"Thinking. Loving. Doing." Book Review
When I picked up this book, I had no idea what it was about.
All I knew was that it was edited by Piper and had chapters by both
John Piper and Francis Chan. On that basis alone, I figured that it was worth
reading, but I was blown away by the introduction, long before I got to the later chapters.
Introduction: David Mathis
Not knowing what the book was about, I found the introduction rather helpful. In the church, we've created this weird dichotomy of anti-intellectual sentimentalism pitted against anti-sentimentalist theological academia. Mathis calls this the "unifers" (those who "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" but may be given to doctrine-dilution) and "purifiers" (those who thrive on "watching out for those who...create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have taught" but may be given to arrogance and division-stirring.) In response, this book literally addresses the "thinking," "loving," and "doing" aspects of the Christian faith. Many times, churches gravitate to one of these categories (which also fit the "prophet/ priest/ king" dynamic, for those who are familiar with that terminology) at the expense of the other two.
"In our scheme," Mathis writes, "the 'thinkers' (mind) would be Reformed; the 'feelers' (heart), the massive swaths of Pentecostal and charismatic networks (either in addition to, or perhaps rather than, the now greatly diminishing number of those labeling themselves 'emerging'); and the 'doers' (hands), the more practically oriented 'leadership' segments of the church...AND THE POINT IS THAT NONE OF US GETS IT RIGHT." (emphasis mine). By incorporating and intermingling these three functions of Christian living, we can grow wholistically: in both unity and in purity.
For my commentary and summary on the rest of the chapters, please see my Amazon review here.
Disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for my review, but the thoughts and impressions expressed herein are my own.
Introduction: David Mathis
Not knowing what the book was about, I found the introduction rather helpful. In the church, we've created this weird dichotomy of anti-intellectual sentimentalism pitted against anti-sentimentalist theological academia. Mathis calls this the "unifers" (those who "maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" but may be given to doctrine-dilution) and "purifiers" (those who thrive on "watching out for those who...create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have taught" but may be given to arrogance and division-stirring.) In response, this book literally addresses the "thinking," "loving," and "doing" aspects of the Christian faith. Many times, churches gravitate to one of these categories (which also fit the "prophet/ priest/ king" dynamic, for those who are familiar with that terminology) at the expense of the other two.
"In our scheme," Mathis writes, "the 'thinkers' (mind) would be Reformed; the 'feelers' (heart), the massive swaths of Pentecostal and charismatic networks (either in addition to, or perhaps rather than, the now greatly diminishing number of those labeling themselves 'emerging'); and the 'doers' (hands), the more practically oriented 'leadership' segments of the church...AND THE POINT IS THAT NONE OF US GETS IT RIGHT." (emphasis mine). By incorporating and intermingling these three functions of Christian living, we can grow wholistically: in both unity and in purity.
For my commentary and summary on the rest of the chapters, please see my Amazon review here.
Disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for my review, but the thoughts and impressions expressed herein are my own.
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