In just two weeks time, I will have the privilege of being in Seoul, South Korea, with 5,000 other Christian leaders from every country on earth for the 50th Anniversary of the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization. This is only the 4th gathering in the last 50 years.
If you’re wondering what the Lausanne Movement is all about and how it started, watch this brief 15-minute video of David Platt interviewing Michael Oh, the CEO and Global Executive Director of the Lausanne Movement.
The first Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization occurred in 1974 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Billy Graham, John Stott, and other leading global evangelicals gathered key evangelical leaders from 150 countries to strategize how to work together to fulfill the Great Commission.
After that first gathering in 1974, TIME Magazine wrote in their August 6 issue that the first gathering of the Lausanne Congress was “possibly the widest-ranging meeting of Christians ever held.” It went on to say, “Brought together largely through the efforts of the Rev. Billy Graham, some 2,400 Protestant Evangelical leaders from 150 countries gathered for a ten-day International Congress of World Evangelization that served notice of the vigor of conservative, resolutely biblical, fervently mission-minded Christianity.”
Foundational to the ministry of Global Training Network is the belief that one of the most effective ways to see a nation reached and discipled with the Gospel of Jesus Christ is by training the Indigenous pastors and leaders (who already know the language, culture, and customs), so they can then go on to equip their congregations to evangelize and disciple their family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers for God’s glory.
Please join me in praying for this strategic endeavor in Seoul, where Christian leaders from every country on earth will gather to strategize and collaborate to help fulfill the Great Commission in the years ahead.
Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
“Lord, give me character that is greater than my gifts and humility that is greater than my influence.”
“The Holy Spirit is a Person whose work it is to get hold of us… not a vague power we get to hold and use… if we think of the Spirit as power, our thought will be, ‘How can I get more of the Spirit?’ But if we think of him as a person, our thought will be, ‘How can the Holy Spirit have more of me?’ The first thought is pagan. The second is New Testament Faith.”
– James Boice
“Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. The same way that money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them. They seem to make little difference on any given day and yet the impact they deliver over the months and years can be enormous. It is only when looking back two, five, or perhaps ten years later that the value of good habits and the cost of bad ones becomes strikingly apparent.”
– James Clear
“After ten thousand sins he loves you as infinitely as ever.”
– Charles Spurgeon
“Although my memory’s fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.”
– John Newton
“One of the Hebrew words for trust also means ‘careless.’ In other words, when you trust someone, you are careless, or carefree with them. You are not anxious and fearful, editing what you say or how you feel. You are free to be yourself with the other person because you can trust that they will not do wrong by you.”
– Henry Cloud
“Christians only live by being constantly forgiven.”
– J. I. Packer
“The energy for truly ‘Christian’ change is the positive energy of God’s grace. Can we be scolded and shamed into changing? Sure. But it isn’t Christian. And who even gave us the right to browbeat others in the first place? The only power in all the universe for authentic Christianity is the ‘grace’ of God forgiving us, lifting us up, and helping us get traction for a better future. The implications are significant.”
– Ray Ortlund
When disagreeing with fellow Christians, Tim Keller’s advice was… “If we were able to say: ‘I disagree with you, but I agree with you on what is truly important: you are my brother and sister, and we will serve and worship together,’ then we would model a much-needed picture of unity and of Christ-like love.”
– John 17:20-21
“An eclipse is a cosmic reminder that the universe is not a random collection of matter and events that happened by chance. The cosmos is so finely tuned that we can know precisely where every heavenly body will be 200 years from now, down to the minute. These events remind us that the universe is not an accident, nor are we. God made both, and He is in control.” (Genesis 1:1)
“But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.”
– from Middlemarch by George Eliot
“I’ve been shaped by Eugene Peterson’s A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. I love what he says about obeying God, even in the absence of feelings. ‘Feelings are great liars. If Christians worshipped only when they felt like it, there would be precious little worship.’ That principle extends to all areas of the Christian life, whether it’s worshiping God or serving others. As Peterson writes, ‘We can act ourselves into a new way of feeling much quicker than we can feel ourselves into a new way of acting.’”
Margaret Madson, 93, made her final journey home to heaven on March 14, 2024, joining her husband and my dad (Joseph Madson).
Margaret was born in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, to Eddie and Helen Warner. She grew up on a farm in southwestern Minnesota. After high school, she attended St. Paul Bible Institute for two years in St. Paul, MN. After getting some bible education, she went on to nursing school and became an LPN.
Margaret Warner (before she married my Dad)
Margaret met Joseph Madson in January of 1956. Within three weeks, they were engaged and then married five months later, on June 15, 1956.
Joe and Margaret had four children: Joel, Ramona (Paluszcyk), Paul, and Muriel (Shinn). All four of her children are married, and she has a total of 11 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.
Mom and Dad on their wedding day, June 15, 1956.Mom with her four kids at Christmas (from L to R: Ramona, Paul, Joel—Muriel is held by mom)Mom and Dad’s four kids (Clockwise from top: Joel, Ramona, Paul, Muriel)Mom and Dad with all four of their children around 1984.
How would I describe my mother?
The phrase ‘routinely faithful’ describes her beautifully. She was kindhearted, compassionate, and others-oriented, and she faithfully followed the Lord during her journey here on earth. She was a quiet, behind-the-scenes type of person—not upfront, not noticed, not flashy. Faithful, consistent, dependable, and humble.
Here are a few brief memories of my mom:
It wasn’t until I was in my 50s that I remember hearing my mom share the full details of my 10-day stay in the ICU at one of the largest hospitals in the Phoenix area. I was around 18 months old and had a serious case of pneumonia. My illness was so bad that both she and my dad weren’t sure I would make it.
Around 1962—Mom with Joel, Paul, Ramona
On one of my visits to see her, Mom told me: “Paul, back in the early 1960s, they wouldn’t let parents stay with their children overnight, so I would have to leave you in the ICU room in a crib, while you cried out to me not to leave.”
And then she said (and this is what brought a flood of tears to my eyes), “Each evening, I would walk down the long hospital hallway, go down the elevator, and then out to my car, and I would cry the whole way, pleading with God, saying, ‘Please, God, don’t let dear Paul die.’”
What do we owe our mothers? you might ask. After hearing that story, I couldn’t help but answer, “Everything!”
After she told me that story, I thought about all of the times growing up when I was disrespectful, stubborn, and flat-out unkind to her. How could I treat the woman who gave birth to me and loved me that deeply in such an unkind manner?
What’s the famous saying, “Old too soon, wise too late?” As children, our perspective is limited. As the decades go by and we grow and mature, ‘lightbulb moments happen,’ and our understanding of what others must have been experiencing in certain situations (because of our actions) becomes clearer.
No matter how stubborn, unkind, or disobedient I may have been, my mom was the model of consummate grace. Even in her stern, firm discipline (which I needed and deserved often), there was grace and humility. Always grace and humility.
When I was around 10, I got mad at my mom for giving me some (I’m sure) very well-deserved discipline. So, what did I do? I took a shovel and started chopping the bark off of our beautiful bottle-brush tree in our front yard (the scars of which could be seen on the tree 30 years later). She saw what I was doing through the front window and came out and simply asked, “Paul Richard Madson (I knew then I was really in trouble), what are you doing?” I said I was going to chop down this tree because I was mad at her. You can imagine how this story ended. I didn’t win.
When I was around eight, my mom disciplined me for something I had done and so I decided to run away from home. I got on my bike and started to ride as far as I could. When I got less than a mile away and didn’t recognize the name of the streets and realized I was lost, I began to panic and turned around and finally figured out my way home. But I made sure to tell my mom when I got home, “Mom, I just want you to know that I ran away because I was mad at you. But I decided to come back home.” I had been gone for a whole 15 minutes. She just smiled at me—no words were needed.
Mom and Dad’s four kids—around 1968
When I was in 5th grade, I had a teacher who couldn’t keep control of the class, so I took advantage of that and decided that I wasn’t going to do my schoolwork. In November of that year, my mom came home from the first quarter parent-teacher conference with my report card—all D’s and F’s. That day also happened to be my birthday. She came and stood at the door of my bedroom when I was putting on my new birthday present (a full football uniform with shoulder pads, a helmet, jersey, and football pants). She simply said, “Paul, I just met with your teacher, and he gave me your report card, and you are getting all D’s and F’s.” That’s all she said. She just looked at me, with that look only a loving mother could give, that said, “Paul, you know better. Do the right thing.” The disappointment in her eyes said it all. I just hung my head. I never got (all) D’s and F’s again.
I remember my mom coming to every basketball game during my four years in high school—every. single. game. Faithfully sitting in the stands on hard wooden bleachers, she cheered on her third-born child. I didn’t realize what a big deal it was then to have her there at every game. Now I do. Now I really do.
Finally, I remember waking up (on those very rare occasions) at 5:30 a.m. as a kid. I would walk out to the kitchen, where the light was on, and sitting at the kitchen table was my mom with her Bible and a Daily Bread devotional (and her cup of coffee). It was like clockwork. Every morning that I am aware of—for her whole life—this is how Margaret Madson started her day. Routine faithfulness. A Godward focus gave her the perspective she needed to begin each new day.
St. Augustine wrote, “Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.” Mom found that ‘rest’ and ‘peace’ in her deep faith in the forgiveness that comes from Christ’s finished work on the Cross.
“’Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”(1 Corinthians 15:55-57 | NIV)
Because of her faith in Christ, Mom had no fear of death. She was ready and at peace to leave this life and enter life eternal.
Thank you, Mom. I love you and will see you again someday.
“…for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; [the reality]… that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life…” (George Eliot, quoted at the end of Terrance Malick’s film, A Hidden Life)
“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 NIV)
“Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath…” (Psalm 39:4-5 NIV)
Mom and I in 2017Mom and Dad—around 2002—now reunited together in Heaven
Last week, I shared the list of My Top 10 Books for 2023. This week, I wanted to follow it up by sharing my Top 10 ‘Honorable Mentions’ from this past year.
(Re-Read) I first read this outstanding book several years ago. I have since read it four times—it’s that good. Bottom line: if you want an easy, proven way to build good habits and break bad ones, this book will help you. This book was written six years ago, yet it still landed on the New York Times Best-Seller List this past year.
(Re-Read) This book’s ‘Sub-Sub’ Title is A Guide for Sinners, Quitters & Procrastinators. This book is biblically-based and filled with practical insights that will help anyone wanting to develop greater self-control (self-discipline). Lee Strobel said this about the book: “Few books have the potential to change your life as much as this one.” Drew Dyck is an editor at Moody Publishers and has written several outstanding books.
This book isn’t about getting more done in less time; it’s about getting only the right things done. This book will help you to ‘focus’ on that which is most important in your life. Have you ever found yourself stretched too thin? Are you often busy, but not productive? Do you feel like your time is constantly being hijacked by other people’s agendas? Here are four brief quotes I saved from the book:
“Remember, if you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.”
“It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.”
“Sometimes what you don’t do is just as important as what you do.”
3 End-of-Day Questions: What went well? What could have been better? What will I change for tomorrow?
(Re-Read) You may have noticed that three of the last four books were ‘re-reads’ for me. The reason? In order to finish my Ph.D., I knew I needed to increase my ability to do deep work, prioritize what is most important, increase my self-discipline, and develop and maintain better habits.
The above four books will help anyone wanting to grow in these areas of life. Deep Work (in my opinion) is desperately needed in our ‘distracted, entertainment-focused, social-media-saturated, internet-dominated culture’ in which we live. Attention spans to accomplish deep thought and deep work continue to shrink—this is why fewer and fewer people read books. They are losing their ‘mental muscle’ to read, think, and write carefully and thoughtfully. This book was both encouraging and challenging.
(Re-Read) I have read this several times since it first came out in 2014. It is simply one of the best little books on ‘What is the Gospel?’ Ortlund also develops the concept of ‘gospel culture’ and why it is so necessary that we pay attention to it within our churches and organizations.
Here are two short quotes from the book on Gospel Culture:
“Our unity exalts Jesus in the eyes of the world as the true Son of God sent from the Father—all his claims convincing, all his purposes desirable, all his promises inevitable. This was important enough to Jesus that he prayed for it.”
“Our churches should rejoice over one another’s successes and grieve over one another’s setbacks. We should speak well of one another across denominational lines and humble ourselves in our own eyes by forgiving past injuries and promoting the common good in the gospel.”
I heard about this book from several people, and then when Pastor Kevin DeYoung (Christ Covenant Church and part of The Gospel Coalition) listed it as one of his “Top 10” books of 2023, I purchased it in late December and read it over the holidays.
Dr. Attia contrasts “lifespan” (how long we live – the quantity of our years) with “healthspan” (how well we live – the quality of our years). He gives numerous highly reputable PhD research studies to support his assertions on the importance of maintaining a healthy diet, regular exercise, and a good sleep regimen.
Here is one brief quote on the importance of regular exercise as we age:
“More than any other tactical domain we discuss in this book, exercise has the greatest power to determine how you will live out the rest of your life… [regular exercise] delays the onset of chronic diseases, pretty much across the board, but it is also amazingly effective at extending and improving healthspan… So if you adopt only one new set of habits based on reading this book, it must be in the realm of exercise… And if exercise is not a part of your life at the moment, you are not alone—77 percent of the US population is like you… Even a little bit of daily activity is much better than nothing.”
To say that we are living amid ‘gender confusion’ in the U.S. is certainly an understatement. The question of gender – who we are as men and women – has never been more pressing or more misunderstood. In this book, Dr. Favale weaves her own personal experience with expert knowledge.
She writes with substance, clarity, and compassion. She lays out a powerful, moving articulation of a Christian understanding of reality: a holistic paradigm that proclaims the dignity of the body, the sacramental meaning of sexual difference, and the interconnectedness of all creation. If you want to better understand the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of gender confusion today, read this book.
How do we answer people in today’s culture who bring up some of the atrocities that have been done in the name of Christ (by Christians) down through the centuries? Whether those atrocities include violence, bigotry, war, oppression, racism, greed, child abuse, or something else. Do we turn a deaf ear? Try to sweep it under the rug?
If you know anything about history, you are aware that there have been Christians down through the centuries who have been “bullies” and have not represented Christ honorably. How do we respond intelligently and graciously? This book will help equip you to answer many of those questions. John Dickson is an excellent historian and apologist. I’ve read almost all of his books.
This has become one of my favorite ‘go-to’ books that I recommend to people who want to investigate the claims of Christianity (in an accessible 250-page book). It does a beautiful job of exploring the evidence for the Christian faith. It is written with the 2020s and many of the current issues in apologetics in mind.
Dr. Shenvi received his PhD from the University of California Berkeley (where he came to faith in Christ!), then worked as a research scientist at Yale University and Duke University. Neil has published over thirty peer-reviewed papers.
This is a book that I wish I had written. It describes my heart through my years of pastoring and now leading Global Training Network. I kept saying “Amen!” as I read it. It describes why we should work together as church and para-church organizations to further God’s Kingdom for His Glory.
Too often, there is rivalry, envy, or jealousy between local churches in the same city or fellow mission organizations seeking to serve Christ around the world. These authors look at the “Seven Deadly Sins” and show how they often show up in churches and Christian ministries—so that rather than working together for God’s glory, they criticize, compare, and divide.
Rather than ‘rejoicing with those who rejoice’ and ‘weeping with those who weep’ (Romans 12:14), they instead ‘rejoice with those who weep’ and ‘weep with those who rejoice.’ Read this and be encouraged about the importance Scripture places on working together for God’s glory.
In case you’re interested, below is a list of my Top 10 books of 2023. Enjoy!
One quick reminder about the reading of books: Reading books is meant to make us think, to challenge assumptions, to deepen our faith, to grapple with issues we would normally not wrestle with. And ultimately, reading books is meant—not simply to ‘check off my list’—but to think through, pray through, and apply so that we are more like Jesus after reading them. Reading books isn’t a race—read slowly, drink deeply, process thoughtfully, markup and highlight, and let your heart be enriched.
Simply put, this is a short 90-page book(let) on the link between our joy and humility. Ortlund does a beautiful job of showing how true humility leads to greater joy in life. And who doesn’t want (and need) more joy? You can read it in an hour.
(Re-Read) I first read this when it came out in 1997, and it continues to inspire and encourage me to be a more gracious person in all areas of life. Christians aren’t always known as being gracious toward others—particularly those with whom we may disagree. This book will help answer the question: How well are we dispensing grace to a world that knows far more of strife and unforgiveness than mercy?
(Re-Read) I first read this classic book in the 1980s, and it continues to be even more relevant today in the 2020s.
This book was first written in the 1920s during the height of Liberalism’s push to normalize a “non-supernatural, Bible-can’t-be-trusted, Jesus-didn’t-really-physically-rise-from-the-dead” era.
Ray Ortlund writes, “Is our Christianity today the Christianity of the New Testament? Let’s not assume that it is. Let’s examine whether it is. J. Gresham Machen’s profound classic, Christianity & Liberalism, can help us face this urgent question with courage and clarity. And may God grant us wonderful rediscoveries of his grace in Christ, ushering in a new era of reformation and revival.”
The subject of my Ph.D. dissertation is Steward Leadership, so I am acutely interested in this book. I’ve always believed that the best leadership is an Acts 20:24 model, where the Apostle Paul states, “But I consider my life of no value to myself; my purpose is to finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.”
In other words, my life does not belong to me—it belongs to God. All of life is about stewardship. Your life, job, business, assets, gifts, and talents belong to God. We are simply stewards of all God has entrusted to us.
To give you a snippet of what a ‘steward leader’ is, Rodin says this in his introduction:
“As steward leaders we have no need to seek to increase in our positions of power. We have no desire to build our own kingdoms and advance our own reputations. Our lives are ‘hidden with Christ in God’ (Colossians 3:3)… Steward leaders empower their people, give away authority, value and involve others, seek the best in and from their people, and constantly lift others up, push others into the limelight and reward those they lead—all so that God’s will may be done in a more powerful way. They seek no glory for themselves but find great joy in seeing others prosper. They take no account of their reputation, but desire that Jesus’ face be seen in all they do.”
Josh Chatraw is a fellow with The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics (which is part of The Gospel Coalition). This book is written for this generation of those struggling with doubt and questions about their faith. It’s an apologetics book written especially for the 2020s.
Chatraw and Carson write from a gracious perspective as they seek to answer the real existential questions that even believers in Christ struggle with occasionally. They write in the same spirit of Jude 1:22, “Be merciful to those who doubt.” This book certainly won’t answer all the questions you may wrestle with, but I believe it will deepen your faith in Christ and His Word.
Though this book doesn’t quote Rachael Denhollander, I couldn’t help but think about one of her statements in recent years.
After all that happened to Rachael and her fellow gymnasts (from Dr. Larry Nassar), she said:
“And while I still have huge unanswered questions, I realize I have more real answers through my faith than without it.”
In case you are wondering who Rachael is, here is a brief bio to give some context to the above quote:
Rachael Joy Denhollander (née Moxon; born December 8, 1984) is an American lawyer and former gymnast. She was the first woman to publicly accuse Larry Nassar, the former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor, of sexual assault. Denhollander is 2018 Glamour Woman of the Year and was included in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2018. She is the recipient of the 2021 Abraham Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Life.
Denhollander has been bestowed with many honors for bringing Nassar to justice, including Time magazine naming her to its 2018 list of the world’s 100 Most Influential People. On May 16, 2018, it was announced that the survivors of the USA Gymnastics sexual abuse scandal would be awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. On December 12, 2018, Denhollander was announced as the winner of Sports Illustrated‘s Inspiration of the Year Award.
Rachael’s husband (Jacob) is currently working on his Ph.D. at Southern Seminary.
What’s worth fighting for? How do we navigate disagreement? And how do we live as agents of Jesus’ love? Darling explores practical ways to follow the Bible’s command to ‘strive for peace’ even in a painfully divided church, country, and world.
This book will help people climb out of cynicism about how the people of God treat each other, especially when we are trying to heal from such pain in our own lives, and issues a clarion call to live as bridge builders in a divided country, healers in a hurting church, and countercultural Jesus-followers in a world that needs to know God’s love.
Bethany Jenkins, Vice President of Media for the Veritas Forum, says, “This book will inspire you to work toward the beautiful vision of unity that Jesus desires for his messy but glorious bride.”
This is a much-needed book, especially as we enter 2024. 😊
In the spirit of C.S. Lewis, McGrath writes compellingly about the macro issues of life, specifically the meaning of life. It seeks to wrestle with and answer questions such as: What is the point of life? Why does it matter? What does it mean to be a human being?
This is a great book for a seeker to wrestle with. McGrath writes especially for those who have no particular faith—atheist or agnostic—but I believe it will benefit all who read it.
McGrath writes in his introduction, “Life is a gift. We never asked to be born. Yet here we are, living in this strange world of space and time, trying to work out what it’s all about.
So what is life about? As far as we know, we’re the only species on earth that asks this question and dares to hope that we might find an answer. It seems that we are born to wonder, not merely to exist.
To wonder is to reflect, to turn over in our minds what is known, to expand our imaginative capacity, and to ask what greater truth and beauty might lie behind our world or beyond our settled horizons of vision. We want to know why things take their present forms and whether they point to something deeper… Human beings seem to yearn for a ‘big picture’ which helps us feel that we are part of something greater than ourselves.”
Even if you don’t love history, you will love reading this book. And if you love history (like I do), you’ll especially enjoy it! Wilson can flat-out write in an engaging, colorful manner that makes history come alive.
Don’t let the book’s title mislead you—this is not about the founding of America (although it intersects with the pivotal year of 1776). It is a book about how we got to the current “post-Christian West” in which we live today—and how we can best be salt and light in a culture where Christianity is diminishing rather than flourishing (as it is in the global South). Believe it or not, the roots of our current post-Christian West go back to key events in 1776. Wilson states, “The big idea of this book is that 1776, more than any other year in the last millennium, is the year that made us who we are. We cannot understand ourselves without it.”
The inside of the book jacket sums it well: “A single year in the late eighteenth century saw several monumental transformations—indeed, revolutions—that changed the trajectory of the Western world. Some are more familiar than others, but most of us know only a fraction of what occurred during that pivotal year or how those events still shape the post-Christian West today.”
In Remaking the World, Andrew Wilson investigates seven major developments arising from events in 1776:
Globalization
the Enlightenment
the Industrial Revolution
the Great Enrichment
the American Revolution
the Rise of post-Christianity
the dawn of Romanticism
Drawing on key documents and historical figures, he demonstrates how these political, philosophical, economic, and industrial changes shaped the modern West into a “WEIRDER” society: Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic, Ex-Christian, and Romantic.
In case you have not heard of Andrew Wilson (Ph.D., Kings College London), he is the teaching pastor at King’s Church London and a columnist for Christianity Today. He has degrees in history and theology from Cambridge and King’s College London and is the author of several books.
This book was one of the most enjoyable biographies I’ve ever read (some of that certainly has to do with my great respect for the late Tim Keller). What were the key ideas, people, and events that shaped Tim Keller’s life? John Thune, US senator from South Dakota, said this about the book, “Collin Hansen brilliantly examines the story behind one of the greatest thinkers, teachers, and writers of our time. If you’ve been as blessed as I have by Tim Keller’s work and ministry, you must read this book.”
This book took me by surprise. I knew I would enjoy it—because I enjoy biography and have read most of Elliot’s books over the years—but I had no idea how much I would enjoy it and how many “surprising” things I would learn about Elisabeth’s life. I told someone recently, “After reading this book, I could write an article entitled, ’10 Surprising Things I Never Knew about Elisabeth Elliot.’” Some of these things were (for me) ‘drop-your-jaw-you-have-to-be-kidding-me’ kind of things. Not scandalous. Just “Wow! I never would have imagined that when thinking about Elisabeth Elliot.”
I read Through Gates of Splendor when I was in college and knew most of the backstory of Elisabeth and Jim’s lives before 1960. But Volume 2 starts in the early 1960s after Elliot moved back to the U.S. from Ecuador.
This book is filled with primary source material from Elliot’s journals over the years. Personal reflections, deep and honest questions, struggles, surprising joys, and deepest heartaches. It filled in many of the missing pieces I never knew about the second half of her life.
Elisabeth Elliot has impacted hundreds of thousands of people through her writing and speaking (myself being one). This book will give you a much greater appreciation for the woman behind her many books.
Read this and deepen your understanding of Elisabeth Elliot, and maybe you’ll figure out what my “10 Surprising Things…” are. 😊
“These five misconceptions remind us that sometimes our picture of scriptural stories is shaped more by popular perceptions and modern retellings than by the text itself. But when we take a closer look at the biblical clues, a wonderful—and hopefully more accurate—picture emerges of what happened that night nearly 2,000 years ago.
And what happened that night still stands as one of the most monumental events in human history. God became a man and entered our dark, cold world to redeem a sinful people.
And that is a story that should transform our “Bah, humbug” into a hearty “Merry Christmas.”
“When children move from reliance on their parents toward the independence of adulthood, it can be disorienting. Initially, parents set the guidelines for behavior and schedules in the home, but adult children grow toward autonomy by moving out, pursuing careers, and establishing households—households with a culture of their own.”
Here are five practical tips on loving your adult children and grandchildren well.
“There are a number of places in Scripture where God refers to his people as “the apple of his eye”—a delightful phrase that has been translated and adopted by the English language… but I think there is another application that ought to concern you and me.
We need to know that when we turn on our fellow Christians, when we hurt or harm them, when we belittle or insult them, we are likewise poking God in the eye. When we exaggerate their faults or diminish their graces, we are reaching out a finger toward his pupil. When we treat them poorly instead of well, when we tear them down instead of build them up, when we curse them instead of bless them, we are like a piece of grit in the eye of God.
And we should not expect that God will stand idly by while we do damage to what he regards as most precious.”
“At 101, most of your close friends have gone by,” says Paul Snyder, who lives in Kensington, Md. “But you can keep making new ones.”
Paul Snyder walks around Kensington, Md., wearing a hat that reads: MADE IN 1921. It’s a good conversation starter.
At almost 102 years old, Snyder believes the secret to successful aging is making new friends. He befriends people wherever he goes: the grocery store, the doctor’s office, church, the nail salon. Many people in his Parkwood neighborhood call him “Grandpa Paul.”
“At 101, most of your close friends have gone by,” said Snyder, who has lived in the same home since 1951. “But you can keep making new ones.” Snyder’s circle of pals grows weekly. Some of his fondest bonds have been formed in recent years.
Declaring ‘let’s make today a good day,’ a new ad released by Chevrolet offers a ray of hope for the families of Americans affected by Alzheimer’s and dementia.
“Lord, give me firmness without hardness, steadfastness without dogmatism, love without weakness.” (Jim Elliot)
“Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”
“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” (Proverbs 14:30)
“It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life.” (J.R.R Tolkien)
“Jesus is looking specifically for the people who can’t get their act together. After all, what is the use of telling a guy in bare feet to pull himself up by his bootstraps. Our obedience is not the grounds of our relationship with Jesus, but the overflow of it.” (Jared Wilson)
“Love me when I least deserve it, because that’s when I need it the most.”
“…it is misleading to say that God accepts us the way we are. Rather, He accepts us despite the way we are. He receives us only in Christ and for Christ’s sake. Nor does He mean to leave us the way He found us, but to transform us into the likeness of His Son.” (Sinclair Ferguson)
“The biggest problem with bureaucracy isn’t having too many rules. It’s having rules that fail to serve core values and goals. Dysfunctional organizations have rigid policies that thwart the mission. Healthy organizations have policies that can be changed to advance the mission.” (Adam Grant)
“If the culture in an organization is strong, new people will become like the culture. If the culture is weak, the culture will become like the new people. Building a strong culture is what builds a strong organization.” (Simon Sinek)
“People are not asking Christians for their beliefs on ‘right and wrong.’ They want to know: ‘Does it work?’ People are not asking if Christianity is true. They are asking whether it is good. People are not walking away from the church because they don’t believe what the church is saying. They are walking away because they don’t believe the church believes what it is saying.” (Kevin Brown, President of Asbury University)
“One donut won’t make you fat. One workout won’t make you jacked. What you do in a day won’t define you. But the habits you repeat for a year will.” (Brooks Coleman)
Anglican Prayer of Confession: “I confess that I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what I have done and by what I have left undone. I am truly sorry, and I humbly repent… Have mercy on me and forgive me; that I may delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your name. Lord, have mercy upon me, pardon and deliver me from all my sins, confirm and strengthen me.”
“Sometimes life is so hard that you can only do the next thing. Whatever that is, just do the next thing. God will meet you there.” (Elisabeth Elliot)
“All the years that Jacob assumed Joseph was dead and gone, Joseph was actually being used by God to prepare for saving everyone else’s life. Our Lord often does his best work when we suppose all hope is lost.” (Chad Bird)
“Every once in a while, I meet a person who radiates joy. These are people who seem to glow with an inner light. They are kind, tranquil, delighted by small pleasures, and grateful for the large ones. These people are not perfect. They get exhausted and stressed. They make errors in judgment. But they live for others, and not for themselves. They’ve made unshakable commitments to family, a cause, a community, or a faith. They know why they were put on this earth and derive deep satisfaction from doing what they have been called to do.
Life isn’t easy for these people. They’ve taken on the burdens of others. But they have a serenity about them, a settled resolve. They are interested in you, make you feel cherished and known, and take delight in your good. When you meet these people, you realize that joy is not just a feeling, it can be an outlook. There are temporary highs we all get after we win some victory, and then there is also this other kind of permanent joy that animates people who are not obsessed with themselves but have given themselves away.”
“Studies have shown that… grateful people view their lives more favorably than others, have increased energy and self-confidence, and demonstrate better coping. They are more generous and optimistic, have a greater sense of purpose, have fewer medical problems, exercise more, and sleep better than their peers.…”
(What Brilliant Psychologists Are Learning About Humility by Mark R. McMinn – Christianity Today Magazine)
“Give thanks in all circumstances.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:18)
“And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
(Colossians 3:17)
“Do everything without complaining or arguing.”
(Philippians 2:14)
Christian counselor and writer Matt B. Redmond recently highlighted the important habit of writing down specific things that fill us with gratitude.
He points out that we live in a world where the above verses are not the norm. Instead, we live in a world where complaint and a culture of rage used to be the exception, rather than the rule. Today we encounter these things all too often.
He writes, “The internet and social media have not only given us a place to complain, but they have formed us into people who complain and display their frustrations in hopes people will join in with us. We rage about politics, sports, movies, and how bad the service is at restaurants. It’s almost like we’re looking for reasons to be upset.”
Redmond goes on to write about his experience as a counselor: “What’s interesting is that none of this really makes us feel better. When I talk to a client about this, it’s interesting that none ever say they are happier as a result of their rage or complaining.”
So, what’s the antidote?
Redmond suggests, “One thing I give my clients to do that has almost always had a good effect—is a gratitude list. I have them write down ten things they are thankful for every morning. Ten unique things. No repeats. Yep, no repeats.”
Redmond says that after a week or two, it gets really hard to come up with ten things you are thankful for. You have to start getting creative. You have to start looking around you at the small things you overlook daily.
The exercise starts stretching you. It stretches mental muscles daily, so your ability to be grateful is stronger. You are training yourself every day to look for reasons to give thanksgiving to God instead of complaining.
Consider what complaint and rage are a response to… it’s basically us not getting our own way. Something is getting in the way of our will. Whose “will” do we want anyway? Thy will be done, or my will be done?
Now, imagine being a person overflowing with thanksgiving to God. Imagine “giving thanks in all circumstances,” as Paul instructed. Just imagine the potential for joy because you see reasons to fill your heart with gratitude everywhere and in all circumstances – when you’re on vacation and when you’re in a hospital bed.
When you become that kind of person, anger and complaint can be fought off because you have now submitted your will to God’s will.
Give it a try.
You’ve got nothing to lose except your complaining.
And, over time, you’ll be surprised how your attitude improves and how much more joy you experience.
“No amount of regret changes the past. No amount of anxiety changes the future. Any amount of grateful joy changes the present.”
(Ann Voskamp)
“Seek… to cultivate a buoyant, joyous sense of the crowded kindnesses of God in your daily life.”
(Alexander Maclaren – 1826-1910)
“Keep your own happiness journal. Record God’s evident goodness around you every day. You’ll find that in time, you’ll see more and more gifts from him – not because there are more, but because you’re finally seeing what has been there all along.”
(Randy Alcorn)
“Ultimately, in his essence, Satan is an ingrate. And he sinks his venom into the heart of Eden. Satan’s sin becomes the first sin of all humanity: the sin of ingratitude… Our fall was, has always been, and always will be, that we aren’t satisfied in God and what He gives.”
(Ann Voskamp)
“Once we experience thanksgiving as our default condition, we’ll find it’s inseparable from our happiness, and we’ll never want to go back to the barren wasteland of ingratitude.”
(Randy Alcorn)
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”
“Remember, if you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.”
Greg Mckeown (from Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less)
“It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.”
Greg Mckeown
“Sometimes what you don’t do is just as important as what you do.”
Greg Mckeown
3 End-of-Day Questions:
What went well?
What could have been better?
What will I change for tomorrow?
“You look at me in this wheelchair, paralyzed for 52 years, and most people would think, Oh, you’re looking forward to your new body. And yeah, that’s one of those fringe benefits. But I’m looking forward to the new heart; a heart free of manipulating others with precisely timed phrases; a heart free of fudging the truth; a heart free from hogging the spotlight, believing my own press releases… a heart free of not believing the best of others; a heart free of caving into fear or anxiety about the future. I can’t wait to have a heart free of sin.”
Joni Eareckson Tada
“Appreciate what you have before it turns into what you had.”
“It’s never too late to start doing what is right. Forget the past. Today is a new day. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Starting is half done.”
“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact, please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death? I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”
Thomas Merton (from Thoughts in Solitude)
“Grace is opposed to earning, but it is not opposed to effort because effort is action and earning is attitude. That difference is very important.”
Dallas Willard
“The Gospel eliminates earning, not effort; merit gained, not muscle applied; penance, not repentance; worldly sorrow, not godly sorrow; dead works, not working for God’s glory.”
Scotty Smith
Finally, I found these words by Alan Noble to be wise. In case you aren’t aware of who Alan is, he is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Christ and Pop Culture and an advisor for the AND Campaign. He has written for The Atlantic, Vox, BuzzFeed, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, and First Things. He is also the author of Disruptive Witness, and You Are Not Your Own.
“You can read and even encourage other people to read books you don’t completely agree with. I don’t know why this needs to be said in the Year of Our Lord 2023, but here we are. Actually, I do know why: because a virulent anti-intellectualism driven by paranoia and tribalism has infected the church. And guess what: you can read people you don’t agree with, and you don’t have to publicly announce your disagreement. Whatever your tribe is, I give you permission to read books without doing ‘Public Announcements of Intellectual Purity.’ You can even read my books.”
Here are some of my favorite quotes from Dr. Hendricks:
“We cannot impart what we do not possess.”
“A mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pew.”
“You teach what you know, but you reproduce what you are.”
“The mark of spiritual maturity is not how much you understand, but how much you use. In the spiritual realm, the opposite of ignorance is not knowledge but obedience.”
“Every disciple needs three types of relationships in his life. He needs a ‘Paul’ who can mentor him and challenge him. He needs a ‘Barnabas’ who can come alongside and encourage him. And he needs a ‘Timothy,’ someone he can pour his life into.”
“You are able to do many things. But be sure you find the one thing you must do.”
“Eighty-five percent of spirituality is a good night’s sleep.”
“God is not looking for more stars; He’s looking for more servants.”
“You can impress people at a distance, but you can impact them only up close.”
“Experience is not the best teacher; evaluated experience is.”
“Learning is change. If you haven’t changed, you haven’t learned. Just because you can put it on paper or because you can recite it doesn’t mean it’s yours. It’s not yours until you change.”
“Character must always precede communication.”
“It’s the leverage of your life that’s going to make the greatest impact.”
“Scripture wasn’t given to make us smarter sinners, but to make us more like Jesus.”
“Knowledge that is self-discovered is stored in the deepest part of the mind and remains the longest in the memory. There is no jewel more precious than that which you have mined yourself.”
“The two things that will influence your life more than anything else are 1) the people you know and spend time with and 2) the books you read.”
“We cannot take people where we have not been or are unwilling to go ourselves.”
“If you stop learning, you stop leading. Leaders are life-long learners.”
