Here's What You Missed - Awakening, September 12, 2012

If you weren't in Awakening last night, here is your quick recap of the night's events.

• Announcements: Money for Awakening Fest ($30) is due THIS SUNDAY! Please give the money to Miss Cheryl. See You At the Pole is two weeks away. I hope you are making plans to be there. Don't forget that Youth Alive is this Sunday at 5 p.m.
• Missions Trip: We are taking a missions trip to Pittsburgh in June 2013. Applications were distributed. Please take some time (a lot of time) to pray over the application and talk/pray with your parents about the trip. The cost is $350, but do not let money be the reason you don't go on the trip. Applications are due October 14. If you did not get an application, see Pastor Jonathan. We also watched a video of the trip in Pittsburgh last year.
• Bible Study: We continued our study "Life in 6 Words" with Our. This was a discussion of our role in the mutiny called sin and how all of us are responsible for sinning. Greg and Prop did an excellent job of explaining the concept of "federal headship."
• Next Week: We will continue to study "Life in 6 Words" with Sins. Our memory verse is Romans 3:23.

Can't wait to see you next week in Awakening!

Book Review - Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris

If I can be honest, I had little knowledge of Joshua Harris. My limited interaction with him was watching a group of students read I Kissed Dating Goodbye when I was in college. The mean-spirited part of me joked that they kissed dating goodbye because they weren’t going to get kissed anyway, so it was no big loss. I was vaguely aware of other books that he had written and I knew that he had a church relatively close to where I live, but that was it.

I had the opportunity to read Dug Down Deep: Building Your Life on Truths That Last and I am very glad that I did. This book is a combination of autobiography and entry-level theology text. Harris shares a number of stories from his life growing up and shows how each of these events led to him digging and building his life on the elements of the Christian faith. Given the “celebrity” status that Harris has, you would think that he either lived a completely perfect Christian life or that he was a reprobate sinner who experienced a miraculous conversion. Neither is the case. Harris had a fairly typical Christian life growing up, one that was, unfortunately, void of much doctrinal training. Throughout the text, he shares how he came to understand that doctrine was not dry and boring or a weapon to bludgeon others with. It was the key way that we come to know and experience God.

As I was reading the book, I found myself constantly stopping to share quotes from it on Facebook and Twitter. As I said above, it is an introduction to systematic theology, barely scratching the surface on a number of the elements. The ones that are covered include Jesus, the Bible, the Holy Spirit, salvation, and the Church. And while it is an entry-level book, there is enough meat to satisfy the reader and cause him to be hungry for the "meatier" texts that Harris references throughout.

Joshua Harris is an incredible writer. I found myself devouring the book and looking forward to when I could sit down to read it again. As a youth pastor, I am now contemplating how I can incorporate the ideas from the book into our weekly youth group Bible study. At the bare minimum, this book will definitely be found on the top of a recommended reading list.

It should be noted that a copy of Dug Down Deep: Building Your Life on Truths That Last was provided to me by Waterbrook Multnomah in exchange for a review. I was not required to give it a positive review, even though the book warranted one.

Book Review - The Christian Zombie Killers Handbook by Jeff Kinley

I recently had the opportunity to read The Christian Zombie Killers Handbook: Slaying the Living Dead Within by Jeff Kinley. I firmly believe that this book was written to cash in on the current popularity of zombies, but that does not take away from the serious nature of the book. I am a big fan of The Walking Dead comics by Robert Kirkman, so reading this book was an easy choice.

I will admit that I was not the target demographic for this book. My belief is that this book would be best used by a youth group or college Bible study. However, as a youth pastor, I can see the benefit of the book. The book is broken into two parts. The first part is a fictional story of two brothers who live in a world overrun by zombies. Society is attempting to exist and function as normal, but there are more and more attacks each day. This section of the book is exciting and informative. Unfortunately, as zombie stories must go, it is also filled with tragedy and death. The story is certainly not for the squeamish.

The second part of the book serves an introduction to several theological terms that Christians need to be acquainted with. I am currently working on memorizing Romans 6 and many of the ideas presented by Paul in this chapter were touched on by Kinley in the book. Again, given the “zombie” nature of the book, this is probably not a book for everyone. Kinley uses the zombie motif to his advantage, at times using the grotesque in order to make his point. One particular example deals with taking a trip into the depths of our soul to see the absolute darkness of our sin nature.

Given the graphic nature of the material, I would not recommend this book to everyone. However, the material is too important to be ignored. Usually theological matters are ignored. The Christian Zombie Killers Handbook serves as an excellent tool to introduce some to the devastating effects of sin.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”