Too Much Suffering and Too Much Control
Refreshing! That is my view on this book. In the past I have read books that pointed out the obvious and actually cultivated my arrogance, being bothered that I had to “answer” questions that unbelievers had as if they were wrong to even ask. I see that now and have been challenged to rethink my involvement with “unbelievers.” Unbelievers are people too! They struggle and fight and don’t always think properly: just like me! The fact is there is one crucial difference between me and the average unbeliever-Christ! He has grabbed me and will not let me go. That is all the difference. This simple fact helps me to be reminded that the difference is not something that can be attributed to me and my abilities. That gives me increasing humility and compassion, because Jesus must do it to them too. He must grab them and open their eyes.
What does all this have to do with the book we are reading together? Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to the next book discussion. We will be reading and then discussing two chapters each week on Thursday. Please join us in talking about this book so that we can all learn together. Today we will discuss the introduction and first chapter.

Introduction
I loved the “which one is the victim” discussion. I thought Keller did a good job of explaining that our culture is becoming both more secular and more religious at the same time. I particularly liked the challenge Read the rest of this entry »

I find your lack of faith-disturbing.
–Darth Vader

So begins our next book choice for Discerning Reader and I am hooked immediately. Please join me in reading this book and discussing it on this blog, looking for ways that we can think through major issues, but also so that we can see how we must apply what Dr. Keller is presenting. Truth is never meant to be something you only agree with, you must embrace it and live it! That is the challenge we have before us. What can we learn and what must we be willing to change? Great questions to ponder as we begin, but as always, we must make sure we test what is being said in the book. We should be willing to change if God wants us to change, but we are not required to change simply because Dr. Keller says so.

I am going to recommend that we take a couple of chapters at a time. For some of you, this will be exceedingly slow. If that is you, please consider the fact that we must process what we read. This is not a novel that we can read quickly to get the overall story. You might even consider reading the same chapters a couple of times in the week as we discuss it or meditating on a few pages each day. For others of you, you would like to take a chapter a week to really digest it. If that is the case for you, please feel free to do so. It might limit your ability to contribute to this discussion, but it will be worth it if you need to take more time to process. The point of reading the book together is to be able to think through what the book is saying. Whatever you need to do to accomplish that is right for you.

We will officially begin this book discussion on Thursday, so be looking for it and pick up the book if you have not already.
Michael

OK everyone, the next book has been chosen and it is The Reason for God by Timothy Keller. This should be an interesting read and we will take it a bit slower so that we can discuss the issues that are raised. I am looking forward to the discussion as I plan to use some of this book in ministry on the local college campus.

We will start the discussion on June 12th, so order the book using the link above or at your local bookstore. If you order it off this site, I will get credit at Amazon, so you would also be supporting the ministry here. If you choose to do this, go to the picture of the book on the sidebar and follow the links to Amazon to purchase the book. Either way, please get the book and read the introduction and chapter one. This is what I will be commenting on on the 12th.

Thanks for being patient with me. Let’s dive into this book together and learn more about the God we love.

Michael

Many in the Christian community had particularly high hopes and expectations for Mike Huckabee during this year’s Republican nomination process. Personally, I supported Fred Thompson, and then Mitt Romney until the concession of each. None of those people are going to be elected President in 2008. John McCain, whose name was spoken with something just shy of disgust by many among the conservative faithful, has secured the nomination and will be running against either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. This being the case, I’d like to take a minute to point out to every one that Senator McCain ain’t really all that bad. Read the rest of this entry »

As we are finished with  Ender’s Game for the reading group, I am planning the next book we will choose to discuss. I have two recommendations and I would like to hear which you would like to read next.

The first is a book called The Reason for God by Timothy Keller. It is a book that seeks to answer real questions and doubts about God (the first part of the book) and then turns to a positive presentation of how to think about God. Check it out. While there are aspects that we will probably disagree with in his presentation, the author is a strong Christian that will give us much to chew on as we read it.

The second book suggestion is called The Film Club by David Gilmour. This book is not from a Christian perspective from what I can tell. The main idea here is that the author’s son was flunking out of school and the author decided a new approach was necessary. He decided that the best way to instruct his son was to have the two of them watch films together and discuss them. The author let his son drop out of school as long as he obeyed a couple simple rules. The biggest of which was that he would watch three movies each week that his father would choose and they would discuss those films.

I think both of these books could be great to discuss for radically different reasons. Which would you prefer and why? Obviously which ever we choose, we must order the books before we start the discussion. This means we need to make a decision quickly. What do you think?

Michael

So, were you satisfied? Did the ending work for you? What did you like or dislike?
While I would say that the book as a whole was immensely satisfying for me and brings up many great things to think through, I was not as pleased with the ending. I’m not sure why, it just didn’t ring true for me like the rest of the book. There was something lacking, but I am not sure what or how to make it better. That is the benefit of critiquing books rather than writing them. ☺ Honestly though, it just didn’t complete the story for me, but that is just an opinion.

Here is something for discussion from the last couple of chapters that might help. What did you think about the compassion Ender feels for the buggers? He seems to have remorse that he killed all of them. Do you agree with that and how does it make you feel? Do you think that is right according to Scripture? What about the object Enders finds in the room the buggers had made for him?

I would really love to hear your thoughts about this whole thing. Mentally I am still working through it personally, so hearing your thoughts might help me.
Anyone who loved the ending: write a little bit to let me know why you found it so satisfying. I am open to learn things that I have missed.
Thanks for reading this book with me. Let me ask you a question for the next book pick. Would you recommend a pace like this book (3 or 4 chapters at a time) or something slower or faster and why? I am trying to work through some thoughts related to this and would appreciate any thoughts you might have.
Have a great day. Michael

Hello again everyone out there who typically reads this blog. There have been several things that have prevented me from updating this blog lately. The most recent issue has been resolved and I hope to get going again. We just changed where the site was located, so while it was being moved I could not change the content. Thanks for your patience.

I have also been overwhelmed lately with needs at Crossroads Bible Fellowship, the church where I  serve as a pastor. There are good things happening there, but even good things can take us away from other things we would also like to do. Please pray for us as we work through many things, including writing a mission statement  and seek to reach our local community with the tremendous gospel of Jesus Christ. I know I would appreciate your prayers.

In the next couple of days I hope to have posts on the end of Ender’s Game and plans for the next book we will discuss.  I also hope in the very near future to be writing on some passages I am wrestling with. It is a great time in my pursuit of God. I am learning so much and am being shown consistently that I do not have all the answers. What a great lesson to learn. Anyway, I believe the things that have taken me away from this blog recently are going to make my contributions here even better, and for that I am thankful.

Talk to you soon. Michael

I just saw the movie yesterday and it was exactly what I expected. I liked certain aspects of it and really struggled with other aspects of it. Before I post my own thoughts, I wanted to post this and see what you thought of it, if you have seen it.What do you think is the point of the movie? Is that a good point to make? Should Christians be behind this movie? Why or why not?That ought to get some good discussion going.

Michael