Fallen and Flawed

Download and Share This Free Book [The Messiah]

Yesterday I promised you a surprise. I’m here to deliver.

I’ve just published a book called The Messiah–Eleven Meditations from the Book of Mark.

You can read or download it here. [It's free.]

Some of you might recognize the title. It comes from a series I did last year of the same name.

Bottom line: I decided to pull all those posts together and wrap them up in a PDF–and give it to you for free.

Here’s a small part from the Introduction:

“Something happens when you systematically read through a gospel narrative like the book of Mark: You are confronted with the real Jesus.

“Gone are the pretty pictures of a gentle man lugging a lamb around on his shoulders.

“Instead, you meet a man who is vast in wisdom, terrifying in strength and exceptional in humility. So vast, terrifying and exceptional you begin to wonder if he is God.”

The Man Behind the Design

My long-distance but great friend Cameron Morgan designed The Messiah for me. He did the cover, the formatting and icons that run throughout the book.

I think it looks amazing.

[For those who are paying attention, he did the logo work for Nathan Bingham over at Calv.ini.st. That's how we met.]

The PDF is actually parked at Scribd, which is a social publishing website, so saying I published it is a bit of a stretch.

But you’ll forgive me, right?

Anyway, you can read or download The Messiah at Scribd. You can also share it on Twitter or Facebook.

Four Ways to Use The Messiah Book

Want some ideas on how to use The Messiah? Here are four.

1. Book.
Read it and move on. Pretty straightforward. You could take it a bit further and brag [or rag] on it–whether here, Scribd or your social media site of choice.

2. Devotional.
Print the book out and hunker down each morning with a chapter. Meditate on the messages like you might a page from Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest.

3. Tract.
The book is 30 pages of very short chapters, so it’s easy to read. And the content [the identity of Jesus] is perfect for introducing non-believers to the gospel.

4. Study Guide.
Print this book out and walk your study group or Sunday school class through it. Could stretch into an eleven week course.

Did I miss one? Let me know.

One More Thing

Some of you might want to know why I’m giving this book away for free. It basically comes down to this: Your attention is precious to me. I should be paying you.

In a way, with The Messiah, I am. So go download your free copy now.

I hope you enjoy it. And please, let me know what you think. I love hearing from you.

Tags: Book, Messiah

Disappearance of God: Why You Should Read the Last 30 Pages of Mohler’s New Book

Apprehension.

That’s the one word that best describes my feelings before I read Albert Mohler’s new book, The Disappearance of God–Dangerous Beliefs in the New Spiritual Openness. 

Why apprehension?

Well, I’ve never read a Mohler book and my only exposure to him was through his blog, notably before the 2008 election where the constant themes were abortion, politics and Christianity in culture.

I have to confess, talk of politics wears me out. Talk of cultural wars wears me out.

So, I was pre-maturely assuming Mohler was the type of man who spoke dryly of everything through that lens.

I was wrong.

The First Thing You Should Know

The book takes off on page 157. Like something from the launch pad at Cape Canaveral.  

In three chapters titled “Darkness at Noon-Parts 1, 2 and 3,” Mohler describes the post-Christian world we live in, the closing of the postmodern mind and the commission he recommends to the post-compliant church.

It’s the last chapter that needs a little explanation. Mohler argues:

“We must recognize that the church has been compliant for far too long, and if we are effectively to challenge prevailing worldview of postmodern culture, the church must become a post-compliant church.”

In other words: we must stop sleeping with the enemy.

Mohler points out the witness of the martyrs in the past–who gave their lives for the sake of the gospel–did not do so in a spirit of cultural compliance.

Neither should we. 

The Church’s Greatest Threat

Christians are an eccentric people. We determine our values based on a book 2,000 years old. So, yes, we’re going to be at odds with the culture.

But the greatest threat, Mohler explains, is not in the world around us but in our evangelical pews where “a devastating loss of biblical and doctrinal convictions” occurs.

At root of the compliant church is a loss of theological nerve. A backbone to resist the repaganization of our culture. 

This repaganization is seen in three unhealthy church behaviors:

1. It’s seen in the embrace of the romantic concept of universalism.

2. It’s seen in our pre-occupation with feel good religion.

3. It’s seen in our re-invention of Christianity as a self-help pop-psychology. 

All of this leads to an abandonment of missions–the deliberate, systematic sharing of the Gospel to the unreached people of the world. 

Mohler’s answer and commission to the post-compliant church…the church that’s NOT compliant?

This generation must create bold, courageous and committed Christian missionaries. “This is the sum and substance of the genuine gospel–and the true gospel is always a missionary gospel.”

What You Should Do with This Book

My recommendation is to read Disappearance of God. But start at page 157. After you’ve read the last 30 pages, THEN go back and read the rest of the book. 

What you’ll find in the earlier chapters is Mohler’s common denominator: The subtle, deliberate evacuation of anything remotely New Testament in our post-modern churches. 

This is apparent in his attack on the Emergent church [which, by the way, amounted to a retelling of D. A. Carson's research], lament on the waning doctrine of hell and articulation of the absence of formal discipline in current churches.

That last topic got me to sit up in my seat. It was a compelling, historical argument to return to a formal, procedural policy of discipline in churches…

An issue worth exploring.

Another persuasive and interesting topic Mohler touched upon was Christian beauty. Bottom line: Dismiss what you always thought of as beauty. Mohler, with his four aspects of beauty, has something totally different in mind.

Final Thoughts

Here’s what you should know: After reading this book, especially the last 30 pages, I’ve moved from apprehension to appreciation for Mohler.

From ambivalence to action.

So, my final advice to you: If you can only read 30 pages this year…read the last 30 pages of Mohler’s The Disappearance of God.

It’ll stir your soul. Especially if you care about the authentic gospel. The missionary gospel.

Tags: Book, Church, Mohler