"When God Doesn't Heal Now" (Larry Keefauver)

TITLE: When God Doesn't Heal Now
AUTHOR: Larry Keefauver
PUBLISHER: Nashville, TN: Thomas-Nelson, 2000.

I got this book several years ago. It was not read until recently as the catchy title keeps coming back to me. This is a book that attempts to correct misunderstanding of healing, and to debunk myths surrounding faith healing, and faith healers. It is evident that the author has encountered disappointments among people whose loved ones were not healed. They then enter into the guilt-zone of not praying hard enough, not enough faith, upset about unconfessed sin, and the confusion when certain faith healers did not heal as promised. The title of the book is important. Keefauver is not so much interested in the 'why' but in the WHEN. This is similar to Harold Kushner's world famous book, "When Bad Things Happen to Good People." Keefauver argues that the why-question tends to drown a person in perpetual mystery and frustration. The 'when' extends the hope and allows the practice of faith.

The author is careful to distance himself from the kind of myth perpetuated by Kenneth Copeland, where physical healing has 2 dimensions: in time and in space (41). Instead, Keefauver suggests:

MYTH: "If you stand fast in faith, trusting Jesus, you will be healed in time and in space."

FACT: "If you stand fast in faith, trusting Jesus, you will be healed eternally even when you do not see your physical healing manifested now. "(41)

Other myths include:

• "Believe and you will be healed now" (Truth: It is not faith but God who heals.)
• "Great faith heals." (Truth: we cannot quantify units of faith.)
• "God must heal with we believe." (Truth: God is not servant to our faith demands)
• "God only heals those who believe." (Truth: God can heal anyone, not just believers)
• "The key to our healing is our faith."  (Truth: Key to healing is in Christ, not in our faith)
• "When I confess my healing, I will be healed now."  (Truth: Confession of sins is chiefly about salvation, not physical healing)
• "Persistent faith will cause healing to manifest." (Truth: persistent faith is not about persistent unto physical healing, but the race to complete the life of faith.)

The way to understand faith is this:

"It is more than believing in your heart that God heals. The truth is that God is the God who Heals. Faith is trusting the God who heals. Faith is a radical, absolute surrender to the God who Heals. Faith is not holding on for your healing but holding on to the God who Heals." (40)

Right on. Faith is on the God who heals, not on the healing.  Keefauver debunks the myth of faith healing which puts one's own faith (or lack of it) as a reason for lack of healing. He debunks the myth of some kinds of prayer that hinders true prayer. He deals with the myths of disease as a punishment from God, and the myths of faith healers.

Then he introduces his understanding of God's timing, sovereignty and true faith. What is not clear is physical healing. What is very clear is the eternal salvation and full healing in eternity. He then poses some truth statements:

• Truth #1 - "Visible Facts are Not Total Reality" (132)
• Truth #2 - "Faith Walking is Prayer Walking" (134)
• Truth #3 - "God and His Word can be Trusted" (137)
• Truth #4 - "Faith Focuses on the Healer, not the Healing" (138)

He then presents 40 steps to finding true health and healing.

My Comments

Keefauver has participated in many of the healing events by prosperity and health preachers such as Kenneth Copeland and Peter Youngren. While he does not agree with all of their teachings, he still admits God's sovereignty and timing, even quoting one healing event in Youngren's rally (118-9). While he acknowledges some healing, Keefauver's main point is that the Christian ought to give God the glory regardless of whether there is physical healing or not. This I believe is the most important point in this book. There is a tendency for people picking up this book thinking that it is a book that teaches one the formula for true healing. No. This book deals with the aftermath of 'failed' expectations of healing. It deals with what to do next. It corrects erroneous thinking surrounding faith and healing. It deals with the re-orientation of man's focus on healing, to God.

The author tries hard to give some practical applications, like the 40 steps to God's Healing through the Word. Unfortunately, it presents some problems. Not only is it too cumbersome and long, it is guilty of introducing another formula for healing. It may give the beginner a kickstart. It may give the new Christian hope in following through the steps. Its key strength is in debunking myths.

The fact is that everyone's faith journey is different. It is important for readers to discern what is best. Perhaps, there are no 40-steps. Perhaps, there is only a part or a combination of them. What is most important is that at each step, there is a renewed focus on God. God alone.

conrade

"Questions of Life" by Nicky Gumbel

TITLE: Alpha: Questions of Life - A practical introduction to the Christian Life
AUTHOR: Nicky Gumbel
PUBLISHER: Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries, 2003.

One of the most pressing needs in the church is continued Christian Education. This is necessary not just for young believers but also the older ones. For the young, they need an introduction to the Christian faith that is not only theological, but practical as well. For the older, they need to be reminded.

One can argue that true theology is practical. Unfortunately, there is too much anti-theology mindset going around in the Church today, especially among older believers. With cynicism, some people are also easily dismissive of theologians, preferring to breathe in their own air of anti-intellectualism. This is due in part to some over-zealous students, professors, pastors, and teachers of theology who unwittingly speak high-sounding words in an unintelligible way. The result is that people get put off when they equate such heady words with common theology. Not this book. Instead of heavy theological lifting needed, readers both young and old will find it a fresh invitation to ask basic questions without settling for easy answers.

Gumbel poses 15 basic questions as follows:

1. Christianity: Boring, Untrue, and Irrelevant?
2. Who is Jesus?
3. Why did Jesus Die?
4. How can I be sure of my Faith?
5. Why and how should I read the Bible?
6. Why and how do I pray?
7. How does God guide us?
8. Who is the Holy Spirit?
9. What does the Holy Spirit do?
10. How can I be filled with the Spirit?
11. How can I resist Evil?
12. Why and how should we tell others?
13. Does God heal today?
14. What about the Church?
15. How can I make the most of the rest of my life?

All of these questions are pretty basic. Yet, in churches, people continue to ask these basic questions. This book is a great supplement to the highly popular ALPHA courses worldwide. The chapters are written in a very easy to read manner, filled with illustrations, discussion questions, and inviting topics. The main benefit is not the giving of answers, but the way it generates discussions and further questions. If you are thinking of getting the book to learn Christianity 101, this book is certainly a good start.

Sometimes, the most fundamental things we need are simply basic.

conrade

"The Wisdom of Each Other" (Eugene Peterson)

TITLE: The Wisdom of Each Other: A Conversation Between Spiritual Friends
AUTHOR: Eugene Peterson
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998.

This little book is weighty, full of wisdom, and rich with insights. Eugene Peterson, most famous for his paraphrase of the Bible in the MESSAGE, gives readers an intimate look into conversations with spiritual friends. This is one of 5 books on the 'Growing Deeper' series, which was 1999 Gold Medallion book winner in the inspiration category. While all touches on spirituality, each covers a different aspect of it. Walter Wangerin touches on prayer in "Whole Prayer." Luci Shaw engages meditation on the soul in "Water my Soul." Calvin Miller deals with teaching and preaching in "Disarming the Darkness," while Philip Yancey provides reflections on Church in "Church, why bother?" Peterson's contribution is to see spirituality, not from the standpoint of a sage teaching the student, but a peer-to-peer sharing of spiritual journeys. In a world where conversations tend to become deterministic, where command and conquer tends to become the defacto function of language, Peterson helps us see language beyond mere utilitarian, to one that is sharing each other's presence. In the tradition of letter writings, like the Apostle Paul's epistles to the churches, Martin Luther's letter to his barber, CS Lewis's Letters to Malcolm, and many more, Peterson contributes this book by writing it to a fictional 'Gunnar Thorkildsson.'

Peterson, begins each letter with "Dear Gunnar" and ends with his firstname, 'Eugene.' Gunnar is a person whom Eugene gets to know since the former's graduation from university. The conversation revolves around calling, Church going, marriage, hymn singing, the weather, prayer, spiritual life, theology, and many more. He also makes a critique on modern technology on how people seems more captivated by the man-made things and fails to notice enough of God's natural creation.  Unlike conversations that seem to present a question followed by an answer, Peterson is masterful in posing questions for Gunnar to probe deeper, himself. Rather than giving answers, Gunnar is encouraged to find his own answers. Rather than dishing out set techniques or sophisticated solutions, Gunnar is urged to find God in the most natural and simple way. Peterson may appear to be harsh on modern culture. On closer reading, it is more a case of him criticizing the non-critical acceptance of things around us to the detriment of failing to see God in the ordinary. In other words, the modern man tends to search for God in all the wrong places.

Peterson is a great mentor in this book. When I read it, I need to pause often to pray, and to reflect upon my own spiritual life as well. There is a bit of everything in this book. Who says wisdom and knowledge needs to come in volumes after volumes of encyclopedic-size books? This book can be used as a devotional cum spiritual guide.

conrade

"The Will of God as a Way of Life" by Jerry Sittser

TITLE: The Will of God as a Way of Life
AUTHOR: Jerry Sittser
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004, (256 pages).

When there is a book about the will of God, I will read. If it is written by an unknown writer, I may just borrow it from the library. If it is written by my favourite authors, I will usually buy it. This book is one of them.

According to Sittser, this book is about a perspective of the will of God, not a series of steps to attain the holy grail of the experiment called life. Sharing about how he manages to move through the twists and turns of life, the book reveals a lot about how Sittser fumbles through life, and eventually arriving at a clearer understanding of what God's will means for him. In Chapter One, he shares about 3 clues. Firstly, 'we will never know how things will turn out' (20). The second clue is about how suffering and loss dispels his idea of a perfect and nice will of God. The third clue is that the Bible says very little about the future path of God's way, but a present avoidance of anxiety and wrongful presumption. The conventional way of thinking is in terms of finding out that ONE specific will of God for each person. Such a thinking reveals 3 problems.

1. What if we make the 'wrong' choice?
2. It makes us feel as if God is playing hide-and-seek with us.
3. It causes us to be pre-occupied with a future view that God's will is something that lies ahead.

Chapter Two goes on to dispel such fears. We have an astonishing amount of freedom to seek the will of God in terms of the Person of God. In other words, the will of God is understood by looking BACK, while we seek FORTH to see God.

"As I struggled with the issue of discovering God's will, I came to a startling conclusion. The will of God concerns the present more than the future; it deals with our motives as well as our actions; it focuses on the little decisions we make every day even more than the big decision we make about the future. The only time we really have both to know and to do God's will is the present moment. We are to love God with heart, soul, mind, and strength, and we are to love our neighbours as we love ourselves." (34)

In Chapter Three, Sittser talks about the obstacles that prevent us from understanding God's will. 

"... God's will for us is to choose quality of life over quantity of options, to slow down and integrate our lives as best as we can, and to build friendships with people who know the whole of us, not just isolated parts of us. His will challenges us to resist and even to reverse some of the trends of contemporary culture itself." (41)

Among the obstacles mentioned are, 'tradition,' the massive potpourri of choices, busyness, lack of community.

Thankfully, Chapter Four proposes the way forward. Obedience as a way of life as exemplified by the artist and the athlete.  He writes:

"Both artists and athletes understand the nature of true freedom. They give up their freedom to do whatever they want, subject themselves to strict discipline, and in the end gain the freedom to perform at the highest levels of artistic and athletic achievement. Loss of freedom actually leads to freedom. It is the freedom of obedience, gained by following a strict regimen of practice." (62)

In Chapter Five, he expounds the Ten Commandments, calling them 'implications of grace' rather than the 'opposite of grace' (67). Chapter Six is a lovely chapter about the simple pleasures of attending to the little things in life, and to appreciate the ordinary and what we have often taken for granted. Chapter Seven is a helpful chapter about making choices. Sittser shares his wisdom:

"We must learn to be good listeners, to discern God's greater purpose, and maintain an eternal perspective. Then, after making a decision, we should never look back, trusting that God has already gone ahead of us." (96)

He also warns us about using the rule of 'success' to measure God's will. God's will is present regardless of our definitions of success or failure. He says wisely:

"We don't always know how our decisions will work out, but we know that God will work them out for our redemption. We will fall in love, change jobs, bury loved ones, say good-bye to children, move to faraway cities, raise cats, lose a fortune on the stock market, and end up living in Singapore. Sometimes we will make good decisions; sometimes not. Still, somehow God will work things out for our good, both because that is his nature and because that is his will for our lives." (105)

Sittser teaches us to discover the wonders of 'living in the present moment.' We need to learn to use disciplines to 'refresh' our daily routines, so that we can return to our original work with 'renewed creativity, perspective, and gratitude.' (152) He talks also about calling as a plural rather than a singular term. Finally, he shares six useful signs to discern our calling.

1. Look within ourselves to ask what motivates us?
2. What are our talents?
3. What about our life experiences?
4. Where are the opportunities?
5. Is there a community that we can share our talents with?
6. Is there joy in service?

This is a great book to read for learning about the wise counsel of Sittser. As someone who has gone through deep levels of suffering and pain, he typically weaves his suffering experience into the books he write. This book is no exception. In fact, Sittser dedicates the last three chapters to talk about that. Written simply. Expressed eloquently.

conrade 

"Marriage Spirituality" by R Paul Stevens

TITLE: Marriage Spirituality - Ten Disciplines for Couples Who Love God
AUTHOR: R. Paul Stevens
PUBLISHER: Vancouver, BC: Regent College Publishing, 1989, (165 pages).

With his huge experience as pastor, seminarian, counselor, and of course, a married man, Stevens is certainly one we can learn from, with regards to marriage. Written with the Christian believer in mind, Stevens selects ten disciplines for couples to practice together. He believes that faith strengthens Christian marriages. For Stevens,

"To be married means to have our privacy invaded, to live dangerously close to another sinner, to be interfered with by someone who claims to love us but does not always know how. Yet to be married also means to celebrate a sacrament every day, all day, through everything we share, even when we are not together." (14)

The underlying conviction the author has is the need for husbands and wives to cultivate spiritual friendship with each other. Before this can happen, six barriers have to be addressed:

1. 'Too many agendas': that sucks away time and energy to prayer;
2. 'Overfamiliarity': that couples are not sensitive to fresh insights from each other;
3. 'History of mutual sin and forgiveness': seeking each other's forgiveness is hard;
4. 'Unresolved problems': unhealthy tendency to wait (forver) for problem to be resolved BEFORE any talk of spiritual togetherness;
5. 'Afraid of intimacy': Fear of letting spouse into the insecurities of oneself;
6. 'Complicated structure': the need for couples to see their marriage unique relationship in itself.

Simply put, the way forward is to let the marriage relationship become a 'response' to God's grace in the couple's life. The author suggests several ways to do the ten disciplines. One way is by taking an intentional 10-week experiment on developing spiritual friendship. Another way is through small couple mentoring program where two or three couples meet together regularly to encourage one another. Others include weekend retreats, teaching sessions or through sermons over the pulpit. The key is not to 'solve' but to share the journey.

The ten disciplines are:

1. Prayer that shares a special intimacy with God and each other.
2. Conversation that involves listening to the heart.
3. Sabbath that learns to rest, leisure, and play together.
4. Retreat that encourages solitude together as a couple.
5. Study to train the couple's ability to listen to God.
6. Service to serve together.
7. Sexual Fasting to learn to attempt to focus on resolving a particular spiritual matter.
8. Obedience in doing God's will together.
9. Confession to enable healing.
10. Mutual Submission to affirm the equal relationship of both spouses.

My Comments

This is a lovely book to read as a couple. The strength lies in the application aspects where the author details the steps to practice the discipline. For example, the 'putting into practice' is not only realistic but covers practical details of a typical busy life. The author shows an astute understanding of marital challenges, and writes in a very encouraging manner. Personally, I feel that ten disciplines are a little too much. The disciplines are important. However, the book will benefit more if it focuses on say 5-7 of them. For instance, prayer and conversation can be combined. Confession and Mutual Submission goes hand in hand. The same goes for Sabbath and Retreat. In its current form, the book is best used for a teaching course rather than a marriage manual for couples spiritual friendship. If there is another title, I will certainly suggest: "Cultivating Spiritual Friendship in Marriages."

I recommend this book for Christian couples, especially those where both spouses are active in Church or work in a Christian organization.

Ratings: 4 stars of 5.

conrade

"Journaling as a Spiritual Practice" by Helen Cepero

TITLE: Journaling as a Spiritual Practice: Encountering God Through Attentive Writing
AUTHOR: Helen Cepero
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: IVP Press, 2008.


Write with a purpose toward knowing God and self. This is the key theme in this book. The author is a director for Spiritual Formation, and shares brilliant insights on how journaling can become a spiritual practice. She writes:

“All spiritual disciplines and practices, including journaling, are about learning to be aware and awake, open to God, ourselves and the world around us. Journaling is meant to give clarity to your day and rest to your night, reminding you even when you are not writing in your journal that God is there with you, in and through it all.” (12)

The purpose:

“Our true goal is a deeper relationship with the God who longs to meet us at the heart of all that we were and are and hope to be. Attention to our own reality - our dreams and our wounds, our desires and our hopes, our friends and our enemies, our past, our present and our future - is not for its own sake, but to tune our hearts to hear God’s transforming Word for us.” (12)

Unlike general writing, spiritual journaling begins with God. When one writes, one writes by honing attentiveness on the presence of God, expressed through our writing.

“Like all spiritual practices, it begins with the trust that God is active at the heart of our lives and the life of the world. It begins with our openness to trusting in the transforming power of Christ’s Spirit to lead us closer to our true selves and to God. As we regularly and intentionally pray in this way, we discover that ‘God is already present in the hidden depths of the present moment; it is just because we were skimming along across the surface of what is happening that we were unable to know and rest in that presence.’” (20)

About the Book
The author begins with an introduction of what journaling as a spiritual practice looks like, giving tips as to the timing, the place, the kinds of journal materials, and suggestions for overcoming the writer’s block.

In chapter 2, she urges us to just start writing.

“Doubt, fear, faith struggles and feelings of insignificance can all cripple our journaling practice if they stay locked within us. But if we allow all of this to flow out of us and onto the page, we just might find our way through to a life lived with God, as well as a new sense of self-knowledge. If we wait until we can get our faith lives ‘right’ or make sure our motivations are unmixed or keep our minds and hearts clear, we will never begin a true spiritual practice at all. The journal is a starting place for dealing with all the faith struggles that are still going on, the doubts that linger and the fears that lurk. Saying them ‘aloud’ on the page helps us find the courage to continue, courage that is rooted not in our personal effort but in God’s eternal love for each of us.” (30)

In chapter 3, Cepero starts by noticing how God pays attention to us, and that we need to learn to exercise that attentiveness to God and to ourselves too. She points out 2 possible threats to our journaling experience. The first is the ‘censor’ that threatens to slice off part of our story. The second is the inner critic that undermines our writing.

Chapter 4 moves from noticing to honouring one’s story. One of the problems Christians face is the lack of self-esteem, that one is not significant. The author guides one to appreciate one’s name, as well as how God ‘named’ us. It is less of how we are searching for God, but a matter of how we are found by God.

Chapter 5 provides some writing guidelines to engage God via focus, free writing, mapping one’s life and context, recognize changes, and accepting invitations from God to approach Him.

Chapter 6 is a practical help regarding how our physical body conditions affect our writing.

Chapter 7 is a retrospective journey to our past where one learns to illuminate one’s past with thanksgiving, with naming our moments, with learning to let go or to hold on, and to discern God’s voice.

Prayer of Examen is a gentle summary: “Praying for light, looking back in thankfulness, praying into the heart of the day, and letting go and holding on.” (81)

Chapter 8 shows that journaling can also look forward. One can write up a to do list, and to reflect on the meaning and purpose of it. In learning to wait and hope, one plants the seeds of faith by believing that God will speak forward in due time. Just like the disciples who did not understand the word on their way to Emmaus. Until they met Jesus who explains the Scripture to them.

In chapter 9, readers learn to examine the present too. It can be used like a compass to know where is one now. Based on Jer 6:16, the author guides readers to look at South, East, West and North. South is ‘the direction of sunny exposure - the direction of creativity, imagination, spontaneity and play.’ (94)

East is ‘the direction of the dawn, the rising sun. It is the perspective of new beginnings.’ (95)

“Ask yourself: What light is just beginning to appear on my horizon? What am I being asked to take hold in a new way? Where am I being called to embrace something? What areas in my life need change or transformation? As you look to the east, remember that beginnings are usually small and can seem almost insignificant.” (95)

West is the ‘direction of the setting sun’ on a perspective that indicates endings and letting go. (96)

North helps keep the other perspectives aligned, as a navigational north star. This is the guiding light, representing the ‘stabilizing forces’ showing us where we are and where we ought to go.

She ends with the center that is at the middle of the compass, saying it is the human person in the center, us that moves with God.

Through dialoging, embracing the Cross, seeing God in the ordinary as well as the extraordinary, one journeys the faith.

{journaling allows us to remember old histories with new insights.}

She ends with 6 fork-roads that require each journaler to maker a decision.

1. Is journaling a distraction away from God or attentiveness toward God?
2. “Is this a critic, or is this a mentor?”
3. “Is this being rooted, or is this being stuck?”
4. “Is this foolish or is this faith’s sake?”
5. Is this a stumbling block or opportunity for growth?
6. “Detour or home?”

My Comments

A book like this is rare. We have many books in the market that teach techniques, writing styles, overcoming writer's blocks and tools to aid writing. Yet, very rarely do we find books that uses journaling/writing as a spiritual practice. Cepero helps us by showing us how the simple act of writing and journaling can become a holy exercise of focusing our attention toward God. I like the gradual movement from life to paper, from paper to history, from history to future, and then back to the present. I appreciate the way Cepero uses the compass, asking us to begin with the South, East, the West and letting the North be the guiding light that brings everything together. Integrative spirituality is such an important part of spiritual discipline. I am glad Cepero has done this well. Very well.

There is a minor suggestion for improvement. Cepero will do well to expand her work to include the latest technological tools, like the Internet, blogging, social networking, on how one can use technology to facilitate journaling. Perhaps, the author can write a book: "Blogging as a Spiritual Practice?"

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade

"A Slice of Trust" by David Hutchens and Gibbs Smith

TITLE: Slice of Trust: The Leadership Secret with the Hot & Fruity Filling
AUTHOR: David Hutchens and Barry Rellaford
PUBLISHER: Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith, 2011

Not many of us have the time to read. Sometimes it is due to the busyness that we succumb to. Other times, it is because books are not easy to read. For such people, it will be great to find a book is not only gentle on our time, but also captivating to read. This book is perfect for the busy person.

About the Book
Based on Stephen Covey's The Speed of Trust, this book tells a fable of two men running a pie-shop business. It brings alive the many concepts that highlight the importance and efficiency of trust in the business world. At the same time, it teaches us the need to exercise wisdom. Through the simple story, one learns:

• trusting people speeds the process up;
• "Trust is built over time, a slice at a time." (66)
• "Being trusted invites people to be their best." (40)
• "To trust is to lead." (50)
• In trust, the risks are large, but the rewards are huge.
• High Propensity + Low Analysis = Blind Trust
• High Propensity + High Analysis = Smart Trust
• Low Propensity + Low Analysis = No Trust
• Low Propensity + High Analysis = Distrust

The goal of trust is to be willing and open to trust others. This may be difficult for some people, especially for those who have been hurt or taken advantage of before. In order to aid trusting, adopt a level of analysis that is appropriate. Remember to analyze the situation, the contexts, the environment more than the person. The moment we start to psychoanalyse the person, we are treating the person as an object. Instead, study the contexts so that you can understand how and why the person is reacting as such.

This may not be explicitly Christian, but it sure has Christian principles that can be practised. I believe that the Church needs a high level of trust within. Small groups need to be trusting of one another. Trusting that is smart, and honest. By reading this book, one also learns that trust needs to be built over time. In fact, like any relationship, trust is imperative to the health of any organization. If you want to grow in closeness in any group, make sure that you have slices of trust.


conrade