About You, is a well written and easy to read book but its simplicity should not be confused with shallowness. Dick Staub does a great job basing the content of this book on the grand meta-narratives of scripture and not pop-psychology that seems to be ever present on book shelves these days.
For me the message of the book was something that I felt and sensed was important because of passages like John 10:10, but I did not have a conceptual framework of what Jesus meant when he said he came to give us “life to the full”. About You, lays out that we were created to be God’s masterpieces, but we were forever marred by sin. Even though we are marred, God still desires for us to be our best, and to be people who love God, love others, and want to make the world a better place.
My favorite part of the book was the daily reading that was included in the afterword entitled, A Creed For The Fully Human. This creed is actually a prayer that can be read on a daily basis to let the truths of scripture soak into our hearts and minds so they will shape our daily choices and activities.
About You, is a must read for help in trying to be a faithful disciple of Jesus who is fully human in our post-modern culture. I personally plan to put this book on my annual reading list because the message of how God would have me live my life fully alive is worth hearing on a regular basis.
The good people at the Ooze just sent me in the mail for a Viral Blogging assignment the new book, About You, by Dick Staub. Looks like it will be a great read!
This is from Amazon.
Product Description
In About You, Dick Staub addresses irreligious, religious, spiritual seekers and all kinds of Christians and shows us that Jesus came to satisfy our universal longing for a fully human life, not to establish a narrow us versus them religion. In short, Jesus didn’t come to make us Christian; Jesus came to make us fully human. In a fresh exploration of the ancient Biblical stories of creation, fall and redemption, Staub explains that salvation is not about going to heaven when we die; it is about a full and abundant life now. In practical, down-to-earth, language, About You deals with this concept on three levels: anthropologically (our common story and universal human needs), theologically (God’s awareness and response to our needs), and practically (how we can attain and maintain a more complete and satisfying life).Staub’s previous book (The Culturally Savvy Christian) was selected by Kirkus Reviews for their 2007 Religion and Spirituality edition. This new book is designed to help those who are seeking a way to integrate both a fully alive spirituality and a fully alive humanity—a way that is embodied in the often-misunderstood life and teaching of Jesus Christ. This groundbreaking book illuminates the path towards becoming the best version of yourself.
From the Inside Flap
“We yearn to be fully alive and fully human, but the very fact that we yearn for this means it is not an actuality. We want to be more than we are, but are somehow less than we should be. We feel less than fully human, which is another way of saying we have somehow been dehumanized.” —from the Preface
In About You, Dick Staub addresses irreligious, religious, spiritual seekers, and all kinds of Christians, and shows us that Jesus came to satisfy our universal longing for a fully human life, not to establish a narrow us-versus-them religion. In short, Jesus didn’t come to make us Christian; Jesus came to make us fully human. In a fresh exploration of the ancient Biblical stories of creation, fall, and redemption, Staub explains that salvation is not about going to heaven when we die; it is about a full and abundant life now. In practical, down-to-earth language, About You deals with this concept on three levels: anthropologically (our common story and universal human needs), theologically (God’s awareness and response to our needs), and practically (how we can attain and maintain a more complete and satisfying life).
From the author of Christian Wisdom of the JediMasters and The Culturally Savvy Christian, this new book is designed to help those who are seeking a way to integrate both a fully alive spirituality and a fully alive humanity—a way that is embodied in the often-misunderstood life and teaching of Jesus Christ. This groundbreaking book illuminates the path toward becoming the best version of yourself.
Viral Churches is one the latest books published in a joint cooperative between Leadership Network and Jossy –Bass. The goal of Viral Churches is to capitalize on the fruit and success of current church planting campaigns and shift to emphasis to multiplication. As the authors state in their introduction, “A vision for church planting is good. A vision for church multiplication is much better.” The material for this book originated out of the most comprehensive study and research to date on the methods, trends, and outcomes of church planting in the USA. The research was collected by Leadership Network and Life Way Research. Much of the research analysis is available at the Leadership Network at www.leadnet.org/churchplantingresources .
The focus of this is not to just expound a bunch of church multiplication theory but actually provide a spring board for church planters and leaders to actually go about doing it. Church multiplication movements will spawn an exponential birth of new churches that interact with lost people and reproduce themselves with even more new churches.
The authors define church multiplication as follows. A church multiplication movement is a rapid reproduction of churches planting churches, measured by a reproduction rate of 50% through the third generation of churches, with new churches having 50% new converts. To achieve such momentum, churches would need to plant , on average, a new church every two years with each church reaching at least half of its attendees from the unchurched community.
This book is very well written and easy to follow along with. The authors have a great balance of data, wisdom, and stories that exemplify what they are trying to communicate with. This book provides the necessary spark to inspire but also has the practical steps in order to start the journey. All of the stories and information is well documented making it easy to do any personal research that might be inspired by the reading of this book.
This book came to me at a very important time in my life. My family and I are in the process of re-immersing ourselves into gathering with and the rhythms of a local church family after a seven year hiatus. I found Todd’s thoughts refreshing and right on for what I have been wrestling through as my family and I have been sorting out our involvement with a local church.
Todd starts out by making a great point that church is not just the “Sunday service”. The service is one small part of how God wants to shape and form us so that we can go into the watching world around us and live out the good news of the kingdom. An analogy that my wife and I have used to explain it in a similar way is by looking at the difference between a football game and the on-field huddle. The huddle is not the game; it helps the players play the game better. That is how church can be in the life of a Christ follower.
The book is very readable and each chapter looks at a specific part of a church service or liturgy. Todd writes from his new Anglican perspective on church but what he has to say is applicable to my Evangelical Covenant Church or whatever church you might find yourself a part of. In each chapter Todd helps us re-purpose or re-practice the essential element needed for the development for kingdom life and practice. Too often we “throw the baby out with the bath water” and miss out on what God wants to transform us with.
In many ways this whole book is like an old parable I once heard about the cooking of a ham. A mother and daughter were preparing to cook a ham. The Mom cut the end off the ham before she put into the pan. The curious daughter asked her Mom why she cut the end off the ham. She answered that her Mom always cut the end off when she made ham but that she would check. Later she inquired with the young girls Grandma and asked why she cut the end off the ham. The answer the Grandmother gave was that her pan was too short. After years and years of doing the same thing this young woman finally found the real reason for the action and realized that for her, it was an unnecessary step. For many, this is what is needed in order to breathe fresh life into our church experience. In this book Todd helps us get to the true “why” questions behind the purpose and structure of church. Much like finding out why the end was cut off the ham, rediscovering the purpose behind the forms will help us re-purpose and appreciate the God given womb for helping nuture us into faithful kingdom service. Giving Church Another Chance is well worth the time in order to help understand and appreciate the local church.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from ToddHunter to read and post a review on my site. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
As I sat down to write this book review my family was getting ready to celebrate Easter weekend. One of my kids wanted to know why we would call Good Friday, “good”? My wife and I explained that Good Friday is “good” because that was the day Jesus died on the cross. It is good for us because of the death and resurrection of Jesus we have the ability to have purpose and meaning in life and an eternal relationship with God. As amazing as this is, it is even more amazing that the Bible tells us that we will do even more amazing things than Jesus. (John 14:12) Neil Cole is someone who is taking this challenge seriously. Neil has devoted his life to creatively releasing the reproduction of healthy disciples, leaders, churches, and movements for the Kingdom of God. Neil wants to raise the bar on what it means to be a disciple and lower the bar on how to do church. This book has a very interesting title. It uses the motif of a software upgrade, which is a common analogy for most Americans in 2010. Neil’s desire is to call the church back to its roots of fertility and function which will allow it to make a difference in the world and if it is making a difference in the world the world will be different.
Many of us know that software upgrades can be good and bad. Often new and needed features are bogged down with unexplainable headaches. Many institutions and organizations need to make upgrades in how they function to meet new demands and stay true to their vision and mission. Unfortunately the church is usually the slowest to upgrade and make changes in how they seek to carry out their mission. Now more than ever the church needs to get over stereotypes about change and make some much needed upgrades. Neil feels that that a good upgrade will do some very important things. A good upgrade will make things more intuitive. A good upgrade will also make the church more powerful in accomplishing all of its important tasks. Finally, a good upgrade will open up the church to a new market of people who will have had no previous experience with the church.
The First Century Church in Acts was Church 1.0. The church in this period was mostly a marginalized movement under the heat of intense persecution. Church 2.0 dramatically occurred during the reign and rule of the Roman Emperor Constantine. During this period the church went from an underground, grassroots organic movement to a more institutional organization. Now there is a need for Church 3.0 so that a shift can occur from a program-driven church and clergy-led institutional approach to church to something that is more relational, simple, and viral in its spread. For Neil, this book is not a defense of organic church, it is rather a clarion call for us all to do church better. He believes it is not just a question of “Will this happen?” but rather “Will you and your church be a part of what God is up to in these incredible times?”
The first two chapters of the book give many reasons why we are in a new era and that are many changes with global impact upon us. We must adapt as a church in order to be faithful to the charge given to us by God. One of the best parts of the book are the list of shifting values that we must take notice of in order to be making an impact in our world. The changing values are as follows:
Relationship over mission
Authenticity over excellence
Experience over proposition
Mystery over solution
Diversity over uniformity
Journey over destination
Neil closes his book with the fact that Church 3.0 has arrived. It is actually at work and spreading. We can duck our heads and cover and try to pretend these realities are not happening, or we can embrace the changes and run full speed ahead and join in with what God is doing in the world around us. Either way what we can’t do is stop the changes that continue to come. Even if we cannot agree completely with Neil and his propositions, it is important to see that we must make foundational changes in the way we are the church and the way we do church. It seems very much like my favorite quote from Gandhi. “We must be the change we wish to see in the world.”
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Jossy Bass to read and post a review on my site. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
It has been a while since I have done some formal book reviews here but I just got word today that I will be soon receiving some new releases from the good people at Jossy Bass/Wiley. I have also put in a request to also review a new book by Scott Sabin who is the Director/Founder of Floresta/Plant With A Purpose. Below are the covers of the upcoming books.
While on board the Carnival Freedom this past week I got to read a great book called, Everyday Justice.
This book is excellent for giving the “Paul Harvey-Rest of the Story” on many common items such as chocolate and coffee. The book also does a great job giving a big picture overview as well as incremental steps to changing personal habits. I would be happy to loan to anyone local who is interested in reading.
Book Review of: The Diversity Culture, by Matthew Raley
The goal of this book is to help conservative Evangelical Christians have conversations with people of the “diversity culture”. The author defines diversity culture as, “The dominant American ethos of openness toward all beliefs and spiritual traditions”, which can include, as the book sub-title suggests, Buddhists, baristas, agnostics, hippies, and political activists.
The author does a great job painting mental pictures with his words of what various people of the diversity culture would look like as they hang out at a coffee shop or local restaurant. So often people of different groups, in this case, evangelical Christians and diversity culture, make judgments and assumptions based on each others outward appearances. This is sometimes helpful for sizing people up for conversation but sometimes it can be a barrier to even being willing to approach someone who is different then themselves.
Raley looks at the gospel story of Jesus talking to the Samaritan women at the well as an example and model for having a conversation for people of different backgrounds. This was the first time I had ever heard this gospel narrative used for anything other than a lesson on worshiping in spirit and truth. Personally, I really liked looking at this gospel story in this way and using it as a model for having conversations with people from a different background because I think Jesus not only died for our sins but also gave us a model or a new way to live life now.
The author gave what could on the surface seem to be controversial rules, but in actuality are very wise rules for evangelical Christians to have conversations with diversity culture people. These rules are: don’t be certain, don’t be a hero, and don’t be a critic. The genius of the first rule is that it allows us to embrace legitimate questions with people. The second deals with not working people over with guilt and emotion. The third allows us to build credibility by allowing us to say what God is doing in us instead of criticizing others.
The book is a small enough for even non-readers to read, and it has a nice set of discussion questions at the end of each chapter that would make it a great book to read with a friend or small group. The author has a pastor’s heart and he wants the information to be lived out and practiced not just discussed in seclusion of evangelical sub-culture.
A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery.
An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel.
A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream.
A story so incredible no novelist would dare dream it.
It begins outside a burning plantation hut in Louisiana . . . and an East Texas honky-tonk . . . and, without a doubt, in the heart of God. It unfolds in a Hollywood hacienda . . . an upscale New York gallery . . . a downtown dumpster . . . a Texas ranch.
Gritty with pain and betrayal and brutality, this true story also shines with an unexpected, life-changing love.
August 29, 2010 | 
While on board the Carnival Freedom this past week I got to read a great book called, Everyday Justice.
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