Passions of the Soul

On Christian Community

Title:  In Visible Fellowship: A Contemporary View of Bonhoeffer’s Classic Work Life Together
Author:  Jon Walker
Published by Leafwood Publishers, 2011
174 pages

Dietrich Bonhoeffer:  pastor, teacher, writer, and a pacifist who “struggled over the moral responsibility of believers to oppose evil when it is incarnate in a government, such as Hitler’s Nazi Germany” (pg. 11) He joined the resistance movement in Hitler’s Germany, was arrested on the order of Hitler, himself,  in 1943 and hung to death in a concentration camp on April 8, 1945.

Bonnhoeffer’s writings necessarily came out of his observations and experiences during Hitler’s rise to power and the resulting carnage of his reign. Bonhoeffer taught that Christian discipleship must necessarily take place in close-knit Christian community.

Jon Walker also authored Costly Grace: A Contemporary View of Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship (2010). In the current book, he takes us through Bonhoeffer’s teaching on Daily Worship, from morning to evening.  Nearly all of these chapters speak of communal worship; daily worship with other believers has not been part of my experience, so I found these chapters difficult to relate to. However, in “The Day’s Beginning: God’s Word,” the following paragraph resonated with me:

Bonhoeffer notes that we often hear people argue from experience or opinion when faced with a crucial decision; yet, even among believers the argument of Scripture is missing. If we give greater credence to experience or opinion, then we reveal we don’t “seriously read, know and study the Scriptures.” Bonhoeffer says, “One who will not learn to handle the Bible for himself is not an evangelical Christian” (pg. 54).

How do we learn to “handle” the Bible for ourselves? The same way we grow, spiritually, in all other ways: in close-knit community with other believers; through the teachings of those more mature in their spiritual walk and, perhaps, training; and in daily meditation on God’s Word. But meditation sounds, and for many people is, so mystical, that it is off-putting to others. But Bonhoeffer taught that meditation “is simply thinking seriously about God’s Word” (pg. 94).

All of the chapters in In Visible Fellowship are short. Each of the first five chapters deals with a part of what “We were created for….” The next several focus on daily worship, all in the context of community. Daily worship with other believers sounds inviting, but how to make that work, in our culture, especially in our evangelical Protestant culture, I don’t know.

While some parts of In Visible Fellowship seemed dry, I did dog-ear quite a number of pages in which I found nuggets of real worth to me. Some of these had to do with meditation on scripture; some with prayer or silently waiting on God; and others with corporate fellowship or various ministries. I will review these, from time to time, and I recommend the book for anyone wanting a deeper look at Christian community.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from ACU Press/Leafwood Publishers as part of their ACU Press Bookclub Program. 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.”

Finishing Well

Title:  Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well
Author:  Billy Graham
Published by Thomas Nelson, 2011
Kindle Edition

While the Bible doesn’t gloss over the problems we face as we grow older, neither does it paint old age as a time to be despised or a burden to be endured with gritted teeth. . . . Nor does it picture us in our latter years as useless and ineffective, condemned to spend our last days in endless boredom or meaningless activity until God finally takes us home.

Instead the Bible says that God has a reason for keeping us here; if He didn’t, He would take us to Heaven far sooner. But what is His purpose for these years, and how can we align our lives with it? How can we not only learn to cope with the fears and struggles and growing limitations we face but also actually grow stronger inwardly in the midst of these difficulties? How can we face the future with hope instead of despair? [Introduction]

When I read the part I’ve quoted from the Introduction, I hoped Dr. Graham would have some clear answers to his own questions. What he offers is some wise counsel for preparing for our later years. The challenge that Dr. Graham lays out for us is first to recognize that God does have a purpose for each of us for as long as we are here; and second, to actively seek to know His purpose for us, individually, and to live accordingly. 

The author did offer some help in such aspects of life as “Dealing with Grief,” which includes a section on “Looking to the Future.” The next chapter deals with the future by “Influencing the Impressionable,” and offers some guidance for doing that well. They are good tips, if we are going to have a legacy worth leaving behind. There is a purpose for the elderly.

Graham writes about the need for a sure foundation for our lives. Most people focus on financial success and providing financially for their family’s future. But Graham looks to the words of Christ, in Matthew 6:25: “Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” We need something more, something deeper and unshakable. . . .  We need a solid foundation . . . that will give us strength and stability no matter what happens. And the time to build it is now.

He adds, “Instead of the elderly taking a backseat in the twilight years, we need to faithfully proclaim as Joshua did, ‘Incline your heart to the Lord God’ (Joshua 24:23 NKJV).” There is a purpose for the elderly.

Then there is the matter of spiritual maturity, also phrased as a question: What does God want to do in our lives . . . or in my life or yours? The Bible makes it clear that His primary purpose—perhaps His whole purpose—for each of His people is for us to be transformed into the image of Christ Jesus. This ongoing process begins as soon as we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. Our part is to learn to trust Him, which we learn best by obeying His commands and following His direction for our lives. There is purpose not only for the elderly, but for every believer.

On the same subject, the author examines five spiritual resources God has provided to help us grow up in Christ: The gift of God’s word, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of prayer, the gift of fellowship with other Christians, and the gift of service.

Near the end, Graham encourages us not to live without hope, and not to see this life as “all there is.” Is there really life beyond this one? Is heaven real? Graham draws on scripture to support an affirmative response: Jesus said “I AM the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26). He also assured His disciples, “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).

This book encouraged and, in places, comforted me, although I still have some apprehension about my coming years. Graham acknowledged, several times, that some people reach a point where they are weak in body and in mind, but if he offered any answers for how these people can find a purpose in God’s leaving them here, I missed them. And that has been one of my questions for 45 years, as my grandmother slipped further and further into the grip of Alzheimer’s. But I do encourage readers to buy this book, read it, and share it with others—especially aging parents, but also with young people, if they will read it.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. 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.”

 

"Christianity" at its worst

Unfortunately, this kind of representation always manages to make the news and travels all over the place, through TV, the Internet, e-mails...no doubt Twitter....  It's worse than bad news:  Through extreme ignorance, self-righteousness, and a willful ignoring of scripture, itself, such attitudes misrepresent the Christ we love and serve.

Book review: Billy

Title:  Billy: The Untold Story of a Young Billy Graham and the Test of Faith That Almost Changed Everything
Authors:  William Paul McKay and Ken Abraham
Published by Thomas Nelson, 2008
264 pages

Billy is an unauthorized, true account of young Billy Graham, picking up when he is about 15 years old.  It is as much a story of the man who became, for some years, his best friend:  Charles Templeton, who, by his own account, was better looking, more articulate and a better preacher than Billy Graham.  He was a popular evangelist who could command audiences of tens of thousands, when Billy could hope for only a few thousand, on his own.  Yet, the two men took different paths in response to severe testing of their faith.  Their stories, separate and joined, bring to mind that classic poem by Robert Frost, "The Road Not Taken":

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by.
And that has made all the difference.

As the book opens, Templeton is in his early 80's, hospitalized with Alzheimer's.  Deborah Matthews, a middle-aged, has-been reporter, is under orders to interview Templeton to "get the dirt" on Graham.  Matthews' boss will not accept her assurance that there is no scandal to dig up, and she knows her job is on the line.  Throughout the book, her interview provides a springboard for stories from Graham's life, including his awkward attempts to communicate coherently with girls who had caught his eye and his heart; his conversion and growing sense that he was called to preach the gospel; and the beginning and maturing of the love between Billy and his life's mate, Ruth Bell.