Biblical Christianity from Peter DeHaan

Book Review: When Not to Build

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 18, 2013

When Not to Build: An Architect’s Unconventional Wisdom for the Growing Church

By Ray Bowman and Eddy Hall (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

As the subtitle indicates, When Not to Build is “an architect’s unconventional wisdom for the growing church.” Veteran church architect Ray Bowman had been happy to design new churches whenever he was asked.

Then, after a 30-year career of doing so, he abruptly switched jobs to become a “church-growth specialist.”

Ray Bowman realized many churches who think they need a new building, really don’t. In many cases, they are underutilizing their present facility.

With a bit of creative planning or relatively minor renovations they can provide for an expanding ministry without embarking on a major building project.

In other cases, the desire to build is borne out of wrong motivations or false assumptions.

Additionally, the debt incurred in building new church structures is often crippling to the congregation, limiting ministry, curtailing outreach, and even stunting growth.

Bowman and Hall open this book by asking 15 questions. Each one that evokes a positive answer is in actuality a red flag against building, as it reveals a wrong motive.

Though these queries may seem to embrace conventional wisdom, they are more correctly false assumptions that lead many to build for the wrong reasons.

These questions reveal the foundation for the rest of the book. Springing from this are the first three sections, addressing the principles of focus, principles of use, and principles of provision.

The fourth section concludes with advice on what to do when it actually is time to build a new church building.

When Not to Build should be required reading for any church leader and board that is considering a building project or struggling with overcrowding or usage issues in their present facility.

(Also helpful is Ray Bowman and Eddy Hall’s second book, When Not to Borrow; it is an apt and useful follow-up work.)

[When Not to Build: An Architect’s Unconventional Wisdom for the Growing Church, by Ray Bowman and Eddy Hall. Published by Baker Books, 2000, ISBN: 978-0801091063, 208 pages]

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Bible Insights

Have You Ever Been Overwhelmed by the Glory of God?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 17, 2013

When Solomon dedicated the temple, the people praised God with much fanfare and then something strange happened.

A cloud formed—inside the building. But there’s more. “The Glory of the Lord filled the temple.” It became so intense that the priests couldn’t even work; God’s presence was that strong. It was extreme.

They became overwhelmed with God’s presence and his glory. But what exactly does that mean?

It could be the awe of God engulfed them to such an extent that nothing else mattered.
It could be that fear of being so close to God effectively paralyzed them.
It could be the cloud was so thick—that is, God’s presence was so heavy—that they literally couldn’t see what they were doing, or
It could be that with God in the house nothing else mattered.

Regardless of the explanation, we can conclude that God’s presence was so significant that all activity ceased.

Can you imagine worshiping God and collectively feeling his presence to such an extent that all the singers stop singing and all the musicians stop playing?

Silence fills the room and nothing else matters. Then the highest form of worship becomes to simply do nothing and bask in his presence.

Have you ever been that overwhelmed with the glory of God?

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Tags God, King Solomon, temple

Christian Living

How I Lost Five Pounds

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 15, 2013

Last year I lost five pounds—overnight. Really! This occurred without me eating less or exercising more. How did I achieve this amazing weight loss?

Quite simply, I got a new scale. Before you criticize my claim as being misleading, permit me to explain.

My family had long complained about my scale weighing “heavy.” This never bothered me. I simply used it to track changes. A slight decrease gave a reason to cheer, while a slight increase provided an incentive to eat more carefully.

The fact that my scale claimed I hovered around 183 mattered little to me—or so I thought.

My family sought to remedy my wayward scale by giving me a new one for my birthday. The new version proclaimed my interaction with gravity to be five pounds less. While my weight didn’t change, my attitude did. I now weighed in at a svelte 178.

With a spring in my step, I strode with more vigor when I walked. When I looked in the mirror, I beamed with greater satisfaction. My clothes even fit better.

One hundred and seventy-eight looked good on me. I felt great about myself, my weight, and even my overall health.

I more or less maintained my new weight throughout the year: sometimes more, sometimes less, but always hovering around my new norm. I felt much better at 178 than I did at 183.

In reality, nothing changed physically, but my mental attitude did.

Even still, there are family members who claim my new scale weighs high, too.

Maybe they’ll get me another new one. Then I can drop five more pounds. I’d love for my next weigh-in to be 173.

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Christian Living

Celebrating the Highs and Lows of Last Year

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 13, 2013

It’s not good to dwell in the past or fixate on what was, but it is wise to periodically review it.

As we recently transitioned from one year to the next, my wife and I spent time with close friends. We recalled our personal highs and lows from the year that was ending.

For those without God in their lives, the results of such an exercise could be ill-advised. For the good that happened, they might take pride in their accomplishments or celebrate the rewards of their hard work.

For the negative that occurred, they might curse bad luck or blame others.

For them it could be an empty exercise of elevating self and criticizing circumstances.

However, for us—who hold God central to our being—the results were quite different. For our joys, we praised God’s generosity, his provision in our lives. For our sorrows, we celebrated God’s comfort, his carrying us through dark times.

In both the good and the not so good, we thanked God. It was a spiritual experience. God was present. We basked in his love.

I recommend periodically taking time to reflect on the high points and the low times of our lives. Annually is a good start, though some do so more often: monthly, weekly, or even each night.

Then we can praise God for his work in our lives.

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Bible Insights

Two Expressions of Faith

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 10, 2013

Last week we talked about Noah’s obedience and Moses’ boldness. Both actions were reflections of their faith: the faith to obey and the faith to confront.

But what if Noah didn’t obey God, instead interceding for the people? If God changed his mind (as he did when Moses fasted and prayed), the great flood would have been averted.

What if Moses didn’t boldly approach God but merely accepted his plan, allowing the destruction of the people of Israel and making Moses into an even greater nation?

Then millions would have died. Instead of there being the “children of Abraham,” we’d have the “children of Moses.” We wouldn’t talk about Father Abraham, but of Father Moses.

Had Noah and Moses acted differently, the world would have turned out much differently.

But both acted with great faith: obedient faith and bold faith. Both provide great examples for us to follow.

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Tags Moses, Noah, obey God

Christian Living

Nowalayme: How Do You Pray?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 6, 2013

Seth Godin, in his new book V is for Vulnerable, writes, “LMNO…used to be a single letter in the alphabet.” I get that. It was for me, and I suspect it was for you too.

Another misconception I held as a small child was that “nowalayme” was one word. I finally asked my parents what it meant. They were confused until I used it in a sentence, the only way I’d ever uttered it: “Nowalayme down to sleep…”

They smiled, glad for the chance to clarify but likely dismayed over my confusion. “Nowalayme” was not a word they said, but actually four words: “Now I lay me.”

They explained the rest of the prayer, which although comprised of words I knew, were strung together to form meaningless phrases.

They taught me this prayer and I recited it as a nightly ritual. While I memorized their words and repeated them as instructed, I knew not what I said.

I wonder if I still do this, but in a more adult way. Have I repeated the same words so often that they no longer hold any meaning?

Do they flow forth with polished practice and devoid of thought? Do I merely repeat the phrases others have prayed without considering the meaning behind them?

To my dismay, the answer is too often “Yes.” When this happens, my prayers today are no different from the “nowalayme” prayers of my past.

True prayer, I must remind myself, is not a recitation of words but a dialogue of substance.

Amen.

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Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: Isn’t it Time for a Coffee Break?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 4, 2013

Isn’t it Time for a Coffee Break? Doing Life Together in an All-about-me Kind of World

By Amelia Rhodes (reviewed by Peter DeHaan

In her new book, Isn’t it Time for a Coffee Break?, Amelia Rhodes shares her journey of connecting with others, to form community and provide encouragement.

Amelia six chapters, cleverly build on coffee metaphors—the aroma of relationships, brew a strong cup, the variety of blends, and so forth, using narrative to show the value of pursuing deeper friendships.

Her personal experiences add delightful flavor, while her ample use of scripture provides valuable external support. Life is better when shared.

Although written from a female perspective, Coffee Break, offers application for both women and men. While perhaps more accessible to women, the message may be needed more by men to combat a tendency towards isolation.

Even more so, the lessons of Coffee Break are ideal for couples desiring to work together to form a meaningful faith community with others.

One engaging story is her husband’s desire to use his past pizzeria experience to host monthly homemade pizza parties for their growing network of friends. He plans to make the crust (his specialty) and supply the sauce and cheese.

Everyone else brings his or her favorite toppings. They will make homemade pizzas, share food, spend time in community, and connect their friends.

The first event is “mayhem,” but everyone returns the next month and continues to do so for the next few years until Amelia and her family move.

With 25 to 40 people present, half under the age of six, it’s organized confusion, but with the intent of providing hospitality to friends rather than entertaining guests, it’s hugely successful.

Though Isn’t it Time for a Coffee Break? is of practical application to both genders, it’s unfortunately marketed to women.

[Isn’t It Time for a Coffee Break?: Doing Life Together in an All-About-Me Kind of World (Circle of Friends), by Amelia Rhodes. Published by Barbour Publishing Inc. 2012; ISBN: 978-1-61626-887-9; Kindle, advanced reader copy.]

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Bible Insights

Are You Like Noah, Moses, or Neither?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 3, 2013

To Noah, God said I will destroy the earth. But God had a plan to spare Noah and his family. Building an ark didn’t make sense and required years of hard work, but Noah obeyed God’s instructions and survived the great flood.

We applaud Noah for his obedience to God.

To Moses, God said I will destroy these people. He promised to make Moses into an even greater nation afterwards.

If I were Moses, I’d readily receive God’s words, both getting rid of the people who continually caused him grief and the part about making Moses into a nation.

Moses, however, didn’t accept what God said. Instead, Moses sought to change God’s mind—and he did.

We greatly admire Moses for his boldness.

May we obey like Noah and be bold like Moses.

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Peter DeHaan News

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