Book Review: Samaritan Cookbook

 When I pick up a cookbook, most of the time I am not simply looking for a how to guide on how to make something. I am looking for the culture beyond the cuisine. In that regard, this book delivered. A variety of intriguing dishes as well as compelling glimpses into Samaritan culture, reminding us all of the importance of a culture and people that is often overlooked. This cookbook is a delight both for the palate and the heart. 

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for the purpose of writing an honest review. 

The book can be purchased from Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3dGc2u6

#SamaritanCookbook

Book Review: ReWilding the Way: Break Free to Follow an Untamed God by Todd Wynward

A tamed world in desperate need of being untamed. This one sentence gets to the heart of the argument Wynward makes in this book. He argues, rightly so, that the way of Jesus has become far too much like the way of culture. That the path Jesus calls us on no longer looks like the counter-cultural trek through the wilderness it was created to be, but rather more like the billboard plastered interstate highways of today. It is an argument that other scholars and authors have made, that Christianity has been diluted down into some form of synthetic uber-AmeriChristianity, but none that I have read employ the skillful language and imagery Wynward uses in Re-wilding the way. Latching on to biology and the science of physical “re-wilding” he lays out a superb case that just a modern science has taught us if we don’t take better care of our planet it will no longer be able to take care of us, if we don’t take care of faith and return it to its roots, it too is danger of dying.

I would recommend this book to any Pastor or lay leader who is serious about reclaiming Christ’s vision for His disciples and is looking for some inspiration in how to start in that direction as well as anyone who looks at modern Christianity and thinks “there isn’t a problem”. If you find yourselves in either of those categories, read the book. It will either inspire you or challenge you, and just maybe, a bit of both.

You can find the book on Amazon or your favorite bookseller.

You can learn more about the author here.

JP Harris

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. 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.

A World Full of Gongs and Cymbals

As I pondered the lectionary passages (you can find them all here: Vanderbilt Divinity RCL) for this coming Sunday, I found myself moved by the irrefutable claim present throughout all of them that God has set forth for each of us a calling. From the calling of Jeremiah, to the assertion of Psalm 71 that God has walked with us from birth, to Jesus proclamation that God’s call is often to go outside our box to proclaim the Gospel. But the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthians lays out the true unmistakable mark of what it means to be called by God, love.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

13:1 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

13:2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

13:3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

13:4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant

13:5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;

13:6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.

13:7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

13:8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.

13:9 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part;

13:10 but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end.

13:11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.

13:12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13:13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

(NRSV)

The love described in 1 Corinthians 13 is a love we experience as we submit our lives to God’s grasp. There is no love, be it of a parent, significant other, or a child that is as all consuming as God’s love. It is the source of our life itself and is the means by which we are actually able to be patient and kind, to bear all the things that life throws at us,  and to not give into our never ending selfish ways and desires. 

In our world today, there is much questioning about life, its purpose, and how one should live it. In our nation, much of our political rhetoric is centered around the rights of the individual and we tend to support policies that will best suit us.  Paul is dealing with this  same issue in the church in Corinth, as those of us who proclaim to follow Christ must do in our own world today. We live in a world where individual liberty has become idolized to the point that it is wreaking havoc among our nation not to mention the world.

I believe very much in the principle of freedom and individual liberty. I am thankful to live in a nation founded upon such freedom giving documents as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. But what we have forgotten it seems, in light of debate on how we best live within those freedoms, is the freedom we are given in God, the freedom to love. As Christians, not only are we given the freedom to love, it is our very calling. But yet somehow we have allowed our public discourse to become nothing more than a world full of clanging cymbals and noisy gongs. 

Paul's words remind us then that some things more important than being right, powerful, or on the winning side. In public discourse, Christians are often portrayed as merely desiring to be right. Many Christians when it comes to their point of view on their pet issues will often rail so hard in support of them that they forget that whatever we say or do that is not in a spirit of love is simply noise. So then all of our talk, knowledge, religious acts, and sacrifices wind up equating to zero, zilch, nothing! When we believe that we gained everything by standing on our own principles, bullying others, or by being on the “right” side of things, we have truly lost everything, most importantly our faith.

The love that Paul speaks of, the love that defines our purpose and calling as Christians is a love that seeks not its own good, but the good of the ones we are called to love. And in short, if we affirm Christ, then we are called to love everybody. No if’s, ands, or buts. That includes people who think differently, live differently, believe differently, look differently, speak differently, and so on and so forth differently than us. 

So in the future, as you wrestle with what it means to live your life in freedom, remember that if in your pursuit of your desires you have not love, then you have nothing at all. 

For the humility of the game

It's not often watching sports one happens to think about waxing theologically. But for some reason this
past Sunday, I found myself doing exactly that. As I kicked back on the couch, attempting to enjoy an afternoon of rest after a morning of leading worship, I found myself frantically trying to keep up with both the NASCAR race and the NFL. My team (the Panthers) and driver (Tony Stewart) were both agonizingly close to victory. But, then it all imploded. The Panthers blew a 4th Quarter comeback, largely due to poor passing by Cam Newton and Tony wrecked the entire field going for the win on the last lap. Both men had seen their hops of victory dashed by disaster at their own making. Both men had seen their teammates, and in the case of NASCAR, fellow competitors, have their hopes of wining exterminated as well. The only question that remained was "how will they deal with this?"

I quote Tony's reaction first. In his postrace interview he made these remarks "“I was trying to win the race and I was trying to stay ahead of Matt (Kenseth) there,” Stewart said. “Michael got a great run on the bottom and had a big head of steam. When I turned down, I turned down across the right front of his car......It was a mistake on my part but it cost a lot of people a bad day.”

(Credit: Sporting News)

It took a lot of guts to admit that he made the mistake that cost so many competitors a chance at winning. But  he did it. 

And in addressing his loss, Cam Newton made the statement "Call it what you want to call it, Cam Newton didn't play good football today." Another tough admission of personal failure to get the job done. Which is somewhat of a change in Cam's attitude. It took a lot of courage, but he finally he did it.

(Credit: Getty Images/Bleacher Report)

In the midst of all that, I started pondering this question "what would the world be like if we all had more humility and could admit, as Stewart put it, when we have screwed up?" I, for one, know my personal world would be better. I will admit that my personality is not one that likes to admit mistakes. It hurts. I often find myself needing a good dose of humility. I think a good majority of the world could use one to be honest.

Jesus spoke often about humbling ourselves, and I think it is probably one of the least abided by of Jesus words. It's hard to humble ourselves. It's hard to admit when we've let others down. It's tough to stand up and say "I blew it, and I know it." But we have to. If we don't, then we fail to progress forward. If we don't admit our mistakes are our mistakes, then we will continually repeat them. But once we take ownership, we put the pressure on ourselves to do something about it. It's in that moment of pressure we take steps toward growth. 

Everything in life is a choice. Sometimes our choices pan out, sometimes they don't. But either way, in the end, we have to take responsibility for them. So perhaps we should take a cue from Smoke (Stewart's nickname) and Cam and have the humility to admit it when we "cost people a bad day" or "<insert your name here> didn't have a good day today. From my perspective, it's only when we do that do we really have a chance to move toward those good days, and I hope you will join me in doing so.

The Fallout from Amendment One

The Fallout From Amendment One

As I continue to peruse my newsfeed and read articles regarding the passage of Amendment One here in North Carolina, I am disheartened. The name calling, mudslinging, and outrageous generalizations and stereotypes coming from both sides of the issue are appalling. The most disheartening thing about it for me though is that is often Christians who have been doing the insulting.

I made it no secret that I personally opposed Amendment One. At the prompting of several members of my church with questions regarding Amendment One and homosexuality in general, I did my best to promote an unbiased conversation regarding the church, homosexuality, and amendment one. In writing, I presented an objective analysis of Christian viewpoints on all these matters, along at the end, with the conclusions I had drawn from the information I had compiled. I never expected anyone to latch on and take my beliefs simply because I am a pastor. That is simply not what I am called to do. My calling is to shepherd, to teach, and to love. In order to do that, I must equip those believers I am blessed to serve the best I can so that they may seek to understand God in the context of their own lives. Amendment One provided an excellent opportunity to do this, and I was encouraged by the good amount of thoughtful, loving dialogue which took place, even among those who came down in different places. I was saddened by a small minority who refused to even hear thoughts differing from their own, but again, a small majority. That being said, I feel we have grown as a local church through this.

However, I am afraid the same thing cannot be said about the church universal or our state. The debate regarding Amendment One turned into a "I'm a good Christian, you're not" argument. I was reminded of Christ's disciples arguing about who would be the greatest in His Kingdom. Just as it was then, the determining factor is who is loving and welcoming.

In this debate, there has not been much loving or welcoming. Christians whose convictions led them to vote "for" have been labeled bigoted, intolerant and the like. Christians whose convictions led them to vote "against" have been labeled false prophets, pseudo Christians and the like. There is no room for such division and name calling in the Kingdom of God.

The true fallout from this Amendment, at least in the context of Christianity, goes much deeper than it's legal ramifications. It has hurt the church. The church once again has been viewed by those outside the faith as a people who rather than love and are filled with hate. The fact that Christians failed to dialogue and be loving, and move forward regardless of the outcome has been the real detriment to the faith. I understand convictions and emotions ran and continue to run deep on the issue. I have the belief we are all entitled to our beliefs and to live them out as we believe we should. But there is no room for allowing our pride to make us think we are worth more or are greater in God's eyes because of those convictions. Such a mentality will only bring shame upon ourselves and the name of God.

So Christians, in these coming times, I urge you to do this. Be respectful of all whether they agree with you or not. Learn to understand and appreciate those who are different than yourselves. This does not mean you have to be persuaded or change your own convictions, but really knowing and understanding takes the fear and hate out of an issue and allows for mutual respect. Pray for each other, especially those on the opposite side from you. Christians should be, above all else, a people who can love our neighbor, even when we don't agree. And that isn't simply the JP Perspective, that is the Jesus Perspective.

Love God with everything you've got. And each other, love the same way. (Paraphrase of Jesus Great Commandment Matthew 22:36-40)

Blue Like Jazz - The Truth

I was quite happy to see Blue Like Jazz the Movie finally getting some attention in MSM over the weekend. I just hope it didn't come too late. At least every couple of days since I saw the movie in a preview screening, I have unashamedly posted links to buy tickets on various social networking sites, in addition to talking it up in conversation. I was happy to read this morning that the movie has enjoyed success in multiple markets, while disappointed that it was struggling in others. Here's hoping for continued success for the film.

But why do I believe in it so much? Why, as a Pastor and person of faith, promote so heavily a film which has brought with it a pretty heated discussion on whether it is truthful or blasphemous? Why not just stick my head in the sand and ignore it, or better yet, stay in line with other "evangelical" leaders and speak out against it, as opposed to promoting it?

Because, from my perspective, it is truth, rather than blasphemous. Why?, you ask.

Christian circles have for far too long have failed to present reality. We have largely lived in a bubble where we have convinced ourselves everything is OK, and if we just keep doing what we've been doing, everything will turn out fine.

Oh, how wrong we have been. Our insistence on "happy Jesus faces" and shallow faith has led to shrinking churches and distaste for Christianity rather than success. It has led to many young people, who upon leaving the confines of their Christian "bubble" encountering a crisis of faith which for many has been irreconcilable.

Blue Like Jazz speaks to the heart of this very problem. The movie, based on Don Miller's wildly popular book of the same name, features the lead character, Don, raised a conservative Southern Baptist, heading off to school at Reed College, known as the most godless campus in America. The transformation and spiritual wrestling match which ensues is gripping, provocative and truthful. When put into places where our faith is challenged and not the norm, we are forced to be awakened to the reality that our beliefs are not shared by the entire world and that they may just not be as concrete as we thought they were.

And that is a good thing. If the church, if the Christian faith, if Jesus, is to be reclaimed as relevant to life, then we have to be willing to pop the bubble, deal with our pain, questions, and live our lives in a way that matters. Otherwise, faith will continue to die and the potential life changing impact of Christianity will continue to grow weaker by the day.

So, go see Blue Like Jazz, pop your bubble, and live a life that matters.

For tickets, go to www.bluelikejazztickets.com

I am going to hell for Facebook Jesus tells me so.

I am going to hell. Or at least that is what one of the many "Click n Share" Facebook Jesus' informed me this morning would happen if I did not pass it on.

For the last several days my Facebook newsfeed has been inundated with tacky representations of Christ with even tackier messages attached to them. The guilty one of this morning read "Whoever is ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of in front of My Father. Will I be ashamed of you? If not, pass this on" In reading this I heard "Pass this on, or you will go to hell you heathen."

After recovering from my initial offense at this absurdity, I began to ponder what I would call "Click n Share" theology.

This particular brand of theology seems to be ever increasing in popularity. This theological persuasion basically asserts that the definition of a good Christian is one who simply states "I Love Jesus, how about you?" and that is pretty much as deep as it goes.

A love for Jesus Christ and a living Christian faith is about a lot more than clicking and sharing. It requires sacrifice. It requires loving other people (which in itself is often a sacrifice). It requires living a life which in itself affirms one's love and devotion to Christ. Such devotion cannot be accomplished simply by "clicking n sharing". Insinuating ill consequences on those who choose not to click and share is itself far from an act of love.

It troubles me to know that in America today, "click n share theology" is the deepest many peoples Christian faith goes. Many Christians do not know nor have no desire to really share their faith. So instead, with the click of a mouse and a warm fuzzy feeling inside, they feel like their work for the Kingdom is complete.

As I read the Beattitudes this morning, as I try to do fairly often, I failed to see the one which reads "Blessed are those who share horribly inaccurate and horrifically cheesy pictures of me on Facebook. The Kingdom of God is theirs. Way to go!" No, instead, I found these words

"God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
God blesses those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
God blesses those who are humble,
for they will inherit the whole earth.
God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,
for they will be satisfied.
God blesses those who are merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
God blesses those whose hearts are pure,
for they will see God.
God blesses those who work for peace,
for they will be called the children of God.
God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

"God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way. (Matthew 5:3-12 NLT)

Now I ask you, does your own faith go deeper than clicking and sharing? This Easter season, I pray you may find God calling out to you to love the poor, work for peace, be filled with mercy, and growing in your faith in real ways.

And that, from my perspective, cannot be accomplished by clicking and sharing.