Last Sunday morning I had an idea, and I was delighted to see that several people took me up on my offer. In the spirit of the first century Christians ...and all the believers were together and had everything in common... (Acts 2:44) I had this idea to share my library with my church family. I have many books that I have already read, and most of them just sit on my shelf. I do have several that I return to often for reference, but many of them I do not. So, in an effort to share what God has so graciously given me, I brought a bag full of books and sermons on CD for people to check out on a sharing basis.
There were still a few of the books and sermons left after last Sunday, so I thought I would post a couple of them here and tell you a little bit about them. From time to time I will add more books. I hope this is helpful to you. For anyone checking out my books and CDs I only ask that you respect others by not keeping them for an inordinate amount of time. One week should be plenty of time for a CD, and three weeks should be plenty for a book. Thank you! Enjoy my library!
Radical Reformission by Mark Driscoll is a fun read that makes very good sense for any church who has a high regard for the Gospel and a desire to allow it's power to transform a culture rather than catchy "relevant" ideas.
Driscoll defines his book as "a radical call for Christians and Christian churches to recommit to living and speaking the gospel, and to doing so regardless of the pressures to compromise the truth of the gospel or to conceal its power within the safety of the church" (page 20).
Driscoll describes how three powerful forces: gospel, church and culture, form a triangular relationship. Reformission begins with a return to Jesus who saves us by His grace and sends us to be missionaries to our world. Jesus has called us to "(1) the gospel (loving our Lord), (2) the culture (loving our neighbor), and (3) the church (loving our brother)". He claims that one of the main causes of the failure to fulfill our mission has come by being faithful to only one or two of these aspects while neglecting the others.
Consequently, Driscoll provides three formulas to show what happens when one of these areas is neglected:
- Gospel + Culture - Church = Parachurch
- Culture + Church - Gospel = Liberalism
- Church + Gospel - Culture = Fundamentalism
Driscoll claims that Reformission gathers the best aspects of each of these types of Christianity: "living in the tension of being Christian and churches who are culturally liberal yet theologically conservative and who are driven by the gospel of grace to love their Lord, brothers, and neighbors. This book focuses on issues related to the scriptural content of the gospel and the cultural context of its ministry, and I write out of my sincere love as a pastor for Christians, churches, lost people, and culture" (page 22).
Chosen By God by R.C. Sproul is one of the most insightful and influential books I have read in recent days, and it is only 213 pages! Because of the widespread confusion, fear, and ignorance of the doctrines of grace and God's election, "many people have recognized Chosen By God as the main resource that profoundly shifted their attention to an understanding of the predestining grace of God. Sproul shows how election is entirely compatible with human freedom, dignity, and responsibilty. Chosen by God shows why all serious Christians cannot afford to ignore this important biblical doctrine, but instead should embrace God's initiative in Salvation." (www.monergism.com)
If you are still thinking through and giving some of your personal study time to understanding election and God's Sovereignty, then this book would provide you with some practical help. It is very easy to read, and I suspect would be a rather quick read for most people.
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I will stop for now with those two. Be sure to check out the "Chris' Library" table on Sunday.
Excellent idea (all good things come from above); Go the extra distance: establish a "SHAREhouse", doing the same with Books, Camping stuff, Recreation equipment, Boats, Cookware, Ladders, Lawn equipment, ...and all those other things that clutter the garage, the attic, or use up other space.
It's an idea whose time has come for the Christian Church!
Posted by: DG | November 23, 2006 at 02:23 PM