Sneak Preview: Screwtape Radio Theater by Matt Kaufman on 09/18/2009 at 2:30 PM

I can't tell you how many books I've bought that I've never read. Put it this way: It's enough to make me feel guilty about buying any new ones. So it's rare that I actually read a book twice, let alone more than that.

Ah, but The Screwtape Letters -- now that's an exception. I must've read it half a dozen times. C.S. Lewis' tale of senior devil Screwtape's lessons in temptation to his nephew Wormwood changed my life. It awakened me to all kinds of ways Satan finds to make me stumble: Thirty years after I first read it, I still find myself starting to fall into one of those traps, then recognizing it, stepping back, smiling and saying "Nice try, Wormwood."

So when Ashley asked who wanted to promote the new Screwtape Letters audio drama from Focus on the Family, I stuck my hand up and said "Me! Me! Me!" Or words to that effect.

The broadcast won't be out for a few weeks yet, but check out a preview right now and see how much fun the Focus radio theater team had putting this together. Notice, BTW, that the actor playing Screwtape (Andy Serkis) is the same one who played Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movies.

This team always does top-notch work. See for yourself, and let's get a good buzz going.

In Defense of 'I Kissed Dating Goodbye' by Ted Slater on 07/13/2009 at 3:54 PM

I understand the concerns expressed in Suzanne's recent post, and appreciate that some may have come to regret how Joshua Harris' book I Kissed Dating Goodbye has affected their dating philosophy.

Here's the thing, though: I think that too many people have simply read the title of Joshua's book, or heard others give caricatures of the principles explored in it, and have gone on to either reject its biblical messages altogether or embrace an anti-social perversion of it.

The author of the article that Suzanne references in her blog, for example, seems to have misunderstood what Joshua was saying, and implemented that faulty set of principles, and now has rejected it. He came to believe, for example, that the choice was between "actually speaking to a girl" and "refusing to date based on my loyalty to spiritualized groupthink." Both are bad options, and he went with the latter for a few years.

Good for him for changing his mind; bad on him for his cynical tone and mischaracterization of what Joshua had written, and for not owning up to his own relational mistakes. Instead of blaming his "insecurity" and "struggle with confidence" and "awkwardness" with dating on "some stupid, self-righteous decision I made in high school," for example, blame it on something that has a biblical remedy: fear of man.

Joshua Harris recognizes that there are many misunderstandings about his first book, and has responded to some of them on his Web site.

I still stand by the message of that book that premature, short-term romantic attachments can be a big distraction from serving God -- especially for teenagers. But in the years since I've also seen that a legalistic application of these ideas can be unhelpful, too.

One of the misapplications has been cutting off guy-girl relationships altogether, something he's not encouraging in the least:

The heart behind [this book] is not to force someone not to date or not have relationships with the opposite sex. The message behind it is really "don't pursue romance until you're really ready for commitment."

That's exactly what we say at Boundless: Dating is great when it's intentional, when you're in it to try to figure out whether someone could become your spouse.

Harris goes on:

I encourage anyone: If anything in your life becomes more important than God, and keeps you from serving Him, you should be willing to kiss it goodbye.

Joshua had just come out of a sinful relationship. He knew that the way he had been "doing dating" was wrong, principally because he hadn't put God first. May we adopt this same attitude, that if we're dating in a way that diminishes God, may we be counter-cultural enough to kiss it goodbye.

And may we stop blaming Joshua for our relational failures, own up to our misunderstandings and mistakes, and press on.

Why Books? by Ted Slater on 04/24/2009 at 6:00 PM

We received the following comment a few minutes ago. Instead of merely publishing it under the week-old blog post, where it's likely to be overlooked, I wanted to highlight it for discussion:

why do you bother giving away books that keep poeple from concentrating on the only book that they need to read to answer every single problem they have: the Bible? by keeping people from GOD you are promoting sin. i believe this is why focus is having the finacial problems they are having because they are not being faithful to GOD. they are concentrating on idol worship of individuals who promote themselves and their worthless egotistical books and opinions.

I think this individual has a point: Too often we turn to books written by our contemporaries, rather than to the Book inspired by God Himself. It's a good reminder to me to continually consider where I look for guidance and relationship. Yes, Scripture, being infallible, is best.

And it's true that too many books are written simply to promote the author and earn them money, with little intention to actually benefit the reader.

But there's an incongruity in this comment that has me tied in knots. Books are simply people's ideas in written form. There's nothing inherently wrong with having ideas, with sharing those ideas, with putting those ideas down on paper. It's been a tradition among God's people for millennia. The Apostle Paul embraced reading books in addition to the Scriptures, as seen in his request that Timothy bring him his books and parchments, and in his familiarity with the writings of non-Christian poets. Back in the book of Daniel, we learn that God Himself gave His followers "learning and skill in all literature and wisdom...."

And, ironically, it's the method this individual used to convey his ideas to me.

Was this person wrong to request that I read (and publish) his four extra-Scriptural sentences? Is he "promoting sin" by doing so? Was his act of sharing his thoughts in written form a type of "idol worship"?

Discuss.

The Big Book Giveaway by Candice Watters on 04/17/2009 at 1:13 PM

Blogger and Boundless Show guest Tim Challies is doing a big book giveaway today for his Free Stuff Fridays promo. All five Moody titles just happen to be by authors who have also been guests on the Boundless Show. They are: Carolyn McCulley, Mitch Temple, Kevin DeYoung, Steve Watters and yours truly.

It's not too late to enter to win. All it takes is a name and email address. You can do so here.

Who Is This Guy? by Candice Watters on 03/04/2009 at 2:42 PM

So I've blogged twice now about Voddie Baucham's new book and promised a full length review over at Boundless, soon. Then it dawned on me that maybe some of you haven't heard of him before. I jumped right in because What He Must Be is the second of his books I've read. In case you've never heard of Voddie and wonder why we're giving him so much space and respect, I thought I'd take a minute to introduce you.

Here he is with his wife Bridgette.

And here's who he is:

It is impossible to understand Voddie’s approach to the Bible without first understanding the path he has walked. Raised in a non-Christian, single-parent home, Voddie did not hear the gospel until he was in college. As a student-athlete at Rice University, Baucham responded to God’s call on his life and entered the gospel ministry. His journey to faith was an unusual and intellectual one.

He understands what it means to be a skeptic, and knows what it’s like to try to figure out the Christian life without relying on the traditions of men. As a result, he speaks to ‘outsiders’ in ways few Bible teachers can.

He is a husband, father, pastor, author, professor, conference speaker and church planter. He currently serves as Pastor of Preaching at Grace Family Baptist Church in Spring, TX. Voddie makes the Bible clear and demonstrates the relevance of God’s word to everyday life. However, he does so without compromising the centrality of Christ and the gospel. Those who hear him preach find themselves both challenged and encouraged.

Voddie and his wife, Bridget have been married since 1989. They have five children, Jasmine, Trey, Elijah, Asher and Judah. They are committed home educators.

You can find out more about him and his other books at voddiebaucham.org.

He Just Wasn't That Into Me by Ashley Ramsey on 02/10/2009 at 4:00 PM

A couple years ago, I was killing time browsing the sale rack at Davis Kidd where I found a clearance copy of Greg Behrendt's He's Just Not That Into You. I don't remember if I had a "He" that just wasn't that into me at the time or if the bargain-loving part of my heart couldn't resist the sale.

Either way, I timidly took my find to the counter where a Rip Van Winkle-esk clerk rang me up. He didn't seem to notice my purchase (which I was sure indicated I was desperate and undesirable). I guess he was still a little groggy from his 20-year nap on the mountain. Or maybe he was used to women buying Behrendt's little pink book.

I cracked the cover of the pink hardback book in the privacy of my room later that evening. Reading the words, "he's just not that into you" was oddly freeing.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a warm, fuzzy freeing. It was like an intervention freeing. Kara Schwab, Boundless author, described it this way, "in-your-face ... as if the authors broke into your apartment and sat you down on your couch to say, 'Girrrrl, you gotta get it together.'"

And indeed, I needed to get it together. I know I said I didn't remember if I had a "he" that wasn't that into me, but as I write this, it's all coming back. He had not been into me for a decade. Yeah, that's right, a decade. I had a crush on "He" since grade school. We were the best of friends in high school and had gone on a couple of weird and undefined dates in college. I waited for "He's" phone calls for weeks at a time. I knew that deep down he had feelings for me and one day he would DTR and we would live happily ever after.

Ladies and Gentlemen, that never happened.

While I'm glad for the wake-up call I received from Behrendt, I wish it had come from a wiser, truer source. I wish someone who loved me and cared about my life had gently told me that I needed to hang up my pipe dream and move on.

The only truth I recall finding in the 175 pages of He's Just Not that Into You was the title. The content of the book was full of hook-ups and f-bombs. And from what I've read over at Plugged In, the movie's not much different. So if you choose to see it, go with discernment. Give Kara's article a read before you head for the theater.