"Isolation--A Place of Transformation in the Life of a Leader " by Dr. Shelley Trebesch

God often speaks in the context of communities. And sometimes God removes you from your community so that he can say something new to you. Dr. Shelley Trebesch, a past friend and mentor to me, has written the best book I have ever read on how to deal with difficult periods of isolation that happen in all of our lives when God is wanting to do something new in you. She helps explain that God often allows you to voluntarily or in-voluntarily experience periods of isolation because it is the best way for him to grow you and she explains the natural stages that people go through when God is doing this work. She explains that whether you become isolated because of changing jobs, acts of sin, or bad health or other such cases that it is natural for there to be grief and sorrow - a loss of vision and a crippling fear that one might never have the power, influence they once had for the kingdom.

Shelley shares biblical examples of people like Moses, Joseph and David - who God allowed to go through periods of isolation so that he might establish them upon new ground. She also gives some of her own examples and those of ancient and modern origins to help show how some people must often go through two, three or more "Dark Nights of the Soul," within their lifetime - and that these periods are "ok" - and not meaningless - that God is found in just such circumstances.

For me, the book was helpful to gain a greater compassion for people who are seemingly "experienced," Christians but are (frustratingly to me) too incapacitated to engage the battle as active brothers and sisters in arms for the gospel. When I can see "isolation," as a possible active training ground for God's work in others - I can be patient as I love the people who are "grieving," much more than I am about their state in life. I can also remember to help avoid giving poor advice like Job's friends. I can let God complete his work - while walking beside such people - even if it might take months or years.

The book is not an excuse for not engaging in the burden of the cross or for enabling whiny self-indulgent American Christians in their shoe-gazing and moping... but, it does help build a case for God working in the context of periods of solitude when he wants to bring consolation in times of people's desolation.

"Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

I beg you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up (arouse) or awaken love until it pleases. ~Song of Solomon 8:4

"This is the most adult-like, romanced-laced, adolescent-stylized literature I have ever read."
Twilight is supposedly a book written for adolescent kids. If you liked "Harry Potter," then you should also like "Twilight," some have said. Indeed the writing is good, the approach to vampires is creative, it certainly fills in the gap for the post-Harry Potter reading world, and it is written in such a way that young kids (girls in particular) would be able to easily read it without any grammatical difficulty. The talk of vampires and werewolves makes the subject matter interesting to boys, but the "romantic fantasy novel," motif makes it clearly written for older women, or at least teens who have watched too much MTV. So, the characters are teenage boys and girls, the writing is at the junior high level of difficulty, and the audience is young kids - but the writing is highly eroticized.

"It is one of the most well written erotic literary works on abstinence."
More than a few have called this a rather well written parable for Abstinence, as the vampires are "somewhat" resisting their natural impulses to do what vampires do. It is known in most literary circles that the impulses of vampires in literature are often just a "symbolic," metaphor for conjugal relations between men and women. When applied to the storyline of Twilight some have claimed that the book makes a great case for abstinence and how we, as humans, are also able to control our internal and deeper desires when called upon to do so for a noble purpose. However, most of the book comes across as "foreplay," as he first runs his finger along her hand in chapter 3, and later runs his finger along her chin in chapter 5, and next runs his finger along her back in chapter 8, and by chapter 9 he is spooning her in bed as he sleeps innocently (and non-relationally) with her under the guise of keeping her safe, which indeed he is. (These chapter numbers aren't exact, but you get what I mean.) When they kiss in the later section of the book her "blood boils," and you as the reader must decide that if this is a book on abstinence then it is one of the most well written erotic literary books on abstinence of all times.

"These are the most Christian and respectable vampires you have ever read about."
OK, I don't want to ruin the story for you but these vampires aren't like the "mythological" ones you have read about before. They could come out during the day if they wanted to. They aren't afraid of crosses - because one of them is an ex-pastor who has a big wooden cross hanging in his entryway. He is the initiator of a group of "reformed," vampires. In fact, he was a protestant vampire in the 1600's (or something like that) that fought against Catholics. Any-who, he has been dead for several hundred years and learned to love them "humans" and even serve as a doctor in a hospital in Seattle. That's right, a Christian Vampire doctor working with humans, and giving blood transfusions... - now that is self control. That would make for one interesting accountability group. "So, tell me about your week Phil. Did you read the word this week? Oh Good. Now, did you kill any of your neighbors and suck their blood out last week? Oh, I'm sorry to hear about that, we will be praying more for you this week, better luck with that."

Who would this book be good for?
I wouldn't recommend it for any kids under 18 unless you want to "awaken love before it so desires." However, in our highly sexualized society - if you have TV and let your kids watch it - it probably is already too late. But that does not mean that they need one more thing telling them to "turn it on," before they have self control enough to "turn it off," or get married. So, really who is this book good for? If you are a married adult who enjoys adolescent literature, fantasy in the genre of Harry Potter, and rather good romantic writing then you will like this book.

If you fall into any of these categories below you should not read the book because you will not like it, and it will be a stumbling block:

1. You do not think Christians should read any book where there are evil people even if they are doing good things (examples: the wizard Gandalf, the wicked witch in either Harry Potter or the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, or any stories with vampires or werewolves.)
2. If you think anything written by a Mormon is straight from the devil
3. If you are a young girl or boy who is too young to be exploring ideas of sexuality (for the two main characters do discuss having sex, and pretty much struggle with jumping on top of each other all book long)
4. If the thought of your kids reading about a teenage girl purposely drugging herself with cough medicine so she can sleep offends you (Cause this happens in the book)
5. If you really enjoy relations with your spouse, and your spouse doesn't - and romantic-fiction books get you to thinking about locking the master-bedroom door.
6. If the thought of a teenager actually lying to their parent strikes you as shocking or offensive - (This also happens)

In the end you have to decide for yourself what the word of God says about such things. Clearly, we are told to meditate on whatever is noble, true and right. And then we are given stories about David sleeping with Bathsheba and killing her husband, and God striking dead their child - and we know David was a man after God's own heart. Is there something redeeming in the story of David? Absolutely. Is there something horribly sordid is David's story? Absolutely. Does David's story cause you to sin? If so you need to either read a different book then 1 Kings or see a Therapist. But as for my house and me: my kids aren't reading this book until they are married if I can help it.

"Athanasius : The Life of Antony and the Letter To Marcellinus" by Robert C. Gregg

Saint Barnabas Learning Center students have been reading Athanasius' account of the desert father named Saint Anthony. Athanasius (293-373) the African, dubbed the "Black Dwarf," was the Bishop of Alexandria - and was exiled numerous times as he fought for the orthodoxy of the Christian church in regards to the Trinity and Jesus Christ being fully human and fully divine. He fought especially against the heresy of Arianism.

Some have claimed that his "hagiography," of the life of Saint Anthony (251-356) was one of his tools for fighting against the Arian Heretics. But many other sources also point to the fact that Saint Anthony did exist and was a key figure in the lives of the many desert fathers and a powerful influence on monasticism as a whole. Whether or not he wrote the "hagiography" of Saint Anthony's life for the encouragement of Christians of the faith, or as a polemical argument against the Arian heresy, or both - we can gain a great understanding of right orthodoxy and the belief systems of Christians during the 4th century by reading this biography.

This book tells the story of Saint Anthony's life and his fight for orthodoxy in the church in accordance with scripture, the power of spiritual disciplines in the life of believers, and gives plenty of example of the manifestation of God's healing power and sovereignty in the face of spiritual warfare during Anthony's encounters with demons and the devil himself. Some of the stories are very difficult for those in the western world to embrace - since logic & reason have been "king," since the days of the enlightenment. But, in these stories we see accounts of the Holy Spirit working in the same ways in the 4th century as he did in the 2nd century with Irenaeus or in the 1st century during the age of the apostles. One can not help but be inspired by the stories of his victory (by the power of God alone he keeps reminding us) over temptations and spiritual trials. In all cases he gives credit to God, giving rise to themes that Saint Augustine would echo - and all reminiscent of Paul's teaching. God is sovereign, God allows trials and temptations, and nothing happens to people unless God allows it. Saint Anthony put his faith and life completely in God's hands and thus was an agent of healing for many.

It would be beneficial for us to not ignore the work that God did between the New Testament letters and our current age. It builds faith, it encourages us, it strengthens us, it prepares us better to not make the same mistakes others have made. It emboldens us to fight against false teachers, and challenges us to know why we believe what we believe. On top of all of that, it increases our love for God, his sovereignty, and gives us a healthy recognition that our God is the same God as the one in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and throughout all history in each of the centuries leading up to our own.

~Pastor Ben

"How God Saved Civilization" by James L. Garlow

This historical/informative book by James Garlow attempts to tell the story of "Christianity," from the time of the apostles until 1992. The author highlights major movements, people and events in Christianity including the early martyrs, the apologists, those who had to struggle against the early heretics, the age of Constantine, the middle age scholastics and mystics, the early reformers, and various revivals throughout the ages. He touches on many of the great thinkers such as Iranaeus, Jerome, Augustine, Anthony of the Desert, St Francis, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, and many of the other great reformers and/or revivalists.

Although James admits his Armenian bias, and his third wave leanings - he is fair enough in his telling of stories. Of course, with my own bias, as a "reformed-leaning" Christian, I feel he misses out on many important problems of certain "thinkers," and leaves out much important information regarding "more reformed," thinkers. However, he tells us his biases - so we know what to expect.

He inserts stories at the beginning of each chapter so we can empathize with what it might have actually felt like in certain situations to live in such an age - which is an "ok" anecdote - though not perhaps theologically accurate - but this is "story" telling as well as it is history and it helps us to consider the "human" component of these events.

He gives a nice overview of how we got our canon - but I wish he told more of that along the way -but there has to be boundaries - so although this is not a great book for actual nitty-gritty details - he does leave one with a desire to learn more - which I suppose is part of how this book was meant to be written.

This book would be good for a post modern or emerging thinker to read - because it is sensitively written (it won't hurt your feelings) and still actually makes a point that "doctrine matters," and what you believe "matters," which seems to be something emergent thinkers are hesitant to do. People in the early ages gave their lives defending the gospel that some on our post-modern context may suggest "doesn't really matter." Love may be all you need for sure, but love is defined in the context of truth - and martyrs like Polycarp could give our post-modern Christians a bit of truth regarding sacrificing for what you believe. This book does a good point of that - as does Roger Olson's book "The History of Theology." (Another book written by an Armenian-leaning fellow that perhaps does a better job of getting into specifics and making history readable.) Roger Olson's book though is much longer.

A good enough entry level book to the story of Christianity. We used it in our church history class at St Barnabas Learning Center - but next time I think I might use Roger Olson's book or with a more reformed approach to the story of Christianity.

~Pastor Ben