Dysfunctional families

We're reading Jon Ortberg's Everbody's normal till you get to know them in our Book Club at the moment. It's a book I read some time ago and just dipping into it a second time reminds me how much I enjoy Ortberg's writing.

His description of the "as is" tag that we all carry and the dance of the porcupines brings home the reality that we are all far from perfect. Take the headline: Totally normal women who stalk their ex-boyfriends. As Ortberg points out, "if the obsessive stalking of an ex-lover is not just normal but totally normal, how far would you have to go to be a little strange?"

The Bible, rather than hide the fact that we are all flawed, tells it as it is about the people who come "as is". Here's how Jon Ortberg sets out the patriarchal family line and its flaws:

Cain is jealous of Abel and kills him. Lamech introduces polygamy to the world. Noah–the most righteous man of his generation–gets drunk and curses his own grandson. Lot, when his home is surrounded by residents of Sodom who want to violate his visitors, offers instead that they can have sex with his daughters. Later on, his daughters get him drunk and get impregnated by him–and Lot is the most righteous man in Sodom!

Abraham plays favourites between his sons Isaac and Ishmael, they're estranged.

Isaac plays favourites between his sons Jacob and Esau; they're enemies for twenty years. Jacob plays favourites between Joseph and his other eleven sons; the brothers want to kill Joseph and end up selling him into slavery.

Their marriages are disasters:

Abraham had sex with his wife's servant, then sends her and their son off into the wilderness at his wife's request. Isaac and Rebekah fight over which boy gets the blessing. Jacob marries two wives and ends up with both of their maids as his concubines as well when they get into a fertility contest.

Jacob's firstborn son, Reuben, sleeps with his father's concubine.

Another son, Judah, sleeps with his daughter-in-law when she disguises herself as a prostitute. She does this because she is childless since her first two husbands–both sons of Judah–were so wicked that God killed them both; and Judah reneged on his obligations to her.

These people need a therapist.

These are not the Waltons. They need Dr.  Phil, Dr Laura, Dr. Ruth, Dr. Spock, Dr Seuss–they need somebody.

It's a sobering thought to see this family history set out like this. But God continues to use flawed people. 

Book Club: The Numbers of Hope

We had our Book Club meeting last night, March 19th, to discuss The Numbers of Hope. The overall impression was that it was a really helpful and encouraging book to read. The narrative style was appreciated and the stories used, helped to explain the point being made. Overall a very accessible book. The group felt that this was a book they could give to a friend or family member in the right circumstances.

  

Our next choice is Too Busy not to Pray by Bill Hybels. This book has been around for quite some time now and gone through several publication. It was first published in 1988 so 2008 is the 20th anniversary. Given that prayer is one of those things that falls into the category of "most talked about, least practised" areas of our lives, it makes a good choice. 

If you want to join is, hare thoughts and comments, you can do that here or via Shelfari.

On line book shelf

Colin, a fellow blogger, has pointed me to a web application called Shelfari. We've been experimenting with an online book club and this application might be a useful way of interacting on the internet.

It seems to be early days with the development (I was surprised that I couldn't use html for example to make quotes stand out), but it might be worth a look.

The Numbers of Hope (2): God's whoever clause

The Number of Hope is not a hard read. That much we know. Like all of Max Lucado's books there is a wonderfully simple narrative style that I enjoy as I've already said. But it's the way this narrative style draws you into the unfolding story of the book that inspires me to want to write.

Take chapter 7 Heaven's "Whoever" policy.

Whoever unfurls 3:16 as a banner for the ages. Whoever unrolls the welcome mat of heaven to humanity. Whoever invites the world to God.

I love the image it evokes and the narrative that Lucado then uses to explore the length and breadth of the "Whoever clause". It's a great explanation of the core of the gospel message, that God's grace is truly available to anyone and everyone who will come and take it. Anyone who will believe and receive what God freely offers.

The Numbers of Hope (2)

Just a quick thought, maybe a way to have an online discussion about the book would to be open up a wiki? I don't too much about how to do this (I'm experimenting at the moment with a church based wiki for other things), and I'm not sure even if you could subscribe to a wiki in the way you can to a forum or blog.

The Numbers of Hope (1)

I began reading The Numbers of Hope today. As usual with a Max Lucado book the imagery is strong and yet the book is not difficult to read. There's an easy flow to the prose that I find draws me along as I read.

Chapter 1 is titled The most famous conversation in the Bible. There's no escaping the centrality of the words at the heart of this conversation (John 3:16) to evangelical Christian faith. What struck me most as I read Max's picture of the unfolding conversation was the contrast between the worlds represented by Nicodemus and Jesus.

Behold the Continental Divide of Scripture, the international date line of faith. Nicodemus stands on one side, Jesus on the other and Christ pulls no punches about their differences.

Nicodemus inhabits a land of good efforts, sincere gestures, and hard work. Give God your best, his philosophy says, and God does the rest.

Jesus's response? Your best won't do. Your works don't work. Your finest efforts don't mean squat, Unless you are born again, you can't even see what God is up to.

This is not about who Nicodemus is as much as it is about what he represents. Just as the woman at the well in the next chapter of the gospel represents the other end of the social and religious spectrum.

Whatever we think we know, Jesus blows it out of the water, and he challenges us to rethink what it means to connect with God.

The ease with which the words of John 3:16 fall from many a Christian's lips rob them from time to time of their majesty and their simplicity. "God loves, God gives, we believe, we live", as Max would say.