Book Review - God just showed up!

God just showed up!

(by Linda Watkins)

For someone new to Christianity, this is a very encouraging and helpful book. The testimonies from many aspects of life, from those in jail, off the streets, at higher learning institutions, to places of ministry leadership are refreshing to hear. We learn a lot from stories and how true of testimonies.

What makes this book special is that it's a collection of testimonies from African-American Christians. Still today, many of these testimonies are not heard. There are various reasons, but I won't talk about it here. I do give praise to the author, Linda Watkins, for publishing this book and providing more exposure of such testimonies.

Main Points

There really isn't a lot of main points from this book since it's a collection of various testimonies. But, there is one which is reflective of the title.

• When God shows up and you invite Him to take control of your life, you will be blessed beyond expectations.

Favorite Quotes

Here are the quotes that I liked from various people sharing their testimonies.

1. In recent years, scholars have revealed the African presence in the Bible, from the Garden of Eden in ancient Northeast Africa to the Afro-Asiatic roots of Jesus Christ.
2. Perhaps one of the greatest tragedies of the late twentieth century was the large number of African-Americans who lost touch with God. Some stopped seeking Him. Others never knew Him. He is the same God who helped our ancestors survive the treacherous journey to America on slave ships. He is the God who brought our people out of slavery and marched beside us during the Civil Rights Movement.
3. God Almighty is a personal God who is calling each of us to count on Him.
4. Hope...is the belief that something good is going to happen despite how bad things look.
5. "Growing up poor in the inner city makes you grow up fast." - Curtis Martin
6. "I found that the more I read the Bible and was around people who were into God, the stronger my relationship with Jesus got and the more I was able to resist temptations." - Curtis Martin
7. "Many people are just looking for peace in their lives. God can bring that peace all of us want." - Curtis Martin
8. "God used her in our home to set an example for me when I should have been the one leading my family." - David Clark
9. "It didn't happen in a moment; it was a process." - David Clark
10. "God had to break me down spiritually and remake me all over again so I could really hear and understand His Word." - David Clark
11. "My whole career sprang from God helping me to get that internship with Mayor Bradley and my subsequent work for the mayor." - Tavis Smiley
12. "...I learned that things happen in God's time." - Tavis Smiley
13. "The lesson is don't mess around. Do your best, and God will do the rest." - Dr. Ben Carson
14. "But now God was saying, 'You do this, and I'll do that.'" - Lamont Couch
15. "I want you to study now," God said one day. "If you want Me to invest in you, you need to invest in yourself." - Lamont Couch
16. "We need to tell them early that guns don't turn them into men; God does." - Evelyn Stokes
17. "They'd say yes (to still seeing a missing piece in their life after detox) and that's why they didn't know what else to do but go back to drugs. That's why they kept on relapsing." / "The missing piece is Jesus Christ." - Ronald Tyler
18. "I had been so bored at the Episcopal church my family attended when I was growing up that at this stage of my life, I was an agnostic who believed in a 'supreme being', but that was about it." - Linda Watkins
19. "In my research and personal study, I read about the biblical figure Nehemiah, the leader who returned to his Jerusalem birthplace to help the disgraced children of Israel rebuild the city's damaged walls. Like Jerusalem, the neighborhood around the projects had become a modern-day disgrace." - Chloe Coney
20. "While I was living in the suburbs, residing in my comfort zone, I read about God and His goodness in the Bible. Now I know about His goodness because I've experienced God's blessings firsthand. Like Nehemiah, the Lord led me to help restore my broken community." - Chloe Coney
21. "I was motivated more by wanting to keep my girlfriend than feeling the need for a personal savior."- Lewis Lee
22. "Somebody has to nurture you when you're a baby in the faith, or the devil will snatch you and steer you toward your old ways." - Lewis Lee
23. "I'm an ordained minister. I teach new members, lead a prayer group, and occasionally preach at my church. I'm also a full-time doctor and chief of oncology at a hospital. Can you believe after all I went through, the Lord allowed me to have two careers?" - Dr. Mary Reed
24. "Although I was really trying to live right, no one would reach out to teach me or disciple me so I would know how to live right. So no matter how many Bible verses I read, over the next five or six months I started slipping back into my old lifestyle." - Gary Shields
25. "I got serious about trusting God. No church. But I read the Word - religiously." - Gary Shields
26. "He 'discipled' me one on one, and like any good teacher, He made sure I didn't miss important points." - Gary Shields
27. "But in the movement, politically conscious brothers and sisters believed that Christianity was ''the white man's religion"." - Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu
28. "Africentricity can't fill the void during major challenges like when your marriage is in trouble, your children are wayward, and you have more bills than revenue." - Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu
29. "The first sign (of God) came a year later when "The Skin I'm In" became an overnight success." - Sharon Flake

Favorite Verse

'When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."' - John 8:12 (NIV)

What's Missing?

I hate to provide criticism instead of pure encouragement of my Afro-Am writers and authors, but we must have higher standards as Christians overall compared to the norm. So, I'll only say as a "seasoned" Christian that we need more stories of those who DO follow the Word and Spirit to continue shining for Jesus. Testimonies don't always need to have dramatic events like falling into drug addiction, gang violence, or avoiding God's calling for selfishness. Where are the testimonies of the Noahs, Josephs, and Ruths?

Book Review - Love Kindness

love
KINDNESS

(by Barry H. Corey)

Biola University's President Barry Corey does an excellent job in highlighting what he calls 'a lost virtue' on the topic of "kindness". His title follows Micah 6:8. Although I feel he gets long winded or discusses this topic throughout this book, the point still remains and perhaps it's one of the reasons why he keep repeating: Christians (true believers in Jesus Christ) need to have a firm center with soft edges. These soft edges equal the kindness. Many Christians today, and I agree with him, either have hard edges (and maybe even soft centers), no edges, or have the soft edges but with no firm center.

Therefore, his position and perspective is challenging for Christians who somehow have stopped learning the way of Jesus. In addition, the challenge is greater as the stance on kindness is an outwardly act and not one to be kept within Christian circles. We, followers of Jesus Christ, are to be kind to everyone. I love some of his stories where he struggles to be kind with those who believe and think differently than he. More so, I love his joy in the struggles to be kind to those who express their negativity with Christians and/or with Jesus Christ. Like him, I agree that people in general don't know Jesus primarily because they don't see this loving kind Jesus in his followers - us Christians.

I welcome and am applying his thorough explanation of being kind to all out of the love of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, I hope that people including my friends and family see me being kind. I hope my family and friends will correct me when I am not kind. I pray the Holy Spirit will bless you and me with the fruit of kindness as well as teach you and me how to be even more kind. In today's world where many are all about "me" and not "we", I pray the Lord will help turn my "me" into "we" and with a loving kindness. Then, maybe someone will know the Lord Jesus from our kindness.

Well done and thanks for highlighting this need especially among the crises of today, President Barry Corey.

Main Points

Here are the main points that I really liked from this book.

• A Father's Kindness - sets the stage of life
• Seeing kindness modeled through his father (also a pastor) while growing up was his key influence which also helped in understanding the Father's kindness. 
• Countercultural engagement
• Kindness must be authentic and persistent even through messy situations
• Kindness includes humility
• Kindness takes patience: time and positive energy
• Kindness has more power than people think, and comes back around stronger than karma
• The story of Leah (in the Bible): The Way of Kindness sees Beauty in Ashes
• Kindness is attractive, publicly and privately
• Kindness is a free gift with no expectations of any returns
• Kindness is not accepted nor recognized by everyone, and that's okay
• Kindness leads to repentance and new life
• The Kindness Challenge
• Every Christian is challenged to be kind like Jesus Christ, all the time. This is essential to understanding and practicing the grace we have received from God.
• The Kindness Experiment: 7 Thoughts on Softening our Edges (& Keeping Firm Center)
• A firm center and soft edges means:
• 1.  we become more involved in the culturally unfamiliar.
• 2. we are creators of goodness and beauty.
• 3. we approach the growing opposition in our day by leading with humility.
• 4. we fear not when our grace is met with hostility.
• 5. we remain even more deeply rooted in biblical faithfulness.
• 6. that evangelism is at the heart of why we live this way.
• 7. we need to remember that Christ-centeredness means we will never be marginalized.

Favorite Quotes

There were a lot of nice quotes by the author, but I'll limit to eight...teen. :)

1. Repentance, more than anything else, changes lives. And kindness leads us there.
2. Kindness embodies courage.
3. Kindness focuses on how I open myself for others to receive me, whether they choose to or not.
4. Life is a journey from certainty to uncertainty...the antidote to uncertainty is not certainty. It's confidence (meaning "with faith").
5. Not all who wander are lost. (J.R.R. Tolkien)
6. The kinder way is to be present in others' lives with an honest spirit that isn't waiting for the conversation to turn toward me. That's a spirit that receives others more than it wants to be received.
7. Performance is less effective than purpose.
8. May I learn that a lesson in life is a lessened me. (John 3:30)
9. In our home countries, we identified as Presbyterian and Pentecostal, Baptist and Anglican, Reformed and Lutheran. In Dhaka, we identified as Christ-followers, worshipping together and walking side by side to the Lord's Table as the people of God.
10. Loving those who are different than we are is what we are supposed to do.
11. Kindness - listening while wanting to learn about someone.
12. Listening is a dimension of loving.
13. God's kind of kindness is far different from niceness or tolerance because it leads us to see our own depravity. In Romans 2 Paul writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that kindness will reveal in us and in others our fallen nature and will draw us all to the cross of Christ: "God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance" (verse 4). This profound truth about kindness points to its purpose: repentance.
14. Compassion demands proximity.
15. Rejection. We need to get use to it and get over it.
16. Nobody single-handedly has the capacity to change the world. Christians tend to love extra large strategies that pledge to impact the world in short order. We need to take the long view through respectful collaborations and earnest conversations, all done in the spirit of kindness.
17. Life in Christ is less about our results and more about our character.
18. Kindness that bends to accept as valid everyone else's viewpoint is not kindness. We can be kind and strong in our perspective. We can be kind and encourage one another toward purity before God. We can be kind and lovingly persuade someone to at least consider our perspective on what the Bible teaches. Kindness is not built thoughtlessly on the cliche that we "agree to disagree" and then never engage in conversation. Kindness frees us to hold deep moral convictions minus the vitriol.

Favorite Verse

"Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me." - Matthew 10:40

What's Missing?

Well, I think a training program is required for such a book because "kindness" takes lots of practice. We're talking about an exercise like "strength & conditioning" for athletes. Also, I don't agree with the term "evangelism" being at the heart of why we live this way (in point 6). But, I do agree with his explanation in point 6. He mentions "The time-honored calling of the church to start hospitals and rescue missions and schools has been overtaken by others of no faith at all." I agree to a degree. ;-) I simply think many churches have lost their connection to the historically founded hospitals and schools. Furthermore, I think Christians have forgotten to use all of their gifts with much of the hype being around evangelism and focus on sharing faith by word instead of "word and deed". Which is why I love how President Barry closes out point 6: "In a world increasingly skeptical of Christians and stereotyping from a distance, we have to restore our approach to the Jesus way, calling us to a more winsome and savvy articulation of the gospel in word and deed."

Book Review - Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor

(Forget a Mentor)
Find a Sponsor 

(by Sylvia Ann Hewlett)

All AMAZINGNESS in this book! Definitely a new thought and ground-breaking concept on excelling one's career. With all the pressures and emphasis on work (i.e. career life), the strategies and methods to succeed are becoming so common that everyone is either laboring into overtime (shifting the standard working hours from 40/week to 50+/week) or laboring while taking classes full-time. Where does one get the time to actually live and enjoy family outside of work?

Well, to regain your personal life you'll need to come up with a new strategy. This lady, former professor of Columbia University, opens the door to a new, useful concept on maximizing your efforts at work while receiving the matching recognition and rewards. Stop focusing so much on building a team of mentors. Build a team of sponsors.

Interestingly, non-profits actually already do this (i.e. build sponsorships) in order to continue operating. The only difference with individuals is that sponsorship helps with finding job opportunities rather than financial opportunities. So, who are your sponsors?

Main Points

Here are the main points that I really liked from this book, and the author actually does a nice job of organizing this knowledge.

• The Sponsor Imperative - Part One of this book's table of contents
• First and straight to the point, we need to know what is sponsorship and how sponsorship works.
• Road Map for Proteges - Part Two of this book's table of contents
• Dream (envision your castle)
• Diagnose (your current situation and skills)
• Collect (a list of potential sponsors)
• Divide (or distribute your risks)
• Develop (what sponsors are looking for)
• Deploy (your currency)
• Dive-In (with a 'Yes')
• Pitfalls - Part Three of this book's table of contents
• Sex
• Distrust
• EP = Executive Presence
• Gravitas - How you Act
• Communication - How you Speak
• Appearance - How you Look
• Last Point: Envision and build toward your vision

Favorite Quotes

There were a lot of nice quotes by the author, but I'll limit to eight.

1. Climbing the ladder in any competitive field requires heavy-duty support from a senior person with heft and influence.
2. Sponsors give advice and guidance, but (unlike mentors) they also come through on much more important fronts.
3. Mentors give, whereas sponsors invest. <-- Key!
4. Sponsors may advise or steer you, but their chief role is to develop you as a leader. Your role is to earn their investment in you.
5. Cultivating a sponsor and leveraging the relationship to mutual benefit turns out to be a skill that serves people in nonprofits and education as readily as it serves people in for-profits and government.
6. Sponsors make it their business to see you succeed because you carry their brand.
7. *Combination of quotes here.* What proteges do? Own their ambition, define their destination, and deliver positive, useful results especially adding value to their sponsors.
8. 'Yet among proteges, only 32 percent say they "lead with a yes."' Lean-in with 'yes' and then figure out how to get it done - and do it well. Be confident and secure the opportunity before negotiating.

Favorite Verse

"That's right: making a fabulous first impression boils down to biceps." - Sylvia Ann Hewlett

What's Missing?

A nice table or chart showing all the statistics that she mentions would have been nice. Otherwise, it's still a great and useful read.

MLK Night: Remembering our Suffering and Fight for Equal Rights

I wrote this one week after Election Night.

Dear Family & Friends,

Please join me on Monday, January 16th (MLK Day) in front of the White House at 6pm ET to celebrate with lighted candles of the many accomplishments that have and will forever change the history of our great nation. Let's focus on how grateful we are for our nation's first Black president and how huge of a milestone this mark has made for many generations to come. Let's give thanks for the many generations before us who have fought for our freedom and civil rights with their sweat, blood and tears. Let's thank God for blessing us with experiencing these years!

Let's rise above expectations and show the world why we are STILL a great nation. During the last week of President Obama's leadership and service, let's give praise and shouts of joy as the 44th president, his wonderful family and team finish strong with their heads held high with respect. Let's show them some love and support of all the strength and courage it took for them and us to make it this far and come out as champions. Let's show the world that we are still standing with the Obamas and we still have faith in the Prince of Peace.

I know many of us might still feel defeated. I totally understand. I, too, was shocked at what was happening during Election Night. I was caught off guard. Yet, I'm thankful for the news coverage on breaking down the voting progress by county which revealed a lot. I was not aware of how many Americans still have a different American Dream, one far from the one envisioned by Martin Luther King Jr. Although it's painful, I'm glad that I now know.

As a person who loves playing sports, it never feels good to lose a game. It never feels fair when our opponent fights harder to win even at all costs including character. However, every game has a clock and an end. Champions never focus on the loss, but on how to win the next game. Champions evaluate the game and look for areas that our opponents gave more attention to. Then, champions make adjustments and ensure those mistakes never happen again. And, champions do this with keeping a character of integrity. Again, we did not lose. We are just learning a lesson. Our nation's brothers and sisters have simply helped us with identifying areas that we need to improve in. Over the next several years, let's pray and show them some love. Let's start by being great examples of support for our new president meanwhile praying for a better 46th U.S. president and preparing a nation to leave to our children.

Please join me on Monday, January 16th (MLK Day) and let's really show the world how strong we are.

Please feel free to invite everyone. Everyone is welcome to join us in this celebration and prayer.

This was the outcome of a beautiful, still night in remembering why we are truly here. Not for our equal rights, but equal rights for all. Not for our prayers, but for prayers for everyone. Not to simply show love to ourselves, but to practice showing love to everyone. And conditioning our hearts to ask God to help us love on people the way He loves on people; including ourselves.

Let's pray more and love more. May our God increase our hearts with love and thoughts of righteous prayers.

Book Review - Jesus B

Jesus B 

(by Jim Lyon)

This refined collection of sermons was a pleasant and insightful. I always thought like this author and have had many thoughts of my own regarding "The Calling of Every Christian" throughout the past couple of years. The outline of the book makes this an easy read. It's also a short read being less than one hundred pages.

How does one be like Jesus? Although everyone is unique, there are the fundamentals of character that Jesus has perfected. These fundamentals are what we ought to strive for as we be like Jesus. However, to be like Jesus we have to know more about who Jesus is.

Main Points

Here are the main points that I really liked from this book.

• Who do you want to be?
• This is a simple, yet powerful question. The answer to this question often determines our direction in life. It determines your identity. It determines where we put all of our energy and focus. So as a Christian, shouldn't we put a lot more energy and focus into being like the one we call our King, our Prince of Peace?
• Celebrate Baptism.
• We Christians need to make a big celebration of baptism. If there's anytime the church puts on a party, then these baptism moments are the time. Our family, friends, and everyone needs to know about this incredible conversion and proclamation of one beginning his/her journey to be like Jesus. Perhaps baptisms should happen outside in the public like the Jordan River?
• Be Spirit-led.
• Walk in the Way and keep in mind always to guard against these three natural temptations: 1) Providing for Yourself (i.e. selfishness), 2) Acting on Impulse (i.e. human nature vs godly nature), and 3) Switching Loyalties (i.e. cheating on God).
• Be the change.
• See what God can do through you. Let Him use you for the good of our world.
• Let your walk around the neighborhood say a lot about the new you.
• Be a healer.
• Serve people, your community, your neighbors.
• Spread hope.
• Speak life into people (i.e. be encouraging).
• Listen to what people need.
• Be a nonfictional storyteller.
• Master the storytelling of Jesus's life, and the other Bible stories.
• Know how history is interconnected with the Bible.
• Know how the Bible stories relate to today's stories.

Favorite Quotes

There were a lot of nice quotes by the author, but I'll limit to ten.

1. Most of us want to have a relationship with Jesus, but we're not so keen on being like Him.
2. Think of it: God Himself discipling us.
3. We become evidence of the Scripture brought to life.
4. Someone being baptized is completely helpless, off balance, and dependent on someone else: Jesus Christ.
5. You can do more than influence others, you can show what it means to live in right relationship with God and help them see the world as heaven sees it.
6. Never leave a conversation with another person in despair; always leave them with hope.
7. ...spiritual gifts may be for a lifetime or may be for a season.
8. It's God's gift to you for God's purpose.
9. All of us have a tendency to worry about what others are going to say or think about us when we reach out to people who are not already followers of Jesus or whose journey with Jesus has been troubled, but Jesus Himself seemed to be free from such worry.
10. One last thing: If you want to Jesus B. and really become a friend of sinners, you must know who you are, as Jesus did. #identity

Favorite Verse

"I am confident of this very thing, that He who began the good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ." - Philippians 1:6

What's Missing?

On page 88, the author provides a nice list of steps to remember when being like Jesus.

1. Be publicly baptized.
2. Be filled with the Holy Spirit.
3. Be God's light.
4. Be a healer.
5. Be a friend of sinners.
6. Be a storyteller.

What I think is missing is this:

• Let your life tell a story of being like Jesus.

If you died later today, then at least have people say that they could tell you were trying to live a life like Jesus Christ (of truth and love).