10 Questions with...J. Matthew Sleeth

Recently, I read Serve God, Save the Planet & reviewed it on this site. I found myself very much challenged and convicted by what I read. I contacted the author, Dr. J. Matthew Sleeth and he was kind enough to talk to me and allow me to interview him.


NSR 1. What got your attention as a hospital chief of staff and ER doctor that called you to action in saving the planet?
JMS - I noticed changes in disease. Even with all the medicine people were taking, there were changes and large numbers of people becoming sick from the environment. For example, in Knoxville, 8 of of 10 kids have some form of asthma. You can see a change in the air quality in places. This effects health and wellbeing. I went through the entire Scripture and underlined places where it of creation care. I was stunned at the amount of verses there were. I also noticed a disconnect with the study Bible notes on what they pointed out in the passages and what the text was actually saying.

NSR 2. You speak about living simply. That is not a common thought, even for Christians. Other than your book, what other resources or websites can people look to for examples of downward mobility?
JMS - Ellie Kay has a book out entitled 1/2 Price Living. There are a number of other ones, but I cannot call them to memory at the time. [I would add - Living with Less, The High Price of Materialism, and The Paradox of Choice]. www.servegodsavetheplanet.org also spreads the word, offers resources and gives links to other resources. I have also written for Creation Care Magazine.

NSR 3. If you could get one thing across to the reader in your book, Serve God, Save the Planet, what would it be?
JMS - Live a more conscious life with God. The one thing I would push is to keep a sabbath, take time out with God and focus on God. Remarkably few Christians observe any type of sabbath. It is more than going to church. Stay out of consumer culture for a day and focus on your Creator.

NSR 4. What authors have influenced your spiritual life and/or your environmental mindset?
JMS - C.S. Lewis, A.W. Tozer, and Francis Schaeffer. Those are required reading. Read them before you read my book.

NSR 5. You speak about preventing harm is just as important as repairing harm (if not more so). What is the single greatest thing that people could do to prevent harm to the earth?
JMS - It is hard to know how we can conserve more and live on less until we know what our footprint is. I would recommend everyone to take an accounting of the energy they consume, be it gasoline, electricity or the like. Until we know that number, we will not know how to do less.

NSR 6. How can Serve God, Save the Planet be used within the Church?
JMS - There is a study guide in the back of the book. A number of churches have small groups go through the book together. I have spoke in over one hundred churches and they use that as sort of a launching board to further study. Soon their will be a DVD in which I will introduce each chapter.

NSR 7. I was stunned by some of the conditions you described for the food we eat (the chicken farm especially). What are some of the best ways for people to find out about farm conditions?
JMS - Buy locally at farmer's markets, eat what's in season. The more you shake the hand of the person who grows the food, the better. If you are buying a head of lettuce in January in upstate New York, there are so many additional "costs" to the environment. I would suggest everyone do a little gardening as well. It helps you get involved with the earth and you always grow more than you need, so you can give some away to neighbors and even use it as on outreach. I would also recommend the book, the Omnivore's Dilemma.

NSR 8. As a Christian and a doctor, do you recommend vegetarianism?
JMS - I would recommend 1. Eat local. 2. Eat in season. 3. Eat less meat. As Christians we are free to eat anything. When I eat with someone else, I eat whatever they eat. It is more important to share the meal than to hold to any rigorous standards, I would say.

NSR 9. One of your thoughts in the book is in regards to safety. You say that the worldly hunger for permanence and safety “at any cost” is an illusion. How do Christians find the balance for seeking safety for their family & the “let go and let God” approach?
JMS - Trust Christ. Jesus says that we are to let go of our life and that is when we receive life. We need to take Christ at his word. Now that doesn't mean to go bungee jumping without a cord, but to keep our eyes focused on Christ. We must remember that this life is a journey, not a destination.

NSR 10. I found myself quite convicted in chapter 4 when you write about knowing more models of cars & man-made items than of types of birds and leaves. Is there a specific aspect of nature (astronomy, bird-watching, etc.) which draws you closer to God than another & do you have any recommendations for others on these activities?
JMS - I would recommend something very simple to start - get a bird feeder. This will help you connect with God's creatures. Pick one species (hummingbird, for example) and learn more. You do not have to memorize the Audubon Field Society Bird Guides, just learn about one at a time.

Final Comments:
Creation care is nothing new. It is as old as Genesis. This is something that has been dropped from seminary study, unfortunately. It also isn't pantheism. It is connecting to God through nature, harkening back to the hymns like All Creatures of Our God and King, and This is My Father's World.

Dr. Sleeth's daughter has also written a book on this same subject, just from a young person's (16 years old) perspective, and the perspective of one who has grown up with it as a way of life. It is due out March 2008 from Zondervan.

10 Questions with Margaret Feinberg

Last September, I had the priviledge of interviewing Margaret Feinberg. Ms. Feinberg has recently released a great new book, The Organic God. I reviewed it Monday of this week, here. She was kind enough to allow me to interview her again regarding her new release. I highly recommend The Organic God.

1. What are you reading now?

I’m read the Bible right now, Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker and way too many copies of USA Today.

2. The Organic God seems to be part autobiography & part theology on God’s attributes. Was this intentional, or did your story seem to flow naturally (organically, if you will) as you wrote about God?
This was definitely intentional. I tend to be very private and my editor kept pushing to put more of my story in the book. Good writing is like getting naked on paper, and this is definitely the most honest, vulnerable book I’ve written.

3. Is there a new attribute of God which you have recently seen since the writing of The Organic God?
Slowly, I am discovering God’s grace. God doesn’t just give us grace—it’s a part of who He is and it flows from within His depths.

4. You have generally written for people in their twenties. This book is definitely suitable for that age group, but also for a wider audience. Is this a new direction for you, or is your primary audience still twentysomethings?
This is a new direction for me. Upcoming Margaret Feinberg books will definitely be for all ages—encouraging people to go deeper in their relationship with God, deeper into the scriptures and deeper with their relationships with each other.

5. Why do you describe God as organic?
Organic, in essence, means natural, pure and essential. In many ways, that describes God, but all too often we find portraits of God laced with additives which try to make Him fit our tastes. But God is God an He not just worth knowing but best knowing as He is—organically.

6. You speak throughout The Organic God about luminescence. Could you explain this concept and how it applies to God?
Luminescence is the light admitted from small marine organisms. They don’t have to try to be light—it’s just a reflection of who they are. In the same way, we as followers of Jesus don’t have to try to be light—we just are when we allow God to come alive inside of it. And if you’ve ever seen luminescence, then you know it’s very, very beautiful.

7. In what ways do your Jewish roots enhance your relationship with God?
I am so grateful for my Jewish roots even though it brought in a degree of religious tension during younger years. I think my background gives me a greater hunger to know and understand Jewish culture and some definite insights into Jewish thought and humor. And if nothing else, it gives me a little chutzpah with God.

8. Who has the most to offer as far as leadership skills – Dwight, Michael, Jim or Andy Bernard?
I vote Jim. Not just because he makes me laugh the hardest, but because he’s the quiet leader of the pack.

9. What one thing reminds you of God’s beauty more than anything else? The redemption of God is captivating to me and I want to see it in every life possible—including my own.

10. What encouragement do you have for people who wish to simplify their faith and discover God organically? Check out The Organic God and then embark on an organic journey of your own. Study the scripture—a portion, a chapter, a book, a person, a theme—not until you know it but until you own it. He is worth the pursuit.

10 Questions With...Brian Kluth

Brian Kluth is Senior Pastor of the First Evangelical Free Church of Colorado Springs. Prior to this time he was involved in Christian leadership positions and a national and international speaking ministry. He has been a speaker at Promise Keeper events, university campuses, leadership conferences, and Christian camps and retreats. Over the years his ministry travels have taken him to cities across America and to more than 35 countries. Having just come home from a speaking trip in South Africa regarding generous living, Pastor Kluth was gracious enough to take the time to answer these questions. He has written a booklet - A 40 Day Spiritual Journey to a More Generous Life. He also has a website - Maximum Generosity.


1. NSR - When did God teach you about generosity?
Brian Kluth - The Bible says that we are to “excel in the grace of giving”. After coming to Christ in college, God has graciously led me to growing levels of generosity in my life. From the first $20 I put in the offering plate as a new Christian to times when the Lord has called my wife and I to give gifts that were equivalent to 50% and 100% of our annual income, I/we have found ourselves on a God-led and grace-filled journey to living a generous life. God’s transforming power has been amazing in my life since as a teenager and college student I was very materialistic and would steal (from family members, shops, and employers) to get the things I wanted.

2. NSR - What led you to write the book?
BK - In the last fifteen years, I have spoken to thousands of pastors and church leaders at conferences and leadership seminars on church giving in the U.S. and overseas. Wherever I’ve gone, churches did not have a way to inspire greater levels of generosity by putting God’s Word on finances/giving into people’s hands. The result has been growing levels of materialism and indebtedness while giving to the Lord’s work has been declining as a priority in people’s lives. While I am a great advocate for churches offering financial classes/courses/studies/seminars for their congregation, I found that these programs will only reach a handful of people in the congregation. I felt a great need to produce something attractive, affordable, filled-with-Scripture, and easy to read that every person or family in a church could easily go through and allow the Word of God to touch and transform their attitudes and actions on giving financially to the Lord’s work. Sidebar note: I was hoping a Christian publisher would publish and promote this book and submitted proposals to 7 publishers. I received a rejection from all of them indicating that no one would ever buy this book because there is no market for books on generosity. So after praying about it, my wife and I took some inheritance money from my mother’s home going and printed 15,000 copies of this booklet. By God’s grace, over 80,000 copies have been ordered in the first 8 months by churches (ordering copies to every household/family in their church), denominations (sending copies to every pastor) and ministries (sending copies to every donor). The booklet has been or is being translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Mongolian, Serbian, Croatian, an African tribal language, and South African Afrikaans. One denomination is planning on using it worldwide in 11 regions of the globe. An international ministry is planning on working with 99 seminaries across the world to have copies distributed among each seminary’s students and supporters.

3. NSR - If you could get one point across from your book, You Are Invited on a 40 Day Spiritual Journey to a More Generous Life, what would that be?
BK - Every Christian believer is called and encouraged by God to faithfully and generously give to the LORD from whatever God has entrusted to them. I do not believe any church has a “money problem”, only a faithfulness problem.

4. NSR - What are things that parents can do to teach their children to be givers (along with going through your study)?
BK - Going through the study as a family during a meal time will be a great first step towards moving a couple or a family towards greater levels of intentional and inspired generosity. We did this with our family when our children were 7, 9 and 11 and it was a great way to help our children understand details about our income, lifestyle and giving priorities. Since our children were little we have had an envelope system for their finances. We gave each of them 3 envelopes and had them draw pictures on each envelope. The first envelope was for the Lord’s work, the second envelope was for savings, and the third envelope was for spending. Wherever they received any money (birthday, Christmas, allowances, chores, etc.) we would take them and have them divide up the funds into the 3 envelopes (10% or more for the Lord, 10-40% for savings, and 50 to 80% for spending). At Thanksgiving, we would get a Samaritan’s Purse catalog of giving opportunities to help people in need. Each child would be told they had $100 (or whatever amount we decided) and they would be able to look through the catalog and determine how they wanted to invest their giving dollars in the Lord’s work. Each person would then take time to tell everyone what things they’ve chosen to fund (i.e. purchase Bibles, buy a goat for a family in need, pay for school supplies, etc.). Recently, we told our children (now 10, 12 and 14) that they would have an extra $1000 this year to give to the Lord’s work (for missionaries, relief work, a family in need, a special project at church, etc.). For several years, we have also had our children involved in shopping for Operation Christmas Child gifts.

5. NSR - You taught one of the video sessions in Crown Financial Ministry’s “Discovering God’s Way of Handling Money”. You said that if people do not learn to give their tithes & offerings first, learning about budgeting & saving will not help their finances. Why is this?
BK - A person can become a great budgeter, a great saver, and a great investor, but if they don’t learn to be a great giver to God what’s the point? We’re not to live for ourselves in this life but to live for the glory of God and the benefit of others in our generation. We’re blessed to be a blessing.

6. NSR - What do you see as a crucial topic facing the evangelical church at large today?
BK - Teaching God’s Word on finances and generosity is a vital area of spiritual transformation and Christian discipleship that is being avoided by most pastors and churches today. This has been the “silent subject” and the “Great Omission” in the church for over 50 years. Martin Luther is reported as having said, “People go through 3 conversions. Their head, their heart and their pocketbook - - unfortunately, not all at the same time.” Many of our churches are filled with unconverted pocketbooks. This is not an issue of budgets, bills, and buildings - - but an issue of spiritual transformation. If Jesus is not Lord over 100% of what we have is He Lord at all in our lives? One man told me that until he learned to faithfully and generously learn to give to God he was only “playing church” but wasn’t fully committed to Christ. When I have been a speaker for PromiseKeeper events around the country or a guest generosity preacher at churches, I have had people at the end of my message take out their wallets and dedicate them to the Lord. With their wallets in their hands, I lead people in a prayer to dedicate all they have and all they ever will have to the Lord.

7. NSR - After a person / church learns about giving, do you have any recommendations on books or studies on finances as whole?
BK - I would encourage every church to offer a financial class/course/study that people can go through to get their finances in order. I recommend Crown, Good $ense Ministry, or Dave Ramsey.

8. NSR - What are your feelings in general about the prosperity gospel?
BK - I feel the prosperity gospel isn’t a gospel at all (it’s not good news) - - it is a distortion of the whole truth of God’s Word. In September 2006 the cover of Time Magazine asked the question: “Does God Want You Rich?” and on the inside article examined the current trend towards pastors preaching the prosperity gospel. On my MAXIMUMgenerosity.org website, I contrast 4 stewardship views operating today - - Poverty Theology, Prosperity Theology, Consumer Theology (this is the one most practiced in evangelical churches), and Balanced Biblical Theology. I believe the first 3 views miss God’s intentions for mankind whereas the last view best represents God desire for people everywhere, The link to this handout is here.

9. NSR - In speaking to other leaders & pastors, how often should a pastor speak to his church about finances, especially in regards to giving?
BK - Since there are 2,350 verses in the Bible on finances, material possessions, and generosity, the Lord must have intended that as spiritual leaders we help people understand how God Word and will intersects in their lives in this important area. At my church, I am preaching through all the books of the Bible over a 4-5 year period, so I find that it is normally a point within a sermon has to do with an overall perspective to finances/possessions, but only once or twice a year is it the whole focus of the sermon on giving financially. In churches that use a topical approach to preaching, it would probably be wise to have a financial sermon series once a year, with one of the messages focused on giving. But in a worship service, I have found that the power of a generosity testimony (having someone answer one of the weekly questions from my GenerousLife.info) booklet has a tremendous ability to influence a congregation’s attitudes and actions about giving to the Lord. I also encourage churches to use PowerPoint offertory slides when they pray for and collect their offerings. Sermonspice.com also has some excellent video clips on finances and generosity.

10. NSR - Do you feel that the tithe should go to the local church and excess giving can be given to individual missionaries and missions, or does it matter?
BK - In my GenerousLife.info Bible devotional booklet that churches are using to help teach all the families in their congregation about generosity, I encourage (but do not mandate) that people to give 10% or more of their “main income” (expected salary) to their main ministry (their local church). I then encourage them to use “extra income sources” (2nd income, bonuses, overtime, investment returns, etc.) to the “extra” ministries and people in need that they care about. My wife and I have done this for years and we have found that this approach allows us to be generous and faithful to our local congregation while at the same time generously supporting other ministries and people that God lays on our hearts. Over the years, I have also learned to avoid using the word tithe because you quickly become embroiled in theological debates with some people in the church (i.e. tithe = OT Law, etc.). But I do teach and encourage people to give 10% or more to the Lord’s work. I have found even in counseling with people in deep financial troubles that giving the first 10% of their income to the Lord’s work is the beginning step to invite God’s help in their finances. I have also learned that giving 10% is not the finish line, but only the starting point of faithful giving to the Lord. Ultimately, we’re to excel in the grace of giving and in my own journey, I started at the 10% level but over the years God has graciously worked in my heart and life to cheerfully give far more than 10%.

10 Questions With...Scott Bessenecker

Scott A. Bessenecker (M.A., international development, William Carey International University) is director of global projects with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, based in Madison, Wisconsin. He is editor of Quest for Hope in the Slum Community (2005). His articles have appeared in publications such as Mission Maker Magazine, PRISM, Student Leadership Journal and Evangelical Missions Quarterly.

What is your background & what led you to justice work?
I think my dad had something to do with it. I’d call Dad a pacifist patriot. He loves his country, served in the military, but has vehemently opposed the last few American wars and feels pretty strongly about the act of taking away life. I don’t think he considers himself a Christian, but he has an innate sense of godly justice and passed that down to us kids.

You speak about downward mobility. That is not a common thought, even for Christians. Other than your book, what other resources or websites can people look to for examples of serving God by means of downward mobility?
There is something about laying down power when you have every right to use it that captivates the imagination. Samantha on the TV show Bewitched was never really able to do that, was she? Instead of pointing readers to a website, I’d say interview your grandma (maybe not yours, Chris, unless she’s OK with that). Most of our grandma’s were beautiful, gifted women who often made millions of humble, little choices that quietly changed the course of humanity, yet doomed them to obscurity. I think there is something deeply spiritual about changing a diaper in an age when your spouse was exempt from the chore.

If you could get one thing across to the reader in your book, The New Friars, what would it be?
That Jesus is passionate about people at the bottom of the global dog pile. What is merely a number to us or an article on BBC.com – the faceless millions who scavenge dumpsites – these people take Jesus’ breath away, and he is calling out over his Church for those who would join him in his mission of solidarity and redemption.

What authors have influenced your spiritual life?
Henri Nouwen, Brother Lawrence, and Jesus’ little brother James.

What’s the greatest thing you’ve learned as Director of Global Projects with InterVarsity?
God is way big, and my fretting does not seem to have any impact on global crises. I send a lot of 18-24 year olds into some pretty intense situations (and am reminded so by their over-protective parents). Even when hard things happen, God seems to manage things fairly well with or without my worry.

How could The New Friars be used within the Church?
My hope is for three responses within the Church – first that some in the West are called to a life with Jesus in the slum communities of the developing world, second, that those who are not called would draw courage from the obedience of those who are, and third that our brothers and sisters who were born into poverty would be honored.

You write that, “The social activism & prophetic voice of the new friars are often kept outside the center of wider church.” Why do feel the marginal people – those Jesus calls us directly to minister to – have fallen to the periphery within the church?
a. Because they are uncomfortable to be around.
b. Because we live insular lives and it takes effort to connect with them.
c. Because the Church has an inferiority complex and is desperate to prove that we are cool and important. Hanging around marginal people feeds our insecurities as a Body of believers.

What do you see as a crucial topic facing the evangelical church at large today?
Whether the current youth generation will be able to move beyond a faith characterized by infatuation with Jesus (you know, the I-just-want-to-bask-in-your-glow, kind of masturbatory worship … if you can even put that in print), into a mature love that involves suffering. I own an evangelical Bible dictionary which boasts to have every word of substance mentioned in the Scriptures. And, while it has an entry for the word “sulfur,” it has no entry for the word “suffer.”

Reading the beginning of the book, I was overcome with the magnitude of the situation & the seeming hopelessness of it. I am sure that you & those working directly with the poor feel this way from time to time. What do you do to regain the hope?
Last month I had a good, long, weep-out-loud cry for all that is messed up in the world. I felt lots better after that. Nehemiah managed to grieve over the sorry state of the city of Jerusalem, not in despair, but because he knew what should be but what wasn’t. He believed that God’s promises were true, and he could and cry out for their fruition even when they were unfulfilled. I have not doubt that God will ultimately have his way on this planet. Hebrews 2:8 says, "There is nothing that does not obey him, but we do not see all things obey him yet.” (New Life Version)

Whether or not you are called to work directly in slum communities, what is something that every person can do to get involved?
We have got to figure out how to connect our lives to those on the margins right where we live. People who live in affluent parts of town could go do their laundry in a sketchy area and ask God to introduce them to someone who is not like themselves. We can’t be too easily put off by one bad exchange with a homeless person. We need to keep pressing into the communities on the fringe all around us – asking what do I have to learn here and what do I have to give? Then we need to live more simply. Our lives have become dangerously materialistic, not just dangerous for the planet and for the people exploited so we can live comfortably, but dangerous for our very souls.

What ways do you see for people to get involved to change the systems that keep the poor in the stranglehold of poverty?
I’m afraid I’m a dismal failure as an activist-protester. I mean, I try to watch where I shop and what I buy, but I– as Isaiah 3:14 puts it – have the plunder of the poor in my home.

If all of us get connected in some way to people on the margins … not just as a “project” but relationally and emotionally – if people in poverty become our friends – then all we need to do is ask, “How would my friend George be affected by my work today? Are there ways I am increasing the barriers that prevent George from accessing the things to which I have access? How does the world bend toward me and away from George? Are there small, seemingly insignificant ways I can help bend it back?”

If I don’t think in terms of seemingly insignificant acts of friendship to the poor, then I become immobilized.

10 Questions With...Deb Dortzbach

Deborah Dortzbach is World Relief's International Director for HIV/AIDS programs. She provides strategic leadership to World Relief's Mobilizing for Life AIDS programs in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Through the programs, she mobilizes and equips the local church to promote and provide AIDS awareness, sexual education for youth, orphan support and much more. Debbie and her husband Karl first served as missionaries in Eritrea where she was abducted by the Eritrean Liberation Front in 1973. The story is chronicled in their book Kidnapped.


1. NSR - What is your background & what led you to relief work?
The Lord placed many people and events in my life to shape a desire to help others. My twin brother has persevered with cerebral palsy, my father often brought homeless families or drunk men to our home to get help, and I was the oldest of my eight siblings. Moving into development and relief work later in life was simply an extension of the wonderful upbringing I was privileged to have. I chose nursing as a career to deepen my skills to serve and I chose the platform of public health to navigate into our needy world.

2. NSR - Talk about the founding of World Relief & its mission.
World Relief started more than 60 years ago as an extension of evangelical churches in America in response to a growing refugee crisis in Asia. Among others, we welcomed many of Vietnam’s boat people to new homes in America. The ministry grew as churches responded out of Christ’s love and today we continue welcoming and settling refugees, respond with relief to disasters, engage actively in AIDS prevention and care, help communities support their children through vulnerable years of childhood illnesses and death, and provide micro-credit to the poor. Our mission is to work with, for, and from the church to relieve suffering in Christ’s name.

3. NSR - What authors have influenced your spiritual life?
John Stott, Dietrich Bonhoffer, Sinclair Fergusen, John Piper, Elizabeth Elliot, Timothy Keller

4. NSR - What’s the greatest thing you’ve learned as World Relief’s International Director for HIV/AIDS programs?
That God has his people in every corner of our world and He works through them in this dire crisis to bring His grace.

5. NSR - If you could get one thing across to the reader in your book, The AIDS Crisis, what would it be?
That Christ is Lord over our relationships and we must follow His example of purity, compassion, and sacrifice as we examine our own behaviors and respond with dedication and commitment to the many millions in our world so devastated by this crisis.

6. NSR - How could The AIDS Crisis be used within the Church?
There are many practical suggestions of how to get involved, and many case studies of how the church is making a difference. It has to begin with a conviction that the AIDS problem is the church’s problem and that it challenges every age group, every profession, and every walk of life in every country. Our youth need honest, open communication about sex, our marriages need enrichment and sparkle, our attitudes need adjustments when it comes to the stigma we wear concerning AIDS, homosexuality, and getting involved. We must give of ourselves and never stop giving until every orphan in our community is cared for and every family affected by AIDS in our world has support. This ministry of care, education, and family nurture is the church’s responsibility all over the world. Because AIDS is so big, we must join hands together, creating movements of God’s people reaching into the crisis to turn it around.

7. NSR - Would it be profitable for pastors & leaders to make a trip to AIDS inflicted areas to see the situation for themselves?
You can expect a life change with such a journey. It is important to be exposed to reality outside oneself (global need and pain) and the reality inside oneself (our own fear, stigma, and sin). There are many ways to get exposed. Some should go on trips outside their country, some should get involved in their own city or county, all should take a fresh look at their marriages, relationships, and heart motives. Delving into The AIDS Crisis will take you on that journey. Who knows where God will have you end up!

8. NSR - What do you see as a crucial topic facing the evangelical church at large today?
Our reluctance to sacrifice for Christ.

9. NSR - In the last chapter of your book, you ask, “What dangers are inherent in discussing the moral & ethical dimensions of personal & structural evil that nurture the spread of HIV infection? What dangers are inherent in avoiding that question?” How would you answer those?
The dangers are coming face to face with the consequences of sin, grappling with it in our life, recognizing our own vulnerabilities and facing our own reluctance to submit to Christ and serve others in His name. The dangers are facing structures that we want to change but can not, yearning for behavior change that takes years to form or change, and struggling to provide help to an overwhelming number that need it. The danger lies in being informed and deeply affected, wanting to fix things and being limited in being able to do so. The danger in avoiding the question is to slide into eternity unaffected by our world’s needs, our own sin, and give answer to our Savior for our indifference.

10. NSR - What is one thing that every person can do to help in the fight against the AIDS pandemic?
Every person is an advocate: in our own lives and families for sexual purity, in our country and world for caring about others affected by AIDS too weak to defend themselves, too neglected, too poor, too marginalized and stigmatized to change their crisis. Those people may be closer than you think. Find them and sacrifice for them.

10 Questions With...Edward Gilbreath

Edward Gilbreath is editor at large for Christianity Today and editor of Today's Christian. Ed’s mission, both professionally and personally, is to be used by God as a bridge-builder, bringing people together across racial, cultural, and generational lines. He lives in the Chicago area with his family. To see a review of his book, Reconciliation Blues, on this site, click here.

NSR - 1. What is your background & what led you to writing?
I grew up in the late 1970s in Rockford, Illinois, where I was bused across town to help integrate the white public schools. I felt like I was living in two worlds--I got to visit the wealthier side of town during the day, but I had to return home to the poor side of town in the evening. Reading comic books and Mad magazine was my vehicle for escape. I created superheroes of my own and dreamed of launching my own comic book company. I knew then that, whatever I did when I grew up, it would involve writing.

NSR - 2. Why, do you think, that justice—whether racial, social or economic—is so sparse in Church conversations today, especially white churches?
I think American Christians, particularly evangelicals, have unwittingly incorporated many values of the American Dream into their theology and view of the Christian life. America tells us we can be anything we want to be, if we just work hard and pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. That’s an inspiring message, and an important one for folks who actually have boots. But the realities of poverty and social inequities in America mean that many people begin life at a disadvantage just by being born into a particular family or neighborhood or school district. As American evangelicals, I think we’ve become too enticed by the charms of this “bootstrap theology,” and it hinders us from making issues of social and economic justice a natural part of our values, lest we be labeled as “liberal” or something worse.

NSR - 3. If you could get one thing across to the reader in your book, Reconciliation Blues, what would it be?
That the life we’re living today is not just a dress rehearsal for heaven; it has eternal significance. I think sometimes we get the strange idea that the pursuit of true unity in the church is not worth our energy because God’s going to make everything right in heaven anyway. We look at that breathtaking image in Revelation 7 of all cultures and nations worshiping together, and believe that will only happen when we’re magically transformed in heaven. But if God’s heart is for us to be reconciled, we need to be moving in that direction even now. In John 17, Jesus’ prayer is for His followers to be united as one so that the world will know that God sent Jesus. This means our unity is much more than some feel-good diversity; the gospel’s credibility is at stake.

NSR - 4. You quote Thomas Carlyle, “What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us.” What have you become, or what authors influence you?
C. S. Lewis, Tom Skinner, and Philip Yancey are among my favorite Christian writers. In my book, I mention the poet Paul Laurence Dunbar as an early hero. I could never express how important African American writers like Dunbar and Ralph Ellison were to me as literary role models during my teen years. And among contemporary journalists, I devour almost anything by Malcolm Gladwell in The New Yorker and Tim Stafford in Christianity Today.

NSR - 5. What’s the greatest thing you’ve learned as editor at large for Christianity Today?
Over the course of my career in journalism, I’ve slowly made peace with the fact that no matter how hard you try to nuance or qualify your message, there’s always going to be some readers who totally miss the point. Readers always bring to their interpretation of a piece of writing their own agendas and prejudices, so it’s impossible to convincingly reach everyone.

NSR - 6. How could Reconciliation Blues be used within the Church?
I’m hoping church staffs and ministry leadership teams will read it together to grapple with issues of diversity in our Christian institutions. The book features discussion questions at the end, so my hope from the beginning was that small groups and book-discussion groups would use those as a way of engaging the reconciliation issue in an honest and personal way. There are plenty of good books out there with formulas and principles for pursuing racial diversity in the church, but there aren’t too many that can really help us get some of the hard issues on the table for discussion. I hope Reconciliation Blues can fulfill that need.

NSR - 7. You quote a friend who said, “The white Christians I encounter often display a shocking provincialism – a real naiveté about the world around them. Frankly, it’s as if they are stunned to find out that their cultural, political, and religious frame of reference is not the only one.” What are some resources & things white evangelicals can do to inform themselves?
First, I’d begin with prayer. Jesus modeled for us the fact that any meaningful pursuit of unity must begin on our knees. We need to be asking God to bring people and situations into our lives that can help us become more sensitive to these issues.

Second, we need to look for ways to get ourselves out of our comfort zones and into places where our ideas and cultural preferences are regularly challenged. This may mean occasionally visiting a church of a different race or denomination. It may mean signing up to volunteer at a soup kitchen downtown. It may mean reading a book that introduces us to a different perspective on issues like race and politics and social justice.

Third, our church leaders need to be providing their congregations with visible models of what reconciliation looks like. One pastor I interviewed said he had a conversion experience on this issue late in his ministry. It wasn’t a priority for him before, but now he says there’s not a Sunday that goes by that you won’t see diversity represented from the platform at his church, whether it be in the people leading worship or the illustrations he uses in his sermons.

I’ve spoken to other pastors who have formed deep relationships with pastors of other races, and now they speak at each other’s churches and go on joint mission trips together. Examples like these from our Christian leaders are inspiring and contagious. It may not change things all at once, but it will slowly transform the culture of a congregation or ministry.

NSR - 8. What do you see as a crucial topic facing the evangelical church at large today?
We need to beware of letting our political and cultural preferences influence our theology and ecclesiology. It’s becoming old hat to hear people outside the church tell us that when they hear the term “evangelical Christian”—and in some cases simply “Christian”— the first thing they think of is right-wing politics or judgmental Republicans.

We’ll never change the way all people think about us; some folks are going to dislike Christians no matter what. But wouldn’t it be something if “love” and “grace” were among the first things people associated with the church? We can do a better job at demonstrating God’s love, and I think part of it can start with how we get along with our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ.

NSR - 9. In your chapter on “Why Blacks Quit Evangelical Institutions” one person mentions her proof of racial reconciliation. What would you say your proof is?
I don’t think we will by wholly reconciled in this world, but I do think we should be moving in that direction, because that’s where God’s heart already is. What would be the proof of this? I think it comes in all shapes, sizes, and degrees of progress.

There are many wonderful examples of multiracial and multicultural churches today that are intentionally modeling what a reconciled body could be. Many of us have deep, personal relationships with a person of a different race and culture that model also it. When I attended InterVarsity Christian Fellowship’s Urbana missions convention late last year and saw the amazing diversity of races and cultures gathered there for the shared purpose of worshiping Christ and answering His call to ministry, to me that spoke of true reconciliation.

I’m not sure it’s always going to be something that we recognize as being “racial reconciliation” while we’re involved in it. But as the world looks on, they recognize it. They sense there’s something different about that diverse group of believers.

NSR - 10. What is something that each person can do to “become a people of reconciliation”?
I more or less answer this in No. 7 above, so you might want to draw from that one for this question.

10 Questions With...Lauren Winner

I first came into contact with Lauren Winner in October 2005 in speaking with a pastor regarding her book Girl Meets God. He compared her to Don Miller & said that if you like one, more than likely you would like the other. I have found that to be true, however, I find Ms. Winner much more layered than Mr. Miller. I find her Jewish roots to be fascinating & her perspective not only challenging, but thought-provoking. I was very excited when she agreed to an interview & trust that you will find it as insightful as I do.

1. NSR - What led you to writing?

Lauren Winner - I have always loved to write! In general, I write because I don’t know what I think about something until I write about it. I always tell my writing students: if you sit down to write something and you wind up having written the exact thing you’d planned to write, something has gone wrong, because writing is, in part, a process of discovery – it is a process of discovering that you knew things you didn’t know you knew, and a process of discovering things that, in fact, you did not know. I was also led to writing because I love reading so much. Books are my very favorite thing.

2. NSR - What do you miss most about your Jewish roots which you wish were more prevalent in Christianity?

LW - Oh, you’re catching me at a hard time of year, when I miss everything about Judaism. In general, I think Jewish communities know a lot more than we Christians do (at least North American Christians) about practicing community. And the robust community ethos of Judaism translates into many different arenas – Sabbath-keeping is a communal undertaking; mourning is a communal undertaking; the whole way of being with God is communal … the nation of Israel is not elected as a bunch of individual atomized parts, but as a nation.

3. NSR - You write in Mudhouse Sabbath that “it is about spiritual practices that Jews do better. It is, to be blunter, about Christian practices that would be enriched, that would be thicker and more vibrant, if we took a few lessons from Judaism.” (I whole-heartedly agree). Are there any practices which Christianity does better, or which are uniquely vibrant (aside from Jesus)?

LW - That’s nice, to think of Jesus as a practice!!!

I am reading a wonderful book right now, called Scenting Salvation: Ancient Christianity and the Olfactory Imagination by Susan Ashbrook Harvey. It is about how smell became central to religious practice in the church. Since that’s on the brain, I want to say, we do smell and incense better! It may be that we do things sensory well. Or at least that the church has done sensory practice really well.

It’s hard to separate the practices Christians do “better” from Jesus – impossible, really. The central practice we do “better” is the Eucharist, but, of course, that is not, like the practices I describe in Mudhouse, a practice that Jews and Christians share.

4. NSR - How do you connect with God?

LW - Through receiving Holy Communion; through liturgical prayer; through service and fellowship with other Christians. Of course, I don’t always feel like I’m connecting to God when I do those things. Sometimes I resent devoting “my” time to service is irksome, and sometimes all the people with whom I have fellowship seem annoying and lame (as I’m sure I seem to them), and sometimes Communion feels boring. But I trust that I am, in fact, connecting with God, even when I don’t feel like it.

5. NSR - What authors have influenced your writing &/or your spiritual life?

LW - Scads! I was converted to Christianity in large part through reading Christian fiction and Christian memoir; a great diversity of novels, from the Mitford novels to Kristin Lavransdatter to The Last Gentleman have influenced my spiritual life. Also some fiction that isn’t “Christian,” like Jane Smiley’s novella “The Age of Grief.”

6. NSR - Is there any over-arching theme you would like the reader to pick up in Girl Meets God, or are you simply telling your story? Also, what is the most difficult aspect of writing a memoir?

LW - There are several themes, of course; one of them is the fits and starts that attend a faith journey. I want people to read the book and know they don’t have to have all the answers down pat before they walk into church. In fact, the church is the place where you learn how to ask the questions. It is not a place you go once you’ve gotten the answers right.

7. NSR - If you could collaborate with any author or speaker on a project, dead or alive, who would you pick & what would you want to write about?

LW - Fascinating question! I would like to write an epistolary novel with Jane Austen. And then I’d like to write a book about church and state with Thomas Jefferson. Then, maybe, a book about ecological stewardship with the prophet Isaiah. Collaborative writing, actually, is very hard work – much harder, I think, than writing alone. It is sheer hubris to imagine writing with any of the people I’ve named, of course – but it would be nice to sit at their feet and learn for a few years!

8. NSR - What do you see as a crucial topic facing the evangelical church at large today?

LW - Well, I’m an Episcopalian, and a big question for evangelical Episcopalians right now will be how we remain in a church with people with whom we really disagree (of course, some evangelical Episcopalians are deciding to answer that question by leaving the Episcopal church and affiliating with Anglican churches elsewhere in the world). I think, in general, American evangelicals need more practice learning how to disagree well with people. The history of American Protestantism has made it easy for us to simply split off when we have a disagreement—we’re a very fissiparous bunch. On a completely different note, evangelicalism needs to move away from a “cut and paste” hermeneutic and instead read Scripture knowing it is not a textbook, but a story of which we are a part.

9. NSR - You are working on your doctorate in the history of American religion. Why did you choose that field?

LW - I’m actually done with the doctorate (thank God)! I have found American history fascinating since I was a small kid – in fourth grade I attended a summer camp devoted to Virginia history (I was a hopeless nerd even then). In college, I got hooked on Southern history…and you can’t discuss Southern history without discussing the history of religion. I don’t know that doing historical research will fit centrally into my vocational life, but I will always relish reading about and teaching American history. I am fascinating by the question of how these thirteen little colonies, just an obscure outpost of the British Empire, became such a huge power. I’m fascinated by America’s sins – slavery, for one. I’m fascinated by the battles about capitalism in American legislative halls and boardrooms and factories and farms.

10. NSR - What drew you to the Voice project & what excites you about it?

LW - Well, Christ is very persuasive. I think I’d do anything he asked of me. And who could pass up the chance to work with such a great team? Working on the Voice has actually been full of spiritual challenges for me, and has prompted a lot of spiritual growth and wrestling. I’m writing an essay bout that now, actually.

Peruse through Lauren's books on nsresources.com - all are 20% off.
Girl Meets God
Mudhouse Sabbath
Real Sex
The Voice of Matthew

10 Questions With...Dr. Doug Sweeney

When I was at TEDS, I took American Church History from Dr. Sweeney. I thoroughly enjoyed the class, & I could tell that Dr. Sweeney was passionate about the subject. I appreciated his teaching & was pleased when I saw his book, The American Evangelical Story: A History of the Movement was available. That book gives a great overview of evangelicalism within the United States in a concise, readable manner. Recently, Dr. Sweeney has teamed up with Allen Guelzo, who is an excellent lecturer on American History, on The New England Theology. I was able to talk with Dr. Sweeney about this recent release.


1. NSR - What is your background & what led you to write & teach about American Church history?
Dr. Sweeney - I began college as an economics major intending to be a corporate lawyer, but God had other plans. During my sophomore year at Wheaton, I took a Reformation history class that truly changed my life. I soon became a history major. I took every other class I could from Wheaton’s Mark Noll (my Reformation teacher who soon became my advisor as well). After finishing at Wheaton, I came to TEDS to study church history with Professor John Woodbridge and, by the time I graduated, was convinced that God wanted me to pursue a Ph.D. I have always been most interested in the study of church history for the ways in which it deepens our Christian faith and knowledge of God. By studying church history, we sink deep roots in the church, the communion of the saints, the language of orthodoxy, the history of exegesis, the best practices of our forebears. I have always been most interested in the parts of Christian history that have played the most powerful roles in shaping me and those around me. So American church history was a natural place to land, though I am also keenly interested in the rest of the Christian past.

2. NSR - What was the genesis of compiling The New England Theology?
DS - I am part of a small group of historians that has been working in recent years to rehabilitate the legacy of Jonathan Edwards. Under the influence of neo-orthodoxy, previous historians argued that Edwards had no honest-to-goodness, theological heirs--that modern evangelicals have squandered Edwards’ gifts to them, transforming their churches and ministries into market driven, manipulative, pragmatic religious businesses. Most of us would agree that there is a kernel of truth to this. But it is vastly overstated. The reality is that Edwards proved to be far more popular in the nineteenth century—especially before the Civil War—than he ever was in his day. By some accounts, we are witnessing another revival of Edwards’ legacy in Protestant churches today. Whether or not one likes everything that has taken place in the name of Edwards (and I certainly dislike some of it), the survival and expansion of his legacy is undeniable. Allen Guelzo and I believe that it is time for an anthology that explains this legacy and the people who have claimed it. We simply cannot understand who we are as evangelicals without some understanding of how Edwards’ thought has come down to us.

3. NSR - What authors have influenced your writing &/or your spiritual life?
DS - Aside from the biblical writers, the people who have shaped my Christian faith most profoundly are Augustine, Martin Luther, Jonathan Edwards and John Wesley.

4. NSR - Jonathan Edwards, Samuel Hopkins, Charles Finney & Harriet Beecher Stowe. These are a few of the big names many of us have heard of, which are touched on in The New England Theology. Is there one of the other figures in the book who is lesser known, but you feel is vitally important in this time period?
DS - Yes. I think that Nathaniel William Taylor was the most influential evangelical theologian of the entire nineteenth century. I don’t like everything he said. But his recontextualization of Edwardsian theology proved tremendously influential in the repackaging of Edwards’ thought for later evangelicals. Taylor redefined the Edwardsian doctrines of original sin and regeneration, expanding the Reformed tradition in America pretty dramatically. Taylor was a pastor who became the founding theology professor at Yale Divinity School beginning in 1822. I published a book on him a few years ago with Oxford University Press.

5. NSR - It seems that many Christians separate a head knowledge of God from a heart knowledge of him. How do you reconcile that personally & within your teaching & writing?
DS - Jonathan Edwards has helped me to see that these things can’t be separated. Without head knowledge, we simply cannot know God, at least not the God of the Bible, the one true God. Likewise, heart knowledge is necessary to know God personally. There is a world of difference between knowing about God and knowing God. As Edwards put it in one of his best-known sermons (a sermon included in our anthology), “there is a difference between having an opinion that God is holy and gracious, and having a sense of the loveliness and beauty of that holiness and grace. There is a difference between having a rational judgment that honey is sweet, and having a sense of its sweetness. A man may have the former, that knows not how honey tastes; but a man can’t have the latter, unless he has an idea of the taste of honey in his mind. So there is a difference between believing that a person is beautiful, and having a sense of his beauty. The former may be obtained by hearsay, but the latter only be seeing the countenance. There is a wide difference between mere speculative, rational judging anything to be excellent, and having a sense of its sweetness, and beauty. The former rests only in the head, speculation only is concerned in it; but the heart is concerned in the latter.” I think we need to encourage each other to know and love with God with all our heart, soul, mind, body, and strength.

6. NSR - How can this book be used within the church, by pastors &/or laymen?
DS - Pastors should read this book in order to understand their heritage. The New England Theology was the first and most influential indigenous theological movement in American history. It has proven to be the most dominant form of evangelical Calvinism in all of Western history. Practically speaking, it was also the impetus of the old evangelical habit of thinking like Calvinists and acting like Arminians. I do not expect evangelical pastors to like everything they find in the Edwardsian tradition. In fact, I hope they will not like everything. But I do think that we need to know our history.

As for laypeople, this would make a nice book for use in advanced Sunday School classes that want to study church history. A few of its selections are a bit too technical for some laypeople. But most of them are quite interesting. The anthology includes snippets from some of Edwards’ best known writings. It summarizes the contributions of Edwards’ immediate followers. It talks about Edwards’ (huge) role in the rise of the modern missions movement. It explains what happened to Edwards’ legacy in the nineteenth century, through people like Taylor (mentioned above) and Charles Grandison Finney. It even includes a couple selections from novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose historical fiction depicted the strength of Edwards’ views among the laity.

7. NSR - What does your book offer that others on the same topic may not?
DS - This is the only book of its kind. It is the first single-volume anthology ever published on Edwards’ legacy, or on the New England Theology.

8. NSR - What do you see as a crucial topic facing the evangelical church at large today?
DS - I think that evangelicals need to find new ways to be both faithfully Reformational and vibrantly evangelical (in the modern sense of that word). Too many of us today are content to identify with either the Reformation (casting stones at later forms of evangelicalism) or with progressive evangelicals (portraying old-fashioned Protestants as stodgy and spiritually weak). In my view, neither of these identities, when taken by itself, is sufficient as a resource for robust Christianity. Evangelicals need the Reformation to root them in orthodoxy, to teach them what it means to believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church. Reformational Protestants need evangelicalism to keep them in touch with kingdom work going on outside their churches and with sources for the renewal of their churches and traditions. Jonathan Edwards is a great example of someone who tried to promote the best of both worlds. He did not always succeed. But he tried to do what we should be doing today.

9. NSR - Talk a little about your involvement in the Henry Center for Theological Understanding.
DS - The Henry Center, which I direct, is a ministry of TEDS whose mission is to promote biblical wisdom outside the world of seminaries by bridging the gap between the academy and the church. We sponsor lectures, conferences, intimate summer workshops, and a host of other events, all intended to promote mutually enriching partnerships between seminary faculties and front-line Christian ministers. Just last year we received a major new grant from anonymous friends of Trinity. This will enable us to pursue our mission on a much larger scale in the years ahead. I would encourage all of your readers to check out our new web site (www.teds.edu/hctu). It is full of information on our activities (most of which are free and open to the public). It also contains an easily accessible audio archive full of the best presentations sponsored in recent years.

10. NSR - You must have a love of Church history to teach it as you do at TEDS. How do you try to ingrain that passion in your students & do you see a need for more pastors & lay people to include more Church history in their reading & preaching?
DS - I try to share my passion with students by making it personal and by making it clear that the study of Christian history is necessary for the spiritual health of God’s people. Church history is not as important as the study of the Bible. But it is essential for filling out our knowledge of the faith; our understanding of the Bible; for connecting us to the rest of the people of God, past and present; and for resourcing our ministries with the best thought and practices of the whole Christian tradition, those that have stood the test of time and have been used by God to build His church and minister to its members. We have a tendency as evangelicals to reinvent the Christian faith in each new generation. I think that this is a big problem. I admire our creativity, our desire to be relevant. But insofar as we disconnect ourselves from the past (from the communion of the saints) we are only hurting ourselves and impoverishing our ministries. I would love to see more pastors include church history in their own reading--and in their educational programs. In my experience, when Christians begin to understand their heritage, their faith and discipleship really start to blossom.

10 Questions With...Mark Batterson

Earlier I reviewed Mark Batterson's book, which I love & have given away more copies than I can possibly afford. I was able to talk with Mr. Batterson last week & talk with him about his book. Mark is a great guy (despite being a Packer fan from Chicago) & I look forward to great books & thought from him in the years to come. Enjoy the interview!

1. NSR - When did God teach you about Lion Chasing & what led you to write the book?
Mark Batterson - I think there has always been a little lion chaser in me. I just didn’t know what to call it, or how to think about it. You can’t plant a church without being lion chaser. NCC plant was most likely the biggest lion I’ve chased. It was a pretty scary proposition & there were times when we felt we were in a pit with a lion on a snowy day. God has sustained us, blessed us & I think the whole process of leading & pasturing NCC has been an education in lion chasing. That’s a big piece of my story & in terms of the inspiration to write it, I actually felt called to write when I was in seminary. I had kind of put that on the shelf for a while, & writing was a little like chasing a lion. But God has honored that proposition & the end product is the book.


2. NSR - If you could get one point across from your book, In a Pit, what would that be?
MB - I think to me, Chris, the greatest regrets are the lions you didn’t chase. You’re going to look back on your life & we’ll have some regrets from things that we did, but I just don’t think that those will zing as much or last as long as do the things we wish we had. I really do believe that the Church is focused too much on sins of commission, & not enough on sins of omission. Obviously our sins of commission grieve the heart of God, but it seems to me the things we could have done with our God-given potential or God-given dreams, I think those are really the things that grieve our Heavenly Father. He wants us to be & do everything He wants us to be & do. At the heart of it, our greatest regrets will be the lions we didn’t chase.


3. NSR - You say that the biggest risks are the greatest opportunities. Is it just a matter of deciphering God’s will to determine if those are just risks, or actually opportunities?
MB - I think two things are helpful here. First is life experience. The more risks you taken, the more opportunities you seize, the more you begin to discern the patterns of the way God works in your life. With life experience there is an accumulation of wisdom that you get. I think the other piece is a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit – really knowing when a prompting is from God. So whether you run away or chase the lion it takes tremendous spiritual discernment. With that, you will be able to decipher what is a God-idea & what is a good idea.


4. NSR - What authors have influenced your writing &/or your spiritual life?

MB - I love to read. In seminary (TEDS), I was averaging 150-200 books a year. I have dropped off a bit since then, but I am a voracious reader – everything from theology to neurology. A couple of the guys who I will read anytime they have a new book, though, are Philip Yancey & Erwin McManus. I really appreciate McManus’ take on the Kingdom. A.W. Towzer also has influenced me a great deal.


5. NSR - What is your favorite thing about your church?
MB - Wow. I love my church, so this is hard to narrow down, but I guess the thing I love most is that I can be myself. No pretending, no masks, just myself, I love that. Another thing I love is our demographic. 73% of our attendees are single twentysomethings. I have a huge heart for twentysomethings who are making those decisions that going to impact the rest of their lives. I love, love the demographic, & I love the geographic.We live 10 blocks from the capital, which is a pretty cool deal. I love the multi-site vision, I love that we are always looking for what is next. There are very few things that I don’t like. I could talk about my church all day, I love it.


6. NSR - There is a passage in The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe when the children find out that the Aslan they are about to meet is a lion. I believe Susan asks Mr. Beaver, “Is he safe?” Mr. Beaver responds, “Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” Would you say that just as Aslan is not safe, neither is God? So that we should not play it safe when it comes to Kingdom living?
MB - Absolutely. God is a risk-taker.The fact that he created human-kind with a free will is a quantum risk. I think we under-appreciate that dimension of God’s character. Also, in Hebrews 11, we’ll notice that there were a lot risk & there were a lot of lives lost in taking risks. I’m not naïve in thinking that we are going to kill every lion we chase. But that’s where we need an eternal frame of reference. I n temporal terms, I can’t guarantee that everything’s going turn out the way that we want it to turn out. But I can guarantee, because Scripture guarantees that every risk we take on God’s account is going to be rewarded. And that is something I think we can take to the bank. Even the incarnation, Jesus becoming flesh models risk, and that is something we are called to do. We are told to follow in his footsteps.


7. NSR - I saw somewhere that over 70% of NCC attendees are single adults. Would it then be fair to say that many at NCC are twentysomethings? It seems today; even those kids who were engaged in church growing up seem to fall away from the church when they get in their 20’s.What do you see as a solution for this?
MB - I can think of two things of great importance. First is creativity. We have a creative inflation in our culture right now. Restaurants, bookstores, retail shops, are spending time and money on being creative. We are surrounded by so much creativity. If the church doesn’t compete with that, I think we are deemed boring & irrelevant.The church needs to be the most creative place. Second is authenticity. Pastors need to be vulnerable & real, kind of in the vein of Confessions of a Pastor. We need to share our struggles, our challenges. And at the same time, we need to really challenge people to dream God-sized dreams. I feel that NCC is a pretty authentic place, & I think that really resonates with twentysomethings.


8. NSR - What do you see as a crucial topic facing the evangelical church at large today?
MB - I think one of the greatest challenges we face is that we are known more for what we are against than what we are for. It breaks my heart. Christianity is misunderstood & misaligned in so many ways. I think the Church needs to take a look in the mirror & instead of saying we are against this & against that (& I am not saying that there are not things that we shouldn’t be - there are things which we need to take a moral stand against, but we need to offer better solutions). The Church needs to find creative ways of communicating to culture - who we are, what we’re about.I think the Church right now has a serious perception problem. We know the reality that Jesus is the Son of God, crucified for our sins, & rose from the dead. He’s going to return & we have eternity to look forward to, but somehow it seems that we aren’t communicating the message of the Gospel in terms that are resonating with our culture in ways that they could, or should. We have the greatest message, we need the greatest marketing.


9. NSR - The coffeehouse, Ebenezer’s, is that part of NCC? If so, how are the two related?
MB - It is under the umbrella of NCC, but it is a fully operational coffeehouse. The philosophy is that it is a place where church & community crosses paths. We did not want to build a place where people would congregate only once a week. We wanted to be established within the community.It seems to have brought a level of credibility to our ministry. We have 500-600 people get coffee there each day & have been nominated as DC’s best coffeehouse. We also have two services meeting there on Saturday nights. 54% of the attendees were never a part of NCC before, so it is not just transfer growth.


10. NSR - Was there a chapter you felt was more difficult for you to hear from God than another?
MB - The toughest chapter to live is overcoming adversity, in my estimation. I mean, who likes adversity. One of the toughest things for me to write is that sometimes our worst days can become our best days. Sometimes it takes suffering to really learn the most important lessons. I didn’t like writing that, I don’t think people like reading it – but it’s true.

Learn more about lion chasing & Mark at these links-
ChaseTheLion.com
National Community Church
Mark's blog
nsresources.com

10 Questions With...Shane Sooter

Shane Sooter is the Artistic Director/President of City on a Hill Productions. He is responsible for charting the long-term artistic and ministry goals that will guide the company, project selection and development, and directorial duties in all productions. In addition, he serves as Director for the Southeast Easter Pageant, enjoyed by more than 70,000 people each year. Shane has served as Director on all 7 City on a Hill Productions films to date.



1. NSR - What is the background of City on a Hill Productions?
City on a Hill was born out of the drama ministry from Southeast Christian Church. We are called to serve God’s purposes through the gift of visual media. God has called us to serve Him through these 3 focuses…
1. Equipping Churches
Providing resources for churches to supplement the sermon and music with a third dimension.
2. Supporting Ministries
Many ministries need fundraising and awareness tools, we are here to provide a resource video that they could not otherwise afford.
3. Reaching Out to the Unchurched
We believe that media is a tool and weapon that can be used in the fight to win people's hearts to Christ. For far too long a generation of media savvy individuals hasn’t been effectively taught about God’s love in the way that they understand it…through media. We want to influence today’s culture through evangelism that speaks the same language and is best suited to the needs of the gospel.


2. NSR - What led you to write & produce H2O?
If you were to be a missionary to China, you would learn Chinese. Well, media is the language of the culture today. The Church is not equipped to speak to culture today, in fact, much of Christian media has done a disservice to the lost.

We have a passion for the unchurched & wish to equip the Church to do the job they are doing more effectively.

I came to know the Lord through Alpha, but really feel that what was needed for the Church was dramatic content – the kind that Jesus used. He told stories that engaged people, & that is what we are trying to do.


3. NSR - If participants could only take one idea away from H2O, what would you like it to be?
Our ultimate hope is that people would come to a new relationship with Christ through this material. We want people to understand the relational nature of Christ


4. NSR - What authors have influenced this project &/or your spiritual life?
Blue Like Jazz has monumentally influenced my of late. That book has also influenced this project – both language that is “non-churchy”, & hopefully speak to the nonbeliever.


5. NSR - How do you see H2O ideally used in a church?
H2O is a small-group, DVD-driven resource meant to bring Christ to people, instead of people to the church to reach them. H2O activates the body of Christ to evangelism.
Crossroads Christian Church in Arlington has used H2O as a community outreach for the entire church. They trained 100 people as leaders – how to use H2O, what H2O is, and equip them each with a curriculum kit. The church members then are responsible to invite their friends to their home & eat together & go through H2O for 10 weeks.


6. NSR - Would you use the Storm DVD’s in the same manner as the H2O, in a group setting, or, as mentioned in the leader’s guide, loaning them out to those asking specific questions?
H2O is a pure Gospel journey. Storm goes over the tough questions for believers & hopefully help the individual believer more comfortable sharing their faith.
Storm is not meant to be an evangelistic resource, but a step-by-step series of concepts which explain the tough questions so Christians can be bold in sharing their faith.


7. NSR - What do you see as a crucial topic facing the evangelical church at large today?
The main objection to Christianity that I see most people holding to is that people do not want to be like Christians. The Church needs to get real – we need to be willing to be not so pretty, & admit that we do not have it all together – as well as loving those in the world who do not have it all together.
A wrong and bad issue is that people assign relevancy to a church largely in how they use media. That issue, regardless of being unfair tells me that the Church needs to communicate effectively to culture through media. The Church needs to embrace media, drama & the arts.


8. NSR - Do you have a favorite episode, or a backstory from one episode which really hits you?
Probably episode six…I connect emotionally with the character, mainly because she is my wife!


9. NSR - Do you have anything in the works currently which we can look forward to?
We are going to begin a similar type of resource which would be a next step after H2O on discipleship. It will be based on John 10.10 – here’s the life you can have, not, here’s your rule book.


10. NSR - What is your favorite feature of H2O?
I am most pleased that once people see it, people open up to it, Christian or non-Christian. This is also one of the most frustrating things – just getting people to see it, so they can get on board with it.
I also like the conversations it generates & the fact that it brings the Gospel to people, rather then the old model of bringing people to the church.

Pick up an H2O Curriculum Kit here for 20% off. See a review of H2O on this blog here.

Also available:
Leader's Guide
Participant's Guide
DVD Set

For more information on City on a Hill & see a preview of H2O visit their website here.