly in my teens and early 20’s, I probably would have seen this book a bit condescending, and looking down on my generation as not being smart enough to read at a slightly higher grade level.

                But the Kendricks do make a lot of good points, and I want to commend them for the (in my opinion) too brief sections on writing/sharing their testimony and the need to obey the Great Commission.  All too often it seems that we ask people to make a decision to follow Christ, and then forget to tell them what that involves. In other words, instead of raising the bar, we lower it to the point of hardly being a ripple over which we need to step.

                Yes we want people to understand who they are in Christ, yes we want people to attend church, read their bibles and fellowship with other Christians; but we also want and need them to boldly proclaim their faith. The Church needs them to be willing to go to the nations, making disciples, baptizing, and teaching all that Jesus taught about the good news that is the Gospel. And the authors get points for remembering to point that out as a main key to Christianity, and discovering our identity in Christ.

                I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

your story is important

Everyone seems interested in where they came from. We want to know our ancestors: who they were, what they liked, what they were like. We want to know them to help us know ourselves. All too often though, it seems that in our search for the past we tend to forget about the future. We want to know about who came before us, but tend to forget that those who come after might want to know a little about us.

Dear Grandchild, This Is Me: A Gift of Stories, Wisdom, and Off-the-Record Tales (Waterbrook, 2019) is an easy way for grandparents to leave a legacy for their grandchildren. The book is basically a fill in the blank template so that you can write your story. They are pages for letters about what it was like growing up, memories from different stages of life, envelopes for words of wisdom at certain milestones, places for pictures, all in all a portrait of a life that might otherwise be forgotten. And even the start of a family tree: a place to record names of your own parents and grandparents.

As I looked through the book, I realized how difficult it is to just sit down and recall and record so many memories. This is a gift that will be appreciated for years to come. And I know that many people will question why they should leave this ‘autobiography’. I imagine their thought process will go something along the lines of ‘I’m nobody important, nobody special, who cares what my childhood was like”. But we have to remember that in the eyes of our family members we’re important even if we weren’t making headlines every day. And of course we’re all created in the image of God, and in His eyes we’re special and worth remembering.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher as a part of their bloggers’ program

4/5

Jesus softens hearts and breaks down barriers

As many of you know, I work at the Ogden Rescue Mission (ORM); the other day a co-worker visited the Rescue Mission Salt Lake (RMSL), and came back with some books. One of them I had heard of before, but didn’t know much about. I started reading Same Kind of Different as Me: a Modern-day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman who Bound Them Together  (Ron Hall and Denver Moore, W publishing Group, 2006) and found it to be an interesting story, but wondered why it was a ‘recommend’

            There are 2 stories being told, different lives in different parts of the country, different socio-economic status, and different races. One man a modern-day slave, and the other a very successful international art dealer. They seem to have nothing in common, but the art-dealer’s wife sees somehow sees it differently. Through her an unlikely bond is forged.

            But this isn’t just a story of crossing racial boundaries, although that in itself would be a compelling narrative. It’s more than just the difference between black and white, or rich and poor, schooled or uneducated. This is a story of God's love for each of us, and how Jesus can work on hearts, and through softened hearts dissolve barriers.

            So what’s the connect to ORM and RMSL? The art dealer’s wife although she is rich, isn’t much interested in storing up treasures on earth, and she has a heart for serving God. Her husband, not so much. He seems to think that if he goes to church once in a while, that he’s good.  She decides that they are going to volunteer at a local Gospel Rescue Mission. It’s there that they meet Denver and the story of transformed lives begins.

            It’s a long journey since Denver doesn’t trust, and Ron doesn’t really want to be there, but eventually they become friends, after Denver explains that he doesn’t want to be a ‘catch and release’ friend—if he commits to being a friend, then it’s for life. And that’s what happens. The two men, forced into a tenuous relationship through the efforts of a single woman—loved by one man, and respected and admired by the other—become life-long friends. They enter into each other’s worlds, and the hearts of both are changed.

            Warning: you’ll want to have some tissues handy. And be advised, this book may just change your heart, and the way you see the homeless population in your city!

5/5

thoughts on "Something Needs to Change"

Most people I know don’t like change—unless it only affects someone else, and sometimes not even then.  And then there are the people who embrace change, willingly embrace it, and sometimes even seek it out. I sometimes resist change, even when I know it will be good for me, but as I read through David Platt’s latest book, Something Needs to Change: A Call to Make Your Life Count in a World of Urgent Need, (Multnomah, 2019) it dawned on me that I’ve also fallen into the trap of resisting change even when it means that the resistance is nothing more than disobedience to God’s will and call on my life. 

This book is one of the best I have read on how we should respond to God’s call on the lives of all Christians. I’ve traveled in the part of the world that Platt writes about. I’ve seen some of what are probably some the worst slums in the world, and I’ve seen the people who live in abject spiritual and physical poverty. I’ve met people who have no hope other than perhaps finding a few scraps of food so their kids don’t have to go bed hungry—again.

               I used to think that sending an occasional check to some missions agency, or to support a missionary in another part of the world was doing all that I needed to do to fulfill my part of the Great Commission. But several mission trips later, I realized, as Platt so eloquently points out, that sometimes we need to come face to face with the extreme needs in the world before we are willing to fall on our face before God, and with tears in our eyes beg Him to tell us what He would have us do to share His love with His children.   We have to see what others lack before we realize how much we have. And when we see how people get by with so little, it should force us to think about how richly we have been blessed, and how those great blessing should cause us to be filled with gratitude.

            Current estimates are that there are still 7000 unreached people groups left in the world, and unless the church steps up and shoulders the responsibility for fulfilling the great commission, that number is unlikely to grow smaller anytime in the near future. It seems pretty obvious to me that not everyone is physically capable of scaling Himalayan mountain peaks, but there are other places less physically challenging that have the same needs. At some point more of us need to cry out, as Isaiah did, “here I am, Lord, send me!” 

           Platt’s passion was obvious in this book, I just wish that I had been able to feel that same passion through the written words, as I have felt when working with new Christians whose previous world view left them basically with no hope, and eternally separated from God.  I particularly liked how he tied his daily devotional readings during this journey into the text. My renewed prayer after reading this book (in one evening) was the following” Lord, let my heart be broken by the things that break your heart; and let me love your people like you love them.

          As a member of the publisher’s bloggers’ program, I received an Advance Readers Copy of this book so that I could provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review.

         To give anything less than a 5/5 would be a great disservice to the multitudes of people who will be blessed by reading this book.

discover your identity in Christ

Who am I? Why am I here? What was God thinking when He created me? And how many more questions can you think of?  You know, those questions that pop into your head at the strangest and most inconvenient times. Those questions that plague us at night, when for whatever reason, we can’t sleep. Those questions that seem to hit hardest when we’re going through our darkest moments—when the evil one tries to convince us that his lies are the truth by which we must abide.

On AUG 23, the movie OVERCOMER releases in theaters. The movie comes from the folk behind such films as War Room, Fireproof, Courageous, and other faith-based films. The Kendrick brothers have several books and resources based on the movie Overcomer. Defined: Who God Says You Are (B&H Publishing, 2019) is one of them.

The book doesn’t tell the story of the movie—the promotional material says that it is “inspired by the movie”. What it does is ask to reflect on those difficult questions that plague us all. This book helps us to discover our identity: not based on what we think of ourselves, not based on whatever label that family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, classmates or anyone else tries to pin on us. The main point of this book is that our true identity comes from who God says we are. God created us in His image, and He gets to decide who we are.

The several parts of the book help us look at our identity, along with its confusion and source. Then we move on to the intentionality of how our stories begin: uniquely designed, and made in God's image, among other things.  Part 2 talks about our identity in terms of who we are in Christ: beloved, blessed, saved, prized, and gifted. Then the authors take us on a journey to find our inheritance: what we have in Christ. Part 4 looks at imperatives—those things that as Christians we are supposed to be doing. And yes, that includes loving one another. And then the last section talks about how we stand strong, even, and especially during attacks.

At the end of each chapter are several passages of scripture for the reader to study and ponder over. And the book includes a series of questions for each chapter. The questions can be used as small group discussion starters, but are also helpful for individuals.

Throughout the book there are personal stories from the authors that help to clarify the points they are trying to make.

I’m leading a Bible study now on Ephesians, looking at who wee are in Christ, and many of the things that stood out in this book are things we’ve already talked about in the study, or things I highlighted for future sessions.

At times the book is a little ‘dry’, but the information is solid, and is presented in a logical manner. I’m using the book as an additional resource for the bible study. Sometimes what I find useful is directly related to Ephesians, sometimes the info comes from other places in scripture, but helps clarify what we’re talking about in the book of Ephesians.

As a member of the Publisher’s bloggers’ program, I received a copy of this book. In exchange for the book, I was requested to write a review. I was not required to write a positive review.

help the kids didscover who God says they are

Overcomer is a faith-based movie that is set to release soon, and the folks behind the movie have created some tools to go along with that movie. There is a series of books ‘inspired’ by the movie, and each book asks a different group of people to answer a simple (or not so simple) question:  Who are you based on what God says?

Wonderful: The Truth about Who I Am, by Stephen Kendrick and Alex Kendrick with Amy Parker is for the younger set, the publisher’s description suggests that it is appropriate for kids 8-12 years old (or grades 2-7).  Other books in the series include one for adults, for teen boys and young men, and also one for teen girls and young women.

So, this book asks your child the question “who am I?’ and then runs through several answers that they will find as they learn to recognize their identity in Christ. Kids will discover that they are unique, human, made new, loved, a child of God, an example, not alone, and called.

There is a set of questions at the end of each section of the book, and children are asked to draw a picture of how they see themselves in regards to the issues they just read about.

A fun book for the littles in your life.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through their bloggers’ program. I was asked to express my own opinion, and was not required to write a positive review.

4/5

helping kids learn about giving

If you have children it’s a given that at some point someone has to teach them about money. And if you don’t teach them the basics, and how it can be used responsibly, then the world is standing by to teach them otherwise.

                Art Rainer takes a fresh approach to an age-old problem: greed. Then he uses biblical principles to help your 1^st through 4^th graders understand about giving. (Saving and spending are covered in books 2 and 3 of this three-part series).  So welcome to The Great Lemonade Stand Standoff (B&H Kids, 2019) part 1 of “The Secret Slide Money Club” series.

                We meet 3 friends: Jake, Sophia, and Brody—awesome kids who make a bad money choice, and are on their way to becoming enslaved by their love of money. As they start down that slippery path, they are rescued by Agent G.B. and go on to learn about making good money choices. In the process they help a friend, and also help raise money for a local animal shelter. 

                They don’t realize that they’re under attack from someone who encourages bad choices, but as they learn more about how money should be used, they grow spiritually, and become financially wiser.

                Rainer’s kids must love their Dad’s story telling. This book is a whimsical adventure, with plenty of lessons about greed and charity.

                I received a copy of the book from the published in exchange for a review. The only requirement is that these by my thoughts about the book. There is no obligation to print a favorable review.

"advocates" lacks the passion that the subject matter deserves

At every turn we hear the term ‘racist’ or ‘racism’ or some other word to describe our differences, and the issues that ‘different’ implies. Dhati Lewis focuses mostly on ‘Black’ and ‘White’, mainly because his skin is one color, and that of his wife is the other.  This ‘different’ has caused him problems within his family, because they were focused on their skin color and found it difficult to accept that one of their own would wish to be with someone of another color.

All in all, the discussion about racial profiling, racism in general, and racist comments and behavior needs to be addressed, and it would seem that a book like Advocates: The Narrow Path to Racial Reconciliation would be the perfect vehicle to start the discussion.  Lewis is Black, his wife is White.  He is Black and pastors a predominantly White church. He has a perspective that most of us lack, yet the passion that he writes about having for seeing reconciliation doesn’t come across in the book.

He starts by telling us how Webster defines certain words, and then how he will use them; you can go to a dictionary and see how most people would use ‘advocate’ and ‘aggravator’.  Lewis puts his own nuance on the words: an advocate has the goal of reconciliation. An aggravator describes any type of interaction where the goal is not reconciliation

And when it comes to ‘reconciliation’ he says he prefers to use the word in the biblical sense, (which isn’t defined as clearly as I would have liked to see since he is making it a major part of his thesis statement)

                So, in this short book, Lewis address 4 main points. First is an awareness of the current situation—where we are. Then he moves into a discussion of where God wants us to be, and what that looks like. Next he moves on to developing a strategy for making that move, and ends with a discussion of the courage that we need to face the fears and challenges ahead.

                Given the seriousness of the subject, this book had the potential to change our world, starting with our churches, unfortunately it falls short.

                I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.

3/5