"There is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body" (Ecclesiastes 12:12b, CSB).
Books, books...more books! I have too many. I don't read enough. And yet, God continues to place things before me to read, and sometimes to pass on to others around me. Here are a couple that you may have heard me mention or talk about that I think are worth your while.
BEING Challenge (Zach Zehnder)
Pastor Zach is back! At the beginning of 2019, we took a journey as a congregation through the Red Letter Challenge. In that corporate study of the words of Jesus and putting them into practice for 40 days, I saw so many seeds of growth that are continuing to bear fruit to this day. It's time to dig in again and grow as a congregation. If there's one book on this list that I would most highly recommend for us as a group of Jesus-followers seeking to walk together, this is it.
One of the hardest things to do is to simply BE. If we're using biblical language, then we have no farther to look than John 15 and Jesus' admonition to "abide" in Him as He abides in the Father, so that like a vine, we bear much fruit. God continues to call me to learn from Him what my identity is supposed to BE. This world does a pretty good job of distorting the image of God that He has placed on you and me, and it's easy for us to believe the enemy's lies about who we should BE. This is a chance to rediscover what it means to truly BE a very much-loved child of God and what it means to live that identity out every day. DOing always flows out of BEing, not the other way around, when it comes to our relationship with God. That's grace!
Future Church (Will Mancini and Cory Hartman)
For the past 7 years or so, I've been intentionally learning what it means to follow Jesus by being a disciple who makes disciples, just like He did and as He commanded. It's been a long journey, and in many ways I feel like I'm just getting my feet under me. At the same time, I have known the joy of seeing people who love Jesus and seek to follow Him come alive in new and significant ways as we gather around His Word and Gifts, as we discern together what He's trying to tell us, and as we earnestly walk in the direction He points us. It's deep, faithful growth, and the fruit is so patently good. It's something I want for all God's people.
In this journey, I have noticed that what the church does, how it structures and orients itself, what it values, and how it functions doesn't always align with this disciple-making goal. I have often been at a loss to describe that issue well, especially without unnecessarily raising the hackles of those who might misunderstand for one reason or another. The goal of church is not, as Will Mancini and Cory Hartman point out in this book, a more dynamic pastor or flashy programs that draw crowds or functional, aesthetically pleasing buildings or a close group of friends who get together once a week. Don't get me wrong. All of those things are important (as Mancini is quick to point out...and I agree!). But shouldn't those things all point to a deeper life for God's people? Quoting Alan Hirsch and Tim Katchim, the book reminds us, "It is not so much that the church of God has a mission as the mission of God has a church." If we're going to engage in the mission of God in a meaningful and world-changing way, we're probably going to need to have our hearts and patterns trained in a new way that more closely mimics the ways of Jesus. This is the essence of discipleship.
The question for me has always been how to bring the organized church into conversation with the process of discipleship when they often seem incompatible. I'm not even close to having all the answers, but this book has certainly provided me with a wealth of healthy perspectives, practical wisdom, and a winsome but faithful expression of many concepts I often fail to communicate well. There is a tension between the organized and the organic, but faithful growth and biblical fruit are found between the two. Future Church gets the conversation started. Its purpose is to touch off a variety of "a-ha" moments for us to address and wrestle with. It bravely speaks the truth then provides a healthy framework for a way forward. Please give it a read and join me in the conversation.
Saturate (Jeff Vanderstelt)
Being on the mission of God every day seems like a lot of work, right? If you don't have time or energy to put one more item into an already-busy life, where does this fit? This book encourages us to see each day as an opportunity to be saturated with God's grace, presence, and power, and to saturate those around us with His goodness wherever we go. I've often used the term "Jesus-in-the-room" people to describe what this looks like. In any room into which you step, you get to be Jesus to other people. So Jesus is present in and through you. Jesus is always in the room, and you get to be His representative wherever you go. As we each do our small part in growing the Kingdom, God uses us collectively to saturate the world with His grace and goodness. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross is never more alive than when we love people around us, and His resurrection hope is never more alive than when we bring good news to those who live in difficult situations. The guys who attend Men of the Word with me every other Monday night are going to be talking about this, but I'd heartily recommend this to both men and women who want to follow Jesus in everyday life.
I am confident that God is on the move in our midst, in this season and always. The truth in His Book, the Bible, and all other books that point back to it, amplify it, and deliver it in new and life-giving ways will always remain. I hope that you pick one (or more!) of these up, ruminate on it, wrestle with it, and let it exhaust you in all the right ways. So here's to good reading, and good following, because wherever Jesus goes and His people follow...
Adventure is out there!
Pastor Aaron