Skip to main content

So-Called Christian





So-Called Christian: Healing Spiritual Wounds Left by the Church by Jim Turner

There is self-destructive spirit within the church today that is doing untold damage to believers of every stripe.  Pastor Jim Turner in his new book, So-Called Christian seeks to explore these wounds that the church has caused its members and move toward a more healing approach to church.  What did Jim miss on his journey as a Christian about the church, namely that, “The most basic truth: that real, Spirit-begotten Love produces Unity among brothers and sisters, and that Christian Unity is the burning passion of Christ (16).” 

Jim places the weight of the disease that is destroying the church not at the hands of liberal education, socialistic governments or Hollywood culture but in the heart of the church itself.  It is suffering from an autoimmune disease (23).  How does this take place?  Jim locates Man’s Sinfulness as primary at the root deterioration of the Church, but also proposes solutions that ‘overcome the effects of the disease,’ and that the gospel gives us hope for a powerful and healthy church (25).  In the appeal for doctrinal purity, some members of the body of Christ have willingly thrown down flaming verbal arrows at other believers, in turn, deeming other believers as the enemy.  The carelessness of our words often causes division among brothers in Christ, therefore, when to speak and what words we use are very important for the purpose of Christian unity (30-31).  One of the bold sections in the chapter Just Ignore It: It Will Go Away points to the perilous road of aligning ourselves to much on one person.  The sections reads, “When we invest too much confidence in a single teacher, we risk clouding our judgment and creating divisions in the body(36).”  I would submit that when we also put too much confidence in one specific doctrine or doctrinal system we run the risk of creating divisions in the body of Christ.  Far more than just our words, our attitudes about these issues create tension, anger, and disillusionment with other believers.

What I really enjoyed about this book is the way Jim brought us around face to face with Jesus concerning unity.  He writes, “The unity of the Church is THE PROOF to the world that God the Father sent God the Son and God the Father loves the world….A unified Church shouts sacrificial love to the world (46-47).”  Later on Jim writes, “To be accepted in the beloved is our undisputed position in Christ (see Eph. 1:1-14).  Living out this practically is our calling (101).”  Our union with Christ pushes us into unity with other believers because we have a kind of hope that does not disappoint, and secondly, our genuine relationship with believers is built on that eternal hope that can never fade or perish. 

Worth mentioning, Jim includes Dr. Norman Geisler’s article in an Appendix, “The Essential Doctrines of the Christian Faith,” (Christian Research Journal, volume 28, number 5 (2005).

Thanks to Ambassador International for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saving Casper

Saving Casper: A Christian and an Atheist Talk about Why We Need to Change the Conversion Conversation by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Casper-Christian-Conversion-Conversation/dp/1414364881 Many readers will quickly know the authors of this book from their previous release Jim and Casper Go to Church.  Jim and Matt’s new book entitled Saving Casper focuses on the way we talk about conversion in the church and the devastating ways we have pushed away atheists and other non-believers by our posture.  Both Jim and Matt traversed the national landscape, meeting in churches and asking hard questions about faith, conversion, and life. The basic premise of the book and travel is laid out here in their words, “Part of what Casper and I are trying to achieve when we speak to a group of Christians is to help people move a little bit on their “judgment meter.”  This capacity, while intellectually and often theologically uncomfortable,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Essential Christian Doctrine

  Essential Christian Doctrine , General Editor John MacArthur Pastor John MacArthur has for years been teaching the Word of God in both pulpit ministry, books, and conferences with an aim to displaying God’s revelation to his listeners in a winsome and foundational manner.  This new book, Essential Christian Doctrine takes an entire life of teaching and preaching and encapsulates the main contours of the Christian faith for its readers.  John in a systematic way highlights the most necessary teachings from Scripture including God’s Word, the Trinity, while also including sections on Man and the Future. One of the most helpful ways the authors bring to light biblical truth and theology is the way in which they group together particular themes.  In the section on the Holy Spirit, instead of a complex discussion of personhood, word pictures of the Holy Spirit are introduced in a discernible and profitable manner.  The metaphors for the Holy Spirit include fir...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wisdom for All

Interpreting the Wisdom Books: An Exegetical Handbook by Edward Custis Among the many wonderful books on the OT wisdom literature, this fine new book helps the reader interpret, exegete, and apply God’s Word to his people in succinct and helpful way.  The book is laid out nicely with bolded words that emphasize necessary themes in the study of the wisdom books and short chapters that get to the point of the biblical books.  This series of exegetical handbooks is a great treasure for students and pastors because it synthesizes much of the academic work on a biblical book into digestable portions helpful  for preaching and teaching. The opening chapter on the wisdom books brings out a helpful grid for understanding wisdom literature.  Custis writes, “Biblical wisdom, in contrast to Israel’s neighbors, reflects “Yahwistic theology” through its regular use of terms like “fear of the Lord,” its affirmation of God’s providence, and its recognition th...
Post a Comment
Read more