I’m still looking forward to reading Michael Horton’s Ordinary. As I’ve mentioned before, the title makes me wonder a bit, but I am expecting Horton to get the balance right between the “ordinary” and “radical” themes in the Bible.

I tend to gravitate more to the “radical” theme, because I think the Scriptures do. However, the affirmation of the ordinary is nonetheless essential and a wonderful thing. For example, when the crowds asked John the Baptist what it means to repent, he didn’t command them to leave their jobs and vocations. Rather, he told them to act faithfully in the roles they already had (Luke 3:10-14).

The apostle Paul later affirms this as a key part of the Christian ethic as well (Acts 20:34-35; 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12).

Given the importance of the ordinary, why then do we need to emphasize the radical dimension of Christianity so much? Why, for example, does John Piper emphasize this so strongly in his book Don’t Waste Your Life, or why does David Platt do so in Radical?

The reason is stated well in the ESV Study Bible notes on the parable in Luke 14:15-24. In that parable, people make excuses for why they will not attend the great banquet they had been invited to (representing those who refuse to participate in God’s kingdom). What kind of excuses do they make? They all use “ordinary” things as their excuses. One had just bought a field, another had just bought some oxen, another had just gotten married.

The notes make the point of the parable very well: “These people have put the business of everyday life ahead of the claims of God and his kingdom, and they are therefore not worthy to enter it.”

This is a recurring theme in Jesus’ teaching (see also Luke 9:57-62, another key spot where very reasonable “ordinary” things get in the way of following the kingdom; Luke 12:22-34; 14:25-33; 9:23-27; etc.).

Why is this?

It is because the ordinary business of life — though highly important and affirmed by God — often becomes an excuse to avoid the other demands of discipleship, such as evangelism and following Christ even when it involves sacrifice and persecution.

God affirms the ordinary. But not when it gets in the way of his other commands, above all which is to seek him and his kingdom first.

There can be a wrong-headed tendency to glamorize sacrifice and the radical dimension of Christianity. But I don’t think that is the main temptation in the church; most who end up going through great sacrifice realize how painful it really is. The greatest temptation is to allow the ordinary to get in the way of the non-ordinary, more sacrificial demands of discipleship.

The reason for this is that it seems so reasonable to make the “ordinary” our main thing. Everyone needs to engage in the business of everyday life, and if we don’t do this well, it can make things fairly difficult or even be life threatening. So it seems very reasonable to prioritize the ordinary and think we are just being “faithful” in doing so, when in reality we are letting it crowd out other crucial gospel demands.

In other words, the ordinary business of everyday life seems so reasonable and important that it can begin to take precedence without us even being aware of it. The radical demands of the gospels and NT are designed to wake us up from that slumber.

The biblical balance is to recognize that ordinary things are important things, but not ultimate things. We are to affirm the ordinary, while also being willing to let those things take lower priority when obedience to Christ’s other commands (such as getting the gospel to all nations) requires it.

I believe the need for the Reformation, which began on this day in 1517 when Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of the Church of All Saints, continues today.

It continues on at least two fronts. First, the need for the Reformation continues because the Roman Catholic church has never turned from its rejection of the Christian doctrine of justification by faith alone. (You can learn more on this doctrine here, which is one of the first articles I wrote when I started learning about theology.) I say this respectfully, because I know that there are many solid Christians within the Roman Catholic church. I don’t want to offend. At the same time, there are real differences between the Protestant and Catholic churches which must not be ignored or minimized.

Second, the need for the Reformation continues in that it reminds us that all Christians everywhere are to stand up against tyranny in all its forms. Martin Luther stood up against the spiritual tyranny of his day. Spiritual tyranny continues today as well (in Protestant churches as well as non-Protestant). It occurs any time a spiritual authority sets itself up as lord over another person and claims to be a ruler over their life — whether explicitly or, as is more common, implicitly by requiring obedience to rules and traditions that are not taught in the Bible. As Luther pointed out, such actions are contrary to the biblical doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, as well as sola Scriptura and the primacy of Scripture over human rules and tradition. God alone is Lord of the conscience, and Scripture always trumps tradition and human requirements.

There are many other forms of tyranny as well, such as the tyranny of corrupt political and law enforcement systems in the developing world which perpetuate injustice against the poor for the sake of their own material gain. These forms of tyranny are to be opposed by Christians as well, because Christians care about all suffering and all distortions of God’s work. In my view, there are many organizations doing an excellent job here (such as International Justice Mission), and we have much hope for continuing progress in the years ahead.

In sum, the Reformation is a call for all Christians to (respectfully and appropriately) stand up against tyranny in all forms, wherever they encounter it. It is also a call to use our critical judgment to become educated and think for ourselves, recognizing that we all have a responsibility to ensure that leaders both within the church and without are truly leading according to what is right and true.

Last July, Barnabas Piper came out with his fantastic book The Pastor’s Kid: Finding Your Own Faith and Identity. Barnabas writes, obviously, as a pastor’s kid. Unique to any other book on the subject is that the foreword is by his dad, pastor John Piper.

He is not writing this book as a memoir or some sort of tell-all which, he says, “would [not] be very interesting.” Instead, his aim in the book is to “raise awareness of the struggles of PKs and give voice to a group of people who are often well recognized but little known.” The book is drawn not simply from his own experience, but from emails and stories that other pastor’s kids have shared with him as well. As a result, the book is truly positioned to give a voice to PKs, undergirded by the fact that Barnabas is in a unique position to articulate that voice effectively, being a PK himself.

He writes for three audiences. First, he writes for PKs. Being a pastor’s kid is uniquely challenging. “The reality of being a sinner on display in a ministry family creates quite the spiritual and emotional Molotov cocktail.” At the same time, “being a PK can also be a profound blessing and provide wonderful grounding for a godly life.” So he writes “to give a voice to the PK who doesn’t know what to do with his challenges.”

Second, he writes for pastors. He wants pastors to be aware of the real depths of the struggle their kids face as PKs. “This is not a book to point an accusatory finger at the failures of pastors, although some will be death with, but to assist you in avoiding and remedying those failures.”

Third, he writes for the church. Why? Because “the congregation has more responsibility than it knows to care for and ease the burden of the pastor and his family.” Unfortunately, “too often the church has fostered a culture that puts enormous pressure on the pastor and his family.” He hopes that this book therefore “opens some eyes to things that need to change.”

Barnabas accomplishes his goals with great effectiveness. While he acknowledges that he can be hard on pastors at times, his aim is to heal. He accomplishes this because the dominant theme of the book is grace. He talks about his own need for grace and how grace is ultimately the solution to meeting the unique needs of PK’s in their pressure-cooker lives that are lived before a watching congregation that sometimes places a higher priority on spiritual showmanship and meeting man-made expectations than genuine authenticity.

The emphasis on grace is what makes this book so helpful. By reading this book, you learn not only more about the unique pressures of PKs and how to serve them better; you also learn about the grace of God generally — especially as it is manifest in tough situations. That is what makes this book useful and important to everyone, whether you are a PK or not, whether you are a pastor or not, or whether your pastor has kids growing up in the church or not.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the appendix: “Seven Rules for When You Meet a PK.” At root, the seven rules boil down to one thing: get to know a PK for who they are, and care about them for who they are, not because they are the pastor’s son or daughter. As the church keeps that in mind (which is really just a form of the Golden Rule), they will serve PKs, as well as their families, well.

Jen Pollock Michel’s book Teach Us to Want: Longing, Ambition, and the Life of Faith is one of the most well-written books I’ve read in the last year.

Jen writes for Christianity Today’s her.meneutics blog. You may remember her from last spring when she wrote a review of my book that pointed out that I didn’t do a good enough job of giving a sufficient theology of productivity for women. I thought she made a great point and blogged about that here.

As I was learning more about her work, I discovered that she was also coming out with a book soon. So I picked it up once it came out and have found it very enjoyable and super helpful.

Jen takes up a theme that is especially important to me, as someone who holds to what John Piper calls “Christian hedonism.” That is, I believe that the pursuit of joy is good, not bad, and that our quest for joy finds its ultimate fulfillment in God. A key corollary to this belief is that desire, longing, and ambition are (when directed toward God) good things. 

Yet, we are often afraid of actually wanting things, thinking it may be unspiritual. And, of course, sometimes it can be. But it doesn’t have to necessarily be so.

This is where Jen’s book comes into the picture for me. Jen does a fantastic job for us in her book of redeeming desire and showing its rightful place in the life of faith. She shows that desire is good when it is redeemed, and reflects on it in relation to fear, courage, grace, the gospel, Scripture, prayer, community, and commitment.

She shows that we are not to cast discipleship as “a dreary matter of [merely] thinking right thoughts and acting accordingly.” We are guided in life by what we love, not just what we believe, and so it is actually essential to have a proper understanding of desire and its place in the Christian life. We need to reorient our loves and desires toward Christ and his kingdom and be captivated by him.

This is great news. And the best thing about the book is that it is something you want to read. Jen has made the book emotionally engaging, as well as truthful, thereby enabling the book itself to live up to its own message. It is filled with helpful personal stories and a writing style that makes the book a joyful discovery. Bethany Jenkins rightly said in her endorsement that this is “one of the most beautiful nonfiction books I have ever read,” and I would have to agree. I wouldn’t even know how to write as Jen does.

Sometimes, however, a great writing style is not matched with an equal reality of truthfulness in the content. Jen does not fall into that error. The book is wonderfully written while also being reliable, insightful, and deeply biblical.

If you are looking for a refreshing and truthful read on a much-overlooked subject that is nonetheless central to the life of faith, it’s worth getting a copy of Teach Us to Want.

(You might also be interested in the very helpful reviews at The Gospel Coalition and Christianity Today.)

I am very excited about Todd Wilson’s excellent new book, Real Christian: Bearing the Marks of Authentic Faith. 

Todd and I go way back, having studied together under John Piper at The Bethlehem Institute back in our early days of seminary. Todd has a PhD from the University of Cambridge and is now senior pastor at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, IL.

Real Christian is written in response to a major problem in the church today: there are many who claim to follow Christ but show little evidence of a transformed life. Drawing on Jonathan Edwards’ Religious Affections, Todd shows us the meaning of authentic faith in Christ. He shows us that real Christianity is something you can see. That is, if we are truly following Christ there will be actual evidence in our lives and behavior. Further, this evidence consists not of the avoidance ethic or adherence to external regulations that put on a “show” of super-spirituality, but rather in Christ-like character.

Specifically, the evidence of real, authentic faith lies in five key qualities: “broken-hearted joy, a humble disposition, a readiness to acknowledge sin, an ability to live balanced and avoid legalism, and a deep spiritual hunger that drives growth.” Further, “all of these qualities culminate in the single defining mark of a real Christian — love.”

This is a very important message for the church today. Here’s what I say in my endorsement:

Todd Wilson’s Real Christian is exactly the book we need at this moment. It shows us that real faith in Christ truly changes us. It isn’t enough to say you’re real. Real Christianity has effects in your life that are visible, and Todd shows what those are. What we see is radically biblical, and yet not what we often think–which is exactly why this book is so important. Todd writes with a humility and clarity that is convicting and yet hopeful. Instead of throwing us back on ourselves, he points us to Christ in a way that few books today do. This book can help the church recapture its mission by helping it recover its authentic witness. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I mean it when I say Real Christian can help the church recapture its mission and have the impact God wants it to have. I see Real Christian, in part, as a continuation of a book like Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Life or even David Platt’s Radical. Both of those books call us to live out our faith on mission with God by radically pursuing the good of others, especially in global missions. But there is something that needs to be even prior to that in our Christian lives — namely, the cultivation of godly, Christ-like character. Todd’s book shows us what that character looks like. This is a message that is urgently needed, and is the foundation for everything else we do.

Todd’s book is also super well written and a joy to read. I highly recommend picking it up.