Legends, fables, and history blend together without any sense of direction in most discussions and writings about the 5th Century “Apostle to the Irish.” In this new book from the Christian Encounters series entitled Saint Patrick by Jonathan Rogers, however, there is a literary excellence accompanied by scholastic caution and a concern for spiritual edification. In other words, I’ve yet to run across any book about Patrick that does so well. Dr. Rogers begins with the hazards of researching writing on Patrick but launches into the biography with the things we do know about him, both certainly and questionably, with several “sidebars” in the realm of lore.

The work is as complete as it can be, insofar as things directly relate to a biographical sketch of Patrick, his life and ministry. Rogers’ concern for Patrick’s spirituality and sense of calling are clearly at the forefront of his orientation, and, it would seem, based on Patrick’s writings (contained in Appendices A & B), they were for Patrick as well. Representing this British Paul carefully and honorably is certainly accomplished by Rogers and anyone who is in the least intrigued by Patrick would benefit from reading this book in whatever format they may.

The Liberating King has come! Repent and receive and so enter His Kingdom and the renewal of all things! These are biblical teachings. They are at the core of the Gospel and yet we so often miss the urgency of this message. Many times, this is due to the familiarity we have with the typical style of English Bible translations. Those involved with The Voice, however, are seeking to be true to the text and reflect the inherent creativity of the Spirit of God and the diversity of His ordained human authors, through whom He communicated to us.

In reading The Voice New Testament (for the purpose of this review, the Gospel of Matthew), I found in it a tremendous supplement and devotional translation that is, in the main, faithful to the text (a functional translation somewhere between NIV and The Message). It has many unique features to commend it and while I wouldn’t use it as a primary translation for serious study, I am, thus far, convinced that it would be beneficial for use by Christians in every stage of spiritual development. So, for what it sets out to do, I would give it a five star rating.

Pastors Mark Driscoll and James MacDonald recently visited Haiti to encourage and support the Church there. I would encourage you to watch this and see what is happening there and to encourage people to generously give to support the work of God in Haiti.

In today’s churches, where there is a surge in the calls for music ministers and worship leaders and a number of pastors and churches dealing with questions of what worship is and what it should look like, Dr. Vernon Whaley’s Called to Worship: The Biblical Foundations of Our Response to God’s Call may come as an answer to prayer for some. Literally deriving principles for worship from the books of Scripture, Whaley attempts to provide a “full-Scripture” framework for understanding worship. Does he succeed?

Dr. Whaley’s desire is commendable. His concept of how it should be done is also good. My sense, is, however, that this book is more influenced by his Baptist roots than an informed exegesis and understanding of Hebrew or Greek (there are a number of “errors” in the language references). This is not to say that his principles for worship are wrong, but they are wrongly derived. It would be my hope that some would benefit from this book and others, seeing its weaknesses, would write a more sound, exegetically-responsible biblical theology of worship. If you’re looking for valuable reading on worship, Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin would be my recommendation.

“Where you at school?”

“Geneva College.”

“What’re you studying?”

“Christian Ministries”

“That’s wonderful. What year are you?”

“I’m in my senior year.”

“Oh, that’s great. What’s next?”

“We’re…uh….working on that.”

What you read above has become a familiar conversation in the last several months. If you’re like most other college students out there, you’ll face this question sometime in your life – whether it’s graduating high school, trying to get your kids to graduate high school, or some other so-called “stage” in life. It’s such a great question to ask, but a terrifying one to find yourself in a position of answering. I don’t know why we think it’s different for everyone else when we ask it, but we do and many of us, though we may state with confidence what we are pursuing can rarely, when the day draws near, state the “next step” with the kind of certainty we’d like.

And I know a lot of Christians, myself included, who don’t like that. The weakness in me wants to call out “Unfair!” The childishness in me insists on seeing what is above me, beyond me, and too much for me to handle. Oh sure, we come up with a lot of “helps” to deal with that problem, too: tests that will pinpoint our star career field or who we’re most compatible with, desperate pursuit of supernaturally-given knowledge and direction, the counsel of every pastor and wise(r) person we can find. We spend so much time trying to figure out the future – even the immediate future, that it’s almost become a characteristic of young evangelicals.

I’m not here to say we need to pay more attention to the present. That’s both another issue in and of itself, as well as yet another weak attempt to clear the mist. The fact is, looking at your feet when you’ve no idea where you’re going isn’t going to cut it. What I am here to say is that God has not given us 20/20 foresight, impeccable discernment or all the resources to make the best decision possible at every possible point in time. And that’s okay. It’s infuriating to our weakness, but it’s okay.

So, what to do? I’m not sure that there is a one-size-all answer to that question. But I know sitting by and waiting for all the ambiguities, shadows, mists, and distant points to clear up is not faithfulness. It’s not what God’s called us to. It’s not pressing on. In his letter to Jewish exiles, James the brother of Jesus wrote the following exhortation:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (James 4:13-17 ESV)

Again, I have no 12-step process. I don’t think God’s given us that sort of outline. But James has given us the boundaries of faithfulness: be humble, be submissive to the Lord’s providential will, and do it. And if you don’t, you will know the guilt of your sin in failing to act on the time – this life that quickly vanishes – that God has given you to glorify Him.

If you think that this puts all the burden on you, we have something more for us: the promise that God has guaranteed His glory, guaranteed the harvest, and guaranteed the redemption of all that He bought with His blood:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:26-32)

I’d be willing to walk a far distance for A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life. In a stroke of writing genius, Donald Miller has given people a challenge far more imperative than The Purpose Driven Life and other similar books. While reflecting on the process of adapting one of his previously published books for the silver screen, Don discovered something about life: it’s really a story and it really needs to be a good one, and if we don’t have a good story in our lives, we’re profoundly (and rightly) dissatisfied. So, Don wants his readers to get a better story.

I enjoyed A Million Miles from the first page until the last page of the acknowledgments. The challenge is provocative and vital. The approach is transparent and humorous. The satisfaction from reading is high. A prayerful reader will benefit greatly from pondering and reflecting about the story that they are telling with their lives. Are you living a good story? Are you the character that God has called you to be? Don won’t answer those questions for you, but he does give you the chance to find out for yourself.

Fear defines much about us as human beings. We’re afraid of so many things: the consequences of sin; of ourselves; of what errors we might make; of finances, of catastrophe. It is a part of the human condition. It’s part of what Jesus came to defeat. That is precisely what Max Lucado sets out to confront in Fearless. Working through the nature of fear, and the different kinds of situations that we face fear as sinners, parents, people who aren’t in control, and victims of circumstance, Lucado points the reader again and again to Jesus and the power of this great Savior Who dealt with our sin – the very source of fear.

I very much admire the approach that Lucado takes in this book. This book is seasoned with grace, appropriate levels of humor and the ever-present reality of what our fallenness has done to us. He does well to tell the reader, certainly with a communicative charm, that if they are fearing, they are not giving Jesus His due and the attention and trust that He has shown conclusively and decisively that He deserves. This is a helpful resource for meditating on Jesus’ defeat of our fear.

Stephen Covey is a well-known motivator and encourager. His books, speeches, and presentations have dominated the world of self-help resources. So what about Everyday Greatness? Covey remains in his traditional stream of thought, but presenting stories and pithy proverbs to demonstrate attributes that he believes are characteristic of great people (charity, integrity, patience, etc.). Yet, his approach is informed by a faulty understanding of people (that we are basically good) with a faulty ambition for life (be the greatest you can be) and will ultimately lead to a faulty end (failure and emptiness).

While aiming to help people, what Covey has written essentially provides a Book of Virtues for “happy-addicts.” In other words, he is telling the reader “You’re a good person who wants to be happy. These are some inspirations to take that goodness and make you great, so that you’ll be really happy!” That may be the logic of the world, but in the life of the Christian disciple, this sort of thinking lacks grace, Biblical standing, and will ultimately only produce bad fruit. The discerning reader would look, instead, to Jesus Christ and find true greatness (Philippians 2).