Generation Axis Blog

Will you read "Divided by Faith" with me?

If you attend Willow and frequent the weekend services my guess is you've heard Pastor Hybels speak of his 2nd Conversion that took place around 6 years ago.  This conversion opened his eyes and changed his heart concerning racial reconciliation.  Since that day Bill often refers to the culprit of such life change, largely crediting the book "Divided by Faith".  

 

I picked this book up a year ago and for some reason have yet to crack it open, that was until this morning.  I feel prompted to put what I was planning to read this week to the side and dive into this book.  I'd love for you to join me on the journey.

If your looking to pick up a copy you can find it up in Seeds and also on Amazon.  Its time to learn, grow, and engage in the racial reconciliation conversation...Join in with me.

Have a great day and week!

-Jon Peacock

The Gospel According to Lost (book review)

I have always been skeptical of The Gospel According to… books.  The market is flooded with them: The Gospel According to Peanuts, The Gospel According to Star Wars, The Gospel According to the Simpsons, etc.  I often feel the author tries to find something in the story that was never intended.  The Gospel According to Lost, however, is different.  I don’t know where Damon Lindelhof and Carlton Cuse, the producers of Lost, stand spiritually, but anyone who has seen the show will realize that they certainly intend to raise some major philosophical, ethical, and spiritual questions.  As a result, Lost is a perfect candidate for the Gospel According to… treatment.

It is obvious that Chris Seay knows and loves Lost.  He honors the writers and creators by exploring the themes they intentionally raise within the story and characters to which we can all relate.  In the first half of The Gospel According to Lost, Seay explores questions raised by the story arcs of the main characters. There is a lot to reflect on here.  For example, what do we do with violence, is anyone beyond redemption, how do we handle/mishandle our calling, and what is the relationship between law and grace? What makes this section so valuable is that the questions raised are universal and cover a wide enough spectrum of issues that anyone open to personal reflection will find something to think about.  In the second half of the book, Seay uses themes, characters, and storylines from Lost to help illuminate Biblical teaching, specifically (and appropriately) the “lost” parables of Luke 15.  Exploring these parables in the context of Lost helps the reader apply Jesus’ teaching in a very personal way.

I really enjoyed my time in The Gospel According to Lost.  It is a quick and engaging read that any reflective fan of the show needs to read before the final season kicks off in February.

Quick Preview of Gary Hamel's New Book

"The Future of Management" by Gary Hamel

I just got done talking about this book for the last hour with my good friend Craig Springer.  Gary Hamel was hands down the most interesting speaker and communicator at the past Summit, not to take credit away from the other outstanding speakers. 

Hamel seemed to stand out from the pack by delivering profound insight and ideas into what the future of the church could look like.  His recent book "The Future of Management" provides case studies of Gore, Google, and Whole Foods as well as tons of insight into how "we're" still leading like we did during the industrial revolution.  CRAZY!

That said pick this book up if your into business, leadership, future of the Church, or mustaches. (Gary happens to have the most amazing stache I've seen in years)

If you have read this book please add some comments or ways this book challenged you. I'd love to learn from you!

My favorite quote at this point was when he said "commit to revolutionary goals but take evolutionary steps".

Chew on that for a while.

-Jon Peacock

Larry Crabb-Real Church-Does it Exist? Can I find it?

I recently received a copy of Larry Crabb’s latest book, Real Church-Does it Exist? Can I find it?  I wasn’t sure quite what to expect.  Larry is a well-known psychologist and Scholar in Residence at Colorado Christian University and so I wasn’t sure if this was going to be a book about the same old “relevant” and cool models that I’ve heard about a million times.

Thankfully it wasn’t.

The book addresses the fact that Larry, not unlike many Christians, has gotten to a point where he no longer desires to attend church.  It’s not that he and others don’t love God or have somehow been “led astray” it’s just that the church is no longer helping them to become more and more like Jesus.  He writes, “In most evangelical church services I’ve attended, (he talks about dissatisfaction with other traditions as well but since he has spent the majority of his life in evangelical circles it is about them that he writes) my hunger for truth that transforms, for love that liberates, is rarely satisfied.”  I could not have said it better myself.

Throughout the rest of the book he wrestles through what he is in fact looking for in a church.  “The church I want to be a part of, a real church, will teach spiritual theology that stirs a hunger for spiritual formation that surfaces the need for spiritual community that then marshals its resources for spiritual mission.”

One of the things I loved most about this book is that it is written from someone who has embraced brokenness and sees the church as the hope for total wholeness.  I think often times books about churches are written by pastors, teachers, missiologists, and others who don’t view the church from a psychological, emotional perspective.  In my opinion not all “successful” churches truly help their congregation embrace their own brokenness, share the hope found in Jesus, and allow that to drive their mission.  I’ve seen too many programs, tricks, and other get big quick schemes in the church and this was refreshingly very not that.

Real Church is now on my stack to pass around to the church leaders and planters I know.  I would recommend it for every church leader.  It will help push you beyond what you thought church could be and articulates what I think so many of us feel.

E. Benjamin Skinner-A Crime So Monstrous

I flew through Skinner's A Crime So Monstrous over the last couple days. This book does the best job of any I've ever read of telling the story of human slavery. Skinner traveled all over the globe meeting with traffickers, victims, survivors, and advocates and has pulled together their stories to tell the grand story of modern day slavery.

I was immediately pulled in when the first chapter described, in detail, how a slave could be purchased a mere 5 hours from the time your flight left JFK. Skinner was able to do this because he left JFK hopped on a plane for Haiti and proceeded to pose as someone interested in buying a human being to bring back to the states.

He tells the stories of sex slaves and child soldiers and points a much needed spotlight on forced labor which accounts for the vast majority of slaves today. You will not remain unmoved as you read this book. You will feel the uphill battle the US ambassador for human trafficking faced and the pain of the 13 year old Haitian girl smuggled into the US right past an unsuspecting border agent for rape and servitude.

This is a must read. Take the time. Pick it up at your library or buy a copy on Amazon. You need to read A Crime So Monstrous.

Jim Collins-How The Mighty Fall

A couple days ago I laid in bed for a couple hours and plowed through Jim Collins' latest book, How The Mighty Fall:and Why Some Companies Never Give In. First off I need to say I love Jim Collins' work. If you haven't read Built to Last or Good to Great you need to right now. He does an amazing job of performing great research to find out why organizations succeed and in his latest book, why they fail.

The book originally began as an article and after diving into it he found that the topic needed to be addressed more fully. It really is an important thing to look at and the timing of the books release is quite interesting with the collapse of some of America's great institutions.

If you're the leader of an organization that has experienced some success this book will help you identify the beginning stages of descent and will help you counteract. How The Mighty Fall is a fairly easy read and definitely worth your time.

David Batstone and the Backyard Abolitionist Tour-June 19

In just a couple weeks David Batstone author of Not For Sale will be bringing his Backyard Abolitionist Tour to Willow.  We at Axis are very excited to host this great event.

 

If you haven’t read Not for Sale buy a copy here.  In it David write about the modern day slave trade and how everyday people are helping to stop it.  It’s an easy read that provides depth to the issue while still remaining applicable and engaging. 

 

We are very excited for David to join the faculty of our In The Hot Seat events and we hope to see you at the Backyard Abolitionist Tour on June 19^th.

Not For Sale Campaign Promo from IN THE CAR MEDIA on Vimeo.

Richard Stearns-The Hole In Our Gospel

If you have ever wrestled with what God expects of us then you better go out and pick up Richard Stearns' The Hole In Our Gospel. Richard is the president of World Vision, one of the largest humanitarian organizations in the world, and in this book he shares some of his story of coming to World Vision and why most of us are living with a hole in our gospel.

I often have wrestled through questions of what God expects of us regarding the poor. I believe to my core that I should leverage what God has given me to benefit the bottom half but it is often a struggle. I am easily drawn towards comfort, security, and wealth. So as I read Richard's story I was at once deeply encouraged to see someone else wrestling with these issues and challenged at the decisions he was able to make.

Before coming to World Vision, Stearns found great success in the business world. At age 33 he became the President of Parker Brothers and eventually went on to become the President & CEO of Lenox, the fine china company. It was while he was at Lenox that he was approached by World Vision whom he had no interest in. Through an amazing series of events chronicled in the book he eventually, and somewhat hesitantly, took the job of President at World Vision.

Beyond telling his story, The Hole In Our Gospel, speaks to all Christians abou missing the works side of our faith. We have become so focused on being saved by grace that we have forgotten we have also been saved for good works. If you have never read about poverty in our world this book will inform you and if you are already informed this book will help you live differently.

The Hole In Our Gospel will encourage and inspire you to live out your faith fully. It will challenge you to sacrifice on behalf of the world's poorest and fully embrace all that God has for your life. It is definitely a book worth picking up today.

*****To watch Richard's interview with Bill Hybels click here.

Join us for In The Hot Seat with Andrew Marin

This Wednesday night at 8pm join us in Cafe 20 for In The Hot Seat with Andrew Marin.  Andrew is the founder of the Marin Foundation which seeks to build bridges between the LGBT community and the church and he just released a book entitled Love is an Orientation.

Andrew grew up in a very homophobic community but was forced to face this issue when several of his friends came out to him.  Since that point he has been on a crazy journey which has taken him to starting the Marin Foundation that works to build bridges between the LGBT community and the church.

His book, Love is an Orientation, is a great resource for anyone who isn't satisfied with the rigidity often found on both sides of this debate.  Andrew does a beautiful job of moving from a place of judgment to Christ like love and continually seeks to elevate the conversation.

So join us!  8pm, Cafe 20 @ Willow Creek Church 67 E Algonquin Rd, South Barrington, IL

Scot McKnight-The Blue Parakeet

This week our communities are looking at Scripture and how we should engage Scripture.  For me, a lot of my struggle with Scripture comes from not knowing how to interpret it.  I feel like we all pick and choose which Scriptures to take literally, metaphorically, etc and I want to be able to do that well.  Scot McKnight's latest book The Blue Parakeet helped me tremendously in this area.

If you are interested in learning some about how to interpret Scripture definitely get this book.  Scot is a wonderful thinker and The Blue Parakeet is an easy book to engage and read.  He also has a great blog which you can check out here.

If you've already read the book, what are your thoughts?  Did you enjoy it?

Rob Bell-Sex God

This month in our communities we're looking at the theme of sexuality.  This week we've been talking about the spiritual nature of sexuality.  This has been a confusing topic for me for a while.  We live in a world that tells us that sex is completely physical with little to no spiritual and emotional consequences.  Yet the Bible seems to point to this idea that sex is spiritual.

A couple years ago a pastor from a church in Grand Rapids, Michigan wrote a book on the subject called Sex God.  It explores the endless connections between sexuality and spirituality.  He's a really brilliant guy and does a good job of bringing context to Scripture.  So if you're like me and are sometimes confused at this idea of sexuality being spiritual try picking up Rob's book Sex God.

The Missional Church Book Tree

I came across this graphic from the leadership journal over at Alan Hirsch's blog.  I love to read and this definitely makes me want to pick up some of these books.  The theology and structure of Axis has been strongly shaped by the missional movement and the thoughts and writings of some of these authors.  So if you want to learn what shaped us check out some of these books.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

David Sheff-Beautiful Boy

I read David Sheff's memoir Beautiful Boy this past weekend and I have to say it was one of the best books I've read in recent months.  David's son, Nic, is a meth addict and he wrote the book about what it was like being the father of a drug addict.  The book is wonderfully written and it draws you in to feel like one of the family.  I felt like I rode the emotional roller coaster that was David's life as I read about their experiences.

So many of us have loved ones that have battled addiction and Beautiful Boy captures the ups and downs, hope and anger that a family facing addiction goes through.  It's a book a highly recommend picking up and experiencing.