The Gospel Coalition

My buddy Justin Taylor over at the Between Two Worlds blog interviewed me recently about my life, ministry, and my book. Check it out, here.

Those who know me best know that theologian David Wells has had  a huge impact on my thinking over the last 12 years when it comes to the church and our culture. He is, in my humble opinion, one of the most astute observers of present cultural trends in the church today. If you have not read his four books on the church and the modern world, you need to stop what you’re doing right now, go to a bookstore, and buy them: No Place for Truth, God in the Wasteland, Losing our Virtue, and Above all Er’thly Powers. In God in the Wasteland he delivers one of the most inspiring charges I have ever encountered. Read it and be moved:

“I want the Evangelical church to be the church. I want it to embody a vibrant spirituality. I want the church to be an alternative to post-modern culture, not a mere echo of it. I want a church that is bold to be different and unafraid to be faithful…a church that reflects an integral and undiminished confidence in the power of God’s word, a church that can find in the midst of our present cultural breakdown the opportunity to be God’s people in a world that has abandoned God. To be the church in this way, it is also going to have to find in the coming generation, leaders who exemplify this hope for its future and who will devote themselves to seeing it realized. To lead the church in the way that it needs to be led, they will have to rise above the internal politics of the evangelical world and refuse to accept the status quo where that no longer serves the vital interest of the Kingdom of God. They will have to decline to spend themselves in the building of their own private kingdoms and refuse to be intimidated into giving the church less and other than what it needs. Instead, they will have to begin to build afresh, in cogently biblical ways, among the decaying structures that now clutter the evangelical landscape. To succeed, they will have to be people of large vision, people of courage, people who have learned again what it means to live by the word of God, and, most importantly, what it means to live before the Holy God of that word.”

A week ago I had a wonderfully enjoyable on-air conversation with my old buddy Steve Brown. For those who aren’t familiar with Steve, he used to Pastor Key Biscayne Presbyterian Church in Miami. He is now a Professor of Preaching at Reformed Theological Seminary and the author of numerous books. Steve is probably best known, however, for his deep radio voice. He has been hosting both a daily radio show and a weekly radio show for many years. He is the President of Key Life Network and one of the most enjoyable Christians you’ll ever encounter. Listen here as Steve and I chat about life, sin, and my new book, Do I Know God? Enjoy…

I was recently asked to make a contribution to the Newsweek blog. Check it out at the link below:

Newsweek Blog

One of the best ways to keep up with what’s going on in both the world and the church is to read blogs (short for web logs). Here is a list of blogs I visit regularly so that I can stay current. Enjoy…

http://www.theologica.blogspot.com/

http://www.challies.com/

http://albertmohler.com//

http://worldmagblog.com/blog/

http://theresurgence.com/

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/

http://joshharris.com/

I wanted to respond to the many who asked me about my forthcoming book Do I Know God ? (due to be released on August 21st). I thought the best way for me to answer your questions about the book would be to post a portion of my answer to a friend who asked me last week to tell him something about it. This is what I told him:

I wrote the book to answer two basic questions: 1) is God knowable, and, if he is, 2) how can I know that I know God. The bulk of the book deals with this second question. In theological terms, it’s basically a book on assurance of salvation. Sadly, I meet so many people who are confused regarding whether or not they truly know God. In the book I say that if you don’t know God, he wants you to know it. If you do know God, he wants you to know it. The two things God does not want is for you to think you know God if you don’t and for you to think you don’t know God if you do. It’s very sobering, but the Bible makes it clear that we can possess false assurance. Jesus says in Matthew 7 that there are multitudes of people who go through life thinking they know God when in fact they don’t. They enter eternity thinking they will hear “well done good and faithful servant” when in fact they will hear, “Depart from me I never knew you.” C.S. Lewis describes this horrific event as “being banished from the presence of him who is everywhere and erased from the knowledge of him who knows all.” Scary stuff. So I try to identify 6 ways that someone might be deceived into thinking they have a relationship with God when in fact they don’t. And then I move into three ways one can know that they know God: believing God’s promises, loving God’s presence, and obeying God’s precepts. Or, to put it another way, knowing that you know God involves what you believe, what you love, and how you behave. Knowing that you belong to God, having a deep sense of your eternal security, not only provides a sure and steadfast anchoring for your soul, but it radically changes the way you live here and now. There’s nothing more vital, nothing more satisfying, than knowing God and knowing that you know God.

I also wrote this book for pastors. If a pastor would ask me, “Why should I read this book”, I would say, “This book will help you present the Gospel in such a way that those listening won’t be confused about whether or not they know God.” I give some real practical pointers regarding ways in which we as pastors tend to confuse people with some of the things we say and don’t say. It’s imperative, in my opinion, that pastors understand the need to help people rightly identify their spiritual condition. I think this book will help them do that.

You can pre-order it today on www.amazon.com. Please help get the word out.