My heads up agent just alerted me to the fact that Christian Book Distributors has the book on sale for $11.99 now — which is almost as cheap as I can get it from my publisher!
Here’s the link if you want to get some early Christmas shopping done.
Oh, and if you order it, you can mail it to me before December 11. I’ll sign it and send it back before Christmas. How about that for a deal?
Not too long ago I went to a big Christian conference. There were speakers and musicians and classes and keynotes. There was also a giant room filled with Christian products. Everything you can imagine from puppets to communion trays to computer software to t-shirts with terribly cheesy slogans printed on them like “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven” and “His pain, your gain”. Christian candle makers were there, as were Christian architects and Christian painters.
And there was a bookstore. All the usual suspects were well-represented. Max Lucado. Chuck Swindoll. John Ortberg. Andy Stanley. Beth Moore. Liz Curtis Higgs. Tons of Christian romance novels. Lots of sanitized, age-appropriate Bibles for the kiddos.
It was there, tucked away in a bargain bin, that I saw a book I’d written a few years ago, Hearts and Minds: Raising Your Child with a Christian View of the World (Tyndale, ‘06) on sale, 50% off.
I remember when that book came out. It had taken two years to research and write. I’d been thinking about that book for so long that when I finally held it in my hand, it seemed so perfect — like one of my children almost. All the contracts and editing and marketing and distribution. All the radio interviews and speaking engagements. All the prayers and hopes and efforts converging into that one amazing moment when I at last received that first copy from the publisher.
But I’ll tell you a secret: the same feelings I’ve been describing the past couple of weeks, those feelings of fullness and emptiness, that combination of happy and sad, sweet and sour simultaneously — that’s what I felt when I held that book initially.
As good as it felt, it wasn’t enough. It certainly didn’t satisfy me forever. It didn’t take away all my fears or quench my thirst once and for all. I still had longings and desires and insecurities. I wasn’t fulfilled by holding that book.
And now here it was reduced for quick sales, on the clearance shelf. My baby in a bargain bin.
In that moment, I was really glad that our accomplishments and triumphs aren’t all there is, that they are not the highest heights we’ll ever know, that the moment of my book’s unveiling will not be as good as it ever gets. I was glad because it also means that our tragedies will not have the last word. That my book’s failing does not destine me to failure.
I do not have to rise and fall with my Amazon.com ranking, if I just keep remembering that I’m made for something bigger, something better, something this world cannot provide because this world cannot contain it.
I was made for heaven, and, in heaven, there is no bargain bin.
In my last post I mentioned that I’m reading this book by Dale Allison called The Luminous Dusk. In it, the author notes that prior to the 17th Century, with the exception of a very few Romans and Greeks, it was hard to find any European who seriously doubted the existence of God.
Furthermore, prior to the Lisbon earthquake of 1700, most devastating “acts of God” caused people to think about themselves and the role they may have played in bringing the destruction upon themselves. But, in that pivotal moment, Voltaire turned the tables on God — putting the Creator in the dock, as it were — and demanded he answer for his actions. When it was determined that his answers were not good enough, modern philosophy simply wished the Creator away to the cornfield.
Now, when we ask why there are so many agnostics and atheists in contemporary society — especially when there were so few throughout the majority of human history — what are we told?
Hume’s declaration that the universe is a closed system will be brought up. We’re told that higher biblical criticism in 19th Century Germany poked holes in the theory of biblical infallibility. We’re told that Darwin revealed the Book of Genesis as primitive mythology, something only believed by superstitious people who have no appreciation of science. We may even be told that religion was helpful for a time but has been rendered obsolete as we’ve continued to evolve.
But Allison suggests a factor so obvious we may end up overlooking it completely, a factor far removed from universities and books and debates, a factor that seems benign…until you think about it more carefully. Here’s what Allison says, “Secularization correlates directly with a growing physical separation from the so-called natural world. In other words, the more we have moved indoors, the less some of us are inclined to believe” (p. 7).
Could it be something as simple as that? Could insulation and central heating/air conditioning, grocery stores and automobiles, overhead lights and electrical outlets be adding to our disbelief in God?
It does seem to me — and this is purely anecdotal — that people who work with their hands outdoors, folks who farm and hunt and fish, who know the feel of the soil and the smell of the rain have a greater sense of their dependence, their limits and the presence of something bigger than this world. People who are asleep when the sun comes up and indoors when the sun goes down, who never really get to see the stars or dig in the dirt find it easier to believe in their own self-sufficiency.
So, what do you think? Does comfort take us farther from God?
In his book, The Luminous Dusk, Dale Allison tells of a study that was conducted among scientists, a poll to determine how many of them believe in God. He says that among those who do believe in a supreme being, most of them are cosmologists — someone who studies the universe as a whole and, by extension, humanity’s place within the universe.
More cosmologists than biologists believe in God. But more biologists than psychologists believe.
Could it be that the closer your field of study takes you to people, the less likely you are to believe in God?
I’ll admit here that when I get alone, say, at the beach or on a mountaintop, I can sit still and contemplate the beauty of creation. This naturally leads me to a deeper contemplation of the Creator. I find peace readily at hand. I experience contentment. The light and momentary troubles of this world seem just that: light and momentary. Perspective returns, and I know the truth of Jesus’ statement, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
But add a few people into the mix — a nagging wife, her defeated husband and whiny children in tow, or an old bickering couple or a loudmouth businessman yammering away on his cellphone about his fantasy baseball draft or some other strange nonsense — and my “peace like a river” easily turns into a stage-5 rapids.
It’s just harder for me to be a good Christian when there are people around.
Perhaps this is why I chose to become a preacher instead of a counselor. Instead of patiently listening to others tell me about their personal problems for 50 minutes, I’d much rather make them sit and listen to me tell them what to do.
I don’t think I’m alone in this struggle. I spent a lot of time last week with other professional Christians — preachers, professors, authors, etc. And I noticed something strange. When they talk about God, their eyes light up. Their energy level rises. They love talking about God, about the Bible, about Jesus, the Holy Spirit and salvation. They positively glow when they talk about what God has done for us and what a magnificent person he is.
But when the subject changes to church or — more specifically — people in their church…well…their countenance falls. There’s always someone stirring up trouble or threatening to leave. Someone just got a divorce. Someone else is having an affair. A child has been abused. Lies have been told. Money is missing. Forgiveness is withheld. Factions form.
It would be so much easier to be a good Christian if there weren’t all these broken, messed up people around!
And yet, for some strange reason, God refuses to let me deal with just him. He insists that if I’m going to be in a relationship with him, I must also be in a relationship with his people.
So, how do you balance it? Do you ever find spending time with people takes you farther away from God?
Pamela Newton of Star Valley, AZ!
Brittany A. Barber from Carson Newman College wins a free copy of the book.
Rick Duncan, Sr. Pastor of Cuyahoga Valley Church just outside of Cleveland, OH. One of the truly good guys in ministry, and a former baseball player!
Rick gets a free autographed copy of the book for Christmas. I wonder who will be next?
Rick Duncan
Just wanted to remind you that I’m offering free copies of my latest book, The 52 Greatest Stories of the Bible, for people who will do one of two things:
1. Take a picture of yourself with the book and email it to info@52greateststories.com. Here’s an example from my friend Andy Sikora:
2. Write a review of the book on Amazon.com.
Do one of those two things, and I’ll make sure the person of your choice gets a free copy of the book for Christmas.
Here’s a question for you to help me with: What sort of prize should I give to someone who does both of those things?
