Steph's Reads: Among Wolves, The Undoing of Saint Silvanus & The Curious Christian
Summer is a fantastic time for reading! I love cracking open a good back at a quiet campsite, in the hammock, or on my back deck. (Of course, assuming that small people are sleeping!)
My fiction lovers out there, you might want to check out The Undoing of Saint Silvanus.
Once I hit the 1/3 mark I could not put it down. (It was supposed to be my anniversary vacation read.) I accidentally couldn't stop reading and finished it a couple months before we left. It's got a bit of everything: romance, violence, mystery, miracles, darkness, light, and most importantly, told through the character's lives: the gospel of Jesus. will warn you, I got chill bumps a few times. The story takes a few dark turns before the Light pierces through. When I closed the last page I was fully satisfied with the twists and turns of the story and the ending. Great summer book club or simply a breezy summer read. And bonus, it's the first fiction work of my fave teacher- Miss Beth!
Among Wolves by Dhati Lewis is very straight talk discipleship.
There is no beating around any bushes here. Just remember, He's not yelling, He's just communicating with passion and urgency. He operates from the conviction that disciple-making is to be the ministry, not a ministry. Making disciples has been so on my heart in recent months as God has blessed me with the opportunity to walk alongside some of his lambs. If it's been on yours, and you're ready for some straight talk, you'll be sharpened by this one. Here's a little flavour for you on the book about our call to make fishers of men:
"During those days, the streams and lakes were teeming with fish, and the fish were constantly feeding. Complex ecosystems of fish abounded and waterways were bursting at the seems. The lakes, rivers and waterways were bursting at the seems. The lakes, rivers, and streams needed to be fished... Week after week... the fishermen met and talked about their call to fish, the abundance of fish, and how they might strategize together to better fish...They would carefully define fishing, defend fishing as an occupation, and declare that fishing is always to be the primary goal of fishermen. They built large beautiful fisheries. Their plea was always the same– that everyone should be a fishermen and every fishermen should fish. There was only one problem– no one actually fished."
"Jesus challenges these men to enter into relationship with Him and He challenges them to change. Too many times our churches will invite people to do one or the other– choosing between relationship and change. If we invite people only into relationship, we end up having a social club. If we only invite them to change, then we end up with a judgmental, critical group of people characterized by their condemnation of actions and others. Developing a discipleship-making culture involves both relationship and change."
"We don't need to just give fish away; we must teach others to become fishermen."
"The problem is not the harvest; the problem is not that there aren't enough people who want to listen to the gospel. The problem is there are not enough shepherds and not enough leaders."
"Jesus is asking for earnest prayers that align with His will as we say, 'Lord, we want to see the gospel established in our neighborhood. And we want it desperately. Force us out... whatever you have to bring, let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
And lastly, The Curious Christian by Barnabas Piper.
My interested was piqued as soon as I saw the title. Not everyone loves questions. For some, questions raise up defensiveness. I've always loved questions. Questions are how I get to know people and gain understanding. Barnabas discussed how curiousity with conviction should be maintained, even fostered throughout adulthood whereas we tend to leave it in childhood.
He even discusses questions to ask of our media consumption:
"Many of us have become passive recipients of media, cisterns collecting whatever flows our way. We just sit and let is wash over and into us. We need to audit what we are exposed to– violence, sex, negativity, criticism, cynicism, beauty, art, meaningful stories, hope, thought provocation."
How does this shape my life? What is this taking from me? What am I gaining from this?
"Curiousity knows it doesn't know even if it doesn't know what it doesn't know, and it sets out to learn. Instead of seeing other cultures are weird, curiousity sees them as unique. Instead of making assumptions, it asks questions. And it turns those same questions inward, toward its own culture. Why do we do things this way? Why do we believe these things? Who do we treat people this way? What do we excel at? What are we bad at? What is our history? How did we get here? Such questions pointed inward will humble us because they expose flaws and encourage us because they reveal our strengths. Such questions posed outward will humble us