A New Book

Well, I finished The Shack by William P. Young, recommended by friends who own A Lovely Place, the place we go for our anniversary and to recharge our batteries when needed. They warned me correctly. It is a great fictional story, but theologically inaccurate. Knowing this going in, I read it with the intent of just enjoying the story. With that in mind, I didn't catch all the inaccuracies, as I wasn't looking for them, or it may have made me frustrated. Once I read it, I looked for reliable reviews to point out the inaccuracies, and found this one on Chuck Swindoll's website. I agree with most of the review. Anyway, bottom line, it's a great story if you read it as a story. If you're looking for truth, you will be disappointed.

All that to say that I started a new book, Just Walk Across the Room by Bill Hybels. I'm about 30% into it and like it very much. It is stirring ideas in me for reaching out the the westside and others who don't yet know God. It's kind of a personal evangelism book, but not a 'these are the steps' kind of book. It's more of a 'these are the experiences I've had when I made the effort to share the greatest gift I've ever been given' kind of book. The stories are very encouraging, whether they ended with Bill leading the person to Christ or not.

Sometimes we're just to play the role of the seed planter. Sometimes the waterer. And sometimes, we get to harvest. I think often we have a belief that the whole harvesting process is just harvesting and it's all up to us. If we don't lead someone to Christ we feel like a failure as a Christ follower and that's just not the case. We're called to do our part, to share the gospel, not seal every deal. Once we get that cemented in our brains, the pressure is off and we can just love people by sharing our own experiences. SO MUCH EASIER!

I'll blog more on that as I go through the book. I probably won't finish the Old Testament Survey lessons I was doing unless I get comments that someone is wanting them. It's a lot of work!

We have to work a few hours in Modesto this morning after Greg meets with one of our worship team members. Then it's off to his mom's in Escalon to do some pruning. Then we'll be home to prepare for a 3-hour leadership catch-up session with the Hicks, since they joined us post-launch. We're looking forward to spending more time with them, they're a very fun couple.

Have a blessed, joyful hot Friday!