book review

Book Review: In Search of Deep Faith

The Gospel Coalition published my review of In Search of Deep Faith (Amazon|Kindle) by Jim Belcher. It's one of the best books I've read in some time, mostly because it wasn't just trying to tell me something. It took me somewhere. My family and I have started to read it aloud together and it's changing the way we think about God and what He is doing with us. Here's a couple of paragraphs from the opening of my review. Please go read the whole review. I encourage you to pick up this book. 

After reviewing Jim Belcher’s first book in 2009, Deep Church, I was eager to get my hands on In Search of Deep Faith. I’m thankful for the opportunity to offer a review, as this book deserves a wide audience.

I’ve been a pastor for the past 10 years and have a wife and four children. Belcher founded and pastored Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, California, until he stepped out of ministry in 2010. He pastored there for 10 years. Jim is also married with four kids. There are obvious reasons for me to resonate with his story. Like this:

What I really needed was spiritual rest. I needed to take stock of my life, rediscover where I came from and where I may be going. I wanted to take a year to walk in the steps of my heroes, read their books again and marinate in their lives—go deeper into their stories and learn from them all over again. It was going to be like a pilgrimage, a time to spiritually and experientially connect with the places and people that had most influenced me. And, most importantly, to reconnect to God. (13)

This is the backdrop for a book about the Belcher family’s pilgrimage to some important places where faithful disciples who have gone before us have lived and served. Some of them suffered, and all of them died with deep faith in God. You don’t need to be a pastor or have young kids to resonate with this pilgrimage. You just have to be a disciple in search of the same deep faith.

Please go and finish reading my review. I'm very thankful for this book.

Challies Reviews Keller's The Meaning of Marriage

Meaning of Marriage

Tim Challies provides an excellent review of Tim Keller's newest book, The Meaning of Marriage. Below is his strong conclusion, but go and read the whole review and buy the book.

This is a powerful book; it is my new favorite book on marriage and the best of all the books I read in 2011. The Meaning of Marriage elevates marriage, making it something beautiful and holy and lovely. And with it comes friendship and companionship and sex and everything else God has packaged into the marriage relationship. This book celebrates it all and it does it within the greatest context of all—the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Having read the book through two times, I’ve found myself wondering how to best measure or evaluate it, but perhaps these criteria are useful: Would I want to read it with my wife or would I encourage her to read it on her own? Would I recommend it to the people in my church? In both cases the answer is an unreserved yes. In fact, I bought the audio book and listened to it with my wife and her assessment is the same as mine: Though there are many great books on marriage, this is the one we will recommend first.

Book Review: Delighting in the Trinity

Ditt

I really enjoyed Total Church from Tim Chester and Steve Timmis. It's biblical, theological, and practical. That was when Tim Chester really jumped on my radar and I became interested to read more from him.

I'm reviewing two books by Chester from TheGoodBook.com.

Coming soonFrom Creation to New Creation: Making Sense of the Whole Bible Story

TodayDelighting in the Trinity: Why Father, Son and Spirit Are Good News.

GREAT DEAL: For the next 7 days you can buy both titles for $15 total, or separately for $8.44 each. Just add both to cart and it shows up as $15. I really hope you take advantage of this. Both books are very good.

Now, to a brief review...

----------

I'm always eager to find good books in the hands of my church and to recommend them to others. Much is written on theological issues to advance the conversation between scholars and pastors. I love those books and they are important. We also need good books for those who are growing in their faith or joining the conversation on issues they need to learn, who are not always fluent in the lingo. I believe Delighting in the Trinity (DITT) will bring "delight" to all camps.

DITT comes in three parts: Biblical Foundations, Historical Developments, and Practical Implications -- with 3-4 chapters in each. I'm not going trace the majority of Chester's argument because he isn't making any new ones. That's a good thing. Chester isn't offering a reworked doctrine of the Trinity to his personal liking. He's offers the adventure of delighting in God who wants us to know Him.

I have always found the doctrine of the Trinity exciting. Thinking it through takes us deeper into the triune God who is the foundation of all reality. This is the God who made us to know Him, and who gives meaning and joy to our lives. To explore Him is a wonderful adventure. To delight in Him is our chief end. (p 8)

I found Chester's writing to be fresh and pastoral. He isn't merely rehashing old arguments, though he does that well. He brings clarity and simplicity to what could be something cumbersome. And he quotes generously without burying the Scriptures, and from more than just basic theological stream. You'll get stuff from Owen, Calvin, Luther, N.T. Wright, T.F. Torrence, and more. In the Historical Developments section you'll hear from all sorts as the doctrine of the Trinity is considered throughout church history from heroes to heretics, from the early church fathers to contemporary theologians. But Chester doesn't end there. He says there's a continuing need to reform our theology...

Theology is a continuing project. We need to re-articulate the gospel afresh to our culture. At the same time we need to examine the influence of our culture on our thinking. The development of the doctrine of the Trinity illustrates how a slightly divergent view can turn out to be a wrong turning that will eventually lead us away from the biblical gospel. A shift of emphasis in one generation can become a dangerous heresy in the next generation. So theology is a serious task for all Christians. (p 117)

I maybe most appreciate how the book includes illustrations/diagrams and bullet points. The illustrations are both helpful and careful. Chester makes sure to explain are not complete or definitive explanations. The diagrams for historical thinkers I found very helpful to understand the differences. And the bullet points are helpful as we learn and should be helpful when we reference the book later to refresh.

I particularly like the way Chester deals with the Trinity and the Cross. This is a Gospel-centered book on the Trinity.

God is known only through revelation, but this revelation is hidden so that it shatters human pretensions. God is revealed in what is contrary. The wisdom of God is hidden in the folly of the cross. The glory of God is hidden in the shame of the cross. He power of God is hidden in the weakness of the cross. So if we want to discover the true character of God, we must look to the cross. And the God revealed in the cross is trinitarian. He is both single and plural; one united being and three distinct persons. (p 64)

Further...

We cannot understand the cross without the plurality of God. The cross shows us that there are distinctions within God. God can be forsaken by God. But neither can we understand the cross without the unity of God. If God is not one, then the cross becomes a cruel and vindictive act with an angry Father punishing an unwilling Son or a loving Son placating an unwilling Father. Only if God is one can the cross be for us reconciliation and inclusion within the divine community. (p 78)

Part 3 of the book, Practical Implications, is where it all comes together with the world around us. There is stuff on other religions, on individualism and pluralism and how this doctrine corrects cultural issue, and much more. There are pastoral considerations throughout, as well. 

My only real critique is that I really wish Delighting in the Trinity had a Scripture index and a subject index. Some may complain they would like a fuller treatment, but that's not Chester's purpose. There are other great books for that. This is highly accessible for your church members, and that's firmly where it belongs.

So I highly recommend Delighting in the Trinity as a resource for your church members. It may be of particular help to Bible study teachers and/or small group leaders. And let me add that one group I hope will pick up Delighting in the Trinity: pastors. I'm always surprised to hear pastors & preachers who don't grasp the Trinity, who speak incorrectly as to who does what and when and how. Or who just default at the generic when the Bible gives us the specifics. Let's sharpen our understanding of our Triune God as we preach His Word! This is a helpful refresher, or something to give you more solid footing on this beautiful doctrine.

Go buy Delighting in the Trinity. Buy From Creation to New Creation at the same time and get both for just $15 total. You won't regret it. And check out the growing number of theologically solid resources from TheGoodBook.com.

Book Review: Generous Justice

Generous-justice

I've been given the opportunity to follow up my review of Dr. Timothy Keller's Counterfeit Gods (buy) with a review of Generous Justice. Thanks to Dutton for the book. It's another great addition to his works: The Reason for God, The Prodigal God, and the long-ago written Ministries of Mercy. Dr. Keller is pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NYC. If you haven't yet, you should check out my Tim Keller Resources page.

Keller1

A lot has been said in recent years of orthodoxy & (or vs) orthopraxy. We have become a people who know the Book but don't "do" what the Book tells us to do. We aren't being changed. We are better on paper than we are in practice.

And we don't take correction well. It takes a distinct voice to speak in a way we can hear, to lift the conversation above misunderstanding and reactionary responses. I believe Tim Keller is one of those voices and has accomplished that goal. He's done it before. For example, in The Reason for God he elevates the conversation with skeptics. I've read and encouraged others to read his Introduction there a number of times because it changes the conversation, it raises it "to the level of disagreement." Brilliant stuff. I think Keller does that again here on a polarizing topic: Justice.

"Scars" from old battles are hard to overcome. Theological conservatives, like me, tend to react against issues beloved by theological liberals, like social justice. And the more justice issues are brought up, the more likely (typically) theological conservatives will be leery of an author. But, and all man-love aside, Tim Keller in Generous Justice has done something I consider remarkable. He has cut through the thicket on justice to show us a clearing. It's a breath of fresh air among stuck arguments and stuffy minds.

Here's how Keller sets up his argument from the introduction... 

Elaine Scarry of Harvard has written a fascinating little book called On Beauty and Being Just. Her thesis is that the experience of beauty makes us less self-centered and more open to justice. I have observed over the decades that when people see the beauty of God's grace in Christ, it leads them powerfully toward justice.

Through dealing with several Old & New Testament passages, including word studies made simple (not just a scholarly work), Keller writes deep enough for the scholar and simple enough for the layperson. He shows himself well-read in both historic Christianity and modern cultural scholarship. Several times I found myself finding the endnotes for more info on an author or book I've never heard of and want to check out.

Some of my favorite sections are on biblical passages I'm very familiar with but Keller explains in a fresh way, such as his explanations of gleaning, tithing and Jubilee in chapter 2. Keller argues with these concepts that, "God's concern for the poor is so strong that he gave Israel a host of laws that, if practiced, would have virtually eliminated any permanent underclass" (p 27). I have not encountered a discussion on business and profit like this before (p 30). I believe it will shake the rich up and, Lord-willing, lead them toward justice. Keller reveals how profoundly American (and worldly) we are, yet he uses thoughtful, biblical argument to open our eyes. 

Then Keller discusses Jesus and "your neighbor" in chapters 3 and 4. His explanation of The Good Samaritan in chapter 4 is rich. Just as he makes Luke 15 and "The Prodigal Son" come alive in The Prodigal God, he continues to surprise us at our own dullness as he reveals the *sparkle* of familiar stories. In this instance he does it both through exposition of biblical texts as well as the liberal use of the writings of Jonathan Edwards. Keller works through the objections he's received to teaching love for neighbor and the answers he's seen from Edwards. His use of Edwards is compelling. Then Keller does what too many fail to do with The Good Samaritan, which is bring Jesus directly to bear. Instead of teaching the parable merely as the great example of how to love neighbor, he goes one step further.

Jesus is the Great Samaritan to whom the Good Samaritan points. 

Before you can give this neighbor-love, you need to receive it. Only if you see that you have been saved graciously boy someone who owes you the opposite will you go out into the world looking to help absolutely anyone in need. (p 77)

Keller then discusses the motivation for doing justice, treasuring human beings because they are creations of the Almighty. It's how we show God respect, by seeing His image in people. He mentions our redemption as motivation. Keller says, "If you look down at the poor and stay aloof from their suffering, you have not really understood or experienced God's grace" (p 96). "If you are not just, you've not truly been justified by faith" (p 99). How can someone who has experienced justification not respond by doing justice? When you understand the gospel, you see the poor and realize you are looking into a mirror. There can be no superiority or indifference when you get God's grace toward you.

Biblical background and motivations in mind, Keller gets practical in chapter 6. He says it should be our constant thought, to look for ways to do justice. We should ponder it. We should have "sustained reflection" on issues and places of justice. He considers big justice needs and areas. He discusses education and social capital, the need for business owners to be neighbors, racial reconciliation, and more. But then he does zero in on what everyday, neighborhood Christians can do. He mentions the mission of London City Mission as "the same person, going to the same people, regularly, to become their friend for Jesus's sake" (p 143). I love that. Keller does well to bring all our efforts, individually and organizationally, to bear on a community needing justice. "While the institutional church should do relief inside and around its community, the 'organic' church should be doing development and social reform" (p 146).

Keller also considers justice in the world of ideas, the public square. Keller's proposal: "Christians' work for justice should be characterized by both humble cooperation and respectful provocation" (p 158). I'm particularly encouraged by Keller's understanding of being distinctly Christian even when working in cooperation with others...

Christians should identify themselves as believer as they seek justice, welcoming and treating all who work beside them as equals. Believers should let their co-workers know of how the gospel is motivating them, yet also...they should appeal to common values as much as possible. (p 161)

Keller avoids pitfalls on both liberal and conservative sides by encouraging bold Christian work for justice while embracing a cooperation with others for the good of the oppressed. Yet he says Christians should "at the same time be respectfully provocative with them, arguing that their models of justice are reductionistic and incomplete" (p 164).

I love the way Keller ends Generous Justice. A chapter on "Peace, Beauty, and Justice." He ends where he started, remember the quote from Elaine Scarry above. Here Keller focuses on "shalom" or "harmonious peace." He refers to the "interwovenness" of rightly related human beings into community. He describes shalom as "flourishing in every dimension -- physical, emotional, social, and spiritual" (p174). Keller considers shalom and justice...

In general, to 'do justice' means to live in a way that generates a strong community where human beings can flourish. Specifically, however, to 'do justice' means to go to places where the fabric of shalom has broken down, where the weaker members of societies are falling through the fabric, and to repair it. This happens when we concentrate on and meet the needs of the poor.

How can we do that? The only way to reweave and strengthen the fabric is by weaving yourself into it. (p 177)

But Keller doesn't paint us as the hero. We do justice "because serving the poor honors and pleases God, and honoring and pleasing God is a delight to you in and of itself" (p 183). Loving and seeking justice means hard work. It's painful and people are difficult to love. But Keller says, "Don't shrink, says the Lord, from spending yourself on the broken, the hurting, and the needy. I'm good for it" (p 185).

Keller has written the best sort of book. He deals with something that has and can divide us, and does it winsomely. He does it biblically and theologically. He does it convincingly and compellingly. I finished Generous Justice desiring to see the hurting and oppressed with new eyes, a new generosity, and a new desire for shalom. 

This book is suited to many audiences. It can be read and understood by the average Christian and the more learned. I think it will be quite helpful for Christians involved in the leadership of business or government. Those responsible for much will be challenged to do it different, do it justly. And yet those with the simplest of lives and in the smallest of places will see in this book the profound, eternal purpose of God as they seek justice where they live. What a great gift a book like this is! 

I highly recommend Generous Justice, though I'm sure I haven't done the book justice (pun intended). There are a few books I know will be a constant reference for the remainder of my life, and this is one of them. Go get it.

Purchase Generous Justice | Christianity Today interview with Tim Keller | Other reviewsChuck Huckaby | 9 Marks | Brian Hedges