It's a wrap!

I am reading the final 2 chapters today, so I can wrap this up.

With all the snow, I have a little extra time on my hands, and I think it is time to wrap this one up. I have quite a few books waiting on me.

Chapter 11 starts out with a great illustration of the importance of Scripture. He talkes about holding a meeting for house church leaders in China. How they long for the freedom to meet that we have. But Wayne will not pray that they become like us, instead he says he will pray that we become like them, willing to travel 13 hours to attend a meeting, sit on the floor instead of padded chairs, no air, having to commit Scripture to memory because it is illegal to possess a Bible. Committed, in other words, and not just adding God to our todo list for the week, if it fits into our schedules.

Chapter 12 talks about the need to have the Holy Spirit involved in the process. I do like the illustration of the seminary student from Uganda, who had witnessed many horrible things as a Christian, and then came to the states to study. He quotes, "We came to gether not for confession or forgiveness, but for debate." Where once the Scriptures were depended upon, now they were another one of the many things that fill our lives. Somehow, we need to get back to depending on them.

Overall, I rate this book average. If it is a topic of need or interest for an individual, maybe a little above average. So maybe 5 1/2 out of 10. If you are looking for illustrations, maybe more.

Going public

Chapter 10 of The Divine Mentor introduces the 20/20/20 program. 20 minutes of reading/20 minutes of focus on one Scripture/20 minutes of group sharing.

I read an article the other day in The Christian Standard where the author is calling for the death of small groups, citing research that small groups are not effective (Shhhh! Don't tell Jesus this!) I think a part of the reason for this is the fact that many small groups do not have a focus. But then again, some big churches don't either! Sometimes we have small groups just because someone said we should have small groups. I am a firm believer that we cannot duplicate the successes of other churches just by copying their programs. But I do think that if I were to be in a small group right now (I have been in the past), that I would want to be in one that takes this approach, or at least try it.

I also find it interesting that the author's small groups meet in public places, as a witness to those who might see them. I like that idea, although I could see where some might be uncomfortable with that.

The author concludes this chapter with a Daily Bible Reading Schedule. These have never worked for me. I either fall behind or want to get ahead. So I struggle with this part, but again stress, do what works for you.

Genuine Imitation Christianity

Chapter 9 begins with an illustration of how he had bought what he thought was a solid oak roll-top desk, only to later find out that the desk was veneered pressboard.

On the outside, it looks just like the real thing, but that is only skin deep. Oh, the places I could go with such an illustration! He goes on to talk about James, the half-brother of Jesus. He tells of how James conviction became so strong that he would spend hours in prayer. James is quoted as telling us to "look intently" into the word. Don't just skim the surface. Look past the veneer.

"God is intimately acquainted with our ways, and He's more concerned about transformation than information." (Page 140)

Doh! nuts

Chapter 8 basically focuses on an illustration of bread. It talks about our need to get our daily bread from God, to feed on his word. He concludes the chapter talking about the spiritual famine that appears prevalent in Christianity, despite the vast sum spent on Christian products and programs.

So rather than enjoy a loaf of fresh, warm bread, we settle for day (or week) old donuts. Doh!

Wash behind your ears

"For a lifetime of growth, continual learning is an essential." (Page 101) As an educator, this is a truth for all types of growth, not just Spiritual growth.

"Consistently make your learning greater than your experience by defining each occurence and setback biblically." (Page 101) Great advice

He gives an acrostic for journaling, S.O.A.P. Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer (Page 102) While I am not one for formulas or one-size-fits-all type of answers, I find that this could be very helpful to many who are starting a journaling type of activity.

"The question is never, 'Does God speak?' but rather 'Am I listening?'" (Page 104)I think of my classroom experience. My teaching is of little value if I cannot get my students to actively listen. And so, we must actively listen to God.

"The Pharisees had extensive knowledge of and intimate familiarity with the details of God's word . . .while missing the whole point!" (Page 106) Do we really think that the religious majority today are exempt from such error? Do we think that we are exempt? He speaks of a pastor friend who had an affair. The friend admitted that he was only studying the Bible for sermon material, and not for personal growth. I love the line, "it left me starving even though I was overseeing an orchard." Active listening is a must.

Giddy up Horsey

I am in Chapter 6 of "The Divine Mentor" by Wayne Cordiero. I feel like I am on a slow moving horse. While that are some good statements in the chapter, the reading seems tedious because perhaps the horse I am on has been beat to death by now. Follow his perscription for daily devotions, and all will be well with God.

Some nuggets along the way....

"Busyness is often equated with success." This is especially true in ministry, isn't it?

"The Bible is the predominant way God speaks to us." Is it? I agree that God sometimes chooses tospeak to us through the Bible, but I am not willing to limit God in this area.
"Don't leave Scripture's lesser-visited mentors feeling alone and abandoned." I like that thought, that there are some books of the Bible that get less attention than others, but shouldn't. But we could almost break that down on a by-verse basis as well. Some verses "speak" to us, while others don't seem to say as much. Is that God, or is it selective hearing?

That's all for Chapter 6. At least for me. Yee Haw!

Missing the Mark?

Chapter 5 focuses on Mary and Martha. He states that "One who apparently 'got' this lesson was the apostle Paul." (Page 68)

Yes he did. He got that Jesus was everything. No matter what the circumstance, Paul handled it in such an amazing way. Paul walked with God. His life's goal was to know Jesus more. For Paul, I don't think it was a matter of reading "X" number of verses or chapters, but a living and breathing day-to-day relation with Christ. Paul had spent years in the Scriptures but until he had a run in with Christ on the road to Damascus, it did not mean much. But once he met Jesus, he was changed forever. Mary sat at Jesus' feet while Martha got busy with the tasks that "had to be done," but didn't really. Was Jesus going to put on a white glove and look for dust over the doorway? I think that one of the greatest illustrations of modern Christian thought is found right there, that before we come to Jesus, everything in our life has to be squeaky clean. Mary knew different. She got it right. Personal devotions, church attendance, tithing, prayer, forgiveness for others, and the list goes on. Without a love for God it is meaningless, merely a clangning gong or noisy cymbol. "There is no greater thing than to listen to the sound of you voice." (Sound of Your Voice, Third Day - just happen to be listening to it now...powerful!)

Which leads me into a second thought from this chapter. "A basic logical theorem says that if your starting premise is incorrect, then every subsequent conclusion will have a high percentage of also being incorrect." He later says, "In the Christian life, the Bible is your basic premise." But what if, just like the Pharisees and teachers of the law, you approach the Bible with a flawed premise? It is my humble opinion that many in America have done just that, we have made it all about us, what God does for us, how wonderful we are, what we can bring to God, etc. Romans 12:3 warns us not to "think of (ourselves) more highly than (we) ought to think, but to think with sober judgment." But how often do we blow by the real meaning of such verses because of the discomfort we find there?

He wraps up the chapter by saying that "the Bible is not a safe book." Agreed. If we look at it from the worlds point of view, following Jesus is not a safe thing at all, but we certainly don't preach that. Come and join our church, we all love each other here, and there are no problems here. This is the greatest, safest place on earth, with some of the most wonderful people on earth. But is that what Jesus called people to, safety and comfort? Is that the example that He gave? Is that what it means to pick up our cross? Remember, "if your starting premise is incorrect, then every subsequent conclusion will have a high percentage of also being incorrect."

I have read Chapter 4, but am not sure what to say about it. It seems to be pressing the same point, just with different illustrations. Which, by the way, I have already heard many of because our preacher has read this book.

I do appreciate that he clarifies on page 55 that personal Bible reading alone is not the end all, but that in order to gain from it one must meditate on what was read. This, I think, is the hard part for many. Some people just have a hard time recalling things they have read.

He concludes the chapter by quoting a friend who once told him, "The secret of growing in divine wisdom is to come to God stupid. Tell him you don't know a thing. Tell him you need to know how to think, how to tie your shoes, how to win friends and influence anybody!" (Page 63) As a public school teacher, I would love to take that quote, take out the the word divine, replace the word God with class, and plaster it all over my room. And as a parent, well, you get the idea. I think the closest I get to understanding God sometimes is when I am put in roles that He has over me. He certainly is a patient and incredible God.

Two for Thursday

I had a little extra time on my hands today, a rarity, so I read another chapter. For this post, I have decided to look at some positives and negatives. We will start with the positives.

POSITIVES:

• Boldness. "The refusal of this responsibility (to self-feed on the Word as opposed to relying on being spoon fed through other sources) opens the floodgates for a codependency of sorts - one that requires others to don the responsibilities God intends for every person." (Page 40) I agree. I think that too many people depend on their understanding of God and belief systems on someone or something else. Do you ever think it funny how preachers of a particular denomination tend to agree on so many key doctrinal issues? I think that sometimes our dependancy goes beyond just depending on the preacher. I think that preachers can also be codependent on denominations, books, particular authors, etc.
• Truth. "knowledge is never an end in itself. It must be converted into a higher form - wisdom - for it to become useful and beneficial to us. To that end, God sends us the Holy Spirit" (Page 43) So reading the Bible is not and end in itself. That requires humility, because I do believe that there are those who approach the reading of the Word with the idea that they can find answers hidden in there, sometimes answers which were never intended. If we do not approach the Word with a great deal of humility, I don't believe that blessing will follow. And to assume that all who read it do it with humility would be a grave error.
• Wisdom. "Your inheritance is what God has in store for you" (Page 48) Call me silly, but I just love it when the realization that God is in complete control come through.

NEGATIVES:

• I really just have one thought here as I read this book. This book is about what has worked for this man. And I get a little leary when someone has success in an area and then writes a book about it. What works for this man may and probably will work for others, but faith is never a one size fits all. I think of it like a diet book. How many people will run to the bookstores when they see what has worked for this person or that celebrity, only to find that it does not work for them. I am not saying that the book should not have been written, only that as we read it, we understand that there are some great principles that are presented which may or may not play out as they did for the author.
• Okay, one more thought. He begn the chapter by telling about a time when one of his staff members came and told him that he was leaving. Now I don't know all of the details, just those presented by the author. He states that he "asked the staff member if he was doing his daily devotions." When this was confirmed, he accepted his resignation. I was kinda hoping for a happy ending here, a bit of mentoring or grace, but instead he just accepted the resignation. I found this especially disappointing since the author mentions similar struggles in his ministry. But, I don't know the whole situation.

Wisdom verses Consequences

In Chapter 2 of Wayne Cordiero's book, "The Divine Mentor," he begins with the statement, "I didn't have what it took, and I knew it. But what was I to do?" He is speaking of his first ministry. This is a bold and honest statement. None of us really have it within us to do what we are doing, but few will admit it. I think that is especially true in ministry, where the minister is often expected to have all the right answers, and have them now. I have seldom heard a minister say, "I don't know."

He then talks about two choices of instructors, wisdom and consequences. In one you learn from others and in the other you learn from your mistakes. He goes on to talk about a pastor who preached before him who had great success. He hunted down a copy of a book he had written, which was out of date. He allowed this pastor, who had long since died, to mentor him.

I really don't have a lot to say about this chapter, as I feel that what was said could have been said much sooner, but like many pastors, sometimes the illustrations overwhelm the message. But it was a good message. We need to understand our short-comings. We need to rely on more than just ourselves. Ultimately, we rely on God to provide what we need. Don't we?

If a tree falls in the forest...

Chapter one begins with an illustration of a Sequoias tree that fell out in California. The tree has been around for years, and they wondered what caused its demise. Turns out it was foot traffic damaging the root system. So the park officials came up with a policy of fencing in some of the oldest, largest, and most historically significant trees. He uses this illustration to show how we too, can become overwhelmed and worn out by the daily cares of life. "It was a sacred enclosure around my roots that saved me from falling." (Page 19)

My first impression in reading this was, just what we need to do as Christians, put up more fences between us and the world around us. But I don't think that is what he means. "Foot traffic wears on us. We can't evade most of it, and that's not really the solution anyway." (Page 19) So the fence isn't necessarily there to keep life out, as much as it is to keep us connected to God.

I guess it all becomes a means and end situation for me. Reading the Bible is a means to an end, but sometimes we make it an end in itself, like we do with so many other things in Christianity. Just like the law was a means to an end, but the teachers of the law made it an end in itself.

The author closes with a promise: "If you will develop a daily self-feeding program from the Bible and allow yourself to be daily, hourly mentored by God's Holy Spirit, your life will undergo an unprecedented change for the better." (Page 22) Is that a money-back guarantee?

That, in my opinion, is a huge promise. One that the author has no right to make. The end is God, and God can open hearts who don't read his book, as well as He can leave closed those who do. God's word is living and active, but let's leave the results in God's hands.

I am doing this because I said I would

I am reading the book, "The Divine Mentor" by Wayne Cordeiro. I borrowed it from a friend, and since I assume that he assumes I borrowed it to read it, that is what I will do. Like it or not.

I have somewhat of a negative attitude as I start. Only because I know my church. I liken them to the church at Galatia, though I doubt they would see it that way. But they preach a lot of moralism, doused with just enough Jesus (at least in their own opinion) to avoid damnation. (Did I just write that? It sounds a bit strong.)

I went to the men's meeting yesterday. There, the need to study Scripture was presented like a hammer to a nail. Bam! Now if you are a reader of this blog, you know that I love and read Scripture. But then, so did the Pharisees. So I know that that in itself will not bring about life change. My fear is that there are those who think it will. An entire night devoted to reading the Bible, but little said about the one to whom the Bible points. (In case you haven't read it lately, its Jesus. Hope I didn't spoil the ending for you.)

"Life will only yield its best fruit to diligent farmers and its treasures to industrious pilrims." (page 10) Sounds like a great statement. But is it truth? Does God only give his best to those who are diligent and industrious? Or, does God take the lowly and humble and exalt them? I think of David here. He loved God, and I believe that he loved God from the start, even as a shepherd boy in a field prior to being called. But God did not choose him because of his diligence or industriousness. Even David's own father did not think it necessary for David to be there when Samuel came to annoint one of his sons as king. Samuel had to ask Jesse if he was sure that all of his sons were present. Jesse's response? Well, there is David, who is out tending the sheep. It seems as if Jesse did not think David the right or even a possible choice. But God did. And I love what God does in Judges 7:2. "The Lord said to Gideon, "The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel boast over me saying, 'My own had has saved me.'" Then, God tells Gideon to start sending people home. 22,000 paired down to 300. Solomon pleased God by asking for wisdom, but that later became his downfall. Truth is, as I see it in Scripture, life yields its best fruit to whomever God chooses. And God tends to choose those who are humble in heart, although there are even examples where this does not seem the case (Jonah and Peter come to mind here).

"God has given an assignment to certain men and women who, though dead, "still speak." (pages 10-11) Amen! God did it! He chose who would be recorded in the pages of His story, the Bible. He is an awesome and a Sovereign God! These men and women are to be our mentors as they reveal GOD to us. That is their purpose, just as it is our purpose to reveal Him to those around us today. And just as in our own lives, there will be good times and bad times. And in all times, there is God.