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A Life Worth Questioning (John Dickson on Evangelism & Good Living)

 

Before we can give answers about Christ, we must be asked questions. Find out how to invite more questions in this excerpt from author & pastor John Dickson's book The Best-Kept Secret of Christian Mission (eBook).

 

Living a Life that Stands Out

The apostle Peter's "be prepared to give an answer to everyone" sounds very much like the apostle Paul's "know how to answer everyone". It is as if the two of them got together on this issue to make sure they told their congregations the same thing: be ready and willing to answer those who do not yet believe…

[It is] worth noting that both apostles' exhortations to speak about Christ appear in the context of instructions about living godly lives. [Peter writes,]

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing. (1 Peter 3:8–9)

 

Christians will not stand out in this world simply by being "nice" …

The life out of which we are to speak [about Christ] is not simply a moralistic life. It is a life of humility, compassion, nonretaliation and so on: in other words, a life of love. Christians will not stand out in this world simply by being "nice" and "ethical", but they will if they live the life described here, the life epitomised by the Saviour himself.

The point is simple: we are to live lives worth questioning and then offer answers worth hearing. 

As Christ did, give off light that brings questions

 

- John Dickson

 
Question: What's the difference between being "nice" and living by Jesus's example?

  

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Learn more about The Best Kept Secretion of Christian Mission eBook

- Adam Forrest, Zondervan

 

(Images & some styling above are web-exclusive features not included in the text of Best Kept Secret. Image attribution: video by CarbonNYC under creative commons license, via Flickr, and special thanks castingoutnines.wordpress.com. This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's personal opinions are shared only for information purposes. To receive new Zondervan Blog posts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

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Epic Love is in Little Choices [Excerpt by John & Stasi Eldredge]

 

Excerpt from Love & War Participant's Guide by John & Stasi Eldredge.

 

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Love plays itself out in what seems like such unremarkable ways — you pick up your socks, you ignore their snarky comment, you put the toilet seat down. But this is exactly what makes it epic — the fact that love plays itself out in a thousand little choices, unseen and without supporting soundtrack. That's what makes it so beautiful.

 

I'll run to the store. We can watch your show. Yes, you can dim the lights. No, I don't mind if you go out tonight. Would you like a little of my cookie?

 

I [was] thinking about my reputation, not my wife's heart.

We meet these moments every day. This morning, we had to get down to an event for which we were the keynote speakers. Stasi and I agreed last night we'd better leave the house at eight. It is now ten after and she's not ready; she's futzing in the bathroom. It's moments like these that reveal what fuels us. Hey, you were the one who said eight. Let's go. Why am I tweaked? What's with the compulsion, the anxiousness? Isn't it really about wanting to get on top of things, making sure we make a good impression? It is godless; I'm thinking about my reputation, not my wife's heart.

 

So, I sat at the kitchen table and finished my oatmeal, had a cup of tea. I simply waited until she came out and said, "I'm ready." I didn't even get in that little dig men savor — "Finally." These are the little choices we are making every day. We are learning to love…

 

Choosing to Love

Every time we choose to love, we take a step closer to God; it's like he's right there. Every time we choose something else, we take a step away. I want God, so I choose love.

Don't get me wrong—I love Stasi, more than ever. Sometimes it scares me how much I love her, because my heart feels so utterly out there, so entirely vulnerable… Then we read the Scriptures telling us to love one another "as God loved us," and … that trail leads to a crown of thorns.

 

Pardon the grammar, but it don't come easy. Falling in love is how God gives us a push in the right direction. But then we have to choose. And we are going to need a very compelling reason to lay down our lives, day after day, year after year. To make those thousand little choices, for the thousand-and-oneth little time. Something needs to compel us.

 

What could be more compelling than this? When we abandon ourselves to love, we find ourselves closer to the One who is always doing that himself. We find God.

-John and Stasi Eldredge

 

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- Adam Forrest, Zondervan


(Some styling above is a web-exclusive feature not included in the text of Love & War. This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's personal opinions are shared only for information purposes. To receive new Zondervan Blog posts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

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John’s Birth & Other Impossible Christmas Gifts [Excerpt of "Preparing for Jesus"]

 

I discovered the following excerpt in Walt Wangerin, Jr.’s book Preparing for Jesus: Meditations on the Coming of Christ, Advent, Christmas, and the Kingdom. Wangerin’s meditation challenges those of us who are eager to take credit for God-given gifts. But this meditation also reminds us of those impossible and astonishing gifts God bestows — such as Elizabeth’s twilight-years pregnancy — but also the more quietly impossible gifts, such as when, Wangerin says, “peace comes into me, though I had been desperately restless and afraid.”

Wishing you an astonishing gift this Christmas season,
- Adam Forrest, Zondervan Internet Team

 

From Preparing for Jesus

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Elizabeth, how difficult was it for an old woman to bring an infant to term? You did it almost alone. No one knew but your husband and your cousin Mary. And the midwife: when mute Zechariah went and brought her to your house, and she entered your room and saw your condition, how astonished was she? With what sort of grin did you greet her? And how quickly did the grin twist into a grimace when that mighty muscle contracted to drive a baby into the world? O mother Elizabeth, how did it feel to bear a baby in your old age?

 

The Lord has shown great mercy to you. Literally, the word is: “The Lord magnified his mercy with you.” It’s the same word that Mary used in her hymn of praise. [Luke 1:46-55]

 

And this great mercy shown to you, Elizabeth, is exactly what Mary meant when she sang: “His mercy is on those who fear him.” You fear him. You are one of low degree whom God your Savior has exalted. You are the hungry whom he will fill with good things.

 

And this is how “Mercy” always comes to us, isn’t it? — like a baby delivered in old age: the miracle we thought we had outlived, the gift we thought impossible to receive. It always astonishes us.

 

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Learning When to Say Yes [Contest]

 

 

 
 
   
 
Signed copies of Beyond Boundaries
  
 
 

One of my favorites lines from the Beyond Boundaries webcast that Dr. John Townsend did several weeks ago was: "You've learned how to say no, now you can learn when to say yes."  This really resonated with me and I tought that it would be great to share with each other about saying no.

How to Enter:
In 75 words or less, tell us about a time you said 'no' or how impotant one of the original Boundaries books was to you.

The Prize:
We have several (quantity will be a surprise) signed copies of Beyond Boundaries to help you learn when to say yes.

Deadline: Comment before 8:00am Thursday November 3rd, 2011. We'll randomly select and anounce the winners before noon.

Legal Stuff: Due to shipping restrictions the giveaway is open to residents of the US and Canada only. Everyone is free to share their stories though. Zondervan Blog's managing editor (Adam Forrest) will contact the winners via email to retrieve their shipping address.Winners will need to provide a physical address, no P.O. boxes.

Looking forward to your stories!

- Caleb, Zondervan Internet Team

(This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's opinions are their own, and are shared for information purposes only. To receive new blogposts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)


 

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From the Beyond Boundaries Webcast: Video and Viewing Guide

If you missed last week’s Beyond Boundaries Webcast with Dr. John Townsend, no worries — you can still watch the video. Below you’ll also find a downloadable Viewing Guide and notes on Townsend’s key takeaways.

 

 

Dig Deeper with the Viewing Guide

If you’re going to watch the video with your small group, this download may come in handy:
Download the Viewing Guide (Outline + Discussion Questions) (PDF)

Here I’ve woven together the Viewing Guide outline with my own notes. I hope it’s helpful! 

Beyond Boundaries Webcast

Our Need for Boundaries & for Connectedness – 0:01

  • Part of the human condition is that trust goes bad, but we’re designed by God to connect with others.
  • Difference between non-negotiable “heart boundaries” and more flexible “protective boundaries”
  • But we’re designed by God to connect with others, so how do we know where to set up healthy protective boundaries?

 

Question One: How do I know when I’m ready? – 6:12

  • Have you learned a lesson? “Every difficult relationship has a lesson in it,” says Townsend. “Ask yourself, ‘Why did I let that go on so long?’”
  • Have you been through some growth and healing? Have I talked about it with others? Is my judgment any better?
  • Christie, a “fixer,” shares her story. – 9:07
  • Question from audience: How do you know when the learning is through? – 13:22

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Hear Margaret Feinberg’s “Pursuing God’s Beauty” Bible Study on Midday Connection

Last Tuesday (Sept. 20, 2011), Moody Radio's Midday Connection kicked off their Fall Bible Study with the first session of Margaret Feinberg's Pursuing God's Beauty: Stories from the Gospel of John. Midday Connection will go through the remaining sessions each Tuesday over the next five weeks. You can listen to the the first session now, and visit  www.middayconnection.org to hear the other sessions as they're posted.

 

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In the show's discussion of Pursuing God's Beauty Session 1, host Anita Lustrea asks Margaret Feinberg (@mafeinberg) why pursuing God is important. Margaret responds,  "I think that there are times when we hit that dry canyon, and we have to make a choice. Do [I] sit? … Or do I keep on going … keep on reading, keep on studying, keep on praying. [Do I say] I'm going to keep on talking to You, even through this difficult and dry season."

It's no coincidence that Margaret's study on pursuing God's beauty is centered on the Gospel of John. "I believe the beauty of God radiates in the person of Jesus Christ," Margaret says, and of all the Gospel writers, John "makes Jesus the most real to me." After Margaret discusses why she loves the Gospel of John, the discussion of Session 1 begins earnest (at 14:50 in the show).

I was especially interested in the hosts' contrast between inviting someone to chuch and inviting someone to meet Jesus. This also elicited a thought-provoking disagreement about Margaret's favorite spiritual conversation starter, "What do you love about Jesus?" Some of the hosts found this a compelling question, but others found it threatening.

 

Find Margaret Feinberg on Facebook
Find Margaret on Facebook

Midday Connection's discussion of Session 2 is coming up on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011, and you can hear it at www.middayconnection.org. Margaret Feinberg will join the show again to dig into John chapters 4-8, and to discuss the facades we present to others; what it's like for God to see through to the real us; and how this can change the way we live.


Learn more about the Pursuing God's Beauty Bible Study.


Does the Gospel of John make Jesus "the most real" for you, as it does for Margaret? I'm also curious, would you feel comfortable asking a new acquaintance "What do you love about Jesus?"


(-Adam Forrest, Zondervan Internet Team)



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No Boundaries is No Way to Live (The True Story of a Super-Nice Landlord)

 

A recent story on the radio show "This American Life" grabbed me and wouldn't let go. It's the true story of a compassionate landlord named Dennis, who for 6 years tried everything he could to help two down-on-their-luck tenants make their rent payments. I could relate to Dennis' position and I think his story will make you wonder what you would do in his shoes, so I recommend you listen to Dennis' story called "Please Re-Lease Me."

Dennis' father shared some chilling advice when he first became a landord. His father said dealing with problem tenants "will make a good person bad." Dennis didn't want that; he wanted to live in service to others. That's why he kept pursuing new, more involved ways to help the struggling couple.

I don't want to spoil the end of his story, but I will say the situation snowballed. Dennis believes the ordeal changed him for the worse, and that his father's words may have come true. "Now I don't like to get personally involved with tenants," Dennis says. "It's just too hard."

This saddened me because I think Dennis could have avoided the more soul-scorching aspects of his experience. As I listened to his story I wanted so badly to talk with him and recommend two books, Boundaries and Beyond Boundaries!

 

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I would recommended Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend because its biblically-based principles helped me learn when I need to say 'no,' and how this doesn't make me a mean person. Since I'm one of those people who can let good intentions get me committed to more things that I can reasonably handle, Boundaries has been helpful in learning to set legitimate, healthy limits on my commitments and relationships. There are times when a Christian can say 'no' because there are times when love says 'no'! Read an excerpt of Boundaries on Scribd.


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I would also tell Dennis about John Townsend's new book, Beyond Boundaries: Learning to Trust Again in Relationships. Beyond Boundaries is especially helpful for for people who have already been burned by a breach of trust. It covers how you can know when you can trust someone again, how to heal broken trust, and how to build a strong and healthy foundation in new relationships. I've read several chapters of the book and I've liked it a lot. You can read an excerpt of Beyond Boundaries on Scribd, and there's also a Beyond Boundaries video curriculum.

 

In a way this post is an open letter to Dennis. So Dennis, if you're reading this, I encourage you to pick up Boundaries and Beyond Boundaries… and God's blessings on you for all you've done to treat your tenants with justice and compassion!

 

For everyone else, what are your thoughts on Dennis' story? How would you have handled the situation differently? Do you recommend any other books that have helped you discern when a well-meaning commitment has become unhealthy?

PS – To learn more about Beyond Boundaries, tune in to the Beyond Boundaries Live Worldwide Webcast with Dr. John Townsend on October 4, at 8pm EST. Register for the free webcast at www.facebook.com/drtownsendspage.

(-Adam Forrest, Zondervan Internet Team)

 

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Celebrating the Life and Legacy of John Stott

 

John R. W. Stott

The Zondervan family wishes to express our sincere condolences on the passing of Reverend John Stott. Reverend Stott is widely regarded as one of the great evangelical leaders of his time and he has left a significant lasting legacy having played a major role in shaping 20th-century evangelical Christianity through his writing, preaching and global ministry efforts. He was a prolific writer and author and Zondervan was privileged to publish several of his influential books and to help share his voice with the world.


Reverend Stott was credited with having a great heart and passion for supporting and mentoring Christian scholars and leaders. We have also been fortunate to publish some of those great voices he mentored, including the talented Dr. Christopher Wright,

 

As the world grieves the loss of this great and humble man, we should also celebrate his full and rich life which was fully devoted daily to serving God and the church through his tireless work.

We would like to share with you two excerpts by Reverend Stott. We feel they exemplify his vibrant hope in Christ, and his passionate pursuit of better knowing, sharing, and living the Gospel.


From Understanding the Bible:

Whenever we read the Bible, we must look for Christ. And we must go on looking until we see and so believe. Only as we continue to appropriate by faith the riches of Christ which are disclosed to us in Scripture shall we grow into spiritual maturity, and become men and women of God who are “thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17).


From Issues Facing Christians Today:

It seems to me that we [Christians] need to repent of two particularly horrid sins. The first is pessimism, which is dishonoring to God and incompatible with Christian faith. To be sure, we do not forget the falleness, indeed the depravity, of human beings. We are well aware of the pervasiveness of evil. We are not so foolish as to imagine that society will ever become perfect before Christ comes and establishes the fullness of his rule. Nevertheless, we also believe in the power of God – in the power of God’s gospel to change society. We need to renounce both naïve optimism and cynical pessimism and replace them with the sober but confident realism of the Bible.

The second sin of which we need to repent is mediocrity, and the acceptance of it. I find myself wanting to say, especially to young people: “Don’t be content with the mediocre! Don’t settle for anything less than your full God-given potential! Be ambitious and adventurous for God! God has made you a unique person by your genetic endowment, upbringing and education. He has himself created you and gifted you, and he does not want his work to be wasted. He means you to be fulfilled, not frustrated. His purpose is that everything you have and are should be stretched in his service and in the service of others.”

 

We would love to hear how John Stott has touched your life. Share your reflections in a comment.


-Zondervan

 

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Remembering John Stott

In honor of John R. W. Stott, 27 April 1921 – 27 July 2011.

 

Basic Christianity

It was 1998 when I first read John Stott in a small group. Our leader selected Basic Christianity as our book of study for the year. I had certainly heard of John Stott before as my father had studied Theology and Church History and often would mention St. Francis, Stott, Luther, and other leaders of Christian thought over dinner. However, as a teen my perception was that Stott was just an old guy that wrote some books.

As we studied and discussed Basic Christianity I quickly realized how wrong I was. Stott had put on paper God's truth in plain language. It was impactful to say the least. And it helped form the foundations of my faith and formed my desire to learn more and more.

Years later I had an opportunity to pay this foundation forward, as I led a group of young men in a similar study and discussion.

It is sad to hear of John Stott's passing today. Yet, I am reminded to rejoice in the legacy and impact that he has had on entire generations of Christians. I trust that he heard the words, "Well done good and faithful servant."

Read more about John Stott at Christianity Today.

-Caleb Williams, Zondervan Internet Team

 

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Scriptural Insights with Chuck Swindoll – Disease and Desperation

The scene by the Pool of Bethesda must have been a soul-rending experience for any visitor with the capacity for empathy. Thanks to modern medicine, these horrific collections of desperately infirm people no longer exist … almost.


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When I served on the island of Okinawa, I played in the Third Division Marine Corps band. On one occasion, we were invited to a leprosarium on the north end of Okinawa to play a concert. The memory of those men and women will never leave me. Mangled bodies stumbled and pushed and pulled themselves along, each one bearing remnants of a human face. They sat in neat rows of chairs provided for them and they listened in rapt attention to our music. I could barely play my instrument through the sadness weighing upon my heart, seeing bodies horrifically distorted by the disease we now call Hansen’s disease. I’ll never forget the sound of their applause, which they offered by banging stumps of limbs together or tapping their crutches on the floor or against their chairs.

I would have given almost anything to have the power of healing that day. What a joy it must have been for Jesus to reach down into the sea of human depravity and snatch a soul from the clutches of disease! I sometimes wonder why He didn’t empty the asklempieion in Jerusalem instead of choosing just one man. Because He is good and infinitely wise, I trust His judgment. After all, He left the pristine realm of heaven to become one of us, to share our suffering, to experience death, and ultimately to end the tyranny of evil through His own sacrifice.

One day soon, Jesus will empty the hospitals, the leper colonies, and even the graveyards of the world. Then we will live in a world without darkness, sin, suffering, disease, and death. We have His promise on that. And I, for one, passionately anticipate that glorious day!

Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"

"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."

Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.  – John 5:3-9a

Read more from Chuck Swindoll at www.SwindollInsights.com

 

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