Douglas Young

I hadn’t felt like I’d traveled backwards in time, and spent moments with someone I didn’t know, like this since I read Donald Miller’s, Blue Like Jazz. I’m serious. No hyperbole here. Sarah Cunningham’s, Picking Dandelions: A Search for Eden Among Life’s Weeds did that for me.

Do you know the feeling of seeing something you know you shouldn’t have? Remember catching mom wrapping Christmas presents and then stashing them away? You saw something you shouldn’t have, but seeing it opened you up to things as they really were. That’s the feeling I’ve derived after reading Picking Dandelion’s. She led me into her world- a world I should not and would not have seen otherwise- to find the truth behind the story that’s been hidden behind the veil for quite some time.

One can’t help but look at the world around him and think: “Something’s not right about all of this.” And one would be right. Things simply aren’t as they ought to be. And yet we pant and search and claw and pursue the thing to make it all right. Often, we are searching for the right thing in all the wrong places.

Part I begins with Sarah’s childhood. I was drawn into her experiences, seeing them open up, unfold and eventually shut. It makes you wonder if the Christianity we teach our children is something that will endure for the long haul. Are there too many holes? Too many voids? Could we be setting them up for major disappointment?

Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, I really wish I couldn’t empathize with her, but I do, and altogether too often at that. Where we are different is that she began picking up on much of it early on. As one who sat in on church business meetings at age 10, she took note of the things that were out of sorts. See saw the good, the bad, and the ugly. Gotta love this line: “It was clear, even to ten-year-old me, that a non-brown shingle would never be allowed to touch the church roof. If it came down to it, elderly men would lie down in front of bulldozers and choir women would chain themselves to the eaves.” This is so typical, but the last sentence of the chapter says it all. After the votes were taken and brown shingles “won by a landslide…we breathed a sigh of relief. Once again we’d narrowly escaped change.”

Part II takes us from adolescence to teenage Sarah. These days offered her new challenges. As most of us can somehow relate, it is the teenage years that cause us to begin to see ourselves in light of how others see us. It constitutes the beginning of a devilish trap that is immensely difficult to escape. And some never do. Identities are being formed and good direction always seems lacking.

Part III takes us into Sarah’s college years, where nothing is easy. But Sarah seemed to see and experience things that created unrest and discontent, but it really didn’t take her in the direction it took some of us. It seemed to do the opposite. Mission trips afforded her opportunities to see what she hadn’t before. I love the last paragraph of Chapter 2. A trip to Chicago left this impression upon her,

The thing that nagged my soul was knowing that some days the warming shelter was too full and we had to turn people away. The people would nod unsurprisingly when we told them to come back later, and they would shuffle away, down the snow-covered road and past the colossal empty churches that ten people attended once a week on Sundays when they made their weekly drive into the city from the suburbs.

More experiences, and eventually marriage, would make for more personal transition. One thing, though, was certain… she was forced to adjust. And that isn’t always easy.

Part IV introduces how the events of 9/11 changed so many things for so many people. Like many of us, one couldn’t help but wonder where God was in the midst of it all.

Part V begins with how a scoliosis prognosis would affect her, but the physical issues she experienced were simply a means for her to begin speaking to spiritual ailments that were really in view. These ailments had only one solution…Confession. Her confession? It was simple…”I hate. I hate, I hate, I hate.”

The remaining parts (VI-IX) are startling realizations about faith and how change happens in one’s life. Her testimony is as compelling a testimony there is, outside of Scripture itself. She lays it out there with potent transparency. Her flaws were many and all needed to be addressed. And she addresses them.

This is God’s great reconciliation project, and all who are willing may participate. It’s not the funnest project in the world, by any means. But in Christ Jesus, God is reconciling the world back to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19). He is in passionate pursuit of us, God help us that we are equally as passionate in our pursuit of Him.

This, I believe, is to a large extent the gist of Picking Dandelions. Things simply aren’t always as they seem. People, well-intentioned people, did what they believed to be right in expressing to my generation how things are and how they ought to be. But being well-intentioned doesn’t make it right. The voids that were left in many of us were in need of being filled, and they would be or will be, in due time. And so we search. We search for Eden among life’s weeds.

The weeds are plenteous, but God sees us through them and we can find Him in their midst. He sees us in our pursuit of Him and he reveals the beauties of what was lost at the fall (Genesis 3) by giving us tastes of His grace. And grace is always sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9). It keeps us sifting and searching for the real things that matter most.

Thank you, Sarah, for a great book and for letting me be a part of this. But before I close, Sarah has requested my Top 3 recommendations for a “Best of the Best” book list. My three are:

1. The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
2. The Jesus Way: A Conversation in the Way that Jesus is the Way by Eugene Peterson
3. Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity by Mark Batterson

There has been an increased interest in the subject of fasting. This is a good thing, too. My fascination with the subject began as I was trying to, in the midst of my own ministry, rationalize why something that was crucial to the life of Jesus was absolutely absent from mine. It didn’t sit well with me.

Later, a friend introduced me to Dallas Willard’s The Spirit of the Disciplines and The Divine Conspiracy. Those two books opened my eyes to discipleship in Jesus and how his way of life was pivotal to the core of discipleship. I began to inquire of a number of friends who, consequently, had been wondering the same things.

So I began the practice of periodic fasting. It has become a valuable component to my own spiritual formation in Christ. Because of the affinity I’ve developed for the practice, I’ve continued to read from others on the subject. One such read is a book by Susan Gregory entitled, “The Daniel Fast.”

Susan was otherwise known as The Daniel Fast Blogger. Thankfully, she put her thoughts, recipes and encouragement into book form. She has written a thought-provoking book based upon principles derived from the respected Old Testament figure, Daniel.

She sets the stage in Chapter 2 by “Dusting Off an Ancient Spiritual Discipline.” Here she opens a portal into the biblical practice of fasting. She offers numerous examples from both Old and New Testaments of those who engaged in the discipline. She outlines the various types of fasts (absolute, normal, partial). And of course, she expounds upon the nature of The Daniel Fast.

Chapters 3 & 4 are essentially the purposes behind fasting. She is incredibly thorough, citing passage after passage revealing purpose upon purpose. After giving the first four chapters honest consideration, if a person isn’t sold on the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits of fasting, something is amiss. Her case is clear. God, does indeed care about the totality of a person. In fact, the whole being is sanctified “completely” and the “whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless…” (1 Thessalonians 5:23, ESV). There is a link between spiritual formation and bodily well-being. Health, while not the most important part, plays a notable role in our emotional and spiritual well-beings.

The Daniel Fast is a partial fast, not total abstinence from all foods. Daniel’s diet is incorporated for the purposes of reaping the physical, mental and spiritual benefits that can be achieved through participating in it. It, like absolute fasts, can detoxify the body and pave the way for clarity of thought. It also teaches us to lean on God as the source of all physical and spiritual sustenance.

The book is immensely practical. Gregory affords reader with a five step plan to do The Daniel Fast. She ingeniously incorporates a section that provides food lists and recipes. The last portion of the book is actually a 21 day devotional guide for those who are willing to do The Daniel Fast.

This book is wonderful. If you are one who is sensing that you need to make some dramatic lifestyle changes to improve your health and spirituality, this is a great way to ease into the process. Don’t pass it off as silliness, it is not. Jesus believed in the practice of fasting. He worked under the impression that those who would follow him would sustain the practice in their lives (Matthew 6:16-18). The practice wasn’t about asceticism as we know it. It was a way to orient or reorient ourselves towards the One who we need most, the One who supplies all our needs.

Several years ago, a number of books were given to me by a friend now deceased. I’ve thumbed through them a bit, but not given them much attention. This morning, though, I grabbed one off the shelf and began to peruse. What I found therein was pure Greatness.

Sitting before me is a book entitled Catch the Dream by Clark Potts. It was published by ACU Press in 1989. It’s a series of thoughts on nature, time, living, God, Satan, judgment, obedience, hope, joy, service, kindness, forgiveness, pride, humility, patience, responsibility, prayer and love. Sounds good doesn’t it? It is.

Here is one of his thoughts on Time.

Ours is an instant world.

We eat instant foods.

He have instant entertainment.

We watch instant news.

We seek instant relief of pain.

And the telephone gives us instant contact with any point on earth. Yet, the really fundamental things cannot be speeded up or slowed down. For example:

…days, months, years (time)

…conception and birth

…deep, long-lasting friendships

…patience, learning, maturity, etc.

But there are those who spend frustrating days and nights trying to spread the “instant” blanket over impossible areas. Those who doubt, ask themselves: “Can we have instant pleasure…or must it be earned and savored like joy and happiness?”

Isn’t this a strange question in a culture that is so bent on pleasure that the minute we feel a pin or are slightly unhappy we pop a pill or drink some joy juice? Can we really have instant relief? Had God put us here on earth to be instant in anything? Is His Creation so drab, gloomy, sad, uninviting, and “yukky” that we seek instant escape?

Maybe we need an instant refresher course in what His dream is for us.

This is so true! We want “instant” results, but some results are derived in an instant. We’ve got to slow down, breath deeply, and be still. The refining process takes time. Trying to expedite processes that take time, only diminishes the good that comes by them.

Master Leaders by George Barna

The Tyndale Media Center has graciously offered me the opportunity to serve as one of their blog reviewers. Tyndale House Publishers sent me, as my first review, a copy of George Barna’s, Master Leaders.

George Barna is president of The Barna Group. In my opinion, he’s the foremost leader in the field of Christian statistics. He is the author of a number of renowned books. Master Leaders is no less the same.

Barna, a leader himself in the field of leadership, engaged some of the best minds in the leadership field, to write a book about what he gleaned important from these Master Leaders. These were proven men in their respective arenas of work- head football coaches, ministers, CEO, and etc.- all successful and respected by many.

The beauty of the book, in part, lies in how Barna writes it. He tells a story, as if he were the MC (Master of Ceremonies) of a leadership conference that brought together these Master Leaders into one collective forum. Barna communicates the story from the vantage point of sitting in the green room, eating, drinking coffee, and  attentively listening for nuggets to be dropped by each one. It is a masterful piece of work.

Each chapter addresses an essential aspect of Leadership. Each chapter begins by creating a certain tone, and then Barna rolls with a finely crafted group discussion of each chapter theme. My favorite chapters were 4, 5 and 15.

In chapter 4, he deals with how leaders create cultures. Quoting John Kotter, professor of leadership at the Harvard Business School, Barna writes,

Most companies don’t have perfect cultures, and leaders do need to work at that. But instinctively, they usually do. It starts with modeling what’s needed and then getting other people to do that, even if it’s counter-cultural. The way culture develops is that a group of people does something in a certain way and it works. And if it works over a sufficiently long period of time, it seeps into the bloodstream of the organism. They don’t do anything, it just happens. So what  great leaders do is just that. If the culture isn’t right, they get the group to act differently, get positive results, and if they just keep doing it for a while, it will start to seep into the bloodstream and replace the old stuff.

Healthy, organizational cultures are created “top-down” and “naturally.” They aren’t forced. They are born out of natural leadership.

In chapter 5, Barna develops the thoughts of his Master Leaders with regards to leadership development. Good leaders don’t find other leaders; good leaders develop them. Barna communicates a Ken Blanchard story about Henry Blackaby. Blackaby, in giving his opinion of the StrengthFinder process, said of it,

It’s an interesting theory. It just not sound biblically. You name one person whom the Lord called who was qualified. They all complained, whether it was Abraham or Moses or Mary. The Lord doesn’t call the qualified, the Lord qualifies the called.

A statement such as this resonates with minister types. I am a minister, and I feel so inadequate and unworthy. It’s not bad, either; it makes me normal. God develops leaders, and the kinds of leaders he desires aren’t naturally born, they’re naturally groomed.

As the “conference” begins to wind down, in chapter 15, Barna sets his sights on, what to me, is one of the most crucial question concerning leadership: How do leaders respond to the pressures and criticism they face?

Lou Holtz, the successful coaching icon of Notre Dame, found little success at South Carolina. In his first year, the Gamecocks were 0-11. They didn’t win a single game.

The question you have to ask yourself is, Am I willing to endure the difficulties in leadership in order to be successful, or am I going to give in to the negativity and the mediocrity that everybody comes to expect from losers?

Holtz understood what Tony Dungy clearly expressed, “Pressure goes with the territory.” Barna’s final paragraph, itself, is priceless.

Our discussion reminded me that nothing worth creating comes without paying a price. For a leader, part of the price is enduring the emotional roller coaster of being on the receiving end of complaints and challenges, and the physical hardship of feeling the pressure to live up to expectations, even if it’s only your own. You have to believe in the vision and in your ability to see it become a reality to turn your critics into fans and to relieve the pressure by performing up to standards.

I’ve found that leadership books can be dry, but such wasn’t the case for this one. The crafted messages of Master Leaders are told in such a way as to cause the reader to believe that it all happened that way. That’s powerful storytelling that resonates for the long term.

One of several books I’ve been slowly, but steadily trudging through is Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus by authors Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg. If you are interested in seeing Jesus in his original light, instead of how the Western world has formed him, I recommend it. I feel as if Spangler and Tverberg are taking me back in time, to see the culture of Jesus’ day, so as to shed increased insight into his words and actions.

There is a growing concern amongst some, inasmuch as the Gentiles of old fashioned gods after their own imaginations (Romans 1:21ff.), that we’ve done the same thing with God the Father and His Son Jesus. To some, this formulation of God based on human conceptions was a problem of the past. But if it happened then, it most certainly can happen now.

In a way, he’s been Westernized to fit our needs. Think about it…many of us see him as white, Republican, and concerned about making us rich. But this is not the Jesus of Scripture. He wasn’t white. He wasn’t political (John 18:36). He wasn’t concerned about making you rich (Luke 12:15). His concern was that you have life in him (John 10:9-10).

It’s never easy to have your notions of things broken down, but sometimes they must for us to see clearly. Veils must be torn; haze must be lifted; light must penetrate darkness. Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus is helping do some of this for me. It can do the same for you.