Killing Cockroaches

During my vacation in the Bahamas last week, I had the chance to read the latest book from Tony Morgan, Killing Cockroaches. The book is a quick read (I read it in three days) with some pretty insightful information that have great application for leaders in the church and pretty much for anyone doing ministry. Here are some of the key thoughts that grabbed my attention and kept me thinking:

"It is God's church, so I am confident that his intentions will ultimately prevail".

"All leadership comes with responsibility. And even though it's God's church, I have a job to do".

"The only problem is that safety breeds contentment, which ultimately limits the need for faith. We have to find that place of healthy tension between being confident in our calling and knowing that we cannot complete the mission without God's intervention".

"Leaders must battle the status quo. We have to challenge the existing process and identify new methods for fulfilling our mission. Yes, the message is the same, but we live in an ever-changing world".

"At some point we'll all have to give an account for what we've done with our lives and for that which the Lord has given us".

"I've found that knowledge can get in the way. We can get consumed with knowledge. It can slow us down".

"You get to decide where your time goes. You can either spend it moving forward, or you can spend it putting out fires".

"But we learned long ago that to try to make everyone happy, you have to be comfortable with mediocrity".

"It's important that my kids have a great experience. If you can't convince me this will happen, I'm probably not going to risk visiting your service".

"If your church shut its doors today, would your community know it?".

"If you have to manufacture excitement, it's probably something you should stop doing".

This book has really had an impact on me and it has made me rethink about how to do ministry, there are a whole lot more thoughts I got from the book and I will post some more later. I do think that if you are doing ministry or are in any kind of leadership position this is a must read.

The Alchemist

I got this book from my daughter who read it as required reading for her English class. The Alchemist,written by Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho, is the story of a Shepard boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. Santiago is quite content traveling in the countryside with his sheep, and dreaming of the merchant's daughter in the village where he sells his wool. That is until he has a dream in which a child appears one day and is playing with his sheep. Suddenly the child takes him by the hands and transports him to the Pyramids, telling him "If you come here you will find a hidden treasure." He meets a gypsy woman, a man who calls himself the king of Salem and an alchemist on his journey, all of whom point him in the direction of his quest.

Coelho writes with simplicity and directness. The whole novel is only 167 pages long and reads like a fairy tale. Coelho appears to be a new age proponent who in this novel borrows from various known religions to try an ecumenical approach to our journey on this earth. This is a very shallow tale disguised as a deeply spiritual fable. The Alchemist is a conflicting mixture of Christianity, just enough hints at mysticism to make it attractive to New Agers, the most simplistic of self-help guruism, and a random sampling of anything else leaning vaguely toward shallow spirituality.

I'm surprised and annoyed that this book is required reading at my daughter's school especially since it is a Christian school. If you are thinking about getting this book, please, do yourself a favor and steer clear of this inconsequential book.

In a Pit with A Lion on a Snowy Day

A fellow staff member lent me this book. It was written by Mark Batterson who is the lead pastor at National Community Church in Washington D.C. Don't let the funny tittle fool you this is an awesome and inspiring book. The book is based on an obscure passage in the Old Testament book of 2 Samuel (23:29, 30). It centers on the story of an Israelite warrior (Beniah) who encounters a lion in a pit on a snowy day. The plot is that instead of Benaiah running away like most of, if not everyone of us would do, he jumps in to the pit and kills it. Throughout the book Batterson points out that this is the kind of courage that us as Christians must have.

Batterson structures the book on the seven skills he believes will help people chase the biggest lions. The skills according to Batterson are: overcoming adversity, unlearning fears, embracing uncertainty, calculating risks, seizing opportunities, defying odds, and looking foolish.

This book challenged the way I think about faith, and I hope it will find expression in the way I live out my faith. The book is sprinkled with references to pop culture and ancient culture, it digs out Biblical principles and helps us understand their relevance in our everyday live here in the 21st century. But the good thing about this book is that it's not Mark Batterson's story. And it's not Benaiah's story. It is God's story and it is one He wants to write in and through each of our lives.

This book is a fast and funny read, and it will leave you with lots to think about. It made me want to jump out of my chair and start running after God with more intensity and focus than before. It wil make you laugh, it will amaze you, it will inspire you, and it will help you in your walk with God. I give it five stars.

Epicenter

I just finished reading Epicenter, my good friend Pedro Carrion recomend it to me and I am glad he did. The book was written by Joel Rosenberg a Jew who is also a believer in Jesus. Joel in this book analyzes events occurring in the Middle East from what he calls the third lense of Scriptures, in other words he studies the prophesies in the Bible and then applies them to what is happening in the middle East today. He especifically concentrates in the book of the prophet Ezekiel the 38 and 39 chapters. The book is well written and Mr. Rosenberg is a very knowlegeable man.

On a scale of one to five with five being the highest rating , I give the book a solid five. I recomend it to everyone whether Christian, Jewish or Muslim or even atheist, if you want to better understand what is going on in the Middle East and why, this is the book to read.

More Israel Bashing

A few weeks back a book was released titlled "Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid." This book was written by former president Jimmy Carter.

It is difficult to add much to what has already been said about this book. Its factual errors and anti-Israel bias have been exposed by many who truly know and have a deep understanding of the Middle East including some of Carter’s closest associates. One of these is Middle East historian and Emory University professor of Israeli studies Kenneth Stein, who in the ‘80s acted as the first director of the Carter Center, the former president’s non-profit organization. Mr. Stein recently ended a 23-year relationship with the Carter Center because of what he called the book’s “one-sided nature,” and “factual errors, copied materials not cited, superficialities, glaring omissions, and simply invented segments.”

As you will see from the comments below, Mr. Stein is just one of the many, notable voices that are a part of the chorus of criticism for "Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid":

“Mr. Carter repeatedly mentions Security Council Resolution 242, which called for return of captured territories in exchange for peace, recognition, and secure boundaries, but he ignores that Israel accepted and all the Arab nations and the Palestinians rejected this resolution… But you wouldn't know that from reading the history according to Mr. Carter.” Alan Dershowitz, New York Sun

“[Carter] says that the only division of territory that is recognized by the United States and the international community is the pre-1967 Green Line. It is hard to believe that Carter does not know that this claim is simply false… The Green Line is just the 1949 armistice line from the end of Israel’s War of Independence. Neither the United States nor the international community recognized this as the final border between Israel and Jordan.” Ira Forman, Washington Jewish Week

“The demonization of Israel begins with the book's title … Carter's use of (the word “apartheid”) seems aimed at delegitimizing Israel as a South Africa-type state… Had he taken the time to explain, he would have had to mention that Israel has airlifted many tens of thousands of black Ethiopian Jews from misery into new homes. He would also have had to mention that Arabs (in Israel) have Israeli citizenship, vote, and hold office.” David Makovsky, U.S. News and World Report

“In 1990, Carter met Arafat, who told him the PLO never advocated the annihilation of Israel and that it was the Zionists who invented the idea that the Palestinians wanted to drive the Jews into the sea. Carter cites this as if it were undeniable when he could have referred to the PLO charter’s call for Israel’s destruction.” Mitchell Bard, author, Myths and Facts

The list of inaccuracies in this book could go on and on. Carter’s claim that Israel never agreed to accept peace terms at the 2000 Camp David accords is disputed by public record and all eyewitnesses, including chief negotiator Dennis Ross, who said, “on this issue, he’s wrong…everyone is entitled to their own opinion. They’re not entitled to their own facts.” Carter absurdly blames Israel for the Christian exodus from the Middle East, ignoring the fact that Christians living under Muslim rule are subject to all kinds of state-sanctioned oppression and the fact that in Israel they enjoy many more freedoms than anywhere in the Arab world.

In fact, the only good thing I can say about this disturbingly biased book is that it acts as a powerful reminder of how critically important it is, when dealing with the media on any topic, for each and every one of us to know and rely on the facts. The words of a former president carry authority. Someone hearing Carter’s misinformation might accept it as truth unless they know the facts and are able to challenge and correct what is being distorted.

I invite you to join with me this New Year and commit to becoming a well-informed advocate for Israel. The more each of us know about the history of Israel and the Jewish people, and their ongoing struggle for peace, freedom, and security, the better we will be able to counter false information like that found in Mr. Carter’s book. We should always remember that, in the battle for fair treatment for Israel in the court of public opinion, the truth is the best weapon we have because the facts are on Israel’s side.