My Recommendations

by Jim Lyon, Senior Pastor

I’m often asked what book (or books) I am reading. The presumption is that I read widely and can recommend interesting titles. I’m not altogether certain this is true. But, I have always liked to read.

When I was 14 and my parents asked what I’d like for my birthday. I replied, “The collected works of Woodrow Wilson, published by Princeton University.” It was a dusty, seven-volume set edited by Ray Stannard Baker that I had seen in a cavernous used book store near the Pike Place Market that I used to love to haunt. I know my parents were perplexed. “How about a football or baseball bat?” they secretly wondered. They smiled and bought me the books. They’re still on my shelf. What a geek. Nerd does not even come close to describing my loser self then. Or now. Maybe oddball would be a better term.

Of course, my thirst for all things Woodrow Wilson in those days probably represented a fantasy world in which I dreamed of dramatic battles for the right in a world gone wrong. Wilson was a heroic figure in real life, inspiring the nations to “make the world safe for democracy.” In a way, I suppose, reading old books about World War I was my way of escaping into Mortal Kombat. Seems passé now—but, on the other hand, have you seen Speilberg’s new film War Horse? Maybe I wasn’t so weird, after all.

What we read can have enormous impacts on who we are. Even with new technologies and exponential access to audio and visual media, reading remains the most compelling and deeply formative medium of ideas. In addition to opening vast horizons of knowledge and experience, reading can hone your verbal skills and enhance your ability to interact with the world around you. The Word became flesh and dwelled among us: this is the stuff of reading John’s Gospel.

My taste in reading (as in the collected works of Wilson above) may be, admittedly, so out of touch with the mainstream as to be useless. On the other hand, I can still recommend reading itself—and share a few recommendations.

Start with the Bible. Never take the Scriptures for granted. If you read nothing else, commit to reading God’s Word. Every day. I embraced this discipline when I was 12 and have been true to it to this day. Nothing has formed me more profoundly than this. Pick up a Life Application Study Bible. It will supplement your daily reading with footnotes and explanatory articles that can enrich your understanding and sense of context. But even the naked text read alone, without helps, is transformative, supernatural, encouraging, and stretching, all at once. It can define life and transform life. Always for the good. The Life Application Study Bible comes with several different English translations. The New Living Translation (NLT) is what I currently use as a base for public preaching; it is the most conversational English translation available today. The New American Standard Bible (NASB) is the most functionally literal translation. I recommend both.

I am just finishing Mark and Grace Driscoll’s new book, Real Marriage: The Truth about Sex, Friendship, and Life Together. As with everything Driscoll writes, controversy is sure to follow. He is bold and bald in his assertions, a straight-talker who can offend, stir-up, and dare. He is also a man devoted to the Word. The book has created a sensation; it is worth the read. I believe it will surface in a class or teaching series at Madison Park someday.

I’m also reading Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken: A Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. This is the telling of one man’s amazing journey through the Pacific theatre of World War II. It’s a breathtaking true story of overcoming impossible odds. I’m not through the book yet—and so the jury’s still out. But, when reading, always remember that every biography—every true story from life—proves God’s Word true. Our lives cooperate with God, ignore Him, or defy Him. In every case, His Word is proved true.

There is a genre of reading that I do not often reference, but it is one I have always loved. Often an escape, but also often a teacher, it is science fiction. As a teenager, I devoured science fiction books by Isaac Asimov and his tribe. A Canticle for Liebowitz and the Stars Like Dust will never be forgotten. Frank Herbert’s Dune trilogy mesmerized me.

But, at an even higher plane, C. S. Lewis began to instruct me with science fiction. I am revisiting his classic Out of the Silent Planet (first published in 1943). A part of a triology, Lewis (as in the more famous Chronicles of Narnia) masterfully buries spiritual themes in this fictional flight to the Mars-like Malacandra. Earth proves to be the “silent planet” and the framing of life on earth as seen from “out there” in spiritual terms is still very relevant and provocative. Fanciful and thoughtful.

Give the X-Box a rest. Turn the TV off. Pick up a good book. Place it under your Bible (always keep your Bible on top). And make a decision to read in 2012. You’ll be the better for it.

A Resolute Proposal

by Jim Lyon, Senior Pastor

I grew up with See’s Candy, a West Coast tradition (based in California, but entrenched from Seattle to San Diego). I know, I know, there are local favorites with roots here in central Indiana, but the See’s Candy store at Northgate has been for me, for a lifetime, like a second home. Dark chocolate, chocolate butter cream. Mmmm. Nothing better.

During the weeks leading up to Christmas in 2011, there was a See’s Candy store at the Castleton Mall. See’s Candy is all made in California and the distribution network necessary to preserve the delectabes during hot, humid, Midwestern summers prohibits opening a year-round store in the Indy metro. Or so says See’s. Believe me, I’ve asked. They’re not buying my, “if there’s a will, there’s a way,” line. But, I digress.

The Castleton See’s drew me like a moth to the flame. A pound here, a pound there. And, I’m not just talking about the boxed candy. I’m talking about the very physical side effects of consumption on this old guy’s frame.

Which brings me to my 2012 New Year’s Resolution: “Stop it.” By that I mean: “Stop eating so much chocolate, Jim.” It’s hard to surrender our vices.

New Year’s Resolutions tend to fall into predictable categories. The Top Ten lists you can find everywhere all bear witness to the American public’s good intentions as each new year begins. Research also demonstrates our good intentions are, most often, just that: good intentions with little action to back them up.

Time magazine last year featured the ten New Year’s Resolutions most often made—and most often broken. Number One? “Lose weight and get fit.” Sadly, Time’s research contends that 60% of all new gym and health club memberships at the front end of the year are left unused after a few weeks. It’s hard work, all of that heavy lifting; aerobic = exhausting.

Number Two: “Quit Smoking.” Using tobacco is bad for you—really bad. Yellow teeth. Stinky clothes. Social ostracism. And, then, of course, there’s the whole cancer deal. And, the cost of it. Steep. So why smoke? Give it up. But, easier said than done. Time says only 15% of those who resolve to quit smoking actually do.

Other resolutions on the list include: “Spend More Time with Family,” “Get Out of Debt,” “Drink Less” (I think alcohol is in mind here, not orange juice with extra pulp), and “Learn Something New.”

One of the top ten that particularly caught my eye was this: “Be Less Stressed.” By Time’s reckoning, this is an especially troublesome wannabe, because tackling stress is, well, stressful. And failing to follow through with all of those other resolutions breeds, yep, you guessed it: more stress. Even making a resolution can set us up for worse.

As I contemplate the prospects for my 2012 resolved to do list, one overarching, empowering idea comes to mind. Try this: “Pray More.”

The reason we so often fail to follow through is our consummate failure to pray more. Focus on the discipline of prayer and your chances for success are magnified; stumble on the prayer front and you’re doomed to fail in both the short and long haul.

If I’ve learned anything in the last few months in my family’s own personal journey it is that prayer matters. The more I’m on my knees the more remarkable are the outcomes. The more I try to get things done on my own terms by the light of my reason alone, the more negative the result. Seeking God’s face, humbly, openly, routinely, and deliberately fuels personal disciplines on every other front.

Taking this truth into account, here then are some New Year’s Resolution Tips for 2012, framed as “I will” statements: (1) “I will book time in my daily routine to pray.” Set a specific, regular time of the day in which to pray alone, every day. (2) “I will write down the key ideas in the Lord’s Prayer and follow this outline every day in prayer.” The Lord’s Prayer (read it in Matthew 6:9-13) is the flawless guide to effective prayer, given to us by Jesus Himself. Each phrase—and the order of the phrases—helps us focus on the essentials. For instance, acknowledge and honor God, seek His will, ask for His material provision, receive and give forgiveness, ask for protection, and so on. (3) “I will choose to believe that prayer in Jesus’ Name—approaching God through His Son Jesus—opens Heaven’s door.” Prayer in the Spirit of Jesus works. It really does.

With prayer as a platform, you’ll be empowered to actually achieve any other resolution for the good to which you put your mind.  From your waistline to your finances to, yes, even smoking. Prayer matters. Prayer works. God listens. He really does. Happy New Year.