A Somewhat Structured Random Thought

Greetings All,

This morning over quiet time I have been reading a new book that I sort of acquired by accident.  It is called Wisdom Chaser: Finding My Father at 14,000 Feet and it is written by the son of Richard Foster of Celebration of Discipline fame.  It is a book I would never have intentionally purchased or for that matter intentionally read, but it came in the mail, I was too lazy to send it back so I figured I might as well read it and I must admit I am really enjoying it.  There will be a book review to come, but the book is not my structured random thought for the morning.  My structured random thought for the morning involves Richard's book.

I was nine years old when Celebration of Discipline  was written and my prayer life consisted of "Now I lay me down to sleep" and "God is great, God is good, let us thank him for our food."  The thought of silence or fasting or simplicity, never entered my mind.  All nine year olds are loud, hungry and yearning for more stuff, especially of the GI Joe variety; so it was not until much later, in fact 25 years later that I discovered Mr. Foster's book.  If you haven't read it, you need too because it is the most influential modern Christian book of probably the last 80 years.  It is a book that explains the historic spiritual disciplines of Christianty and teaches us how to employ them in our lives to deepen our relationship with God.  Foster is a Quaker so it is very much in that spirit of quietness and listening and humility and if you let allow it to seep in you will find the book changing your life.

In reading his son Nathan's book about reconnecting with his father I had one of those "a ha" moments.  One of those moments where the sun shines just right and you discover a sparkly treasure hidden in the tall grass that a moment ago or a moment ahead would have never been found; and due to the elusive nature of thoughts like that I decided I better go ahead and write it down.  It really isn't that original of a thought, it just struck me this morning in a really powerful way as a commentary on not only my life but the Christian world around us. 

I would have to look up statistics, but I would venture to guess that Celebration of Discipline is the most consistent selling Christian book every year over the last 32 years.  It probably hasn't exceeded sales of flash in the pan books like The Shack or The Purpose Driven Life, but I would venture to say that it continues to sell volumes at a slow and steady pace and will do so for decades to come.  It is a book about slowing down, simplifying life, about restructuring our priorities to find more of God.  In short it is a book about "being," and embraces timeless Christian values that many Christian's today have either forgotten or never knew they were values to start with.  The random thought was in contrasting Celebration of Discipline  with our modern Christian best sellers like The Purpose Driven Life, or Your Best Life Now. 

No longer is it enough in the Christian life that God created me to be me and to discover that in an unfolding way over a lifetime; now we have to have been created for a specific purpose to accomplish something and we need it NOW!  The values of the world have silently slipped into mainstream Christianity and we don't even realize the damage it is doing.  Having been in the business I world I have spent years being "driven," of pursuing a "purpose," of setting goals and plans to get what I want if not now, pretty darn soon!  You know what I discovered?  There is little satisfaction in any of that.  Once I attain my purpose or accomplish my goal, rather than reveling in the moment of success I am already looking for the next purpose, the next goal to accomplish, the next flash in the pan book to inspire me to be something new.

The only real satisfaction in life comes from recognizing that we were created to be children of God!  Does He have stuff He wants us to accomplish?  Yes, but that is secondary, even tertiary to us being His children.  Life as a Christian is better than life without Christ, not because we won't have problems and we will have prosperity (those are both lies of material driven Christianity), but because God is with us when things are bad and when they are good.  We are His children and He revels in us and likewise we should find the time to revel in Him.  Foster was trying to remind us of that in 1978, but best lives and purposes have drowned out that voice at times.  We need to find those moments in our life where it is enough to just be; to just be content with who we are as Children of God; to just be content with moments spent with our loved ones porchsitting or snuggling rather than "doing;" to just be content with what we have rather than take time away from God and our family pursuing more. 

They say art and literature imitate life.  I think that has become the case as we look at the more recent successful Christian books.  No longer are we looking for those "disciplines" to draw us closer to God; rather now we are looking for those formulas for success that will give us satisfaction and fulfillment immediately so we can put the notch on our belt and begin to pursue the next level of satisfaction. 

Lord, I pray today that you open our eyes to the truth that life in you should be traveled at a slow and steady pace.  Constantly with our eyes on you, but at a pace where we can appreciate the beauty of the scenery, the refreshing of the conversation in the moment, the serendipity of the unexpected breeze or traveler on the same path.  Lord help us to see that to simply be Your children is enough and then inspire us to share that truth with others that they might come to that place of contentment and joy that is being yours.  In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Sermon: Audio file from Sunday, September 26, 2010

Greetings All,

Below is the audio file from the sermon on Sunday, September 26, 2010. It is titled Sharing Our Greatest Resource! and the texts are 1 Timothy 6:6-18; Luke 16:19-31 and Jeremiah 32:1-3, 6-15.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Book Review: Run with the Horses: The Quest for Life at Its Best

Run With the Horses: The Quest for Life at Its Best

by Eugene Peterson
published in 1983 and in 2009 by Intervartisty Press

Summary: Eugene Peterson, the translator of The Message, has been writing books for decades and this is a reprint of a classic of his on its 25th anniversary.  Peterson  has a driving theme in many of his books, if not most, of how we need to slow down on all of frenetic doing to spend some time just being with God to give Him time to transform us.  This book captures that very idea.  Using the story of Jeremiah the prophet Eugene paints a picture of how we can live our life to the fullest for God.  Long before The Purpose Driven Life or Your Best Life Now Peterson was deliberately using scripture to paint a picture for us of how we can live for God.  The title is derived from God's chastisement of Jeremiah when he is complaining that he is tired of dealing with men.  God tells him that if you can't run a footrace with men, how then do you expect to run with horses?  If you get worn out by the little stuff, then how do you ever expect to do the big stuff for me?  That is the drive of the book, how to live in a way to prepare ourselves to be able to run with the horses when God calls us to exactly that. 

Review: This is classic Peterson.  It richly and properly uses the narrative of scripture to inform us as to how we should live our lives.  Using Jeremiah as our example he writes in a manner which makes theology practical.  He makes strong observations from the text of both Jeremiah and Lamentations that he then communicates in a way that is not only eash for us to understand but also for us to apply to our lives.  Peterson is a reader, a writer, an artist and a poet and all of those influences work together to create a book that is a wonderful, inspiring read.

Reading Reccomendation: YES, whether it is the orignal copy or the reprint.  One thing to note with the reprint is that he has chosen to use The Message for all of his scripture quotations, which makes it even easier to read.

Sermon: Sunday, September 19, 2010

Greetings All,

Here is the audio file for the sermon from Sunday, September 19, 2010.  It is titled Let's Talk About Money! and the text is Luke 16:1-13.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Book Review: Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment

The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, Book 1)
by James Patterson
published in 2007 by Little, Brown and Company

Summary: This is the first book in a series written for teens about genetically altered kids and teenagers who are out in the world with no one but each other to look out for them, but with an adult sized mission: To Save The World!  The book is centered around six characters: Maximum Ride (the 14 year old leader), Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gassman and Angel.  They have all had bird DNA grafted into theirs, so at a minimum they all have wings and can fly, but as the story unfolds many of them start to discover they have other abilities as well.  Angel who is only six is captured by the Erasers, wolf men who work for the school that created the six and from which they escaped, and the other five set out to rescue her.  In the process they decide to try and uncover some of the secrets of their past.  The story moves from the west coast to the east at a pace that will leave you a bit breathless as you travel with this extraordinary young people.

Review: Declan wanted to read this book and asked me to read it with him like I read with Little Faron, so I agreed.  The more he read, the more excited he got about it and as I started to read I can totally see why.  I finished it in three days.  It was a quick read with enjoyable characters, an intriguing plot line and plenty of action.  I can especially see how a young person would really enjoy this book as it depicts really empowered folks just like them.  Teenagers who aren't normal and constantly feel separated from everything, much like many teenagers and young people feel in the real world.  This book would provide them an imaginative escape and characters they can relate to all the while being inspired to do something great.  Previously I had only read some of Patterson's adult novels, in particular the Alex Cross stuff which I found to be pretty disturbing.  I always enjoyed his writing style just not the graphic nature of his content.  This book is very different, it has all of the joy of his writing style but none of the graphic imagery or disturbing subject matter.  Assuming you don't consider genetically altering babies disturbing.  This is an excellent start to what should be a good series.  If you have a young person in the house, pick up two copies and enjoy a good read together.

Reading Recommendation: YES!

Book Review: The Mediterranean Caper

The Mediterranean Caper (Dirk Pitt Adventure)

by Clive Cussler
originally published in 1977 by Bantam

Summary: This is the first installment published of the Dirk Pitt series of adventure novels which with the release of Crescent Dawn on November 16, 2010 will total twenty-one books.  This is by far my favorite series of adventure books in all the world.  Dirk Pitt is a hero that is larger than life and driven by a moral center rooted in honor, integrity and doing the right thing.  He always gets his man, gets the girl and gets a cool antique car.  This is the novel that started it all.  Later Pitt novels begin with an incident that occurs in the past and then moves to Dirk and present day where that past event will have a dramatic effect in the present.  The Mediterranean Caper (Dirk Pitt Adventure)begins a little different, it begins in the present day but with an Air Force Base on the Mediterranean island of Thasos being attacked by a World War I biplane.  The past comes to impact the present and had Dirk and his sidekick Al Giordino not arrived in time the biplane would have destroyed much more than it did.  The attack is their introduction to a mystery that has been impacting the NUMA expedition off the coast which Dirk and Al must uncover.  The adventure takes the reader from the skies to under the seas; from the cabins of oceangoing scientists to the elegantly set table of a rich German baron and his beautiful niece as Dirk sets to unraveling the diabolical plans of a villain who has been plaguing the world since the first world war.

Review: It is rare that I go back and reread books, but Little Faron has wanted to read the Dirk Pitt series from the beginning so I have gone back with him.  It is refreshing to return to the beginning of a series that I have been reading for more than twenty years.  This is a younger, rawer, less refined Dirk Pitt than the one you encounter in the most recent novels.  He is as much driven by rage and pride as he is by his moral compass.  He is still larger than life, but he is for lack of a better word "mortal."  He bleeds, he aches, he gets tired, but he still wins in the end.  To reread the starting point is to see just how far Dirk has come as a character and Cussler has come as an author.  His writing style is more refined and formulaic today than it is in Caper, but Caper reads with the pace and anticipatory excitement of all Dirk Pitt novels.  It is a great read and a great start to an iconic series.

Reading Recommendation: YES, grab a copy, curl up in your recliner and spend a few hours getting lost in the Mediterranean with a hero who is always worth your time to read.

Book Review: The Lost Symbol

The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, No. 3)
by Dan Brown
published in 2009 by Double Day

Summary: Well I continue to be behind in posting book reviews as I have read three or four more since I finished this one.  It is amazing how much you can get read on a treadmill early in the morning.  This is Dan Brown's fifth book, the third in the series of books involving Robert Langdon.  The story opens with Langdon aboard a private jet descending upon the Washington D.C. landscape.  He is being hosted by his friend and mentor Peter Solomon, a man of notable wealth and a 33rd level Mason, who has asked him to come in a speak at a Smithsonian function, so he thinks.  The plot begins in earnest as soon as Langdon discovers that his host is not Solomon, but a calculatingly, patient and evil man who is determined to use Langdon to decipher ancient Mason symbology to reveal their most ancient, hidden secret.  Working with Peter's sister Katherine, a beautiful and brilliant noetic scientist, the architect of the Capital Building and very "interesting" CIA director Langdon sets out to rescue Peter and protect both the Masons and the nation.

Review: I have read all of Brown's Robert Langdon books and found them to be quite enjoyable reads.  They intertwine history, philosophy, religion and conspiracy theory and if one will always remember first and foremost that they are works of FICTION then you can enjoy all of them.  The subject of The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, No. 3) is the Masons.  I am not sure there is a religious organization with public perception that is more one of secrecy and misunderstanding and Brown crafts a novel that makes use of all the mistrust that has been bread over the ages, while at the same time casting them in a very positive light.  The story line is very tight and moves at such a pace that you don't want to put the book down.  All of the events of the book take place in basically a twenty-four hour period.  Langdon continues to be an engaging, likable, intelligent character but with great depth of personality.  Katherine is a nice addition as the beautiful, yet brilliant side kick and one can't help but like Peter Solomon, wealthy, smart, dynastic yet humble and serving.  The character kudos, however, goes to the villain of the novel.  There is a depth of layers that unravel of this devious, manipulative, calculating sociopath that draws you deeper into the story truly hating him.

Brown has once again done his homework and the book is full of rich descriptions of Washington D.C. and Masonic legends and history.  Not being a knowledgeable scholar on Masonic history I cannot comment about the factuality of some of the material, but I can offer comment on how he used similar material in The Da Vinci Code .  This book like the Code, opens with a note about a factual historical document; what he does not tell you in the Code is that all of historical documents are products of the heretical factions within the church.  They have never been considered authoritative and are nothing more than legend and bad theology that has been rejected by the Church from early on.  The challenge of conspiracy theorists is that anything can be used to fuel their beliefs.  One could even use the Bible to craft conspiracy theories, anything can be twisted to an alternate purpose.  I share that to again reiterate that it is a great FICTION read, enjoy it as such and if you want to learn more about the Masons go get a scholarly history on the Masons.

Reading Recommendation: Yes, a great FICTION read!

Learning to love a song I used to hate

Greetings all,

It's Thursday morning, it has been raining and I have been enjoying time with God on the front porch.  The morning started with Mark Knopfler from The Dire Straits, but it resolved as it often does to Eva Cassidy.  There is a peace and beauty to her voice, the song she chooses to sing and the manner in which she plays her guitar that just draws me that much closer to God.  I find more and more that she is my music of choice during quiet time.  I especially love her rendition of Wade in the Water but lately every time I listen to her one songs sticks out above all others.  It is a song that I used to hate as a young man.  I can't really give you a reason why, perhaps it was a dislike for John Lennon, perhaps it was because it seemed so pretentious, perhaps it was to mellow for my rock and roll tastes.  Whatever the reason I grew up so disliking the song, that I just ignored it.  If it came on the radio I changed the station.  If it was playing in a store I left.  If my friends were playing it I ridiculed them into playing something else.  So for nearly thirty years I have ignored this song that many consider to be John Lennon's greatest song.  If you haven't figured out what I am referring to yet, let me make it clear Imagine.

The lyrics are as follows:

Imagine there's no Heaven; It's easy if you try.
No hell below us; Above us only sky.
Imagine all the people living for today.

Imagine there's no countries; It isn't hard to do.
Nothing to kill or die for and no religion too.
Imagine all the people living life in peace.

You may say that I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.
I hope someday you'll join us and the world will be as one.

Imagine no possessions; I wonder if you can.
No need for greed or hunger; a brotherhood of man.
Imagine all the people sharing all the world.

You may say that I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one.
I hope someday you'll join us and the world will live as one.

Now all of you are probably thinking, "What the heck took you so long to appreciate this song Faron?"  But in my defense I did come to maturity as a young man during the Reagan era as the son of an Army officer so anything that smacked of communism I immediately hated; and "imagine no possessions" did smack of communism to a young man in the eighties.  That being stated I must add that I also did not possess a full understanding of God and the Bible.  I didn't understand God's preference for the poor, His desire for peace or His desire that ALL be saved.  I have grown much over the years in my understanding of God; yes, I still have a really long way to go, but knowing Him in a newer, deeper way has opened my eyes to find beauty in unexpected places.

The voice of Eva Cassidy has opened my eyes to the beauty of this song and my passion for exegeting culture has given me a new lens through which to appreciate it.  In so many ways Lennon has written an incredibly Biblical song whether he meant to or not.  He has captured the three things that have created the most chaos in our world: misinterpreted religion that we use in a damaging and harmful way; nationalism to a level that disregards people for enemies because they are not from our country; and the desire for more stuff!  If we apply a Biblical lens over this song we can truly embrace the dream that of which Lennon writes and Cassidy sings.  First to change our understanding of religion from getting people into heaven in the future to taking care of their needs today.  Second to keep our eyes first on the fact that we are all citizens in the Kingdom of God and through that realize that to go to war as a nation is to go to war with our brothers and sisters in God's Kingdom.  Third to change our desire for more stuff into a desire to use the stuff we have to help others.  This particularly is something that really matters to God, read Amos.  God wants us to help the least and the lost and those without.  Lennon has it right if we can just get those three little things right we can truly change the world.  Listen to the song below, close your eyes and simply "imagine" what God can do through each of us if we learn to love in such a way as this.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Recipe: Butterfinger Dip

Greetings All,

Here is another super yummy recipe from Cathy's birthday party.  It is sinfully indulgent, but this recipe comes with a temporary pardon on gluttony.  So enjoy, but make sure when you make it that you promise to do some exercise tomorrow.

Butterfinger Dip

8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 Butterfingers chopped (or bag of Butterfinger pieces available by the chocolate chips in the grocery)

Mix all together well then chill.  Serve with apple slices, Ritz crackers, vanilla wafers or graham crackers.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Recipe: Pinneapple Cheeseball

Greetings All,

Once again I am falling woefully behind in the things I want to get posted on this blog.  I still have recipes to post from Seth's graduation dessert party, but I had a couple right here in front of me from Cathy's birthday party so I thought I would post them.  The first is a pinneapple cheeseball which was quite yummy, especially on graham crackers.  Enjoy!

Pinneapple Cheeseball
2 blocks of softened cream cheese
1 large box of instant vanilla pudding
1/4 cup of confectioners sugar
20 oz. can of crushed pinneapple (drain well)

In large mixing bowl, mix all four ingredients.  When mixed form into ball and wrap with clear plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.  Serve with graham crackers or vanilla wafers.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Sermon: Audio File from Sunday, September 12, 2010

Greetings All,

This is the sermon from Sunday, September 12, 2010.  It is titled Our Unrelenting God! and the texts are Exodus 32:7-14; Psalm 14; Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 and Luke 15:1-10.  Just click on the player below to listen.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Book Review: Angry Conversations with God by Susan Isaacs

Angry Conversations with God:
A Snarky but Authentic Spiritual Memoir
by Susan Isaacs
Published in 2009 by Faith Words

Summary: Susan Isaacs decided she wanted to be an actress, comedian, writer from an early age and she set out to do the things necessary in her life to make that possible, but from an even earlier age she was a devout Lutheran and as she navigated the waters of show business she tried to let God be her guide, what she didn't realize is that the magnetic field of her bad theology was distorting the true north of her God compass.  As a grown woman she began to look back on her life and question why was it that she was trying to be so faithful to God, yet failing in her life while so many of her friends who weren't that concerned about God one way or the other were doing incredibly well.  She decided that since this relationship with God was supposed to be like a marriage, then she and God needed marriage counseling.  She searched for a counselor that would accommodate her needs and found one in a former pastor who seemed more like Jimmy Buffett than a reverend but who fit her budget and would ultimately help her correct her understanding of God.  This book is based on those counseling sessions.  She wrestles with some pretty hard stuff like sexuality, alcoholism, different "kinds" of churches, the effects of an emotionally absent father and an overly religious mother, and ultimately the desire to find Mr. Right.  This book was originally a one woman comedy show, but Susan has stepped into the world of publishing and blessed us all with what she calls "A Snarky but Authentic Spiritual Memoir."

Review: I picked up this book when I heard Donald Miller talking about it in an interview I was watching of him and I am so glad I did. This is Susan Isaacs first book and it is a refreshing look at the way we use God in our lives looking through the lens of Susan's life.  It will make you laugh and cry; it will bring you joy and at times make you get angry; it will have you chuckling to yourself as you think, "I know exactly what she is talking about because I have been in that same place."  The book is rooted around her marriage counseling sessions with God where she considers how she thinks God has failed her in different events of her life.  Susan is an actress, screenwriter and comedienne who has experienced success and failure in both Hollywood and New York,  She has struggled amidst an industry that has little time for God to keep God as the central focus of her life, but her damaged theology has led her down some wrong paths and created some wrong expectations for her to have on God.  She gives us a very honest window into her life and her thinking, but in doing so she gives voice to God in a funny, loving, sarcastic way that helps us to consider our own theology and how it effects our relationship with God.  This book is an enjoyable and stimulating read for anyone trying to walk a deeper walk with Christ.

Reading Recommendation: Absolutely Yes!

Calm Amidst Chaos

Greetings all,

It has been quite some time since I have found, or should I say taken, the time to make blog posts beyond sermons and Bible studies; but life has finally slowed down a little or at least enough for me to make a deliberate effort to be back in the saddle so to speak, and there is nothing quite like a good devotional to kick you in the butt when you need it.  This morning was one of those days.  The author for this week in The Upper Room Disciplines: A Book of Daily Devotions 2010 made the following statement regarding deliberate time with God, "It is easy to lose our focus when the problems of our everyday lives crowd around us.  We put off contemplation and reflection as things we'll do when the chaos around us ceases, when we feel more like praying, when we are less stressed, less anxious."

Isn't that the challenge of the Christian life, how to be a Christian amidst the chaos.  How to listen to God when there are hundreds of other voices all shouting for our attention.  How to make a point to spend a few peaceful moments amidst the constancy that is the chaos of our lives.  How to give God the time He needs to do a real transformative work in our lives.  I must confess that there are days when the chaos wins out, when even I as a pastor fail to pick up my Bible, or bow my head in prayer, or even read a Christian author.  For me blog posts are part of that time spent with God when I can process all of the thoughts about Him running through my head.  That time with God is good for me, it transforms my day, but knowing that doesn't always make it so.  I am guessing I am not alone in facing this challenge of overcoming chaos to find time for Christ. 

Eugene Peterson followed up the Upper Room author with a little encouragement.  He was like the trainer in a boxing match that patches the fighter back up to send him back into the fray.  These words of Peterson from Running with the Horses patched up my split lip and gave me some hope, "Prayer is never complete and unrelieved solitude; it is, though, carefully protected and skillfully supported intimacy.  Prayer is the desire to listen to God firsthand, to speak to God firsthand, and then setting aside time and making arrangements to do is.  It issues from the conviction that the living God is immensely important to me and that what goes on between us demands my exclusive attention."  He goes on to say, "What we do in secret determines the soundness of who we are in public.  Prayer is the secret work that develops a life that is thoroughly authentic and deeply human." 

Peterson, in his calm, encouraging, pastoral way, calls me back to the deliberate focus that is required to maintain an authentic relationship with God.  He reminds me that my deliberate time with God forms the manner in which I live out my Christian life.  He reminds me that I need intimacy with God and that I must protect that reality at all costs, because it is in that intimate connection with the Creator of the Universe that I am transformed into something more, into something better, into something holy, into a person whose life brings glory to God and makes it easy for others to believe in Jesus.  He reminds me that it is not the case that I can wait until the chaos stops, because with five kids and a church family IT DOESN'T! 

It is not the case that I can wait until I am rested to give my full attention to God, because did I mention the five kids.............yeah, that means I never feel rested.  It is not the case that I can wait for that day when there is no stress in my life so I can really focus exclusively on God, because parents with middle schoolers exist in a bubble of stress!  Our lives are always going to be chaotic on some level, so if we are going to find calm amidst that chaos we are going to have to simply stop amidst the chaos and focus on God.  It may mean not watching our favorite sitcom at night, or getting up a few minutes earlier, or finding three or four different shorter time periods during the day; but however we do it we must take those moments to stop the chaos long enough to see God face to face, listening and speaking.

When we make that time for God we will find calm amidst the chaos.  Everyone's lives are chaos on some level, but one of the things that should set us apart as Christians from others is a certain calm amidst chaos; a calm that attracts others and beckons them to ask, "Why are you so calm?"  Living lives that make it easy to believe in Jesus means finding that calm amidst chaos so when we are asked we can respond, "Let me telling you about my chaos calming God!"

Your brother in Christ,
Faron

Book Review: Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller

Searching for God Knows What
by Donald Miller
Published in 2004 and 2010 by Thomas Nelson

Summary: Needless to say I have been a little slow on making blog posts of late, so I finished this book over a month ago, but it is an exceptional theological look at our identitity and especially our identity as Christians.  He begins by considering how we have reduced Christianity to formulas rather than real relationships and proceeds to evaluate the accuracy of the picture we as Christians have painted of God.  With that as a base he begins to ask the challenging question of have we gotten something a little wrong in the manner in which we portrait God and practice Christianity?  Through the lens of this question and the Book of Genesis he then begins to present some sound theological positions about the God of scripture and how He often differs from the God we present to people and about our self identities being tied to something outside of us.  That something is God and since we were seperated from Him in the garden we have spent the last few milleniums looking for things outside ourselves to define who we are and have been failing miserably because the only thing outside of us that can define us is God.  Until we recognize our need for Him we are going to be lost, there is no getting around it.  Ultimately he presents the suggestion that Christianity should be a lot more like falling in love with Jesus than getting a formula correct and that it is only in relationship that we can fully appreciate God's love for us.

Review: Once again Miller has written a profoundly moving book.  Not only does he use his writing style and wit to keep us interested and laughing, but he also presents well thought out and deep theological concepts that will challenge ones understanding of God and the Christian walk in ways that will only improve our relationship with God.  It is so refreshing to see him use theology to inform the way he both thinks about life and lives it.  I remember reading a Grenz and Olsen book in seminary called Who Needs Theology? and they made the statement that "right theology should help us live a life that makes it easy for others to believe in Jesus," (Faron's paraphrase) and that is in essence what Miller is doing with this book.  He is presenting theological understandings of God that will better enable us to live that kind of life.  This is as worthy of a read as Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality and A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life.
Reading Recomendation: YES!

Sermon: Audio File from September 5, 2010

Greetings All,

Here is the audio file from the sermon on Sunday, September 5, 2010.  It is titled "Shaping Our Future," and the texts are Jeremiah 18:1-11 and Deuteronomy 30:15-20.

Your brother in Christ,
Faron