Recommended Book

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Book recommendation: “Radical” by David Platt.

When I picked up this book to read it I told myself that no matter how good any part of it was, I would not post any portion of it as a quote on DefCon (because time is so little of what I have lately). Well, that ambition didn’t last very long (like here and here, for example, with more quotes to come).

I was just putting the finishing touches on my controversial Christmas post when I began reading this book. Although Platt never mentions Christmas in the book, it did confirm my personal conviction about refraining from celebrating the holiday. But that’s another whole issue.

In brief, David Platt presents a scathing critique of self-indulgent American Christianity (specifically in relation to world missions) and its negligence of the poor and those without the gospel, then offers his advice on how to change this glaring deficiency in our own lives.

I would liken this book to a cross between K.P. Yohannan’s Revolution in World Missions and Francis Chan’s Crazy Love (the good parts, of course). And–as with both of those other books–the reader will find some points of disagreement within Radical, but when all things are considered, this book will not leave you unmoved (in a good way, of course).

This is a must-read for every Christian living in the West (America, Britain, Australia, Canada, etc.). I have personally ordered several copies to give away for free (as the Desert Pastor was gracious enough to provide me with my copy for free) and I’ve already given away my first copy this past week!

You will not be disappointed in reading this book . . . unless, of course, you don’t want to be challenged, you don’t want to be convicted, and if you’re not ready–as the subtitle says–to take back your faith from the American dream.

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Book recommendation: “Terror at Beslan” by John Giduck.

“For a single religion to spawn so much hatred, so much inhuman capacity to commit violence against the innocent–even if those innocent are the citizens of a perceived enemy nation or culture–there must must be a cause. That cause cannot be the preaching of tolerance and peace so often ascribed to it.”

– Terror at Beslan (page 376)

John Giduck of the Archangel Group wrote a shocking and terrifying book on the terror attacks that took place on September 1, 2004 on a school in Beslan, Russia. Not only shocking and terrifying because of his detailed portrayal of what took place, but also because this same type of attack has been promised to come to America, and that Beslan was only a dress rehearsal for what we are to experience.

I don’t read many secular books but this is one that I highly recommend. Giduck details the history of conflict in Russia that led up to the horrific attack on the innocent men, women, and children at the Beslan school on that fateful day. He also details the initial attack as well as the counter-attack by Russian forces. Giduck even chronicles the history of Islam, including the laundry list of terrorist acts perpetrated by the “Religion of Peace” on innocents around the world. Giduck also gives warning to those in America’s schools, law enforcement, and private sector of what to look out for, because it’s not a  matter of if, but when a similar attack occurs on our soil; the terrorists have made this clear, including Bin Laden.

Here’s what others are saying about the book:

“Don’t just read this book, study it and apply it.” – Lt. Col. Dave Grossman

“This should be required reading for law enforcement and school officials alike.” – Connie Bond, Editor of The Police Marksman Magazine

“An explosive expose of Russian failure and what America must do to protect its children.” – John A. Anderson, Retired Sgt. Major U.S. Army Special Forces

“Without doubt, in my 37 years of law enforcement the Beslan tragedy . . . makes for one of the most chilling analyses and accountings of any event I have ever experienced. Only 9/11 was more appalling to me.” – Ed Ray, Director of Security, Denver Public Schools

You can purchase this book on Amazon where currently it is rated at 5 out of 5 stars.

Warning, the books contains graphic descriptions and images. The book also contains profanity on page 238.

I’ve included the following video to acquaint you with what this book is about.

Finally, here’s another great video and a great detailed review of the book.

“With our destruction as the common goal that has brought them [terrorists] together, how is it that our survival has not yet served as the common goal necessary to bring us together?”

– Terror at Beslan (page 327)

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DefCon is now on FaceBook.

Defending Contending has finally joined the world of social networking. We are now on Facebook and you can ‘friend’ us here.

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Book review: “Why Johnny Can’t Preach” by T. David Gordon.

Why Johnny Can't PreachI just completed the book Why Johnny Can’t Preach by T. David Gordon. It is a well thought-out thesis addressing the source of the problem with the ineffective preaching in most Christian churches in the West.

Gordon highlights some of the reasons why preaching in the West is a failure (and consequently some of these are the very reasons why people like Osteen, Warren, Driscoll, Schuller, Noble, and the likes are so popular).

Gordon advances the (lost) notion that preaching from the pulpit should be Christ-centered (it’s sad he has to even mention that which should be a foregone conclusion). His call is reminiscent of a similar call I was sounding back in 2007 with a short post entitled A Sobering Call To Pastors, Preachers, And Teachers.

Christ-centered preaching is the New Testament way of advancing the Gospel that has sadly been hijacked by the hirelings and replaced with preaching such as Moralism messages, How-To lectures, Introspective talks, and the ever popular Culture War sermons.

These things, Gordon says, are valid as “occasional secondary results of Christ-centered preaching” (save the How-To lectures), but they should never be the purpose of preaching.

Gordon also directs us to Robert Lewis Dabney’s seven Cardinal Requisites of preaching; the seven things every sermon should contain to be effective that unfortunately most American sermons are missing on a regular basis.

Why Johnny Can’t Preach is a book that every preacher, pastor, and teacher who’s serious about their call to feed the flock should read. It will undoubtedly help to make the bad preacher (bad not by his doctrine but by his delivery) good, and the good preacher better in his proclamation of the only thing that matters: Christ and Him crucified!

Here’s a quote from the book:

Several of the more incompetent preachers I’ve heard have jumped on the emergent bandwagon, and their ministerial careers are undergoing a resurgence now, as people flock to hear their enthusiastic worship leaders and to ogle their PowePoint presentations. Their churches are no longer moribund, but then the annual carnival isn’t either–it, too, is full of enthusiasm, activity, and lively entertainment. But I’m not sure these emergent activities have any more spiritual effect than the pig races at the carnival.

Here’s another quote:

While it is not my purpose here to present an in-depth discussion of the so-called contemporary worship that has crept across the Christian landscape like a plague, I must observe here how profoundly trite it ordinarily is. Pop music, as an idion, simply cannot address that which is weighty . . . its idiom itelf is faddish, glib, superficial. Therefore, serious lyrics don’t fit in this idiom (nor does there appear to be any effort to accomplish this). Though lamentale, it is not at all surprising to me that the church in a trivial culture becomes a trivial church with trivial liturgy. I am fairly seriously considering following this book with another: Why Johnny Can’t Sing Hymns.

You can purchase this book here at the Westminster Seminary Bookstore.

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Book Review: “Buried in the Snow” by Franz Hoffman.

buried-in-the-snowI recently completed the book Buried in the Snow by Franz Hoffman; part of the Lamplighter series of Christian literature. This is the first one of these books that I’ve read and found it to be really good. Written in 1879, it is a gripping tale that teaches great truths of the Bible and reliance upon God no matter the circumstance and to do it all without murmuring about your present trials.

The first three chapters are hard to get through. Hoffman’s use of sentences as long as a mid-summer’s day as he sets up the story made it hard to read (especially when doing it out loud for family reading time) but chapter four begins the tension and the story really unfolds from that point and becomes much easier to read. I’ve reprinted two separate book descriptions below along with a reader review comparing this book to the Tom Hanks movie Cast Away:

A boy and his grandfather come face to face with their own mortality within a tomb of snow. Reliance upon God is their only option as escape is impossible. But the story does not hinge upon the question of their rescue; what captivates is the response that each has to the circumstances that God has placed them in. When death is a constant companion, how does one view life? The ebb and flow of emotions are captivating as the boy and his grandfather fight off predators and the terror produced by the uncertainties of their snowy grave. I know of no other book that so delicately prepares children to face the death of a loved one than ‘Buried in the Snow.’

Full of twists, turns and unsuspected dangers, this book will cause you to see life from a different perspective. You will be blessed by the gentle wisdom of an old grandfather and the unconditional love of his grandson as they come face to face with one of the most difficult decisions of their lives. From the depths of despair to the pinnacle of blessing, this dramatic encounter will surely elicit a full spectrum of emotional responses.

Reader Review:

Buried in the Snow vs. Cast Away

After I read Buried In the Snow, which I greatly enjoyed, I watched the movie Cast Away starring Tom Hanks. It is a very powerful contrast. Both stories are about individual survival under desperate circumstances but the world view between them is diametrically opposed. In Buried In the Snow, Jacques becomes completely dependent on Jesus. He learns from his trials and is made stronger by the experience. Through his grandfather’s instruction and through his faith, he has the ability to deal with his grandfather’s death and burial, receiving solace in the fact that his grandfather goes knowingly and willingly to a better place. Contrast this to the “god-less” movie Cast Away in which Tom Hanks repeatedly demonstrates the humanist’s view that self is all there is – we only have our personal faculties on which to survive. Hanks never even alludes to a “highter [sic] power.” When the body of a dead pilot washes up on shore, he buries the body, then steps back and you assume he is about to give some type of blessing, but no, he simply brushes the sand from his hands and says “Well, that’s that.” Wow! Life is tough and then you die – that’s that – a worldview absent of God. I had never noticed how intentionally “absent of God” this movie was until I read Buried In the Snow. Insight is the power of well written Christian literature, always confirming that Jesus Christ is the difference between light and dark, hope and despair, truth and falsehood, life and death – just as he told us. Another note about this contrast is that Hanks has to talk to a volleyball to keep his sanity.
Jacque and his grandfather talk to a Saviour.