Cruciform Press Archives – Aaron Armstrong

Do More Better

Aaron Armstrong on December 9, 2015

Maybe you’re like me, and you’re one of those people who seems to do a lot. Like a lot a lot. Like, you don’t know you’re doing too much until you suddenly realize you’re doing too much a lot. You’ve got a system to keep yourself organized (kinda sorta maybe). You get what you need to done, but if you’re being honest, you know you’re not as efficient as you could be. You could be doing better—a lot better.

So you’ve read the books on productivity. You know about the goal of inbox zero, if only because you know people obsessed with it. You know there are task management tools. You may even have accounts with some of them that you’ve not accessed in several months (ahem). But if you’re honest, most of the advice you’ve been given or read seems to make something that should be relatively simple extremely complicated.

And simplicity is what Tim Challies brings to the discussion in his first book in far too long, Do More Better: A Practical Guide to Productivity. This short book offers a look beyond the standard “do more” conversation, looking at the real reason why we should care about our productivity, as well as showing readers what the author’s own system looks like in practice.

Productivity and doing what matters most

Do More Better, at its heart, is about reminding us that productivity begins with recognizing our purpose: “to glorify God by doing good to others” (17). In light of this, we must define our responsibilities, state our mission, and fight our productivity thieves that threaten to get in the way.

What I love about Challies’ description of our purpose is that it connects productivity to every aspect of our lives. It’s something in which we should seek to grow because we seek to honor Christ with our lives. In other words, as productivity is about “effectively stewarding your gifts, talents, time, energy, and enthusiasm for the good of others and the glory of God” (16), it becomes a means of directing our lives toward this goal.

That, for me, is very helpful because most of the work I’ve read on productivity hasn’t really given a sufficient reason to pursue it. The goal I usually find is being at “inbox zero.” And if you’re not there, well, then something’s dreadfully wrong with you. But the larger picture presented in Do More Better puts everything in its proper place, reminding us that being productive is a means to an end, not the end in itself.

Seeing it in action

Similarly, as the book transitions into its second half, readers get to see how Challies actually puts this belief into practice. By showing us how he organizes his life, readers get a better perspective and can safely start to think about what their own plan may look like. This is one of the things Challies has consistently done in all of his books. He is a firm believer in living what you write, and given his prodigious output as a blogger alone, you can see that his system works. It takes more than desire and dedication to be able to write daily for more than 10 years. It takes careful planning and prioritizing.

This is an area where I can immediately see application for me. I’m an extremely hard worker, and a high capacity one at that. But I’ve never really had a plan for what I’m doing in life—things just seem to happen. I didn’t plan on being a writer. Now I am one. I didn’t plan on blogging regularly for nearly seven years, yet here I am. I never had any intentions of writing a book—now I’ve written two, and have plans for at least three more someday.

Where I see myself growing through putting what Challies’ has written into practice is actually gaining a greater sense of control over my schedule. The danger of living with a “things just kinda happen” mindset is things just kinda happen. It’s hard to feel like you’re doing your best when you’re not quite sure what’s coming next, y’know? So for me, this looks like taking a look at ToDoList.com, as well as reconsidering how I use Asana in order to find the right tool that meets my needs. It also means asking some serious questions of myself, like “Why do I write?” With a clearly defined mission, as well as clearly defined responsibilities, I have a feeling I’ll be doing a lot more better.

What I would have loved to see expanded

Having said all this, I would have loved to have seen a couple of points fleshed out in greater detail:

The dangers of idolatry. Challies briefly touches on being careful to identify what you are prone to make an idol of, “knowing that we will be prone to take on not the tasks that glorify God, but the tasks that validate us” (97). Getting stuff done is important. Having an organized inbox is important, too. But I know people for whom the concern over reaching “inbox zero” borders on idolatrous. They spend way too much time obsessing over it, and it’s kind of creepy. While I realize it goes beyond the purpose and scope of the book, I would have loved to have seen some additional thoughts on this matter—beyond being watchful, what can we do? What happens when we find that a good aspect of productivity has become an idol?

Planning to rest–and fighting to protect it. Challies shows us how he plans for things like rest and vacations in his schedule, which is great. But it’s not something that’s called out explicitly as essential, beyond the reference in the bonus chapter, “20 Tips to Increase Your Productivity” (Tip 14, page 128). I would have loved to have seen a greater emphasis on this because, although I know resting well actually does make us more productive, I’m really, really bad at it. Saying no isn’t terribly easy for me, and I’ve spent years working in organizations where you’re either looked at as a hero for not taking vacations or environments where the reward for doing a great job was more work. So, quite honestly, I need help unlearning what that teaches you.

Figuring out where to start

Lest there be any misunderstanding: I really, really like this book. Do More Better is an excellent book, perhaps one of the most ridiculously practical books I’ve ever read—and one of the only ones I’ve actually looked forward to putting into practice (sorry Getting Things Done fans). “I believe this book can improve your life,” Challies writes in his introduction. I’m looking forward to seeing if he’s right.

Title: Do More Better: A Practical Guide to Productivity
Author: Tim Challies
Publisher: Cruciform Press (2015)

Buy it at: Amazon | Cruciform Press

Knowing our great and neglected God

Aaron Armstrong on October 27, 2015

It wasn’t that long ago when if you used the term “God,” nearly everyone would know you were referring to the God of the Bible (at least in the west). Today, “God” could mean almost anything—from the triune God of Christianity, to the god of any of several other religions, to a vague cosmic force, to the earth itself.

Over at the Cruciform Press blog, I’m talking about the danger of assuming we all agree about who God is in a post adapted from chapter two of my book Contend: Defending the Faith in a Fallen World. Here’s a preview addressing the immanence of God:

Consider that God has revealed himself to us, which means we can comprehend him, at least to some degree. God’s self-revelation brings him near and makes him personal. God is intimately involved in his creation, and particularly so by making mankind in his image. Not content to speak the first man and woman into being, God actually formed them with his hands (Genesis 2:7, 22).

Apparently there is a sense in which this direct formation continues, for the psalmist declares that God “formed my inward parts; [he] knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). It seems only fitting that a sovereign, loving God would play a “hands-on” role in the formation of every creature specifically made in his image.

God’s moment-by-moment involvement with us does not end at birth, though. It continues throughout our lives. Jesus goes so far as to tell us that God “knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8). Indeed, Jesus himself is the epitome of the immanence of God, humbling himself to take on flesh, becoming like us so that he might redeem us. This is not the description of a far-off, unknowable, uninterested divine being. It is instead a realistic, albeit partial glimpse of a deeply personal, involved God. God is immanent; he is near and knowable.

As I wrote in the post, and in the book, it is so dangerous to assume we all mean the same thing when we talk about God. If we get God wrong, nothing else about the Christian faith—or life—makes a lot of sense. I hope you’ll keep reading the article at CruciformPress.com. (And while you’re there, be sure to enter this week’s 20Twosdays giveaway where you can get a copy of Contend and Awaiting a Savior, as well as a $20 gift certificate for the Cruciform Press store!)

The Company We Keep

Aaron Armstrong on September 17, 2014

“…What really matters is what you like, not what you are like… Books, records, films—these things matter.” With this one sentence, Rob, the grumpy, and broke protagonist of the Nick Hornby novel (and, later, John Cusack film), High Fidelity, perfectly captures the shallowness of our world’s understanding of friendship, a problem exacerbated by Facebook and other forms of social media. We are “friends” with people we don’t know, telling them details about our lives they have no business knowing… simply because we like some of the same stuff.

We know of people, but we don’t really know one another.

But friendship is meant to be something more than this. Books, records, films might start a conversation, but they can’t sustain a relationship. Nor is awareness the same as a relationship. We need something deeper, something richer. Something that will hold against more than the gentlest of life’s storms. Jonathan Holmes wants to help us in his new book, The Company We Keep: In Search of Biblical Friendship.

Why we prefer emaciated friendships over the real thing

“Deep and meaningful friendships don’t come easily—even within the church, and sometimes especially within the church,” Holmes writes. “[We] can find the challenges of biblical friendship perplexing, frustrating, and discouraging.”

Forging friendships has never been terribly easy for me. I am reasonably social (despite my introverted tendencies), but I have few people I would consider friends, and even fewer are close ones. While there are many reasons for this, it most significantly comes down to one thing: real friendship is hard.

This is why, honestly, our currently emaciated form of friendship is so easy—it requires so little of us and those with whom we claim to be friends. But true friendship is costly. It requires us to give of ourselves, to be vulnerable, to—gasp!—actually trust people to know us.

And yet, our acceptance of the form over the substance runs completely contrary to how God has made us—we are inherently relational beings, meant to be known by others. And as believers, we are “bound together by a common faith in Jesus Christ,” making the primary purpose of our friendships “to bring glory to Christ, who brought us into friendship with the Father.” This, Holmes writes, “is indispensable to the work of the gospel in the earth, and an essential element of what God created us for.”

You’re squirming now, aren’t you?

Why constancy, candor, carefulness and counsel really matters in biblical friendship

So what does this kind of friendship look like? Drawing from the wisdom of Proverbs (and a little help from Tim Keller), Holmes describes four marks of biblical friendship—constancy, candor, carefulness, and counsel. “All of these marks…empowered by the Holy Spirit, help separate and distinguish biblical friendship from a crowd of counterfeits.”

What’s particularly helpful about Holmes’ description of these four aspects of friendship is how they all work together. A true, biblical friend is not merely candid or constant, careful or offering wise counsel. He or she is all of these things (albeit imperfectly).

This is where the rubber meets the road with friendship. “A biblical friend is willing to wound us, and those wounds are actually for our good,” Holmes writes. “Silence in the face of a brother or sister’s folly is no act of love, but the wounds of correction are, however uncomfortable it may be to inflict them.”

Do you have friends like this? Are you a friend like this?

The first time I knew I had friends like this was when we first considered leaving the only other church we attended. I had a lot of conversations with two men (both of whom still attend that church) about what I was seeing and the thinking behind leaving. They gave me some fairly significant pushback, not because they believed that church was the best place for me, but because they wanted to make sure I was making a wise decision. Would I have greater opportunities to use my gifts? Would our family be able to serve more effectively? I’ve experienced this a few other times since with a few men at our current church when important decisions have come up—selling our house a few years ago being chief among them.

Yes, it’s hard to develop these relationships. Yes, it’s uncomfortable being challenged on your thinking. But those are the sort of “wounds” we should welcome.

A taste of something greater

While The Company We Keep is extraordinarily helpful, I finished the book feeling unsatisfied. Consider it this way: imagine you’re given a tiny morsel of a perfectly seasoned, finely cooked steak. As you put it in your mouth, you relish the flavor… and then it’s over. There was only enough for a taste.

This book has a similar effect. Holmes gives readers just enough to get a taste of something greater, a type of friendship that “gives us a way of experiencing and living out the fundamental drama of all creation.” This is far more powerful than the form of friendship we accept in our culture and in the church at large. And I trust it’s the kind of friendship that, after reading this book, you will want to pursue.

Title: The Company We Keep: In Search of Biblical Friendship
Author: Jonathan Holmes
Publisher: Cruciform Press (2014)

Buy it at: Amazon | Cruciform Press

Does God Listen to Rap? by Curtis Allen

Aaron Armstrong on December 3, 2013

I’m not a fan of rap music. I’ve never had a particular moral objection to it; it’s just that, outside of a song here and there, it really doesn’t appeal to me all that much. So it’s been fascinating for me to learn some Christian folks have got their britches in a bunch over whether or not rap is inherently immoral. Honestly, I’d never given it much thought beyond “I don’t really dig it.” Maybe you’re the same way.

I’m glad, though, not everyone’s like me when it comes to thinking carefully about rap music. Curtis Allen, a pastor at Solid Rock Church, Prince Georges County, Maryland (who also raps under the monikers of Voice and Curt Kennedy), wants us to think deeply about rap music—to think about it theologically and philosophically. He shows us how in his new book from Cruciform Press, Does God Listen to Rap?: Christians and the World’s Most Controversial Music.

Personal stakes and submission to the Lord

To say Allen’s got skin in the game is an understatement. Not only is he a rapper, but he’s the first one to have been invited to rap at Bethlehem Baptist Church in 2006—an event that revealed to him how serious a debate was raging over Christian rap. His performance was immediately picked apart online, his lyrics dissected, and his salvation questioned. And although he spent a great deal of time defending rap in song, online and in the media, he eventually found his own answers were shallow.

I realized I needed something a little deeper to hold onto. I could relate to what the critics were saying. I understood how you could take the position that rap can’t glorify God.… I understood where rap came from and why so much secular rap is what it is. I knew all about rap’s entanglements with sin and rebellion. I’m from that. I get it. But I really wanted to know how rap—or any music, for that matter—can glorify God. Realizing my position was actually biblificial (biblically superficial), I decided to start from scratch.… Rap’s critics make a strong case that most of its cultural origins and connections are far from godly, and I needed to see what those criticisms really mean for this art form I love so much.

Allen shows a great deal of humility in his desire to “start from scratch” when addressing rap, something I suspect few of us would have. As I wrote above, I’d never gone past thinking about preference. Developing a biblical view on something like rap music—or music in general—that takes guts. It takes courage to put your convictions on the table and say, “If the Bible genuinely says this is wrong—either in precept or principle—then I must obey.”

So what did his examination find? How much guidance does the Bible offer when addressing a subject like rap music? A great deal more than you’d expect.

Learning to think biblically about music

To show readers what Scripture says, Allen takes us through a number of what he calls theomethodosophical exercises. “This is a method that starts with and remains grounded in good theology but throws in some basic logic and philosophy where needed,” he writes. “It’s not too different from what somebody else might call common-sense speculation.” Read More about Does God Listen to Rap? by Curtis Allen

Book Review: But God by Casey Lute

Aaron Armstrong on May 17, 2011

“But God…”

You wouldn’t think that two little words would carry so much weight, would you? Yet, it’s on these two words that so much of the Bible—even the gospel itself—hinges. Casey Lute gets this, and in “But God…”: The Two Words at the Heart of the Gospel, he walks readers through the Scriptures to show us just how important these words are.

And important they are. Over and over again, we see in Scripture how “But God” serves as a turning point in God’s saving work among fallen humanity. Indeed, Lute writes, “It is the perfect phrase for highlighting the grace of God against the dark backdrop of human sin” (p. 5).

From the flood account of Genesis 6-8, to the Exodus and God’s preservation of His stiff-necked people, the promise of a better sacrifice in Jesus Christ and His resurrection from the dead, to His saving for Himself a people from among all the nations and his preservation of them until the end, “But God” lies at the heart of all God’s work in history. These words show us how God saves, the salvation He offers and how He applies that salvation to His people.

In a word, it’s grace.

Lute does an exceptional job of illustrating this reality, particularly in the earliest chapters of the book as he delves into the flood account. Often, we hear or read the story of Noah as little more than “Noah was a good man among a sea of bad men, so God used him to build the ark.” Lute is quick to observe that this is not the case. He writes:

[T]he flood story is about God’s grace. Even the first significant statement made about Noah tells us more about God’s grace than about Noah himself: “So the Lord said, ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:7–8). The word “favor” might not seem especially meaningful to us, but the Hebrew word translated here as “favor” can also be translated as “grace.” In fact, the King James Version translators used that very word, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” (p. 15)

I’ve heard a number of preachers make this point—that “favor” can be translated as “grace.” That understanding helps bring a greater understanding of the story’s place in the scope of redemptive history. It’s not that Noah was a good guy among a bunch of bad guys, it’s that he was a bad guy to whom God showed grace—and through him, God saved for Himself a remnant. It’s an amazing illustration of God’s grace that is too easy to overlook.

At this point, I’ve read or reviewed nearly every title that’s been released from Cruciform Press. In doing so, I’ve noticed a consistent pattern that is perhaps best evidenced in “But God…”.

That is the strength of brevity.

Because “But God…” and all of the publisher’s titles are held to a strict word count, their authors are not afforded room to meander. They have to get to the point, which (I know from experience) can prove difficult. But in this book’s case, the result is a refreshingly concise, yet comprehensive biblical theology of grace that left this reader more in awe of the grace of God. I’d highly encourage any reader to get a copy of this book and discover for yourselves the importance of the words “But God.”

Title: “But God…”: The Two Words at the Heart of the Gospel
Author: Casey Lute
Publisher: Cruciform Press (2011)

An advanced electronic copy of this book was provided for review purposes by the publisher.

Book Review: Cruciform by Jimmy Davis

Aaron Armstrong on April 7, 2011

In the Middle Ages, Christians built grand cathedrals in which to worship. “Everything about the way a cathedral was built . . . was designed to help folks discern, delight in, and declare the great, biblical doctrines concerning God and the gospel,” explains author Jimmy Davis (p. 7). They were works of art designed to communicate the message of the cross.

We need more cruciform churches today, says Davis. “Not lavish cathedrals but living communities of disciples being shaped by the cross into the shape of the cross for the glory of God and the good of our neighbors, the nations, and the next generation” (p. 8). That’s why he’s written Cruciform: Living the Cross-Shaped Life.

Many of us, particularly if we’ve come to faith as adults, struggle to clearly and practically define the Christian life. What does it look like? Is it a list of things we do or don’t do or is there more to it than that? But the underlying question—the question behind the question as it were—is not simply what does it look like, but why do we exist in the first place? Davis offers a very insightful answer: “We exist to exalt the glory of God and to help other people and all of creation do the same” (p. 15).

This understanding is essential for all who seek to live a cross-shaped life. If we do not understand why we have been created and for what purpose we have been redeemed by faith in Christ, we will flounder rather than flourish.

So what do cruciform disciples? Davis sums it up in two key points:

Cruciform disciples (imperfectly) resemble Jesus the Son. “The more we become like Jesus, the Beloved Son, the more we will fill up by faith on the love of the Father through the gospel as his beloved sons” (p. 37).

Cruciform disciples (imperfectly) resemble Jesus the Servant. “As we fill up by faith on the love of the Father as it is offered in the good news about Jesus and poured out by the Spirit, we overflow with love back to God and out to others, using the resources he has provided in the place he has put us. Our lives will take the form of a cross-shaped servant” (ibid).

These twin realities—that when we are redeemed God has adopted all of us as His sons (cf. Gal. 3:26-29) and out of our sonship, we respond in service—are at the heart of the Christian life. In the author’s words, we are embraced as sons and empowered and employed as servants. “Our service must also flow from sonship, for unless and until we are sons we can’t serve, won’t serve, and don’t want to serve. Without divine sonship, we are like the two lost sons in Luke 15:11-32 . . . [rejecting] the fellowship freely offered to us by the Father and instead embraced either pleasure (trying to escape God’s righteousness) or performance (trying to earn it)” (p. 54). Read More about Book Review: Cruciform by Jimmy Davis

Book Review: Reclaiming Adoption by Dan Cruver

Aaron Armstrong on January 24, 2011

What comes to mind when you hear the word “adoption”?

If you’re like me, your mind first goes to adopting a child. Giving a safe home and a loving family is one of the greatest gifts that one can give to a child. Yet, if we read the Scriptures, it’s clear that this term “adoption” carries with it so much more than the (very important) gift of a family to an orphaned child.

That’s because adoption is not only horizontal, but also vertical. Interestingly, though, we’ve not spent a great deal of time articulating the theology behind it. Indeed, over the course of the first 1900 years of Christian history, there are “only six creeds that contain a section on theological adoption” (p. 8).

That’s what inspired Dan Cruver to write Reclaiming Adoption: Missional Living through the Rediscovery of Abba Father. In this book, Cruver (along with contributors John Piper, Scotty Smith, Richard D. Phillips and Jason Kovacs) explains what it means to be adopted by God the Father, its implications for orphan care and how it transforms our witness in the world.

Reclaiming Adoption packs a convicting punch. As Cruver unpacks the importance of the doctrine of adoption over his four chapters, he shows readers just how much it impacts everything. To understand the love of God for His people—those He chose to adopt before He even created the universe—completely transforms how we think, live, feel and act. Cruver writes,

Christians who doubt God’s love for them will not mobilize for mission. Unless we know the Father delights in us even as he delights in Jesus, we will lack the emotional capital necessary to resist complacency and actively engage in missional living. The only people who can truly turn their eyes outward in mission are those who knowingly live within and enjoy the loving gaze of their heavenly Father. . . . If we are not confident of his love, our eyes will turn inward, and our primary concerns will be our needs, our lack, our disappointment, rather than the needs of those around us. (p. 18)

Cruver proceeds to illustrate this truth by showing how the doctrine of adoption is tied to the Trinity, the incarnation and our union with Christ. Read More about Book Review: Reclaiming Adoption by Dan Cruver

Looking Ahead: Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2011

Aaron Armstrong on December 30, 2010

Looking at the books I enjoyed over 2010 made me think about the ones I’m really looking forward to in 2011. Here are a few:

Reclaiming Adoption: Missional Living through the Rediscovery of Abba Father edited by Dan Cruver, with contributions from John Piper, Richard D. Phillips, Scotty Smith, Jason Kovacs, and Dan Cruver (Cruciform Press, January 2011)

One of the ambitious dreams that Reclaiming Adoption and its authors share with the Apostle Paul is that when Christians hear the word adoption, they will think first about their adoption by God. As it now stands, Christians usually think first about the adoption of children. Reclaiming Adoption sets out to change this situation by providing breathtaking views of God’s love for and delight in His children — views that will free you to live boldly in this world from God’s acceptance, not in order to gain it…

Dan Cruver and his co-authors are convinced that if Christians learn to first think about their adoption by God, and only then about the adoption of children, they will enjoy deeper communion with the God who is love, and experience greater missional engagement with the pain and suffering of this world. That’s what this book is about. What the orphan, the stranger, and the marginalized in our world need most is churches that are filled with Christians who live daily in the reality of God’s delight in them. Reclaiming Adoption can transform the way you view and live in this world for the glory of God and the good of our world’s most needy.

Order this book | Read a sample

Rid of My Disgrace: Hope and Healing for Victims of Sexual Assault by Justin & Lindsey Holcomb (Crossway, January 2011)

The statistics are jarring. One in four women and one in six men have been sexually assaulted. But as sobering as these statistics are, they can’t begin to speak to the darkness and grief experienced by the victims. The church needs compassionate and wise resources to care for those living in the wake of this evil. Other books attempt to address the journey from shame to healing for victims of sexual abuse, but few are from a Christian perspective and written for both child and adult victims. In Rid of My Disgrace, a couple experienced in counseling and care for victims of sexual assault present the gospel in its power to heal the broken and restore the disgraced.

Justin and Lindsey Holcomb present a clear definition of sexual assault and outline a biblical approach for moving from destruction to redemption. Rid of My Disgrace applies a theology of redemption to the grief, shame, and sense of defilement victims experience. This book is primarily written for them, but can also equip pastors, ministry staff, and others to respond compassionately to those who have been assaulted.

Pre-order this book | Read a sample

Gospel Wakefulness by Jared Wilson (Crossway, October 2011)

We may know the gospel. We may believe it—even proclaim it. But we also may assume the gospel and become lethargic. In this book Jared Wilson seeks to answer the central question, how do we experience and present the gospel in a fresh, non-routine way in order to prevent ourselves and others from becoming numb? His answer may be surprising: “by routinely presenting the unchanging gospel in a way that does justice to its earth-shaking announcement.” We don’t excite and awaken people to the glorious truths of the gospel by spicing up our worship services or through cutting-edge, dramatic rhetoric, but by passionately and faithfully proclaiming the same truths we have already been given in Scripture.

Wilson’s book will stir churches to live out the power of the gospel with a fervent, genuine zeal. After an explanation of the term “gospel wakefulness,” Wilson unpacks implications for worship, hyper-spirituality, godly habits, and sanctification, as well as other aspects of church life. Pastors, church leaders, and all in ministry, especially those who are tired or discouraged, will be uplifted, emboldened, and empowered by this book.

(Not yet available for pre-order) Read More about Looking Ahead: Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2011

Book Review: Servanthood as Worship by Nate Palmer

Aaron Armstrong on December 6, 2010

Title: Servanthood as Worship
Author: Nate Palmer
Publisher: Cruciform Press (2010)

It’s Saturday night and you’ve just enjoyed a great night out. You get ready for bed, your head hits the pillow and you realize:

“Oh man, I’m on set up tomorrow. Ugh…”

I know that there have been times that I’ve felt that way. When I’ve volunteered to serve and can remember when I used to enjoy it… but now, I wish I could call in sick. Nate Palmer understands this—he’s been there. And in Servanthood as Worship, he seeks to help readers develop a theology of service that will bring joy to others (and ourselves) and glory to God.

Palmer view of servanthood is inspiring. He roots servanthood firmly in the gospel—that our service flows from Christ coming as a servant on our behalf. “As Christians, our standing with God—our very salvation—does not depend on whether we serve, but that Christ first served us. . . . All our service for God begins and ends with service from God,” he writes (p. 15). This is a shift that many of us—myself included—desperately need. Too often our view of service comes out of this place of trying to earn standing before God and men.

We put on a happy face and we work hard until we burn out.

The funny thing is, it seems like we’re being set up for this to happen, doesn’t it? I remember at one church hearing about how 20 percent of the people at a church were doing 80 percent of the work. As part of that so-called 20 percent, that puts a lot of pressure on you, because if you need a respite, there’s no one to fill the gap. The burden of duty leads to bitterness… and people don’t even realize it.

Instead, we need to embrace service as what it actually is—worship. To see it as an outward evidence of our inward transformation. Read More about Book Review: Servanthood as Worship by Nate Palmer