Only the Brave

Sim Dendy

Description

Using the book of James as a road map, this multi-authored work will lead you on an adventure along the narrow road of discipleship. Only the Brave brings both challenge and excitement, while offering plenty of practical tips along the way! The five authors - Lisa Holmes, Krish Kandiah, Sim Dendy, Cathy Madavan, and Cris Rogers - each explore a chapter of James using these key themes: Face it; Live it; Tame it; Lose it; Finish it. They consider how we can use our heads, hearts, and hands to answer the challenge James, and ultimately Jesus himself, laid down. It takes courage to go beyond simply believing in Jesus: to live him, love him, and share him. Only the Brave urges us not to play it safe, but to live a life of abundance based on the example Jesus lived out on earth. Only the brave will change the world, and this book will inspire anyone who reads it to do just that.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Lion Hudson
• Date de parution: 23 mars 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780857218964
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

This book reminds us that we don t have to be to be superheroes to be brave; in fact, God should be the superhero in our lives! The five authors exhort us to become more Christ-like based on the teachings of James, and their honest testimonies and insightful commentaries really bring these familiar verses to life. Whether you are a new Christian or have been following Jesus for years, Only the Brave will give you a fresh take on discipleship, helping you enjoy the richness of living every single day for God.
- Debra Green OBE , executive director, Redeeming Our Communities
I m excited that thousands of people will be engaging with this life-changing material. It s more than important that God s people wrestle with what the life of a disciple looks like and embark on the massive rollercoaster of being a world-changing follower of Jesus. Read on and get ready to be changed.
- Andy Hawthorne OBE , founder and CEO, The Message Trust
Seven times in Revelation 2-3, Jesus said: Anyone with ears must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Only the Brave seems to have captured what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church in our day. Its message is the timeless, biblical call to whole-life discipleship, but written for our times and context. It is easy to engage with, practical, and down to earth, and will help readers grow as followers of Christ.
- Steve Uppal , senior leader, All Nations Church
The vulnerability of the authors cannot fail to inspire a fresh look at our own journey with Jesus. The wisdom they bring from the book of James is challenging yet deeply encouraging for Christ followers who want to be ever more fruitful for Him in the adventure of everyday life.
- Tracy Cotterell , managing director, The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC)

Text copyright 2018 Cris Rogers, Lisa Holmes, Krish Kandiah, Sim Dendy, Cathy Madavan
This edition copyright 2018 Lion Hudson IP Limited
The right of Lisa Holmes, Krish Kandiah, Sim Dendy, Cathy Madavan and Cris Rogers to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published by Monarch Books an imprint of
Lion Hudson Limited
Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Business Park, Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 8DR, England
Email: [e-mail]
www.lionhudson.com/monarch
ISBN 978 0 85721 895 7
e-ISBN 978 0 85721 896 4
First edition 2018
Acknowledgments
Cover Design: wearesublime.com
Scripture quotations are taken from: The Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicized. Copyright 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder Stoughton Ltd, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. NIV is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ). Anglicized. Copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved .
The New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible Copyright 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://bible.org All rights reserved .
Extract p. 27 taken from The Loneliness of Donald Trump , published on Lithub.com. Copyright 2017 Rebecca Solnit. Used by permission of the author.
Extract p. 71 taken from Christ the Controversialist by John Stott, copyright 1970 John Stott. Reproduced with permission of the Licensor through PLSclear.
Extract pp. 87-88 taken from Loneliness in older people is a scandal. Here s what one church is doing about it by Rev Steve Morris, copyright 2017 Rev Steve Morris. Used by permission of the author.
Extract pp. 101-102 from The transformative power of classical music , copyright Benjamin Zander, TED2008 conference, 2008, TED.com.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
CONTENTS
Foreword: Only the Brave. Justin Welby
Introduction: Called to Be a Disciple. Cris Rogers
Chapter 1: Face It. Lisa Holmes
Chapter 2: Live It. Krish Kandiah
Chapter 3: Tame It! Sim Dendy
Chapter 4: Lose It. Cathy Madavan
Chapter 5: Finish It. Cris Rogers
Conclusion: The Final Challenge. Cris Rogers
Endnotes
Note space
ONLY THE BRAVE
JUSTIN WELBY, 2018
W hat do you think the most frequent command God gives in Scripture is? If we listen to debates and conversations in the church today, many answers come to mind: following, doing certain things, using the right words, praying, justice, personal morality, money, evangelism, going places, and so on. Well, actually, the most frequent command is, Do not be afraid , which is a bit of a paradox because if anyone needs to tell us not to be afraid, it usually means there is something to be afraid of to start with!
Scripture is full of stories of God encouraging His people to take steps of faith, and saying, Do not be afraid. It is also full of stories of God appearing to people and needing to say, Do not be afraid. Simply standing before God, as we are, can be frightening and move us to respond as Isaiah did: Woe is me, I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts! (Isaiah 6:5). Standing before God means having the courage to face who we are, and the consequences of who we are. It may not be fighting battles out there , but facing the demons within. Therefore we need to hear, Do not be afraid.
But as we face ourselves, God also calls us to face how we relate to friends, family, other Christians, acquaintances, and the wider world. Facing ourselves and facing God is not an inward-looking, private adventure, but something that requires us to interact differently, and that may call us into unexpected places to do unexpected things. Courage is needed for the unknown; to follow wherever God may lead us, step by step, in our everyday lives. Do not be afraid, God says.
It is all well and good to say, Do not be afraid. But being told to be brave in itself is not going to help much! Fortunately, God never just says, Do not be afraid. The command is always followed by something else. Most of the time, the something else is, for I am with you . In other words: yes, there is plenty to be afraid of; yes, facing ourselves, facing God and facing the world honestly is a difficult task, which will require much of us, and may see us falter and fail at times.
But we are not alone. We do not have to drum up the courage from inside and find all the resources within us. The God we know in Jesus is going ahead of us, showing the way. He is going alongside us, holding our hand, and inspiring courage within us. He is going behind us, watching our back, ready to help us stand again after we fall.
In addition, it is more than God and me. God sends us out and leads us as part of His people. This is the very heart of the letter of James, which this book so powerfully explores. We face ourselves within the safety of God s love for us, in the company of others also called to face themselves. We are transformed by the work of the Spirit within us, together with others who can share the journey, in its highs and lows. We are called to live out our faith first and foremost in relationships: it is within the church, as James sees it, that we come face to face with the worst of ourselves; that we struggle with putting into practice the ideals we believe in. There is no romanticism in James about discipleship, about community, about church. It is hard, and we are required to trust God with the things we cherish, the things we fear and the things we hide. But in the face of it all, God said: Do not fear, for I am with you.
Only the Brave starts with the presumption that we can be brave only because God is with us, and then indeed we are called to be brave. This has been the case for Christians throughout history, and it is still true today. The good news is that the bravery is not our screwed-together courage, but our response to the loving and empowering presence of God.
CALLED TO BE A DISCIPLE
CRIS ROGERS
I woke up early in the morning, packed my rucksack with food and water for the day, and headed out wearing my robust walking boots and cowboy hat. It was Easter weekend and I had been staying in East Jerusalem, following the footsteps of Jesus. Jumping on the bus out to the Judean desert, a small group of us headed into the wilderness to walk the 25 km road from Jerusalem to Jericho. It was hot, dusty, rocky, and hard work. The road was challenging, and I can certainly see why someone might be mugged on it. But it was worth it. To connect with a real place and a story Jesus told made me think afresh about what it means to live out the life Jesus called me to fulfil. Jesus called the early disciples to come and follow Him. The roads they followed were treacherous and often led to places other rabbis would never have gone. Following Jesus wasn t a stroll on a summer s day but demanding, difficult, dusty, and hot.
This book calls us to a life of following Jesus. Using the book of James as our road map, we are going to head out on a determined adventure through a rocky road of discipleship. We can t promise you that this book will not be challenging - any journey will have difficulty - but the life of a follower of Jesus is certainly an exciting one. We don t have to change to be loved by God, but if we are to love Him ba