What is Christianity? It is Christ – nothing more and nothing less. Unfortunately, the church has lost sight of this simple fact, say Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola in their new book, Jesus Manifesto: Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ. We focus on Christianity and not on the living Christ. We are meant to be living epistles – “Jesus Manifestos” – in our world, but we are instead trivializing the gospel by practicing religiosity rather than fostering relationships with our Savior. It’s time for a change.
The book starts off very slow. Although the introduction caught my interest, the writing style didn’t keep my attention. Also, while extensive endnotes are included, I didn’t like the fact that most of the scripture references are found in the endnotes rather than in the book’s text.
After the first few chapters, though, the book improved. I found myself questioning, checking references, confirming the validity of the statements, and moving on, thoroughly enjoying seeing scripture in a new light. The book presents the case for where the church is lacking and how an authentic application of Christianity should look. It challenged me to examine scripture more closely and was both inspiring and enlightening.
I encourage you to read this book and to keep a Bible by your side when you do.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. In addition, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing these things in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
It’s been almost three weeks since the end of Digital Detox Week and I’ve yet to write about my experiences during my break from social media and TV. The week was incredibly refreshing and it gave me a glimpse of a life free from the distractions of my consumer habits. On the first day, I sat down and began a list of “best practices” that I would like to put into action in order to bring my life in line with what I believe God wants my life to look like. As the week proceeded, I revisited the list, making changes based on God’s leading. After a couple more weeks of changes, I’m ready to begin implementing the list this week. I’m really not sure if I will be able to implement everything, but I am determined to try (with Yoda’s voice in my head: “do or do not, there is no try”). Part of me is looking forward to the challenge, while part of me recognizes the foolishness of it. With much prayer, I venture forward.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
We are a generation of consumers, independent and critical. We attend church, but we don’t want to settle down and truly invest ourselves. We’re not into commitment — we only want to date the church. Is this what God wants for us?
In Stop Dating the Church!: Fall in Love with the Family of God, bestselling author Joshua Harris says no, God’s purpose for Christians involves a deep commitment to a local church. This commitment involves far more than showing up on Sunday to sing, chat, and listen to a sermon. Josh says that in order for us to have the kind of relationship with a local church that God intended, we must first see the Church (universal church) as God sees it.
This is the third book by Josh Harris that I’ve read. One of my favorite things about his books is that his writing style is so conversational and unassuming. I feel when I pick up one of his books as if I’ve sat down with a friend for a cup of coffee and encouragement sprinkled with confession. He uses a variety of examples, but many of them come from his own life – his own shortcomings and mistakes. And yet, his books are always grounded in scripture and demonstrate a satisfaction in Christ that many only secretly dream of.
In Stop Dating the Church!, Josh breaks down the arguments for church dating and explains why God desires that we have the close relationships with other Christians found only in a local church. Like with any commandment of God, there are real, tangible benefits to obedience. Commitment to a local church takes effort, but the benefits far outweigh that effort. Unfortunately, many of us are too committed outside of the church to have a real relationship with the other members of our local body.
In the book, Josh offers real advice on how to commit to the church and what commitment looks like. He also discusses choosing a church, including what things are a matter of taste and what things are vital to a healthy church family – and, by extension, a healthy Christian. He then talks about how to make the most of Sunday, including the church service and the rest of the day.
I highly recommend that you read this book, whether or not you think you might qualify as a church dater. I found the book convicting, but also encouraging and insightful. It’s helped me to look at my own relationship with my church in a new light and I am looking forward to applying more of Josh’s suggestions.
One word of caution: I am linking above to the print edition of Stop Dating the Church!. The book’s content is fantastic, and what I’ve seen of the print edition’s quality is excellent, but I read the Kindle edition and was very disappointed in the production quality of that edition. It appears that they took the print edition, converted it to the Kindle format, and posted it without any proofreading. There are numerous cases where words that needed to be broken across lines in the print edition are still hyphenated in the Kindle edition, or where characters that apparently didn’t convert properly are either missing or display strangely in the Kindle edition. Having read this one Kindle edition from Multnomah Books, I would be hesitant to buy another Kindle edition from the publisher. By the way, if you’re from Multnomah and are looking for someone to do Kindle conversions, feel free to get in touch.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
So, I have been contemplating what I might write about in my first post-detox blog post. A sensational experience earlier this week answered the question. I read on Monday that Square Root Natural Foods, Poland’s new natural food store, is now selling wraps and sandwiches. I had planned a stop at the store on Tuesday, so I had to check out the wraps. Now, I don’t know about you, but curry tuna just did not sound appetizing. However, after being told that it was Zakk’s personal creation, I decided to give it a try. “You won’t regret it,” I was told. He was right! Albacore tuna, ranch dressing, canola mayonnaise, capers, onion, celery, curry, cumin, lettuce, tomato, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and a whole wheat tortilla combine to make a truly amazing wrap. I wasn’t surprised today to learn that they can’t keep them in the store. I shared mine with the rest of my family and everyone agreed: absolutely delightful. By the way, I’m not a fan of sauerkraut or capers, and my youngest sister doesn’t like curry, but we agreed that the combination of flavors was wonderful. The picture above shows just half of the wrap and the whole thing only cost $4.25 – a decent price considering how much food it was.
I also purchased a bag of Bare Fruit Organic Dried Fuji Apple Chips to go along with the wrap (see the pictures above and below). Another excellent purchase! Yummy!
So, if you’re within flying distance of Poland, Maine, get yourself over to Poland Crossing at 1399 Maine Street and ask at Square Root Natural Foods for their Curry Tuna wrap. Let me know what you think!
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I spend my time. It seems that I find myself wasting a lot of time on Facebook or in front of the TV (or both simultaneously) or doing other things that drain me emotionally, physically, and spiritually. After reading and contemplating a blog post by Tony Steward, I’ve decided to follow the example of Michael Hyatt and combine it with a suggestion from my good friend Joanna Hoyt. Consequently, I’m observing TV Turnoff Week (aka Digital Detox Week), April 19-25, 2010, by turning off the TV, staying away from Internet video, and taking a break from social media, including Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and other social sites/tools. Since my work involves social media, I will have to monitor Facebook, Twitter, and some other social media sites for business purposes, but will use them for absolutely nothing personal and will limit my time on them as much as possible. I’m also observing a blog silence during the week, but that won’t impact my life much because of the (lack of) frequency with which I generally post to my blog.
I’m looking forward to the break and am contemplating how my life will change after April 25.
Would you like to join me? Comment below and let us know what you’re giving up as part of your digital detox from April 19 to 25.
See you on the other end!
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
When my family moved to Poland 20 years ago, we came from a town with a library that was staffed by a group of committed volunteers, but that was peripheral to the community. It was little more than a place to borrow books. One of the things that stood out the most for my family was how central Ricker Library was to the town of Poland. It was, and continues to be, a bright, cheerful place that is truly the hub of our community and is vital to our town’s prosperity. That’s why I was so excited when Zakk Maher approached the library about Square Root Natural Foods donating a portion of today’s profits to the library and about working with the library to bring programming related to health and natural and organic foods to Poland. Square Root Natural Foods and the library have similar qualities. Both are committed to fostering community here in Poland. While the library provides the community house, with many community events taking place within our building’s walls, and serves as the town’s warming and cooling centers, Square Root Natural Foods provides its community lounge and promotes products grown and created within our community. Also, while Square Root Natural Foods serves our physical needs by providing nutrition for the body, the library provides nutrition for the mind and soul. Now more than ever it is important to support our local economy and that’s what Square Root Natural Foods is dedicated to doing by providing local products. The library is committed to boosting the local economy by providing resources for job seekers and small businesses. As Anne Herbert once said, “Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries.” We are honored to have the opportunity to work with Square Root Natural Foods to support our local economy and to promote healthy habits and we thank Zakk and Emmy for their support of the library. We look forward to using their donation to improve our ecology and agriculture sections and also look forward to working with them in the future to bring quality programming on related topics to the town. If you would like more information about the Alvan Bolster Ricker Memorial Library and Community House, including our upcoming programs and fundraisers, please come to the library or visit our web site at rickerlibrary.org.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Hello to my friends in Central Maine (especially Poland, Maine)! This Saturday (March 20) we have an awesome opportunity to support a great new local business and also support our favorite public library! Square Root Natural Foods is a new natural food store opening at Poland Crossing, where Poland’s Dunkin Donuts is located (the store is between Northeast Bank and Family Dollar). Being very community-minded, the owners have chosen to donate a portion of the opening day’s profits to the library, to be used to improve the library’s ecology and agriculture sections. As a library trustee and friend of the library, I’m excited about what this means for the library. As a lover of my hometown, I’m excited about what this means for Poland. As someone who supports the local economy by purchasing locally-grown foods, I’m excited about this great new place to get local and natural goods. Please join me in helping to make their opening day a huge success while also supporting Ricker Library! The store had its soft open a few weeks ago, so I’ve had the opportunity to visit and I can tell you that they have a great selection. Also, I had a long talk with the owners and am very impressed with their attitude regarding the business and the community. For more information about the event, visit the Friends of Ricker Library web site at http://rickerfriends.org/.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
I designed and built this site based on a color scheme created by Jessica Devoe of Devoe Web Designs, who also created the company’s logo. Forthcoming features include a jQuery-based photo gallery.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Freeport-based concert ministry The Lighthouse Events is bringing two big names to Maine this spring: Jeremy Camp and Phillips, Craig & Dean! Jeremy Camp will be joined by his wife, Adie, on March 27 in Lewiston at Pathway Vineyard. PCD will be in Bangor at Abundant Life Church on May 21 and will be joined by Meredith Andrews. Both concerts promise to be fantastic! For more information, click the posters below.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
There is little point in this blog post except to tell you about a couple of friends, one old and one new, who have started blogging recently. One, Joanna Hoyt, is a fairly politically liberal quaker with whom I grew up. Just today she started her blog, Living as if the Truth was true. The other is a fellow UMA Computer Information Systems student who is quite politically conservative (her religious views are currently unknown to me). She started her blog, The Maine Conservatively Liberal Democratic Republican, in November. Although we don’t always agree (probably often do not), I look forward to reading what they have to say and encourage you to check them out!
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
