I am a fairly voracious reader (recently). My favorite topics are theology and Missiology (how Christian theology affects your life: turning you into a missionary.)

I’ve recently read four excellent books on the topic of missiology specifically related to the culture we live in, how to understand it and how to speak to it: Breaking The Missional Code, They Like Jesus but Not The Church, Unchristian, and most recently Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them.

Several things strike me about these books.

1. They are all written based on a healthy mixture of good data (research!) and objective, Spirit-led observation of reality around them, through relationship with those that are being written about.

2. They all provide biblically-based principals, rather than faddish methodologies, based on analysis of this research and observation.

3. They all come to approximately the same conclusions.

I feel that we would do well to listen up, especially since these books come from three different organizations from three different “corners of the church” (Barna Research Group, a large church in California, and LifeWay research), and therefore aren’t simply creating an echo chamber of thought.

Perhaps soon I will get around to reviewing all of them, but this post is concerned with the Lost and Found book.

Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and The Churches that Reach Them

Of the four, I found this book to be the easiest to digest, with the most recent data, clearly stated methodologies and goals, with to-the-point analysis at the end of each chapter.

The book is an engaging read. A well structured balance of research based data, personal interview, and an engaging “true story” narrative that glues the concepts together with practical advice.

The book’s introduction speaks well to its purpose:

Much has been written and said about younger adults and their view of church. You don’t need a lot of research to tell you what you already know…

…this is not a prescripbe book with magical answers to the problems plaguing churches devoid of young adults. Each church we profile, like yours, is unique in setting, ministry, and calling…

…in this book [the authors] are asking one simple question: Who are the yong unchruched and how can they be reached with the good news of Jesus Christ? (OK, that’s two questions)…

…We realize you do not need another book of statistics. But what we do need is something to help all of us engage an increasingly lost generation with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need tools that will help us seek and save those of this generation who are lost. As you read, our prayer is that you will be challenged to take action, so that the lost may be found.

After reading the book, it occurred to me that some churches DO need a book of statistics. It seems that even in our intuitive knowledge of the problem that Christianity is considered hypocritically judgmental, and concerned more with it’s own organization than with people, we do little to help this situation, probably because we don’t fully understand the problem.

We bristle at critiques that call us judgmental and hypocritical, saying that we’re simply pointing out sin. We hide behind verses that tell us that the world is going to hate us.

We fail to realize that for some people that God brings into our sphere of influence, we are called to help heal years of hurt from past religious institutions.

We fail to acknowledge that some people simply aren’t going to come to our church, no matter how cool our music is, how “casual” and “lingo free” we try to be, or how many “bring a friend to church sundays” we organize and exhort our people to.

The fact is that Jesus called us to go out among the lost.

I was shocked at the statistics that showed how little of a difference the “young unchurched” reported the style of music or service made in their decision to check out a church or not.

What matter to them are deep relationships and authentic community where it is safe to ask the hard questions without being told to “just have faith”. Along with people who actually care enough about the community they are in to get involved in it, rather than simply protest it, picket it, bemoan it’s fallenness, or simply huddle up an ignore it.

Read this book.

Most of you know Josh Harris as the “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” guy. I have gotten to know him as a great preacher of God’s word. He blogs regularly and is even my Facebook buddy (though I’m really just more of a fanboy…).

A recent post of his caught my eye: What I’ve Learned Since I Kissed Dating Goodbye (Josh Harris)

“I still stand by the message of that book that premature, short-term romantic attachments can be a big distraction from serving God—especially for teenagers. But in the years since I’ve also seen that a legalistic application of these ideas can be unhelpful, too. One of my main concerns in my church or any other church is that there be no disunity among Christians over issues of dating and courtship. We need to learn to hold our own convictions on this matter with charity. Most importantly we need to make sure that our convictions are shaped by scripture—not culture, church culture or my books.”

Just read a great article on The Resurgence: Spiritual Disciplines: Sabbath & Work

I have attempted at different times keeping a very strict Sabbath, not allowing anything to encroach on my day. It’s not easy. Especially for a Worship leader. Right now I mark out Saturday as my Sabbath because it’s the only day where it’d be remotely POSSIBLE for me to have nothing going on. I keep as free of regular obligations as possible for my own sanity. I am almost always doing something on Saturdays though.

This quote was refreshing:

“Legalistic attempts have been made to rob the Sabbath of its worship and joy by carefully mandating what can and cannot be done. However, Jesus seemed to have intentionally lived in public view to serve as a contrary model of the Sabbath than that given by other legalistic teachers. For example, Jesus healed on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1–14, John 9:1–17), taught on the Sabbath (Mark 6:1–2), and promoted evangelism on the Sabbath (John 7:21–24). Jesus demonstrated that the Sabbath is not to be enforced legalistically, but that it exists for worshipful fun and rest. Furthermore, our true Sabbath is not in a day but ultimately in a saving relationship with Jesus where we can rest from trying to earn our salvation and rest in His finished work (Matthew 11:28–30; Romans 4:5; Colossians 2:16–17). Therefore, the Sabbath is not a law for believers to obey, but instead a grace to enjoy.”

Key words here: worship, rest, enjoy, grace.

We still try to mandate what can and can’t (should and shouldn’t) be done on a Sabbath. My recommendation is to keep it free of structure and obligation, but continue to look for opportunities to worship in service, encouragement, evangelism, mercy, and charity, all fueled by God’s grace and not out of a sense of duty (other than to our Lord).

John Piper is releasing a(nother) new book that I really want to pick up. Finally Alive. The subject of the book is the new birth.

From the bookstore site:

“What does the Bible teach about the miracle of rebirth? In this new book, John Piper explores Jesus’ peculiar command, “You must be born again.
Spiritual rebirth is precious and crucial. When Jesus said, “You must be born again,” he wasn’t simply sharing interesting information; he was directing us toward eternal life.

It is essential to know what God intends when he uses this language of being born again, so that we may experience new birth and help others do the same.”

One quote that grabbed me is on evangelism:

“If you feel average or below average in your fitness to share the gospel treasure, you are closer to the truth than someone who feels powerful and wise and self-sufficient…. [Y]ou are the person God is looking for—a clay pot, who simply shares the treasure of the gospel, not the glitzy intellect, not the glitzy eloquence, not the glitzy beauty or strength or cultural cleverness.” (181-182)

Looking forward to checking this one out.

Box of Tricks: “Gary Chang, a Hong Kong architect, lives in a tiny apartment, but thanks to accordion-like wall units, he can create at least 24 different room configurations.”

This type of innovation is extremely refreshing to see.

(Via Unclutterer.)