On a blog I follow there was a drawing for a free book. I’m all about books and it’s even better when they’re free. To enter, I needed to share “what the theological vision for your church is in two sentences or less.”
Now the word “theological” repels me, even though theology is simply “the study of God”—and God captivates me.
Pushing that aside for a chance at a free book, here’s what I posted:
“Church isn’t about message or music; those are often distractions or settling for less than the best.
“True church is about community, where we are all priests, with each one giving and receiving, mutually edifying and encouraging one another on our faith journey.”
There was more, but I had to shorten it to two sentences. I like what I wrote; it resonates with me and communicates my deepest passion.
What I penned was a greater reward than the book I won.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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Warfare Prayer: How to Seek God’s Power and Protection in the Battle to Build His Kingdom
By C. Peter Wagner (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)
The subtitle of Warfare Prayer is How to Seek God’s Power and Protection in the Battle to Build His Kingdom. The book is the first in Wagner’s trilogy series entitled, The Prayer Warrior.
Wagner’s purpose of the book is to address “strategic-level spiritual warfare and the warfare prayer necessary to engage it,” (p 12).
To set the foundation for his teaching, Wagner identifies three levels of spiritual warfare. The first is “ground-level,” which is essentially “deliverance ministries.”
The second, “occult-level,” takes things beyond “ordinary demons,” stepping things up a notch.
The final level, the most ominous, is “strategic-level,” confronting territorial demons.
This is the focus of the book, (p 16-19). It is these territorial demons that control entire areas, keeping them under bondage and thwarting evangelistic efforts.
To effectively go into the world for Jesus, often the territorial demons must first be identified, confronted, and overcome. “The real battle for effective evangelism,” Wagner notes, “is a spiritual battle,” (p 37).
Although Wagner’s formal training and education did not prepare him for this, time in the mission field did confront him with the reality that the enemy was at work, effectively opposing outreach efforts in many areas.
To elucidate readers, Wagner fills Warfare Prayer with personal experiences regarding the existence and power of territorial spirits, then backing these encounters with scriptural support.
After identifying the reality of territorial demons and providing sound biblical support, the last three chapters of the book offer practical instruction on how to optimally move forward.
First, Wagner teaches how to name and map territorial principalities and powers.
Then Wagner advances six rules to effectively engage in warfare prayer. He concludes by detailing the pitfalls to avoid. Failure to avoid these common traps can have serious and even deadly consequences to the spiritually weak, naive, or careless.
The practice of warfare prayer is not for everyone, but everyone should be aware of it. Warfare Prayer was written in 1992 and has admirably withstood the test of time, proving to be as valuable now as it was then.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
In the Bible, it was common for Jesus to invite people to follow him. That’s simple enough. Anyone can do that. Does this give them eternal life?
But sometimes Jesus would give a different instruction. For example, he told one very wealthy man to give away all his money and possessions, not ten percent, not half, not even 90 percent, but all.
That’s not so simple or so easy.
Some people assume this means the man was putting his trust in his money and as long as he trusted money, he could never fully trust Jesus.
I get that and agree with that: anything that’s more important to us than Jesus, keeps us from Jesus.
But I wonder if there’s not a different explanation.
The man was trying to earn eternal life. We know we can’t earn our salvation. That’s impossible.
So to make his point, Jesus gave him a seemingly impossible task: give away everything.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon does a lot of whining.
(Don’t get bogged down by his negativity, for he eventually provides some reliable insight in the book’s concluding verses.)
Overall I find it easy to dismiss Solomon’s complaining, but one of his laments does make sense to me. He grumbles about leaving an inheritance to someone who didn’t earn it and doesn’t deserve it.
That’s not fair! And we all want what’s fair, don’t we?
Perhaps not.
Through Jesus, we receive something we didn’t earn and don’t deserve: eternal life.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Mattawan, Michigan, September 24, 2012—Peter DeHaan recently completed a second PhD, this one from Trinity College of the Bible and Trinity Theological Seminary.
The Doctor of Philosophy degree was awarded “with high distinction” and is endorsed by Canterbury Christ Church University, England. It was conferred on June 15, 2012.
“Earning my first PhD was a lifelong goal, which I planned would end my formal education,” stated DeHaan. “But I later felt a prompting to go back for more education, this time focusing on spirituality. The result is my second PhD. This one took longer to realize but is also more rewarding.”
In the course of his studies, Peter researched and completed his dissertation, entitled The Convergent Church: Moving Towards The Unity
For Which Jesus Prayed. He is currently seeking to publish it as a dissertation in order to further academic discourse on the subject, as well as to rework it into a more accessible text that will have greater appeal and wider application.
In the course of working on this dissertation, Peter realized a growing passion to write about spiritual issues. Having now completed his dissertation, he is presently in the writing stages of two books, with several more in various stages of development.
He is also an active blogger, addressing his passion to explore spiritual matters and the Bible; those posts are accessible from his website.
Peter’s first PhD is a Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration, awarded on May 13, 2000.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
When I think about worshiping God, I first think of singing songs to him and about him. Yes, that’s a part of worship, but there’s more.
Next, I think about worshiping God by giving money to him and his causes. That’s another aspect of worship, but there’s more.
Third, I think about worshiping God by performing acts of service. There’s a myriad of ways for this to happen and each can be another facet of worship, but there’s more.
Fourth, I think about worshiping God by creating art. Sometimes art is about him and sometimes it’s for him, creating for the creator. After all, he is the ultimate creator and we are made in his image; therefore, we are made to create.
The problem is I’ve never considered myself a creative person. I’m an analytical guy, logic and structure is how I’m wired, not to create.
God began to change this perspective in me when I attended the Breathe Christian Writers Conference last year. Through the people there, he showed me writing is another way to create art.
Not only is writing a spiritual act for me, but now it’s becoming a creative act, too; one I use to worship God.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Caleb is questioning God, faith, and what he has been taught. “What if we’ve settled? What if Jesus did more than we think?”
Pastor Dave is unnerved by the questions, wanting to give pat evangelical answers—or to dismiss the questions altogether.
Caleb’s friend Anna isn’t helpful either; she is skeptical and antagonistic.
So begins James Choung’s narrative story of a young follower of Jesus who yearns for more. Fortunately, he finds a willing mentor in Shalandra, one of his professors.
She patiently takes him on a spiritual journey to rediscover and reinvigorate his faith.
The good news about Jesus is much more than just about going to heaven when we die; the good news starts here and it starts now.
Shalandra helps Caleb deconstruct the incomplete gospel that he has been taught, rebuilding it on the foundation of Jesus and the whole Biblical narrative, that is, the “true story.”
Although Caleb is a willing traveler on this journey, it is at times too intense, too much for him to absorb, yet he keeps going.
Anna’s a different story. Having rejected Christianity for the hurtful things that some of Jesus’ followers have done, she doesn’t want to hear what Caleb has been learning, even though the causes she is passionate about nicely fit into the “true story.”
Will Shalandra’s tutelage succeed? Will Caleb accept this new gospel of “a Christianity worth believing in?” Can the rift between Dave and Caleb be mended? And what about Anna; will she ever be open to listen?
True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In is a cleverly woven narrative, providing insightful instruction in story form. True Story is ideal for the postmodern thinker who is seeking real answers and practical solutions to their place in this messed up world.
It also aptly serves the modern thinker who wants to understand today’s younger generations.
Either way, if you want to have a Christianity worth believing in, check out James Choung’s True Story.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
The book of Genesis in the Bible gives a concise three-point teaching about sin. This was written about Cain, but equally applies to us.
1. Sin Is Crouching at Our Door
The word “crouch” reminds me of a cat getting ready to pounce on its prey. The situation is ominous.
2. Sin Desires to Have Us
Once the cat leaps for its quarry, there’s little doubt over the outcome. Sin is crouching for us; it is getting ready to leap and destroy us. There’s little we can do—or is there?
3. We Must Master It
Sin is much easier to master beforehand rather than in the midst of it. When it is crouching, the potential for sin is there, but it’s not actual sin; it’s temptation.
We know what to do with temptation and the devil who promotes it. We are to resist.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
I recently went on a prayer retreat. To remove myself from the distractions of the day and my environment, I went to a hermitage. For 48 hours there would be no work, no phones, no Internet, no TV, and minimal talking.
It was a bustle of activity to prepare for this extended time away, bringing my work and my life to a point where I could put them on pause.
Not surprisingly, my mind was still racing as I pulled my car onto the grounds of the retreat center.
A sign said “Begin slowing down.” Aah!
For 48 hours I did just that. I slowed down, I rested, I prayed and mostly listened. It was good, really good, so good that I even delayed my departure.
And when I did, another sign advised, “Return slowly.”
That instruction is easy to read, but hard to do. I liked slow, but it’s evasive, seemingly impossible to maintain in normal life. However, we don’t need to go on a retreat to slow down.
We can make allowances for slowness in our regular life.
I think that’s why God gave us our Sabbath rest; it’s a time we can slow down.
But do we?
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Jane Knuth never set out to help the poor; that wasn’t her plan and wasn’t her calling.
She was merely trying to buy a rosary at the local thrift store—and was frustrated with the whole ordeal—when a spry octogenarian asked her to help them out.
Reluctantly she agreed, but only on a temporary basis, until other help could be found. But what was she to do there? Emptying the trash and cleaning the toilet were the first areas of need mentioned.
However, they assigned her the job of ordering the religious gifts they sell, a task she felt most unsuited for.
Fifteen years later Jane is still volunteering at the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store in Kalamazoo Michigan. Along the way she has become a full-fledged Vincentian—and she has stories to tell.
Her first story was written to share with family and friends, to help them better understand the typical happenings at the thrift store. But it was soon passed around in larger circles and eventually published in a magazine.
More stories followed and a monthly column was birthed.
Along the way, Jane’s faith became deeper and wider as she continued on her journey; it was one that included many unexpected turns and was full of surprises.
Jane volunteers at the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store to help the poor, but they help her too.
Every day they teach her (teaching is a primary precept of the St. Vincent de Paul Society) and their stories, which have become part of Jane’s story, are able to teach us as well—if we will let them.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
