Book Review: Who Stole My Church?

Have you ever asked yourself, or anyone else for that matter the question, who stole my church? Do you sometimes feel like Rip Van Winkle, having awaken after some twenty years of sleep, to a church much different than the church you first came to? From the style of the music to the volume which allows you to 'feel' the music, to the lights and videos, church has evolved into something which can lead some to ask the question, who stole my church?


"Who Stole My Church: what to do when the church you love tries to enter the twenty-first century" is a book which attempts to deal with the question the title of the book asks. The author, George MacDonald, wrote this book as a result of a conversation he held with a man who felt he'd become a stranger in the church he'd always thought of as his spiritual home.


George MacDonald takes a completely different approach in writing this book about church change. He weaves various issues, such as music, the volume of music, the younger generation stepping into control of the church, and even a church name change into a tale from the perspective of the ones sitting in the pews who will live with, support, and even hate the changes. Though the story is fictitious, the issues being dealt with are very real. George MacDonald places himself in the role of the pastor of a typical church and writes the story around fifty to sixty-year old characters who are representative of the average church attendee. The reader will quickly identify with one or more of these characters.


If you're looking for a book which answers the question of how to deal with church change, than you'll find yourself disappointed with this book. It's important that the reader not skip reading the author's preface. George MacDonald tells the reader upfront that the story leaves any number of issues dangling without resolution. His desire is to spark a dialog concerning the issue of church change among all generations of people who love the church.


The author deals intimately with the issue of church ownership. He puts the true owner of the Church into proper perspective. The Church belongs to God. It's from this perspective that the issues of church change are engaged. I enjoyed reading "Who Stole My Church". The book is well-written and reads easily. It's one of those books I found hard to set down once I began reading it. I feel the author is very successful in provoking the reader to examine his or her own position regarding church change. I highly recommend reading "Who Stole My Church" if you're looking for a different view of the issues which can so easily threaten the life of the church. God bless...

Book Review: Outlive Your Life

Fourteen words from the back cover of the book immediately caught my attention. I quote them, "These are devastating times: 1.75 billion people are desperately poor; one billion are hungry." The book is Outlive Your Life: you were made to make a difference, ISBN 978-0-8499-4668-4 (IE). The author is Max Lucado.


Outlive Your Life is a call to Christianity to write the conclusion of the book of Acts. Max Lucado weaves the call to Christ-like service into the actions and activities of the apostles and the first Christians. There were no needy people among them. They gave and shared what they possessed. Jesus was moved with compassion for those in need and responded with action. I quote for us from the closing chapter, "Salvation is the work of Christ. Compassion is the consequence of salvation." The message of the book can be summed up with this quote from chapter 7, See the Need; Touch the Hurt, "Works done in God's name long outlive our earthly lives."


The numbers given on the back cover of the book of the poor and hungry are overwhelming. Feeding the hungry and helping those in need is a passion of mine. It's seeing those who are suffering through the eyes of Jesus Christ. The author laces Outlive Your Life with Scripture. Christ came with a mission statement straight from Scripture (Isaiah 61:1-2).  Jesus read it and I quote from chapter 10 of Outlive Your Life, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed (Luke 4:18)." I come away from reading this book with the thought that if Jesus did it, shouldn't we?


Max Lucado has a style of writing which I describe as "seamless". The words flow from one sentence to the next, from one chapter to the next. The message of the book is given in a clear, easy to read and easy to understand manner. The call to Christian action the author puts forward in this book is highly appropriate for our current time. Oil prices are rising increasing the cost to produce food. It's inevitable, food prices will also rise. The body of Christ is positioned perfectly to put it's faith into action. I highly recommend this book to any who have a desire, an unction to do something for Christ. However, in the words of James, "be doers of the word, and not hearers only (James 1:22)."


I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Christmas, A New Genesis

photo from stockxchng/ven-

Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Christ. It's also a time to consider why he came. Scripture tells us Christ came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). The baby born into this world, whose birth we celebrate, came to be the Savior of mankind.

The First Genesis
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (GE 1:1 KJV)." Scripture tells us God saw each phase of his creation as being good. God created Adam and placed him in a perfect garden, Eden.

Adam's disobedience in the matter of the forbidden fruit plunged all humanity into a world of sin resulting in both physical death and spiritual death. God instituted a plan of sacrifice for humanity to follow to push redemption from sin forward until the time of the ultimate sacrifice of the coming Messiah.

Hebrews 10:4 tells us it's not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. Something more was required. God never intended to leave humanity without the hope of redemption and restoration. God had a plan from the beginning. The sacrifice of a Lamb was already in his mind when he spoke this world into existence. However a new genesis was required.

A New Genesis
"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise (Matthew 1:18 KJV)." My Pastor presented this verse in a recent Bible study. His focus was on the word birth. The original Greek used for this word is gennesis (Strong's 1083). The birth of Jesus Christ was a new genesis for this world.
 
Jesus came into this world as a baby. He experienced all the troubles and trials of human life. His life ended as a man cursed to die on a tree. Thank God he didn't stay dead, he arose! His resurrection put into motion the process of a brand-new creation. God made that same Jesus, who was crucified, both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36).

We can become a part of God's new genesis through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul put it like this, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV)."

As we celebrate the "reason for the season", let's remember the reason was he came to seek and save the lost. He came to bring a new genesis for humanity. May all be blessed and have a safe and joyful Christmas.