A SIMPLE PLAN by Scott Smith

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” I Timothy 6:10 (ESV)

I rarely read fiction but recently I picked up a copy of A Simple Plan by Scott Smith after having being intrigued by the description of the plot. It revolves around three men who find a downed airplane in the woods containing a dead pilot and $4.5 million in cash. One of the men, the main character, comes up with ‘a simple plan’ that will allow them to keep the money, later splitting it among themselves. However, the plan quickly proves to be anything but simple.

What I found most interesting was the insight the author gives us into human nature. The first thing we see is that the characters are not as ‘good’ as they might have thought when their stated beliefs are put to the test. It’s very easy for example for the other two men to talk the main character into trying to find a way to keep the money after his initial feeling was that they should turn the money in. Even more telling is his interaction with his wife about the money. He begins with a hypothetical story about finding a large sum of money and she responds that of course it should be turned in to the ‘authorities’. However, when he produces the huge bag of cash and reveals that the story is not hypothetical, she begins to justify keeping the money with, in the end, her only criteria being can it be done without them getting caught. Absolute standards of right and wrong go out the window in the face of incredible wealth, showing that in reality these standards were not ‘absolute’ in the character’s minds to begin with.

Secondly, the author does an excellent job of showing that once one of our standards of morality has succumbed to pragmatism, it becomes much easier to cross other, more serious boundaries of morality. Before the story is over, the main character ends up murdering several people, including his own brother, in an attempt to keep the money and avoid apprehension. His decent from mild mannered accountant and “good” family man to serial killer is swift and gruesome, almost unrealistically so at times.

Finally, we see the almost unlimited capacity of human beings to justify themselves in the face of their wickedness. The protagonist and his wife end up convincing themselves that since everything they did was to avoid getting caught, they were really acting in self-defense. They didn’t want to do those evil things of course, but they had to, they were forced into it by circumstances beyond their control.

I don’t know if Scott Smith is a believer or not. However, he certainly has an accurate insight into the wickedness of man’s heart. I’m sure everyone reading this book myself included, likes to think they would not compromise their beliefs to this degree for $4.5 million. However, if we’re honest with ourselves, we must admit that that kind of evil lurks within all our hearts. It is only because of the grace of God through Jesus Christ that we are not all murderers and thieves or any number of other things.

The book definitely has some gruesome moments as well as a couple of sexual situations that I felt were unnecessary for the plot so I cannot give it an unqualified recommendation. Keeping that in mind, if you are looking for a book of fiction that not only has an intriguing plot but presents an accurate picture of the potential for evil lurking in the human heart, you may find A Simple Plan worth reading.

Decision Making & The Will of God

"Decision Making and the Will of God" by Gary Friesen is the best book on 'discerning' God's will that I've ever read, also the most Biblically sound. The author refutes the common belief that we can (and should) determine what he calls 'the dot' or God's specific will for our individual life. He shows that God's will has been revealed to us in scripture already and that we're free to make decisions consistent with that revelation without having to worry about 'missing a blessing' or inviting a curse because we're not living in God's 'perfect' will for our individual life.

For example, per the scriptures God's will is that I marry another believer, however, God does not tell me specifically which believer. As long as my marriage is to a believer I'm in God's will (at least where my marriage itself is concerned) and don't have to worry that I've missed marrying God's perfect match for me.

He also discusses the issue of a 'call' as it relates to missionary service, the pastorate, etc. Many, if not most, Christians today would say that the Lord often issues specific instructions to someone He intends to be involved in missionary service. Friesen disputes this saying: "rather than waiting for some kind of mystical "call" from God every believer should respond to the revealed will of God by giving serious consideration to becoming a cross-cultural missionary." Later he says: "We don't need a call, we've already been commissioned."

Friesen covers several other topics of interest to every Christian who wants to be a faithful servant of the Lord such as choosing a school, choosing a vocation, giving, as well as how to make decisions when believers disagree on non-essentials.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who's struggled with finding God's will for their life, especially if they've been told by well meaning Christians that they should be hearing from God specifically about day to day decisions. For someone wanting an overview of this topic in more compact form, Jim Elliff's little book Led By The Spirit: How the Holy Spirit Guides the Believer is an excellent choice covering the basics of the topic in only 48 pages.

The Gospel Blimp by Joseph Bayly

"The Gospel Blimp" makes up about half of the little book The Gospel Blimp and Other Modern Parables which is a collection of Joseph Bayly's best loved short stories. Several of the stories, modern parables really, are excellent commentary on contemporary American Christianity but none is better or more hard hitting than "The Gospel Blimp".

The story begins with a group of people trying to determine how to reach their next door neighbors for Christ. They notice one evening while sitting outside that the neighbors, also sitting out on their patio, pause from their card game and beer drinking long enough to look up as an airplane passes low overhead. This gives our budding evangelists an idea. Why not develop a 'gospel blimp' that would fly over the town declaring the Word of God for all to see on banners and via a powerful sound system?

The remainder of the parable is about the development and outworking of this 'ministry'. Not surprisingly, an undertaking of this magnitude takes up enormous amounts of time and resources and because of its high profile presence in the town requires significant public relations efforts, none of which is directly related to simply sharing the Gospel with the original neighbors who sparked the idea. Bayly's point is that this kind of emphasis on infrastructure, facilities and public relations characterizes many ministries and even churches today. The amazing thing is that Bayly wrote this in 1960! I can only imagine what he'd say today if he saw how the evangelical landscape of this country is dotted with mega-blimps from coast to coast.

In the end, one of the original founders of the 'ministry' begins to see it for what it is especially after the ministry leadership decides to partner with secular organizations, agreeing to couple the message of the Gospel with some non-Gospel related messages in return for increased donations to the ministry. He realizes that the 'ministry' has become primarily about the continuation of the ministry above all things.

After leaving the the Gospel Blimp 'ministry' this man and his wife end up helping win their neighbors to Christ (the original neighbors from the beginning of the story) by pursuing a relationship with them and being intentional about sharing their faith.

This parable is a scathing indictment of the church in America today. It behooves all of us to ask ourselves periodically if we're more concerned about the 'blimp' or the Gospel. It is very easy to begin to place importance on the trappings of ministry and to let real ministry go by the wayside as a result.

I would highly recommend this book, it should in fact be essential reading for ministry leaders and pastors. In addition to "The Gospel Blimp", "I Saw Gooley Fly" and "Rehoboam's Gold Shields" are also great little parables about the integration of our Faith into our lives and are worth reading and taking to heart.

"Perspectives on Pentecost - New Testament Teaching on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit" by Richard B. Gaffin, Jr.

This is a short book at only 122 pages but is packed with some very powerful theological arguments. Because of the depth of Gaffin’s arguments and his frequent references to scripture passages (which are not always included in the text) it took me longer to read this book than books twice as long normally do. This book must be read methodically and with an open Bible, it’s not a book to take to the pool for an hour’s diversion! However, it is worth the effort.

I’ve long been of the opinion that the so-called sign gifts (tongues, prophecy & healing) were not for the church after the apostolic age so I must admit to reading the book with a bias already in place for the author’s thesis. However, he does such a thorough and scriptural job of presenting his case, it seems it would be hard to disagree with him having read the book.

He begins the book by discussing in depth the events of Pentecost as recorded in Acts, making the point that “…everything said in the New Testament about the Spirit’s work looks forward to or traces back to Pentecost.” (p. 14)

He goes into much detail developing the point that the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost was a unique event in the history of redemption. Just as the resurrection of Christ was a unique event, never to be repeated, so too the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. It was not a ‘bonus’ to believers or representative of the experience all believers throughout time should expect but an event used by God to establish the church and initiate the work of the risen Christ in the world. It was not, Gaffin would say, primarily or even secondarily about the experiences of the individual believers present that day. He says: “Pentecost is nothing less than the establishment of the church as the new covenant people of God, as the body of Christ.” (p. 21)

In later chapters, Gaffin discusses specific manifestations of the Spirit such as prophecy and tongues. Here he takes a position I’d not previously considered, that prophecy and tongues are really two sides of the same coin, both being revelatory gifts. According to Gaffin, tongues, once translated for the congregation, are nothing more than prophecy. Once that connection is made, one only needs to ask if prophecy is still for today and the issue of tongues is answered as well. The author makes the point that the words of a prophet are “the words of God and are to be received and responded to as such.” (p. 72)

That being the case, the question of the cessation of prophecy (and tongues) is bound up in the question of whether or not the canon is closed. In other words, does God still speak today in addition to His revealed word, the Scriptures? Gaffin says: “…for prophecy, correctly conceived of, to continue on into subsequent generations of the church, beyond its foundational period, would necessarily create tensions with the closed, finished character of the canon. In fact, such a continuation would exclude a completed canon in the strict sense.” (p. 100)

Gannon’s final premise is that prophecy and tongues were revelatory gifts given to the church temporarily during its founding apostolic era. He sees them as inseparable from the ministry of the apostles (even though they were not exercised only by apostles) and believes they have been permanently withdrawn from the church just as the office of apostle has been.

This is book is a very powerful argument for the cessation of prophecy and tongues and I would recommend it to anyone interested in this topic, regardless of his or her present understanding of this controversial issue.

The Art of Manfishing by Thomas Boston

Boston is one of the Puritan Divines and this short little book was a sort of diary that he kept. In fact, no one outside his family saw it until some 30 or 40 years after his death. The book is a compilation of his thoughts on how a Christian minister should conduct his ministry and much of the advice he gives is still needed by ministers today.

For example, Boston was a firm believer in "the law being a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ." He would, I'm sure, be shocked at the minimal attention given the law by much of today's pastors and evangelists. He also saw conversion as something that was most often the result of sustained ministry in the life of a person rather than the result of an instantaneous, emotional response. It goes without saying that this message is sorely needed in today's church.

Boston speaks much of humility in the life of the minister. He emphasizes several times that a minister must realize that he can do nothing good apart from the Spirit's enabling. He is very critical of ministry which grows out of a man's own power and ability (i.e. excellent speaking skills) where that talent is not accompanied by an humble realization that apart from Christ we can do nothing.

Christ was sent to glorify God and to seek and save the lost. Therefore, Boston reasons, those same things should be the primary tasks of ministers. Anything which is a hindrance to those core things is to be jettisoned according to Boston. He says on page 98: "...do not needlessly involve thyself in worldly matters, to the hindrance of the duties of they calling and station."

Overall this was an a very helpful book, far better than many modern tomes on evangelism and ministry. I'm thankful that Thomas Boston thought to write these things down and that his family later saw fit to share them with The Church.