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Book Review, "Was Blind, But Now I See"

12/27/2014

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Conversion stories are always thrilling and enlightening. That’s why God gave us several in the book of Acts and why they still resonate today. Unfortunately, many modern “testimonials” sound nothing like Bible conversions, but instead reflect popular errors of the day. They involve salvation supposedly received through bizarre visions, subjective feelings or the “sinner’s prayer” with little or no influence from the word of God. Until recently, most modern biblical conversion stories have simply been passed on orally with little available in written form.

Brent Lewis, motivated by a suggestion by his wife, Joy, has written an insightful book, Was Blind But Now I See, which helps fill the void. It is the story of five people from different backgrounds, who heard the gospel in different ways, but obeyed it the same way, the biblical way.  The subtitle of the book is “How Real People in the Real World Finally Found the Real Truth.”

* Joe Rodriguez suffered various types of abuse as a youngster in Central Florida, but he persevered through life until he came to know a number of Christians, especially Kerry Keenan, who were good influences in his life. Gary Ogden was finally able to baptize him into Christ.

* Keith Stonehart was an out-of-control and drug addicted rock musician, whose wife’s family and several gospel preachers were finally able to reach with the gospel message. Keith is probably the best known of the converts mentioned, preaching now for a congregation in Fultondale, Alabama.

* Ray and Louetta Hilt were truth seekers from Pennsylvania who were discouraged that none of the churches they attended seemed to be anything like what they read about in the Bible. They wondered if anyone in the world followed the Bible until a letter to the editor of a newspaper in York, Pennsylvania, opened doors to a contact with Denny Freeman and disciples in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Denny taught them and they were baptized into Christ.

* Bubba Caudill’s life took him from the mountains of Eastern Kentucky through a number of intermediate stops to Shelby County Alabama where he came to know Christians through his work in law enforcement. A tragic traffic accident drew him even closer to them and that association helped him see the truth and obey the gospel.

* Paul Gregory was a criminal and highly manipulative con artist who spent most of his adult life in the Florida state prison system. There he met two gospel preachers, Daryl Townsend and Denny Freeman, whose Bible studies and those of others made him come face to face with the emptiness of his life. He obeyed the gospel and since being released from prison has married and serves God faithfully.

The first chapter is a sermon by Paul Earnhart and gives a number of motivating thoughts and anecdotes. The most riveting parts of the book are in the five chapters about the conversions. They are well written by Brent Lewis who captures well the different personalities of the protagonists, even occasionally using some “local lingo” in doing so. The book helps remind us that there are still truth seekers in our shallow world.

Thanks for the book should not only go to Lewis, but also to the subjects of his sketches who were willing to reveal painful details of their past lives, in the hope that others who are going through the same type of trauma, can see that God can give them peace as well. Their openness greatly encouraged me.

I highly recommend the book for young readers, new Christians and for all who could use an encouraging boost. It is available at the CEI Bookstore, Florida College Bookstore, Religious Supply in Louisville, Kentucky and One Stone Publishing. I notice that One Stone has the book listed on Amazon.com.


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Strength among modern young disciples

12/8/2014

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 “Say not, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’
  For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.” (Eccl. 7:10) (Explicación en español abajo)

Are younger Christians generally drifting away from God into convictionless Postmodernism? Some are, and therefore we need to give constant warnings about the danger of apostasy. However, at least in the circle of people I know, I believe that young Christians as a group are much stronger now than in the 1970’s when I was a teenager and young adult. Perhaps it’s because I’m blessed to work with some exceptional youth, but I see a number of areas in which I believe that many modern young Christians beat my generation of teens from the 1970’s hands down.

1. More willingness to show spiritual interest – Frankly, almost all congregations I knew in the 1970’s had a group of disinterested teenagers clumped on the back row, sometimes smirking and sometimes simply looking bored. I hardly see that now. Instead, in most congregations there is a group of teens and older children on the front rows, singing, taking notes or listening carefully.

2. More willingness to be open about spiritual challenges (James 5:16). There was often a “hush hush” mentality regarding personal spiritual struggles in the 1960’s and 1970’s.  Many individuals fought their spiritual battles alone, afraid to confide in others for fear of being ostracized. Not so today! I hear many young disciples who are willing to confide in others about their struggles with lust, pride and materialism. Not only do they confess their sins, but also take concrete steps to help each other in battling their temptations. Thank God for them!

3. More emphasis on humility – Most young disciples I know today hate pride. Though most preachers I knew in the 1960’s and 1970’s were humble and hard working, there were also a number of frankly cocky characters that caused harm in the kingdom. That type of preacher completely turns off most young disciples today and that is a blessing! I believe there is much less “preacheritis” now than in my youth.

4. More emphasis on prayer – I don’t remember a single prayer meeting among my young Christian peers in the 1970’s. I remember a number of singings for young Christians but no time dedicated primarily to group prayer. Now, there are regular gatherings of young Christians (and also older ones) designed to pour out our hearts to our heavenly Father. I believe that collective prayer life is much more vibrant among disciples of the 2010’s than those of the 1970’s.

5. Independence and anti-denominationalism – The 1950’s and 1960’s saw intense pressure among known churches of Christ to line up with the official line of the “Church of Christ” denomination and support its approved schools, benevolent organization, papers and other denominational machinery. Modern young disciples today are turned off by that approach and resist any efforts to force others to “line up” with a party line.

6. A desire to know the Bible in its context rather than just “proof texts.” – I doubt many in my peer group in the 1970’s could tell you what the book of 1 Peter was about, much less Habakkuk or Haggai. We could all quote Acts 2:38 and Mark 16:16 but would have difficulty giving a summary of many of Paul’s epistles. I believe that a much higher percentage of young Christians now have a working knowledge of the theme of various books.

Of course, we must not overlook texts that back up fundamental Bible teaching, so called “proof texts.” The New Testament writers quoted such texts repeatedly. There needs to be more Bible memorization of “proof texts,” even as we continue to emphasize an analysis of the Bible in its context.

Why this positive transformation among many young disciples today? Perhaps the fact that the world is more evil now than ever is opening eyes of more parents today to the fact that they must emphasize spirituality and separation from the world in their parenting. Perhaps teens themselves are put off by the shallow carnality and selfishness they see among their peers and realize the need to seek God to get away from that. Whatever the reason, I am thankful to God that I see more faith and spiritual hunger among most young disciples now than I saw in the 1970’s.

I am not naïve about the unique spiritual dangers that face the young now than in the 1970’s. In particular, there is a tendency to underestimate the importance of having Bible authority along with naiveté about the historical consequences of that trend. However, I am confident that the unique strengths of many young disciples will help in the battle against presumption and other spiritual enemies.

(Es un artículo que trata de Corrientes entre Iglesias norteamericanas y por tanto no pienso traducirlo.)

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    Gardner Hall

    I live in New Jersey with my wife Beverly and preach primarily in two congregations: A bilingual congregation that meets in West Harlem in New York City (the official page [with less pictures] is here) and a Spanish Speaking congregation in Fair Lawn, NJ. Also have a small web page with various articles and sermons here and a Spanish webpage here.

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