Books: Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy (Review)

A couple of weeks ago, my staff and I were hanging out at the local pub, Roosevelt’s, and for some reason we thought it’d be entertaining if we took a personality test. I’m not really a fan of personality tests and assessments, but I figured it’d be interesting to see where we all would land. We took the Myers Briggs personality test and one of the sections in the test had to deal with the difference between feelers and thinkers. Surprisingly, feelers are more emotive while thinkers think. I am the only thinker on our team.

Since, I have been thinking (shocking) about that test and began to assess how I approach my prayer life. I often think and desire to want to have a thriving and robust life in prayer, but after thinking (again) I concluded that I often approach prayer a little too strategically and a little too analytically while not allowing myself to sit in my emotions.

After reading Mark Vroegop’s new book Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy I have felt more and thought less. Mark’s book is on the subject of lament and he writes that “to cry is human, to lament is Christian.” This book has been good for my soul in countless ways beginning with the understanding of what lament really is AND being bold enough to approach God completely broken.

Lament isn’t something that is regularly taught or spoken about in the church. I know it’s not something I’ve talked about before and part of that is because I didn’t know what to say about lament. I think I viewed lament like accessory movements in strength training; sure they’re important and you should learn them, but what for? Next thing you know, you’ve torn your hamstring and all you want, need, and are capable of doing is accessory work. I digress.

While Vroegop provides several working definitions for what lament actually is, it is one of his first comments about lament that struck me:

Lament is the honest cry of a hurting heart wrestling with the paradox of pain and the promise of God’s goodness.

If you have found yourself in a a difficult season(s), know someone who is wrestling with the truth about God, or simply wish to dive in a deeper appreciation of prayer and communion with the Lord, then I highly recommend purchasing this book.

CULTURE AND PRAYER

Culturally, suffering and lament seems to be something that is taboo. We have become accustomed, in many ways, to work our way out of suffering and lament in order to feel better about ourselves and our circumstances, but the Bible teaches us that suffering is inevitable for the Christian as we follow Christ; we are going to be rejected and life, at times, is going to suck. That’s a hard truth to swallow in a culture that says you don’t deserve to suffer and that if you do happen to find yourself in a difficult circumstance, it’s up to you to get yourself out as quickly as possible.

The truth about lament is that it stands in between the pain of life and the promise of God. And to me, that is incredibly encouraging! Lament is a beautiful grace that teaches me there is a space in my communion with the Lord where I can be totally and utterly honest, broken, and vulnerable.

It reminds me of a conversation I recently had with my son. After confessing sin, he began to weep and his vulnerability led him to feel like he needed to hold back. I assured my son that this was the time for him to lay it all out on the table; I wasn’t there to get mad at him or discipline him, but to listen to him and be present as he wept. Once I said that, the flood gates of tears opened up and he was able to be totally vulnerable and broken in our time together. I think that’s what lament feels like with God. It’s a space where He draws us to Himself, with snot and tears, to be totally and completely vulnerable before Him affording us an opportunity to ask some bold things with confidence and trust Him because He is good.

Vroegop does a phenomenal job of walking the reader through the three parts of his book (Psalms of Lament, Lamentations, and personal and community application). This book has been a great resource for reflection and teaching and I highly recommend it.

FAVORITE QUOTES

To pray in pain, even with its messy struggle and tough questions, is an act of faith where we open up our hearts to God. Prayerful lament is better than silence. However, I’ve found that many people are afraid of lament. They find it too honest, too open, or too risky. But there’s something far worse: silent despair. Giving God the silent treatment is the ultimate manifestation of unbelief.

You need to know that lament does not always lead to an immediate solution. It does not always bring a quick or timely answer. Grief is not tame. Lament is not a simplistic formula. Instead, lament is the song you sing believing that one day God will answer and restore. Lament invites us to pray through our struggle with a lift that is far from perfect.

Lament is the language of a people who believe in God’s sovereignty but live in a world with tragedy.

In my study of lament, I’ve come to love the word yet. It marks the place in the journey where pain and belief coexist. It is how we gain the confidence to ask boldly, despite the sorrow and grief we feel. Yet mean that I chose to keep asking God for help, to cry out to him for my needs, even when the pain of life is raw. Yet reminds us that sorrow doesn’t have to yield before we ask God for help. Part of the grace of lament is the way it invites us to pray boldly even when we are bruised badly.

Trust is believing what you know to be true even though the facts of suffering might call that belief into question. Lament keeps us turning toward trust by giving us language to step into the wilderness between our painful reality and our hopeful longings.

But whatever you do, don’t stop making this turn toward trust. Learn to live in the tension of pain beyond belief and divine sovereignty beyond comprehension by stepping into trust. Choose to place your confidence in God. Learning to lament is a journey as we discover how lament can provide mercy when dark clouds loom. Lament is how you live between a hard life and God’s promises. It is how we learn to sin and worship when suffering comes our way.

RECOMMENDED READING

• Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering The Grace of Lament by Mark Vroegop

Books: Wretched Saints (Review)

I love a good book. More, I’m a sucker for good books with good theology, especially the kind that makes me tear up. One of the things I often preach to my congregation is that we are so quick to forget who God say we are and default to who we once were. This is something that plagues me and certainly plagues those in my church and as a result, I think, that often times we place an enormous amount of pressure on ourselves to fall back into the good grace of God. It is here that we, especially myself, begin to rely on my moral or religious performance to try and remind God that I’m not too terrible, but utterly forget about what grace is.

Yesterday, I was meeting with a member of our church and as she began to tell me about the amount of fear she has about failing, I shared with her that we often do one of two things with grace: we assume it or reserve it. In other words, when we assume grace, we believe that it’s a safety net. We don’t value and forget that grace is costly and it’s designed to conform us into the image of Christ (Romans 12:2). When we reserve grace, I think we beleve that grace is only something God give on special occasion rather than something He’s actually pouring out on to you at this very moment; grace is not conditional.

This is where Heikkinen’s book comes in. Wretched Saints is a beautifully written book about the relentless grace of God towards sinners. Heikkinen says it best, “The truth of the gospel is this: I am nothing more than a wretch and so much more than a saint.” Heikkinen’s love for Scripture throughout his book is evident and refreshing. He’s funny, honest, and transparent about himself and what God has revealed to him as a husband, father, and pastor. Additionally, he does a great job at capturing cultural awareness and leads you to saturate yourself everyday gospel rhythms.

Heikkinen’s patience in leading you through this wonderful paradox of being both a sinner and a saint comes with great encouragement and compelling exhortations wrapped in the gift of God’s word. My favorite quote from this book is his personal definition on grace:

“Grace is the ridiculously unwarranted and outrageously favorable posture of God that transforms wretched sinners into wretched saints and keeps at it until they look like Jesus.”

I love that! Grace is a gift of underserving favor from God toward sinners and it is continual. In a culture where truth is subjective and the church fights to hold fast to the truth of the gospel and who God says we are, Wretched Saints is a breath of fresh air.

MEMORABLE QUOTES

“Let me say it another way: you are meant to be a wretched saint. This is so that God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, can transform your wretchedness into the likeness of Jesus, until all that is left is the saint part. When you are tempted to think God isn’t pleased with you, remember that you are right where He wants you.”

“It’s not grace if the person deserves it.”

“You see, the more we experience grace, and the more it is injected into the crustiest parts of our souls, the more it alters our posture toward those who most desperately need it.”

“Our journey toward experiencing the liberating power of the gospel and extending it to others leads straight through the minefield of our own massive need for grace. Our ability to transfer grace to others is commiserate with the level to which we’ve been transformed by grace.”

“That’s the funny thing about grace: it’s a disruptive little bugger. It contains a unique power that destroys our finely tuned plans and carefully constructed facades. It exposes the faulty sensors we’ve believed and leads us back to eternal truth…the grace of God is so magnanimous that it even allows us to trample it underfoot, and yet it keeps coming at us anyway.”

RECOMMENDED READS

• Wretched Saints by Noel Heikkinen

Book Review: 8 Hours or Less: Writing Faithful Sermons Faster

One of the things I enjoy to write about are short book reviews. Many of the books I’ll share over the next several months have been out for some time, but in the event that you haven’t read any of them I hope I can help provide you with some insight. .

8 Hours Or Less

Written by Ryan Huguley and published last year, I really enjoyed reading this book. Huguley makes a strong case for quality and effective sermon preparation in about 8 hours.

I seriously thought that there’d be no way one can knock out sermon preparation in 8 hours so I was definitely curious. After reading it, I was quickly convicted; realizing the quality of my sermon preparation was ineffective and scattered. 

Huguley provides a daily plan for sermon preparation and because I love scheduling and tasks, this provided me with some really helpful insights into sermon prep: 

• Monday: Exegesis and build the frame of the sermon; 
• Tuesday: Get feedback from team; 
• Wednesday: Work on the introduction;
• Thursday: Work on the conclusion;
• Friday: Put it all together; 
• Sunday: Preach

Within his timeline, Huguley devotes about 1-2 hours per day on his sermon. I especially loved the section on spending time to build out on a conclusion as I always struggle to “land the plane.” I was also encouraged by his weekly feedback on Tuesday’s as I, too, meet with a group of guys weekly to discuss our sermon outline. As a young preacher, it made me feel like I was “doing something right” and left me encouraged. 

In general, here’s what I dig about the book: 

1. The schedule: It’s tight, but what I appreciate is that it’s time devoted to the whole sermon or specific areas in order to develop quality sermon/content. When I first began preaching and my schedule was pretty scattered, I was spending time on Wednesday mornings and then Saturday evenings from 6:00 p.m. - 3:00 a.m.. Not good. 

2. Clear Direction: I also appreciate the clear directions on the steps we can take in sermon preparation. Before, I had tried knocking it all out at once. Again, setting time aside to dive into specific areas was incredibly helpful and liberating for me. 

Additionally, here would be my reservations about the book: 

1. The schedule: While I appreciate the time and days devoted to each part of the sermon, I simply don’t have 5 days to give. And that’s okay because everyone’s schedule is different. After reading this book, I attempted his same schedule and felt behind. If you don’t have the kind of schedule Hughley provides, then you’ll simply need to look for what works best for you; 

2. 8 Hours: Again, I appreciate a lot about this book; notably quality and wisely used time for sermon preparation, I simply don’t think I could knock out my sermon in 8 hours. I believe that if preaching is your first priority (not your only one) then you should be spending a little more than 8 hours on your sermon. 

Either way, I would recommend this book for its structure. If you’re having trouble working on a sermon prep schedule and need a little bit of help trying something new or modifying what you have (that’s what I did), then this is a really helpful book that you’ll benefit from. 

Will you knock out your sermon in 8 hours? I have no clue. I know I can’t. But what I hope this teaches you as it taught me is that you use your sermon preparation time wisely and effectively.

RECOMMENDED READING:

• 8 Hours or Less: Writing Faithful Sermons Faster by Ryan Huguley

Book Review: Taking God At His Word by Kevin DeYoung

Kevin DeYoung is becoming one of my most enjoyable authors. This year, I have read two of his books (this being the second) and I simply enjoy his content and structure. Earlier this summer, I reviewed Just Do Something and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you'd like to read that review before jumping into this one, then click HERE. 

One of my favorite things about Kevin is that he is very clear about what you should expect out of his books. Much like his other books, he doesn't stray from that in this one. In the opening pages, he tells you exactly what this book is going to be about and where you'll be parked most of your time. I chose to read this book because I'll be teaching a class in October on "Understanding the Bible" at Logos Community Church and recently, several people have surrendered their lives to Jesus in addition to having many Christians who just began their walk with the Lord a few months ago. This class will serve a great start at opening their bible because for a new believer, the Word of God can be quite intimidating on top of not knowing where to begin. 

My first impression of this book was that Kevin was going to expand on the subject matter of my class--an easy way to understand the Bible and he doesn't quite start there. In fact, in the opening chapter he tells his readers to not expect deep theological content or bible study plans and content. Instead, he begins with Psalm 119; serving as the crux of the book in an effort to paint a picture of an individual is completely in love with the word of God and His law. I absolutely loved this! It forced me to slow down my previous notions because he is essentially beginning with the gospel and his intention is to get you to capture the joy that is found in God's Word because it was God who breathed it out (2 Timothy 3:16). 

Once he establishes and reminds you of the gospel as the foundation for this book, then he goes on expand on the doctrines of the sufficiency of Scripture, the clarity of Scripture, the authority of Scripture, and the necessity of Scripture (SCAN). What I enjoyed about his explanation on each of these doctrines is that they were clear and easy to understand while at the same time providing some challenging thoughts to process and opportunity for the reader to dive deeper into the meaning. 

Remember, I read this book to determine if it was good content for a class filled with several new believers. For some, I believe the content will be just the right amount--confirming their thoughts on the Word of God or helping them to better understand Spiritual Disciplines because they hunger for God. For others, it will serve the previously mentioned reason and will open doors to further education as they walk faithfully with the Lord. 

What About Grudem's Systematic Theology? 

Elliot Grudem's edited version of his fathers book, Systematic Theology is definitely a great book. I think everyone should own a copy because it's clear, concise, and appropriate for a doctrine class. I decided not to go with Grudem on this class for two reasons: 

(1) the content available by Grudem can be very intensive and many not be a great place for our people to start. Many of them do not come from a church background, much less had set foot in church before. I don't want to overload them.

(2) While I love Grudem's book, it does jump right into information regarding doctrine rather than beginning with the gospel. Again, our class is filled where the majority have heard the gospel for the first time several months ago; they're still on milk. In fact, our first day of class will simply be a preaching of the gospel as our foundation. I'm looking (not dismissing Grudem) to see transformation in light of the gospel not simply information provided. 

Final Thoughts

If you find yourself wanting to check out a short read with great insight and enough depth that may leave you desiring more, then I definitely recommend Taking God At His Word. It will be a great reminder to the truth that is the gospel and it will be a great encouragement to you in light of evaluating where you stand--is the Bible enough? Check the book out and tell me what you think. 

Recommended Reading: Just Do Something and Taking God At His Word by Kevin DeYoung; 20 Christian Beliefs by Wayne and Elliot Grudem; Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem. 

Book Review: Gospel Eldership | Equipping A New Generation of Servant Leaders by Robert Thune

Gospel Eldership by Robert Thune quickly rose to the top of my list during my time off last month. It was one of the most edifying books I've read this summer; helping me evaluate myself and my relationship with the Lord, my family, and those I serve. In short, it was incredibly convicting and sanctifying.

If you aspire to be an elder at your local church, lead other leaders in ministry, or are in disciple relationships with other men, then this is a book that I recommend you work through as soon as possible. During my time off, I journaled through this book as Thune assigns verses and short articles to read throughout the short chapters. The piercing of the heart, at least for me, came from the questions in light of the reading. They helped and forced me to address sin issues in my own heart that led me to confession and repentance in many areas of my life. 

It's immensely practical and a valuable tool for any team. Thune takes big topic matters and places a microscope on them to help you address how you relate to them such as frustrations in ministry, conflict and resolution, and specific questions and insights pertaining to the role of what a pastor is. Gospel Eldership is rich in theology and Thune's approach to the hearts of men in ministry through this book is wonderful and pastoral. 

There are many books that have been written on the call of elders in the church or the 10,000 foot view of what it means to be an elder and I think they're great resources. However, Robert Thune's books provides a much needed emphasis on the realities of those in pastoral ministry and for those aspiring to the call. Because it's a work-book, it's format is elaborate and specific which means you really can't skip ahead until you address each question and reading.

In the initial pages, Thune gives the reader 4 expectations when reading this book (p.6): 
• Expect to be challenged.
• Expect to be surprised.
• Expect a deeper level of community.
• Expect a deeper love for Christ and his church. 

The book delivers each one of these expectations over and over. When you walk through it, you will be challenged spiritually and emotionally; provoked to action and evaluation of your life. You will be surprised because you're being challenged! In other words, you will quickly uncover your heart condition and selfishness. And if you decide to walk through this book with others, it will definitely help to bring together a strong brotherhood (I'm excited to lead a few of my guys through this book!). And finally, because it is very clear and compelling about pastoral ministry, it will help you to understand church leadership practically.

If this quick review sounds like something you'd want to work through with your team or your boys, then I would highly encourage you to check it out: Gospel Eldership: Equipping A New Generation of Servant Leaders by Robert Thune.