What's So Amazing About Grace? (1997) by Philip Yancey, BOOK REVIEW

What's So Amazing About Grace? (1997) by Philip Yancey

What's so good about this book? Yancey ignites my understanding of God's grace and challenges me to be a dispenser of grace in my life and faith. When my friend died due to cancer, I was very frustrated but God helps me through Yancey's writing to "wrestle with God" as Jacob did when I read Where Is God When It Hurts? When I was having the crisis of faith regarding the historicity of Jesus' and the Bible, one of the books that helped me was The Jesus I Never Knew. I'm not a Yancey fan or have read every book by him, but when I do, it is timely. The same goes with What's So Amazing About Grace? When I read it, I reflect on myself and there were times (recently) when I'm un-graceful toward others. I called myself Christian, that means I'm the recipient of God's grace for the Scripture says "by grace you have been saved, through faith" (Ephesians 2:8) and yet, I'm behaving like morally-righteous believer. This book is easy to read, but hard to swallow. It is old yet still urgent. It is intellectually satisfying but with a cost: by God's Spirit, I can and must reveal the grace the world is searching for!

When Nicky Gumbel asked "What is grace?" during an interview, Philip Yancey said that he tries to explain it throughout the book, but if he were to give a definition, he said and wrote in this book: "Grace means there is nothing I can do to make God loves me more and nothing I can do to make God love me less. It means that I, even I who deserve the opposite, am invited to take my place at the table in God's family." I love this definition. Grace doesn't depend on what we have done for God but rather what God has done for us. We can read about this truth all over the New Testament. It's not new! "In Christian theology," explains Yancey, "Jesus reversed [the] ancient pattern: when the servants erred, the King was punished. Grace is free only because the giver himself has borne the cost." Grace, the last best word, is so desperately needed in the world today.

The church, of all places, has abused this truth. Sadly, some (if not, most) churches communicate un-grace by how we treat sinners (of different kinds), apply laws and moral legalism, judgmental and by its lack of unity. In the book, Yancey points out about his childhood church (I recommend reading his shorter book entitled Church: Why Bother?) was very racist, and other heart-breaking stories that people who have been and are in the church today reading this book would agree to some degree. I'm part of the church and so, I too, act in un-grace ways. Christians are more concern (rightly so) about homosexuality than divorce; attending religious activities than attend to AIDS patients; and quick to judge with open eyes than to listen with open ears. There are times for everything – love and hate, justice and mercy, forgiveness and punishment – but the church must remember that "dispensing God's grace is the Christian's main contribution." “…The world can do anything the church can do except one thing – it cannot show grace.”

Yancey also shares great examples of Christian ministers and churches that have the Jesus' distinguishing mark – not political correctness or moral superiority but – LOVE. I believe homosexuality is sin and so does divorce which is very prevalent in Christianity today. Abortion is another issue. Woman preaching in the church issue recently where John MacArthur, a Bible teacher, told Beth Moore, a Bible Study author, to "go home." What is this? As Yancey advice in the book and so here I say: we Christians can have firm views about ethical behavior or bold stand about the theological matter but we MUST demonstrate love foremost. Love allows us to be compassionate, vulnerable and empathy. When the church displays God's love and grace first without discounting justice and sin, we show the world: the real Jesus. The One who the world hate and at the same time attracted to. This statement by Yancey is so powerful: "The world thirsts for grace. When grace descends, the world falls silent before it." Amen!

There are so many lessons that I learned from this book. I've underlined and made notes. I will reread it (together with the newer book, 2014, Vanishing Grace). Yancey is such a good story-teller. Although he is a journalist, I see him as a theologian. Usually, when I read a book, I research it: read articles, reviews, listen to podcast interviews and YouTube videos. Some people disagree with Yancey and some of his writings are controversial. No write is flawless. With that said, I want to recommend fully this book especially to Christian leaders who have greater influence in shaping the way people think about the Church and Christianity in general. If you've been hurt by the un-grace believers, read this book too. In fact, come back to God or draw near to Him. Remember this: "There is nothing [you] can do to make God love [you] more. There is nothing [you] can do to make God loves [you] less." 

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

 

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The Effects of Pentecost to the Church: How About Today? (Acts 2:40-47)

“With many other words [Peter] warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day”
(Acts 2:40-41, NIV)

Some of those who heard Peter’s Christ-centred preaching wanted at once to do something about it. So he told them to repent. And to show their true repentance, they must be publicly baptized. About 3,000 did so that very day of Pentecost. What a joy that was to Peter, to all the disciples, to those who were just saved, and to the Lord Himself in heaven! If you read further in Acts 2:42-47, you’ll noticed evidences of Spirit-filled people. Because nowadays many churches are so obsess with modern day’s ‘Pentecost’, let’s check what happened to the first century church lead by the Holy Spirit as describes in the Book of Acts. They became…

A Learning Church. “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching…” (v.42). First evidence of Spirit-filled people is their hunger for the truth. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. And the Truth of God is the Word of God (“the apostles’ teaching”). I’m convince that Spirit-filled church is New Testament church that hold firm to the New Testament teachings and doctrines. They will not despise Christian mind and theology, but embrace it together with their passion for Christ. Don’t ever think that theology is dry as sand, true theology will produce rivers of living water. See here, there were “many wonders and signs performed by the apostle” (v.43).

A Loving Church. “…and to fellowship…” (v.42). Spirit-filled people love to be together. “All the believers were together and had everything in common” (v.44). Because the Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father, and the Spirit is in us; this love of God become the ultimate source for our love with one another. Not only that, because the Father and the Son loves to give good things for us, the Spirit teaches us to give and share with others too. For example, first believers volunteeringly “sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need” (v.45). Not that we have to do the same, but the attitude of giving should be the attitude of the Spirit-filled church. Their love is visible.

A Worshipping Church. “…to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (v.42). Worship is the expression of Spirit-filled people. Here I notices that their worship (or can I say their prayer meetings?) was both formal “in the temple court” and informal “in their homes” (v.46). Also, I realized that both the fear of the Lord “filled with awe” (v.43) and the joy of the Lord “praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people” (v.47) are mutually together. There is a place for formal worship. And there is a time for informal worship. But one thing for sure: We all must worship God with joy and reverence.

An Evangelistic Church. “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (v.47). Harry Boer in his challenging book Pentecost and Missions writes, the Acts “is governed by one dominant, overriding and all-controlling motif. This motif is the expansion of the faith through missionary witness in the power of the Spirit… Restlessly the Spirit drives the church to witness, and continually churches rise out of the witness. The church is a missionary church.” No doubt, Spirit-filled people are missionaries. As we go and witness the Good News of Jesus to the world, remember the Lord is the One who saved people. Once saved, they belong to us. Oh, may our church today become Spirit-filled church: continuous learning, extravagance with love, ever praising God, and missionary-minded. Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Letters to Annie: Let's Attend Church Together

Dear Annie,

            I miss you so much. There is no line and internet coverage here, so I write a letter to you. It’s been awhile, I don’t know what to say at first, but surely, what come to my mind first is this: I love you.

Annie, I think it’s time for us to get more serious in our relationships. I don’t mean that we’re not serious before, but I think that we should start discussing more deeply about our faith and probably we should start attending church together. Someone once says: “Christians are like coals of a fire. Together they grow – apart they grow cold.” I don’t want to just grow old with you. I want to glow in Christ together with you.

We live in a world that is teeming with temptations and distractions – a world where good and evil struggle in a constant battle to win our hearts and souls. Our challenge, my sweet Annie, of course, is to ensure that we cast our lot on the side of God. One way to ensure that we do so is by the practice of regular, purposeful worship in the church (And outside church buildings too). When we worship God faithfully and fervently, we are blessed. When we fail to worship God, for whatever reason – our busyness, distant or works – we forfeit the spiritual gifts that He intends for us. “We are co-workers in God’s service” (1 Corinthians 3:9). Thus, as we start to attend church together, we should make an effort to serve Him in the church.

Love, every day provides opportunities to put God where He belongs: at the center of our lives and our relationships. When we do so, we worship not just with our words, but also with deeds, and that’s as it should be. I pray and I insist [as your man] that Christ comes first. Always first. I read your shared post on Facebook: “Nothing will bring two hearts closer than two hearts after the heart of God.” Cool! How true! As I read the Scriptures, I can be sure that God really loves His church and that’s where His heart is. Where there are Christian fellowships, there is “the heart of God.” So dear, to “bring two hearts closer” – mine and yours – we should start attending and be involved in church together. This is not the only way, for sure, but it is the best way J

Hug 

Your man,

Richard

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Jesus Might Spent More Time Outside the Church

I have great optimism about the reputation of Christianity in the future. [Right now, the perceptions raised in the book Unchristian by David Kinnaman of what our emerging culture thinks of Christians and the church such as too hypocritical, judgmental, antihomosexual, only care about people being ‘saved,’ etc. are pretty embarrassing and sadly true*]. But the good news is that while people have negative perceptions of the church and Christians, they are open to and respect what they know of Jesus. This led me to write a book about this, where I conclude that people like Jesus but not the church.

So if over the next thirty years, Christians, and especially church leaders, escape the subculture that we have created, this could really change the climate of how we are viewed by those outside the church. In theory, it really shouldn’t be hard to do. Jesus followers need to simply be friends with those outside the church. It’s not too complicated – going to movies with them, caring for them as any friend would, having them over for dinner, being there for them, not just seeing them as evangelistic targets. So even if they stumble at the gospel, as many, of course, will, at least they won’t stumble at all the negative stereotypes and perceptions that have developed.

But it does mean that we do need to take the words of Jesus seriously when he said not to be separate from the world but to be in the world, protected from evil. I absolutely know we need Christian community, but we have swung the pendulum so far into Christian “community” that we now live in more of an isolated world. Our time is filled with Christian activities and busyness in the church, taking us away from building normal and healthy friendships with those in the world.

So the future could be quite positive if people experience that not all Christians are antihomosexual, judgmental, and sheltered. I envisioned Christians naturally befriending those outside the church, understanding their faith, being deeper thinkers theologically, and truly having answers for those who ask. My prayer and hope for the future is that church leaders will become missional leaders, which in turn will produce missional churches, and then the perceptions will be changed to positive as the Spirit of God uses our lives to be salt and light. So when a similar study is undertaken in thirty years, people will describe Christians as “loving, kind, family centred, caring for the poor, good examples, peaceful,” and the other fruits of the Spirit.

Dan Kimball

Pastor and Author

Quote from Unchristian by David Kinnaman and Fermi Project (Baker Books, 2007) pg. 232-233

*Passage in the bracket on the first paragraph is mine

Original title as ‘Jesus’

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Students Need to Experience Something Beyond Church

Eight out of ten students participate in church during their teenage years, but most of them will take a permanent detour from active faith at some point soon after they get their driver’s licenses. That’s right: only two out of ten of those celebrated teenage converts maintain Christian belief and practice between their teens and the end of their twenties.

The vast majority will cross over to the other side: pronouncing Christianity boring, irrelevant, and out of touch. We’ve tried too long to educate their minds instead of engaging their lives. The more we try to change the way we do church so this generation will join us, the more they seem to stay away. Although we’ve tried many ways to keep church from being boring, our best efforts are doing little to improve the image of the church.

Some of us are convinced the system is fundamentally flawed because we don’t know what our goal is. We creatively market our programs, design innovative and relevant productions, and organize events that will capture the student imagination so we can get them into church. What if our goal should be not to get them into church? What if the same energy could be applied to mobilize them to be the church?

We have discovered a short window of time during the teenage years when students need to experience something beyond church as a spectator sport. If a young person is not challenged by hands-on personal ministry, their faith will likely be side-tracked and even sabotaged. For some, that hands-on experience is a mission project across the ocean. For others, it’s a role in a family production or a place behind the ladle at a soup kitchen.

Students moving from the teenage years to their own college and post-college lives want to try out what they’ve been learning. They don’t want to practice being better church people for when they grow up; they want to start now. We all know that our faith grows when our faith is challenged to do something (for Christ).

Reggie Joiner

Founder, ReThink

Quote from Unchristian by David Kinnaman and Fermi Project (Baker Books, 2007) pg. 142-143

Original title as ‘Do Something’

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

10 Clues that a Church is Living

What are the clues that a church is living, vital and active? These ideas may help:

1)    Live churches have many people who bring their Bibles and use them; dead churches do not.

2)    Live churches are filled with praise and sounds of joy and thanksgiving; dead churches are apathetic and lifeless.

3)    Live churches usually have parking problems; dead churches never have to worry about parking.

4)    Live churches are moving out by “faith”; dead churches creep along by sight.

5)    Live churches have lots of children and young people and “noise”; dead churches are quiet as tombs.

6)    Live churches center on serving people; dead churches focus mainly on problems.

7)    Live churches are filled with a spirit of love for each other; dead churches are filled with suspicious, critical, and bickering people.

8)    Live churches are always emphasizing evangelism, discipleship, and involvement; dead churches ask for little and get it.

9)    Live churches have many sacrificial givers; dead churches have people who only “tip” the Lord.

10) Live churches are always growing; dead churches are plateaued or declining.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Week 75: Church - Why Bother?

In the Beginning…

Pic: Not my Church~

I grew up in a small village where everyone know who’s who and where’s where. During those days, there are only two landmarks to define our place; Balai Raya Kampung Stampin Iban (Community hall) and St. Margaret chapel. When I was a kid, attended services every Sunday was not an option, but rather it’s a must. There were distractions here and there such as Dragon Ball TV series showing on Sunday morning, football matches between villages just about 10 meters from church, friend’s invitation to explored new places in the jungle for fishing etc. so sometime I didn’t show up at least once per month, but most of the time – I’m a ‘faithful’ churchgoer.

Lukewarm

As I grew a little bit older, I soon realized that going to church is more than praying together, tithing some money, getting baptize, memorize the Lord’s Prayer, singing hymns, shaking people’s hands, checking on girls, bragging new clothes, making sacrifices (reluctantly skipped watching Dragon Ball, Football match, fishing etc.), same old weekly routine and being a good person on Sunday – it’s about being faithful with others to worship God in one building. Well, almost correct, still shallow but that was what I believed.

Since then, my church-relationship was having its ups and downs. But overall, I still considered myself as ‘faithful’ to the church until…

Unchurch

There were period of time when I honestly examined my love-hate relationship with the Church that I simply felt that I’m get nothing out of it. Wasting my time, burn out my soul, and disappointed me a lots. First and foremost barrier that I encounter was hypocrisy! People dressed up holily, masked with smiling face, holding (not reading) the Bible ticker than my mathematics text book, sing songs loudly proudly only, gossip-free for the first few hours… you know what I mean, don’t you? Like every serious believers who for the first time expect a perfect church, with a perfect congregations and shepherded by perfect ministers – will soon drifted away from church and thought that ‘I can’t get nothing out of it’, therefore, decided not to come to church anymore. Perhaps you were like me. Perhaps you are like I was. Perhaps you’re just disappointed with church.
Come, let’s be honest. Come, let’s be open. Come, read some more…

Rechurch

As time goes by, my understanding on the important of church have increases (not complete). I was giving up but the Lord standing up. I disappointed with church’s ways but the Lord point me to just one way – Jesus Christ, God’s Son. I learned to not be faithful with the church, but rather, the right thing do is to be faithful with the God of the church. I re-realized that even though God lives in the heart of every believer, he also lives within the community of the church – even stronger, ever present among us (see Matthew 18:20). Just as being present at a live concert makes it much more exciting, participating with other believers in worshipping God makes it much more meaningful.

When I recalled back my ‘prejudice’ against church, I finds that I was so judgmental toward others and in the imperfections of it I tend to forget that I myself is not perfect, a forgiven sinner, and my love for God was shallow - close to superficial. I was failed to delight in the present of the Perfect God who choose the imperfect church govern by men; sinners saved like me by God’s grace through faith in Him alone. Today however, I can’t find anywhere else as close to satisfy as in the church in my communion fellowship with God and others. The psalmist writes, “The one thing I ask of the Lord – the thing I seek of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.” (27:4NLT)

Learn to Love

One particular book that I would recommend to you (if you ask) to rekindle your passion for God by experience Him in the church is by Philip Yancey, Church: Why Bother? My Personal Pilgrimage (this is where I got my title). In this Growing Deeper series, he shares his honest, unashamed personal experiences. He has learned 4 helpful perspectives for him to stop merely tolerating the church and instead learn to love it (summaries mine);

·        Looking Up

“I used to approach church with the spirit of a discriminating consumer. I viewed the worship service as a performance. Give me something I like. Entertain me… Church, though, should be the opposite of the theater. In church God is the audience for our worship… We should leave a worship service asking ourselves not “What did I get out of it?” but rather “Was God pleased with what happened?” Now I try to look up in a worship service, to direct my gaze beyond the platform, toward God.”

·        Looking Around

“… I made the mistake of intentionally seeking out churches composed of the people like me. I was looking for a congregation of my educational level, with my biblical background and my taste in hymns and liturgy… Now, I resigned myself to church as a necessary spiritual discipline… give me taste of wide diversity… I deliberately seek a congregation composed of people not like me.”

·        Looking Outward

“…I learned that the mission of the church extends to the needs of its own neighborhood. One of the reasons the congregation of such diversity worked well was that we banded together to reach out to the community around us. Actively serving others causes you to think less about serving yourself.”

·        Looking Inward

“I came to believe, truly believe, that God love me not because I deserve it but because he is God of grace. God’s love comes free of charge, with no strings attached. There is nothing I can do to make God love me more – or less… Now, when I attend church, I look inward and ask God to purge from me the poisons of rivalry and criticism and to fill me with grace. And I seek out churches characterized by a state of grace.”

The Body needs You

With few exceptions of those who misused the authority of the church and perhaps had twisted the Biblical teachings of the Scriptures – most churches or Christian Fellowships as a whole I see it as a place for honest sharing, for encouragement to stay strong in time of temptation and when face with persecution, and for godly counsel to deal with problems in life. Come back to church, will you? Worship God together. Be part of God’s Kingdom on earth. Romans 12: 4-5 says, “Just as one bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body, and we all belong to each other.”
We need Christ, we need each other, and the church needs you because the body of Christ is not complete without you!

THINK BIG. START SMALL.

GO DEEP: LOOKING UP, LOOKING AROUND, LOOKING OUTWARD and LOOKING INWARD.