Zondervan Blog

It’s Like Watching Jesus Drive a Shuttle Bus (AKA, Flourishing in Action – Excerpt)

May 14

Does God want his people to flourish? What does flourishing even look like? John Ortberg gives us a picture in this excerpt from The Me I Want to Be: Becoming God’s Best Version of You.

John Ortberg

Not long ago I boarded an airport shuttle bus to get to the rental car lot. Driving a shuttle bus is usually a thankless job, for the driver is often regarded as the low man on the totem pole. People on the bus are often grumpy from travel and in a hurry to get to their car. No one says much except the name of their rental car company. But not on this bus.

The man who drove the bus was an absolute delight. He was scanning the curbside, looking for anybody who needed a ride. “You know,” he told us, “I’m always looking because sometimes people are running late. You can tell it in their eyes. I’m always looking because I never want to miss one. Hey, here’s another one! …”

The driver pulled over to pick up a latecomer, and he was so excited about what he was doing that we got excited. We were actually cheering him on when he was picking people up. It was like watching Jesus drive a shuttle bus. The man would grab people’s luggage before they could lift it, then he would jump back on the bus and say, “Well we’re off. I know you’re all eager to get there as quickly as possible, so I’m going to get you there as soon as I can.”

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How Can We Share God’s Peace? [Excerpt]

May 11

What is the church’s role in extending God’s peace to the world? Mark Buchanan gives perspective in this excerpt from Your Church Is Too Safe: Why Following Christ Turns the World Upside-Down.

Mark Buchanan

The primary gift God gives to those who trust in him is reconciliation with him. But the primary gift the people of God give to those who are reconciled to God is a community of reconciled people. We give them the gift of our own wholeness and oneness. We give the gift of community. We invite them to be part of a people where everyone makes “every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” [Ephesians 4:3].

God calls us out of darkness and into marvelous light [1 Peter 2:9]. But his intent is that “if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another” [1 John 1:7]. So God prepares us to be a people who draw and who welcome every tribe and tongue and nation into the light by first making us light. And he does that, in part, by bringing those who are far away near. He does that by making the community of the converted also the community of the reconciled…

One sign that God has returned to dwell in the center of our lives and of our churches is that we become a living testimony of what we promise. We promise that in Christ all become new creations, no longer seeing others according to the flesh. We promise that in Christ we have the peace of God and the God of peace. We promise that we through Christ receive God’s love and forgiveness, and then extend it — with authority — to the whole world. We promise all this, but then claim exemption for ourselves in some petty matter or another.

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The Weight of Your Past (and What Jesus Thinks about It – Excerpt)

May 10

We begin our scene at Jacob’s well, as two people discuss what God desires. One of those people is the Son of God. This story is told by Mark Buchanan in his book Your Church Is Too Safe: Why Following Christ Turns the World Upside-Down. -Adam Forrest, Zondervan

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“Will you give me a drink?” Jesus asks.

The voice, the question, the man: they startle her. They startle her out of her silence and avoidance.

“You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” [See John 4:1-42]

And then unfolds a remarkable encounter, a life-turning exchange. But not at first. At first, her speech is as cagey as her silence, a series of diversions and evasions. Jesus offers her living water, “the gift of God.” She’s puzzled and intrigued, but when Jesus exposes her condition, she scurries down a rabbit trail. She wants to talk about worship. That might be a good thing, but as so often happens with talk of worship, it bogs down quickly into hairsplitting and argument baiting. Is this style better than that style? Is old better than new? Is tradition better than innovation?

When Jesus exposes her condition, she scurries down a rabbit trail.

Jesus cuts through all that with a clear word about the heart of worship: it’s about the heart in worship. It’s about a heart that longs for God and seeks him wherever he might be found. It’s about a heart that wants truth in the inmost parts, and opens itself wide as a bird’s mouth to receive it, and steeps in it until it works its way to the outermost parts. Worship is not about a style or a form or a place. That’s not what God’s seeking. He’s seeking not a kind of music or liturgy or architecture but a kind of person: humble, hungry, wide awake, who comes in spirit and truth, bold and beseeching both, ready to live toward God out of their depths.

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All God Wants [Excerpt]

May 09

Scot McKnight reflects on “the greatest commandment” in this excerpt from One.Life: Jesus Calls, We Follow (eBook).

From 613 Commandments … To 2

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[A religious expert] came to Jesus, because he wanted to trap Jesus in a theological debate. (Or, in our terms, because he wanted Jesus to tell the crowd which denomination he was in or whose side he was on in a political or religious debate.)

[The religious expert asks,] “Of all the commandments [the 613], which is the most important?”

If Jesus picks one, he could be guilty of picking and choosing the wrong one. If he doesn’t pick one, he looks lame. Jesus was ready … and he offers to his listeners [what] I call the Jesus Creed:

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29–31 …

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A Little Bit of Bad Stuff [Excerpt]

May 08

What we choose to swallow matters, as made mighty clear in this story from Craig Groeschel’s book Soul Detox: Clean Living in a Contaminated World. (Did you guess how this story ends?)

Craig Groeschel

When it comes to anything we consume, a little bit of poison goes a long way…

Here’s the best illustration that I know of this timeless truth. A loving mother demonstrated this principle to her son, Cade. When his friends invited him over to watch a movie, one just released on DVD and rated PG-13, Cade begged his mom to let him see it. His mom asked him her usual questions, “Buddy, is it a good movie? One that won’t hurt your Christian walk?”

Knowing it had some less than appropriate scenes, Cade shuffled from one foot to the other and searched for the right words. Not wanting to lie to his mom, he tried to walk on the edge of the truth. “Well, it’s not as bad as a lot of movies,” he said enthusiastically. “And all my friends have seen it. There’s only a little bit of bad stuff in it.” He held his breath, awaiting his mom’s final verdict on his moviegoing fate.

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The Kind of People Who Grow Good Fruit [Excerpt]

May 07

Ann Voskamp explores the deep-rooted link among surprise, joy, and humility. [Excerpt from Selections from One Thousand Gifts: Finding Joy in What Really Matters.]

Ann Voskamp

Perhaps there is no way to discover joy but as surprise…

The humble live surprised. The humble live by joy. The humble are the laid-low and bowed ones, the surprised ones with hands open to receive whatever He gives.

He hands them the earth. The earth. [Matthew 5:5]

But is it any wonder? That word humility itself comes from the Latin root humus — the kind of earth that grows good crops. God gives the earth to the humus-people, the humble ones. Humility is that good humus that grows gratitude that yields abundant joy.

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Why Does Jesus Give”Life to the Full”? [Excerpt by John Ortberg]

May 04

Jesus gives us life — so, what do we do with it? John Ortberg reflects in this excerpt from The Me I Want to Be: Becoming God’s Best Version of You.

John Ortberg

Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” [John 10:10]. We may have heard that without understanding what Jesus offers. When he says he has come to “give life,” what exactly does he mean?

We all feel that we know what life is when we see it, but life turns out to be surprisingly tricky to define. So we might start here: Life is the inner power to make something happen.

Throw a rock, and it soon stops moving. But put a seed in the ground, and something happens — it sends out a root, takes in nourishment, and grows up to be fruitful. To be spiritually alive means to receive power from God to have a positive impact on your world.

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The Secret to Being Thankful “For All Things” [Excerpt]

May 03

Ann Voskamp shares a discovery from her spiritual practice of counting gifts. [Excerpt from Selections from One Thousand Gifts: Finding Joy in What Really Matters.]

Ann Voskamp

I had read it often, the oft-quoted verse: “And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20). I would nod and say straight-faced, “I’m thankful for everything.”

But [in] counting gifts, to one thousand, more, I discover that slapping a sloppy brush of thanksgiving over everything in my life leaves me deeply thankful for very few things. A lifetime of sermons on “thanks in all things” and the shelves sagging with books on these things and I testify: life-changing gratitude does not fasten to a life unless nailed through with one very specific nail at a time.

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Danger Isn’t Enough: A “Fully Awake” Interview with Author & Filmmaker Joel N. Clark

May 02

If you had to pick five words to describe the Christian life, would these make your list: wonder, whimsy, beauty, magic, adventure? These five elements are bursting at the seams of Joel N. Clark’s new book Awake: Discover the Power of YOUR Story.

I haven’t encountered a book like Awake before – I could call it a Christian adventure memoir, but it’s more. In Awake author and filmmaker Joel N. Clark shares stories that challenged him to live a bigger story, one suffused with wonder and deeply connected to God. As Joel reveals in this exclusive interview, he believes God created all of us to live that way, pursuing Him “fully awake.”

Read on as Joel discusses what we stand to gain if we accept the “fully awake” challenge. -Adam Forrest, Zondervan

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ZBLOG: You write that you want to live “fully awake.” What does a fully awake life look like?

JOEL: For much of my life I’ve heard pastors say, “God is not just found in the four walls of the church, but he’s found in our places of work, in our homes and in our daily lives.” Yet for many years my relationship with God came down to the times I prayed, read the Bible, worshiped (which usually meant singing) and went to church. This was the entirety of my relationship with God and therefore I was bored with him and all things Christian.

Living “fully awake” is about more than finding God in the midst of ALL of my story. It’s about experiencing him fully, his pleasure, his heart and his presence in the midst of every part of it. This is something that doesn’t come naturally, but he is speaking and acting constantly throughout the day.

When I am “fully awake” I am able to see and hear him in all of it and my life is filled with wonder, beauty and magic, even in the seasons of pain and heartache.

ZBLOG: In Awake you recount many of your adventures, and some are quite dangerous! Some readers may be tempted to say, “Joel is just addicted to danger” – but you claim you’ve never been an adrenaline junkie.

So, what is it that drives you?

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Adventures in Undoing Idolatry: How our House Became a Home [Excerpt]

May 02

Want to change harmful habits? First change your beliefs, explains Craig Groeschel in this story about breaking free from materialism. [Excerpt from Craig's new book Soul Detox: Clean Living in a Contaminated World.]

Craig Groeschel

Instead of trying to convince you of the importance of budgeting, saving, and planning (all of which are important and necessary), I’m going to offer something often overlooked that should come before we try to change our behavior. Remember our first problem is a belief problem. Belief overflows to behavior. First we need to change what we believe. When we truly change what we believe, we’ll gladly change how we behave.

I’ll give you an example. Amy and I have always enjoyed keeping our house nice, especially for company. Years ago, if you called and told me you were coming to visit in an hour, our routine would have looked something like this: I’d run to tell Amy that you were coming. She’d ask when. I’d tell her in an hour. She’d panic. For the next 59.5 minutes we’d run around throwing stuff into a closet and explaining to the kids that “under no circumstances do you open that closet!” Then we’d light some candles to give our home that welcoming scent. My job included putting on a worship tape to set the spiritual mood. (If you don’t know what a tape is, ask someone over forty.) After freshening up we’d wait for you for the final .5 minutes to put on the ourhome- and-family-are-perfect show.

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It’s Like Watching Jesus Drive a Shuttle Bus (AKA, Flourishing in Action – Excerpt)

The Weight of Your Past (and What Jesus Thinks about It – Excerpt)

All God Wants [Excerpt]

From 613 Commandments … To 2

A Little Bit of Bad Stuff [Excerpt]

The Kind of People Who Grow Good Fruit [Excerpt]

Why Does Jesus Give”Life to the Full”? [Excerpt by John Ortberg]

The Secret to Being Thankful “For All Things” [Excerpt]

Danger Isn’t Enough: A “Fully Awake” Interview with Author & Filmmaker Joel N. Clark

Adventures in Undoing Idolatry: How our House Became a Home [Excerpt]