Be the People: A Review

I really enjoyed Dr. Carol Swain's book, Be the People. Dr. Swain has written a thoughtful manifesto of conservatism that is fair to all people groups in America and is also a Biblical assessment of the situation. I often support Barack Obama's decisions, and I also believe that he is representing the American People to the best of his abilities. I believe that he is the elected President, and I personally think that he is one of the most intelligent and enigmatic presidents we have seen in a long time. However, Carol Swain outlines why Obama is not for what my own personal views are. You see, although I support Obama and hope for his reelection, I don't agree with probably 45-60% of his policies.

Swain outlines some of these beliefs in a powerful way: 1. I believe in the sanctity of life. 2. I believe that marraige should be a monogamous relationship between a man and a woman. 3. I believe that people have taken a dive off the deep end and lost much of the ability to have nonobjective moral reasoning based on eternal principals and truth. 4. I believe that people clamor way to much for personal rights, when they have done things to others that are lazy or reprehensible.

Swain seems to be advocating that the religious right could do something about any of the above, where Obama is just adding fuel to the fire. I seem to think that if the religious right couldn't do much during George W.s terms, then there must be a substantial part of the U.S. population that have generally turned against conservative values and as such need to be heard and advocated for in a democratic society. I am essentially saying that while I think Christians should behave one way, I don't think Christians can force the rest of the world to act that same way too through government means.

Carol and I agree on one major point: The world is going to Hell in a hand basket. We disagree on what to do about it. I say, "Its a democracy; we must be creatively winsome and instructive to our families, while at the same time advocating for the rights of all mankind, whether Christian or non Christian." Carol says, "Yes and we must elect somebody other than Barack Obama to the presidency." O.k. Carol, well you run for president and then I may think about it.

Fasting

Mega Churches abound in my neck of the woods. I am a member of one actually! But one in our area really gets under my skin. Having a large gathering of people, they have a focus on Fasting at the beginning of the year, and attached to the fast is the idea of a very public unified prayer for a move from God, based on some slapped together scriptures that are taken out of context. Then, as if this weren't enough, the leader has declared himself to be America's expert on fasting and has a flock of books for his following.

Not so fast, I want to declare! Have you read the scriptures in a real way? Before I get to riled up, I have to say that a much smarter and more seasoned view of fasting is very much available. Scott McKnight's book on fasting is fantastic. It goes back to the roots of the ancient practice, in sound exegesis of the scripture. Fasting is quiet a profound and personally touching spiritual discipline that is more about a private relationship to God in scriptures, rather than a public announcement of faith or political statement. In Fasting, McKnight lays all of this out in a real way that is simply an explanation of the various ways that fasting can be personally powerful and even the very practical discussion of the physical repercussions of the fast.

In a world where fasting has become hyped up, McKnight offers a very thoughtful analysis of this ancient practice.

Andy Stanley's new book, The Grace of God, gives an outstanding summation of God's Grand Narrative. When we look at the Bible as one big story, we find a lot of themes, but one theme is definitive. That is grace, but grace is one of those things that people argue about and extremely conservative Christians emphasize that Grace should not be cheap while more progressive believers accentuate the freedom that is found in Christ. The beautiful thing about the narrative of the Bible is that it isn't conservative or liberal, but all about transfoming people's lives with the message that they are worth a lot and part of a bigger story that isn't all about them or even just one group of people.

Andy's emphasis on this narrative incredibly brings out the best of many of his sermons. In fact, it is a book with a ghost writer because he dictated some of his best expositions of scripture into a recording and then the writer wrote the book. As a member of one of churches that is in the North Point Ministries cluster, I have heard a lot of what Andy says in this book from Andy. But the thing about it is, it is really just the best of everything I studied in two phenomonal courses that I took at Columbia International University.

At Columbia, I took The Progress of Redemption, and Bible for Teachers. In both, the Biblical Narrative with the stories of the Bible standing on their own two feet was central. And grace poured from those stories. What Andy said, made complete sense, and it was enlightening as well as exciting to see that the story we read in the Bible has us as characters in it. We are recipients of God's grace, and we have the ability to be released by God to love and serve others in amazing ways.