Read Great Books, Part 2

I remember going on campuses, early on, when I taught and coached, and people asking me hard questions, and peeling through Evidence That Demands a Verdict, by Josh McDowell, and trying to figure out in outline form for how to answer hard questions. I remember Mere Christianity, and being introduced to C.S. Lewis, that great contemporary of Tolkien. And in Mere Christianity, you get the mind travel of C.S. Lewis, who is this brilliant agnostic who taught English literature at Oxford, and his journey of becoming a Christian, and the rational basis for “why” – this sense of “ought,” this sense of “should,” this sense of morality in all cultures.

See, there are books that God has provided for us, and for you, that can change how you think. Are these easy books to read? No. Are they always fun books to read? No. Do you realize how many of your contemporaries and fellow workers – we all think we have got to have an expert somewhere to explain things. I believe God wants us to read books that sharpen your mind. Reasons to Believe by Norm Geisler is another example.

We read books, first, that broaden our world. Second, to sharpen our mind. And, third, read great books that inflame your heart. That inflame your heart. I remember the first book, ever, to inflame my heart was E.M. Bounds. It was called: The Power of Prayer. Don’t read that one, unless you’re, psychologically, in a good state of mind. In the early part of his book – this guy has written a zillion books on prayer, and all of them, when you get done, you just want to wilt and say, “I am so guilty. I am so lacking. I am such a spiritual worm.” But it's kind of good for you. Just not too much.

But he says, in that book, “What the world needs is not more men, not more money, not more machinery, not even people who think about prayer, not people who talk about prayer, not people who can explain prayer. What God is looking for is men and women who pray, who really pray, who believe that God is real, and bring the needs before Him, and believe that He will answer. That is what God's looking for.” It is the hardest discipline in the world. Because I believe prayer is the barometer of genuine humility. And my self-sufficiency, and my honest evaluation of how much I need God, or don't need God, can be measured by the quantity and the quality of my prayer life.

And what I learned was, prayer is about a relationship. What I learned was, God wanted to meet with me. It's not about duty. It's not about being a soldier. It's not measured, always, by how long, and what you do and this and that. It's about my heart, and that I need to block off time, and I need to be disciplined.

I remember Andrew Murray, a tiny, little book, The Beauty of Holiness. I don't have a lot to say about this one, other than, have you ever thought of God being humble? I still remember – I don't know what it was – maybe I didn't like to read, so all the books I read were almost all really thin paperbacks. It had an aqua cover, and it had the picture of a shell that was real shiny, with the pearl in the middle of it. And it said, The Beauty of Holiness.

And the book was simply about the majestic, awesome beauty of the King of all the universe, and how beautiful it is that He took on human flesh, and what it would be like to need never serve a person, but to choose to lower yourself and serve. And the book said, “The greatest delight, the most Godlikeness you can ever be, is when you understand humility is a sacred privilege, where you get to follow in the steps of Jesus.”

And, you’re talking about a highly-driven, “I want my way; I'm going to do my thing – by the way it's nice to have God on my team” attitude. And that just, it inflamed my heart. It cut to my soul.

Calvary Road is a book that says, basically, the Christian life is a journey to the cross. You must die. Remember the words of Jesus? You don't hear them preached all that much. “If any man will come after Me, let him” – what? – “deny himself, take up his cross” – how often? – “daily.” Why do you take up a cross? It wasn't a religious symbol, even for the first three, four hundred years of the Church. It's an instrument of death.

“Take up your cross,” your will, your agenda, your dreams, your “got to have it your way” – “take up your cross and die, daily, and come follow Me.” And that little book is the journey, with the great ray of hope at the end that says, “Unless you die to yourself, you never experience resurrection life.” See, there's never a resurrection without a death.

Well, I've put a couple other titles there that have been helpful to me, and maybe The Pursuit of God, or True Spirituality, will be ones that will be helpful to you. But let me go to the fourth one. We read great books that, first, broaden our world, then they sharpen our mind. Third, they inflame our heart. And fourth, to develop your skills.

I was not a Christian. And I’m not necessarily recommending this book; it’s probably out of print. But what I want you to get is: read books that develop your skills. I didn't know how to be a dad. I had a really nice mom and dad; they just weren't Christians.

And here, all of a sudden, now I'm a dad, and I've got two little boys. I don't know how to have family devotions. I don't know how to pray with them. I don't know how to discipline them. And there was a little book called The Christian Family, by Larry Christenson. And I just read it, and I did what it said. It must be a good book, because I've got great kids, and a great wife.

Communication: Key to Your Marriage. My dad and my mom weren't believers. Theresa's parents, as she grew up, weren't. Her dad was an alcoholic. My dad was an alcoholic. So, people say, “We've got baggage.” Well, we've got baggage. I think that's why, when I speak on marriage, and parenting – I think the reason it resonates, on the radio, is, people say, “Now, that guy's really messed up, just like me. Maybe there's hope.”

But I think that's how God ministers, out of our weakness. But we sat down with Norman Wright's book, Communication: Key to Your Marriage, and we read it, chapter by chapter, did the questions at the back – which I hated. I don't read directions, either.

And then, we sat down and talked about it. And then, he came out with another book. It was sickening – more Communication: Key to Your Marriage. And so, we went through that one.

You have to develop skills. I didn't know how to communicate. I didn't know how to express anger. I didn't know how to do any of the kinds of things you're supposed to, as a dad, or as a mate. But you know what? God has produced great resources to help people like us, whether it's your marriage, or whether it's parenting, or, for me, learning to lead.

The CEO of FedEx, Fred Smith – his dad was a pastor in a tiny, little Methodist church. He wrote a little book, called Learning to Lead, for pastors – it’s like gold. Another book that I read, The Effective Executive – it wasn't a Christian book, but you're a pastor and, all of a sudden, something starts to grow. I didn't have a clue, the difference between being efficient versus being effective. Peter Drucker's little book, The Father of Modern Management – man, that is just a little gold book about developing skills to lead your life well.

And then, Basic Theology, by Charles Ryrie, is just something that, I want to develop my skills, where I can think theologically, think through the issues of salvation, think through the issues of Christology. Big word, but we could use a few of those. Everyone's so apologetic: “I don’t want to use a big word here. People won't understand that.” We've figured out how, in the last twenty-five years, to dumb down the Church so low, we don't have anybody that thinks theologically. We don't have people that recognize air. You're leaders; you're people of influence. We need to develop our skills, broaden our minds, inflame our hearts. How do you do it? You read great books.

The fifth type of book is: read great books that heal your soul. Heal your soul. I was on an airplane, and really wrestling with a big decision about whether to marry Theresa. Some of you know our history and our background. It was really big. And I have learned to relate to people pretty well, but I learned, in looking back, the reason I learned to relate to people pretty well is because I was so fearful of rejection, I could sort of read groups and figure out. So, the tough guys, you're supposed to act tough, and to the parents, you're supposed to be the all-American boy: “Ma’am, sure good to see you. Yes, Cindy Lou will be home right on time.” And the basketball guys, in the locker room, “Hey dude. Get out of here. Get out of my way.” So, I could figure out how to act with whoever. And I was just a chameleon, and I was a people pleaser.

And now, I had the biggest decision of my life, and I had one group of people saying, “We think you ought to do this,” and another group of people I respected doing this. And then, I'm just going, “Ugh!”

And what I realized was, instead of making a decision based on God's Word, and what the Scripture said, I did all this study, it was really pretty clear. I was so afraid of disappointing people, and being rejected, that I didn't have the sheer courage to step up and be a man, and make a decision and say, “You know, if this is right, good. And if it's wrong, Lord, I want You to know, when we get to the Judgment Seat of Christ, I'm going to step right up to the plate, and I'll receive whatever You want to give me, bad or good.

But there's a time when you can't ask everyone else what you ought to do. There's a time where it all doesn't line up and get really easy. There's a time where you be a man, you be a woman, you trust God, based on everything you know, and you take a step of faith, and you don't care, with holy regard, about what other people think. And that little book, The Ins and Outs of Rejection, by Charles R. Sullivan, is what I was reading on the plane, on my way to California to a conference, when I realized, That's the issue in my heart, and God gave me clarity. But He began to heal my soul.

Another book – again, probably out of print – is called The Strong and the Weak, by Paul Tournier. He's a Swiss psychologist, a believer. The thesis of the book is, everyone in the world is desperately insecure.

I read that book, and I thought, Everyone's wearing a mask, so, what the heck. I just think I'm going to rip mine off. What you see is what you get. You like it, you like it. You don't, you don't. I've learned, who I am in Christ is what matters. What He thinks of me is what matters. And when people power up, I can kind of look beyond that and say, “Boy, I've sure done a lot of that myself,” and have compassion.

And when people are shrinking back, you can say, “You know something?” You can put your arm around them, and also challenge them to say, “I don't want to be critical here, because I know you tell this story, and it works for a while because you get a lot of affection and attention, but sweetheart” – or “brother” – “what you need to do is get your eyes off yourself."

See, there are books that can heal your soul. In my forties, I think – late thirties and forties, especially, I think you go through a time where you start – you know when your kids are starting to get older, and your parents are starting to get older, and you're right in the brackish water – the salt water and the fresh water. You’re at that stage of life where your kids are getting older, and you're trying to figure out about parenting, and all of a sudden, your kids are starting to say and feel some things that you've felt about your parents, and your parents, right now, are not looking really near as dumb as they did about ten years ago. You know that place you get? And then, you're working through some identity issues, and then you realize, Gosh, my dad wasn't perfect. My mom wasn't perfect.

And sometimes, depending on your background, you can spend anywhere from a decade, or a decade and a half, internally, even if you do not do it not externally, you can whine about all that you didn't get: “My dad never told me he loved me.” “I came from a very difficult family.” “My mother and I didn't really bond and connect.” “My sister did this, and we did that. And this happened, and this happened.” And you can spend a lot of energy focusing on all that you didn't get. And there is a period of a time when you need to get a window, and get some insight, but, boy, that's a bad way to live. It's a very unfruitful way to live.

And I remember reading Nouwen's book on the prodigal, and Abba Father by Brennan Manning. And those two books have one very simple message: God loves me, and God loves you, at this very moment, as much as you will ever be loved, ever, ever, ever. There's not something you could do to get Him to love you. There's not something you could do that will stop Him from loving you.

He doesn't love you “if,” and He doesn't love you “because.” While you were yet a sinner, He loves you. You are the object of His affection. And as you read, and grow in Christ, what you'll find, especially among those who've spoken much about the spiritual life, and growth – it all boils down to receiving and accepting the unconditional love of God as your real, own identity, and then having the freedom, because of that, to love and accept other people. And we all wrestle with that. And those are issues.

Every family – they talk about families, and dysfunctional families. My theory is, there are really, really dysfunctional families, not quite so dysfunctional families, and mildly dysfunctional families. And that has all of us. So, everybody's got issues. So, you need to read books that will heal your soul.

And, finally, what I want to say is, first and foremost, read the Bible. Don't ever let books written by men substitute the Book written by God. Set your mind on the things that are above. Allow your mind to be renewed. This Word, Moses would say, is your very life. “Man will not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Father.” This isn't, read a chapter to keep the devil away.

This isn't, have a little list so that you've done my devotionals, and check that off. “Let's see. I've worked out. I took my juices that are good for me. I've read my Bible. I've prayed my twelve to fifteen minutes.”

No, this is about, this is about God saying, I sent My Son, and you, now, as My child, have My Spirit in you. And I will take that Spirit that bears witness with your spirit, that cries out to Me, “Abba, Father,” and I will take the written Word, and I will allow it to become, in your life and experience, the living Word.

And the God who spoke, and all the world and all the galaxies came into existence, invites you, and invites me, and He will speak to you. And He will encourage you. And He will share things from His Word, and they will leap off the page, at times, that will so convict you that you’ll just – there have been times that I've just thought, Lord, I've been a Christian thirty years now. That attitude is so ugly. I didn't think I was capable of that bad of an attitude and a thought. I have so far to go. And there’s other times where you will open it, and you will hear God's voice, through his Word, love you and affirm you, when there's no other person that understands, in ways that will be beyond your wildest dreams. And He'll guide you, and He'll direct you.

Read great books. Why? Because you don't want to be conformed to this world. You want to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that your life could prove, or demonstrate, what the will of God is, that which is good – I want a good life – that which is acceptable, that which is well pleasing.

You’ll notice, I've put some very practical steps, because some of you are going to say, “There wasn’t all that much Scripture in this one.” Next session. Because what I wanted to do, what I know is, you're not going to read thirty books next month. You need a plan. You need to get on the right path, and the right journey. So, four suggestions. One, begin with a regular time in the Bible, in a version you can understand. If nothing else comes out of this, say, “I'm going to start in the Bible, at a regular time, in a version I can understand.”

Number two, use a resource that will provide some structure, understanding, and additional insight. And if this sounds like a commercial, it could be construed that way. But it's a commercial, because we love people. I read The Daily Walk for the first ten or fifteen years of my Christian life. Through the Bible in a year. Through the Bible in a year. Through the Bible in a year. I don't know about you – who are the Hittites, anyway? Who are the Hezubezubezerites, and the Jebusites? And what was happening with the – I don't know any of that stuff!

But, here, you have a tool that – “Oh, so that’s what was happening in history, and so that's how it's broken up. And there's something specific for me. And now, a regular, ordinary people, like me, and you, and Daws, and Cameron, and Hudson, can just grow, and be who we're supposed to be, and we get some help from some resources.

Third, don't be overwhelmed, but develop a plan to read one book every month or two. I don’t want you going away feeling guilty, and overwhelmed, and, “I turned on the TV. Oh, I’m a sinner! I’m a sinner! I remember what Chip said.” Now, if you are, turn it off more, okay? I don't want to interfere with what God's speaking to you. But what I want you to do is say, “I'm going to start substituting media for some meat, some intellectual, spiritual, psychological, mind-renewing, God-ordained meat. And I'm going to enjoy it.”

And that’s the final one: enjoy the journey. It is not about how many books you read. It is about how deeply the books you read sink into your life.