Book Review: Rescuing Ambition by Dave Harvey

The topic of ambition has scarcely been addressed by the Christian community in the last couple of generations.  Even hinting at the fact that someone might embody just a smidge of ambition is enough to make a person question his motives in his own endeavors.  This is largely due to the preconceived notion that all ambition is selfish ambition.  Dave Harvey, in his new book, Rescuing Ambition, is out to combat that ideology with the biblical notion that there is another kind of ambition that is not selfish, but selfless...  Godly ambition.

Harvey begins by laying out the biblical foundation for ambition - the pursuit of glory.  What we pursue determines whether our ambition is godly ambition or selfish ambition.  Harvey puts it well when he says, "We will always pursue glory.  The only question is, 'Where will we find it?'  Will we love the glory that comes from God, or will we love other glories?"  Herein he shows how ambition was corrupted during the Fall of mankind in the garden of Eden and how ambition was converted by the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It was converted from an inward focus on self to an outward focus on the glory of God.  Harvey again and again reminds us that all godly ambition is for the glory of God.  The rest of the book is spent unpacking that idea, the implications of it, and an admonishment to go dream big for God's glory.

The most helpful chapter for me in Rescuing Ambition was the chapter entitled, "Ambitious for the Church."  Too often I tend to disconnect godly ambition in my life from the life of my local church.  I am prone to think that being ambitious has to do with high & lofty ambitions like finding a cure for cancer or preventing sex trafficking, all the while neglecting the very specific purposes God has placed right in front of me, one of which is contributing to the building & perfection of God's church in Oswego, IL.  Harvey reminded me to be ambitious for the church for the glory of God.
"Ambition for the church compels us to join our imperfect self with other imperfect selves to form an imperfect community - all for the glory of God...  When church is not an ambition but only a place, the real ambitions of our lives inevitably crowd it out."
Readers will really appreciate three things about this book.

1. Harvey has made this book very readable & enjoyable.  He does a great job of systematically unpacking what God's word has to say about ambition without making it too complicated as well as supplementing his careful exegesis & thoughts with many stories from church history and people from his own church.  This mixture makes for a very enjoyable read.
2. Just reader his chapter on "Ambitious Failure" is worth the price of the book.  His aim in this chapter is to answer the question, "Where is God when our dreams lead to defeats?"  I'm so glad that he took a whole chapter to answer this very important question as it is directly related to our ambitions.
3. Harvey never lets the gospel come out of focus for the reader.  Our ambition is directly connected to the gospel, and Harvey will not let the reader forget that.

This book is for anyone who has ever dreamed big dreams.  And this book is for anyone who thinks dreaming is for chumps.  Get it, read it, and may we all have big ambitions for the glory of God.

Thanks to Crossway for publishing this fantastic book.  You can buy it here.

Book Review: Radical by David Platt

Religious freedom has done a lot of good for American Christian churches.  We are free to go to church on Sundays without the fear of being caught and persecuted.  We can gather together with our Christian brothers & sisters to pray without having to meet together in private.  We can even tote around our bibles with us wherever we go, not fearing who may see us holding it.  But, sadly, this same freedom has done a lot of harm to our churches.  Though we are free to read our bibles whenever we want, we are not hungry for the Word of God.  Though we don't have to meet in private to pray, we are not fervent in our prayers.  We waste our money on cars and gadgets, all the while accumulating more and more stuff, instead of using it to bring the gospel to the nations.  We've become comfortable, and as a result, we, as American Christians, have succumbed to the American Dream.  With his new book, Pastor David Platt wants to plead with us not to abandon this dream for the sake of the gospel and the nations to which it must go.


Radical by David Platt is a loving, pastoral indictment for the nominal American Christian to get off the couch, pick up his cross, and radically abandon everything to follow Jesus.  In it, he takes the time to walk his readers through Jesus' own words on what it means to truly follow him.  And make no mistake about it, Dr. Platt will challenge how biblically accurate many of your current practices truly are. For instance, in his chapter on reaching the nations for the sake of the gospel, Platt says, 

"While some professing Christians have rejected universalism [the belief that all people go to heaven no matter what they believe] intellectually, practically they may end up leading universalistic lives.  They claim Christ is necessary for salvation, yet they live their Christianity in silence, as if people around them in the world will indeed be okay in the end without Christ."

Challenges like these are much needed by us in the American church.  

One of the things I really enjoyed about Radical was the many stories that he shares from his missionary travels around the globe as well as from the people at his own church.  These stories serve to show us what it looks like to radically follow Jesus in practice.  These stories are then coupled with Dr. Platt's fluid & accurate interpretations on the relevant biblical texts on radical abandonment to Jesus.  Overall, this makes for a very enjoyable and meaty read.

For me personally, reading Radical caused me to reflect a lot on my own Christian journey & practices.  Am I living as if I truly believed the gospel?  Do I really believe that "to live is Christ, and to die is gain?"  I still need to reflect some more on this topic, but suffice it to say that Dr. Platt's book has affected me greatly.

I can't recommend this book any higher.  It came at a point in my life where I was getting comfortable, and I know that there are many others who are at that same point in their lives.  This book is a much needed wake up call for all Christians everywhere, and I would recommend you read it.  Buy it here.

Also, check back in the next few days.  I will be offering a free giveaway of Radical by David Platt to my readers.

If you just want to try a sample of the book first before buying it, Multnomah is offering a free download of Chapter 1.  You can also request a free printed copy or download a digital version of The Radical Question (a shorter version of Radical).  The download is only available through May 9, 2010.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Book Review: Be Still, My Soul by Nancy Guthrie

My wife & I recently had our first child about 8 weeks ago.  What an amazing experience it was!  Getting to see our little boy for the first time melted my heart, and I was instantly in love.  Soon after that moment, reality struck.  Misha was exhausted from the delivery, yet we had doctors flooding in and out of the hospital room.  Then, there was the realization that our boy has to eat every 2 to 2.5 hours, which correlates into little sleep for Mom and Dad.  On top of that, Misha had some complications after the delivery, which were pretty scary for us.  If you would have asked my wife & I what a trials or suffering would look like in our lives, we probably would have said the death of a loved one or something like that.  Never in a million years would we have thought that suffering could come through such a joyous occasion.  Needless to say, through the birth of our first son, Davin, we had come face-to-face with a trial.

Yet, by the kind providence of God, I had just received Be Still, My Soul by Nancy Guthrie from Crossway on trials & suffering not 3 days before Davin was born.  It has proved to be one of the many things that helped us fully put our trust in God through the entire trial, knowing that this small and momentary affliction was given to us for our good and His glory.

Be Still, My Soul is a unique book.  Through the deaths of two of her children, the author is deeply acquainted with suffering.  As a result, Mrs. Guthrie has taken 25 different excerpts from classic and contemporary works alike on suffering that have helped her trust God in the midst of her many trials and combined them together into this one book.  The lineup of authors is outstanding!!  John Piper, Charles Spurgeon, Tim Keller, Jonathan Edwards, D.A. Carson, Martin Luther, & Joni Eareckson Tada just to name a few.  This book is a gold mine of Christian wisdom & counseling for those who are suffering. 

I wish I had time to share with you all of the quotes that affected & helped my wife and I during our own trials, but if I did that, I might be sharing half the book!  Therefore, I'll leave you with five.

"When suffering sandblasts us to the core, the true stuff of which we are made is revealed.  Suffering lobs a hand grenade into our self-centeredness, blasting our soul bare, so we can be better bonded to the Savior.  Our afflictions help to make us holy."  - Joni Eareckson Tada

"God permits what he hates to accomplish what he loves."  - Joni Eareckson Tada

"Is not some of the pain and sorrow in this life meant to make us homesick for heaven, to detach us from this world, to prepare us for heaven, to draw our attention to himself, and away from the world of merely physical things?"  - Don Carson

"We derive no profit at all from affliction - neither grace nor glory - until there is wrestling and exercise."  - Thomas Manton

"The deepest need that you and I have in weakness and adversity is not quick relief, but the well-grounded confidence that what is happening to us is part of the greatest purpose of God in the universe - the glorification of the grace and power of his Son - the grace and power that bore him to the cross and kept his there until the work of love was done."  - John Piper

If you are in the midst of much suffering, or are wanting to prepare for suffering, or are wondering what in the world God's purpose of such suffering could possibly be, or are trying to respond humbly in trials, this book is for you.  I cannot think of someone who should not read this book.

Buy it here.

Nancy Guthrie is also the author of Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus, Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross, and Hearing Jesus Speak Into Your Sorrow.  All well worth your time!

Book Review: Holy Subversion

Around the first century BC, the Romans declared their emperors (Caesar's) as gods. The people gave them a status that is due to God alone. You either pledged allegiance to Caesar, or you faced punishment from him. Now, if you were a Christian living during the reign of one these Caesars, you had a decision to make. Pledge allegiance to Caesar, or pledge allegiance to Christ. According to Trevin Wax, this is what we must do today as Christians. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of Caesars in this world, masquerading around as gods, demanding our allegiance. We, as Christians, must subvert them.

Trevin Wax, associate pastor of First Baptist Church in Shelbyville, TN and blogger extraordinaire (TrevinWax.com), has partnered with Crossway and written his first book entitled, Holy Subversion. At it's core, this is a book on idolatry, and an excellent one at that. Trevin aptly unmasks six of America's most elusive idols (or Caesars), revealing the lie each would have you believe. Once the lie has been revealed, Trevin then demonstrates how to subvert (overthrow; cause to downfall) each Caesar so that we may continue in our quest of Christian discipleship. These six Caesars include:

1. The Caesar of Self
2. The Caesar of Success
3. The Caesar of Money
   
4. The Caesar of Leisure
   
5. The Caesar of Sex
   
6. The Caesar of Power
   

Holy Subversion is a quick and accessible read. However, don't let it's length or accessibility fool you. Trevin's message is powerful and a must-hear for this American generation. This is a generation of narcissistic, successful, wealthy, entertained, & sexual men and women. In one way or another, we are bowing down to one of these Caesars instead of our Creator. For me, the two most powerful chapters were Subverting Money and Subverting Leisure. They caused me to sit down and reflect on my allegiances in these areas of my life with a pen and a pad of paper.

Through Holy Subversion, Trevin is calling us to "reclaim the subversive nature of Christian discipleship." Reading this book will help you do that for the glory of Christ.

Buy it here.

Book Review: Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

Aside from the Bible, there has been no other book more often printed than John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progess.  It is the epitome of Christian classics and a must read for all.  I recently finished The Pilgrim's Progress for the first time this past year, and let's just say, I'll be reading it again soon.  So why all the hype?  Here's the rundown of this classic Christian work.

John Bunyan was born in England in 1628.  Throughout his life, he only received 2-4 years of schooling.  Therefore, we are not talking about some Havard graduate; Mr. Bunyan had a difficult life.  Sometime after his conversion, he began to preach.  It was because of his preaching that he thrown in prison.  Though he was only initially incarcerated for 3 months, his stay in prison lasted 12 years.  Why?  Bunyan continued to say, "If you release me today, I will preach tomorrow."  It was during this 12-year stay in prison that Bunyan began his allegorical tale of The Pilgrim's Progress.

The Pilgrim's Progress is an allegory that tells the story of a man named Christian from the city of Destruction who leaves his home, family, and friends to embark on a journey to the Celestial City.  The rest of the book tells of all the adventures in between and beyond.  He'll meet friends along the way such as Faithful and Hopeful.  He'll dodge deceivers and temptors such as Legalist, Obstinate, & Mistrust.  He even battles the dreaded Apollyon in a fight to the death.

But the real worth of this book lies in its application to the lives of Christian believers of all ages.  Since it is an allegory, Christian's life in Pilgrim's Progress is meant to parallel that of the life of Christian believer, including all of the temptations, victories, persecutions, and graces found throughout a believer's life.  Often times as I read through it, I found myself being encouraged, admonished, and taught through Christian's story.

Now that you know what Pilgrim's Progress is about, check this out...  Crossway has reprinted it in living color.  The 30 beautiful and colorful illustrations add so much to the book and aid in Bunyan's depiction of Christian's story.  Here are a couple of illustrations from the book as posted by Tony Reinke.

Illustration copyright © 2009 by Michael Wimmer. Posted by permission of the publisher. The Pilgrim’s Progress: From This World to That Which Is to Come (Crossway 2009), p. 18.

Illustration copyright © 2009 by Michael Wimmer. Posted by permission of the publisher. The Pilgrim’s Progress: From This World to That Which Is to Come (Crossway 2009), p. 129.

If you have a choice between 3 different versions of The Pilgrim's Progress, you might just want to pick this one.  Happy reading!!

Buy it here.

Tim Challies Reviews A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian MacLaren

Brian MacLaren has become somewhat of a celebrity in the Emerging Church circle.  He's written provocative book after provocative book, consistently undermining the historic Christian faith.  I can't plead with you enough to NOT read his books.  Here's a thoughtful review by Tim Challies of one of MacLaren's popular books, A Generous Orthodoxy.  I've posted a few paragraphs from Challies' review below.

If you have any questions as to why I really, really, really don't want you to read his books, please email me (jeseger@gmail.com) or leave a comment on this post.

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“In short, it is awful. I consider it, in terms of content, one of the worst I have ever read and it stands as damning evidence of what passes for Christian reading in our day. Though it was easy to read, and even enjoyable at times, throughout the text Brian McLaren has consistently, deliberately and systematically dismantled historical Protestantism. From Sola Scriptura to hell to biblical inerrancy, nothing is sacred. At this point, those who are devotees of McLaren, The Emergent Church and post-modernism, will no doubt already have felt their blood boil and will be ready for a fight. I would encourage those people to keep reading. Those who are more traditional Christians will be grappling with an all-too-familiar feeling that this book represents yet another attack on the faith. And that is exactly what this book is. The remainder of this review will concern itself with showing how this book does away with biblical faith, replacing it with something far less godly and far more human. In short, something that is simply not Christianity.

It is difficult to critique the writing of people like McLaren because discerning what they actually believe is far more difficult than finding what they do not believe. Settling on those beliefs is akin to nailing Jello to the wall – it is a near impossible task as the Jello has no consistent form or shape, always changing, always conforming to what contains it. We are often left to read between the lines, interpreting what the author believes in light of what he rejects…….

He teaches false, anti-biblical doctrine throughout this book. The faith of Brian McLaren is not the faith of the Bible and only bears the most vague resemblance to Christianity.

Book Review: Fool Moon Rising

If you didn't already know, my wife is 26 weeks pregnant, and, Lord willing, our family will be expanding from 2 to 3 with the addition of a little baby boy. I couldn't be more thrilled! One of the things I have taken upon myself to do in preparation to raise a son is begin building a library of books to read to him. One of the first books I will read to him will be Fool Moon Rising by Kristi & Tom Fluharty.

Published by Crossway, Fool Moon Rising is unlike any other children's book I have ever read. Not only are the illustrations lively, colorful, and exhilarating, but this book is packed with the biblical principles that I want to teach my son. This is in stark contrast to many other kid's books in circulation today. Where other books aim at just keeping junior entertained for the duration of the reading with colorful pictures and pop-up tabs, Fool Moon Rising seeks to teach children (and their parents!) a lesson about pride and humility.

The entire book is an extended metaphor of the moon and the sun. In the story, the moon boasts in himself, bragging that it is he who lights up the night sky and controls the ocean's tide. He has become a proud moon. That all changes when the sun emits a piercing ray that opens the eyes of the moon to see that "his light comes from the sun."

Fool Moon Rising is not just a book for kids. There is a deep truth emitted through this book, namely that we as human beings have no grounding for pride, since all that we are has been given to us by God. This biblical truth of humility is one that my son and I both need to fully grasp, and Fool Moon Rising will hopefully aid us in that process.

I would highly recommend this book to all. Though it is written with 3 to 7 year-old children in mind, anyone would benefit from reading it. Be sure to check out the book's website to learn more about the book and see many of the beautiful illustrations.

Buy it here.

Book Review: The End of Secularism by Hunter Baker

What should the relationship be between the church and the state? Should religion be privatized and taken out of the public square? Does secularism actually provide a "new way forward for humankind," and more importantly, does it "live up to its billing?" Hunter Baker sets out to answer all of these questions and many more with precision and clarity in his new book, The End of Secularism.

Defining secularism as the exclusion of religious considerations from civil affairs, Mr. Baker argues that secularism does not live up to all the hype its advocates would have you believe. He offers a different resolution than secularism. However, his resolution may surprise some fundamental Christians who believe America should act as a theocracy (a form of government where God governs a human state). The nation of Israel in the Old Testament was a theocracy that was meant to point forward to coming of Christ when he would be the supreme ruler of the whole earth. But America is not a theocracy. In fact, Hunter Baker argues that the public square should be governed by pluralism, not secularism.

"Pluralism is better than secularism because it is not artificial. In a pluralistic environment, we simply enter the public square and say who we are and what we believe. We make arguments that advert to religion or other sources of values, and they are more or less convincing on a case-by-case basis. The result is that our arguments are naturally tempered by reality... Secularists ask that individuals with religious reasons pretend to think and act on some other basis."

Though Christianity is not a pluralistic religion, Baker's assessment of secularism and his solution of pluralism within the public square is refreshing and biblical. It is how Paul and Peter argued in the Jewish temple of their day, not with the fear of being "politically correct," but with honest and real convictions of heart.

Though the conclusion of this book is much needed in today's secular culture, the route that he takes to get there is the most intriguing part of this book. Baker reveals the historical development and birth of secularism. He takes his readers on a journey from 33 AD to the present and introduces them to historical giants such as Constantine, Theodosius I & II, Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin, Martin Luther, Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jonathan Edwards, showing how the teachings of them all aided in the birth of secularism. It's pretty amazing to see!

This book is very readable for the nature of it content. Though there were times I found some of Baker's conclusions flying over my head, I will be recommending The End of Secularism to all who want to learn about the place of religion in the public square.

Buy it here.

Book Reviews: The Shack by William Young

One of the most popular and controversial books to hit the Christian bookshelves in the last year was The Shack by William Young. Since its release, many notables in the Christian community have offered many reviews of the book. Here are just a few:

• Trevin Wax at Kingdom People
• Doug Wilson
  
• C Michael Patton (Part 1 & Part 2) at Parchment & Pen
• Mary Kaissan at CBMW
• Scott Lindsey at TheResurgence
• Five Reviews at The Scriptorium (slightly humorous)
• Matthais Media
• Stephen Yuille at Deus Pro Nobis

To be fair, you might find that these reviews are more critical of The Shack than others you might find elsewhere. If you want to find a raving review of The Shack, praising Young for his excellent portrayal of the Trinity and God's character, you won't find it here.

Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ by John Piper

William Tyndale's driving passion was to see the Bible translated into the English language so that any England might finally be able to read it themselves. He was betrayed by a friend, tortured, and burned for it. John G. Paton set his hopes of bringing the Gospel to a tribe of cannibals on the island of Tanna on November 5, 1858. Four months later, the fever claimed the lives of his wife and newborn son. Four years later, he was driven off the island with no Gospel fruit to show in the lives of the cannibals. Adoniram Judson set out to bring Christ to Burma no matter what it cost. It cost him the lives of two of his wives, seven children, and many colleagues. These men suffered greatly for the spread of the Gospel to the nations. And John Piper has given them a voice so that we might listen and follow suite.

There are few books that I cry through. The Bible is one. The Misery of Job & the Mercy of God is another. And this one. There is something about seeing the glory of Christ displayed through extreme suffering for the sake of his body that makes me sob like a dad on his daughter's wedding day. That is one of the purposes of this book. Not the crying, but the inspiration "to live radically for Christ" given through the lives of others who suffered well. And I have to say, for me, this purpose was met.

Dr. Piper has wisely split this book into three sections: Bible, biography, & exhortation. Before diving into the lives of Tyndale, Paton, and Judson, he first lays a theological groundwork from Colossians 1:24 that under-girds the lives of these three men.

"God intends for the afflictions of Christ to be presented to the world through the afflictions of his people. God really means for the body of Christ, the church, to experience some of the suffering he experienced so that when we proclaim the cross as the way to life, people will see the marks of the cross in us and feel the loves of the cross from us. Our calling is to make the afflictions of Christ real for people by the afflictions we experience by bringing them the message of salvation."

Once Piper has laid this foundation from the Bible, he shows what it looks like through the lives of Tyndale, Paton, and Judson. Take one example of extreme suffering for the cause of the Gospel from the life of Adoniram Judson. During his mission work in Burma, Judson "was dragged from his home... and put in prison. His feet were fettered [chained], and at night a long horizontal bamboo pole was lowered and passed between the fettered legs and hoisted up until only the shoulders and heads of the prisoners rested on the ground... Almost a year later, [he] was suddenly moved to a more distant village prison, gaunt, with hollow eyes, dressed in rags, crippled from the torture." Yet, through this extreme act of suffering, Judson was eventually released and continued in his mission to Burma for 25 more years. Stories such as this fill the pages of this book.

First Bible, then biography, and lastly... exhortation. You cannot read this book and not feel summoned to live in radical obedience to Christ. Piper calls us to "resolve to set our faces like flint on the path of obedience and never turn back. And with a full grasp of the possible cost before us, and with full courage because of Christ, let us walk softly to every unreached people that remains", including the people across your street.

Though I realize that the scope of Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ is limited and my praise of this book is a resounding "Yes!", I wish Pastor John would have expounded upon one point in the book. Reading through the book, it seems like Dr. Piper is saying that only suffering in missions to the foreign world counts as costly and radical. What does that say to the average Joe in Podunk, ND who is not called to the mission field in India? God has not called all to missions overseas. However, he has called all to missions wherever you might be, and he has called all to obedience. This is what Piper is getting at on page 107. "Your calling is radical obedience for the glory of Christ right where you are." Therefore, though Joe's suffering through obedience may seem less in magnitude than Judson's, it is no less glorifying to God. I am not saying Piper does not believe this. In fact, it was Piper who taught me that all suffering, no matter the venue, when done in obedience to Christ, is equally Christ-exalting. I just wanted to hear a little more of it.

Despite this minor criticism, I cannot recommend this book any higher. It is a wake-up call to any lukewarm Christian and a summons to those who are ready to go in the name of the Gospel.

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Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ is the fifth book in the Swans Are Not Silent series by John Piper. For those who are not familiar with this series, each book contains three biographies of a figure from church history and tells their story. Short but powerful, these books are a great way to learn from the lives of others who have gone before us in the name of Christ. Other books in this series (which I would highly recommend to you) are The Legacy of Sovereign Joy, The Hidden Smile of God, Contending for Our All, and The Roots of Endurance.