'Fasting' by Scot McKnight

Fasting by Scot McKnight
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I must admit first off that I truly admire Scot McKnight and all that he's done to teach Bible and theology. One of my all time favorite books was "The Jesus Creed." In addition to content, his writing style is very easy to follow and conversational, and this book on fasting was no different. The most memorable part of his presentation of this discipline is how he defines fasting. The definition that he gives is "fasting is the natural, inevitable response of a person to a grievous sacred moment." He explains that for many Christians today, our focus has been on the wrong thing when it comes to fasting. He illustrates his point with the A->B->C model. A= sacred moment; B= Fasting; and C= Results. For many Christians today, and I would add for every other book on fasting that I've read so far in my life, the focus has been solely on the B->C connection. In other words, we fast TO GET something. McKnight argues that this mindset is flawed, [arguably] unbiblical, and risky. It's flawed and unbiblical because the examples proved throughout Scripture, always come about as a response to some situation that they are faced with (i.e. Jonah 3.4-10). It's also risky because there are some times when the results we are fasting for don't come. If fasting is only done to get something, and then we don't get it, how discouraging and damaging might that be for a person's continue discipline of fasting. Instead by focusing on the A->B relationship, all of those issues disappear.

In connection with other teachings from Jesus, as Christians if we are truly seeking God's Kingdom first and we pray and truly desire for God's will to be done here on earth as in heaven, then when we look around and see just how far things are from that reality, we should experience a 'grievous, sacred moment.' Since we are beings comprised of BOTH inner and outer parts (soul/spirit and body), the grieving practice is not 'complete' without both parts participating. Thus our inner selves feel sorrow, frustration, and longing for God's Kingdom to come, while our outer selves grieves through the discipline of fasting. I agree with McKnight that for some reason many Christians today have tried to separate and divide the human being into two, separate things. Some even go as far as to say the whole person is really just the inner part and the body is just a shell (which sounds dangerously close to Gnosticism to me). In reality the two parts of part of a whole, and both are needed for the whole person to be whole.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. I read it in two days, so it's not that difficult of a commitment to read. It certainly is going to be my 'go-to' whenever someone asks me about fasting!

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October... it came.... it went...

In case you didn't get my newsletter that I sent out earlier this month, October was a very eventful month complete with our annual CSF Fall Retreat, which went extremely well! But instead of rewriting what I already wrote in the newsletter, I'll just leave the fall retreat talk to that. =)

The semester series is continuing to go well. Last night we talked about prayer. It's so interesting and sad to me that while prayer could be considered the easiest and most powerful thing to do, we often times have a hard time getting ourselves to spend any amount of time in it, aside from the ritual of 'blessing our meal'. I just completed a book by Stanley Grenz (Prayer: The Cry for the Kingdom) that I HIGHLY recommend to anyone who would like to read something about prayer and grow in that area of their life. Instead of turning Wednesday night into a Sunday School class, I instead too the time to help the students look at practical ways to improve their prayer life, in addition to encouraging them with passages of Scripture emphasizing the importance and power of prayer. One of the practical hints that I suggested was to join me and a small group of people who are going up to Hyner's View State Park area next Tuesday to just have a simple retreat away from campus and the stresses of life and school. There isn't any cell phone reception up there, and the view is breathtaking, being able to see over some of the mountain tops and down into valleys of the surrounding area. Here's a glimpse for you to picture a little bit of what it's like.



Another practical suggestion that I gave to the students to help with their devotional and prayer life, is to utilize a tool called examen.me. It's an awesome website that helps give you structure in your prayer life, utilizing Scripture reading, prayer, journalist, and meditation. I really recommend this website to ANYONE who is looking to revitalize or maybe even try something new in their personal devotional life!

Well, I'm off to continue reading for next week and do other important things! Thanks for reading! =)

Patrick

Late September Update

This semester is off and running... we're already going on our 6th week of the fall semester! Emily and I were talking the other day, and we came to the conclusion that based upon what we've experienced so far this semester, our excitement for campus ministry has nearly returned to where it once was when we first began! I don't say this out of spite for any former students or anything like that, but unlike the previous two years, we've been able to overcome and avoid a great many of difficulties and stressful situations that we ran into previously! So in light of this rediscovered passion and excitement, we've been able to see again the FULL joy that serving on the mission field in campus ministry can bring!

This semester, we've begun going through a series called "Why Does It Matter?" Each week, we've been taking a look at various aspects of the Christian faith and determine why they really matter. I have to give Emily any credit that doesn't go to God in my own prayers that were asking for guidance, because she was a big help and 'dreamer' for this series, which has 'paid-off' greatly thus far! I've seen students wrestle with things that they thought they knew/believed, but realized that they were taking it for granted and only going through the motions because they were 'told' to believe it. We've also had a number of new students choose to join us on Wednesday nights and in our small groups on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays! Thus far this semester we've covered the topics of 1) Belief, 2) Discipleship, 3) Baptism, 4) Forgiveness, and 5) Community.

On the family front, Benjamin is doing better! He's back on trial feeds with the bottle with 'half-strength' formula! Just last week, his blood count did drop, but for the two weeks before that, it rose on its own! Even though his blood count did drop, it's still above the warning line that the doctors gave us, so that's still a relief. I just want to say that I appreciate your prayers and support, and I hope that you will continue to pray for Benjamin, Emily, myself, and the entire CSF Campus Ministry as we follow God's leading and serve in our roles as Campus Ministers! Thanks for reading this quick/short update, and I hope that I'll be more disciplined in updating you more as the semester continues to unfold! =)


Patrick

I Like Giving

This is by far, the GREATEST book on giving that I have EVER read. I've read mean books about giving and have heard many sermons about giving, but none of them have never communicated how impactful giving can be as this book has. In addition to talking about the spiritual, emotional, and physical benefits to giving, Brad Formsma includes many stories from people inside and outside of his family. The stories alone are an encouragement to start making giving a regular part of your everyday life.

One of the things that I really like about this book, is that Brad doesn't talk about giving from a 'tithing' standpoint. He transcends the whole 'discussion' about tithing, and gets right at the root of giving being a heart issue. Rather than worrying about meeting a 'regulation' of turning over a certain percentage of income, Brad encourages his readers to move beyond this way of thinking and start looking at the needs of people around us. When we as Christians are able to move from an 'obligatory' mindset to a 'serving' mindset, we'll be in a much better place to be a blessing through giving and experience the blessing of giving ourselves.

I highly recommend this book to any and everyone! If you've read books about giving and have ever felt like they are slightly missing the point, I encourage you to try this book! I'm sure it won't disappoint! The stories alone will encourage and push you to start wanting to look for everyday opportunities to give to others in need.


"Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review."

Book Review "The Next Christians"

First, let me start off by saying that I'm really excited to get back into blogging, if for no other reason than to just share with you all some of the books I'm finally able to read now since I finished my master's degree program. Recently, I just finished reading another book the other day called "The Next Christians" by Gabe Lyons. I have to say that this book was able to put into words much of what my desires for the church today are. It's also really helped me develop a a way of analyzing churches and how effective they are at meeting the mission that Christ as given us. What Lyons does in this book is outline why the 'end of Christian America' is actually a good thing, and how the 'Next Christians' are utilizing this change to change how the greater culture views the church as a whole. One of the underlying values of the "Next Christians" is 'restoration.' This is key because EVERYTHING that the "Next Christians" believe, think, and do stems from this value! The basis for this value comes from embracing the 'entirety' of our story than rather just the end as many Christians today have the tendency of doing. What this means, is that the "Next Christians" believe in the importance of 'restoring' here on earth rather than just waiting and relying on Jesus' return and life after this. They believe that Jesus didn't die for us just to be 'saved' and then do nothing, but rather we were saved and then expected to join in God's current mission of restoration in the here and now! Obviously, for anyone who knows me, this really resonates with me! After establishing who the 'Next Christians' are, he spends chapters discussing the qualities/characteristics that they see as important and that differ from the previous generation(s) of the church. These qualities included:

• Provoked, Not Offended
• Creators, Not Critics
• Called, Not Employed
• Grounded, Not Distracted
• In Community, Not Alone
• Countercultural, Not "Relevant"

Lyons ends his book by discussing how throughout history, there has been big 'shifts' in Christianity that have occurred every 500 years. If this trend continues, then the next big "shift" is at the door step, and Lyons argues that the "Next Christians" are the ones who are going to usher it in with excitement and purpose.

I would encourage you all to read this book if you want to read something that deals with the Church and culture. There could be parts of Lyon's personal convictions that I know some people might find difficult or hard to accept, but what's obvious is Lyon's heart for the Church as a whole to reverse the current perception that our culture has of the Church (which is what the book 'Unchristian' deals with), and bring the restoration to the world. Well I guess that's all I have to say about this book for a short review. Until next time! =)

Patrick

Review of 'Clear Winter Nights'

I must say that I originally looked past this book to read for a review because I didn't really think it was a book that I was interested in reading. However now that I've read it and had time to process the book, I must wholeheartedly recommend this book to everyone! I had never heard of Trevin Wax before (I suppose I must have been living under a rock), but the way that he has written this book is in such a way that is easy to read and addresses some modern, pertinent issues in a non-threatening/abrasive way!

The story of Chris is one that many young adults, Christian and non-Christian alike can relate to. Chris is on a journey where he's not quite sure what he believes and this uneasiness leads him to make some drastic decisions in his life. It just takes one winter break, spending time with his retired-pastor of a grandfather to uncover and address the hurt, uncertainty, and anger that was hidden underneath. Since I work with college students in campus ministry, there have been many of times when I've had conversations where I've talked with a student who didn't think he/she could continue in his/her faith because they were uncertain of whether or not they could agree and follow the Biblical position on certain issues, and this book is a narrative journey that helps a person see someone embark on the journey of exploration without feeling threatened themselves.

I certainly recommend this book, as I said before, to everyone. While there are some doctrinal stances that are alluded to that I might not agree with 100% of the time, the mere fact that the main character Chris deals with real-life issues that every young adult is going through this very moment. The conversations Chris has with his grandfather Gil are worth the entire book in and of itself. It's a very quick read and will keep you entertained from the very first page!

• Author's Site
• Podcast
• More Info
• Author Bio

 "I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review."

The New Year

Hey guys! I just wanted to take some time and try to update you all on what's happening here in Lock Have, PA! As of right now, we're in/almost through our 4th week of classes, leaving us with about 10 1/2 weeks of classes and 1 week of finals. Things are flying by at a really fast pace, which is proving to be both good and not so good, haha. I can speak for both Emily and I and say though, that this semester is by far the toughest semester we've had here at Lock Haven. It seems like at every turn, there is some major obstacle that we have to overcome. This past summer, we were praying intensely for this school year and really excited for it, so maybe that's why so much is going on, however it's a little discouraging when the most opposition that we are facing is coming from members of our own leadership team. The biggest issue thus far is a mindset that CSF is a club and not a ministry. I even had a conversation with one of the team members about two weeks ago now (which got rather heated) about his opinion of how the ministry should be run (which was very club -based and focused). It was also revealed to me in this conversation that there, in the past two years, has been some behind-the-back grumbling and gossip amongst our leadership team regarding Emily and I which, needless to say, hurt but frustrated me beyond words can describe. Needless to say, there is a overwhelming amount of spiritual immaturity among some of leadership team members, even some from whom we expected more from. However despite these major frustrations and difficulties, there are some major bright spots in our ministry thus far. Just last weekend, we took a day trip up to the finger lakes in New York to baptize one of our students. It was a really cool time and I'm super excited for the things God is going to do through this kid! In regards to CSF Wednesday nights, we seem to be growing a little once more. Just last night I counted at least 35 people, with at least 3-5 people that I would consider regular attenders not able to make it.

This semester we are doing a series called 'Listen Up.' In this series we're going through Scripture and taking a look at various times when God paid a visit to people to deliver a message about something His people were doing well, doing poorly, or both. The very first week, we took a look at what God was saying to us as CSF right now, sort of a prep and stage-setting night for the semester. The message was essentially, "Listen Up: This is NOT a club!" The idea that I felt God was trying to get across was simple, CSF is a ministry and NOT a club! I used Paul as an illustration to explain what this means. Just as Paul used his tent-making business as a means to 1) earn a living to support his ministry/live off of and 2) reach potential customers with the gospel. His 'business' was a 'storefront' which he used to further his real purpose, being an ambassador for Christ! Likewise, CSF is a ministry that is merely using it's 'club' status as a 'storefront' to reach the people we're desire to impact and witness to for Christ, college students! I opened that night reading the passage from 1 Corinthians 4.20, "For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by Go's power." (NLT) The idea there is that if we are merely just a club, then meeting on Wednesdays is 'good-enough.' But if we are going to listen to God and see CSF as more than a club and as a ministry, then just 'doing' Wednesdays is just a lot of talk, and that's not what the Kingdom of God is all about. (In my conversation with that student he also felt like mentioning how they thought it was a bad message and should have been done differently, something I believe is a direct result of that individual being so obsessed with viewing CSF as a club and not a ministry.... once again, a lack of spiritual maturity.) The next week we took a trip to the OT book of Haggai, and we looked at the message of Haggai 2.1-9. The message there was "Listen Up: Be Encouraged to Do What's Right." Last week we moved next door to the Book of Zechariah and the message there was "Listen Up: It's Time For a Heart Check!" The idea for this one was examining our actions and discerning whether we are actually obeying God or rather just trying to appease Him. For that message we started at Zechariah 7.3-6, and saw how these people's actions were just done in order to appease God for the mistakes they had made in the past, rather than obeying Him, thus avoiding the mistakes in the first place. Last night we began a 7-week stint in the book of Revelation, where we are looking at the 7 letters to the 7 churches. Our first stop was the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2.1-7, and almost a continuation of last week's message from Zechariah. Last night's message was "Listen Up: Don't Forget About Your First Love!" We talked about how it's possible to be so focused on the action part of things, that we neglect the personal relationship side of things, and the challenge there was that they examine their lives to see how much they are in prayer (relationship), in the Word (relationship), and allowing themselves to be put into or even putting themselves into situations where their faith is going to be tested and stretched (actions).

Emily and I also had the opportunity to lead worship for Penn State's CSF group for the past 4 weeks until they had students trained up and willing to take over the worship leading role(s). It was an absolute blast and quickly reminded me how much I miss planning for and leading a body of believers in a time of praise and worship, Scripture reading, and prayer during services. This past Tuesday was our last week, because they now have a core group of students ready and eager to take over and lead. It is a bitter sweet feeling, because as I said, I really enjoy and have missed doing that, but additionally, it's really awesome see students develop in their spiritual walk(s) and be eager to take on this role and responsibility. Another positive out of this, is the fact that Emily and I now have at least one more night free, which is nice, because prior to this week the only night that we had free was Friday nights. We had something going on every other night of the week, which is something that I know is not the very best, haha.

Well I suppose that's the biggest things happening right now in our neck of the woods. If you guys wouldn't mind, I want to ask that you pray for CSF here at LHU, specifically the spiritual maturity of everyone who is a part of this ministry. I also ask that you would pray that God would break the hearts of our leadership team, and piece them back together in a way that makes them much more sensitive to what He's leading us to! Finally I would ask for prayer for both Emily and I, for this is the most we've ever been discouraged here in campus ministry and with these students. Thanks for reading, thanks for supporting us, and thanks for praying! =)


Pat