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Christian Living

I’m Glad I Missed the Sermon

Last Sunday I only made it halfway through the church service. I completely missed the sermon—and it was the best church experience I’ve had in a long, long time.

That’s not to imply I didn’t like the speaker (I do) or that his words lacked substance (my bride gave me a recap, so I know it was good), it’s just that I ended up doing something far better.

Unplanned and unexpected, I spent that time in our church’s prayer room.

I sat with a stranger as she cried incoherent tears, then listening while she shared her anguish, and finally praying for her and giving her a father’s blessing—one she will not likely receive from her own dad but deeply desires to hear.

The service ended, but our time together didn’t. As most people left, we remained. Thirty minutes after the scheduled end to the official church service, we finally stood to leave, my heart breaking for her, but not nearly as much as our heavenly father’s.

I’m neither counselor or clergy. I lack the training to handle things like this. I had no idea what to do, but the Holy Spirit set all this in motion and then whispered instructions each step of the way.

His directions didn’t arrive all at once, but one at a time.

Listen, do, and then wait for his next prompt to arrive—at just the right time.

I wonder how often we miss the best church can offer because we’re content to receive something good. Bound by schedule and status quo, we place song and sermon above hurting people who need someone to listen and pray.

I helped someone last Sunday—and that’s what church should be.

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.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

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Bible Insights

Jesus is God’s Child and So Are We

The Bible says that Jesus is God’s one and only son.

However, God also calls the church his children. How can we be God’s children if he has only one son?

Although the Bible is full of paradoxes—which are hard for modern people to accept but not so difficult for post-modern people and certainly not an issue for ancient people—I don’t think this is one of them.

Another truth may explain this seeming contradiction. One metaphor in understanding our relationship with God is that of a bride and groom, with Jesus being the groom and the church being the bride.

Therefore, by virtue of this union, Jesus, the only son of God, brings the church into his family through marriage, thereby making us, the church, become children of God.

This is just a thought, but it’s an interesting one.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is 1 John 1-4, and today’s post is on 1 John 3:1.]

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.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”

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Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: Multiply

Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples

By Francis Chan and Mark Beuving (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

Many Christians—and the churches they attend—skip the part about making disciples. Though Jesus commanded us to make disciples and modeled how to do it, too often we neglect disciple-making altogether.

Even when we try to make disciples, we often reduce it to a weekly meeting. True discipleship is more. Francis says, “it’s living life together.”

His book Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples seeks to remedy the dearth of disciple-making efforts in the church today. Divided into five parts, Francis moves from living as a disciple maker, to living as church, to studying the Bible.

Then he covers how to understand the Old Testament and finally, the New Testament.

Ironically, the intent of Multiply is to cover the material in a series of structured weekly meetings, despite Francis’s initial criticism that discipleship is more than a once-a-week gathering.

Even so, Multiply is a great instrument to move people forward in the practice of making disciples. But the book is just one tool in the toolbox.

Supporting Multiply is a complementary website, complete with videos, a blog, and additional resources.

As Christians, we need to be disciples who are making disciples. Multiply can help us on our quest.

[Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples, by Francis Chan and Mark Beuving. Published by David C. Cook, 2012, ASIN: B009B246X0, Kindle edition]

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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.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

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Christian Living

Are You Searching for More?

When people in our materialistic society say they want more, they usually mean more money and possessions. But that’s not the kind of more I’m talking about.

A year ago, after Easter, my wife and I slipped away from our church to take a yearlong sabbatical to visit a different Christian church each Sunday.

On Monday morning I chronicled our Sunday adventure in the thread 52 churches, and I continue to post updates.

This Easter we completed our journey, returning to our home church to celebrate Jesus with friends. The reunion was grand; it was glorious.

Though visiting 52 churches in a year was an interesting, engaging, and growing experience, it was wonderful to return home, to enjoy the company of the church that fits us best.

It’s nice to worship with people I know and enjoy community with friends. Yet as good as being at my home church is, I still yearn for more.

Church, as today’s culture practices it, is good (or at least can be good), but my heart deeply desires for more and my soul tells me there is more awaiting discovery: something that is not just good but better.

And just as my heart and soul longs for more, I think God desires the same with us. He earnestly longs for us to seek, embrace, and immerse ourselves into more with him.

I have occasional hints at what more looks like, sensing it in my innermost being.

Going to church is good, but I crave something better. And that something better doesn’t reside in tweaking today’s church service.

It will happen only after we strip away all the layers we’ve added and reclaim an intimate relationship with Father, Son, and Spirit.

Then we can find a better kind of church. More church.

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.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

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Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: Introverts in the Church

Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture

By Adam S. McHugh (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture confirms that slightly more than half the population is introverted. However, the typical church experience is geared towards extroverts.

We should expect this, given that most pastors and worship leaders are extroverts. In addition many of the innately introverted leaders try to act like extroverts.

The result is that half of the laity does not connect—or only partially connects—with what is happening at their church.

Additionally, for the leaders who fit into the introvert category, there is much confusion, frustration, and self-doubt.

Introverts in the Church is written by self-proclaimed introvert Adam S. McHugh, who because of his inborn introverted nature had misgivings about his call to be a minister and subsequent struggles to function as one.

Adam communicates the results of his extensive research on introverts through the lens of his own story and personal experience. This adds a compelling exclamation point to each lesson shared.

Introverts in the Church offers helpful insights for both introvert and extrovert on how the other half of the population functions.

While the content of the book is of great benefit to the frustrated introvert sitting in the pew, its primary focus is on the introvert in the pulpit.

Even so, extroverted or introverted, leader or follower, Introverts in the Church offers valuable insight and practical advice for understanding each other and working together.

[Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture, by Adam S. McHugh. Published by InterVarsity Press, 2009, ISBN: 978-0-8308-3702-1, 222 pages.]

Read more book reviews by Peter DeHaan.

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.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”

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Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: The Rabbit and the Elephant

Why Small is the New Big for Today’s Church

By Tony and Felicity Dale and George Barna (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

Rabbits reproduce quickly and with abundance, while elephants do so slowly and infrequently; this is a metaphor for the church. The established institutional church is likened to the elephant, while the house church is compared to a rabbit.

Noting that house churches (also called simple churches, organic churches, or missional churches) can be started easily and at little expense, they are an effective way of making disciples.

Making disciples, the authors point out, is what Jesus told his followers to do.

He did not say go and plant churches, or even go and convert people, but simple to go and make disciples.

The Rabbit and the Elephant is filled with practical teaching on house churches, which is backed by solid support from the Bible.

To add relevance and make for a convicting and compelling read, ample personal experiences of the authors are included to illustrate points and put real faces on the principles they share.

The purpose of the kind of house church they advocate is not merely to be internally focused, for the benefit and comfort of its members, but for outreach.

The house church is essentially to be evangelistic, making disciples in the process. Towards this end, a simple, nonthreatening, non-confrontational method is offered.

The Rabbit and the Elephant contains 23 short and concise chapters, which effectively build on each other. It also contains a helpful appendix answering commonly asked questions and even the endnotes contain useful insights.

The Rabbit and the Elephant is a “must read” for anyone in or pursuing a house church—or for those in a traditional church yearn for more.

[The Rabbit and the Elephant: Why Small is the New Big for Today’s Church, by Toney and Felicity Dale and George Barna. Published by Tyndale House Publishers Inc, 2009, ISBN: 978-1-4143-2553-8, 233 pages, $17.99.]

Read more book reviews by Peter DeHaan.

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.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

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Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: Divided by Faith

Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America

By Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

Divided by Faith investigates race relations between whites and blacks in the United States.

Although white evangelicals have a well-intentioned desire to end racial inequality, their efforts can—and have—unwittingly serve to do more harm than good, “actually recreating racial divisions and inequalities,” (p 1).

A key issue is that the actuality of racial issues is largely invisible to—and therefore misunderstood by—most white people.

Compounding this is the reality that 90% or more attend a church that is predominately comprised of people of their same race, producing congregational segregation.

This racial isolation exacerbates the tension.

Emerson and Smith give a detailed historical perspective of this issue as it relates to U.S. churches and church activities, specifically from evangelicals.

They then look at the present situation, sharing numerous detailed accounts from the people they interviewed in the course of their research.

The differences in perceptions and understandings of race issues among most whites and blacks are stark and in sharp contrast.

Succinctly, most white people lack the ability to comprehend the reality of struggles and obstacles that most black people face on a daily basis.

For white people, “race is not a focal point in their day-to-day lived experience,” (p 71).

To illustrate the point, Emerson and Smith share a profoundly effective parable that explains this disconnect in a poignant and most enlightening manner (p 110).

A reoccurring discussion in the book is exploring the source of the black/white socioeconomic gap. Is the gap individual in nature (ability and motivation) or structural (education and discrimination)?

Answering this question would provide much-needed guidance in dealing with and overcoming the socioeconomic gap, but the answers are both complex and evasive.

In addition to the book’s many recorded and enlightening personal interviews are numerous facts and statistics produced through research.

As such, much of the book has a formal and academic nature that may unwittingly obscure clear solutions to racial issues in American society, in general, and the evangelical church, specifically.

What is clear is that “good intentions are not enough. But educated, sacrificial, realistic efforts made in faith across racial lines can help…” (p 172). And that is a good place to start.

[Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America, by Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith. Published by Oxford University Press, 2000, ISBN: 978-0-19-514707-0, 212 pages.]

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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.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

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Reviews of Books & Movies

Book Review: Deep and Wide

Deep and Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend

By Andy Stanley (reviewed by Peter DeHaan)

Is your church all that it can be and should be? Do you ever wonder what’s missing or long for more? Are you serving those who are churched or seeking those who are unchurched?

Andy Stanley’s new book, Deep and Wide provides answers to these and other church related questions. His book is part autobiography, part case study, and part teaching—and is fully engaging.

He writes as one who knows, who’s navigated these waters and seen results, affirming the direction he and his team have taken. Deep and Wide, however, is not a step-by-step master plan to promote outreach and generate growth, but instead it’s a narrative.

It’s not a look-at-me self-promotion, but an encouraging you-can-do-it-too practicum.

Andy doesn’t intend for others to replicate what he did, but “to closely examine what you’re doing,” applying and adapting his lessons to your specific church and situation (page 148).

To guide us on our journey, Andy divides his book into five sections, showing us what to expect: 1) “My Story,” 2) “Our Story,” 3) “Going Deep,” 4) “Going Wide,” and 5) “Becoming Deep and Wide.”

Andy asks, “Are you really content to spend the rest of your life doing church the way you’ve always done it?” (page 311). If not, we need to “do stuff that draws the attention of unbelieving people” so we can point them to Jesus (page 313).

To do so, our church needs to spend every dollar “with the one lost person in mind rather than the found ninety-nine” (page 316).

This book is primarily written for ministers, but applies to all church leaders, both paid and volunteer. It’s also for the laity, for all who want to create churches that unchurched people will love to attend.

Read it, apply it, and then do it. Your church will never be the same.

[Deep and Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend, by Andy Stanley. Published by Zondervan. 2012; ISBN: 978-0-310-4948-3; 350 pages.]

Read more book reviews by Peter DeHaan.Save

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.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

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Christian Living

Is There a Connection Between Church and Faith?

I recently read an article where the author lamented, “Young people are leaving the church.” A bit later he wrote, “Young people don’t stick with their faith.”

His implication was that the two statements meant the same thing. They do not—and assuming they do is part of the problem.

I’ve had frequent, ongoing struggles with church as its commonly practiced and church attendance—so much so that I’m writing two books about it. However, my church issues have never challenged or confronted my faith.

In fact, questioning church has strengthened my spiritual convictions, clarifying what I believe and why, confirming what is important and what is distraction.

Yes, young people are leaving the modern church, but not because they’re giving up on God. Rather, they’re giving up on the way we do church.

They’re seeking more than what church is able to give. They want more of God and will do what they need to, even if it means leaving the church to find him.

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.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

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.

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Christian Living

What is True Church?

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.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

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.