Monthly Archives: July 2015

I often struggle with my self-worth. The evidence of this struggle is my inability to say NO to opportunities that do not necessarily promote the ultimate purpose of my life; my constant struggle with trying to earn God’s favor; and my (almost daily) battle with anxiety and depression. This morning as I was reading God’s Word Psalm 71:1 forced me to pause and wonder why I keep living a narrow lens life. The Psalmist states, “In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed” (NASB).

Since my identity is bound up ‘in Christ’ my life is not just ‘my’ life. Rather, there is a broader and wider view I need to examine. First, there is God’s ultimate purpose for the Creation – as seen in Genesis 1-2 and as seen in 2 Corinthians 5:16. I am a living specimen of God’s ultimate purpose of calling people to Himself from chaos and uncontrollable sin.

I am also part of a larger movement of God’s purpose in my world – as a citizen of the Kingdom of God living in the US, residing in Oregon, serving the Lord as a husband, parent, son, and family member, in Douglas County with the people of Winston Community Baptist Church. My life is part of a larger picture – one that God is directing and moving towards a purpose far greater than I can ‘see’ from my limited vantage point.

As I read God’s Word I am reminded that there is a purpose far beyond my circumstances, far beyond my immediate challenges. Lord, continue to open my eyes to the wide-angle view of life that is so clearly revealed in Your Word!

Some dear friends of mine received news of a terrible tragedy yesterday. Their Facebook pages have filled with people sharing words of comfort and encouragement – even though there are no words that can convey how deeply the family hurts or how much those of us who know the family care.

However, there are words that convey comfort even in the hardest of times and darkest of days – the Word of God. As I was reading my Bible this morning and praying for the needs of the day I was struck by just how powerful God’s Word’s is. By a word He commanded all that is into existence, and by The Word (Jesus Christ) life continues to exist.

Some events literally leave us speechless – such as the tragedy which struck my friends yesterday. So when there are no words, turn to The Word of God!

It’s been a very busy few weeks but I have a couple of book reviews to share:

Worlds Apart: Poverty and Politics in Rural America, Second Edition

Cynthia M. Duncan

New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999,2014

304pp.

After conducting interviews in three disparate communities in America two different times – 1999 and again in 2012-2013 Duncan simply says, “We can do better.” Her interviews of people in these communities struggling with poverty are enlightening and revealing. People living in poverty express longings and desires for change but seem frustrated by inefficient and broken systems. People who are not in poverty express frustrations at trying to change systems that are needlessly oppressive and regressive.

What emerges from Duncan’s studies, conducted fifteen years apart, are several important observations. First, fighting poverty can only occur locally. The federal government has a role to play but the changes necessary must be community based and community driven. There are no one size fits all strategies. The three communities highlighted in her interviews and observations are radically different in culture but united by the same types of desires and dreams.

Second, the differences between Blackwell, Dahlia and Gray Mountain illustrate how far social capital and a culture of trust can create structurally different environments. Gray Mountain presented a different kind of community than its nearest neighbor in the study, Blackwell. The difference was not in the dreams and desires of poor and those not so poor but in the history of groups willing to work together to create a genuine sense of community.

Third, a critical issue in creating a more even starting place for our children – whether in poverty or not – is early intervention. Oregon is taking huge steps to coordinating early learning initiatives to created a more even starting place. Results will take years to evaluate, but a start is being made.

The book offers a fascinating overhearing of a variety of people with widely divergent backgrounds illuminating the struggles and challenges of making a living and creating a culture of livability. Rural Oregon communities like mine, Winston, would do well to carefully read and re-read the interviews and the conclusions as people seek to do better!

Bringing Heaven to Earth: You Don’t Have to Wait for Eternity to Live the Good News

Josh Ross & Nathan Storment

Colorado Springs: WaterBrook Press, 2015

215pp.

The past decade or so has seen an upsurge of interest in the Gospel. Numerous books have been published and perhaps hundreds of definitions have been offered. Each book and each definition tends to reveal the particular theological bent and the cultural location of the author(s). This book is no different. While the authors do not specifically identify themselves as progressive Christians rather than evangelicals the book tends towards a more progressive understanding of the gospel. The authors write often of God’s intention to restore and recreate the world and the role that Christians can have in working with God. There is little mention of judgment in these pages. The picture the Bible offers, however, does include judgment before restoration and/or re-creation.

The authors primary thesis is that Christians have been called to bring the Kingdom of God to fruition in this world is biblically accurate. Ross and Storment give much more credit to human abilities and creativity than I believe is warranted. Little is discussed in this book about the Fall and its debilitating effect on the world even though they do acknowledge that the gospel is “the story of God’;s work in restoring a broken world and broken people” (58). Notice the order of the story- God’s world seems to take precedence over the people for whom God created the world.

I did find the authors use of illustrations very helpful and from time to time I found myself agreeing with their conclusions about the necessity of engaging with the world – as broken as it is. Perhaps other believers will read the book and choose to become engaged with the world in which we live in positive ways. Withdrawal from the world is certainly not an option and Ross and Storment are to be applauded for their own efforts and the efforts of their congregations to make the Kingdom of God real and visible in a broken and hurting world.