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Our Insufficiency Invites the Sufficiency of God

Published by Jeff Kennon on April 6, 2014

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Insightful words from Kent Hughes…

Those whom God uses have always been aware of their insufficiency and weakness, be it Moses or Gideon or Isaiah or Jeremiah or Ezekiel or Paul or Peter or John. And it was their insufficiency that invited the sufficiency of God.

God is not looking for gifted people or people who are self-sufficient. He is looking for inadequate people who will give their weakness to him and open themselves to the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the transforming grace of the new covenant as it is ministered by Christ himself. 

If God is calling you, do not hide behind your weakness. I don’t know what he might be calling you to do–it might be a worldwide mission, it may be teaching a Sunday School class, it may be ministering to children, it may be reaching out in your neighborhood, it may be stepping up at work. But if he’s calling you, don’t hid behind your weakness–your weakness is the ground for his calling. Follow God, and he will use your weakness as an occasion for his power.

And if you are felling terrifying stirrings within your soul as he nudges you outside your comfort zone, where you will be out of your depth, give your weakness to him and accept his sufficiency.

God uses people who are weak because of their unique ability to depend upon him. 

 

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Book Giveaway: Thriving In College

Published by Jeff Kennon on April 2, 2014

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Since it’s getting close to High School graduation time, I am giving away 2 copies of Thriving in College: Make Great Friends, Keep Your Faith, and Get Ready for The Real World by Alex Chediak.  

Click here for a quick review of the book.

Enter your info below between now and Friday at noon and 2 lucky names will be drawn.

 

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Know Someone You Want To “Thrive” in College?

Published by Jeff Kennon on April 2, 2014

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“College can be a wonderful and dangerous place,” writes Alex Chediak. And he should know. As the associate professor of engineering and physics at California Baptist University, he has worked with and taught students for several years. But even though college can be a difficult place, his desire is that students not just survive, but thrive. Therefore, he has written Thriving In College: Make Great Friends, Keep Your Faith, and Get Ready for The Real World, a book designed to help students make the most of their college days.

“The purpose of college,” writes Chediak, “ is to be a launching pad into all that goes with responsible Christian adulthood.” He comments how “it’s shameful that one in every three men of ages twenty-two to thirty-four is still living at home with Mom and Dad.” College is the place to begin to develop responsibility. But to do so takes intentionality. It requires a plan. And it involves being aware of a few dangers ahead.

Naturally, Thriving In College seeks to encourage its readers to grow closer to God during their college days. Chediak writes that “college is a season in which you can—and must—take ownership of your faith.” There will be moral and intellectual challenges to one’s faith in college, but one must not neglect his/her relationship with God. Chediak argues that “Christianity doesn’t just make sense; it provides a firm basis to build your college years and your entire adult life upon.”

As Chediak builds the case that Christianity should be the foundation for one’s days at college, he allows it to guide him to write about some practical advice a college student needs to excel. I really appreciate this aspect of the book. He does not compartmentalize Christianity but allows it to speak to how a student should do everything from taking notes in class to building new relationships.

The specific suggestions Chediak mentions throughout each chapter to help students “thrive in college” are practical, helpful and challenging. Below is a sampling of some of his advice…

You don’t want to assume that college is just like high school (p. 31).

It’s so important to have friends whose character you admire because, like it or not, as they go, you will go (p. 68).

Before you jump into a dating relationship, you need to take responsibility for your own Christian life so that you aren’t looking for someone else to be for you what only God can be (p. 94).

Embrace responsibility and avoid making excuses or exaggerating (p. 169).

As you select a major, move toward the decision with intentionality, an accurate self-assesment, and a wise consideration of the pros and cons, but recognize that the selection of a major os only the beginning of a journey (p. 221).

Study regularly instead of cramming (p. 228).

Don’t waste opportunities in college. Prioritize and develop your academic skills, but also take advantage of extracurricular growth opportunities like internships, mission trips, student organizations, and special events (p. 281).

If you are a college student, work with college students, or are even a parent of a college student, Thriving In College will be a tremendous resource for you. Of all the resources on the market that deal with the transition to college, I have found this book to be the most balanced as Chediak deals with matters from apologetics to learning to handle finances.

At around 350 pages, Thriving in College might appear a bit lengthy for some students, but nonetheless, I would consider placing a copy in their hands. Or better yet, using the material in a high school senior or college freshmen small group.

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A Little Book On A Big Topic

Published by Jeff Kennon on March 26, 2014

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Throughout the history of the church, theology has played a vital role. It has led to revivals and reformations. Today however, some are worried that the theological task is becoming detached from everyday life and spirituality.  Kelly M. Kapic is one of those concerned and as a result,  has written a valuable  book called A Little Book for New Theologians (only 124 pages). 

“My worry,” writes Kapic, “is that in our day, for many of us, we have unintentionally cultivated what might be called theological detachment: such a view produces a divide between spirituality and theology, between life and thought, between faith and agency” (p. 9). Kapic, therefore, directs his book to those who are in the beginning stages of understanding the discipline of theology in hopes of guiding them away from its possible detachment from life and worship.

A Little Book for New Theologians is divided into two parts. In Part I, Kapic writes of why one should study theology. His basic argument is that one should embark on this pilgrimage in order “to know and enjoy God.” The study of theology therefore, should lead to worship. Kapic writes that when we understand the relationship between theology and worship, “we are moved beyond intellectual curiosity to an engaged encounter with the living God” (p. 37).

The heart of Kapic’s book is found in Part II. In this section, Kapic discusses the characteristics of faithful theology and theologians. These chapters are most helpful as he begins by insisting that theology not be separated from real life. He writes that “our theology can become corrupted because we neglect to attend to our lives, for true theology must always be true spirituality” (p. 45). We must, therefore, approach theology with humility and repentance, “ready to receive what God gives rather than impose preconceived ideas” (p. 75).

It is Kapic’s chapter “Suffering, Justice, and Knowing God” that I find most challenging. Kapic writes: “God judges our theology faithful or false by our attitudes and responses to those in need” (p. 83). In other words, the proof of us being good theologians is evidenced by how we treat other people. “Genuine concern for theological truth brings with it a concern for one’s neighbor,” writes Kapic, “because the true God is known by love” (p. 91).

After reading A Little Book for New Theologians, I felt the title was a bit misleading. There is no doubt this book will be tremendously helpful to those who consider themselves “new theologians.” However, I think this little book would be helpful reading to all believers. Kapic’s writing would be an encouragement to anyone seeking to understand the necessity of theology and its proper handling. After all, theology is not just for the classroom, but for the living room. Theology is for the church by the church.

So maybe a better title for the book could be A Little Book for Why All Followers of Christ Need to Be Engaged in Theology. The title’s probably too long, but nonetheless, I think it more accurately displays the purpose and importance of this book.

 

 

 

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Questions To Diagnose Your Spiritual Health

Published by Jeff Kennon on March 23, 2014

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Are you spiritually healthy? Many times we evaluate spiritual health with actions such as church attendance, etc…, but spiritual health is much more than just activity. It involves the motivations and attitudes of the heart.

Donald Whitney, is his book Ten Questions To Diagnose Your Spiritual Health, is of great help in guiding us to think about our spiritual growth. Listed below are the ten questions he asks us in order to analyze our spiritual health…

1. Do you thirst for God?

2. Are you governed increasingly by God’s Word?

3. Are you more loving?

4. Are you more sensitive to God’s presence?

5. Do you have a growing concern for the spiritual and temporal needs of others?

6. Do you delight in the bride of Christ (the church)?

7. Are the spiritual disciplines increasingly important to you? (ie. Bible study, prayer)

8. Do you still grieve over sin?

9. Are you forgiving of others?

10. Do you yearn for Heaven and to be with Jesus?

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7 Suggestions For Encouraging Good Preaching

Published by Jeff Kennon on March 16, 2014

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At the back of Christopher Ash’s small book Listen Up!: A Practical Guide to Listening to Sermons, he lists 7 suggestions for encouraging good preaching. Here they are…

1. Pray for the preachers.

2. From time to time, tell the preachers that you are praying for them and looking forward with expectancy to the sermon.

3. Be there. You may be surprised what an encouragement it is just to have you there.

4. Thank them afterwards for things you learned. Don’t flatter or just give vague comments about how good it was (if it was). Try to be specific and focus on the biblical content of the sermon.

5. Be prepared to be constructively and supportively critical. Ask the preachers to help you see where they got a particular point from the passage. Be humble and respectful as you do this. It is much harder to preach that it is to criticize preaching.

6. Relate to your preachers as one human being to another human being. Remember that the best sermon by a remote preaching hero, heard on an MP3 recording, is no substitute for the word of God preached by a human being face to face with other human beings in the context of trust and love.

7. Be on the lookout for gifts of preaching and teaching in the church, and be ready to tap someone on the shoulder and suggest they develop these gifts and get further training.

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One Reason You Should Develop Leadership Skills

Published by Jeff Kennon on March 14, 2014

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Have you ever thought about the relationship between you developing as a leader and it’s impact upon society?

Consider this:  As you grow as a leader, it impacts you personally. This growth in your personal life then affects your work life. And as your work life is impacted and becomes more productive, then the organization you work in is influenced and becomes more effective. And finally, when your organization or business becomes more effective, then society is impacted.

Do you see the domino effect that can occur by developing good leadership skills?

Personal Skills

↓

Your work

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Your Organization

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Our Society

Matt Perman, in his new book  What’s Best Next, writes about this relationship between our effectiveness as leaders and the impact it has on society. He writes that by us being more effective, we aren’t simply serving our bosses and coworkers better, as important as that is. We are serving our entire organizations and enabling them to become better as well, and thus serving everyone they influence (p. 304).

Leo Tolstoy wrote: Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. Could this be because we don’t see the relationship between our personal growth and its impact upon those around us?

What if you began to understand and implement the dynamics of servant leadership? How would becoming more aware of the needs of those around you, specifically those you work with, make an impact? Would it increase worker morale? What about your boss? Could your servant mentality have an impact upon him/her?

There might be some reading this who don’t consider themselves leaders. You might hold a job that doesn’t have an official leadership title. Or you are  a stay-at-home parent or a retired member of a community. Regardless of where you are in life or what you do, developing as a leader is bigger than holding a title or position. Leadership is about influence.

You may not have a title at work, but your work, though you may think its insignificant, effects those around you. Your parenting has influence not only among your children but among other parents. If you are retired, there is an abundance of opportunity to make those around you better (My grandfather is a great example. Read about him).

Do you see why I think leadership development is important for everyone? As you grow, you impact those around you who in turn impact those around them and so on and so on.

Where do you start?

One place to start (or continue) your leadership development would be to do some reading. Below are a few books that I would recommend. Pick one and get to reading.

The Leadership Challenge: How To Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations by Kouzes and Posner. This book proposes that anyone can develop leadership skills. For more info about the book, read the review by Trevin Wax.

Leaders Who Last by Dave Kraft. He writes: As a leader, everything I am and everything I do needs to be anchored in my identity with Christ. Leadership begins and ends with a clear understanding of the gospel and being rooted in the grace of Jesus Christ as a free gift.

You Don’t Need To Have A Title To Be A Leader by Mark Sanborn. This is a fairly short book. I think the title says it all.

What’s Bext Next: How The Gospel Transforms The Way You Get Things Done by Matt Perman. This is a new book and is excellent in helping one to understand productivity. This book has been tremendously helpful for me. For more info, read my review of the book.

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Read This Chapter BEFORE Sharing the Gospel

Published by Jeff Kennon on March 12, 2014

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Very rarely will I purchase a book because of it’s title, much less one of it’s chapter titles. But this changed for me when I glanced at the table of contents of John S. Leonard’s book Get Real: Sharing Your Faith Every Day. Leonard’s title of Chapter 4, For Christ’s Sake, Be Normal, drew me in.

In this chapter, Leonard writes that in our desire to show others how different we are because of Christ, we’re not making ourselves any more appealing to the nonbelievers around us. In fact, we are presenting ourselves as weird, strange, and bizarre (p. 42-43).

How do we become normal?

By being real. By quitting our act that everything is always “fine” and letting people see that we actually encounter trials and pain. When we’re normal and open about our difficulties and struggles, writes Leonard, Christ in all his power and glory will come pouring out of the cracks in our lives (p. 43).

Could it be that what others need to see in us is not super sainthood but a daily need of Christ’s grace and mercy? Leonard makes it clear that it is not the super-spiritual examples who generally have the greatest impact upon non-Christians. He writes that those who have the greatest influence are those of us who have to live what are considered ordinary lives, but who live them for Christ (p. 47).

A Great Example

Leonard shares how he uses Halloween as his attempt at being normal. Halloween, which he thinks is an incredible time to meet neighbors, is his time to be extra friendly and generous by giving away tons of great candy to all who knock on his door. What kid will not remember the house that gave out the best candy in the neighborhood?

Shouldn’t you give out some kind of gospel tract or Bible with that candy? Not according to Leonard. He writes: I am not against passing out Bibles and tracts–just don’t do it on Halloween, especially instead of giving out candy. It isn’t what people are expecting, and you cheapen the faith by doing so (p. 49).

Be interested in others

We should not think, however, that being normal means that we as Christians are not distinct from the world. If we follow Christ, people will think we are “crazy” at times. But we should go out of our way not to be weird (p. 47). And for Leonard, this means becoming interested in the things that most interest others (p. 48). This does not give us an excuse to sin but to instead show others what it means to follow Christ in the everyday events of life.

Get The Book!

Now though I was enticed to buy this book because of one chapter, the entire book is worth examining. It is an encouraging read and one that I think will be of great benefit to those who need help in sharing the gospel with others.

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