No letters after my name. Free to be me.

Free Book Offer!

If you’re an Aussie or or Kiwi, then this post is for you!  Bernie Dymet form Christianity Works is generously offering a free book to you.

“How To Get Close To God” is yours simply for the asking.  Click here to order your book right now!  I ordered my copy today and look forward to receiving the book and check out Dymet’s view on life and faith.

I must admit, I don’t know too much of where Dymet comes from and am sometimes reluctant to endorse those I know nothing about.  From his website, he is described as:

“Berni is a dynamic preacher of God’s word, with a passion for helping people to connect with God amidst the realities of life. He has a wonderful ability to communicate deep, life changing truths in a way that makes sense to the rest of us - talking about issues that really matter. Things that each one of us experiences in our own lives.”

For those out of Australia and NZ, Bernie offers the book for $5.50 AU plus postage and handling - still a bargain.

I’ll let you know what I think in due course.  But in the mean time, thank you Bernie for the generosity of your ministry.  I really appreciate it!

The theme of book seems very fitting as we are all in the continuum of life and “hecticness.” To be swamped by the everyday demands of modern life is very normal and I look forward to the advice you offer.

Vintage Jesus

“Vintage jesus” is perhaps on the top of the list of books I want to read.  But until I get a physical copy in my hands, I can get stuck into the following tidbits from a number of chapters:

This book, co-authored by Mark Driscoll and Dr Gerry Breshears is based on a the Vintage Jesus sermon series preached at Mars Hill Church in 2007. Love this kind of work as it presents the truth of Jesus in an accurate, no nonsense, religious free context. His life, death and resurrection have nothing to do with religion - it’s a love story between a Holy God and a fallen mankind.

The Shack - A Trinity Shocker!

Ranking very high on Amazon’s best seller list is a book by William P. Young, The Shack. Released in May last year, many of you would probably already know about it.  As of today, it has upward of 350 reviews on Amazon.com.

Additionally Christian personalities such as Michael W Smith and Eugene Peterson (Author of The Message) have endorsed it in a positive way. Here’s what Peterson had to say:

When the imagination of a writer and the passion of a theologian cross-fertilize the result is a novel on the order of The Shack. This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress did for his. It’s that good!

This has found many people rushing to buy the book and calling their experience in reading it, "a mind blowing experience, a spiritual stick of dynamite and a life changing book."

So what’s the book about?  Basically it’s this:

The Shack revolves around Mack (Mackenzie) Philips. Four years before this story begins, Mack’s young daughter, Missy, was abducted during a family vacation. Though her body was never found, the police did find evidence in an abandoned shack to prove that she had been brutally murdered by a notorious serial killer who preyed on young girls. As the story begins, Mack, who has been living in the shadow of his Great Sadness, receives a strange note that is apparently from God. God invites Mack to return to this shack for a get together. Though uncertain, Mack visits the scene of the crime and there has a weekend-long encounter with God, or, more properly, with the godhead.

In a nut shell, God asks Mack to meet in the shack for a deep and meaningful about His nature.  The author was interviewed on the 700 Club on CBN and here is what he had to say:

It all sounds nice and fine and dandy until you get to meet the "god" Young introduces to Mack.  You see God the Father is an African American woman called Papa. God the Son (Jesus) is a guy from the Middle East with plain looks apart from his big nose.  And God the Spirit is Sarayu - a small and delicate little Asian girl.

Talking about messing with people’s heads!  And the fact that Christians are out there endorsing this crap and readers are saying that their consciousness is altered as a result of reading this book, blows me away.

It really makes wonder about the state of Oprah Winfrey type, new age mentality spreading across Christianity these days and how Christians are sucking this up into their minds and souls and don’t have any idea of the vomit they are consuming.

To be honest, I haven’t read the book.  But I don’t need to.  There are many people holding onto biblical truth who have exposed this book for what it’s worth. Tim Challies, author of The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment and keeper of the popular blog challies.com has an awesome review about the book here.

In his conclusions, Challies says:

Because of the sheer volume of error and because of the importance of the doctrines reinvented by the author, I would encourage Christians, and especially young Christians, to decline this invitation to meet with God in The Shack. It is not worth reading for the story and certainly not worth reading for the theology.

Despite the great amount of poor theology, my greatest concern is probably this one: the book has a quietly subversive quality to it. Young seems set on undermining orthodoxy Christianity.

One of the theological areas The Shack centres on is the nature of the trinity. And Young’s characters of a black female Papa, a plain and big nosed Son and a delicate little female Asian Sarayu spirit, struck a negative vibe in me as soon as I read it.  Undoubtedly, Young’s work is in the genre of Mclaren’s work and you all you where I stand with Mclaren.

And in typical Mark Driscoll style, he nails this issue of the trinity in The Shack in his sermon series on doctrine.  Below is a snippet:

As you can see.  The Shack is a shocker when it comes to many aspects of Christianity.  Many good things are mixed with many bad things resulting in a delightful read where you may be unaware of the realigning of your understanding of crucial doctrines. And isn’t this just what the devil wants?

If the nature of the trinity does confuse you and you want to know more about this important aspect in our understanding of God, I invite you to check out Driscoll’s sermon below.

Book Tagged…

Stuart has tagged me on a book list so here goes…

1. One book that changed your life.

Apart from the Bible, Lucado’s book, "In The Grip Of Grace" was liberating for me.  Raised in an extremely legalistic denomination left me with major scars.  Lucado’s book helped me move on from seeing God as a tyrant to a loving Father. Highly recommend it for anyone trying too hard to please God instead of resting in Him.

2.  One book you’ve read more than once.

Like movies, I rarely read a book twice.  This one however captivated me.  George Otis spent 30 years travelling the world to get a deeper understanding of why "why does spiritual darkness linger were it does?" Exit our Western mindset of rationality and enter the bizarre world  of the occult and how it is submissive to Jesus.  You will read amazing stories in this book.

3. One book you’d want on a desert island.

Not trying to be "holier than thou" but seriously, a desert island doesn’t sound like a place where I’d survive for long.  So why not spend the rest of my life getting ready for the next one?   Makes sense to me!

4. Two books that made you laugh.

You all know that Driscoll is my favourite Preacher. One of the reasons is that the guy is an absolute crack up.  His sermons make me look like an idiot as I burst into laughter listening to my iPod while waiting at traffic lights.  And his book is no different.  Here he outlines his story of Mars Hill Church.

Victor Schlatter was a Nuclear Scientist and left everything to plant over 100 churches in Papua New Guinea.  An old Jewish looking kind of guy, this American now resides in Australia and heads up SPIM - South Pacific Island Ministries.  He lobby’s the governments of the Islands to stand up for Israel in the UN amongst other things.  A life long friend, his humour, wit and sarcasm shine in this book.

5. One book that made you cry.

Anderson’s books are all about freedom in Christ.  Freedom from all the crap piled up in your life and the power to move forward despite your circumstances.  As I read this book, there were many times where I just broke down in tears at my circumstances. Good tears though because it was a Godly sorrow.  This book just might make it into the "read more than once" section.

6. One book that you wish had been written.

"LayGuy’s Transformation: From Sinner To Saint."  Yeah that would do it for me.  Not that I would be famous or anything.  But that my sanctification would be a lot more done then it is right now.

7. One book that you wish had never been written.

The Koran.  Yeah I know a little controversial but nevertheless it’s how I feel.  I know there are many things done in the "name of Christianity" that are down right dumb, but at least Christianity teaches a salvation that comes from faith.  The Koran teaches works and in a fallen and fanatical world, the works many of these people do are more down right "dumber."  A honest look at the worlds trouble spots and you will find Islam there.

8. One book that you’re currently reading.

Actually I have two.  I’m just about to finish Groeschel’s pre-marital book he was kind enough to send me if I blogged about it.  My next post will review this book as requested.  In a nut shell, it’s easy to see why Groeschel pastors one on the most amazing churches in the world, he is a talented and disciplined guy and his book is ful
l of wisdom and guidelines on how to mak
e your relationship solid.

I’ve just started to read my second McManus book and find him profound.  He is a talented story teller and reading his books makes you search deep within.  McManus has the gift of helping you forget your circumstances and invites you to journey with him.  Every time I read his material, as I look up from my book, I am staggered as to how immersed I get into his writing and the thoughts he generates.  Highly recommended.

9.  One book you’ve been meaning to read.

I’m fascinated by the state of the Church in the US - and note for all the right reasons.  Emerging Churches.  There is a lot of good and a lot of not so good things happening.  From the reviews of others, I know I will be in the Driscoll, Burke and Kimball side of this debate.  Padgitt and Ward are a little too bizarre for my liking.  Looking forward to dusting the cover to my copy and getting into the minds of these 5 authors.

10. Now tag 5 people.

Ok now it’s your turn.

Zabs, Poop,  Elmo, Heather, and lets see if I can get some big wigs…. TSK and Kimball. Well it’s worth a try anyway…

LifeChurch - Free Book Offer

If you hurry, LifeChurch.tv still has 40 copies to give out of Pastor Craig Groeschel’s latest book, “Going All The Way.”

All he asks is that you read it and post about what you think on your blog. I’ve got my copy and they sent it all the way to Australia! Click here for more info!

Being a married guy sort of makes me “post” much of this book. However Craig says he is receiving a bunch of good reports even from married people. If you don’t grab yourself a free copy, you could always get a copy from amazon.com.

In due course, I will honour Craig, read the book, post about it and then pass it on to the engaged couple I think would benefit from it the most. Check out his little video promo below:

This is just another example of the generosity of Craig and his church LifeChurch.tv. I encourage you to check out the website and be blessed by the vast amount of resources they have made freely available.

Solid teaching, creativity and a generous spirit are only three reasons why I believe LifeChurch.tv is the number one church in the US. Check them out and let me know what you think!

Tags: LifeChurch.tv, LifeChurch, Craig Groeschel, Going All The Way, Marriage