My Book Recommendations from 2010

If you've known me for any length of time, you know me to be a reader.  I love to read, I love getting inspired by others, learning from others and seeking to better myself and my walk with Christ by reading what other Christians have written.  I'm a bit slow on the list this year and have been slow on writing so far in January because I've been working on my manuscript and copy edits from the publisher for my coming book: Pinocchio Vs. The Real Boy.  However, that is all past so I will be actively blogging once again  "YAY!"

  Below are the 25 books that hit me this past year.  Some are Super amazing, others are just fantastic for the genre they represent.  Enjoy!

P.S.  These are in order as I read them during the year, not of how much I like them...




1. Deep Church- Jim Belcher
  This book asks if there is a 3rd way to look at church.  Not Emerging/Emergent or Traditional views of the church, but a new, fresh, 3rd way.  It's a great read and I wrote up a blog about it last year here: http://youthmaster.blogspot.com/2010/01/deep-church.html

2. Total Church- Chester and Timmis
This was just a great book on how we do Church.  What is a church that looks at the Totality of church really look like?

3. Middle School Ministry- Oestreicher and Rubin
By far my FAVORITE book written to Middle School Youth Pastors about Middle School Ministry!  I've given away 10 copies of this book because it's just that freakin good!  I have read this now 2 years in a row and will probably read it again this coming year: 2011 because it is so full of great, usable content.  It's practical, yet informative at the same time.  Thanks Marko!

4. Love & War- John and Stasi Eldridge
This is hands down the BEST book on Marriage I have ever read.  I've read several books and this one just spoke to me.  I love John Eldridge and the way he writes about manhood, so he and his wife writing on marriage was GOLDEN.  I highly recommend this book to couples.  I wrote a blog on it earlier last year here: http://youthmaster.blogspot.com/2010/02/love-and-war-book-review.html

5. Confessions- St. Augustine
Just a good classic read by and old Saint.  I had never read anything from Augustine and I heard this was a great place to start.  His authentic transparency was convicting because of how deeply honest he was.  It's a book that is somewhat heady but also very narrative in nature.

6. A Multi-Site Road Trip- Bird, Ligon and Surratt
One of the journey's that ACAC feels like God is calling them to as a church is the journey of Multi-Site.  This book is an incredible resource for any church/pastor/congregant who finds themselves in a community asking the multi-site questions.  It helps frame the why's and how's and I couldn't put it down.  I also blogged on this book here: http://youthmaster.blogspot.com/2010/03/multi-site-road-trip.html

7. Patrick- Stephen R. Lawhead
The Best Fantasy novel of the year for me.  I've owned this book for about 3 years and finally picked it up in the middle of last year.  It was a refreshing read full of interesting stories and amazing events.  Some of the story is quite true to what actually happened to Saint Patrick, so that in depth information also helped me understand Patrick better.

8. Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe- Mark Driscoll
This was a great book outlining Christian Doctrine.  I enjoyed getting into the Christian Doctrine again and hearing it from a Pastor I respect.

9. The Early Tozer: A Word in Season- A.W. Tozer
This Year was the year of Tozer for me.  I resonate so much with his works and ejoyed reading some of his great highlights, so much so that it ignited me on a path to read more of his books this past year!

10.  Get Outta My Face!- Rick Horne
My boss, Scott asked me to read this book and review it and I did.  I was surprised to enjoy the book thoroughly and did a 10 page review to hand out to parents and leaders alike so they can glean the great things from this book that I did.  The review can be found here: http://www.archive.org/details/GetOuttaMyFaceSummaryreview

11.  A Passion for God (Bio. Of A.W. Tozer)- Lyle Dorsett
This has got to be my favorite book of the year!  I was challenged by Tozer's life in so many ways.  His heart for God, His passion for Ministry and his emphasis on the Holy Spirit resonated deep within me and birthed an even deeper desire to follow Christ full-heartedly.  I've never been a reader of Biography's but there was just something about this book.  I couldn't put it down and I bet you won't be able to either.  If there is a book I would say is a 2011 MUST read, it's this one! Here's the blog I wrote up about this book: http://youthmaster.blogspot.com/2010/04/passion-for-god.html

12.  The Knowledge of the Holy- A.W. Tozer
Again, like I said, 2010 was the year of Tozer for me.  His passion for God is contagious and he dumped that passion into every page of his writing.  This book is a short, but deep book on the Holiness of God and the Character of God.  I strongly recommend this book.  I wrote some thoughts up on some things Tozer said in this book here: http://youthmaster.blogspot.com/2010/06/fearing-god.html and here: http://youthmaster.blogspot.com/2010/12/omniscience-of-god.html

13.  Exponential- Jon and Dave Ferguson
Another book about Church.  There is much to say about this book but much of it I already said here: http://youthmaster.blogspot.com/2010/05/exponential-starting-reproducing.html  If you're a pastor, I will say this though: You should read this book!

14.  Ethnic Blends- Deymaz & Li
It seems when I like a book, I write all about it, because I blogged on this one too!  This book is all about how to and why we should set up a multi-ethnic group of people (mainly within the church). It was an impactful and insightful book that I even used to help develop a series for my Middle School students called: Ethnic Mosaic.  To read what I blogged on it, go here: http://youthmaster.blogspot.com/2010/06/etnic-blends-multi-ethnic-coffee.html

15.  Power in the Blood- Charles Spurgeon
Loved the depth and ease of this book.  Spurgeon was known as the "Prince of Preachers" and I can see, from this book why he was dubbed with that title.  He is a fantastic communicator and this book has given me the itch for more, so I went out and bought The Essential Works of Charles Spurgeon, which I am eagerly awaiting the time to read (since it is well over 1,000 pages long).

16.  Gems From Tozer- A.W. Tozer
Yet another Tozer book.  Like I said, I just kept getting so much stuff from him, that it was hard to not read every book of his in 2010.  This was another compilation of several of his good works.  I found a couple of the same quotes and what-not from the other books I read of his, but it was a good refresher none-the-less.

17.  How to Be Filled With the Holy Spirit- A.W. Tozer
Great, short book on the Holy Spirit.  It is a must read for every believer and is very easy to read.  So...go get a copy already!

18. Trouble in Paris- Mark Sayers
Great book on culture and how it effects us.  Spurred me on to use some of what it talked about in one of my talks this year with the Middle Schoolers!

19.  Evil and the Justice of God- N.T. Wright
I was blessed to get this book for free, but I would've paid what is cost to read it.  This book is a great resource for any believer to look at Evil and God's Justice.  N.T. has a deep way about him but is still easily understood with what he talks about.  This book caused me to step back and think even more about these two subjects than I had previously.  Again, I blogged on this book earlier in the year here: http://youthmaster.blogspot.com/2010/07/evil-and-justice-of-god.html

20.  Wired for Intimacy- Struthers
This was one of the BEST books I have ever read on Porn and it's effect on the male brain.  I was dumbfounded by the power it has to take over the male brain and also weirded out by it.  This book, if used properly could be a great asset to parents, youth pastors, wives and men (OK, well...anyone!) in the battle against Porn and Porn addiction!  I blogged on this book as well here: http://youthmaster.blogspot.com/2010/08/wired-for-intimacy.html
21.  Jonathan Edwards- Douglas Sweeney
Inspired by my Tozer biography, I ventured out to read my second biography for the year and was not disappointed!  This was another excellent read.  I feel like a broken record saying this, but I blogged on this book.  Here is the blog address: http://youthmaster.blogspot.com/2010/07/jonathan-edwards-book-review.html

22.  Tozer: The Mystery of the Holy Spirit
The year of Tozer continues!  This was a more in depth book on the Holy Spirit and was very challenging to me and my faith.  I love the way Tozer writes, so this was an amazingly refreshing read for me.

23.  The Skin Map- Stephen R. Lawhead
I have read almost every Lawhead book written and have found myself enjoying all of them.  This was a Sci-Fi Thriller type and was very enjoyable.  Here is the blog on this one: http://youthmaster.blogspot.com/2010/08/skin-map-book-review.html
24.  God’s Pursuit of Man- A.W. Tozer
Another book by Tozer and yet another great one.  Deeply profound topic on how God deeply desires intimate relationship with His children.

25.  The Radical Cross- A.W. Tozer
Last, but not least...another Tozer book!  This one was more of an essayesque book which was quite interesting because it flowed, but didn't flow which made it tougher to read but it was an amazingly deep and rich book about the Cross of Christ!

Hope to have given you some great resources to read.  I enjoyed these books very much and love to share what God is using to grow me!  So, read some, read all or read none of the above but know they are good if you want something good to read!

Jonathan Edwards- A Book Review

  InterVarsity Press has been generous enough to give me 5 books to review for the summer and this is the second one I've read.  I was lucky enough to choose my books, so it may seem as you read these reviews that they are all pretty positive.  I wasn't paid to like these books, but I did choose books I was pretty sure I would like.

  Being a follower of Mark Driscoll and other reformed pastors, I've been excited to read and hear about some of the old reformers and that is why I chose this book.

  Doug Sweeney in this book basically takes himself completely out of the picture and paints the picture of Jonathan Edwards' life wonderfully.  I knew next to nothing about this great American Pastor, Theologian and Christian thinker until I read this book, so all the content was fresh and brand new to me.

  As I read, I noticed myself feeling the same burning passions that Edwards himself felt; his life was and is contagious.  His desire for the Word of God and the Spirit of God are like a burning disease that his life seems to endlessly spread to those who are close enough to him.  I feel like this book brought the proximity close enough to be excited, not about Edwards, but the God Edwards served.

  Like I said before, I knew next to nothing about Edwards' life, so I knew very little of what he actually taught and wrote, but Doug tied each piece of Edwards writing directly into the narrative of Jonathan's life.  I was able to see the literary growth of Edwards and I now have a deep desire to go out and read the mans books because I have a background solid enough to know what the books are about and where in the life of Edwards they landed.

  Seeing the passion Edwards had for God, as well as his warts made him real to me.  This biography reminded me of my favorite biography of all time: A Passion for God- The Biography of A.W. Tozer and brought me to the same place as that book: desiring God more than I did before.  When a man's life points ever upward, you know he lived his life well and in a manner worthy of his calling!  I didn't desire to be Edwards, I simply desired to posses the same passion that he had for the living God!

 Mark Dever who is the senior pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church summed this book up perfectly when he says: "Doug Sweeney has written a fine introduction to Jonathan Edwards' life and theology.  Accessible and accurate, this introduction is a good place to start in trying to understand Edwards as a man, a Christian, a theologian and a pastor." (Taken from the back jacket)

  It is 200 pages exactly but it is rich and meaty, giving the best of edwards' life and like I said before a great taste-test of the man himself making you to desire more for this great man.

  At the end of the book Doug did something different than most biographical books out there; he wrote up 7 Theses for discussion based off of Edwards' life.  I will write them out below because seeing these may just push you over that edge and make you want to get this book for yourself.

"Thesis #1: Edwards shows us the importance of working to help people gain a vivid sense, an urgent impression, of God's activity in our world

Thesis #2: Edwards shows us that true religion is primarily a matter of holy affections

Thesis #3: Edwards shows us the advantage of keeping an eschatological perspective on our lives

Thesis #4: Edwards shows us how God uses those who lose their lives for Christ

Thesis #5: Edwards shows us that theology can and should be done primarily in the church, by pastors, for the sake of the people of God

Thesis #6: Edwards shows us that even the strongest Christians need support from others

Thesis #7:  Edwards shows us the necessity of remaining in God's Word" (Sweeney, pgs. 197-199)

   I loved this addition to the biography because it gave the reader 7 very applicable take-aways from the life and ministry of Jonathan Edwards.  I am extremely grateful to IVP for letting me review this book. I strongly recommend this read to anyone and everyone.  It reaches a wide audience and I am sure it will spark a desire within most readers to go out and read more of Edwards' work for themselves!

Evil and the Justice of God

  N.T. Wright is easily one of the most prolific and articulate Theologians and writers we have today.  He has taken on huge tasks both for preaching and for writing and has made those tasks seem easy to understand. N.T. Wright has a passion for the Risen Christ and making that Christ known.  This book is no different in it's depth, breadth and understandability.

  Evil and the Justice of God takes on the huge question of "What is evil?" as well as "What's God's response to Evil?"  Through this book, Wright takes simply 5 chapters to exegete these theological questions as well as their implications.  Although it is a small number of chapters, don't be fooled.  It is deep, explanatory as well as rich in content.

  I will briefly summarize each chapter so you can get a taste of this book and want more, because it is that good.

  Chapter 1- Evil is Still a Four-Letter Word- Wright defines out that evil is still among us, despite the attempts to fool us into thinking it is not. He says: "...people still continue to this day to suppose that the world is basically a good place and that its problems are more or less soluble by technology, education, "development" in the sense of "Westernization,: and the application, to more and more regions, of Western democracy-and, according to taste, of either Western social-democratic ideals or Western capitalism, or indeed a mixture of both"  Thinking that these certain things can be the "hero" that fights evil is simply looking for a Saviour in the wrong place.   He then concludes this idea with this: "The big question of our time I have argued, can be understood in terms of how we address and live with the fact of evil in our world."  Evil is among us, we can see it, we get hit with the effects of it and it is hard to deal with an understand.  How will we live having this knowledge?  Can we ignore it and live our lives in purposeful ignorance so we don't need to do anything?  This, says Wright is the challenge.

Chapter 2- What Can God Do About Evil?- Here, Wright undertakes a quick overview of the entire Old Testament to show how God dealt with evil then, and how God began to unveil His ultimate plan of crushing evil altogether. Wright says of the Old Testament: "It's written to tell the story of what God has done, is doing and will do about evil."  Throughout the entire OT, we see evil people oppressing the Israelites and God coming to their defense by crushing the evil pagans who would stand against the Israelites, but Wright reminds us that laced within the whole of the OT is a story of evil that is much deeper than an "us" vs. "them".  We have within ourselves this evil that must be crushed, it's not merely those "against us".  Wright also shows with great skill how in fact the Old Testament sheds light on God's ultimate goal for evil, and God's ultimate plan for dealing with it.

Chapter 3- Evil and the Crucified God- This, the crescendo of the entire book and Wright's answer to how God will deal with it is amazing.  I noticed that Wright, having used 5 chapters, placed this (the most important chapter) dead center...with 2 chapters before it and 2 chapters after it.  I don't think this was a mistake, Wright wants the reader to understand that this is the crux, the center of this entire idea of evil and God's justice.  You can't ask the question about evil and the justice of God without talking about the crucifixion. N.T. says: "...the story the Gospels are trying to tell us is the story of how the death of Jesus is the point at which evil in all its forms has come rushing together.  Jesus' death is the result both of the major political evil in the world...and of the dark, accusing forces which stand behind those human and societal structures, forces which accuse creation itself of being evil, and so try to destroy it while its Creator is longing to redeem it."  God's ultimate goal is to redeem this fallen world and he does this through the cross!  He goes into much more detail that you have to read.  This chapter alone is worth the read;  because it is so rich with content.

Chapter 4- Imagine There's No Evil- These next two chapters, I will summarize more quickly.  This was simply a chapter getting the picture in their head of a world without the evil that is so prevalent today.  Wright defines out the Biblical understanding of the new world and how it applies to us today.  It was a chapter of looking at how all of creation corporately will be redeemed in the end and how evil will be broken.

Chapter 5- Deliver Us From Evil- This chapter surrounded the individual.  How do we personally deal with evil?  How does it effect our lives?  Wright says that through forgiveness, all these things can be wiped away.  In fact, to quote him, he says: "When we understand forgiveness, flowing from the work of Jesus and the Spirit, as the strange, powerful thing it really is, we begin to realize that God's forgiveness of us, and our forgiveness of others, is the knife that cuts the rope by which sin, anger, fear, recrimination and death are still attached to us."

  This is a great book and a poignant read during these evil days.  N.T. Wright has much to say about evil, God's plan to deal with it and Jesus' defeat of it.  I enjoy how readable this book is, yet without diminishing the deep quality of the thoughts presented.  I hope to be able to somehow transform this book into a series for my teens...it's just that good!

Etnic Blends- Multi Ethnic Coffee!

Everyone who drinks coffee knows that the flavor is in the blend you use.  Some choose this brand, others choose that brand because of the flavor.  At my church, we have the Seattle's Best Blend and the cheap blend and the difference is quite staggering.

 This book is about bringing together people of different ethnicities and building a church.  It's about building a community here on earth that will reflect the community in heaven: "And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God." (Luke 13:29 ESV)

This book is also about what struggles and battles will be faced when there is an attempt to make a church look like heaven.  It's counter-cultural in most church circles. 

  The authors are passionate about dis-engaging the homogenous mode of thinking and embracing the multi-ethnic blend of coffee that God himself drinks!

  I really learned a ton from this book.  I picked this book out because I am a part of a Multi-Ethnic church and am a pastor to Middle School student within that paradigm and I wanted to learn more about how to minister to them.  Even though I came from a blended church, I still felt I needed more education on how to deal with it and after reading this book, I know I was right (and still have TONS to learn).

  This book is filled with story after story that shows the authentic, honest, rewarding and hard calling of being a multi-ethnic community.  I was particularly touched by a story where two brothers of a different ethnicity got into a fight.  Instead of storming away and leaving the church these two men of God desired to work it out and although it was hard they worked it out to the glory of God!

  After they worked it out, one of the brothers was on the schedule to preach and he felt the Holy Spirit leading him to wash the other brothers feet.  It was hard and he did it with the leading of the Holy Spirit and God did a work in the congregation that day! (this story is found on pages 175-178)

  There are more and more stories laced throughout the book that point to God doing a mighty work in and through the Multi-Ethnic blend of community. 

As I said before, I gleaned a ton from this book, but I think the thing that I will attach to my life right away comes from Chapter 6- Roasting for Flavor and is an outline of 1 Corinthians 9:19-23.  The authors have 3 bits of instruction to help overcome the Cross-Cultural Obstacles that pop up from these verses.

1. You Must Surrender Your Rights (1 Corinthians 9:19)
     Our ideas about church and life are not always right.  If it isn't a Biblical mandate, it's subject to change!  We can't be stuck in "our way" when we desire to be multi-ethnic, because with that much difference in culture, there will be that much difference in opinion!  We (I) must be flexible!

2. You Must Extend Yourself to Others
        To Those Most Like You (1 Corinthians 9:20)
        It's OK to care about your own Ethnic group, but not to the exclusion of the rest of God's body

        To Those Least Like You (1 Corinthians 9:21-22)
        We must care for the WHOLE body of Christ and offer ourselves up to others of different ethnicities.

3. You Must Not Be Dogmatic (1Corinthians 9:22)
  Don't be rigid in how you do things!  Again, if it's not going against the Bible, it's subject to change!

  These three things I know I will attach to my life and live out before my Middle Schoolers and I will encourage them to do so as well.  I love what these authors are doing and talking about.  It is great to see such passion and fervor for the Multi-ethnic church.  I hope to continue to instill these truths into my teens to make our church even more diverse than it ever was!

  Lastly, the authors caution anyone from undertaking this ideology without first knowing it will put a target on your back.  They end the book with some of the Spiritual toils they've dealt with once they've decided to go multi-ethnic.  When we are doing God's work, God's way we can expect (as the authors remind us) a huge reaction from Satan.  May we, as we all endevor to do this great work God has called us to commit ourselves to the Lord's care and remain close to Him!

Exponential: Starting A Reproducing Missional Movement

A friend and I just read through Exponential by Dave and Jon Ferguson together. My friend admitted that Dave and Jon are his favorite Pastors in the United States and I admit I am a fan as well. This book hit me hard on a ton of levels and spoke deeply to convictions I was forming about church and growth.

The subtitle speaks for the content of the whole book because it really is a book about: "How you and your friends can start a Missional Church Movement." These brothers share their journey of the church and now movement that God has used them to catalyze and grow.

They candidly share their dreaming phase on up to the now very exponential movement that God blessed them to be a part of. Many things really struck me, challenged me and inspired me in this book. I hope to divulge as much as I can in the post so you too can be blessed by what I have learned through these guys!


The idea of the book is to be a leader who reproduces exponentially, not only yourself but also the church and movements you catalyze. They believe strongly in us young pastors asserting that we can do it. They begin by giving 5 reproducing principles:

1. Reproducing requires everyone to have an apprentice

• You can't be a one man show!  People can learn from you.

2. Reproducing is proactive, not reactive

• Don't be waiting to respond to something, go make something happen!

3. Reproducing is not about size; it’s about leader readiness

• Churches can get bogged down by playing the numbers game...don't!

4. Reproducing isn’t about our kingdom; it’s about God’s Kingdom

• When leaders you've produced leave to do something for God...don't hold them back, give them back to God!

5. Reproducing happens on the edge and at the center



They then go through how a guy named Troy McMahon stepped in as an apprentice and moved through the whole reproduction of a leader process: Individual-->Apprentice-->Leader-->Coach-->Director-->Campus Pastor/Church Planter-->Network Leader. They show how this is the best way to grow a person, use them fully and travel with them as they grow and gain more skills.



I was struck by their simple but effective formula. What is even cooler is that they began this formula from the onset, so now it is in their DNA and is a natural outflow of everything they do. If I were to plant a church, this would be a formula I too would infuse into the church I was planting. Too many times people go into church planting or into an already established church and think about “maintenance” rather than “reproduction”; which is odd because Jesus never said: “But you will receive power with the Holy Spirit comes on you to maintain my church and never grow.” He said: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8 ESV) That sounds like reproduction to me.



The next thing that struck me deeply was their HUGE emphasis on apprenticeship. They outline how Jesus had apprentices, so we too must have apprentices. My fear is (as it is with the Fergusons) that pastors in the US are afraid to have apprentices because they don’t want to be overshadowed or maybe they don’t want to be “found out”. It’s a sad reality but true.

Two quotes that hit me every time I read them are: “Being an apprentice of Jesus means learning to dream BIG” (Ferguson 2010, p. 46) and: “What is your God-sized dream?” (Ferguson 2010, p. 49) I know God is birthing in me a dream and I’ve written it down (which I did before but the book in the end challenges the reader to write it out)! This book forced me to continue thinking about the dream God has inside me and it continually encouraged me that through the power of God I can indeed achieve my dream.

Another thing that popped for me was the 2-2-2 principle that they laid out. It stems from 2 Timothy 2:2 and is core to reproducing. It is such a core because it lays down the relationships a leader must have: followers, an apprentice, peers and a coach. I love this biblical principle and even wrote a Youth Specialties article about the peer part here “Finding Your Jonathan”.

This principle is so true though! If one of those key relationships is not a part of a leaders life he/she won’t be able to reproduce! So many pastors are “do it yourselfers” and it just doesn’t work. It re-challenged me to find all of these relationships for myself. I am a Youth pastor on a team of 5 youth pastors in a large church…sometimes I feel like I don’t have much of a voice in things. I get discouraged because I desire to apply some of this amazing change to my church yet I can’t because of where I am. I’m young and low on the pole…but that doesn’t mean I can’t start making myself a better leader now so that if that ever changes I can be ready to be the head leader He desires me to be.

Whether you are a senior pastor, youth pastor or church plant dreamer this book and the tools it has can help you…right where you are. Even if you can’t immediately implement these tools in your context you can apply the leadership tools to your life!

Another great insight in the book is the idea of reproducing artists (Chapter 5). Artists are key to church growth and reproduction and sadly many churches have failed to love them and use them they way they should be loved and used. I really enjoyed the whole chapter and thought it’s a needed discussion. My favorite (and most controversial) part was the “Let Pagans Play” portion, which is about how we should let non Christians play in the worship band. It’s a challenging thought that goes against the grain of many mainstream churches yet it is a gesture to artists demonstrating how vital the church thinks they are! This chapter helped me see how I can love on and embrace artists where I am (as the Middle School Pastor). I can reach out to them now, seek them now and use them now!

More and more stuff popped in the book for me and inspired me (especially the multi-site stuff because I hope my church goes multi-site), but is far ahead from where I am. I know one day I will look back at those chapters and use them but today I am in a place where I can be excited and implement the stuff above TODAY.

Life has me in a new cross road where I am thinking holistically about the church rather than just in my own frame of Youth Ministry. Reading books like this encourage and inspire me to dream of a new and brighter future for the whole church. Generating young leaders who are thinking holistically and exponentially rather than stagnantly and stuck inside their own modes of thinking.


I hope to be used by God to be in or start a reproducing movement. There is a passion and a fire growing and the more books like this I read the more it burns!

Thanks Fergusons!

The Omniscience of God

O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it. (Psalm 139:1-6 ESV


  God cannot learn. This is an idea of God's omniscience I had never pondered before today. There is no new knowledge to God; nothing can be added to his knowledge, for He is aware of all knowledge.
A.W. Tozer in his book The Knowledge of the Holy puts it this way: "To say that God is omniscient is to say that He possesses perfect knowledge and therefore has no need to learn. But it is more: it is to say that God has never learned and cannot learn." (Tozer, 1961, p. 55)

We as humans have a tough time grasping this truth. We can state it as "God knows all" but when we say it in a negative form like: "God cannot learn," something in us tweaks and has trouble now grasping something we thought easily grasped. We as finite human beings always learn and are always learning. Our brains take in and give off so much information that to say someone can't learn is so foreign we balk at the very thought of it.
Yet God is so knowledgeable that learning is impossible, for God to learn would be for God to admit he didn't know something and that some other being had information He Himself did not possess. It would be to admit flaw and the Bible says that God is perfect and without flaw. (Matthew 5:48)

Tozer, in The Knowledge of the Holy also says: "We have seen that God had no origin, that He had no beginning that He requires no helpers that He suffers no change, and that in His essential being there are no limitations." (Tozer, 1961, p. 56)

Tozer here is going through the list of attributes of God in which he already discussed in the book, but when you look at this list, God is so other than us! He is so close, yet so foreign, so attainable yet so unattainable. He is Holy, set a apart and so hard to conceptualize. These attributes especially that of Omniscience is what I believe causes hang ups for those who don't believe.

How can we be made in God's image, yet Him be so foreign some may ask. My answer may not be the best, but it's simple: we have to have faith that it is true, we all believe in something and having a being who created everything in this world not be unattainable seems awkward at best. I mean think about it: this world has been here for at least 10,000 years and we still have no clue as to how all things work. Why would we expect to know the maker?

God's omniscience freaks me out a bit, but it is also very amazing to think that He knows so much that He can never learn anything!

I love that God is a mystery. I love that I can't box him up and put a bow on Him. I love that He is so very "other" (or Holy) that I can't even scratch the surface of who He is. He graciously gives us glimpses as to His true nature...but even those revelations stump us and make us dig deeper! Oh how I love that about God! Plunging the depths of His ways, plunging headlong into the bosom of who He is, drowning in the wealth of it! It's unparalleled in its amazing-ness!

A.W. Tozer was a man of a great wealth of knowledge and he has even today, some great insights on who God is, was and will forever be.  Tozer discusses how easy, yet hard it is to understand the omniscience of God and says it is easier for us to understand these deep truths by thinking in what God is "not" rather than what "God is."  To illustrate this, he says in The Knowledge of the Holy " And that abrupt statement by God Himself, "I am the Lord, I change not,"[Malachi 3:6] tells us more about the divine omniscience than could be told in a ten-thousand word treatise, were all negatives arbitrarily ruled out." (Tozer, 1961, p. 56)

 I agree, Tozers negative statement: God cannot learn caught my attention and made me better understand God's omniscience!  God is deep, vast and Holy!  We serve a Mighty God!

A Passion for God

 I am part of a denomination with a rich heritage and wonderful Pastors have been born out of this denomination.  A.W. Tozer was one of those wonderful Pastors.  He was a Pastor in the Christian and Missionary Alliance for many years, authored many books, spoke at numerous college chapel services and led many people to the Person of Jesus Christ.

    I recently read a Biography of A.W. Tozer by Lyle Dorsett titled: A Passion for God: The Spiritual Journey of A.W. Tozer.  This recent book on A.W.'s life has deeply impacted me and reminded me not only of who A.W. was, nor simply about my rich heritage in the C&MA but it also deeply impacted me about my own personal yeilding to the Holy Spirit.

  Last week and for several weeks prior I noticed a bit of a short fuse within myself.  I was getting easily angered and was being really grumpy with my wife and 1 year old son.  I'm normally not like this, so I was curous as to what was going on within myself.  It was in the midst of this whirlwind of questions I was reading this book on the life of A.W. Tozer. 

  Seeing Tozer's utter devotion to Christ and his whole-hearted desire to be completely yeiled to the Spirit of the living God convicted me.  I noticed I was doing the work of the ministry without the Holy Spirit's presence.  I was going it alone so to speak and was putting my head down to get the "work done" but I was not fully yielding to the Spirit of God. 

  I desire to be a man filled with the Holy Spirit, having His life feed me, empower me, teach me, illuminate mysteries to me and love me.  I didn't realize how utterly unfilled I was until I saw a man who was so very filled.  A.W. Tozer was not perfect, in fact he neglected his family and wife way too often, but he was a man that was yeilded to the Spirit of God!

  When I was in college I learned numerous things about the Holy Spirit, things I had never been taught before and these new learnings caused me to understand the importance of a yeilded life.  For some reason, the past few months I had forgotten those lessons.

  In the Christian walk, nothing is more important than yeilding ourselves to the power of the Spirit of God.  Christ has accomplished tons on the cross and sending us the Spirit was the best earthly accomplishment.  Having the Spirit of God free to reign in us is incalculable in its value, and huge in its effect on our lives and our worlds.

   The only way to live the Christian the way we were always meant to is by yeilding to the Spirit of God, giving Him the drivers seat in your life and letting Him take you where He wants you.

  I want to live a yeilded life, no more doing it on my own, no more getting grumpy and losing the joy of the Lord!

Deep Church

I am very excited about this book because someone has finally put down on paper the way I feel about the wars between the Traditional and the Emerging Church. This book will hopefully go a long way to mending the tears between each camp so people can see the reality of the Church today.

Jim Belcher painstakingly reviews 7 items that have cause controversy between the two camps and shares how there can be and IS a 3rd way. The 7 topics he talks on are: Truth, Evangelism, Gospel, Worship, Preaching, Ecclesiology and Culture.

However, before defining these out and sharing his third way (which he calls "Deep Church") he defines out the Emerging church and how he has intersected with it in his life. I was overjoyed that he did this because it let me see a window of his life most pastors leave out. Jim has close ties with the Emerging movement and has real inside discussions that he brings to the table.

Jim initially defines out three camps of The Emerging Church. Those camps are: Relevants, Reconstructionists, and Revisionists. (Page45-46 summarized from Ed Stetzer)

Relevants: Are theologically conservative and desire not to change theology or doctrine but simply desire to be relevant to the people of this culture by updating worship styles, preaching technique and church leadership structure. They are dedicated to the Word and make sure they are within the bound of Scripture. If I were to pigeonhole Jim (who is making the point for a third way) I would say if he were "Emerging" this is where he would lie. It is also where I find myself (however Jim has really brought some new thoughts to my mind with this book)

Reconstructionists: typically hold a more orthodox view of the gospel and scripture but are rethinking the current form of the church and its structure. They are playing with organic church ideas as well as home church ideas.

Revisionists: When most people think of the Emerging movement, they think of these guys. This group is the "Rethink everything" group even Biblical ideas, Biblical mandates and Biblical truth. They don't think anything about the current church is correct and have a strong desire to rethink all of what it has done and do it differently...it gets dangerous and heretical when they question the Bible and the truth within its pages.

After Jim sets this picture of the church he quickly shares that most of what he will write will look at how the Reconstructionists and Revisionists think since most of what the Relevants think and feel doesn't tick off the Traditional church as much.

Jim then goes through the 7 points of the Emerging church and give the Traditional view, the Emerging view and the new 3rd way he's proposing. It is an excellent and thought provoking read! I recommend that if you are interested in these topics you pick this book up and educate yourself on this new third way! It is a GREAT way now known as the Deep Church.

My Book Reccomendations from 2009

This year has been a big reading year for me, so much so that I hit a milestone in reaching my 2009 reading goal…a goal I set without anticipation of actually succeeding at since so much of my life in 09 was up in the air!

God in His providence gave me the grace and time to finish my 2009 goal and for that I am stoked! I have set the bar higher for 2010, so we’ll see how it goes.

I believe my passion for reading coincides with my passion to learn more about God, the church, the culture, teen issues and things of that nature. I just can’t get enough education on so many things, this desire however as I’ve mentioned is totally new to me as of 2006! I am overjoyed to want to learn for the first time in my life, it’s exhilarating and humbling all at once because I’ve realized that I will never stop learning for the entirety of my life and that is sweet to think about!
Anyways, all that to say I came across some GREAT books that I think everyone should read. These books hit me hard in my guts and challenged my faith, marriage, ministry, spirituality and life! (These are in no particular order of greatness, just simply placed as I remembered them)

1. Wild at Heart- John Eldridge (mainly for men, but insightful for women as well)
2. Fathered by God- John Eldridge (mainly for men, but insightful for women as well)
3. Crazy Love- Francis Chan
4. Forgotten God- Francis Chan
5. Youth Ministry 3.0- Mark Oestreicher (HUGE challenge as to how I do ministry)
6. Middle School Ministry- Mark Oestreicher (a book EVERY MS youth pastor, leader, volunteer needs to read!)
7. Vintage Church- Mark Driscoll (Made me re-look at how I view the church)
8. The Radical Reformission- Mark Driscoll
9. Death By Love- Mark Driscoll (huge challenge to me on my views of the atonement as well as what Christ accomplished for me on the cross)
10. Religion Saves and Nine Other Misconceptions- Mark Driscoll
11. Apologetics for a New Generation- Sean McDowell
12. The Abolition of Man- C.S. Lewis
13. Lost and Found- Ed Stetzer
14. Leadership from the Inside Out- Kevin Harney
15. The Big Idea- Dave Ferguson
16. It- Craig Groeschel
17. The Prodigal God- Timothy Keller
18. The Reason for God- Timothy Keller
19. The Monkey and the Fish- Dave Gibbons
20. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years- Donald Miller (The most thought provoking book I read all year)
21. Your Jesus is Too Safe- Jared Wilson
22. Luke 1:1-9:50- Darrell Bock (The only commentary I’ve been able to read straight through…very good content!)

Well, that’s the best of my 2009 in reading! What’s been your favorite 2009 book?