I Am A Follwer.

Book Review.

Sweet, Leonard.  I Am A Follower.  The way, truth, and life of following Jesus.  Thomas Nelson.  2012.

Comment.  Henry.

As so often is the case, when a writer focuses in on a particular topic it comes at a ‘cost’ of other comparative topics.  Sweet focuses on ‘followership’, a word that he seems to have invented.  The leadership that he sees in churches and church organizations is in his opinion not biblical and/or is not demonstrated in Christ’s model of leadership.  There are some very strong endorsements of this book by strong, well recognized “leaders” of the evangelical community.  When Sweet declares that we are first and foremost followers and leadership must happen within that mindset, his message is clear and forceful.

Following Jesus is portrayed as a dance where we imitate Jesus and his ‘moves’.  “Following is the most underrated form of leadership in existence.” (14)  Sweet makes followership the thesis of this presentation.  “Followership is an identity.” (34)  Leadership within a followership culture is totally different from leadership within a leadership culture.  Jesus chose us.  That choice needs to be kept in perspective when we wax eloquent about our God-given ‘freedom of choice’. 

Discovering what it means to follow Jesus begins with an in depth look at what Jesus meant when he declared; “I am the way, the truth, and the life”.   The ‘way’ implies a pilgrimage alongside Jesus.  It is characterized by a discipleship that lasts a lifetime.  “Disciples of Christ can only be made –life on life, follower following follower.” (84)  A follower bears fruit, primarily the fruit of love in the form of “love casting”. (109) 

“Jesus is Truth” (142) and “Truth is the only way to life”. (149)  Our ‘way’ leads to the cross where we count the cost.  “We bless others naturally through our strengths.  But we bless others supernaturally through our weaknesses.” (162)  Categories e.g. clergy cf lay, that place some followers above other followers violate the unity of the body of Christ.

“Incarnational living (Followership) is a relational art.” (193)  The life of a follower should demonstrate a “spirit of trust” (228) more than a life of strategic planning.  The Spirit can be trusted at all times.  Joy should be the overwhelming mark of a Christ follower who is living incarnationally.  Joy to the world!  “In Christ, you become the music.” (259)

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The Mentor Leader.

Book Review.

Dungy, Tony.  Whitake, Nathan.  The Mentor Leader.  Secrets to building people and team that win consistently.  Tyndale Publishing.  2010.

T.D.- “has always learned from others on his path to success as a son, a football player, a winning coach, and an Emmy-nominated studio analyst.”

“Leadership is not an innate, mystical gift; rather, it is a learned ability to influence the attitudes and behavior of others.”  (intro)

“Relationships are ultimately what matters- our relationships with God and with other people.” (5)  “Doing the right thing at the right time in the right way” (16) requires a foundation of a strong faith.  “If you do it right, as a mentor leader, you may make it impossible for other people to give you credit.” (27)

It is important for leaders (mentors) to have visions and goals but they must be kept in perspective with the journey towards those goals.  Vision, mission and values become key factors in a successful organization.  A “service-directed leadership” (39) enhances these factors. 

The path to maturity involves “self-examination”.  (46)  “Character is the foundation on which all leadership is built.” (69)  Attributes of successful leaders are disgust.  There is no insignificant opportunity for mentoring.  Actions must always be consistent with words; the message.  “The culture you create permeates everything you touch.” (142)

There are seven “steps of progression” (166) that will cause a team to reach its potential; “Engage, educate, equip, encourage, empower, energize, and elevate.” (166-187)

“The mentor leader adds value to the lives of others.” (193)  “The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” Nelson Henderson.

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The Hunger Games.

Book Review.

Collins Suzanne.  The Hunger Games.   Scholastic Inc. 2008.

Comment.  Henry.

The reading of novels is a relatively recent addition to my reading ‘hobby’.  Friends have loaned me their copies.  This novel was recommended and I got a copy from the library after waiting several months for my request.  So it is a very popular book.  I have heard comments about the movie version.

The reading of this novel was endurance for me and upset me more than I would normally be prepared to admit.  I abhor violence.  Commercials for horror movies are muted immediately.  To have violence as a major theme is bad enough but to have children at the centre of that violence and have the viewing of that violence mandatory for the general population is a totally unacceptable plot for me.  This is taking the immorality of the Roman arena slaughterhouse to an insane level.  My guess is that the movie is an animation.  (I don’t need to know.)  That raises my level of concern.  Children are being conditioned (brainwashed) to violence through video games and that should be a concern for parents and grandparents.  Killing should never become a spectator sport no matter what level of communication.    

So there you have it!  It is very unlikely that I will read the other books of the series.  Now if there is someone out there that is exercised about helping me with my “prejudice” I welcome your responses.

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The Old Man And The Sea

Book Review.

Hemingway, Ernest.  The Old Man And The Sea.  Charles Scriber’s Sons Pub.  1952.

Comment. Henry.

A (retired) friend loaned me his copy of this book that he had as a text book in his high school days.  I enjoyed reading this classic.  The struggle of the old fisherman to do one more fishing excursion (by himself) to catch the really big fish makes for a pleasant reading experience.  The fact that he lost the fish to predators on his way back to shore does not take away from his accomplishment as a fisherman.  His relationship with “the boy” adds a meaningful cross-generational element to the novel.  Hemingway is an author that I have added to my book-search hobby.

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The Long Ride

Book Review.

Tyson, Ian.  The Long Trail.  My life in the West.  Random House Canada (Pub.) 2010.

I.T.-  One of North America’s most respected singer-songwriters.  A recipient of the Order of Canada.  A legitimate working cowboy with cowboy skills.

Comment.  Henry.

As a kid and teen-ager I loved books about cowboys and I loved cowboy songs.  As an adult may reading and music tastes changed.  I have no memory of the music of this ‘famous’ cowboy, Ian Tyson.  When I saw this biography on the library shelf I had to read it ‘for old times’ sake’.

Ian’s story is typical of those who seek for fulfillment and meaning in the life they have been given.  His story is unique because he was a working singing cowboy.  His life style is also considered typical as a tough hard living cowboy.  (There actually were, are, Christian cowboys also.)    It would probably be fair to say that Ian is a self-made man.  Unfortunately as so often happens, self-made men tend to worship their creators.  

Ian’s life reflects the wholesomeness of a strong work ethic and a commitment to doing what he knows to be right.  He exemplifies how a relatively small amount of talent can be maximized through hard work. 

Ian sums up his philosophy of life as follows.  “Life is a series of mistakes and corrections.  The best you can do is honor the truth.  That sounds easy, but it isn’t.  We all have different interpretations of the truth and we all mould truth to suit our needs. It’s part of the human condition.”

The Bond

What's Next.

I Am A Hutterite.

Book Review. Kirby, Mary Ann. I Am Hutterite. The fascinating story of a young woman’s journey to reclaim her heritage. Thomas Nelson. 2010. Comment. Henry. Hutterites represent a very small and very interesting minority group in Canada and the U.S. Their culture is based on religious convictions that originated with one Jacob Hutter, an Austrian hatmaker of the sixteenth century. In 1528 he led a fledgling group of Anabaptists to a new kind of Christian community. In 1536 he was burned at the stake. After his martyrdom his followers became ‘refugees’ that took them on a four hundred year journey (flight). In 1874 they arrived in New York with the resolve to pool their resources and start over. Their distinctive when compared to other community groups (Amish and Mennonite) is their common ownership of goods. As Mary Ann reminisces about her childhood years on the colony in southern Manitoba we get a good look at the positives of colony life. When her family left the colony her world experienced a serious collapse. Life was difficult as she faced prejudice of many kinds. Family life as she had experienced it was turned upside down. To her the ‘cost of freedom’ was too high. It was only in adulthood that she began to appreciate the reasons behind her parent’s decision to pay the price of freedom in exchange for security of colony life. This is a great historical resource and also a warm biographical story. According to the “Award jury, SASK Book Awards: This (story) has the makings of a prairie classic.”

Sacrilege.

Book Review. Halter, Hugh. Sacrilege. Finding life in the unorthodox ways of Jesus. Baker Books. 2011. Comment. Henry. I see this book as a sequel to “The Tangible Kingdom”. Using the text of the ‘Sermon on the Mount’, Hugh describes what he understands to be an application of those teachings to today’s Christian living. He gives his own definition to the ‘sacrilege’ to make it fit a description of how Jesus impacted the religious community of his day. Similarly we need to be prepared to become ‘sacrilegious’ in our witness if we hope to be effective in our culture. “Sacrilege is about removing religion from our faith.” (32) “What you believe about who Jesus is will be the most important thing affecting who you become, what you do, and how much you experience the living God.” (39) The author prefers the term “apprenticeship” (49) to the term discipleship when it comes to being a follower of Jesus. It is all about becoming like Jesus. Listening and obeying are more important than learning and teaching. Incarnational communities (villages) should be the focus of church life rather than small groups. The witness of a message through a life is more effective than the preaching of a sermon. A ‘hunger for righteousness’ will not be satisfied by doing religious things, but by being involved in meeting the needs of needy people in your life and community. Communion (Eucharist) is not only for those who ‘have it all together’ but for those who are stumbling ‘learners on the journey’. Bringing peace (shalom) to the lives of needy people in our ‘world’ should be the goal of our church programs and activities. Sacred space can happen anywhere when we faithfully strive to be ‘salt and light’ in the part of the world we find ourselves in. The choice to “jump into the pool of the kingdom- will be the most exhilarating, heart-expanding, heartbreaking, life-on-the-edge choice you will ever make”. (220)

The Grand Weaver.

Book Review. Zacharias, Ravi. The Grand Weaver. How God shapes us through the events of our lives. Zondervan. 2007. Comment. Henry. Here is a book from a man who has over the years become a very effective ‘apologist’ of the gospel. This book however focuses on the reality of how God works in our lives to produce something beautiful and honoring to Him. He talks about our DNA, our disappointments, our calling, our morality, our spirituality, our worship and our destiny and shows how these ‘threads’ in our lives are woven together in a very personal, God-honoring tapestry of life.. This becomes a great source of encouragement. Intro. - “To allow God to be God we must follow him for who he is and what he intends, and not for what we want or what we prefer.” Our DNA is God’s imprint on our lives. It is evidence that God made us for Himself. The pattern and plan of our lives becomes visible as we consider our “hearts, our minds and the cross”. (51) Fundamental to the calling of God in our lives is the teaching that we are really ‘temples of the living God’. Our bodies are sacred. “Morality is the fruit of your knowledge of God, conscious or otherwise. ”Traditionalism, legalism, and spirituality” (96) are challenged by Jesus. Our will plays a crucial part in our attempts to do God’s will. The liturgy of worship is made up of five elements; “the Lord’s Supper, teaching, prayer, praise and giving”. (140-148) “The mystery of worship will always remain, but the majesty of worship will triumph.” (152) As Christ-followers we have the assurance of a magnificent destiny with Christ in a place prepared for us. henrydirksen.blogspot.com

Desiring The Kingdom

Book Review. Smith, James K.A. Desiring The Kingdom. Worship, Worldview, And Cultural Formation. Baker Academic. 2009. J.S.- Associate professor of philosophy and adjunct professor of congregational and ministry studies at Calvin College. Comment. Henry. The focus in this resource is the ‘reshaping of Christian education’. It suggests a paradigm shift from an emphasis on information, i.e. a Christian world view, to a goal of transformation that reflects sound discipleship that is expressed in worship and a desiring of God’s kingdom. This book has an appeal to the academic. Intro. “What if education wasn’t first and foremost about what we know, but about what we love?” (18) “Liturgies (a synonym for worship) –whether ‘sacred’ or ‘secular’- shape and constitute our identities by forming our most fundamental desires and are our most basic atonement of the world.” (25) “We are- loving, desiring, affective liturgical thinkers or cognitive machines.” “We pray before we believe, we worship before we know- we worship in order to know.” (34) “Behind every pedagogy is a philosophical anthropology.” (37) A person as a lover model” (62) is an alternative to a person as a thinker and/or believer. Liturgies (in a broad sense) can be found in both religious and secular rituals, e.g. “the mall’s liturgy”. (98) Other sources of liturgy are military nationalism, entertainment, sports and even the cinema. The author does “an exegesis of the social imaginary embedded in Christian worship”. (155) He imagines that we are Martian anthropologists being exposed to Christian worship for the first time. This exegesis covers topics such as a call to worship, greetings, song, confession, baptism, creed, scripture and sermon, Eucharist, and offering. In the final chapter the author proceeds to “sketch what Christian education could or should look like if we are liturgical animals”. (216) He calls into question the value of a Christian world view in a ‘Christian school’ that is the key to Christian education. “Christian education has been concerned with information rather than formation.” (219) The goal of Christian education “is the same as the goal of Christian worship: to form radical disciples of Jesus and citizens of the baptismal city who, communally, take up the creational task of being God’s image bearers, unfolding the cultural possibilities latent in creation- but doing so as empowered by the Spirit, following the example of Jesus’s cruciform cultural labor”. (220) This involves “reconnecting church, chapel, and classroom”. (223) henrydirksen.blogspot.com

Book Review. Galli, Mark. Chaos and Grace. Discovering the liberating work of the Holy Spirit. Baker Books. 2011. M.G.- senior managing editor of Christianity Today. Comment. Henry. Mark has taken on a topic that has always, it seems, been surrounded with confusion, controversy, and disrupting interpretations. He clearly demonstrates that historically the Holy Spirit and His work have always been accompanied with a high level of ‘chaos’. In a culture that ‘worships’ control and order this characteristic of the Holy Spirit is not welcome, in fact, it is vigorously rejected. Herein lays a very real hindrance for the development of the church’s effectiveness and impact in a needy world. Readers can expect this book to be ‘disturbing, upsetting, and disrupting’. “Christ has come to offer us- the most unsettling gift imaginable (the Holy Spirit), for this is the gift that brings both grace and chaos.” (Intro) There is no provision made in the gospel for the tolerance of religion. “It’s about the Holy Spirit introducing holy chaos.” (31) Worship is much more than “mere religious edification”. (32) Creation, as the work of the Holy Spirit, is described as a “eucatastrophe, a good catastrophe’. (38) The fall of man and its consequences is the second eucatastrphe. The story of humanity is an “ongoing saga of humankind’s addiction to order and control- and the divine response of judgment and mercy.” (53) e.g. Abram. The stories of the Old Testament consistently tell “of a God who offers the freedom of obedience to a people addicted to control.” (62) The book of Acts is full of chaos produced by the Holy Spirit. Liberation is God’s work and it begins with tension and chaos, e.g. Moses. Freedom is all about obedience. The life of freedom must be characterized by a movement from the horizontal to the vertical, from justice to grace, etc. “Resurrection (eternal life0 without the crucifixion (death) is empty optimism.” (133) Our culture is in denial when it comes to preparing for and facing death. Churches place a higher value on marketing than witnessing. Instead of focusing on management the emphasis should be on being managed by the Holy Spirit, e.g. Philip and his witness to the Ethiopian Eunuch. The fear of embarrassment and shame will prevent us from obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Our Utopian view of the New Testament church (when things were done right) creates problems for the acceptance of a much less Utopian church of our personal experience. “You cannot have a dynamic relationship with the liberating Spirit without there being questions, confusions, excesses, and mistakes- chaos.” (184) A transforming work of the Holy Spirit, however, can be our experience of faith. henrydirksen.blogspot.com.

God Is Here.

Book Review.
Case, Steve. God Is Here. Connecting with Him in everyday life. Relevant Media Group. 2005.
S.C.- author, pastor. Lives in Florida.
Comment. Henry.
Steve does a “commentary” on Brother Lawrence’s book, ‘The Practice of the Presence of God’. There are many practical truths presented that are helpful in having an ongoing (daily, hourly,) relationship with God. Brother Lawrence lived out such a life and was effective in teaching others about that life through his writings. Steve applies those writings to life in our present day culture.
Born in 1611, in Hermenil, France, Brother Lawrence became a Carmelite monk. He worked in the kitchen of his monastery with pots and pans. “Rich and poor, old and young, educated and simple- all found that a conversation with Brother Lawrence was most rewarding.” (9)
“Acquiring a spiritual life is all about recognizing God, making time for God, admitting shortcomings to god, and understanding that God is here.” (35) “God is in all things.” (50) Brother Lawrence explained the union of the soul with God as existing in three degrees,” general, virtual, and actual”. (60-62) He suggested seven steps that were part of acquiring the presence of God.
“The whole substance of religion was faith, hope and charity, by the practice of which we become united to the will of God.” Br. Lawrence. Remaining focused at all times (in prayer) takes practice.
“Think and thank.” (152) The practice of the presence of God requires attention and focus. Our heart is where our treasure is.
“All things are possible to him who believes, they are less difficult to him who hopes, they are more easy to him who loves and still more easy to him who perseveres in the practice of these three virtues. -Brother Lawrence.

They Smell Like Sheep.

Book Review.
Anderson, Lynn. They Smell Like Sheep. Leading with a heart of a shepherd. Howard Books. 2007.
L.A.- president of Hope Network. Lynn has been in ministry for thirty five years.
Comment. Henry.
The analogy of the shepherd and the sheep is a classical illustration in Scripture to demonstrate servant leadership. Christ referred to himself as the Good Shepherd. There are many lessons and principles taught in this analogy. A concern that I have had in processing lessons from this analogy has to do with the reality that the ‘shepherd’ (spiritual leader) is also a sheep and therefore has needs that need ‘shepherding’. There tends to be view of shepherds as a group that considers themselves apart from the sheep. This all has to do with servant leadership. When the author puts the heart at the centre of effective shepherding he identifies the key of the topic.
Shepherd leadership is all about the heart. “God’s glory is the object of, the motive for, and the measure of ministry.” (25) Jesus modelled such ministry. Not all can lead but all can pray. Prayer releases the Holy Spirit for ministry. Pray the Psalms.
Faith develops through stages; infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, aka, “experienced, affiliative, searching, and owned”. (58) This journey of faith comes at a price. The standards of holiness cannot be violated without consequence. Accountability, transparency, and reflection are marks of purity.
“It’s all about people.” (95) Shepherds must have a priority for needy sheep (people). This calls for serious feeding on the Word, for sheep and shepherd. A loving heart is a serving heart. A serving heart is often a broken heart. In our change driven culture seniors and their contributions often becomes a casualty.
We live in a world that is dominated by the “rational, informational, and linear/sequential” (181) Many other good and necessary things, mystery, majesty, etc., are being crowded out. ‘Shepherding’ is indeed a noble calling.
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