Month: August 2013

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‘Believing God for a Prophetically Relevant Church’ by Doug Clay

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 In the fall 2013 issue of Enrichment, Doug Clay writes: Prophetic relevance does not mean reciting a litany of passages from Minor Prophets in the Old Testament about God’s judgment on people. It does not mean getting in the face of others with a bullhorn to your mouth and a placard in your hand. It does not mean standing on the steps in a sports stadium shouting “Repent or die!” No, the practical way to have a prophetic voice in a secular culture when the world’s values are not the same is learning the art and practicing the science of … Continue reading ‘Believing God for a Prophetically Relevant Church’ by Doug Clay

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Review of ‘The Kingdom Net’ by Joseph Castleberry

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Joseph Castleberry, The Kingdom Net: Learning to Network Like Jesus (Springfield, MO: My Healthy Church, 2013). Paperback / Kindle The subtitle of The Kingdom Net—“learning to network like Jesus”—might mislead you into thinking that this is yet another business book misappropriating Jesus’ life and teachings to help you advance your career. It isn’t. Or rather, to the extent that it helps you advance your career, The Kingdom Net does so by redefining your career in terms of the kingdom of God and his missionary purposes for humanity. Whether you’re a Bible-quoting evangelist or a business-minded entrepreneur, this redefinition ensures that … Continue reading Review of ‘The Kingdom Net’ by Joseph Castleberry

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‘Believing God for Jesus-Style Leaders’ by Jim Bradford

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 In the fall 2013 issue of Enrichment, Jim Bradford writes: Louis Pasteur lived at a time when thousands of people died each year of rabies. Pasteur, a scientist, had worked for years on a vaccine. Just as he was about to begin experimenting on himself, a rabid dog bit Joseph Meister, a 9-year-old boy. The boy’s mother begged Pasteur to experiment on her son. Pasteur injected Joseph for 10 days, and the boy lived. Decades later, of all the things Louis Pasteur could have asked to have written on his gravestone, he asked for just three words: Joseph Meister Lived. … Continue reading ‘Believing God for Jesus-Style Leaders’ by Jim Bradford

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‘Believing God for Spirit-Empowerment’ by Alton Garrison

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 From the fall 2013 issue of Enrichment: Sadly, it appears that believers in many corners of the church are either abandoning Spirit-empowerment or have failed to access it in the first place. I fear that if the Holy Spirit were taken completely from a church, many elements of the work of that church would go on as if nothing had happened. What a travesty of what every church was meant to be. And can this also be true of our personal lives? Are many of us in our area of ministry calling churning out “Christian” activity day to day that has … Continue reading ‘Believing God for Spirit-Empowerment’ by Alton Garrison

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Believing God for Greater Things: An Interview with George O. Wood

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 The theme of the fall 2013 issue of Enrichment is “Believe,” which was also the theme of the 55th General Council in Orlando, Florida. Enrichment interviewed Dr. George O. Wood about this theme. In the final question, he offered words of encouragement to pastors struggling to believe in their current season of ministry:  My parents were pioneer ministers in the Fellowship. Their names were never in the “lights.” They were not well known. They were never asked to speak at a district council or General Council — in fact, they could not even afford to go to most of them. … Continue reading Believing God for Greater Things: An Interview with George O. Wood

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Review of ‘Your Next Pastor’ by Warren D. Bullock

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 Warren D. Bullock, Your Next Pastor: Guidelines for Finding God’s Person for Your Church (Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House, 2013). $12.99, 168 pages. Paperback / Kindle Few decisions are more important to a local Christian congregation than the choice of its pastor. Pastors function as their congregation’s theologian-in-chief, not to mention as the public face of its mission, vision, and values. If, as John Maxwell says, “everything rises and falls on leadership,” then the life of a congregation rises and falls with the man or woman it calls to be its leader. Warren D. Bullock is an Assemblies of God … Continue reading Review of ‘Your Next Pastor’ by Warren D. Bullock

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Review of ‘Lincoln Unbound’ by Rich Lowry

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 Rich Lowry, Lincoln Unbound: How an Ambitious Young Railsplitter Saved the American Dream—And How We Can Do It Again (New York: Broadside Books, 2013). $26.00, 288 pages. Hardcover / Kindle Two score and seventeen years ago, historian David Herbert Donald noted the tendency of politicians to appropriate Abraham Lincoln’s name and words in support of their preferred policies. Borrowing a phrase from Illinois Republican pol Everett Dirksen, Donald titled this phenomenon, “getting right with Lincoln.” Between the Civil War and the dawn of the New Deal, this appropriation was done solely by Republicans (or ex-Republican Bull Moosers like Teddy Roosevelt). … Continue reading Review of ‘Lincoln Unbound’ by Rich Lowry

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Excerpt from ‘Relentless: Pursuing a Life that Matters’ by Dave Donaldson and Terry Glaspey

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 Here’s an excerpt from Dave Donaldson’s new book, Relentless: Pursuing a Life that Matters, which was published in the fall 2013 issue of Enrichment: Sharing is the only solution to bridging the gap between the rich and the poor. By sharing we can rescue our brothers and sisters from injustice, teach them to fish, and show them where to find the pond of opportunity. By sharing our time, expertise, and resources, we can save and improve lives. Sharing is God’s plan for church growth. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. … Let your light shine before others, … Continue reading Excerpt from ‘Relentless: Pursuing a Life that Matters’ by Dave Donaldson and Terry Glaspey

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Review of ‘Global Witness to Pentecost’ by Jordan Daniel May

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 Jordan Daniel May, Global Witness to Pentecost: The Testimony of ‘Other Tongues’ (Cleveland, TN: Cherohala Press, 2013). $12.95, 152 pages. Paperback / Kindle One of the hallmarks of Pentecostalism is speaking in tongues, a practice first recorded in Acts 2:4: “All of them [i.e., the disciples of Jesus] were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (NIV). In Greek, the word translated “tongues” is glossais. The NIV marginal note lists “languages” as an alternative translation. In Acts 2:6, Luke notes that the crowd “heard their own language being spoken,” where … Continue reading Review of ‘Global Witness to Pentecost’ by Jordan Daniel May