Books

Howdy, folks!

I’m getting settled into the apartment. (If you want to read more about that, check out my Xanga site.) I’ve had a lot of time to read lately, and I’ve finished off a book or two. I’ve read Safely Home, by Randy Alcorn, and Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller.

Safely Home reminded me of just how easy we have it in America (and even here in Germany) as Christians. It made me wonder if a little persecution (not that I’m asking for it!) wouldn’t make us a little more passionate about our faith. We have copies (I’ve got a couple with me here) of the Word, and we treat it like just another book on the shelf. We don’t cherish it like the treasure that it truly is.

Now, I’ve edited the rest of this post. One of my dear friends took the time to write me an email about what she read in this post, and I’ve just replaced my post with her email, as it includes the rest of my post. (I’ve put her comments in bold.) I did not want to leave my post up in its condition. I really dislike the idea of perpetuating something that is false! Please read and think about what she has written.

Hi Janine,

Thanks for writing back! I've read some from your sites, so I know more about your world. Whatever did we do before the I-net?

I'm going to copy in part of your blog, so's to comment on your thoughts.

YOU: Reading Blue Like Jazz felt like I was reading the journal of someone of (almost) my own age who has grown up in the same time as me, and who is a Christian, and has come to some of the same conclusions as me, or has searched out the answers to some of the questions I have been asking. (please forgive that run-on sentence) He has had some of the same struggles I have had. I can relate to his writing. He is real.

One of the recurring themes is caring more about yourself than other people. Is this what the post-modern culture has done to us? Even though some of my actions may give the impression that I care about others, I continually catch myself caring more about myself. My prayers can be so selfish. “You ask and do not receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” Jas 4:3 I want my motives to be right.

As a side note from this literary excursion, I found myself in the first few days after I arrived here feeling sort of listless, and wondering what even to pray about. I think that in all the busy-ness of getting ready to leave, I lost sight of the fact that I’m here to do God’s will, to reach the lost. And I suppose this is not so much of a side note, because one of my favorite quotes from the book about one of Miller’s friends is, “He didn’t really see evangelism, or whatever you want to call it, as a target on a wall in which the goal is to get people to agree with us about the meaning of life. He saw evangelism as reaching a felt need.” (p. 114 emp. mine)

ME: Well, dearest, it seems to me you're stepping onto the slippery footing Mr. Miller offers. You see, the problem with BLJ is that it pulls so strongly away from the foundation of Christianity, which is the revealed nature and plan of God in Scripture. That's what "meaning of life" means.

"Reaching a felt need" starts with the questioner, not the answerer, and moves the responsibility for (and the substance of) the exchange to the wrong person. Evangelism is not "reaching the lost." It's preaching the gospel. It has to be. The lost then get to respond or not. Of course, part of our preaching is the demonstration of God's compassionate nature. But compassion without a true and healing answer is meaningless.

It's much like tossing a rope to a drowning person. You can't make them grab on. Your responsibility is to toss the rope (go where they are and share what you know to be true), and then to make very sure your own footing is solid enough that the rope will be of use in their rescue. You mention a concern with selfishness. Many of our needs are real and must be met before we can offer something to others. The problem with self-seeking isn't that it exists, it's that we seek what we need from something or someone other than God.

YOU: I think that what so many (lost) people need is not another religious person telling them that they are going to hell, and they need to repent, but they need love. “I loved the fact that it wasn’t my responsibility to change somebody, that it was God’s, that my part was just to communicate love and approval.” (p. 221) I (regretfully) found myself identifying with Miller’s sentiment about using love like a commodity – like withholding it will get someone to change. When Jesus talks about being the vine, and us as His followers being the branches, He says (in John 15:10) “’If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Fathers commandments, and abide in His love.’” And just two verses later (v. 12) He says, “’This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.’” And as Miller quotes one of his friends, “’…to be in a relationship with God is to be loved purely and furiously.’” (p 146) It is my prayer that I would be able to communicate that kind of love to the people around me. I know that I have failed so many times in this mission, but praise God for His grace and mercy, He still lets me try, again and again.

ME: It's interesting that Jesus had no problem telling people they were going to hell unless they repented. He also spent zero time telling folks He approved of them. For example, we are told that Jesus loved the rich young ruler (Matt. 19:21). However, He didn't accept him without the condition that this young man give up everything he owned. When the ruler was unwilling to meet that condition, Jesus sadly but deliberately let him go on his way (Luke 18:24).

It's true that we aren't responsible to change anyone. But that's a LOT different than communicating to them they don't need to be changed. God's love never leaves us as we are, and we shouldn't extend any other kind of love to others, especially in His name.

YOU: On a slightly different note, one of my favorite lines from the book is about (I believe) Joshua Harris. I found it so funny because it seemed like when I Kissed Dating Goodbye came out, so many of the guys in the college group (specifically the He-Man Woman Haters Club!) absolutely loved the book, and as a result ended up not dating/courting or anything! Anyway, I’m going to include the whole paragraph in which the line is found, italicizing my favorite line.

“When I first moved to Oregon I was befriended by this vibrant kid who read a lot of the Bible. Josh was good-looking and obsessed with dating, philosophies of dating, social rituals, and that sort of thing. He was home schooled and raised to believe traditional dating was a bad idea. I traveled with him around the country and introduced him at seminars he would conduct on the pitfalls of dating. He wrote a book about it, and it hit the bestseller list. No kidding. A couple years later he moved to Baltimore and got married. I called him after the wedding and asked him how he got to know his wife without dating. He said they courted, which I understood to mean he had become Amish. But he explained courting is a lot like dating without the head games. He and his wife are also very happy.” (pp 139-140)

ME: You're right, it was Josh Harris he was talking about. His comments here are one of the reasons I believe Don Miller has had no real contact with God. To travel at length with Josh and still not see (and desire) the source of his "vibrancy" and happiness spoke to me of Don's spiritual deadness.

I'm not trying to be hard on you, Janine, or even on DM, but these are exactly the kinds of confusions that has made the modern church so impotent. The lost world so desperately needs the full-strength combination of TRUTH and LOVE. Have you ever mixed epoxy glue? It takes equal portions of both to have any effect. Most hellfire preachers lack love, most "felt-need reachers" lack truth. Somehow, my dear, you've got to find and cling to both...and, of course, they're both very available through the scripture and God's Spirit.

Love and prayers,

Diane