Review - Chazown

Cha-what?!

Chazown is the Hebrew word for vision or dream found in Proverbs 29:18 - "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (KJV) It's also the basis for a recent book by Craig Groeschel called "Chazown: Define Your Vision. Pursue Your Passion. Live Your Life on Purpose," published by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

I enjoy books that inspire the reader to dream bigger, to consider the fulfillment and fruit of their calling, and about the importance of a clear vision. Invariably when I finish such books I'm left with no further clarity for my own dream, vision, or purpose. The Chazown Experience was distinctly different!

Chazown is definitely not just a ray-rah call to dreaming bigger. It does call us to that, and covers the critical need for vision quite well. But the goal of the book is to help the reader discover what their purpose (or Chazown) might be. The book has five sections:

Part 1: Seeing Clear to the End (the desperate need for vision)
Part 2: Circling the Truth (the circles that help us find Chazown: core values, spiritual gifts, and past experiences)
Part 3: A Dream in Deed (discerning your Chazown and moving from vision to action)
Part 4: The Five Spokes of Chazown (relationship with God and with people, finances, health, work)
Part 5: From Here to Eternity (Chazown in community)
In addition there are several helpful appendices including how to create a personal time line, discerning core values, assessing spiritual gifts.

Basically, because God is a master designer who cares about you deeply, you are wired such that your purpose/Chazown is at the intersection of your values and passions, your spiritual gifts, and the life experiences that have led you to where you are today. The book has many chapters, but each is very short and filled with graphics and call-out boxes for key points. From that format you might think it's meant for easy dipping for a casual reading experience. That's not going to work very well for you! This is one of those books where you will get out what you put into it. There are a number of very thought-provoking and introspective exercises. Without doing these the chance is remote that you'll get the most out of this book.

For those who are serious about discerning their calling / purpose / Chazown, Groeschel has provided an absolutely amazing free resource to complement the book. It's called "The Chazown Experience" and it provides video teaching from Craig and extremely helpful online tools for doing the most important exercises. These include an interactive personal timeline, tools for discerning core values and spiritual gifts, and tools to convert vision to action in the five spoke areas. Anyone interested in Chazown should check out Chazown.com. The book covers a lot more, but you'll do better with the exercises by using the website.

Waterbrook Multnomah has provided several resources for those interested.
You can download the first chapter of Chazown and read it for yourself.
There's also a short video by Craig Groeschel on this thing called Chazown...



Chazown is available at Amazon and other book retailers.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review as part of their Blogging For Books Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising".

Biblical Basis for Saving

A friend from church who consistently calls us to faith and trusting God to meet our needs asked recently "Where do you see any Biblical instruction to save and keep reserves? Instead we need to live by faith!" (I love this man's challenge for us to be strong in faith.) I gave this a lot of thought and study, and present here my thoughts on what the Bible has to say about saving.

Scripture on Saving   (NIV)

Proverbs 30:24-25 "Four things on earth are small,  yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer."  (c.f. Prov 6:6-8)

God does provide. But sometimes he provides before the need, and expects us to be wise stewards in setting aside in times of plenty for times of greater need.

I Corinthians 16:2 "On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made."

Saving up - to give away and use to serve others - is commanded in a way that is consistent, and proportional to income. That is contrasted with waiting until the last moment the money is needed and passing the plate.

Proverbs 21:20 "In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has."

Saving up (not hoarding) is considered wise. It's considered foolish to spend every dime you bring in. 

Luke 14:28-30 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’"

It's not a great sign of faith to expect God to cover you when you don't plan and save up. It's merely a sign of poor planning that does not honor Him.

Proverbs 13:11 "Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow."  (or the NASB: "Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles, But the one who gathers by labor increases it.")

Wealth itself is never described as evil in the Bible - the key is what you do with it. The way to become wealthy: piece by piece, spending less than you bring in. 

John 13:29 "Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor."

In the Bible there are stories of God providing miraculously (Jesus and paying a tax, Mt 17:27; Elisha and the widow's olive oil), but this is for His purposes and in His timing, not a command for how we normally operate. It's clear that Jesus and His disciples also 'kept a purse' and had to balance issues of saving and spending.

Scripture on Giving

It should be pretty clear that God loves a generous giver, that we are called to give to the poor, to share of our possessions. Giving is not something you do instead of saving, it's something to do in addition to saving.

Proverbs 28:27 "He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses."

Malachi 3:10 "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

God loves to meet our needs, He desires the tithe from us both as an act of worship and as a means to develop us spiritually.

Managing the Tension - Both Giving and Saving

What about the story of the rich fool and the commandment to be like the ravens who have no storeroom or barn? (Both from Luke 12). The teaching points here are not to avoid saving, but rather:

1) If you store things up for yourself and are not rich toward God, look out (Luke 12:21)
2) To fret and worry about the future and finances is foolish - your heart will be where your treasure is, and that should be in God.  (Luke 12:34)

Here's how the 'Money Help for Christians' website displays it, as a continuum from
Squander -- Save and Give -- Hoard

They note that one who squanders lacks self-control, one who saves has self-control, and one who hoards has greed. "The question is not to save or not to save. Nor is it to give or not to give. Both giving and saving should be practiced at the same time. Each Christian must prayerfully find the right saving balance.  Squandering our money does not honor God.  Hoarding our money dishonors God.  We must find the right – God pleasing – balance of saving."

Kick Debt Off discusses what the Bible has to say about savings and offers these comments.

Benefits of Saving Money as a Christian

1. You are able to meet your family obligations without getting into debt.
2. You get the ability to support other people in need.
3. You are able to support Gods work in the local church and missions abroad.
4. You have the ability to demonstrate your obedience to God through your finances.

Dangers of Saving - you're on a dangerous path if:

1. Savings becomes your god
2. You build your confidence and security in your savings fund
3. You are hoarding (a good word for greed)
4. Are in the habit of just collecting stuff without a purpose
5. Your saving is motivated by worry

One final heart check - if we are calling on the church to "rely on faith" in all things instead of planning well and having set-asides for both known future needs and to have the ability to meet unknown needs in the future - do you have life insurance? a mortgage? money in a checking account? and IRA or a fund for a vacation with the family? Again it's not faith OR saving, hoard OR give-it-all-away, but a prayerful balance of giving now and saving to give later.

Ministry Design

I've had some interesting conversations with ministry leaders and small group leaders at Calvary about how we do ministry and what we expect of our people. Do we strongly challenge people to become fully devoted followers of Christ? Do we have events with no agenda (or challenge) other than to hope people make a new friend? Do we have high expectations of our volunteer leaders and help them to be more effective in our mission? Do we accept people no matter where they are? The answer to all these is 'Yes!' How we can say yes when these seem to contradict each other is a practical challenge. To explain this I want to unpack a little bit about ministry philosophy and ministry design.

Ministry Philosophy - How we do and think about things

"You are loved. You are are accepted." - God loves everyone, withholding love from no one. And so must we.
"Encouraging the development of fully-devoted followers of Christ." - God accepts us where we are, but loves us enough not to leave us there. The Spirit lovingly and patiently ever calls us to deeper devotion and commitment to God. And so must we.
"Loving relationships" - community is not just a biblical value or a key purpose; Christ-centered relationships are essential to growth and ministry.
"Progressive sanctification." While conversion and justification happen at a point in time, sanctification is a process that takes a lifetime. Jesus' call to his disciples was also progressive. "Come and see", "Come and Follow Me", "Come and Be with Me", "Remain in Me."
"Next step" - we don't expect seekers to behave like believers, nor do we expect new believers to have everything figured out one month after coming to Christ. Our goal is simple - help each person discern and take the next step in (or towards) Christ which the Holy Spirit is leading them to take.
"Authentic Leadership" - we want our leaders to model, not just teach.

Ministry Design - Cultivating Environments for Growth

Because personal growth is an organic and relational process, we can't force things to happen. What we can do is to provide excellent environments which allow for such growth to occur naturally. Crafting such environments is not easy, but intentional thought about the design of ministry activities is important. The key to this is:

Know your Target - Know your Purpose - Know your Desired Outcome

Here is how we look at 'targets' at Calvary: concentric circles of commitment. Community - those outside the church Crowd - those who attend Calvary Congregation - have committed to membership Committed - have committed to growth Core - have committed to serve and share It's important that ministry activities are friendly and appropriate for your primary target.

The goal is for people to take further steps of commitment as they grow in Christ. Is it bad to be part of the crowd? No!! We're delighted to have people coming even occasional as they are exploring the claims of Christ. Is it ok to stay hidden in the crowd for 20 years? Not so much. We want the community to 'come and see' without other expectations. We want occasional attenders in the crowd to come to call Calvary their church family and commit to deeper fellowship. Our hope is that those who are close to Christ will join in His mission and start to build up the body and make disciples themselves. Here's the thing - an activity or environment that is well-designed for one target (or one transition) is likely ill-suited to people at other stages in their walk with Christ.

Let's look at some practical examples:

• Community BBQ

The Community BBQ is what we call a bridge event. Its sole purpose to be a bridge to the community. It shows that Calvary cares about them, cares about being a good neighbor, and likes to have fun. If a person attends a bridge event and leaves thinking "Maybe not all churches are bad." and decides to come check it out sometime, that's a step forward, and a win.

• Small Groups - Fellowship or Discipleship?
  

We have many small groups at Calvary. These are places where people can 'do life together', and encourage each other to grow closer to Christ. Some place a very high value on fellowship, doing things together, and trying to reach out to people on the fringe of the crowd. Others are fairly intense in the devotion to Bible Study. Is it ok for a small group to just be social - get together for lunch and shoot the breeze? No. But the "no" is not because it breaks a small group rule, it's because that doesn't help anyone take a next step in Christ. If the group spends most of the time chatting, but asks questions applying the sermon to their lives for 15 minutes, that might well be an appropriate next step for a group of guys in the "crowd", who have few friends who are strong followers of Christ, and who have never wanted to be in a small group before. A patient small group leader here will focus on "Come and See" and will have to be intentional to keep Christ as central in their time together (both inside and outside the group).

• Men or Women's Ministries
  

The goal of a men's ministry or women's ministry is the same mission as the church - to encourage the development of fully-devoted followers of Christ.  But people are all over the map in terms of their current commitment to Christ and the life of the church. No one event or activity will adequate reach all people. No one event or activity will be 'the next step' for all the women, or all the men. How then do we apply principles of ministry design to pursue our mission and serve our people? By cultivating several environments, each designed to help a target audience to take a next step in Christ. For example:

- Bridge events (fishing trip, ornament exchange) to reach out relationally to friends in the community
- Fellowship-centric activities (casual breakfast, luncheon with a brief message) to allow people already part of the crowd to connect with each other, and develop an interest in joining a group or serving on a team
- Men's small groups or Women's small groups - where people are intentionally encouraged to great understanding of God's word commitment to spiritual growth
- Men's Fraternity or Beth Moore Bible study - more intense groups, though still relationally based, that challenge the committed to greater devotion and their next step
- Service Projects - both as a means to pull-in "hands-on" people to connect relationally with others, as well as to encourage those who love to study the Bible to get outside the church and let their deeds match their words.

That's a lot of activity. Trying to do all of these things is a recipe for burnout! Besides, chances are good that someone excited about in-depth Bible study might be frustrated by a meeting where spiritual growth is lightly referred to for five minutes. Team-based ministry is the answer here. Have a variety of people on your team, with a variety of interests, and work in those areas where you have both passion and skill. It is completely OK to start small, in an area you're excited about. Do the very best you can with that activity, but make sure that you are crystal clear in who you are trying to reach, designing your activity to best meet the needs of that audience, with a clear 'next step' that defines a win for those participating. If there's no one passionate about the activity or event, don't do it! But with everything you do choose to do... Cultivate an environment for growth for the people you seek to serve.


So, ministry leaders... does this make sense? What comments or questions do you have? Is there anything you want to push-back against?

Wii Fitness and Spiritual Formation

To counteract a men's breakfast and a special dinner today I thought I better get in some exercise, and chose to do the Wii EA Active workout. Overall I like the exercises, feel they provide a benefit, and like the illusion of interactivity with a 'personal trainer.' Today for some reason it didn't go as well as hoped. On some exercises where I was giving my all, it just wasn't good enough the for program and the virtual trainer was nagging me to try harder. On other ones where I was gasping for air and barely moving, they chimed 'That's it! Now you've got it!'  (huh??)  Half-way through the routine I started completely ignoring the instructor, and just did whatever I wanted. Why? Because something the way I was holding the remote was not registering, and even though I was doing them right, the screen kept saying "No, watch closely and do it like me!" By the end I was ready to throttle the instructor, sell the disk, and never work out again. I'm thinking a Kinect system where it's actually paying attention to me instead of the other way around? Why did I even finish the workout? Because I get together weekly with another guy and I know we will ask me next week if I did what I promised I would do.

I wonder sometimes if our approach to spiritual formation in the church leaves people feeling the same way. Sermons that boil down to "You suck. Do better." Formulaic approaches to a quiet time, specifying the 'right' way to do it. Nagging way more about what we're not doing right than applauding that we're even trying, and encouraging what we are doing well. (I'm not saying our church is much like that, but it's easy for any church, any minister, to get too focused on the wrong thing.)

So after getting frustrated with this workout, I came up with...

10 Things that Wii Fitness can Remind us about Spiritual Formation:

1. If we lose sight of what we're trying to achieve, we'll never put in the effort it takes to get there.
2. Having a supposed 'instructor' that doesn't care about us or screams "Do it just like me!' pushes us further away from growth
3. Focus on taking your next step, however small. Don't look at someone way ahead of you and sigh.
4. Conversely there is great benefit to a personal trainer who can work with you to achieve your goals
5. Exercise and spiritual formation are often best done with a friend or a group
6. Finding the right exercises - ones that you actually enjoy doing and which build you up - is golden.
7. Going through the motions just to please your instructor is virtually useless.
8. Exercise/disciplines are half of the equation. It really has to go together with learning to feed yourself in a healthy way.
9. An accountability partner who asks questions but doesn't nag helps you get it done.
10. The goal is life transformation. Don't settle for anything less.

Review - As Iron Sharpens Iron

If you're not a big reader, you may be tired of all these darn book reviews this month :)  I wasn't keeping up with reading (and reviews) earlier this fall, but have been catching up on my reading pile over the past few weeks. A growing interest of mine is mentoring, and I finally got to read a classic on the subject this week - "As Iron Sharpens Iron: Building Character In a Mentoring Relationship" by Howard and William Hendricks. It's a book I skimmed many years ago that didn't make much of an impression at the time, so I really wasn't expecting much more than an outdated men's ministry tool. I was wrong.

As Iron Sharpens Iron is an extremely practical and insightful book covering all aspects of mentoring relationships. Part One takes a close look at these from the perspective of a man (really, of anyone) seeking a mentoring relationship. Part Two flips things around to look from the mentor's perspective - why mentor, what to look for in a protoge, how to help the your mentoring partner set a learning agenda, and more. There is also a helpful appendix on how to establish a mentoring program in your church.

The principles within apply well both in formal mentoring contexts as well as informal. Both have advantages, but the authors make a strong case for informal mentoring relationships and taking things slow (especially for men). Here are some of the highlights I found within the book:

• Established the benefits of mentoring relationships for all, including peer mentoring
• Very practical and realistic advice on initiating mentoring relationships (one of the most common stumbling blocks) - including a nice list of 20 ideas for starting such a relationship
• Clear focus that mentoring is about relationships, with intentionality for growth
• The ten marks of a mentor - as well as the profile of a protege
• A very useful guide in the appendix for personal or group use, to walk a person or pair through the book and apply it
• Overall, an approach that seems like it would work well with modern (and postmodern) audiences of all ages

One of my favorite tips in the book was that when talking to someone about initiating a mentoring relationship, don't use the word mentor or mentoring!?! It tends to scare many people off unnecessarily. In talking to several men, both younger and older, I've found this to be quite true.  Likewise, if you're looking to start a mentoring program, they suggested that you don't actually make it a "program", and that you don't have to refer to it as "mentoring" :)

I've read over a dozen books and scores of articles on mentoring in the past few months. I now wish I started with this book - it pulls together many best practices and great ideas that I've seen scattered across many other sources. The intended audience for the book is definitely men, and leaders of men's ministry. Yet the principles and practices taught are definitely applicable to any audience. You can find "As Iron Sharpens Iron" at Amazon and other book retailers.

Review - Spiritual Rhythm

In August I posted about discouragement and some encouragement found in Kem Meyer's blog, in which she was talking about a book by Mark Buchanan - "Spiritual Rhythm: Being with Jesus Every Season of Your Soul". The very next day I found an unexpected package on my porch, a copy of Spiritual Rhythm, sent by Mark via Zondervan Publishers! In the intro he described the book as one not to be rushed through, so I've taken my time reading it. Tonight I finished, so here are my thoughts on the book.

Spiritual Rhythm is a deep and thoughtful book, looking how it's not just ok but natural and healthy to go through all forms of seasons in our spiritual lives. God is there, and speaks to us, in winter, spring, summer and fall. How we relate to Him, what is expected of us, and how we interact with others are all deeply effected by the season we're in. Mark writes with passion and out of the experience he has in dealing with each of the seasons. 
 
As I mentioned, this is not a book to be rushed through. It's one to take in slowly, to reflect on - and I imagine one to revisit when I find myself in a new season of life. The first part of the book takes a close look at each season, first describing what it looks like, then some thoughts on activities that will be most fruitful for that season. The second part of the book is a set of essay describing various spiritual rhythms: balancing, abiding, seeking, walking in the light, being, sustaining, knocking, persevering. I especially like the chapter on balancing. Most of us want balance, but we don't know that what we really crave is rhythm. If we tried to stand up in a kayak, yes, we better have perfect balance. But that won't get us anywhere. To actually paddle a kayak you need a rhythm. 

Spiritual Rhythm is a book worth reading - all the more so if you find yourself in the season of winter, or wondering why there seem to be so many ups and downs in your life, faith or ministry.

Review - Intentional Church

I dislike buying a book that has no reviews on Amazon, especially when it lacks the 'Search Inside' feature. Invariable when I get one of these, I end up wishing I didn't. Recently I took a chance on a book called "The Intentional Church: Moving From Church Success to Community Transformation" by Randy Pope. It was the first in a long time where I'm glad I did (even though the main content wasn't really what I thought it would be!)

The Intentional Church is a practical and well-written guide for church leaders desired to be more effective in developing mature disciples of Christ and impacting their community. The focus is on intentionality - thinking carefully about the elements of effective discipleship and ministry, and creating a reproducible process to help your people grow as followers of Christ. The Intentional Church was originally published as The Prevailing Church. It's been revised and updated, now including a number of examples and insights learned from Randy's experience as senior pastor of Perimeter Church in Duluth, GA. He does a great job of sharing real-world experiences and practical tips without ever making it sound like we should become copies of Perimeter. His goal is to provide a framework for thinking about church leadership without providing a specific model to emulate. Since reviews on this fine book are scarce, I'm going into a little extra detail here than normal...

Table of Contents Introduction: What Will it Take to Be Truly Successful?
1. What Jesus Wants from His Church
2. What Makes a Church Grow? Six Widely Recognized Causes... and a Neglected Seventh Factor
3. Inside the Effective Ministry Plan. i) A God-Honoring Purpose
3. Inside the Effective Ministry Plan. ii) A Faith-Oriented Commitment
5. Inside the Effective Ministry Plan. iii) A God-Given Vision
6. Inside the Effective Ministry Plan. iv) Well-Prioritized Values
7. Inside the Effective Ministry Plan. v) Well-Defined Mission
8. Inside the Mission: Accomplishing Vision
9. Inside the Mission: Making the Mature and Equipped Followers: The TEAMS-based Church
10. Inside the Effective Ministry Plan. vi) Biblically-based Job Descriptions- The Roles of Deacons and Elders
11. Biblically-based Job Descriptions- The Role of the Pastor
12. Biblically-based Job Descriptions- The Role of the Laity
13. Inside the Effective Ministry Plan. vii) Strategically Designed Infrastructure
14. Inside the Effective Ministry Plan. viii) Culturally Relevant Strategy
15. Inside Culturally Relevant Strategies- Four Questions that must not be Overlooked
16. Inside the Effective Ministry Plan. ix) Well-Developed Goals and Plans
17. Inside the Effective Ministry Plan. x) Ongoing Measurement
18. Making the Tough Choices
19. Evangelism: Reaching the Lost in This Generation
20. Life-on-Life Discipleship: God's Model for Life Transformation
Conclusion: For His Gospel, for His Glory

There were a number of great insights throughout the book - I found myself highlighting quite a bit. The presentation is very logical, without being rigid, and not neglecting the pivotal role the Holy Spirit and power of God play in building His church. I saw four themes that came across very strongly in the book: a well thought out framework for strategic planning; a life-on-life approach to disciple-making centered on Truth, Equipping, Accountability, Mission and Supplication (prayer); leadership development; and the importance of the church being both gathered and scattered, reaching in and reaching out. Pope does a great job in providing the 'why' behind the tips he shares for effective ministry. For example, while discussing infrastructure he goes beyond the suggestion of providing large-size, medium-size and small-group structures to talk about the function behind each of these: to allow for celebration, community, education, and pursuit of the great commission. The only thing I felt was missing (given the title of the book) was more discussion on how to become more of an Externally Focused church transforming the community.

There are other excellent books providing frameworks for thinking about church, from a wide variety of perspectives, including The Purpose-Driven Church, Church Unique, and AND: The Gathered and Scattered Church. The Intentional Church is an excellent resource that should appeal to many church leaders - especially those with a desire for more intentional strategic planning, a more relational and focused discipleship process, and/or a desire to be both the church gathered and the church scattered.

Happy Thanksgiving

Best wishes to you all on this wonderful Thanksgiving day! My family and I are really looking forward to sharing the day with some good friends, as we celebrate together the many things we're thankful for. I was commenting recently to my wife that one of the main things I'm thankful for is to have someONE to be thankful to. It's what makes the difference between Thanksgiving and merely Turkey Day. A friend on Facebook recently posted how Thanksgiving came to be a holiday in the United States - it was via a proclamation by Abraham Lincoln in 1863.

The Abraham Lincoln Online website presents it as follows:

Proclamation of Thanksgiving

Washington, D.C.

October 3, 1863

This is the proclamation which set the precedent for America's national day of Thanksgiving. During his administration, President Lincoln issued many orders similar to this. For example, on November 28, 1861, he ordered government departments closed for a local day of thanksgiving.

Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on September 28, 1863, urging him to have the "day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival." She explained, "You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution."
Prior to this, each state scheduled its own Thanksgiving holiday at different times, mainly in New England and other Northern states. President Lincoln responded to Mrs. Hale's request immediately, unlike several of his predecessors, who ignored her petitions altogether. In her letter to Lincoln she mentioned that she had been advocating a national thanksgiving date for 15 years as the editor of Godey's Lady's Book.

The document below sets apart the last Thursday of November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise." According to an April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln's secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original was in his handwriting. On October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet member Gideon Welles recorded in his diary how he complimented Seward on his work. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops.

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

Review - Ignite

"Ignite - How to Spark Immediate Growth in Your Church" by Nelson Searcy with Jennifer Henson takes an approach of having a series of 'big days' in your church to spark growth, and double the size of your church. The method is very practical, has been used in Searcy's own church, and lays out its rationale very clearly. The book is fairly well written, and will be of use to many churches who are healthy but stuck at a size barrier and wishing to break through.

I have enjoyed Searcy's other books like Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups, Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests into Fully-Engaged Members of Your Church, and Launch: Starting a New Church from Scratch, which are also very pragmatic books seeking to help leaders do a good job with their systems for small groups, first impressions, and church planting. Searcy is definitely a 'systems thinker.' What I like about the other books is that they give very practical tips about implementing things that are very healthy and appropriate for most churches. (See my earlier reviews for Fusion and Activate)

Yet I don't feel the same enthusiasm for Ignite. While he does not intentionally minimize the role of the Holy Spirit, and notes that God wants to reach people far more than we do, the book still comes across as a paint-by-numbers approach to manufacturing growth by human means. He says that both attractional and incarnational approaches to outreach work well and that he advocates doing both, this is a 100% come-to-us approach to evangelism. The material really isn't that new if you're already familiar with the purpose driven church model and the teaching of Rick Warren (which also thinks highly of big days). One issue I have with this book's approach is that it really has a goal of growth, as opposed to a goal of health. In every discussion of big days and church growth I've heard from Saddleback it's been very clear that the goal is church health, and the natural result (if your structure doesn't interfere) is growth - but you never make growth itself your target. When the table of contents talks about equipping the people for evangelism and giving them the tools they need to succeed, I was really hoping for more than 'invite postcards'.

The book describes how big days and the buzz and momentum that come from it can attract more visitors. What is not discussed at all are the reasons why the people would choose to stay. For your limited budget and energy, do you want to invest in mailings and big events and attendance numbers, or do you want to invest in people and disciple-making that show the difference it makes to be a fully devoted follower of Christ. (If you're doing the latter well and want to know how to do the former, this book is for you.) Again, the book and methods aren't bad in themselves - if read and followed with a great attitude seeking to honor God, reach the lost, and be a part of God building a healthy church, then your church may find benefit from this. But more likely the church that is "stuck" and not growing may have a deeper and more spiritual reason that is not best addressed by Ignite.

Review - Insights on John

Chuck Swindoll has been a trusted and powerful communicator and teacher for many years. Recently he has been writing a powerful series of books aimed at bringing the Bible to life -- Swindoll's New Testament Insights Series. His gifts for teaching in a way that combines scholarship, storytelling, and personal insights really shine through in this series. Through the Amazon Vine program, I received a review copy of the "Insights on John" volume in this series.

Swindoll's Inisights on John is an extremely readable commentary on the Gospel of John. The author definitely takes a deep and careful look at the text, and does not shy away from trying to explain nuances of language and history. Yet at the same time, the writing style is quite clear, never pedantic or condescending, and very understandable. At 368 pages it's not a book you're going to read cover to cover quickly. It's best application is probably as a companion to an in-depth personal or small group study on John. As such, the name "Insights on..." describes the approach of the book very well -- it definitely doesn't come across as a standard commentary. He doesn't strain to come up with something to say about every verse; instead you get the sense he really is sharing a number of insights that have been meaningful to him in his own study and devotions. Finally, the quality of the book and its hardcover format are very nice. 

Insights on John contains a number of helpful features: 
- The Bible text itself, as a whole passage, in the NASB version 
- Insightful comments, taking things a few verses at a time 
- Personal notes in "From My Journal" sections 
- Application sections that aim to help the Word transform the life of the reader 
- Many useful pictures, charts, tables, to better explain the text 

I would recommend this one to anyone who wants to understand the Gospel of John better and apply its teaching to their life. It can be found at Amazon or other retailers.