Covenant of Love

Posts Tagged ‘Book Review’

Jungle Warfare
A Basic Field Manual for Christians in Sales
By Christopher A. Cunningham
3 ½ Stars

Have you considered a career in sales? Look out! I can promise you – from firsthand experience – there are landmines hidden around nearly every bend, and given the nature of sales, you are almost always entering enemy territory.

As marketing manager for a Christian retail store, I can testify to the jungle like environment of sales. Sometimes there may be a conviction about sale approaches, sale targets, and sale strategies. Am I functioning with the utmost integrity? How would Jesus approach sales if he were in my shoes? Why do I feel like I am under attack all the time? Who is the enemy? Sales (especially Christian sales) feels like Guerrilla warfare.

Christopher Cunningham is a Christian sales professional who, years after inheriting his granddad’s Basic Field Manual on Jungle Warfare (dated December 15, 1941), and rediscovering it, found that it was filled with anecdotes to help Christians in sales navigate the competitive market. He invites the reader on a 22-day devotion-like adventure through the Jungle of the sales industry with his grandfathers’ journal as a guide. Each day quotes a section from his granddad’s journal, a bible verse, a battle plan, prayer, and a place to record your own reflections and prayers.

I appreciate what Cunningham has to offer here, gleaning great spiritual truths from a very practical source of a bygone era and applying it in a very practical way to contemporary sales. I think that if you are in ministry and sales and are looking for a new book to pick up, this is the one.

(Disclaimer: Jungle Warfare was provided by Thomas Nelson via Booksneeze for the purpose of this review.)

I have never read anything by Leonard Sweet before, but I was warned by friends of Sweets “Emergent” and even “Liberal” tendencies. I’ve read a few things by Frank Viola and appreciate some of what he has had to say, but by no means all. So you might say I picked up Jesus Manifesto (5 Stars) with mediocre expectations.

I was in for a real treat!

I have never read a book more enthralled with the Supremacy of Christ than I have here. With a broad stroke and great theological precision, these authors have enlarge my image of Christ and challenged me at times, and on many other occasions I found myself cheering, “Union with Christ! Union with Christ!”

As I’ve been trying to wrestle through the Biblical Covenants and doctrines such as “Justification”, “Sanctification”, “Predestination”, “Election”, and “Soteriology”, I find myself returning to the doctrine of Union with Christ (i.e., “In Christ”) as the starting and ending point for all of these other doctrines.

Rich in theology, particularly that bit we call “Union with Christ”, the doctrine of “in Christ” is the only possible way to convey anything about us and our mission in a Biblical fashion. The authors, in a sheer moment of brilliance as great wordsmiths, manage to convey the concept of “Union with Christ” in a way I only wished I had thought of first: “If God wrote your biography, it would be Jesus Christ” [p. 43].

As He is, so are we in this world – 1 John 4:17

At point after point these authors tear down anything which vies Christ for supremacy. Ministry is not the point, apologetics is not the point, spiritual gifts are not the point, a “sense” of his presence is not the point, “spiritual” or “religious” pursuits are not the point. The point is Christ.

Nothing can ever be preached apart from Christ! If in Church you are learning about “Worship”, “Evangelism”, “Christian Living”, “End Times”, “Social Activism”, “Spiritual Gifts” or any other hundreds of subjects, and if Christ is not the center in every one of those sermons, then Christ is not being portrayed supremely as he should.

Christ is all I need. You can strip everything else away from me, and I would still be left with Christ. Take away my gifts and my ministry; take away signs and wonders; take way the sense of his presence; take away my ability to read; and take away every spiritual and religious pursuit I have, and I will still have Christ. And in having Him, I have everything. – p. 22 Bold mine

What a powerful sentiment.

Five Stars!

[Disclaimer: Jesus Manifesto was provided by Thomas Nelson through the Booksneeze program for the purpose of this review.]

Plan B by Pete Wilson[1]
4 Stars (out of 5)

Over the years many authors and pastors have attempted to write books which answer the question, when all things in life crash around me, what am I to do now? From this question springs a myriad of other questions, doesn’t God work all things out for good? Where is he now? Where was he then? How am I going to get through this situation? Why did my life not go according to plan?

With an exceptionally sensitive and pastoral spirit Pete Wilson, in my estimate, addresses the pain people feel when Plan A crumbles before their eyes on a level which will resonate with everyone. I wrote a post on my blog telling a story of when my life switched gears from Plan A to Plan B. If truth be told, I am somewhere much further down in the alphabet today. My father died young; I didn’t go to Seminary; I did not enter the pastorate; I did not get married at twenty five; and so on.

What Pete offers in Plan B is the assurance 1) that God really does work all things out for good if we surrender ourselves and our plans to him, and 2) Pete provides much practical advice to help us cope with the changes we face in life.

What I particularly appreciate about Plan B is that Pete does not pretend that all things are always going to be okay (he provides illustration upon illustration from cover to cover to press the point). Life is not smooth sailing – not even for Christians. There are no “pat” answers, but there is a great God who is faithful and trustworthy.

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[1] Disclaimer: Plan B was given to me by Thomas Nelson through the Booksneeze program for the purpose of this review.

Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos
5 Stars (out of five)

I was standing over the stove cooking up a couple of grill cheese sandwiches for breakfast when my wife walked into the Kitchen with a parcel in her hands. “It’s for you” she says with glee in her eyes, “Can I open it?”  I shrug my shoulders and flip my sandwich. “It’s a book, Imaginary Jesus. A novel?” She sounded perplexed. I placed my sandwich on a plate, poured myself a glass of Canadian Dry and sat down to eat. “Its fiction” she said again, half asking and half stating in case I missed her quizzical tone, “you don’t read fiction”. I responded that I heard good things about Imaginary Jesus and will be giving away a copy on my blog. It only seemed prudent to read up on what I would be endorsing.

She placed the book on the table next to me and walked away. I reached down and opened up to the first page with my least greasy hand, took a swig of my pop and began to read. Moments later I stuffed the last piece of grill cheese sandwich into my mouth, took a big drink of my Canadian Dry and help the clump go down, and walked with a bounce in my step murmuring to myself until I reached the entrance to the bathroom where my wife stood fixing up her hair in the mirror.

“What’s with the smile?” she asked. “It must be really good for you to be laughing to yourself”.

I spent the next several minutes dramatically illustrating the first few chapters from Imaginary Jesus (my wife began to wonder if I had hit my head or something). My arms and legs flailing about as though I were Jesus[1] getting beat up by… well; let’s just say the whole scene is hysterical. (See the foot note to calm your anxieties.)

When I was done putting on my solo act (Imaginary Jesus really should be made into a cartoon) I finished getting ready and headed off for work where I performed an encore for the manager for my store. She almost fell over in laughter. I hold her the book is funnier and so she picked up a copy.

That was Wednesday. Thursday I finished the book (as in the next day, not a week and a day). I don’t know how long it takes people to read fiction (I’m not a fiction kind of guy), but one day seemed pretty darn fast to me.

So if I haven’t been clear already: Imaginary Jesus is a really funny book.

But wait, there’s more!

Matt Mikalatos was incredibly creative in this book. From chapter to chapter you never know who you’re going to meet or where you’re going to be or how – for that matter – Matt is going to communicate a difficult subject in a superbly assessable way. There is, quite literally, never a dull moment.

But Imaginary Jesus is not just for entertainment, nor is it an arbitrary read. Quite the contrary, we all create imaginary Jesus’ because we become – for whatever reason – discontent with the real one (“My Buddy Jesus”, “8 Ball Jesus”, “Legalistic Jesus” and so on). There are serious issues which come up in life, and in Imaginary Jesus, one such issue which led to Matt’s own imaginary Jesus my sister could well relate to (as could countless other families). But I’ll leave you to discover what that is on your own (read the book).

Finally I was thoroughly impressed with how Imaginary Jesus ended. All the loose ends were nicely tied up (even Houdini Dog finally makes an appearance – read the book!). I remember reading the last two or three pages to my wife (while we sat up in bed) and then folding the book closed challenged but fully satisfied.

This book gets five huge stars (out of five) from me. If you get a chance pick up it.

And as for me, I look forward to his next “not-so-real- story”, Night of the Living Dead Christians.

Thanks Matt.

If You’re Local To Windsor, Please Rush Over To Cameron’s And Pick Up Your Copy Today!

Which Imaginary Jesus Have You Nursed?

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[1] Spoiler from the back of the book, “It’s not the real Jesus”.

The Sacred Journey by Charles Foster
April 13, 2010
2 Stars (out of 5)

Charles Foster invites us to consider or rather, to reconsider that ancient practice of pilgrimage, what he calls The Sacred Journey[1]. To take to the road, to visit Rome, Santiago or some other holy mountain (or mountain made holy). Jesus said, “follow me” and (Foster’s premise) he meant us to take him literally! Jesus never stayed in one place long, never became a city-dweller, he was a pilgrim. And you and I are called to follow him, to become pilgrims also. To journey to some sacred site or some sacred place or some sacred relic because the very action of doing this has a physiological reaction which will bring depth to your life and bring into focus those things that matter most.

Humans are made to walk. This, says Foster, is evident from our earliest ancestors who first stood upright some 22,000 years ago; its evolutions way of telling us that God favors the nomad. He chose Abel, the nomadic shepherd, over Cain, the settler. He chose Abraham the nomad, he chose Israel the Hebrew people also known as “wanderers”. It may be radical, says Foster, but “nothing that is not radical is Christian”. And so he calls you and me to take up the ancient practice – a practice common in all the world’s major religions – of pilgrimage.

The Sacred Journey can be summarized in three parts. The first is the history of pilgrimages from the first Homo Sapiens through the medieval ages (where Luther and the Reformers attempted to put a stop to it) and on to recent times. The second talks mostly about the practical: how do we become a pilgrim? What are the steps, the implications, what can be expected? Why go? Even to the details: what should I bring along for the journey? The third is a defense of his position.  It’s extreme and many people will attack it.

Reflections:

The Evangelical Conservative in me had a strong inclination to toss Foster’s book out the window after nearly every page (not literally, I don’t do that kind of thing), but my post-conservative tendencies challenged me to press on long enough for Foster to say something orthodox in the midst of pages of unorthodox things. He gives as much if not more quote space to Hindu’s, Buddhists, Muslims and Sikhs then to Christians. Furthermore he speaks of all these different religions favorably while it seems his disdain for Christianity (particularly Protestantism) comes to the surface, never tiring of calling us “Gnostics”. He seems to favor the Buddhist, quoting one who says, “thank you Jesus”. When he asks why a Buddhist would thank Jesus the answer he gets is “Why, he’s a Buddha, my friend.”  A thought which Foster allows to linger. And comments elsewhere, “A rather intense girl had identified a sixth-century Hindu text as “oozing the spirit of Jesus.” (And who am I to say she was wrong?)” Finally (as I’ve come to expect from theology like Fosters), there is a preference for orthopraxy over orthodoxy: good works over right doctrine. But more than this, Foster would dismiss right teaching altogether (ironically, shall we accept his teaching as being ‘right teaching’?) he says: “it is shocking to note, yet again, how little doctrine [the disciples] are taught to teach”. This is reckless negligence. Two thirds of the N.T. are doctrinal epistles.

As I concluded the book, the phrase “all things in moderation” came to mind – a concept that would no doubt horrify Charles Foster who presents his views with as much bigotry as he decries (and generalizes) Protestantism’ “often theological bigotry” [p.196]. (On an off note, my wife tells me that if you stick an “e” on the end of “bigot”, in Spanish it means “mustache”.)

An Irish monk states taking a pilgrimage to Rome you will not find God there unless you bring him with you. In response to this “Gnostic” idea Foster quotes Jeremiah, “When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord”, then he adds, “Going to Rome, Geneva, or your own sacred mountain might well be part of that full-hearted searching” [p.198]. This is the kind of biblical negligence you will come to expect in this book, a complete disregard for the God’s own agenda in favor of his own agenda, by way of biblical “proof-texting”. Didn’t Jesus say that people will not search for God on this mountain or that mountain because God is Spirit? Foster’s Gnostic Jesus is to be despised in favor of his Buddhist Jesus.

Me, I don’t want Fosters Jesus, either the Gnostic one he imagines we serve or the Buddhist one which he prefers.

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[1] Disclaimer: The Sacred Journey by Charles Foster was provided by Thomas Nelson through the Book Sneeze program for the purpose of this review.

In no particular order, here are my top 5 reads of 2009: Read the rest of this entry »