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The Mission of God-Unlocking the Bibles Grand Narrative
-by Christopher J.H. Wright
   When someone asks me to recommend a good, solid book on the Biblical basis for world missions, I usually point them in the direction of either Patrick Johnstone’s “The Church is Bigger Than You Think” or John Piper’s “Let the Nations Be Glad-The Supremacy of Christ in World Missions.”
   When, however, someone is extremely patient and willing to go deep into the theology of world missions, I recommend Christopher Wright’s epic (almost 600 pages) “The Mission of God.”
   Because Christopher takes the whole Bible and not just Jesus’ Great Commission as his model for our approach to the subject of world evangelization, it seems to take on a more “holistic” approach than many other books on the same subject. Seeing the Bible as a “grand narrative,” he traces the Biblical story from Creation to the New Heaven and the New Earth and brings into play some of the Biblical themes, especially in the Old Testament, that are lost upon present day treatments of New Testament missiology. He speaks of the Exodus, the Year of Jubilee and even touches a bit on taking care of Creation, which seems to have been hijacked from the evangelicals as of late and revived by either the Liberals or the Emerging folks to try to get us to be more “green.” I think Wright gives a great balance.
   However, if you’re an evangelist you would not be disappointed if you read Wright’s book as he puts the Cross of Christ at the center of God’s redemptive plan and the need to preach the Gospel to every person.
   Wright is a protégé of the great British theologian John Stott whose excellent writings tend to bleed through in Wright’s writings, which, for myself, being a real Stott fan, was an extra bonus. I highly recommend “The Mission of God.”

A Passion for Souls-The Life of D.L. Moody
-by Lyle W. Dorsett
   Dorsett’s biography of Dwight Moody ranks up there as a close number two on my all-time favorite biographies list with “William and Catherine: The Story of the Booths” (see below). Dorsett does an excellent job, as Yaxley does with the Booths, to trace D.L. Moody’s passion for God back to his childhood, through his chaplaincy in the Civil War and onto being dubbed as “Crazy Moody” who rounded up poor young children in Urban Chicago and took them on his “missionary horse” to Sunday School meetings.
   Dorsett follows Moody through his developing years as his ministry of mass evangelism grew and examined his philosophy of ministry, vision and desire to reach the whole world with the Gospel.
   What was especially enlightening to me in Moody’s story was not only his commitment as a mass evangelist (it is estimated that he had half a million souls come to Christ during his lifetime), but also his incessant vision up until he died at age 62 to spread the Gospel through schools, training seminars and the founding of two publishing institutions which are still in ministry today--Moody Press and Fleming Revell.
   Chapter thirteen is worth the price of the whole book as Dorsett summarizes what he sees to be Moody’s main attributes and main contributions to his success: 1) Commitment (focusing on “one thing”), 2) A willingness to take risks, 3) Vision, 4) The need for the power of the Holy Spirit, 5) A high view of Scripture, 6) A Christ centered life, 7) Confidence in young people (“Moody’s boundless confidence in the younger generation, his outpouring of energy and time on those under 25 years old was purposeful, brilliant, and extremely effective”), 8) Teachability, 9) Humility, 10) A love for people.
   A passion for souls kept me riveted to its 450 pages from beginning to end. I highly recommend it.

Paradigms in Conflict
-by David Hesselgrave
   David Hesselgrave’s book, “Paradigms in Conflict,” examines with ruthless honesty some of the conflicts that are alive and well in the missionary community around the world. Although you may not agree with all of Hesselgrave’s conclusions (I certainly did not), you will appreciate the fact that he is willing to confront these issues.
   Some of them are theological (sovereignty vs. free will, restrictivism (only those who hear the name of Jesus can be saved) and inclusivism (there may be a “wider” hope for those who have never heard of Christ). His other issues have to do with a combination of theology and missions strategy. For instance, what should be our approach to those from other faiths? What is our responsibility to the poor and the needy as over against “winning souls” in evangelism? Do we have to choose an either-or, or can there be a both-and?
   Another interesting theological battle that has been raging for 150 years, originating with the Tubingen school in Germany, is who should be our missionary model--Jesus or Paul? Hesselgrave pushes for the “representational model,” that is Paul, as against the “incarnational model” which is Jesus. I found this chapter to be much ado about nothing, as we should follow both Jesus and Paul and to represent Jesus as well as incarnating him in the cultures in which we serve. His book also deals with a few, what I consider, less crucial topics like amateurization verses professionalism, the place of End Times prophecy in our missionary strategy and the definition and place of “Kingdom thinking” in our outreaches.
   One chapter that I found interesting was truth encounter vs. power encounter. Hesselgrave came down strong on the side of truth encounter, whereas many of us who are Charismatics and Pentecostals might come down on the side of power encounter, but it seems obvious from Scripture that we need both. An excellent read, especially for the strategic thinkers among us.

The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham
-by Harold Myra and Marshall Shelley
   I have always respected Billy Graham for his tremendous ability in communication and his use of creative means to reach out with the Gospel. Whether it is by mass crusades, television, literature, movies or other emerging technologies, he has been able to use them for the furtherance of the Gospel. I was not, however, aware of his leadership skills until I read the “Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham.”
   When you come to think of it, Billy Graham was the president and CEO of one of the largest Christian organizations in history, The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. That it has continued to prosper and be effective for over 60 years is a testament to the leadership of Dr. Graham. Shelley and Myra, two of his main lieutenants at different periods of his life, observed his leadership “secrets” firsthand.
   The book is full of insights based on Dr. Graham’s life. The principles he espoused, his interdenominational approach, his ability to form and hold together a team and to cast vision benefitted not only his own organization, but also inspired other leaders who went on to start many other organizations.
   The book speaks of how Dr. Graham, with a humble spirit, would handle criticism, betrayal and sometimes failure, and how he dealt with the many opportunities that he had in his life to promote his own ego at the expense of the Gospel (e.g., to go to Hollywood and be a film star or to cozy up closer to U.S. Presidents than was really prudent). While I did not really encounter new secrets that I had not read in other leadership books, these have been incarnated in a man that continues to be regarded as one of the world’s most admired people. If you are at all interested in Christian leadership and especially leadership that has to do with evangelism or missions work, I would encourage you to pick up the “Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham.”

William & Catherine: The Life and Legacy of the Booths
-by Trevor Yaxlley
   This is, hands down, the most inspirational biography I have ever read! In one book, Trevor Yaxley has given us a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most dynamic couples that have ever been involved in Christian ministry and gives us lots of fuel for application into our own lives.
   While giving just enough detail to give color to the story, he traces the childhood of both William and Catherine growing up in different parts of England. A whole chapter is devoted to their courtship, which was solidly grounded in their placing Jesus at the center of their relationship with one another.
   As the book progresses through the chronology of their years together, it shows how William and Catherine worked together in complimenting one another’s strengths and weaknesses, how they brought up their children in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord,” and then their commitment to developing one of the most dynamic, effective, evangelistic and social outreaches in history-the Salvation Army.
   Yaxley’s biography is an excellent example of a couple and a ministry that had no problem with the tendency of modern-day Christian ministries to polarize on one side or the other of the individual vs. corporate, the evangelistic vs. social or the “secular” vs. “sacred.” They saw all of life under the lordship of Christ, worked hard for social justice, but always kept at the forefront of their minds the salvation of souls.
   The Salvation Army continues to this day over two million strong around the world because it was built on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ, who was number one in the hearts of William and Catherine.
   The wealth of quotable quotes from both William and Catherine throughout the book is well worth its price, but I will close with one from William: “God will have all that there is of William Booth.”

Everything Must Change
-by Brian McLaren
   Having read nine of McLaren’s previous books, I had become a bit weary of his style of writing which coincides with his statement in “A Generous Orthodoxy” that “clarity is overrated” (page 23). His other books consistently give the reader (at least this reader) the distinct feeling that he doesn’t want to be clear on what he really believes. Yet, you get the impression that he is a bit liberal (“A New Kind of Christian”), an evolutionist (“The Story We Find Ourselves In”), has a very unorthodox view of Heaven and Hell (“The Last Word and The Word After That”) and seems to stand for everything (“A Generous Orthodoxy”) and in doing so, is not clear on anything! A friend, however, challenged me to read his latest book, “Everything Must Change”, and I did.
   I make it a rule of thumb whenever I am listening to anyone or reading anything to follow D.L. Moody’s dictum, “Eat the fish and spit out the bones.” I found little fish, however, in “Everything Must Change” and found myself spitting out bones every couple of pages. What seems to be the crux of McLaren’s problem is that he thinks EVERYTHING must change.
    While I must give him credit that he is much clearer than he has been in his previous books on where he really stands, his message in essence is this: We, the Church, for the last 2000 years, have gotten it all wrong--that’s why EVERYTHING must change. We’ve got the wrong Jesus and the wrong Gospel, and we have applied them in the wrong way so much so that we have contributed to what McLaren calls the “Suicide Machine” which contributes to most of the world’s global problems.
    Loren Cunningham has warned us in YWAM about “mixing the spheres,” which has contributed to things like civil and religious tyranny in history when people step outside of their God-given spheres of authority. McLaren seems to me to have committed this error in that the ultimate blame for everything from global warming, global poverty, the terrorist threat and even the Holocaust (don’t gasp, his point is that Hitler came from a nominal Catholic family!) is laid at the door of the Church.
    A master of overstatement, he makes very CLEAR in Chapter ten where we have gone wrong. We’ve emphasized issues like Heaven and Hell, the need for individual repentance and faith and experiencing God’s abundant life here on earth. His answer is his “Emerging Church” view. The mess, according to McLaren’s Jesus, was simply the domination by the Roman Empire and the particular historical situation that Jesus himself lived in.
    Like his other books, they are laced with diatribes against the United States government and America’s alleged penchant for war, which (again mixing the spheres) we as the Church have been guilty of as well. He unfairly broad brushes the historic worldwide Body of Christ as being profiteering, selfish, colonizing, not sufficiently “green” and concerned with the individual at the expense of global social problems. I found myself humming bars of John Lennon’s “Imagine-There’s No Heaven” (Forgive the sarcasm)!
    This review may sound a bit negative; it is. You may say, “Why don’t you give him the benefit of the doubt?” I feel like I have given him the benefit of the doubt for the last nine books that I’ve read, but this one, for me, has gone over the line. If he is right, we don’t need the Jesus of Christian history, the power of the Holy Spirit and people to individually break before God over their sins so they can corporately change the world. Should we be more concerned and aware of systemic sin, corporate evil and social structures and seek to influence them with Kingdom values? Yes. But McLaren’s cure is worse than the disease. My suggestion is, let’s get back to what the Scriptures say, and realize that in reality not everything must change, only those things that are not in keeping with the spirit and truth of the teachings of Jesus and the rest of the New Testament.

Heaven
-by Randy Alcorn
   Randy Alcorn has probably written one of the most extensive books on the subject of Heaven in print. An epic tome at 500 pages, it not only examines some of the traditional views of Heaven given to us throughout Church history, but suggests more of a “physicality” to Heaven than many other evangelicals have been willing to admit. One of the strengths of Randy’s book is taking Scripture literally whenever at all possible, and trying to take our hope of Heaven out of the realm of what he has termed “Christoplatonism”--the mixing of Greek Platonic thought with Biblical theology.
   Randy thinks, and rightfully so, that often our conception of Heaven is too heavenly minded and “spiritual” than is Biblically warranted. He brings out the fact that we will be in physical resurrection bodies, like the one Jesus appeared to His disciples in, and that while we do “go to Heaven when we die” (according to Randy, an intermediate state), we return with Jesus when he comes back to establish the New Heavens and the New Earth, which is Randy’s “Heaven.” While, to his credit, he takes the verses literally that talk about the destruction of the earth, he also holds out the glorious hope of a “New Heaven and New Earth wherein dwells righteousness.”
   The one criticism I have is that the book probably could have 100 pages less. However, I felt that Randy did an excellent job in helping me to “set my affection on things above and not on things on the earth,” and he definitely made Heaven something to look forward to and took it out of the realm of the ethereal and the mysterious and put it into the realm of the true Paradise that it will be.
   Because explicit teaching on the nature of Heaven is sparse in the Bible, Randy was forced, as all teachers on Heaven, to throw in some conjecture and opinion on what some things will be like: In our new bodies how old will we appear? Will we eat and drink on the New Earth? Will we still be able to learn more and know better, and what will our daily lives be like? He even does his speculation with a reverence for the Scriptures and the character of God. I highly recommend “Heaven.”

Although this book is a few years old, it istill ranks as one of my favorites as I read it a second time. The opening chapters on worship, prayer and suffering are alone worth the price of the book. Piper is deeply rooted in Scripture but also deeply passionate about world missions. Even though coming from a Reformed perspective, he has a good grasp on our missional responsibility and the heart of God with regards to reaching the lost.
     While many may not agree with his “exclusivist” position about those who have never heard the Gospel, he does make a good case for it. I myself, being an inclusivist, prefer the view of my friend Don Richardson in his book “Secrets of the Koran.” Nevertheless, I did appreciate Piper’s argument and warning that an inclusivist view or anything close to what Brian McLaren writes in his “The Last Word and the Word After That” book could result in undermining the need for missions.
     An added bonus of the book is that it makes probably the best case for the fact that Jesus commands us to go to each and every people group in the world. He deals a death blow to what I consider a sloppy missiology by those who think that some vague involvement among gentiles alone will be sufficient in fulfilling our Great Commission responsibility. Piper makes a clear and forceful point; it confirmed my call to missions. Again, this book deserves a 10.

A Generous Orthodoxy
-by Brian McLaren
     Like the New Kind of Christian trilogy, this book pretty much brings out McLaren’s views except in more of a straight forward teaching format, rather than the fiction format of the Trilogy. Like the trilogy however, we still have a hard time figuring out where McLaren stands on certain issues, as is made clear in his introduction where he calls himself a "missional, evangelical, post-Protestant, liberal/conservative, mystical/poetic, biblical, charismatic, contemplative, fundamentalist/Calvinist, Anabaptist, Methodist, Catholic, green, incarnational, depressed-yet-hopeful, emergent, unfinished Christian." So, you can see why I am a bit confused. But, as with his other books, he always brings me back for more, and despite feeling like throwing it in the garbage every couple of pages, I look forward to his next book; I want to try and really get the spirit of what he is saying.
     There’s a chapter for each of the above streams of Christianity. Being involved in an interdenominational mission (i.e., YWAM), it was a bit refreshing for me to be able to receive the deposit that God has placed in all of the different denominations without focusing in on the negatives. Perhaps the weakness in his writings is that the only thing he seems to be negative about are those of us who are hardcore Bible believing, Gospel preaching, mission minded, evangelical Christians. But I suppose humility would dictate that we listen to what he has to say, eat the fish, spit out the bones--which is truly generous orthodoxy!

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