Life2gether

Randy Newman on his new book, Bringing the Gospel Home:

Whenever I have spoken about evangelism, the number one question I get asked is, “How do I witness to my family.” Often the question is posed with tears and anguish. So I decided to tackle this emotionally charged topic by focussing on the goodness of the gospel, the high priority of family, and the complexity of communication. My goal in writing this book is to offer people hope by pointing them to scripture and telling a variety of stories of others who have witnessed to family.

This book comes out in April 2011 - pre-order a copy.

I admit, the title of my post is a little over-the-top. But each of these books would be beneficial reading whether you’re a beginning or experienced parent.

1. How Children Raise Their Parents by Dan Allender – I enjoy Allender’s honest style of writing.  He shows us how God grows us parents to spiritual maturity as we learn to listen to our kids.

2. Gospel-Powered Parenting by William Farley – The author claims that the most effective parents have a clear grasp of the cross and its implications for daily life. Our only hope is Jesus.

3. Grace-Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel – Favorite quote: I’m urging you to raise your children the way God raises His. The primary word that defines how God deals with His children is grace.

4. Gospel-Centered Family by Ed Moll and Tim Chester – I love how this book is laid out in simple, concise chapters with questions for reflection, making it ideal for small group application.

5. The Space Between by Dr. Walt Mueller – A very readable book on the changes that happen during adolescence and how to better understand your child (and you) through these years.

6. Parenting Today’s Adolescent by Dennis and Barbara Rainey – This is a comprehensive guide for parents that explores the many traps of adolescence (like peer pressure and dating) and gives you creative ways you can talk about them with your child.

7. Romancing Your Child’s Heart by Monte Swan – A refreshing reminder that parenting is less about training and technique and more about cultivating a real relationship with your children.

8. Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas – The author writes, “What if one of God’s primary intentions for you as a parent isn’t about successfully raising perfect children, but about your becoming more holy?” Great question!

9. Shepherding A Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp – Tripp’s aim in writing this book is to point parents to the biblical truth that all of what a child does flows from the heart so we must shepherd their hearts if we expect lasting change.

10. Age of Opportunity by Paul Tripp – I always appreciate Tripp’s focus on how God parents us as we parent our kids. This is an excellent book on seizing the opportunity God has given us during these tough teenage years.

During these weeks of Lent, I’m reading through Nancy Guthrie’s book, Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter.  Here are some of her opening words:

Too many years I’ve found that I have rushed from Palm Sunday into Easter morning, from palm branches to the empty tomb, without giving my mind and my heart over to thoughtful contemplation of the cross. If you can relate to my lament, then I hope you will join me as we turn our gaze toward the cross through the pages of this book.

You can read online for free Guthrie’s preface, as well as Martin Luther’s “True Contemplation of the Cross” and John Piper’s “He Set His Face to Go to Jerusalem.”

Here are the other chapters.

The Bible is not a boring book. It pulls us in and captures our imagination as we see ourselves in God’s big story of creation and redemption. But we live in a culture that is ever-changing. And though we must never change the timeless message of the Bible, our methods should always be open to change as we adapt to the culture we live in.

Recently I received a free copy of Genesis and Exodus from the folks at The Almighty Bible. These guys are on the cutting edge of communicating God’s story in fresh, new ways. There’s even an Almighty Bible app for your iphone or ipad!

As I made my way through these books, I was highly impressed with the quality of the illustrations. Each page will appeal to young people (especially 10-13) as they see familiar characters of the Old Testament come to life in a vivid way. Ours is a visual culture, and for those who are new to the Christian faith or struggle to read on their own, these books can serve as a bridge to understanding the Bible’s beginning message.

As a family pastor and father of three, I recommend The Almighty Bible with some reservations. First, the authors have chosen to summarize the actual text of the Bible in order to make it more concise for their readers. For example, at the end of the story of Joseph, they sum up Genesis 50:20 with these words, “God meant it for good to save many people.” In doing so, they omitted the first half of that verse that reads, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good …” Joseph’s brothers meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. That’s an important contrast for young people to see–namely, God’s sovereignty reigns over human sin.

Closely related to this, I think there’s a tendency in our media rich culture to move away from the written Word of God. As I read through these books, I felt as though the pictures were primary and the text was secondary. Don’t get me wrong. I love the use of visual art and creativity, but if this becomes the steady diet of a new generation, will our kids be interested in reading and understanding the actual text?

Finally, while in one sense these books capture our imagination, in another sense they limit it. Think about it. When C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia were made into movies they instantly brought the story to life and at the same time stopped our imagination. Why? Because one man interpreted Lewis’ books for us and left us with these images every time we think of these stories.

In conclusion, The Almighty Bible is breaking new ground with other graphic novels like The Gadarene by John Piper. These novels can serve as a fresh, new way of communicating the stories of Scripture, but we must be careful not to lose the message with the medium.

• Check out The Almighty Bible for yourself
• Read Sam Luce’s review of the books here
• Take a look at John Piper’s graphic novel called, The Gadarene

Timothy Witmer from his book, Shepherd Leader:

What better way to multiply the personal ministry of the word than by equipping dads to pray and read the Scriptures with their families.  Note that Baxter suggests that we “give them an example.”  How many of our families would be well fed if we merely gave some simple suggestions to their shepherds?

“Get masters of families to do their duty, and they will not only spare you a great deal of labour, but will much further the success of your labours.  If a captain can get the officers under him to do their duty, he may rule the soldiers with much less trouble, than if all lay upon his own shoulders.  You are not like to see any general reformation, till you procure family reformation” (RichardBaxter, Reformed Pastor (1656; repr., Carslisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1997), 102).

In doing this you are not only multiplying the ministry of the Word among your people but helping fathers fulfill their God-given responsibilities.  Undoubtedly, many elders will have to repent of their neglecting this duty themselves in order to proceed with a clear conscience.  This is progress, too, and a great place to start!

(HT: Jared Kennedy)

A Praying Life by Paul Miller is without question the best book I’ve ever read on prayer.  It affected me deeply.  Recently, Desiring God interviewed Miller asking him about the impact his father made on his life in regards to prayer.  Among other things he said,

“[It] was his emphasis on the gospel as something that Christians need to believe, that our weakness is the door to grace. I simply took that insight and applied that to my prayer life.”

Isn’t that sweet?  In essence he’s saying that prayer is simply the point where our weakness meets God’s grace … like a little child calling out to his strong daddy for help.

Let that in today … come weak … and pray.

These are my top books of the year in no particular order.  I’m learning to spend more of my time reading in the areas of my strengths and specific calling.  From this list you can see that I long to know the gospel and how it intersects with discipleship and community within the church and family.

1. Almost Christian by Kenda Creasy Dean

Dean argues from extensive research that the watered-down faith of our teenagers is a good barometer of the condition of our larger society; therefore the church must join hands with parents and model a sincere walk with Christ and provide a significant faith community where young people can grow and live out the mission of God.  This is an eye-opening read for all who work with students and families.

2. Cry of the Soul by Dan Allender and Tremper Longman

This year has been a personal journey for me into the deeper areas of my heart.  Allender and Longman helped me to see how my emotions reveal my deepest questions about God and yearnings for God.  I was challenged to listen more closely to the cries of my heart (and the hearts of others) as a means of knowing the Lord more fully.

3. Perspectives on Family Ministry edited by Timothy Paul Jones

This book was written by three different authors who share varying perspectives on their philosophy of family ministry which they have implemented into their churches.  It is an invaluable resource for those seeking to restructure their church around family discipleship where parents are called to be the primary faith trainers of their children.

4. Shift by Brian Haynes

For many years I’ve been searching for an effective strategy to intentionally partner with parents in our church.  I really like Haynes’ model of what he calls, “legacy milestones.”  He gives clarity and intentionality to the overall process of equipping and encouraging parents in a real tangible way.

5. Sticky Teams by Larry Osbourne

This is a must-read for all leaders.  Every leader must know how to lead and unify a team of people. And if the primary leadership teams in a church are not healthy, the church itself won’t be either.  I love this quote: “It finally dawned on me that we were never going to change the world out there if we couldn’t solve the conflicts in here.”

6. What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert

This is a great gospel primer for the beginning Christian as well as a refreshing reminder for the more mature.  I appreciated Gilbert’s simple structure/outline of the gospel: God the Creator, Man the Sinner, Jesus the Savior, Response-Faith and Repentance.

7. When Church Was a Family by Joseph Hellerman

This book challenged me in many ways.  It reminded me that my family is more than just me, my wife and the kids.  In fact, when we’re born again we’re born into a new family.  We join the church family and labor with her to include our biological family through mission.  When we see the church as our primary family it changes our priorities and how we relate with one another.

Whenever Tim Chester writes a book, I want to read it. Why?  He makes the deep truths of the gospel understandable and livable by the grace of God.  His newest book, From Creation to New Creation, looks to be another helpful resource as it explores the big story of God’s plan through Jesus Christ.  Specifically, it traces the different elements of God’s promise:

• A people: God’s promise to save a people who will be His people
• A land: God’s promise to provide a place of blessing
• A king: God’s promise to re-establish his rule of freedom and peace
• The nations: God’s promise to bring his salvation to all the peoples of the world

You can purchase it here @ thegoodbook.com.

A few years ago I came across Lamplighter Publishing.  Lamplighter publishes rare old books that communicate character education themes.  Over the years, I have purchased quite a few books from Lamplighter for my family.  One of my favorites is Hedge of Thorns by John Carroll.  These books make great Christmas gifts!

Also, check out my list of Recommended Christmas Books for Children I posted a couple years ago.  Since then, I would add the following to the list:

This is No Fairy Tale by Dale Tolmasoff (foreword by John Piper)

Dale alternates between what the fairy tale version of the Jesus story would be and the biblical version.  Here’s one helpful review of the book.

The Ballad of Matthew’s Begats by Andrew Peterson

I don’t have this one yet, but I’ve heard the song and I love Andrew Peterson’s work.