Book Review

I have agreed to occassionally review a book for Thomas Nelson publishing. Here's my latest review on the book; Finding Purpose Beyond Your Pain by Paul Meier and David Henderson, both Christian psychiatrists.

When I sent off for the book, Finding Purpose Beyond Our Pain, I was looking forward to reading it. I’ve known about one of the authors (Paul Meier) for years and have enjoyed hearing him on a radio show. He gave very practical advice. As a pastor I have had the opportunity to counsel many people through painful episodes in their lives and I was looking forward to the insights that two Christian psychiatrists would bring to the issue. But the book was a bit of a disappointment to me. They underplayed their psychiatric knowledge and overplayed on their biblical knowledge so what the book ends up being is good common sense wisdom that might come from most seasoned Christians. It’s not a bad book. I’m sure that it will be helpful to many. But it’s not the in-depth look at the issue of pain that I was looking for. As a result, I felt like it slipped into Christian cliché at times, giving the standard answers that I’ve heard all my Christian life. Again, that’s not necessarily bad…I was just hoping for a fresh perspective from two doctors.

The book is broken into seven parts, each focusing on a different pain with four chapters per issue. The seven pains discussed are; injustice, rejection, loneliness, loss, discipline, failure and death.

Dr. Meier occasionally broke into story telling about his life which I found very engaging. I wished he had spent more time drawing on his personal life experiences rather than both doctors spinning a variety of anecdotes in each chapter.

If you are a relatively new believer this book might be just what you are looking for. But for more mature believers I think it will leave you wanting more.

Podcasts on Marriage and Faith

I download sermon podcasts all the time to hear from some of the better preachers in the country. Andy Stanley and John Ortberg usually serve up some pretty good stuff...practical, biblical, clear.

This past week they both had series posted that I think you'll find helpful:

• iMarriage- a three part series on marriage by Andy Stanley.
• Can Smart People Believe in God? - a three part series by John Ortberg. The second session was John interviewing theologian Dallas Willard with some tough questions about faith. The link takes you to a video but you can also download mp3's. If you go to itunes and search for Menlo Park Presbyterian Church you can get all the services that Dallas spoke at. He answered different questions in each service. Good stuff for people that struggle with questions regarding faith, God, the Bible, etc.

Both of these series can be accessed through iTunes as well. Enjoy.

How to Make Resolutions that Stick

I'm not preaching this week. It's amazing what I have time for when I don't have to prepare a sermon...like blogging. I would like to do it more.

I get blog updates from Michael Hyatt, president of Thomas Nelson books. Today he sent out a helpful post on how to make your New Year resolutions actually happen. I thought you might appreciate his advice...

In order to make your resolutions stick, you need to employ four strategies:

1. Keep them few in number. Productivity studies show that you really can’t focus on more than 5-7 items at any one time. And don’t try to cheat by including sections with several resolutions under each section. This is a recipe for losing focus and accomplishing very little. Instead, focus on a handful of resolutions that you can almost repeat from memory. Mine fit on one 4″ x 6″ card.
2. Make them “smart.” Resolutions are really just annual goals. But like all goals, they should be s-m-a-r-t:
   • Specific—your goals just identify exactly what you want to accomplish in as much specificity as you can muster.
   • Measurable—as the old adage says, “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.”
   • Actionable—every resolution should start with a verb (e.g., “quit,” “run,” “finish,” “eliminate,” etc.)
   • Realistic—you have to be careful here. A good resolution should stretch you, but you have to add a dose of common sense.
   • Time-bound—every resolution needs a date associated with it. When do you plan to deliver on that resolution. It could be by year-end (December 31) or it could be more near-term (March 31).
3. Write them down. This is critical. There is a huge power in writing your resolutions on paper even if you never develop an action plan or do anything else. Henriette Anne Klauser documents this in her fascinating book, Write It Down and Make It Happen [affiliate link].
4. Go public. Tell your family and friends what you are committed to achieving. Better yet, post your resolutions on your blog like my son-in-law did. Going public creates accountability and leverage. Several years ago, I blogged about my goal to run a half marathon. Once I did that, there was no turning back. People would ask, “So how’s your training going?” I wanted to have a good answer, so I would haul myself out of bed and go run.

To illustrate, I have five resolutions for this year:

• Read through the entire Bible by December 31, 2010.
• Finish the second draft of my new book by March 31, 2010.
• Mentor eight men, once a month, beginning on January 12, 2010.
• Write 208 blog posts (four per week) by December 31, 2010.
• Run the Country Music Half Marathon on April 24, 2010.

You can read the full post here.

Michael's blogsite home is here.

Recent Cedarbrook Photos

Here are a few recent pics. Three from the World Hunger fundraiser at Pizza Hut and one of our flooded auditorium! For more photos go to our Facebook page.

New Tagline: Connect, Grow, Serve

I asked for input a few weeks back about a new tagline. I got some good input. People offered a number of creative ideas. One I liked the best was, Cedarbrook Church...know God, no guilt. I think that reflects well the spirit of who we are which is the purpose of a tagline.

After thinking about many options we settled on something more functional...Cedarbrook Church...connect, grow, serve. We had already decided that we would use these three words in brochures and on the website to help show movement within the church. We want people to understand that Cedarbrook is not about a Sunday meeting. People who want to engage at Cedarbrook should move beyond Sunday to connect with other people, grow deeper spiritually and start to serve others.

• Connect: initially through Cedarbrook 101
• Grow: primarily by joining a small group
• Serve: in church ministries, Lend-a-Hand outreach and missions
  

Since we had already agreed to use these three words to show movement we decided it was best to simply use these words as our tagline...reinforcing the idea of movement rather than introducing a new idea altogether. We want to keep the messages simple and memorable so people know what step to take next to grow in God.

Thanks to those of you who shot me your ideas! It all went into the mix of decision making.

Book Review: Fearless

Fearless, by Max Lucado, is a word spoken in season. As he closes his book, Lucado notes that a British researcher counted the use of the term “at risk” in British newspapers. In 1994 the term was used 2037 times. By the year 2000 the term was used 18,000. Had the world really become nine times riskier in just six years? Sometimes it feels that way.

Lucado takes on the variety of fears that we all experience (the fear of being insignificant, the fear of running out, the fear of disappointing God, the fear of not protecting my kids, etc.) relying on well known New Testament stories to give us perspective. But the chapter that struck me the most was the very first as he sharply defined the nature of fear…

Fear creates a form of spiritual amnesia. It dulls our miracle memory. It makes us forget what Jesus has done and how good God is. The fear-filled cannot love deeply. Love is risky. They cannot give to the poor. Benevolence has no guarantee of return. The fear-filled cannot dream wildly. What if their dreams sputter and fall from the sky? The worship of safety emasculates greatness. No wonder Jesus wages such a war against fear. Page 10.

Lucado’s book moves swiftly, an easy read. But don’t let that fool you. His words are rooted in truth and will encourage you to face what ever is currently staring you in the face. It’s well worth your time to equip yourself for the threats that face us every day.

Sermon Input Welcome

I'm starting a new series soon (this Sunday or next, depending on whether or not Brian Hartz can speak on Sunday).

I'm thinking it would be nice to get your input. I'll let you know what I'm looking for and you can provide me with a story, a thought, a video, a song or whatever. I'll take appropriate jokes too!

Now... the upside on this is that my sermons should be more interesting. I think we'd all like that!

The downside is that I can't possibly include everything that everyone suggests. So...my fear is that I'll hurt feelings. So, here's the deal - if you offer an idea, etc. you have to offer it with no expectations of it being used. Sorry! But...the truth is I factor in everything I hear...so even though I may not use what you gave me...I WILL consider it and it will impact my thinking...keep me balanced and all that.

With that said, my next series is on the letter of 2 Peter (Something's Missing...a final word from Peter). I'll be laying out the background to the letter which involves Peter's anger at how false teachers have led the church astray and into immorality. I'd be interested in hearing some stories about how that may have happened in your church history...where a leader misled you or your church and immorality resulted.

Thanks!