Review: “Jesus Manifesto” by L. Sweet & F. Viola

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Frank Viola, Jesus Manifesto, Leonard Sweet

[NOTE: From time to time, I’ll be reviewing books on this site, in addition to the regular post for the day.]

The point of Christianity is not to feed the poor, preach the gospel to the lost or even be imitators of Christ.  The point of Christianity is Christ.  It is the indwelling of Christ in us that accomplishes all these things, and not the other way around.  This is the premise of Jesus Manifesto: Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ, by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola.

The book begins by asking the same question Jesus asked his disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” and proceeds to explore and dissect many of the answers modern Christianity has come to offer.  By focusing mostly on what Paul told the early church about Jesus and on what Jesus told the world about Himself, the authors address so many of the doctrines and theologies I have been hearing my entire life.  It was not until I read this book that I realized these doctrines and theologies are often in danger of changing the focus of the church from Christ to the church itself. 

Sweet and Viola rightly use Scripture as the basis for their arguments, constantly reminding the reader that Jesus is the Word of God.  As I read, I found myself saying “yes, but the Bible also says…” only to find my argument addressed Biblically in the next sentence.

While the book is fairly repetitive, it is repetitive with a purpose: to drive home the idea that when we put “good” things like service, justice, and even studying the Bible above Christ, we remove Him from His proper place as the Head of the Church, the sovereign Ruler of all and the Word made Flesh.

I would recommend this book for pastors, teachers and other church leaders because it serves as a good reminder that in all things, we preach Christ.  It reminds us that the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation is about Christ and not about Moses, Jonah or Paul.  It reminds us that only when Christ holds the highest place in His church will His church ever truly be His.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Memorial day

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Journaling, Remembering

Edmund Burke once said, “Those who do not know history are destined to repeat it.”  I tried to tell this to a group of fourth graders who were complaining about having to learn about the events surrounding our country’s quest for independence.  They didn’t think that was a good enough reason to make them read five pages in their History books.  But I do…

God also seems to think it’s a good enough reason for us to study history.  Joshua chapter 4 begins just after the nation of Israel had finished a miraculous crossing of the Jordan River (on dry land, during flood season).  The first thing God tells them to do after they are all safely on the correct side, is to assign one person from each of the twelve tribes to grab a rock from the center of the (still dry) river and to build an altar with these twelve stones.  Why?  To serve as a memorial of what God had done for them, and to be a conversation piece for their children. (See Joshua 4:1-9).

After Israel had been living in their God-ordained land for a while, they forgot what He had done for them and as a result, He allowed them to suffer at the hands of the Philistines.  When they, under Samuel’s leadership, decided it was time to turn back to God, He put them to the test to see just how determined they were to follow Him again.  While they were assembled to offer sacrifices to God, the Philistines showed up to attack them.  Samuel cried out to God on their behalf, and the Philistines were defeated.  Guess what Samuel did?  That’s right, he set up a memorial for the people to see and remember how God came to their rescue. (1 Samuel 7:2-13)

In my church, right above the baptismal pool hangs a large cross – you probably have a similar one in your church somewhere.  It’s more than just decoration.  It’s a memorial of what Jesus did for us.

I’m guessing by now you know where we’re headed today…  If we aren’t creating memorials of God’s love, faithfulness, mercy and grace, if we aren’t creating memorials of lessons He’s taught us, how will we remember?  How will we avoid having to learn those lessons again?  How will we teach others what we’ve learned? 

Most of my memorials are in the form of writing.  This blog is turning out to be a bit of a memorial for me.  I keep a journal of what I’ve learned about and from God.  You may have a similar way of remembering.  Or, your memorials may be more concrete.  My pastor told us about a family who placed a large rock in their yard to remind them of God’s faithfulness after a particularly difficult season.  Perhaps you have a piece of jewelry, a sun catcher, a bookmark.  However you choose to remind yourself of something God has taught you, the important part is that you remember.  In remembering, we are able to move forward. 

What’s something God has done in your life?  How do you choose to remember what He teaches you?

Jesus is STILL Lord

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Hillsong, Let us Adore, Surrender, Worship

I woke up with this song in my head after a VERY difficult and exhausting couple of days.  They were days spent questioning, worrying, crying, yelling, wondering, pouting, and finally surrendering.  Apparently, my heart decided there was no other response to God after all this, but to sing the following song:

Coincidence? I think not.

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Judges, Ruth, Samuel

There are times when I wish God would just send me a post card.  Other times, I’m pretty sure He has.  I think I’m in that second category right now.  The only problem is, the post card is written in invisible ink and I’m still looking for the correct revealing substance.  I do know this though, I’m pretty sure there’s something I’m supposed to be learning from the Old Testament.  How do I know?  Well, let me tell you…

About a month and a half ago, my small group started a new study on the book of Ruth.  That same week, my pastor started a sermon series on the life of Samuel.  If you’ve read either of those books, you know that Ruth starts by telling the reader that its events takes place when Israel was ruled by judges (Ruth 1:1).  Samuel, it turns out, was born…wait for it…when Israel was ruled by judges.  In fact, Samuel ends up being Israel’s last good judge.  (His sons’ corruption is one of the factors in leading Israel to ask Samuel to anoint a king for them (1 Samuel 8:1-5).

Since I stared both of these studies (between which there has been an incredible amount of overlap), I’ve been doing other reading and watching messages from other churches on-line.  And you know what keeps coming up?  Samuel and the judges.  So while I’m not sure what’s in these books that God wants me to learn yet, I do know this – with God, there are no coincidences and believe me, I’ll be scouring Judges, Ruth and 1 & 2 Samuel until I find out what He’s trying to tell me! 

Are you getting a post card from God right now?  What are you learning in your study of His Word right now?

Urgently relax

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Aquarium, Fish, Relax

Today’s Midweek Mental Health Break is quite possibly the most relaxing 4 minutes and 33 seconds you will ever have while sitting in front of a computer.  I highly suggest that you watch this one in full-screen mode with a nice cup of tea…

[NOTE: I’m still learning all the ins and outs of WordPress and can’t figure out how to post a Vimeo video directly, so here’s the link:  http://vimeo.com/groups/5dmk2/videos/5606758  and a hint of what you’ll find there, courtesy of Animal Planet…]

They may be onto something

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Christians, Jews, Mormons, Muslims

I recently finished doing a series with my high school Sunday school class on comparative religions.  We talked about everything from Wiccans to the Amish and a good chunk of beliefs in between.  I loved it because I’ve always been fascinated by cultures, languages and yes, religions.  I learned some new and interesting (and in some cases, scary) facts and just generally had a good time with it.  But even I was surprised when I sat down to write the wrap-up lesson.  I thought we were going to talk about how every religion has their own “path” to God (whoever they believe that to be) but that Christ is the only true Path, or something like that.  It’s what was expected.  But our God is the God of the unexpected…  Allow me to share with you where we ended up:

Most of us know that Muslims pray five times a day.  But did you know that the most devout Muslims have specific prayers for everything they do?  They pray before they get out of bed.  They pray after they get out of bed.  They pray as they get dressed.  They have a prayer for riding in a car, for crossing a street, for making a purchase.  Before they go to one of their five daily prayers, they wash themselves ceremonially and yes, they have a prayer for washing.

Orthodox Jews keep Kosher in every aspect of their lives.  Most of us know about their dietary restrictions (no bacon cheeseburgers for them), but they also have restrictions on the way they dress, how much and what type of work they do and when, and about how they interact with other people – both Jews and Gentiles.  They don’t view these restrictions as oppressive.  Instead, they see keeping Kosher as a symbol that they are set apart by God – they see them as an act of worship.

A devout Mormon reads her Scriptures every day.  By the time she is six, she’s already thinking about getting baptized in the Temple, what her testimony will be and what it will be like to go on a mission – her entire childhood leads to her mission.  She thinks deliberately about her actions and her words and whether they would please God and make her worthy to enter the Temple the next time her family goes – and more importantly, on her wedding day.

Some Christians may look at these people’s lives and see nothing but legalism.  We don’t have to work for our salvation and hold to a bunch of laws if we want to have any hope of pleasing God enough for Him to love us.  But at some level, I’ll admit to being convicted by their lives.  When I look at them,  I see lives completely devoted to God (as they understand Him):  I see people who pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  I see people who are trying to be holy because their God is holy (1 Peter 1:13-16).  I see people who put thought into all of their actions and who live with purpose (Colossians 3:17). 

I think I take my Christianity too lightly sometimes.  I don’t pray without ceasing and I’m not disciplined enough to spend time with God every single day of every single week.  I reserve my holiness for when I’m at church, or reading my Bible, or for my occasional praying, but not necessarily when I choose what I’ll watch on TV.  I don’t always think about how my words or my actions affect my testimony or whether what I’m about to say or do will bring glory to God.

Please don’t assume that I’m suggesting we all take on a life of devout piety or that we must be legalistic in everything we say and do.  We do live under grace.  We are free in Christ.  But I don’t think it would hurt if once in a while, we put a little thought into how we live out our faith in the world – and before our God.  After all, if we want to wear the name of Christ, shouldn’t we try to be a little more like Him every day? (See 2 Corinthians 3:12-18). 

Have you ever been convicted by something you saw “in the world”?  Got any tips for living a more disciplined spiritual life?

24, LOST & New Kids on the Block

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24, Jesus, LOST, New Kids on the Block

NOTE: This post was spawned by a comment I left on this Stuff Christians Like post.

When I was in middle school, I spent most of my summer at camp. All these girls were showing up with t-shirts and posters and notebooks and pillowcases festooned with pictures of this new boy band. New Kids on the Block? Who the heck is that? By the time I got home from camp, I was so tired of hearing about them that I’d decided I didn’t like them – without ever listening to a single song.

In a similar turn of events, I have never watched a single episode of either LOST or 24.  Every where I turn, I see people talking about LOST and 24 – who died this week? where did that thing come from? how the heck did Jack get out of that room? what’s going to happen this week?  GAH!!  I’m on LOST & 24 overload!!  (It might have something to do with the fact that a few of the people I follow on Twitter (and who’s blogs I read) seem to be at some stage of obsession with these two shows…)

I was thinking about all of this when I suddenly felt convicted.  (No, not about my judgementalism, but thanks for asking.)  The question that convicted me was this: Could I ever be accused of making someone tired of hearing about Jesus?  Do I talk about Him endlessly?  Do I try to get people to “watch” Him?  Is there anyone in my life who expects every conversation with me to end up being about Jesus?  And the simple, raw, truthful answer to that question is: Not a chance!

I say that Jesus is important to me and I’m grateful for my salvation.  But I really don’t talk about Him much, if at all.  The people in my life know a lot about me – what I like to do for fun, what I like to watch, what my cat’s name is.  But do they know that I know Jesus?  I may hint at it from time to time, but He doesn’t tend to be a hot topic of conversation for me.  I need to work on that.

What about you?  How do you bring Jesus to the forefront of  your conversations?

The heavens declare

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clouds, Phil Wickham, Planets, stars, sunsets, Worship

I have always had a great love for the sky.  I’m fascinated by clouds – I could lay in a field on a summer afternoon and watch them float by for hours.  For me, there’s no better way to end a hot, humid summer day than with an approaching thunderstorm.  A deep orange and purple sunset never fails to bring tears to my eyes.  Every clear evening in the summer, I sit out on the deck and stare up at the night sky looking for satellites and shooting stars.  I’ve been known to pull over on a dark road, open the sunroof and just look up at the layers and layers of stars, allowing my eyes to adjust so I can see more of them.  One of my favorite places on earth is somewhere I’ve only been once, but I crave being there the way my mom craves being at Cape May because it’s the place where I got to see Saturn’s rings for the first time.  I remember nights my dad and I would take his telescope out into the back yard to look at Mars, Venus and the moon (I think I get my love of the sky and weather from him).

There’s a song I anticipate singing a lot this summer* that so perfectly ties my love for all things celestial with my love for Jesus:

What sets your soul free to worship?  What’s your favorite part of God’s creation?

* If you’re in Western Mass/CT, stop by Bethlehem Baptist Church in Hampden, MA at 7PM on June 6th for the kick off of another fantastic summer of The Awakening.  If you’re not in the area, please pray that God would be glorified and that He would bring revival to New England!

I surrender. All.

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Freedom, Struggle, Surrender

I use words every day without really thinking about what they mean.  I’d be willing to bet that you do too.  But every once in a while, (usually when I’m in the shower) a word will stick in my brain and I find myself pondering it and wondering what it really means.  Today, I’m thinking about “surrender”.  I don’t know why, but let’s explore it together and see where we end up, ok? 

I think that when we use the word “surrender” in our Christian circles, we don’t always understand what it really means.  There are tons of worship songs and hymns that use the word and I’m sure you’ve heard a message or two about it.  I think we think we know what it means and what it looks like, but in reality, we’re missing it completely.  Thinking about the word “surrender” has me wondering how often: 

• We surrender because we have to:  We’ve come to the end of our proverbial rope.  We’re trapped by our circumstances and surrender is the only way out.  This kind of surrender tends to feel more frustrating than fulfilling, more like punishment than a privilege.  This is the kind of surrender wherein we throw up our hands with a frustrated [angry], “I give up” kind of attitude.  When we surrender because we feel like we have to, it’s usually just temporary until we get dug out of our current hole and feel like we’re ready to take everything back.  This kind of surrender does us no good.  It’s superficial.  It’s circumstantial.  It’s actually not surrender at all – it’s just a bandaid, an act until we can get back on our feet again and carry on with the lives we want to live.  It’s all about us and what we want out of life.
• We surrender because we want to:  At times, life just gets too hard.  We get tired.  Or worse, we get lazy.  We don’t want to try anymore.  We’ve grown weary in well-doing and we just want to give it to God so we don’t have to deal with it anymore.  This is a sad, worn out and tragic surrender.  This surrender is accompanied by bitterness and resignation.  This is a fatalistic surrender.  We give up without having hope that God can turn the tide of our lives and bring blessing and fulfillment.  This isn’t really surrender either – it’s quitting. 
• We surrender because we get to:  Over and over the Bible tells us that God wants us to rest in Him (Matthew 11:28-30), that He is the one who fights for us (Joshua 23:9-10), and that He wants us to leave in His hands the things that can and will wear us out (1 Peter 5:6-7).  True, honest, beneficial surrender is the kind that says, “I’m putting my life in Your hands and I’m letting You call the shots because I trust You.”  True surrender is freeing, it’s joyful, it’s peaceful.  It’s not a lazy “I gave it to God so now I can sit back and let Him do everything” attitude.  And it’s not a fatalistic “I gave it to God and now I just have to see whether or not He comes through for me” attitude.  Surrender is giving up our need to control and orchestrate every moment of our lives.  Surrender is giving up our need to tell God what we think He should do.  Surrender is going to Him with open hands – ready to give Him whatever He needs to take from us, and ready to take whatever He needs to give us – so that we can be the person He can use and bless. 

True surrender is a gift.  True surrender is a privilege.  True surrender frees us up to accept whatever God has for us.  True surrender leads to rest, healing, and ironically, victory.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power;
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

Where are you on the road to surrender?  What encouragement can you offer to the one who is still fighting?

A musical interlude

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Muppets, Ode to Joy

All I can say about this week’s Midweek Mental Health Break is, why not?  Enjoy!

Now that you’re all happy, pop on up “Who’s Here?” and tell us a little about yourself 🙂