Maybe we should stop asking God to get us out of difficult circumstances and start asking Him what He wants us to get out of those difficult circumstances.
– Mark Batterson

Rob Bell is either a genius or, well, something else. He has recently released the video above to generate a stir around the upcoming release of his new book, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and The Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.  If by “stir” he meant “whirlpool,” “tsunami,” or “rain falling sideways so hard that it still gets through the quarter-inch crack at the bottom of the open window and soaks your important papers,” then I’d say it worked.

There are a lot of people – some that have really big names – that are doing a fantastic job of jumping to conclusions about a book they’ve never read, and I don’t want to be one of them.  My thoughts about his book will come after, well, I’ve read it.  For now, I’ll just share a few of my thoughts about the video and all the fallout from it:

• Rob Bell’s marketing team is brilliant.  His yet-to-be released book is already #20 in Amazon’s bestseller list.  Again…it isn’t released yet.  Wow.
• The ends don’t justify the means.  At some point, if we’re going to use social media like Facebook,blogs, and and other “shoot from the hip” tools like Twitter, then we’ve got to be responsible about it.  Bell does a great job of asking really controversial questions in an attempt to get us to read his stuff, and sometimes what we read calms our fears about what we thought he meant.  But what about the people who never actually read it?  What conclusions do they draw from the marketing that has surrounded the pre-release?
• The number of thoughtless, reactionary tweets followed by explanations and/or retractions reminded me of all the guys in the NFL who sat in front of their TVs and tweeted about Jay Cutler in the NFC championship game.  Just to make sure you understand the insanity of that, let me restate: the guys tweeting about Cutler’s performance (or lack of) were actually not performing.  Sideline critics really drive me nuts.

Since the only thing I know about this book is the title and that it’s about heaven and hell, let me close with a few thoughts about that.  I hope that Bell isn’t going to end up being a universalist (believing that hell isn’t necessary because all of us will eventually end up in heaven anyway), and I can’t make that call without reading his words later.  I have read this excerpt from the book that gives me pause:

I think the title of the book is the wrong tense, and that sometimes a simple mistake (or intentional wording) like that can really change the meaning.  Love Wins says to me that there is always the likelihood that rules can be changed or even done away with so that, when it’s all said and done, love can come out on top.  As if somehow the end of the story isn’t written yet, and from the perspective of our human journey, I agree and am glad that there is still time to write my story.

But on the cross, love won.  Jesus said “it is finished” because His work there was complete.  He didn’t say that “it is being finished,” as if somehow He still had to work out the details of His ending.  His part is done.  He is the second ark that’s been provided ahead of the coming flood.  The only question now is are we smart enough to actually choose to side with Him?  If we aren’t, then the fact that we knew who won and still chose otherwise won’t only be tragic, but downright foolish.

Love may indeed win, but people who make that choice won’t.  They can’t, because they still haven’t seen that their sin is real, and so is the hell that Jesus paid the price to save them from.  The seriousness of that reality makes me grateful for people like Bell who continue to write, question, and explore this faith of ours (or as he termed it in his book, Velvet Elvis, “repaint the Christian faith”).

My prayer for him – and all of us who are trying to engage the culture around us in a discussion about the truth of Jesus – is that we will paint carefully.  This is a painting that is worth our time and care.  One which demands we spill as little paint as possible.

As always, debate away.  Discussion is good for the soul.

Could've been the perfect pamphlet.

Now that I’m 8 weeks into the book reading journey, I’ve decided I probably need a list with the books I’ve read so that you don’t have to be bored with these little reviews. You’ll find the link at the top of the blog. It’s appropriately labeled “Book a Week Challenge.” (Wait, or you could just click that link – wow, am I helpful or what??)

Without a doubt, this is the first book I’ve really struggled to finish in a week.  Not because it was too difficult to understand, or because it wasn’t written well, or because I had to think too much (although any of those would make it hard to read a book), but because it was a book that should’ve been a pamphlet.

Try to imagine the meeting to determine if this book would be written. What kind of checklist did the publisher go through in order to determine if they should publish the book?

Well-known author?  Check.  John macArthur has written quite a few best-sellers.

Attention-grabbing title?  Check.  “Slave” written in bold white text on a black cover should get it picked up by a lot of curious potential readers.

Enough material to fill 212 pages? Ummmm….

There’s the problem.  What started somewhere as what was probably a great discussion turned into a book that was, in my opinion, about 200 pages too long.  I mean, how many ways can you say

WARNING!  SPOILER ALERT!!!!!

that we’re slaves of Christ, not servants (which is the way most modern Bibles translate the Greek word doulos)?

MacArthur does a great job of explaining that our modern English translations have shied away from the stronger word “slave” because of our country’s tragic history with slavery and racism, but after the first 12 pages or so, I had gotten the point that servants have choices and slaves do not.  I don’t think the remaining pages helped to add much more to the discussion (other than the fact that it did provide MacArthur plenty of space to drive home the main tenants of Reformed Theology).

Now, a few snippets:

Submission to the lordship of Christ – a heart attitude that works itself out in obedience to Him – is the defining mark of those who are genuinely converted. (p. 46)

In speaking of being freed from the slavery of sin to become slaves of righteousness, MacArthur quotes Murray Harris:

One of the classic Christian paradoxes is that freedom leads to slavery and slavery leads to freedom. (p. 140)

A slave only fears the master’s return if he has been unfaithful. (p. 183)