This week we will be reading Chapters 5 - 9. We are moving in to the heart of the book. The first four chapters set the stage of the tragic events that cause the Great Sadness for Mack. I have found this book to be very well written. It has been one of those books that I look forward to reading. Some books I have to kind of force myself to read. I am usually glad that I did, but it different with a book like this. There is something that keeps me reading.

As you delve in to this weeks chapters (if you haven’t already, I read the book in about a three day span,) you will begin to see where the controversy comes from. Personally, I take no offense at the story. I wouldn’t teach it as theology, but I am able to separate story from theology. I would like to hear about what you think of the way the trinity is presented. How do you feel about Papa, Jesus and Sarayu? Are you intrigued or offended? Do you believe that God takes a personal interest in you? What do you think of the illustration of the garden and Mack’s soul? I look forward to your comments this week!

I will also include a link here in case you need to order a copy of the book.

The Shack

• 5 out of 5 stars
  Reviewed by Joan Wilson (Lacey, WA), October 30, 2008

  This short book was a great suprise to me inasmuch as it approached God described as a woman. Mack’s struggle to deal with the loss of his daughter was very real to me. The location meant an added delight to find it local in Oregon and now I want to travel and visit Wallowa in Oregon, and Joseph. I’ve lived in a shack but to think that God could come to me in this way I would love. It seemed to follow doctrine closely but held to the story line as in “Pilgrims Progress”, but for today’s readers. I am not bothered by it, and would recommend it to others to read. This is the God I know, but I do prefer him to be male and a father figure - Jesus said to call him “Father” as in his prayers for us. I would rather it be sent to my pastor and not Oprah (she is not the final authority). Now, my husband is reading it and we’ll talk about it along the way.

• 0 out of 5 stars
  Reviewed by Nathan Hutchinson (Sierra Vista, Arizona), October 31, 2008

  It is appalling when a 17 year old has to correct adults on theology. This book is no allegory; it is a deceptively written New Age story presented as Christian Fiction. The parallels between this book and some denominations of Hinduism are unbelievable. Not only do I not recommend this book, it should not be on this site at all; it is so far from being Christian that it scares me. This is the most heretical book I’ve read in a long time, yet so many people praise it regardless. I pray for Young’s soul after reading this book.

• 0 out of 5 stars
  Reviewed by blessedX10 (Helena, MT), October 30, 2008

  This book makes me physically sick to my stomach (threw it away half way through), and I am so disappointed to see it sold as a ‘christian’ book. Full of heresy; the author has no respect for or fear of God. I don’t serve a god of crude remarks and immature behavior, and my God is definitely not a woman (I am). Emotions deceive - if you are looking to know God better, read your bible! You won’t find the God of the Bible here, just lots of new age paganism working towards a one world, feel-good religion. Terribly sorry that I wasted the money (and therefore supported such slander of my God).

• 4.5 out of 5 stars
  Reviewed by Suzanne Murchison (Trenton, On,), October 30, 2008

  I really enjoyed the book, the different description of how God presents itself was unexpected and interesting. It made me want to dig deeper in scripture just to remind me that God will never fit in our confining “boxes”. It is a sad story, the lost of a child always is, but there is hope for all,and sometimes the issues go way further back then we think.

• 5 out of 5 stars
  Reviewed by Beva (Montevideo,MN), October 30, 2008

  This is a must read!! It took a brilliant mind to make the Trinity seem so down to earth. The chapter on the Judge really hit home with me. We all judge others, but the way he related it to how God still loves us when we mess up was really something. Just like we still love our children when they mess up. I would highly recommend this book!

• 5 out of 5 stars
  Reviewed by myra (lexington, nc), October 30, 2008

  I think this is one of the best books ever written about understanding the Trinity and they way the work together in the life of a believer. It reveals the depth of love God has for man in redeeming him from his sins and redeeming the unjust issues of life.

• 0 out of 5 stars
  Reviewed by Kandy (Arkansas), October 30, 2008

  This book is very dangerous! Christians are being deceived into this kind of thinking. There are many heresies in this book. It appeals to so many because it is an easy, feel-good read. I wish it were not sold as a Christian book. Maybe Oprah could sell it instead.

• 5 out of 5 stars
  Reviewed by Shirley Samuel (Greensboro, North Carolina), October 30, 2008

  This book was the door that took me through a crossroad in my life. I found that I could relate to anger and disappointment in God, whom, I felt, had set me up to fail because all of my experiences led me to painful existence. I saw a real way to deal with it by actually telling God, “You made me mad, You disappointed me, you sacrificed me, you won’t let me out of the mud I have been made to lie in.” I have been able to talk to Him as “Papa.” I have been able to openly acknowledge my own selfish sinful ways and tell Him, “I am sorry.” I now see that He was always there protecting me and keeping me safe from destructive harm. I now know He really loves me. I found the true living God. I was given a loving image of Momma, Daddy, sister, and brother in the Shack. I had not known that before. Family did not represent love. It has been a source of pain and suffering. Now I know what family really means, and Paul Young made that possible for me. I thank him for the courage it took to write this book.

• 0 out of 5 stars
  Reviewed by Carlyn Benns (Trona, CA), October 30, 2008

  Young’s work is secular and sensationalzed to the max. I could not have been more disappointed and wonder why it’s considered a Christian novel.

• 2.5 out of 5 stars
  Reviewed by Grace (Canada), October 30, 2008

  It provides good understanding on human suffering, remarkable answers to age-old questions and a fresh look on the heart and the nature of God, but the Triune God portrayed was not entirely Biblical. It’d be erroneous to conclude God’s Personhood only from this book.

Like I said, people love it or hate it. I think it will be an interesting book for us to discuss. There is a Forward, 18 chapters, and an After words section in the book. Let’s break it down like this:

Week 1 - Forward and Chapters 1-4
Week 2 - Chapters 5 - 9
Week 3 - Chapters 10 - 14
Week 4 - Chapters 15 - 18 and After words

As you begin reading, please know that this book is fiction. The author refers to it as a parable. There is no real “Mack”. Even though the Forward seems to set up the story as true, the Forward is just part of the story.

I am including a video of an interview with the author of The Shack on the 700 Club.

I will also include a link here in case you need to order a copy of the book.

The Shack

I also enjoyed his discussion of the church on page 165. I agree with Bell that the church is at its best when it is giving itself away. When the church becomes a blessing to the world by serving the world it has a great potential to impact the world. I look forward to your comments as you wrap up your reading of the book.

I have decided to make a change in the order of our reading. I have had a lot of requests for us to read “The Shack”. The book has really stirred up some excitement so we are going to push the book up from February to November. We will just push the other books back one month. People either seem to love “The Shack” or really not love it. If you don’t have a copy of “The Shack” go ahead and get it ordered. It has been so popular you can probably borrow a copy from someone. Tell them about the Christian Book Club and maybe they will join us for the discussion. I will put a link for “The Shack” on this page for your convenience.

The Shack

Week 1 - Movement One Jump, Movement Two Yoke

Week 2 - Movement Three True, Movement Four Tassels

Week 3 - Movement Five Dust, Movement Six New

Week 4 - Movement Seven Good, Epilogue

I will include a link to the book in this post in case you don’t have your copy yet. I thin what Bell wrote on the back of the book is interesting.

“We have to test everything. I thank God for anybody anywhere who is pointing people to the mysteries of God. But those people would all tell you to think long and hard about what they are saying and doing and creating. Test it. Probe it. Do that to this book. Don’t swallow it uncritically. Think about it. Wrestle with it. Just because I’m a Christian and I’m trying to articulate a Christian worldview doesn’t mean I’ve got it nailed. I’m contributing to the discussion. God has spoken, and the rest is commentary, right?”

It looks like it should be an interesting read!

Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith By Rob Bell

I am not sure that reading a book like this is something that everyone enjoys. It is a theological book. I personally have enjoyed it very much. Thank all of you for reading it along with me. The subject of the Kingdom is fascinating to me. I would suggest that you take time to read Appendix III. It is a fascinating look at the Kingdom of God through the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah takes all the major themes of the Kingdom and weaves them through the chapters of his book. It is absolutely amazing. If you have enjoyed the study on the Kingdom, you may also want to read a book by G.E. Ladd called “The Gospel of the Kingdom”. Next to the Bible, it is perhaps my favorite book. I look forward to your comments on the reading this week. It is an amazing journey to be “Already-Not Yet” people.

October will soon be upon us and we will be reading “Velvet Elvis” by Rob Bell. I have heard a lot of different things about the book so I am looking forward to checking it out for myself. I will include a link so that you can order it if you need to. Have a good time reading this week and I will be praying for you!

Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith By Rob Bell

This weeks chapters hold some of my favorite concepts about the Kingdom of God. An excellent description of the differnce between the Church and the Kingdom is given on page 150. The chapter on the ‘Already - Not Yet’, (which Ladd refers to as the Now and Not Yet) will help to explain the tension that exists between so many scriptures. The Kingdom is here and yet not fully here. Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom in His first coming, When He come back again He will consumate the Kingdom. We live in this tension,, and it is in this tension that we find our Messiah King!

I did a lot of teaching on the Kingdom of God over the last year. I am going to include the first in a series of teaching I did here. If you would like to watch more of them you can follow the video back to the rest of them.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Please pray for all the people who were impacted by Hurricane Ike in Texas, Louisiana, Cuba, and the Caribbean. The storm went to the South of us here in the Florida Keys, but we know first hand how difficult the after math of a hurricane is. If you are interested in Hurricanes, you may want to check out Hurricane Tracking Sites, which not only has links to the top hurricane sites, it also includes information about hurricanes and their impacts.

In the chapter on Kingdom Lifestyle there is an excellent discussion on the sermon on the mount. I look forward to your comments on that section as well as any other portion of the book you would like to talk about.

(Most of you know that I live in the Florida Keys. We were under the threat of Hurricane Ike all week and so this update is a couple of days late. Fortunately for us and yet unfortunately for Cuba (I planted churches in Cuba for ten years and I have a lot of friends on the Island) Hurricane Ike passed to the south of us and we are now getting tropical storm force winds. Sorry for the delay.)

In case you don’t have the book yet I will include a link here for you to get one. They have copies available at Amazon.

Here is how we will read and discuss the book:

Week 1 - Pictures of the Kingdom, Promises of the Kingdom, Fulfillment of the Promises, The Mystery of the Kingdom, The Centrality of Christ

Week 2 - The Implications of the Kingdom, Bringing in the Kingdom, Acts of Intervention, The Parables of the Kingdom, Kingdom Lifestyle

Week 3 - The Messianic Banquet, The Kingdom and the Church, Already-Not Yet People, The End of Cessationism, Healing

Week 4 - Israel, Confusion about the Kingdom, A Final Perspective, Studying the Theology of the Kingdom

I think you will enjoy the description of the Spiritual Battle on page 18 and 19.  I particularly like the explanation of how each of the plagues addressed one of the false gods of Egypt.  Great stuff!

In case you don’t have the book yet I will include a link here for you to get one.  They have copies available at Amazon.

I look forward to your comments on the remainder of the book. I am going to add a video clip here by Philip Yancey. I thought you might like to see and hear from the author you have been reading this month.

Next week we will begin reading Breakthrough by Derek Morphew. I believe you will find it to be a very enlightening book on the Kingdom of God.