Wicked – the book September 29, 2009
Posted by clintcarter in Books.add a comment
I just finished the book “Wicked”. I was not impressed. If I had to give it a rating, I’d give it one star for concept only.
The concept is gold. Who wouldn’t want to discover the back story to one of the most infamous villains of 20th century western literature? I was really excited about reading the book, but my excitement faded with every passing chapter. I love reading fiction – particularly fantasy – this should have been right up my alley. I kept waiting for the plot to develop – that never happened. I kept waiting for the characters to grow and change – that never happened. The book was just a few snap shots of the life of Elphaba (the wicked witch of the west) – consisting of a few chapters each. Great pieces of fiction connect you to the characters – you find yourself empathizing with them. I didn’t care about anybody in this book. I didn’t even want to finish the book. The only reason I did was curiosity about how the author would tie in the arrival of Dorothy. Once again I was disappointed.
There was nothing overtly admirable and good about Elphaba. Nor was there anything desperately devious or evil. She was a bland character which led to a very bland book. I don’t understand all the acclaim the book has enjoyed. It was one of the weakest novels I’ve ever picked up.
The Deliberate Church August 13, 2009
Posted by clintcarter in Books, Church.add a comment
I’m reading “The Deliberate Church” right now by Mark Dever. I did not like the first 6-7 chapters of the book. In fact I almost stopped reading it multiple times. My copy of the book is filled with question marks and notes surrounding the parts I didn’t agree with. The major beef I have with Mark is his view of preaching. His statements about the pre-imminence of preaching and how it is paramount to everything else the church does, grates against my understanding of the gospel. Now hear me out. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t preach, on the contrary, I hold a high view of rightly preaching the gospel message. I just don’t see it as the sole defining mark of a church.
My friend Ben encouraged me to push through the first part of the book and I’m glad he did. The last few chapters have been very insightful into the role of a pastor, gatherings, and the ordinances. I just read a statement about evangelism that someone could right a whole book about – I won’t because I don’t like long posts – but let me share it with you.
“Evangelism programs are not necessarily or categorically bad. Some are quite good. But I fear we sometimes depend on them so much that we forget that the church itself is God’s evangelism program. The mutually loving relationships in the church are designed by God to be attractive to an unbelieving culture.“
This is gold. If we can get this right at Crosstown Church, the gospel will come alive in our neighborhood. A part of the gospel requires us “to tell”. But just as important is the opportunity “to be”. The church living what the New Testament says we should, will be unavoidable and appealing to those far from God. Wouldn’t you be interested in people who acted like this?
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Colossians 2:12-14
Harry Potter and me March 27, 2009
Posted by clintcarter in Books.3 comments
I took a break from serious books for a month to read some good fiction. I read the Harry Potter series one book at a time as they released – so I thought it would be interesting to read them back to back. I was not disappointed. I heartily enjoyed my time in the wizarding world.
Rowling did a superb job at character development. I loved watching Harry and his relationships change from book to book. The story arc is topnotch both inside each book and through the series as a whole. She tied up all of the necessary and many of the interesting loose ends. Lots of foreshadowing throughout the series that you don’t pick up on unless you know the ending.
My favorite book is the last installment – Deathly Hallows was everything I hoped for regarding information, adventure, and closure. I only hope that the last book of the Wheel of Time series turns out to be as fulfilling. My second favorite and a close third were Goblet of Fire and Prisoner of Azkaban. I hated the first half of Order of the Phoenix – but that was mostly related to what Harry was going through.
It was a little sad as I drew near the end of the last book because I knew my time with Harry was over. But that’s a mark of good presentation – always leave them wanting more. I look forward to sharing the books with my kids – although I’ll probably wait til they hit junior high because of the weightiness of the last couple of books.
A book that’s shaping me March 25, 2009
Posted by clintcarter in Books, Church Planting.1 comment so far
I’m in the middle of a very affirming and enlightening book that was recommended to me by my friend Brad Andrews. Affirming because it solidifies in my mind many of my thoughts over the past couple of years regarding what it means to be the church. Enlightening because it fleshes out the reasoning behind these things I’ve been thinking intuitively.
The title of the book is “The Tangible Kingdom”. Here are 2 quotes below – followed by my thoughts.
“I believe God desires a beautiful bride [the church] - one the world looks to with awe and amazement, with intrigue and longing.” I don’t see a lot of amazement or intrigue coming from those outside of the faith. I do see a lot of disgust and apathy – which we rightly deserve for taking the life changing story of beauty, tragedy, and redemption and turning it into a system of beliefes to which we only require mental assent.
“Church must not be the goal of the gospel anymore.” This is something of which I am guilty. My brain has been trained to measure spiritual success by the numbers in church. Church is not the gospel. Church is only one expression of the good news of Jesus transforming a life. This is an idea that I will continue to wrestle with – I mean, even the very thing that my family is preparing to do (church planting) isn’t an accurate description. We need to be gospel planting in individual lives. If that turns into a church – glory to God – but church isn’t the end and sharing the gospel isn’t the means to an end.
I could go on and on regarding things from this book that are sparking thoughts and affirming convictions. I won’t though – at least right now – mostly because I don’t ever read long blog posts.
The Reason for God February 25, 2009
Posted by clintcarter in Books.2 comments
This is the first Tim Keller book I’ve read. I’ve been a pod-cast disciple for a while and decided it was time to check out his writing. Through the first 7 chapters of the book I thought “this is a really good book“. Chapters 8-13 I began to think “this is a great book“. After reading chapter 14 and the epilogue tonight my final thought “this is a most excellent book.” I recently made a resolution to stop recommending so many books so that it would force me to internalize the material by telling other people about the content. However even as I’m trying to internalize some things from this book, I’m going to shamelessly tell you that you need to read it.
Tim Keller has a firm grasp on what the core of the gospel is about and how to best relate that to people who are skeptical. He also recognizes many of the things that keep Christ followers from believing and living the gospel. Publishers Weekly rightly said “this is a book for skeptics and believers who love them”. If you know people with objections to the gospel, this book could be very helpful for you to understand where they are coming from and how to look at their concerns in light of the Scriptures. If I had lots of money, I’d offer to buy this book for anyone who would read it. I don’t have lots of money, but if someone out there seriously wants to dig into this book but doesn’t have money for it, I will gladly send you a copy.
On the New Testament January 31, 2009
Posted by clintcarter in Books.1 comment so far
Just read A Book You’ll Actually Read on the New Testament by Mark Driscoll. It’s a tiny book both in size and length – depending on your reading speed you should be able to finish this book in 45-90 minutes. This book could be a great resource for someone new to the faith who doesn’t really know anything about the Bible or how to approach it and learn from it. It would also be beneficial for a Christian who is just starting to get serious about studying the Word.
It’s a good introduction to some common questions about the Canon, discrepancies in manuscripts, overview of books, and principles for interpretation and translations. I think the most valuable part of the book is where Mark addresses “How should I come to the Scriptures?” Great insight and perspective on how to approach the Bible and let it change the way we think. You can read this portion from the book here – look at page 37.
The appendix is a good place to start when building a theological library with some solid suggestions for various books and helps to aid further study.
I’d suggest buying this book , gleaning from it what you can, and then passing it on to someone new to the Bible. It’s relatively inexpensive, you can get a copy for $5 on amazon.
Back to the City January 4, 2009
Posted by clintcarter in Books, Church Planting.3 comments
I finished reading “Cities of God” – see my previous thoughts here.
Stark dug up some great research on conversion. Check out these 2 critical points:
- Doctrines are of very secondary importance in the initial decision to convert
- Conversion almost exclusively happens when interpersonal ties to members of an organization overbalance interpersonal ties to those outside of the group
The first couple of chapters were excellent. After that the book turned more statistical and was a slower read. There were still a few “aha” moments, but you have to wade through a lot of information to find them.
A couple of new thoughts which were fascinating for me: 1) ”oriental” religions that preceded Christianity and how they helped prepare the Greco-Roman world for the gospel 2) how Hellenized Jews throughout the Roman Empire were religious and cultural fertile ground for the message and practices of Christianity - AND that the majority of the personal ministry of the Apostle Paul was to Hellenized Jews.
There were definitely some very relevant thoughts in this book as we consider how to most effectively bring the gospel to a region.
Cities of God December 11, 2008
Posted by clintcarter in Books.6 comments
I’m in the middle of a great read. Cities of God by Rodney Stark. It’s an analysis of how Christianity rose from obscurity to become an urban movement that conquered the Roman Empire.
I never realized how intertwined missions and monotheism was. Until monotheism was re-introduced through Judaism, conversion from one religion to another was unheard of. Within ancient cultures and their pantheon of deities, new gods were supplemented rather than an outright replacement. Judaism changed the landscape by calling for a new allegiance that excluded previous affiliations.
However, Judaism contained significant ethnic barriers. Christianity broke the ethnic barriers associated with monotheism and allowed people of different tribes to remain associated with their ethnicity while embracing one God.
Cities also makes some great points about conversion. I’ll share them later this week. However, my favorite concept so far “deviant subcultures” – defined as “a group of people who sustain unconventional (deviant) outlooks and/or activities”. That’s precisely our approach for church planting in Tulsa. In fact, we might even adopt that as our slogan.
dwell community - a deviant subculture.
What do you think? 
Confessions of a Reformission Rev. September 9, 2008
Posted by clintcarter in Books, Church, Church Planting, Leadership.add a comment
Carey and I just finished reading through “Confessions” by Mark Driscoll. I love reading books with my wife, both for the shared experience and because it sparks conversations we normally might not have.
I actually enjoyed this book more than “Radical Reformission” (which was good). “Confessions” revolves around the story of Mars Hill through their various stages of growth. For someone called to church planting, it is invaluable to have an honest, transparent look at the not so glamorous side that comes with a new church.
I don’t know Mark personally, although I’ve sat 10 feet from him at a Acts 29 Boot Camp as I listened to him teach. The thing that impresses me most is his willingness to evaluate and change. Whether it was a message he was prepared to give and God led Him another way (like in Raleigh last fall) or making hard decisions to change Mars Hill constantly so that they would remain gospel-centered and on mission. That’s the same characteristic I admire in Bill Hybels. I know there aren’t a lot of Hybelites out there in the reformed crowd, but Hybels is a man who isn’t afraid to ask the hard questions and then make changes accordingly. For both of these men it’s living in the balance of risk and grace. Risk to lay it all on the line for the kingdom. Grace to admit missteps and change their approach.
This book is full of valuable insights regarding church leadership and structure. Not that every church should operate like Mars Hill, but there are principles that transcend the culture they are reaching. I highly reccomend this book for church planters or those interested in church planting. I’d also suggest this book for pastors of established churches to consider what it takes to anticipate and enable growth through the various sizes of a congregation.
What is a Healthy Church? May 12, 2008
Posted by clintcarter in Books, Church.1 comment so far
Just finished this book by Mark Dever about 9 marks of a healthy church. I’d heard some good things about Mark’s stuff so I decided to give it a try.
It is a small book that didn’t really say that much. I only underlined 3 sentences in the whole book – which is unusual for me – I’m a big underlining guy. Mark didn’t really say much that grabbed a hold of me. Now I did agree with almost all of what he said, it just felt like I’d heard it all before .
I suppose for someone that is new to the faith and church world it could be helpful in choosing a local congregation to connect with, but there are probably other resources I’d send them to first.
I don’t know if Mark just isn’t a good writer or if this was a subpar offering. I’ll probably try one of his other contributions sometime to find the answer.
