I’m not sure there really is such a category, but that’s what I read in Joshua Harris’ excellent book, Dug Down Deep: Unearthing What I Believe and Why It Matters. The subtitle describes the premise of the book well. It’s worth being clear on what we believe and precisely how our beliefs matter in real, lived life. That’s what Harris set out to do, and that’s exactly what he relays by God’s grace. You can view a video promotion here.
To say I enjoyed this book would be an understatement. I received it in the mail last Friday, on my way to the bank. I took it out of the yellow-gold shipping package while standing in line at the bank. Harris had me from the first sentence: “It’s strange to see an Amish girl drunk.” Best opening sentence I’ve read in a long, long time. I was intrigued. And that explains why I read the book all weekend, sometimes dipping in for a few pages when I’d normally work on the sermon. It was feeding my soul and exciting ministry ideas.
The book is one part autobiography/memoir and one part systematic theology. The autobiography and very conversational style takes all the ivory tower intimidation out of the “systematic theology.” But the systematic theology puts the autobiography underneath the lofty greatness of God and His truth. If you have people afraid of “theology” or “doctrine,” this is the book to give them. They’ll see how necessary sound doctrine is to understand–not just for its own sake–but also for understanding God and ourselves.
Harris organizes the book into two introductory chapters that really set the stage for the chapters that follow. They trace Harris’ teenage nominalism, conversion, and relationship with C.J. Mahaney. All the while, his life illustrates to this truth: “Doctrine can never take the place of Jesus himself, but we can’t know him and relate to him in the right way without doctrine”(p. 31). And that’s how Harris avoids being narcissistic and self-important; as we read the book, we keep falling through his life right into the lap of Jesus. Unlike too many biographies popular today, Harris keeps pointing us to the truth rather than to himself or away from the truth.
In the next eight chapters, Harris discusses a major Christian belief, how he came to that belief, and/or the difference the belief has made in his life.
Chapter 3, “Near But Not in My Pocket” asks and answers this question: “What do I see about God when I look past my own reflection?” In the end, we find a God too big to be held, but so loving He carries us near His heart.
Chapter 4, “Ripping, Burning, Eating” sounds like it’s a routine for hitting the gym and eating correctly. Which I could have used if Josh had included it; but I’m not sure that’s a fair critique. The chapter centers on the word of God and our encounter with it. “Can you trust what you’re reading in Scripture? Is it clear enough that you can understand what God wants you to understand? Is the Bible all that you need?” Great questions. And Josh points out, “These aren’t questions for pastors and professors; these are questions that every Christian who reads the Bible needs to answer” (p. 68). And that’s why I’m so thankful to have such an accessible volume to give to “every Christian” who wants to know their God.
Chapter 5, “God with a Bellybutton” proves the book is worth the purchase price just for the chapter titles! Here is the center of the book–the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. It’s the Center of the book not because it’s the middle of the chapters, but because Jesus is the theme and substance running throughout. Chapter 5 is the BluRay look at the Savior.
Chapter 6, “A Way to Be Good Again” uses a line from one of my favorite novels, The Kite Runner, to open a discussion of the real meaning of “Jesus died on the cross for my sins.” If you’ve ever struggled to grasp the reality of that statement, to bring it down to your own life and heart, this is a great chapter to consider.
Chapter 7, “How Jesus Saved Gregg Eugene Harris” takes a look a conversion through the personal testimony of Josh’s father. Touching. And a compelling illustration of the power of the gospel.
Chapter 8, “Changed, Changing, to Be Changed” lacks the punchiness of other chapter titles, but contains a walloping discussion of sanctification. Simple message: Don’t feed the flesh; it enslaves. Feed the Spirit. The benefits of Christ’s completed work are often undermined and distorted by a wrong view of Christian sanctification, making sanctification one of the most practically important issues of the Christian life. The cartoons–yes, the cartoons!–should receive some kind of book award! When’s the last time you read either a book on theology or an autobiography that included original drawings from the author? Yeah, I didn’t think so!
Chapter 9, “I Believe in the Holy Spirit” helps us to see the vital necessity of abiding in the Spirit. Josh isn’t the first Charismatic in his family. And he’s not the first Charismatic to eschew the charismania that surrounds us. This is a good treatment of the main things of the Spirit. If you’re one of those charismatics whose “experience is better than your theology” (p. 183), consider this chapter slowly. If you’re a cessationist with no place for the Spirit in your life, consider this chapter openly.
Chapter 10, “The Invisible Made Visible” focuses on the local church. The chapter subtitle says it all: “God’s plan has always been a group plan–he reveals himself through his people.” Josh gives us an honest but lifting look at the church and how she reveals the glory of God to the universe. He calls us to both come into the church and to go out into the world. We’re not just a city; we’re a city on a hill.
Finally, Harris concludes the book with arguably the best chapter, called “Humble Orthodoxy.” I can’t think of a better person to offer definitive thoughts about the combination of humility and orthodoxy. He’s a humble brother who loves his wife and children, who serves faithfully at his churchand beyond, and who promotes the truth. And Josh is all those things precisely because he’s met and been lovingly overwhelmed by Jesus.
When I say the last chapter is the best chapter I don’t in any way mean to suggest the book drops off in the middle. It absolutely does not. You swim along through truth and life like salmon swimming with–not against–the current. But the final chapter is where Harris ties a lot of things together, and where he offers some of the most necessary pastoral help to the reader. While the chapter is not his eschatology, it gives us glimpses into heaven. And while Josh doesn’t pretend to offer anything like “a final word” on this or that, the summations are compelling. Consider, for example:
The solution to arrogant orthodoxy is not less orthodoxy; it’s more. If we truly know and embrace orthodoxy, it should humble us. When we know the truth about God–his power, his greatness, his holiness, his mercy–it doesn’t leave us boasting; it leaves us amazed. It doesn’t lead to a preoccupation with being right but to amazement that we have been rescued.
Genuine orthodoxy–the heart of which is the death of God’s son for undeserving sinners–is the most humbling, human-pride-smashing message in the world. And if we truly know the gospel of grace, it will create in us a heart of humility and grace toward others. Francis Schaeffer, a Christian writer and thinker from the twentieth century, modeled this kind of profound compassion. He genuinely loved people. And as he analyzed and critiqued the culture, he did so “with a tear in his eye.”
That is humble orthodoxy. It’s standing for truth with a tear in our eye.
Ohhh… for more of that in my own life and in the life of every Christian!
At the end of the day, Dug Down Deepis Knowing God in blue jeans and a shaved head. That is to say, it’s a book of classic truth and worth, written for our day. It’s instantly in my top two or three reads so far in 2010. Thank you, Josh, for writing this book!
Take up and read and be edified!
