Category Archives: Books & blogs

B&B Friday: Irresistible Revolution

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Irresistible RevolutionIrresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne is not a feel-good book. His goal is to make you uncomfortable. Claiborne believes in taking seriously the teachings of Jesus, something which will, in Claiborne’s words, “mess you up.”

Claiborne is part of a group called The Simple Way. The members of this community seek to live among the poor and outcast, eschewing the comforts of suburban life. They do so, not out of a sense of masochism, but out of a deep conviction that they must live out Jesus’ words. They must help the poor and feed the hungry. They must seek social justice (part of which is avoidance of all goods produced through oppressive conditions). Claiborne makes his own clothes. He has gone to jail numerous times for his beliefs.

One of his most “radical” acts was to travel to Baghdad at the time the U.S. invasion was beginning. Arguing that pacifism is not passivity, Claiborne went to show the people of Iraq that Christianity was not attacking their country, that a nation was attacking their country.

The book is a biography of sorts. It’s mainly stories. What theology is present is presented through example, not Bible study. It’s a theology of the streets.

Sometimes Claiborne’s words come off a bit “holier than thou.” Sometimes, despite his claims to the contrary, you get the sense that Claiborne revels in the cool factor of what he does. But I don’t doubt his sincerity. I may not agree with all of his convictions, but I can’t accuse him of not living according to those convictions.

Which is something that we all need to do. We may not all choose such a radical response to the gospel (and Claiborne argues that not everyone has to), but I have to think that reading this book can help us seek out the stains of hypocrisy in our own lives.

I encourage you to read Irresistible Revolution. It’ll mess you up.

(As one who dabbles in graphic design on an amateur level, I have to say that the layout of this book is amazing, particularly the chapter transitions. And, for those who might be wondering, all of the proceeds from the book are donated to ministry)

B&B Friday: TreyMorgan.net

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treymorganWell, my books and blogs reporting has been heavy on the blog side. I’ve got some books to recommend, I just don’t seem to be organized enough to write about them. So we’ll stick with blogs for now. It only seems right to mention Trey Morgan’s blog. It has become one of the more popular blogs written by a member of the churches of Christ. Trey does a great job of offering good information on church life and family relationships, while mixing in a generous dose of humor. Trey also has a knack for involving his commenters in the conversation, asking questions or providing anecdotes that beg for further discussion.

Trey describes the site as follows: “Here are my thoughts about marriage, family, raising children, humor, faith and the life God intended for us all. I am a Christian husband and father, who moonlights as the minister for the church of Christ in Childress, Texas. My wife Lea and I have been married for 20 years. We are doing our best to raise our 4 boys, who are all growing up way too fast.”

If you haven’t visited TreyMorgan.net, do yourself a favor and go there today. If you’ve already been there, you probably don’t need my encouragement to go back again.

B & B Friday: John Mark Hicks Ministries

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jmhFor Books & Blogs Friday, I want to recommend that you visit the website for John Mark Hicks Ministries. I almost hesitate to refer to it as a blog, just because of the vast amount of resources available there. Sermons, journal articles, Bible classes, audio recordings… there is enough material on this site to keep you occupied for a while.

Hicks is a university professor; his About page says, “He has taught at Alabama Christian School of Religion (1982-1989), Magnolia Bible College (1989-1991), Harding University Graduate School of Religion (1991-2000 fulltime; 2000-2008 partime), and Lipscomb University (2000-2008). He has also adjuncted at Northeastern Christian College, Christian Brothers University, Abilene Christian University and Institute for Christian Theology and Minstry (St. Petersburg, Russia).” One of his specialities is church history, although he seems to “specialize” in numerous areas of biblical and theological studies.

Hicks provides well-researched, well-written, intellectually stimulating material. Even if you don’t agree with him on a certain topic, he will give you something to think about. That’s what I’m looking for when I read blogs on the Internet; I always find John Mark Hicks’ site to be worth my time.

B&B Friday: A Serious Blog

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Fridays are for books and blogs. Today’s blog is a little different. It’s existed for less than a week and probably won’t exist very long. But I hope you’ll take a look. It’s the Cochabamba Youth Group blog.

I wish this blog had come into being under happier circumstances. As is, it was created after a tragedy, when a bus carrying members of the youth group from the church of Christ in Cochabamba, Bolivia, plummeted off the side of a mountain. Three young girls were killed, and a number of others were injured.

The website gives information about the accident, the health of those involved, and financial needs that exist. Even if you can’t give money, I hope that you will support these Christians in prayer during this difficult time.

B&B Friday: Missing More Than Music

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[Full disclosure: I was asked to do this review by the book’s author, Danny Corbitt. Danny and I knew each other in school at Abilene Christian University. I obtained the book for free… because everyone can. It is a free download at http://missingmorethanmusic.com/. A hard copy can also be purchased from AuthorHouse, and is available on Amazon.]

Missing More Than Music: When Disputable Matters Eclipse Worship And Unity was self-published through AuthorHouse, and this shows at times. There are some things that an editor would have caught (lack of consistency chapter to chapter, an omitted word or two, etc.), but I only notice those things because I’m naturally picky. Overall, the book is well-researched and thoroughly presented.

Why was the book self-published? Basically because if a Church of Christ publishing house published it, they would receive too much criticism and would probably see other sales affected. Publishing houses outside of our brotherhood probably wouldn’t find the subject matter of interest. Corbitt had little choice but to self-publish. (Doesn’t hurt to remind people that “self-published” doesn’t mean poor quality; The Shack was originally self-published. It’s done all right.)

Corbitt identifies five “disputable matters,” views that he identifies as being held by “Exclusion.” They are:

  1. The early church believed God wanted them to praise him a cappella only.
  2. Ephesians 5:19 specifically concerns the singing of praise during “public worship,” but not in other settings like our private lives.
  3. The Greek vocabulary of this passage demands that the psalms it calls us to sing should only be sung without instruments.
  4. Ephesians 5:19 demands that in our worship assemblies everyone must always sing together (“congregationally”) — no choirs, no solos.
  5. We must separate ourselves from those whose praise allows instruments and choruses.

Corbitt considers and presents a refutation of each of those views. Each chapter ends with paragraphs entitled “Were you surprised?“, “Who changed praise?“, and “Are you missing more than music?”

The book is especially intended for those who hold to the five beliefs that he discusses or to people who have had negative dealings with those who hold those beliefs. I don’t particularly fall into either of those categories, so I didn’t find myself as emotionally involved as some others will. Corbitt is one who has suffered through negative experiences with those he disagrees with. That colors his writing at times. Some of his descriptions of a cappella worship don’t match what I’ve lived through. But I think enough people can identify with Corbitt that his book may well be of great service to many.

You don’t have to agree with Corbitt’s views to benefit from reading through this study. Even if you were to end up disagreeing with all of it, you would be the better for having participated in this scholarly examination of views commonly found in Churches of Christ. I won’t say that it’s an easy read (because it’s not), but it’s well worth your time.