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Book Review: A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God

I recently completed Larry Osborne's book, A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God. I first heard about Osborne about a year ago. He pastors North Coast Church in Southern California. I like the way he thinks and I would highly recommend this new book.

For years, I've often wondered how Christians grew spiritually without access to a Bible, study course, Sunday School class, or small group. We place so much emphasis on reading. In fact, to the Christian in the Western hemisphere, spiritual growth is not possible without books. But the Gutenberg press wasn't invented until the 1500's. Only in the past couple of centuries have Bibles and Christian books been available. How did Christ-followers grow in their faith without their own personal copy of the Bible? How did they survive without Christian publishers?

Osborne talks about this briefly to make the case that the Church has designed conventional paths to spiritual growth for certain types of people, i.e., people who like to read and study. Now, you have to understand that this is descriptive of me. I love books. I have three stacks of books that I'm wading through now! So this is not an indictment on readers. Instead, it is a concern that we have made the path to spiritual growth too narrow.

Like new cars on the showroom floor, we've developed two types of Christians: the basic model including only the necessities and the super-deluxe package with all the extras. The basic model Christian attends Sunday services and might sit in on a Bible study once a week but he doesn't read all of the latest books on the Christian best seller list or study the Bible with a highlighter in his hand. In addition, the basic model Christian doesn't show up for Sunday or weeknight classes or services, serve on any important committees, or otherwise take full advantage of all of the "features" that the Church offers. The super-deluxe Christian, of course, does all of these things.

Is this right? Does the basic model Christian suffer from a lack of commitment or have we created a faulty paradigm of what makes for a "committed" Christian? We too often debate over sound doctrine and nitpick over what a Christian should or should not do (legalism). But Jesus spoke of the kingdom of heaven belonging to those who are like little children (Matthew 18). Jesus is pleased by a simple childlike faith. Why isn't that good enough for the rest of us?

A contrarian is a person who asks, "Is this really true?" Larry Osborne is brave enough to ask questions about many things that we assume are true, Biblical, and right. But you'll find that we (the Church) have made up some things that aren't necessarily accurate according to the Bible. It's an interesting and eye-opening book. In case you're skeptical of this contrarian, Osborne is a solid Bible teacher who uses the Bible as the foundation to question some of our methods and models that the Church has created.

Some quotes from the book:

"God doesn't just put up with our differences, he savors them - and adapts to them."

"No two relationships with God will ever be exactly alike."

"Lets be real. We may know in our head that each Christian has a unique assignment from God. But when the assignments produce radically different lifestyles and approaches to spirituality, we have a difficult time validating both."

"The most important thing in pleasing God is not a particular approach to spirituality or style of ministry; it's the fruit that matters, the end results produced by our life and ministry."

"God often liked to hang with and bless the very people I'd been told he'd want nothing to do with."

"Gold package Christianity doesn't draw people to God; it scares them away."

"The only sure and reliable sign that I'm on good terms with God is my obedience to his commands and laws. This alone proves that I know him and love him."

The wrong question to ask yourself, "How are things going?" The right question, "Am I doing the right things?"

"The formula for maximized potential is strangely similar to the recipe for a nervous breakdown or a broken home."

"Jesus didn't say, 'If you love me, you'll fulfill your potential.' He said, 'If you love me, you will obey what I command.'"

"While potential seeks greatness in being all I can be, serving others seeks greatness in helping others be all they can be."

Blessed in Guatemala

Haven't posted anything lately because I've been busy either getting ready for, serving in, or recovering from a mission trip to Guatemala. After a good night's sleep Monday night, I feel like the jetlag is gone and I'm getting back in the swing of things.

A team of 10 from TNC left on June 16 and returned June 23. We participated with two of our partner churches - El Camino San Cristobal and their mission church, El Camino Escuintla. We stayed in San Cristobal, a suburb of Guatemala City, the first night and attended church there Sunday morning. On Sunday afternoon, we made the hour drive to Escuintla. The church families of El Camino Escuintla welcomed us with open arms. We spent the remainder of the week there making improvements on the church property.

Pictured above is the family that I stayed with (along with my roomie for the week, Joe). Left to right they are Flori, Jose, CeCe, and Mordecai. They were great hosts and with no TV to interrupt our fellowship we spent each night singing and reading Scripture together - as well as just talking about life and having fun with our language barrier. Flori and her kids speak English pretty well so we were able to enjoy their company even more.

Life in Central America is simpler and less complicated. The people there must work harder than we do and for fewer things. Our host home was very simple. No hot water. No air conditioner. No TV. Few electronic gadgets. But, in the words of Flori, she is so happy because she has all that she needs and she has the love of Jesus.

I've said it hundreds of times and I'll say it again, everyone needs to get outside of the U.S. to see how God is working in other people's lives and also to see how blessed we are in the States. Or maybe it's how blessed others are because of their simple lives. One could argue, I suppose, that because of all our conveniences and riches - (Yes, if you live in the USA you are rich! If you don't believe it, go to www.globalrichlist.com) - maybe we aren't blessed, we are cursed. Maybe our quest for more toys and material things makes us miserable. It's debatable.

I can tell you this, a friend of ours, Joy, just surrendered to be a full-time missionary to Costa Rica. She sold everything she had minus two or three suitcases of clothes and personal items. It was very liberating for her to be free of all of her stuff!! So there is something to be said for the simple life that is lived by others in the world.

I'm also posting about the trip at www.tncblog.com soon if you want to go over there and read more.

Divine Intention and Divine Spirituality

I have a lot of books stacked on my desk in my home office waiting to be read. I recently received an advanced copy of Divine Intention: How God's Work in the Early Church Empowers Us Today. My cyberfriend, Larry Shallenberger, is the author of this new book published by Victor Books. I met Larry via the message boards at www.theooze.com a place that I frequent occassionally for entertainment and conversation among believers and seekers from all over the nation - even the world.

Larry's book has made it to the top of my stack so I'm looking forward to diving into it soon. Currently, I am reading another Larry's book. Larry Osborne's book titled A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God: Spirituality for the Rest of Us. I like how Osborne thinks. He asks legitimate questions about how "normal" people grow spiritually. For example, how do Christ-followers learn doctrine? Usually, we don't learn the doctrine of the Trinity, for example, in a classroom but in the laboratory of life. We learn on a need to know basis. When you discover that the guy in the cubicle next to you is a lifelong Latter Day Saint who does not embrace the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, that's when you begin to learn about it.

Osborne (Senior Pastor of North Coast Church in Vista, CA) questions the Church's linear approach to discipleship and spiritual growth. Spiritual growth doesn't always happen through a course of study at church on Sunday nights. Spiritual growth happens as we live life with our eyes wide open to what God wants to show us each day and with anticipation for the divine appointments that he brings to us.

I'll probably post some thoughts and quotes from these two when I complete them. Stay tuned.

Are You Stomping Ants or Making Hippos Fly?

I recently ran across this article from www.pastors.com by Gregory Smith. I don't claim to be a time management expert but I do read about it when I can and try to create ways to make the best use of my time. In 1986, God used Ephesians 5:15-16 to persuade me that I should make the most of every day. "Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." I've tried to keep this passage in mind ever since then.

Last Sunday, I had the privilege to speak at TNC. I mentioned how much of a time-robber TV is for many of us. The average American spends 4.5 hours per day watching TV. When you consider that you only have about 6 hours of free time (8 hours of work, 8 hours of sleep, a couple of hours getting ready, commuting, eating, etc. You have even less if you're the parent of young children.) - we really do spend too much time watching meaningless stuff. I mean, really, I'm getting along just fine not watching American Idol, Lost, and Heroes. I confess, however, that I'm addicted to 24. I watch my share of TV too so I'm not advocating an all out fast on TV, but it's just one example of how we can easily fritter away several hours and at the end of the day have nothing much to show for it.

Click the link to Smith's article and maybe you can find a few more minutes in your day that will help you "make the most of every opportunity."

My Feet On My Hearth

I rolled into good ole NA this afternoon after spending the week at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. It was full of information and inspiration. I was privileged to sit under the teaching of award winning novelist James Scott Bell. He is an incredible teacher and a humble down to earth guy. Have you ever sat in a class and felt disappointment when you realized it was time for the class to be over? That's how it was every day in his class. By the way, regarding my previous post...I have a lot of editing and rewriting to do!

I gained interest from a few editors who liked one of my book proposals. I also met with my agent about an upcoming project that we hope to present to publishers soon. The conference is beneficial enough if you just attend the classes and workshops but the best part for me is meeting people in the writing industry from around the country. If you're interested in improving your writing skills and/or getting published in any area of writing, I highly recommend this conference.

In addition to Jim Bell, I also enjoyed learning from Ron Benrey and Alton Gansky. General session speakers also included McNair Wilson and Jim Watkins. McNair Wilson is hard for me to accurately describe: witty, motivational, encouraging, hilarious, fresh, creative, spontaneous...a wonderful speaker and fun to spend time with.

It was a good and profitable week but I'm glad to be typing this from my favorite chair in the den with our hearth serving as my ottoman. The Blue Ridge mountains are beautiful but, like Dorothy said, "There's no place like home."

Done! (for now)

I finished my novel this morning. I started it about ten years ago working diligently for months on it. About a third of the way complete, I moved, changed jobs, churches, etc. In other words, life happened. The novel stayed hidden in my computer for years. Occasionally, I would pull it up, brush it off, and visit it. Only in the past year or so have I made serious strides in getting that story told. So, today, at about 7:42 AM, I wrote the last sentence.

Now, it's time to rewrite, edit, rewrite some more, edit some more, etc.

I'll be attending the Blue Ridge Mountains Writers Conference next week in Ridgecrest, NC. Hopefully, I can learn some more about the craft of writing fiction and talk to a few editors about the book. I attended this conference last year and it was awesome! Can't wait to reconnect with some of the people I met last year, learn more, and be inspired more. Last year, God spoke to me in a unique way on the last day. I blogged about it here. I'm looking forward to hearing what he has to say to me this year!

For you TNC'ers out there, this coming Sunday is going to be HUGE! I can't wait to witness what God is going to do here. Pray for Steve as he prepares what will be one of the boldest visionary messages he has ever presented. Then we can cap off the day with FACEDOWN. God doesn't stop blessing his people when they are obediently and anxiously following him. Let's keep seeking him and we will continue to marvel at what he is doing!

Batterson Highlight Reel

Last night I finished reading Mark Batterson's book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. It is full of quotable stuff and I thought I'd share some of them with you. The book is based on the brief story of Benaiah found in 2 Samuel 23:20-21.

• Sometimes God won't intervene until something is humanly impossible.


• Our problems seem really big because our God seems really small.


• God is great not just because nothing is too big for him. God is great because nothing is too small for him.


• Don't accumulate possessions. Accumulate experiences!


• Opportunities often look like insurmountable obstacles.


• Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God.


• Sometimes you have to run away from security and chase uncertainty.


• If life is infinitely uncertain and God is infinitely complex, then all we can do is accept our finitude and embrace uncertainty. Faith doesn't reduce uncertainty. Faith embraces uncertainty.


• Maybe faith has less to do with gaining knowledge and more to do with causing wonder.


• We want a 3 act play but Jesus takes us to the Improv instead. If the script was already written up front for us, it would undermine our dependence on the Holy Spirit.


• 20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. (Mark Twain)


• Maybe righteousness has less to do with not doing anything wrong and more to do with doing things right.


• When everything is said and done, I think our greatest regrets will be the God-ordained risks we didn't take.


• Some of us approach our relationship with Christ like we're called to play a "prevent defense" when we ought to be in a "2 minute drill."


• Why is it that the Church is known more for what we're against than what we're for?


• The Aramaic word for prayer means to set a trap. Prayer helps us catch opportunities God throws our way.


• Faith is the willingness to look foolish.


• We serve an unlimited God with unlimited resources. A God who looked at a few loaves and fish and saw a banquet for 5000 people.

Draining My Brain

I don't have anything in particular here to post but here's what has been on my mind lately:

1. Pray for John Redmond and his family. John is a TNC member who is in a tough battle against cancer.

2. Speaking of cancer, I've had my mom on my mind a lot lately. May 14 will be 5 years since she left for heaven.

3. I'm near completion of a novel. Maybe one day you'll see it in print. I'm writing the climax now and hope to have the first draft finished in a couple of weeks.

4. I can't believe it's already May!

5. My baby girl is going to her second prom Saturday night. (She went to the Lakeside HS prom last week.)

6. My son is preparing to be in the Mr. SC Bodybuilding competition. My wife and daughter don't want to attend because the contestants wear gross tight bikini shorts!

7. Psalm 37:4 keeps coming up everywhere. Steve used it last week. We talked about it in J Team. I posted about it at www.tncblog.com and I used it in a couple of recent counseling sessions. "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." To me, life is summed up in those words. Focus your life and ENJOY your life with Christ and he will place his desires in your heart and fulfill those desires.

8. Walt and Betsy left for an incredible trip to Turkey and Israel tonight. I'm going to miss that knucklehead for the next two weeks. (Walt, not Betsy.) See www.drpepperking2.blogspot.com

9. I'm starting to get excited about our mission trip to Guatemala in June!

10. TrueNorth Church is an awesome church! The staff, leaders, volunteers, etc. are a true blessing to us!

11. I'm finishing up Mark Batterson's book, "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day." I've underlined a bunch of stuff. I'll post it on here soon.

12. I've been looking forward to watching the Dallas Mavs vs. Golden State tonight. It just started.

13. I hate my front yard. Does anyone here know anything about landscaping?

Moonlighting

Steve (my boss and pastor) and I have been moonlighting lately down in the seedy part of town. Someone caught it on tape. I figured I would expose myself now before the media got a hold of it.

http://www.dancesisterdance.com/myvid/index.php?v=0a493a77f4052

Unanswered Calls at VA Tech

From a recent update from my friends in Virginia:

The families are just beginning to experience their loss. One friend wrote me of a detail that deeply affected her police friend at the Crime Scene. Please allow me to share this "scene" so we can get another picture of the terrible horror these loved ones have experienced starting early Monday when they heard of the shootings...

"My hometown in VA is only 45 minutes from Blacksburg. A high school friend of mine is on the VA State Police. He was involved in photographing one of the classroom crime scenes after the massacre. He said it was horrible seeing those students, but the worst part was that the entire time he was in that room, all of their cell phones were ringing non-stop. It broke his heart to know that there were calls from loved ones desperate for them to answer. "

Those "unanswered calls" is where the horror began for these who lost loved ones. Please, let's keep these dear people in our hearts and prayers this month and weeks to come.

Pray for the victims at VA Tech

Some friends of mine are in campus ministry at the University of Virginia. Thought you'd be interested in a email I just received from them:

Friends,

I know you're aware of the tragedy at VA Tech. We in the college community of VA are completely numb. Tech is UVA's arch-rival. We love to "hate" them on the field or on the court... but that's in jest. Now... our "family" has been attacked by hate and the ugliness of fallen, human nature...and we are grieving deeply!

Over the past three summers I have led a Bible group for students in town. We have some Tech students regularly attend these studies. We know some of the students there. They are in great confusion today. Many are still waiting to hear from friends to know they're safe. Lots of chaos...

Prayer gatherings are popping up today (and this week) all around this Commonwealth. Our local community of faith plans to travel to Blacksburg later this week just to "be" with our family and grieve on-site with them. Blacksburg is about two hours away, in a sleepy little community... close to the back hills of southwest VA. Not where one would expect this sort of thing to happen.

What a picture of our desperate need for God. Our need may be "tucked" away and out of the mainstream of life. Our need often goes undetected until this sort of thing. Now we're forced into a head-on collision with our brokenness. We ALL are broken and have fallen short of the glory of God. Yes, you and me... all the families of this massacre... the gunman... the by-stander on the street.

We are the victims AND we are the one who pulled the trigger. We stand in solidarity with the family at V Tech. We grieve deeply with them. We moan and writhe in pain with them. Oh, who can deliver us from this ugliness...

... Yet our hope is in You, Lord. Our hope IS YOU! Meet us here. Meet our Loved Ones here... heal us and comfort us. Come, Prince of Peace. Come, Kingdom of God!

Thank you for your solidarity with us,
Lainie, Daniel and the entire college community of VA

My New Favorite Movie

We finally caught up with most of the moviegoers of America and saw "The Pursuit of Happyness" last night. I knew that I wanted to see it the first time I saw a preview for it months ago. But we don't make it to Movie Gallery often, much less theaters. Will Smith always does a good job so I knew this movie would be special. If you haven't seen it, go get it. It's based on the true story of Chris Gardner. If you want to know more about his story, here's a link to his website:

http://www.chrisgardnermedia.com/index.htm

It is an amazing story. I had a hard time going to sleep last night because I couldn't help wondering how many people were sleeping in subway bathrooms last night while I was in my warm, cozy bed.

For you TNC'ers, we're starting a new series of messages this Sunday called "The Pursuit of Happyness." It's based on Jesus' beatitudes found in Matthew 4. Invite your fish!

Put This On Your Fridge

I saw this on Mark Batterson's blog, www.evotional.com. I think I'll print it out and put it on the fridge for the whole family to see.

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion.

Final Four Thoughts

Thoughts on the Final Four after Florida's dominant win tonight:

1. Why does it seem that Billy Packer is always pulling against the teams from the South? He and Jim Nantz were pulling for Ohio State the whole time. I was getting sick to my stomach listening to them talk about how great the Buckeyes were while they were being hammered all night. And then, how Florida was making poor decisions during the game. Please! I've never been a Billy Packer fan. (And don't get me started on baseball commentator Tim McCarver...)

2. I was 3 for 4 in my final four pick. I thought UNC would beat Florida in the final game. I had UCLA and OSU in there too.

3. Joakim Noah's mom is a former Miss Sweden and his dad was a tennis star. You know they have some money. I wonder why they never considered braces for little Joakim?

4. Did you notice the story about Corey Brewer's dad who just had his legs amputated? His dad's nickname is Pee Wee. (I'm just reporting the facts here.)

5. You'll never guess what Cliff and I did during halftime of the game.

6. 24 was a little lame tonight. I watched it while keeping my eye on the game. President Palmer had a little too much adrenalin if you know what I mean.

7. Did you guess what we did at halftime? We painted a possum pink and took him down to the park. Ask me for details...

8. Now that March Madness is over, it's time for the Masters. Who do you think is going to win it?

My Faceless Car

Here's my car during lobotomy surgery.

I'm happy to report that the surgery was a success and I am now driving a complete car once again. Thanks to my father-in-law, shade tree mechanic extraordinaire, for the help!

Full Frontal Lobe Lobotomy

For my car, that is...

Maybe I can post a picture this weekend. My son had a little fender bender in my Isuzu Rodeo a couple of weeks ago. Over $2500 in damage! I was able to get used parts to try to replace the damaged bumper, grill, headlamps (both of them), left turn lamp, condensor, and condensor fan assembly. (Thanks Paul!) The front of my car is completely missing right now. My father-in-law and I (mostly my father-in-law) took everything off today. Tomorrow we put all the new/used stuff back on. My car doesn't have a face right now. It looks really sad.

I wonder if this is going to change it's personality?

Walt T is bringing the message at TNC Sunday. Can't wait to hear from him! See you there if you're still in town.

In Sync With God

I read this in Oswald Chambers' My Utmost For His Highest yesterday. I've often thought and believed that one can be so in tune with God that many of our decisions and questions can be easily answered. I believe, like Chambers, that as you grow more spiritually mature, the easier it is to follow his will. However, I don't recall hearing it taught much. So it was interesting to me to see this:

To be so much in contact with God that you never need to ask Him to show you His will, is to be nearing the final stage of your discipline in the life of faith. When you are rightly related to God, it is a life of freedom and liberty and delight, you are God's will, and all your common-sense decisions are His will for you unless He checks. You decide things in perfect delightful friendship with God, knowing that if your decisions are wrong He will always check; when He checks, stop at once.

For the full article, go to www.myutmost.org. Go to the March 20 devotional.

March Madness

My final four pick: Florida, Ohio State, North Carolina, & UCLA. I'm picking the Tarheels to beat the Gators in the championship game. Total score: 133 points. UNC looked a little shaky for a while last night. We'll see if they pull it off.

Who Do You Influence?

Lately I've been re-reading a classic book by J. Oswald Sanders titled "Spiritual Leadership." I would encourage anyone in a ministry position to get a copy. He tells the story of Dr. John Geddie who went to the South Pacific island of Aneityum as a missionary. He worked there for 24 years. On the tablet erected to his memory these words are inscribed:

When he landed, in 1848, there were no Christians.

When he left, in 1872, there were no heathen.

At TNC, Steve has been talking about leadership from the book of Nehemiah. Leadership is essentially the power of one man to influence another. No man can fathom the difference one life can make. Check out my friend Andy Hunter's blog and read about our mutual friend, Ranny Moorhead, the potato chip salesman, if you need an example.

Before all is said and done here, we need to ask ourselves some questions: Who do I influence? Am I leading people to a closer relationship with Christ? Am I lifting Jesus up so that men will be drawn to him? At the end of my life, I want people to celebrate what God did through me similar to what he did through Dr. John Geddie or Mr. Ranny, the potato chip salesman. How about you?