Reviewing C.J. Mahaney's Don't Waste Your Sports

Sports have always been a big part of my life, but unfortunately, much of my involvement in sports has been for the wrong reasons. Although I can’t change the past, today I try to make my playing and coaching glorify God. Pastor Mahaney’s 50-page booklet can help you understand what that entails. Whether you’re a high school athlete, soccer mom, or coaching adults, Don’t Waste Your Sports is for anyone who wants to honor God through athletics. The six short chapters listed below can be read in less than an hour.

1. Sports at Their Best—and Worst

2. What Are Sports Really For?

3. Meeting God before the Opening Tip

4. Play to the Glory of God

5. Sports Idols

6. Your Next Game

At the end of the book, there are application and discussion questions for athletes and parents. I recommend that athletic directors provide the booklet to their coaches and discuss the material before their respective seasons get underway. We must realize that sports are gifts from God, so we compete in a way that shows humility, grace, and a heart of thankfulness.

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14

Reviewing J. Mack Stiles' Marks of the Messenger

Marks of the Messenger was a book that I (and a few other administrators) passed out to the TIS faculty and staff this year. Before receiving this book, I was not familiar with J. Mack Stiles, but a few of the people endorsing his book are authors whose books and blogs I have benefited from greatly (D.A. Carson, Thabiti Anyabwille, and C.J. Mahaney).

Although I read more than the average person, I do not often read books in a short period of time. This was not the case with Stiles' book, which I completed in less than a day. I found my introduction to Stiles, a man who has served in both the United States and the UAE, to be quite enjoyable. I foresee that this will not be the last time I find myself reading his work. Perhaps I am slightly biased because Marks of the Messenger covers an all-important topic - knowing, living, and sharing the Good News. Unfortunately, this is a topic that is not always handled well. Stiles, on the other hand, delivers very solid cross-centered teaching.

Marks of the Messenger is less than 130 pages and consists of only ten chapters. Chapter titles include "Does the Message We Share Look Like the Message We Bear?," "Worldly Love and its Fruit," and "A Manifesto for Healthy Evangelism." If you want to read about the Truth and how to be a better witness, I highly recommend Stiles' book.

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17

Books I Read in November 2009

Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be) by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck - A teacher in the middle school Bible department loaned me this book earlier in the school year. Why We're Not Emergent is a critical examination of the emerging church. Regardless of what camp you fall in, I highly recommend this easy-to-understand book that covers a somewhat fluid topic. I thought reading about the popular unorthodox views of the emerging church movement might make the conservative in me scream, but the writing styles of DeYoung and Kluck are a nice balance of the worlds of academia and entertainment. The crux of this book is that Christians must know the Truth. A proper understanding of what the Bible truly says is centered on the gospel - the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus is not just our buddy and a nice moral teacher; He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5), the judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42) and our great God and Savior (Titus 2:13). We must dive deep into the Word to have a biblical understanding of doctrines such as salvation by faith alone, the substitutionary atonement at the cross, and the sovereignty of God. Having a solid biblical worldview will enable us to reach out to the weary and burdened with God's love in word and deed with grace and truth.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis - For a few years, I tossed around the idea of reading this children's fantasy novel and finally took the plunge after hearing a speaker at our fellowship talk about it last month. Fiction is not my cup of tea, but if there is anyone who could give me a taste for it, C.S. Lewis would be the one. Several years ago, I read Lewis' classic, Mere Christianity, and I have had a growing interest in reading his fictional piece, The Screwtape Letters. I decided to read roughly a chapter a night to my girls, who have seen both the BBC and Disney versions of the movie. It was a little difficult for Grace, my four-year-old, to always follow the story, but Rose, my seven-year-old, enjoyed hearing about the secret land beyond the wardrobe. Upon completion of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, both Rose and Grace have expressed on one more than one occasion their disappointment that I am not continuing on with Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia, the second of seven books in The Chronicles of Narnia series. Although I do not plan on reading more fiction anytime soon, I think there is a good possibility we will continue these adventures in the land of Narnia one day.

Humility: True Greatness by C.J. Mahaney - God has done an amazing work in the life of C.J. Mahaney. Mahaney is a man who understands humility and a man who has taught me much about the cross of Christ. I highly, highly recommend watching his testimony on YouTube. Humility is the third Mahaney book I have read, and one that I just received earlier in the month. Xie xie, Fred and Carol! I have had serious problems in the area of humility, so I thought this fast read (a small book with fewer than 180 pages) could help me in the battle with my old nature. I found the last chapter, A Legacy of Greatness, to be particularly meaningful. Humility is a book that is easy to understand and contains a God-glorifying message.

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." James 4:10

A Reader's Review of The Shack by Tim Challies - The Shack is a very popular book amongst Christians and non-Christians, but I am one of many believers who find this New York Times best seller to be very unbiblical. I have read and watched some reviews of The Shack (Chuck Colson and Albert Mohler are other conservative evangelicals who have criticized The Shack), and Challies' free e-booklet continues the trend of showing me that what William P. Young writes in his book is dangerous and wrong. I realize my words here could offend and possibly surprise some, but I would encourage you to at least glance at Challies' 17-page review.