Spiritual Ancestors

Have you ever asked yourself, "What could I possibly do that matters?" You are not alone. I have asked myself that question more than once. Let me introduce you to nine people who were ALL influenced by another person.

It all started with a guy from Boston.

His name...

EDWARD KIMBALL led a small group at his church when he met a challenging teenager. That seventeen-year-old young man was poorly educated and prone to outbursts of anger and profanity.

His name...

DWIGHT L. MOODY. He became the "greatest" evangelist of the nineteenth century. He was instrumental in the life-change experienced by a young man.

His name...

F.B. MEYER. He became a minister. He mentored a young man.

His name...

J.W. CHAPMAN. He became a pastor and evangelist. He also started an outreach to professional baseball players. There he influenced a young man.

His name...

BILLY SUNDAY. He became one of the greatest evangelists in the first two decades of the twentieth century. He influenced a young man who eventually came back to work with him.

His name...

MORDECAI HAM. He became a preacher. He was preaching when a teenager responded to the invitation "to give your life to Jesus Christ."

His name...

BILLY GRAHAM. He has influenced more people than any other preacher in history. He remains a trusted confidant to presidents and other key influencers. At one of his crusades, a 16-year-old boy responded to the gospel.

His name...

CLYDE CHILES. He answered God's call to the ministry and became an itinerant Southern Baptist evangelist. Preaching a revival at First Baptist Church in Farmington, MO in 1970, a 12-year-old boy walked the aisle and gave his life to Jesus.

His name...

JAY JENNINGS.

Do the best you can where you are, with what you have, for a purpose that is greater than yourself. You can be someone worthwhile. You can do something that matters.

Jason Young deserves most of the credit for the composition of this piece. He wrote this for Catalyst about the spiritual ancestors of Billy Graham. I simply continued the progression after researching my own story.

Do you know your spiritual ancestry?

The Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four.

OK, now that I've got all of the Marvel fans' attention. But this time I'm not talking about comic book heroes. I'm actually letting you know of four hard cover heroes you might want to check out.

Over the Christmas break, I get a chance to dive into several books while I'm off work. This year, I had the pleasure of turning the pages on four fantastic works. If you like to read and are interested in outstanding Christian authors who make you think, then you might enjoy these books too.

The first is Mere Christianity. Are you curious about the basics of what it means to be a follower of Jesus? Then check out this C. S. Lewis classic. Believe it or not, this was originally a series of radio broadcasts that Lewis did on the BBC during the dark hours of World War II. If you've heard that Lewis is hard to read, then you don't know Jack. "Jack" Lewis, that is. Mere Christianity is incredibly well crafted and easy to digest.

The second is On Church Leadership. This is a super-fast read by Mark Driscoll. The title says it all. The cover also boasts that it is "a book you'll actually read." If you have any interest in how the healthy church should operate, you can knock out this 94-page wonder in around an hour. You may read it in 60 minutes, but it sticks to your ribs for quite a while.

Batting third is Life and Practice in the Early Church. Don't let the title fool you. Steve McKinion cranks up the Flux Capacitor to see what church life was like back in the first through fifth centuries through the writings of the early church fathers. Pretty quickly you see that they were dealing with some familiar issues. Arguments over worship style. Huge attendance swings at Christmas and Easter. People not paying attention during the service. It's amazing to see how they "did church" still impacts us today.

Last but not least is The Reason for God. I mentioned Tim Keller's book in an earlier post. In the first half of the book, he tears down the arguments against faith in Jesus. The second half makes a powerful case for belief in the Carpenter from Nazareth as the Savior of the world. The last three chapters simply take your breath away. This is a modern day must-read for anyone with an interest in Christian apologetics. I'll almost certainly be re-reading this one in the not-too-distant future.

As Charlie "Tremendous" Jones has said, "You are the same today as you'll be in five years except for the books you read and the people you meet." I'm better for having read this Fantastic Four.

Sorry 'bout that, Human Torch.

My Head Hurts

Tim Keller makes my head hurt.

OK, not Tim Keller personally, but his book The Reason for God.

Keller is an outstanding writer and Bible teacher. And he is, quite frankly, scary smart. This book takes a powerful look at the existence of the God of the Bible. It's what Christians call an apologetic work. Not because he's sorry for being a follower of Jesus. The term "apologetic" comes from a Greek word in the New Testament that basically means "to make a case for" something.

Keller doesn't shy away from the toughest arguments against the faith. As a matter of fact, he pokes his finger in the chest of Richard Dawkins (author of The God Delusion) and the rest of the Four Horsemen of Atheism.

The Reason for God may be a lofty read with heavy concepts, but it is not a thick read with big words that only a PhD could comprehend. Keller writes in a very approachable manner that anyone interested in the debate can understand.

Tim Keller makes my head hurt. And that's not a bad thing.

Hello Old Blog

You might want to step back while I blow the dust off this thing.

There. That's better. Hard to believe that it's been nine months since I've posted anything. Not that there hasn't been anything to write. The past year was a pretty good one. A lot to be thankful for.

As we reboot the calendar to 2011, this looks to be a big year. First of all, there's a pretty good chance that I'll finally graduate from seminary in May. Kinda hard to believe, huh?

Well, I don't want to keep you. But I'll do what I can to be a bit more faithful to post in '11.

We now return you to your regular programming...