adrianwarnock.com

10 Million Words - Has Tim Challies Bitten Off More Than Even He Can Chew?

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:15:00 PST

Tim Challies has started a new blog over at the Gospel Coalition. He calls it 10 Million Words. His goal? To review from a Christian perspective every book that appears on the New York Times bestselling non-fiction books list in 2010. To warm up, he has started doing some already. The guy is a phenomena. Here is how he introduces it:

My wife thinks I’m a little bit crazy, I’m sure of it. During eleven years of marriage I’ve done a lot of things that have led her to roll her eyes and sigh. I guess she is getting used to it, though, because even she is interested in what I am planning to do in 2010. I plan to read all of the New York Times bestselling books over the course of the whole year. Do the math and you’ll see that this will come in at somewhere around 10 million words . . .

America’s bestselling books tell us, I’m sure, who America is, who her people are, at this time and place. Surely they will give me a glimpse into the world’s most powerful, the world’s most fascinating nation . . . They will provide, I’m sure, a snapshot of where America is at as she enters a new decade.

Interview With "Bones" A Pastor From Zimbabwe

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:27:45 PST

Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a soft spot for this troubled African country. It was where my wife grew up for a start. Also, who cannot feel compassion for this nation which should be one of the wealthiest in Africa and yet faces abject poverty?

What amazes me is the way God seems to be working in this land. Good, doctrinally solid churches seem to be springing up all over the place! Not only are there 16 Zimbabwe churches directly in relationship with Newfrontiers, but there are at least two other networks led by godly men who we have good friendships with. God seems to be raising some spiritual giants in that land to carve out church plants in the midst of great adversity, and to help train a whole nation in a form of farming that will help them feed the multitudes still reeling from hyperinflation and the destruction of their currency among other adversities.

"Bones" or Mbonisi Malaba to give him his proper name, is one such man. He is the pastor of a thriving church in Bulawayo. There is no doubt that his talk at Brighton earlier in the year was one of the highlights of the whole conference for me. But I also had the chance to film the following interview with him. You will enjoy it, and be thrilled to realise that God is at work building his church in this part of Africa.

Don't You Dare Try and Worship God With Your Hands In Your Pockets!

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:27:05 PST

My pastor, Tope Koleoso did not say the words in the title of this post. But they are very consistent with the tone and thrust of the following sermon on worship which follows on from what he said last week. I would strongly encourage you to watch both of these talks as you will find they have a fresh and challenging perspective on worship.

The video is available in HD at http://jubilee-church.org In response to what we have been hearing about worship, this coming Sunday will be a special service at Jubilee Church with a prolonged worship time. It may be that you live near London and have often wondered what a celebratory charismatic sevice looks like. This Sunday would be a great day for you to visit us. Here is what Tope said in the Facebook event for this coming Sunday's service:

Over the past few weeks here at jubilee Church, we have had some of our most Spirit-filled and liberating times of worship.

Our current series “Worship His Majesty” has been an opportunity for God to teach us about the nature of His character, the Work of His hands, and the Power of His presence.

As we come to the final session of this series, we believe that God is calling us to set aside this coming Sunday service to be a time of extended worship.

It is with this in mind that I whole-heartedly invite you to this wonderful event.

We will triumphantly praise Him with African rhythms, English songs and Caribbean melodies.
We will praise Him with shouting and clapping, and singing and dancing.

I am fully persuaded that it will be a powerful time of worship to God and blessings from God.

Come and join us as we “Worship His Majesty”.

Venue: Jubilee Church (Cineworld Cinema) Enfield
Date: 8th November 2009 (THIS SUNDAY)
Time: 10:00am – 11:45am
www.jubilee-church.org

Love

Tope

Ed Stetzer on Raised With Christ

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:51:00 PST

“Adrian Warnock presents a beautiful picture of why the resurrection matters to each of us. In Raised with Christ, the resurrection of Jesus is unleashed to its exalted place where it supplies our new birth, surrounds our new life, and empowers our new mission. With great clarity, Adrian teaches how the resurrection of Christ matters every day.”
—Ed Stetzer, President, LifeWay Research

Ed has been a good friend to me and is one of the leading Evangelical thinkers and networkers of our time. If you don't already you can follow him on twitter or facebook. Few people are invited to speak as widely as Ed with good reason since he brings his passionate missional approach everywhere he goes. I have a previous video interview with Ed over the internet and look forward to hopefully meeting him face to face sometime in 2010.

Clearing Up Some Logos 4 Bible Software Confusion

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:40:00 PST

A few thoughts based on my own experiences and on some reports from others around the web. Most of this relates to people who already have the old Logos.

If you are jumping in for the first time you only need read the first point below unless you are a Mac user, when due to the fact they are still in Alpha you are going to need to install a copy of the old version of Logos for mac as well. I would install version 4 first if you are a new user, even if you are on a Mac.

1. Installation Questions

There have been a few comments about the length of time Logos 4 takes to fully set up. The process is straightforward enough, its just that most of us are not used to installing things that can take so long to be fully ready to use. After the installation itself, on both Mac or PC, Logos 4 goes into an "indexing" mode which checks any existing resources you have on your system, creates copies of them in a new place, downloads extra books and updated versions of your books where available, and then takes what can be multiple hours to index them all. This final step is critical for the fantastically sped-up search results (complete with result RANKING!) that we are all longing to enjoy.

There really is no alternative to patience here. Consider it an opportunity for the Lord to teach you more about a fruit of the Spirit we don't get to exercise much in our modern world! OK, to be fair, until I got this into perspective, I was as frustrated as you. And, to be fair, on an old PC I borrowed this indexing never seemed to finish during the private beta stage.

I have also had some specific problems with the Mac version. But, after re-downloading it (they released a minor update at lunchtime on the launch day), and removing some files that should never have been in my old resources folder (I had some failed downloads and a couple of other files that got in there by mistake) and a clean reboot, at least at the moment I have a blue icon in my menu bar that if I hover over will tell me how it is progressing.

Although in theory you can use the program while this indexing is going on, however, since at least on a Mac, given that we are talking about an Alpha, this can lead to a crash, and even on a PC you are probably wiser to just set it up overnight to do the indexing and go have some SLEEP! It will be done eventually! It is possible on some systems (like mine!) that if you have a lot of books that it will tell you indexing will take more than 24 hours. Hopefully it will not take that long, and you can definitely run other programs while it is going on. I will let you know how long my indexing takes in reality.

The program is very sophisticated, and this extensive indexing is a very important step which will give us great results, so don't give up!

2 Where is my ESV Reverse Interlinear?

There is a reverse interlinear feature associated with many Bibles in Logos 4, but it is not a book-like view. At least at the moment your current reverse interlinear Bibles will not work as a book within Logos 4. Bob, who is the boss of Logos has clearly said this will change in the future. This is a massive relief for me, but I love my interlinear so much that I for one will be keeping the old version of Logos on my system for now just for that!

3. Will Logos 4 Read All of my previously unlocked books?

As far as I understand it the answer is almost all of them! There are apparently a tiny number of books that at the moment cannot make the jump across. The upgrade prices are not asking you to re-buy books you already own, but are to cover the costs of new collections of books and the new software engine. You can buy the new engine almost on its own, though obviously Logos want to encourage you to look at the bundles of books that do make exceptionally good value if they are resources you will use. If you are looking for more commentary sets, and other books then there has never been a better time to pick up what may well be thousands of pounds worth of books at a steep discount. Take a look at whats available and buy what you can afford.

Logos on the iPhone at the moment reads a good proportion of the books but not all of them have yet been relicensed to allow that format to be used. More are definitely coming according to Logos. Yes you read that right, you really can READ most of the Logos books you own on your iPhone!

3. Tweaking your set up if you plan on keeping both programs running

As I explained earlier, despite some confusion about this fact online, your new Logos 4 will copy most of your old Logos 3 books into a new folder. Here is my plan to avoid duplication (actually my old resources folder already has some duplicates so this process should actually free up some hard disk space for me!) New users of course do not have to worry about any of this!

a. Allow the install process to go ahead without human interference (fortunately I have enough hard disk space to do this)

b. Copy all of my Logos 3 books onto an external hard drive which I have based on my home network. When I am sure I have these on my external disk delete the Logos 3 copies of my resources on my internal one.

c. Tell Logos 3 to look for books in BOTH the new external hard drive location AND the place that Logos 4 stores its books but not copy them into a new location. You are looking in both Mac and PC for a folder with a path something like this "username/library/application support/data/resourcemanager/resources" a little sniffing around will enable you to find it on your machine.

d. Try running Logos 3 both with and without the external hard disk connected and this will enable you to see what books you are missing in 4 if any, and be confident that your system will work when you are not at home but does not consume too much hard disk room with two copies of every resource.

I have yet to try this, so do it at your own peril, and if you have two external hard disks consider backing up your library TWICE!

Any further important tips about this or other things to do with Logos 4 feel free to share with me by email.

25% Off NEW Logos 4 Bible Software for Blog Readers

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:10:12 PST

Logos Bible software has long been my primary tool for bible study, sermon prep, and book writing. Now it just got even faster with a radical new search engine, and an iPhone app that can read my books.

I couldn't have written my new book Raised With Christ without Logos Bible Software, so imagine how excited I was to hear that Logos 4 would be even faster at searching, and could now fit in my pocket with an iPhone app that reads the books I own!

If you have never owned Logos Bible Sofware, this is a great time to jump in, and I am thrilled to announce that the 25% discount for blog readers does apply to base packages for the new version. Just put "WARNOCK" into the coupon section at checkout to get your discount.

You can read other endorsements at their Website. Dan Phillips of Pyromaniacs has the most complete review of Logos 4 that I have seen online, he also highlights the minimal cross-grade link which is the cheapest way to upgrade. As in previous logos upgrades, the standard upgrades give you a collection of books alongside the software update.

There are some more cool things about Logos 4. Firstly, they will give you a bunch more books in some interesting looking packages. Secondly it works amazingly well with the new iPhone app I mentioned earlier. Thirdly, since they realize this is a MAJOR rewrite of the software, and that for some of us longtime users this will take a while to get used to they are leaving version 3 on your system so you can use both versions in parallel.

The biggest drawback I could find during my preview of Logos 4 was that I was using it on a slow PC which I had borrowed from a friend! Sadly, it is not at all ready for prime time on mac yet. Logos acknowledge this, but the good news is they are shipping an alpha for the Mac with the upgrade, and that will be updated regularly over the next few weeks and months to bring it up to speed with the PC version. For some reason, my own mac doesn't want to run the alpha yet, but I am hopeful this will be resolved soon.

You can install your software package on both a PC and a Mac. With the price of PC laptops being relatively low these days, I am almost tempted to buy one just so I can actually use this new search engine which is intended to be almost instant and to rank your results in much the same way something like Google does!

Video about RAISED WITH CHRIST

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:55:00 PST

In this video I talk briefly about my forthcoming book, and my reasons for writing it. Please feel free to embed this on your own blog and/or link to it here. I have some free so-called "influencer" copies to give out, and some will go to bloggers who talk about the fact my book is now available to pre-order.

FREE iPhone App From Logos Bible Software

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:07:40 PST

I just downloaded the brand new and totally FREE Logos Bible Software iPhone application. It is truly astonishing. Even if you are not yet a Logos user you can read and search and read 30+ Bibles for free. It has a typically awesome iPhone interface and just in case you missed me saying this, it is totally free!

But the app comes into its own when you give it your logos username and password. You can do a passage guide search, and even read many of the books you already own. Considering I tested it over a mobile phone data-link rather than wifi the speed was absolutely incredible. I really liked the simple reading interface as well that somehow makes it seem more inviting to read one of your electronic books than on a computer screen.

Remember that readers of the Blog get a 25% discount on purchases of collections.

If you own an IPhone, then downloading this new software is a no-brainer as you cannot lose since it is free! Just search for "Logos Bible Software" in the App store or visit the Logos iPhone page!

My Experience of Being Bullied

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 05:24:57 PST

Filmed for a project done by my daughter for school, I thought I'd share this video of me talking about what it was like to be bullied at school. I thank God that I have come a long way since then and for his healing power.

A Halloween Alternative

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:47:06 PDT

I am so glad that my kids do not have to stay home this evening while others in the neighborhood dress up as ghouls and other things that give me the creeps and knock on strangers doors for sweets. Its surprising really that the American holiday ever really caught on in the UK, and surprising that in an age which fears child abduction and worse that society tells kids to do the very thing it tells them not to the rest of the year! I know some Christians think differently about whether we should partake of this activity but I am very much in the "we don't celebrate evil" camp. I was proud of one of my kids who this year was invited to a halloween-themed birthday party for one of their friends and turned it down without me having to "ban" them from going. "We don't celebrate halloween" was the reason they gave to their friend.

But we do celebrate Jesus. Perhaps we should celebrate the Reformation more than we do. But, in any case, for years now our church like many in the UK have run a "not Halloween" party for the kids. As a result the children do not feel left out as they are with their friends. This year it will be close to 100 children playing together wholesomely and eating hundreds of pounds worth of chocolate and other goodies. I am thankful to be part of a church like that and thankful for those who are organizing this event!

Google Social Search: Not Another Social Media Site Actually

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:30:02 PDT

Google is smart. So they have a new proposition for us. Take all our existing publicly available “social graph” information from Facebook, Twitter, and the like, and when we are searching on Google, they will mix in with their normal results pages taken from your friends blogs, Twitter pages, etc. I have been experimenting over the last few days, and I must say I really like it! In order to make this work you have to set up a Google Profile, which essentially lists all your various services and then enables Google to figure out who is in your social graph. No new list of friends to maintain, you will be glad to know! Take a look at the Google profile for Adrian Warnock to see what it can look like.

More information is included in this video:

Am I "obsessed with the resurrection"?

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:40:01 PDT

I can think of a worse charge! May we all always be guilty of that. I have two more endorsements for you this week:

“Adrian Warnock rightly highlights the common neglect of the resurrection and helpfully shows why this matters. Come and share the excitement of his own rediscovery of this central event of our faith.”
—Tim Chester, The Crowded House and the Northern Training Institute

“Adrian Warnock is brilliantly obsessed with the resurrection! He believes that Jesus Christ being raised from death is the only way to have hope that goes beyond the grave. In this punchy and accessible book, Adrian helps us to look forward expectantly to a life of eternal future joy, united with God, and in this life, to experience the Holy Spirit and preach the good news in the power of the resurrection. I’m thankful to Adrian for reorienting me to this essential ingredient of life and belief. You will be too.”
—Marcus Honeysett, author, Finding Joy

Don't Neglect The Resurrection

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:40:17 PST

You will forgive me, I am sure, if I am somewhat preoccupied this week with the subject of the resurrection. In a way, every Christian should always be just as preoccupied as I am today with that subject. I loved what Henry Christoph Jr had to say on the Raised With Christ Facebook page:

There is nothing more important than the Resurrection, Adrian, but the Christian church today just is not acting as though that were the case. I pray that the Lord will use your book to help turn that situation around. I look forward to reading it when it is available.

Another commenter, Steve Oroszi, wrote in a similar vein:

Thanks for reminding me about the absolute necessity for the resurrection. Merrill C. Tenney wrote about the importance of the resurrection for the Christian’s life way back in 1963, which points to the fact that “there really aren’t that many books out there on this subject;” that surprised you . . .and you're right. Blessings on your effort.

It is so encouraging to me that these two people have grasped so firmly the importance of reigniting this subject for the Church today. I trust that my book will play some role in accomplishing just that for others.

I would ask you to join me in praying that God himself will use many means to wake us all up to the centrality of the resurrection of Jesus, and to all its implications for us today. The publisher page for Raised With Christ: How The Resurrection Changes Everything says the following about it, which also captures well the sense of purpose behind my book:

What impact should Jesus’ resurrection have on individuals and churches? Popular Christian blogger and teacher Adrian Warnock urges Christians not to neglect the implications of the resurrection.

Jesus truly is alive today. But compared to his atoning death, Jesus’ resurrection sparks relatively little discussion in the church. Inadvertently, we can become so focused on the good news that Christ died for our sins that we almost forget he was “raised for our justification” (Romans 4:25).

In Raised with Christ, author Adrian Warnock exhorts Christians not to neglect the resurrection in their teaching and experience. Warnock takes his cue from Acts, where every recorded sermon focuses on Jesus’ resurrection. He stresses that Christians who faithfully proclaim both the death and the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and live out the implications of that message in vibrant, grace-filled churches, will be enabled to reach a world that lives in death’s dark shadow.

The power of the risen Christ is active in every true Christian, transforming our lives. Raised with Christ will help you discover afresh the massive implications of the empty tomb. Jesus’ resurrection really has changed everything.

But, please don’t wait for my book to come out. There are other books on this subject that you can already read. There are also some great Christian albums that include many resurrection songs, for example:

I thought I would share a few books with you today. You may notice at first glance that some are not wholly on the subject of resurrection. I have included these because I have quoted from them in Raised With Christ and they are incredibly helpful books. Visit the Amazon bookstore.

Worship His Majesty!

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:26:44 PST

It seems to me that us reformed believers run the risk that we recognize God is holy, but it can feel as though he is distant. To us charismatics God may instead feel close, but perhaps not seem glorious. Reformed believers understand something of the sovereignty of God, and his glory. All too often, however, we fall into the trap of worshipping a remote God who is not really immanent. As a result God is essentially nowhere to be seen, felt, or experienced. Charismatics often enjoy a sense of intimacy with God. But, all too often we worship a God who is immanent, but can seem warm and cuddly. His holiness, majesty, and glory are somehow lost, thrown out in many cases with a rejection of his sovereignty. Imagine what could happen if the transcendence and immanence of God came together in one worship experience! What would be the result?

One man who is passionate for a reformed theology and a charismatic experience is my pastor, Tope Koleoso Watch this sermon by him and prepare to be blown away as you perhaps realize that you have never truly worshipped as you ought. I encourage you to watch all of it as it builds to a crescendo, and in the last five minutes or so, Tope opens his heart wide, sharing his concern that as our church grows (we have gone from 80 to over 600 in about four years or so) that no one thinks it is because of clever leaders, but rather that we realize it is just the blessing of Jesus, and that as we grow we never lose the foundation that it is all about Jesus. May Jubilee always be a truly worshipping people.

By Tope Koleoso
25 October
download video or download audio more sermons from Jubilee

The series will continue, so please do keep visiting the Jubilee site. As always, I do recommend that if at all possible you watch rather than listen to these messages.

RAISED WITH CHRIST - Now Available To Pre-order

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:25:59 PDT

I am pleased to announce that it is now possible to pre-order signed copies of my book here, with an exclusive free DVD. Payment is via PayPal:

I am truly grateful to my blog readers for effectively opening up the opportunity to publish a book, which was something I never dreamt would be part of my life. In my acknowledgement section I say the following:

This book would never have happened if not for my website, adrianwarnock.com. Thank you, therefore, to all the friends I have met online and the many who take time out of their busy lives to read my posts. I have learned so much along the way, especially from reading some of your blogs.

Having spent more than 2 years writing Raised With Christ in my spare time, I know that it has benefited me. Now, I am full of hope that others will also find it helpful, as some of the endorsers already seem to. What subject could be more important than the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ? It is astonishing how often we seem to neglect this vital subject.

I am not embarrassed to ask you to help spread the word that my book can now be pre-ordered. I have written before about how you can help publicise books. You can also join the new Facebook Page for Raised With Christ: How The Resurrection Changes Everything

The book is also available in a variety of other places online. Some of these offer a discount:

Amazon USA
Amazon UK
Amazon Canada
Amazon France
Amazon Germany
Amazon Japan
Buy in Australia
Buy in South Africa
Buy in India
Buy in Korea

Adrian Warnock's 2010 Calendar Plans

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:57:28 PDT

I will be attending the following events in 2010. Please contact adrian.warnock@gmail.com to discuss possible additions to this diary.

Tuesday, January 26
Newfrontiers Prayer and Fasting, Kingsgate Church, Peterborough
Hopefully copies of Raised With Christ will be available by this event.

Monday-Wednesday, February 1-3
Desiring God Conference for Pastors, Minneapolis, Minnesota
I will be doing a book signing and am currently considering the possibility of staying in the USA for a few days on either side of the event.

Tuesday-Sunday, April 13-18
New Word Alive, Wales
I will once again be the official live-blogger at this event.

Tuesday-Friday, July 6-9
Together On A Mission, Brighton
I will also be live-blogging.

Saturday-Monday, October 16-25
Cape Town 2010, South Africa
I am currently exploring the possibility of attending the 3rd Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization.

John Piper The Charismatic

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:42:00 PDT

John Piper's website has many places where he reveals a charismatic or as some call it continuationist perspective. Earlier in the week he argued that even in the New Testament the gifts of the Spirit were non-authoritative and inferior to the Apostles teaching:

The apostles viewed their teaching as from God in an authoritative, inerrant way. All of the spiritual gifts are from God in a non-authoritative, non-inerrant way, and therefore always subordinate to the inspired word of God. READ MORE

If you are interested in more from Piper on this, he also posted a while back a sermon on signs and wonders in the 1990s and fascinatingly back in the 1980s took a "charismatic quotient" of his church.

Dinner With A Friend From the Evangelical Alliance

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:49:45 PDT

I got home just a little while ago from grabbing dinner with a man who I am starting to see as a friend. I am usually a little nervous about leaders in the broader evangelical movement if I am honest. I worry that my friendships with the people that run New Word Alive might make some perceive me as their enemy–I do appreciate that I am probably wrong to think that way, at least in most cases! I did not have any such concerns meeting Krish Kandiah, but if I had he would have allayed them instantly with his warm greeting.

In fact, Krish somehow currently manages to personally straddle the growing gulf emerging in UK evangelicalism. For example, he was I think, the only person who spoke last year at both New Word Alive and Spring Harvest and he didn't get thrown out of either!

If Krish is reading this, he may by now be worried. He need not be as I do not believe in making the contents of private conversations public. Suffice it to say that we agreed on many things and disagreed firmly but respectfully on just a few.

Krish has an engaging warm personality and his passion for Jesus shines. In his attempts to foster dialogue and understanding between very different wings of the church at this time I do not envy him. I am not sure that it is even possible.

Krish is active in a number of iniatives. These include, his blog, the Slipstream network aimed at encouraging emerging leaders, the Square Mile, and a four-pronged plan to increase biblical literarcy called Bible Fresh. He has also invited me to be one of the speakers at DigiMission which takes place on 1st December. I can only be there virtually, but it looks like an interesting event.

Raised With Christ - "Not Dull, Repetitive or With Nothing New To Say"

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:51:00 PDT

The first of the following two endorsements for my forthcoming book made me smile. Written as it was by Jonathan Carswell, a significant figure in the UK Christian publishing industry, who hence reads many books, I just wondered if he was having a bad day and was hence a little too honest! But, for him to say what he did was very kind. In addition, Sam is a good friend of mine who has written a short introductory book on the Resurrection which will also come out in 2010.

“Books are often dull, repetitive or have nothing new to say. Raised with Christ is different. It is well-written, well-researched, and well-worth-reading. Read this book and Adrian will excite your heart, stretch your mind, and bless your soul with the fantastic, life changing truth of Christ conquering death. I’m excited to promote this book.”
—Jonathan Carswell, founder of The 10 Group of Companies (incorporating www.10ofthose.com)

“This is an excellent book on a much neglected subject. We Christians need to learn again to be Easter people, and Adrian has done us all a great service in producing this book.”
—Sam Allberry, author, Lifted

It's Leadership Wot Won It

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:58:15 PDT

The remarkable story of the team which was brought back from the brink of closure and won both constructors and drivers championship in their first year under a new name is one that people will talk about for years. One of the best pieces of analysis I have found so far is on the BBC and is entitled The remarkable story of Brawn GP.

There is no doubt indeed that it is Brawn himself who has made the difference to this team. It is his leadership that has inspired and empowered his people. We would do well to study carefully what we can learn about leadership from this man. The Bible says go to the ant and learn, so we can surely learn from examples of good leadership out there in the secular world. Here is how the BBC write-up describes the almost miraculous effect of this mans leadership:

. . . pinning down exactly what makes the softly spoken 54-year-old Englishman the best technical manager in F1 is surprisingly difficult."

"It's amazing - it's all very subtle," says the Brawn insider. "It's almost like you don't know he's doing it.

"He has meetings, and he talks about how he thinks things should be done in the future and so on, and because his reputation is second to none, you don't question where it's coming from. But he doesn't come into the drawing office very much.

"He doesn't tell everyone what to do, he just leaves us to get on with it. He's not autocratic by any stretch of the imagination. He just gives people the confidence to do what they can do, and removes their concerns as they come up.

"The big thing is having the technical organisation he wants and letting them get on with it. It's a strange thing, because it's the same bunch of people who last year designed a dog." READ MORE

Doing It My Way Is Not The Right Way - Martyn Lloyd-Jones

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:59:45 PDT

I want to share today from The Doctor on the problem of self. Our society tells us to feed our independence, our self-sufficiency and as a result our pride. The Doctor wisely points to a very different way:

How well the devil knows our human weakness! There is no method, therefore, that he more frequently uses . . . than just to play on this problem of self as it is present in every one of us. The ways in which he does so are almost endless. He works on self in order to encourage pride. He tries to make us proud of our gifts, our brains, our understanding, our knowledge . . .

Another form which this evil can take stems from the fact that various desires always tend to arise from self—the desire for importance, the desire for position . . . All this leads above everything else to a sprit of self-satisfaction . . .Furthermore this condition leads to selfishness and self-centredness. Self is always interested in itself. Everything revolves round this particular entity; and it becomes the centre of a constellation. That in turn leads to jealousy and envy . . .

To the extent that we are governed by self we are sensitive, and as such we can be easily hurt, easily depressed, and discouraged. Self is always watching for insults and slights. It is always hypersensitive. It is delicate, it is sensitized to everything; the slightest speck troubles it and alarms it. Self is totalitarian; it demands everything, and it is irritated and hurt if it does not get everything. As a consequence it becomes a most fruitful cause of quarrels and divisions and unhappiness . . .

If you have a great brain, it is no credit to you, you were born with it. If you have a wonderful singing voice, you have not produced it, it was given you. What are you boasting about? All that you have is not the result of your action and activity; it is something with which God has endowed you . . .

Paul always kept the grace of God in view; it kept him humble; it kept his spirit sweet; it kept him from the horrible sin of self and of pride and self-importance. Christians have nothing to boast of. We are what we are entirely as the result of the grace of God.

- David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Christian Warfare : An Exposition of Ephesians 6:10 to 13 (Edinburgh; Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth Trust, 1976), 334.

God Breaks Those He Wants To Make Great

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 14:29:29 PDT

Spurgeon is at his best in the following quote. He speaks about the way in which God likes to bring people to the very end of themselves before taking ahold of them and using them for his glory:

Is it not a curious thing that whenever God means to make a man great, He always first breaks him in pieces? There was a man whom the Lord meant to make into a prince. How did He do it? Why, He met him one night and wrestled with him! You always hear about Jacob’s wrestling. Well, I dare say he did, but it was not Jacob who was the principal wres- tler—“There wrestled a man with Him until the breaking of the day.” God touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh and put it out of joint before He called him “Israel,” that is, “a Prince of God.” The wrestling was to take all his strength out of him and when his strength was gone, then God called him a prince. Now, David was to be king over all Israel. What was the way to Jerusalem for David? What was the way to the throne? Well, it was round by the cave of Adullam. He must go there and be an outlaw and an outcast, for that was the way by which he would be made king. Have none of you ever no- ticed, in your own lives, that whenever God is going to give you an enlargement and bring you out to a larger sphere of service, or a higher platform of spiritual life, you always get thrown down? That is His usual way of working! He makes you hungry before He feeds you! He strips you before He robes you! He makes nothing of you before He makes something of you! This was the way with David. He is to be king in Jerusalem, but He must go to the throne by the way of the cave. Now, are any of you here going to Heaven, or going to a more heavenly state of sanctification, or going to a greater sphere of usefulness? Do not wonder if you go by the way of the cave. Why is that?

It is, first, because if God would make you greatly useful, He must teach you how to pray! The man who is a great preacher and yet cannot pray, will come to a bad end. A woman who cannot pray and yet is noted for the conducting of Bible classes, has already come to a bad end. If you can be great without prayer, your greatness will be your ruin! If God means to bless you greatly, He will make you pray greatly, as He does David who says in this part of his preparation for coming to his throne, “I cried unto the Lord with my voice: with my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication.”

Next, the man whom God would greatly honor must always believe in God when he is at his wits’ end. “When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then You knew my path.” Are you never at your wits’ end? God has not sent you to do business in great waters, for, if He has, you will reel to and fro and be at your wits’ end, in a great storm, before long! Oh, it is easy to trust when you can trust yourself, but when you cannot trust yourself—when you are dead beat, when your spirit sinks below zero in the chill of utter despair—then is the time to trust in God. If that is your case, you have the marks of a man who can lead God’s people and be a comforter of others.

Next, in order to greater usefulness, many a man of God must be taught to stand alone. “I looked on my right hand, and behold, but there was no man that would know me.” If you need men to help you, you may make a very decent fol- lower. But if you need no man and can stand alone, God being your Helper, you shall be helped to be a leader. Oh, it was a grand thing when Luther stepped out from the ranks of Rome! There were many good men round him who said, “Be quiet, Martin. You will get burnt if you do not hold your tongue! Let us keep where we are, in the Church of Rome, even if we have to swallow down great lumps of dirt. We can believe the Gospel and still remain where we are.” But Luther knew that he must defy Antichrist and declare the pure Gospel of the blessed God! And he must stand alone for the Truth of God even if there were as many devils against him as there were tiles on the housetops at Worms! That is the kind of man whom God blesses! I would to God that many a young man here might have the courage to feel, in his particular position, “I can stand alone, if need be. I am glad to have my master and my fellow workmen with me, but if nobody will go to Heaven with me, I will say farewell to them and go to Heaven alone through the Grace of God’s dear Son.”

Once more, the man whom God will bless must be the man who delights in God alone. David says, “I cried unto You, O Lord: I said, You are my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.” Oh, to have God as our refuge and to make God our portion! “You will lose your job! You will lose your income. You will lose the approbation of your fellow men.” “Ah,” says the Believer, “but I shall not lose my Portion, for God is my Portion! He is job, and income, and every- thing to me—and I will hold by Him, come what may.” If you have learned to “delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart.” Now you are come into such a state that God can use you and make much of you—but until you make much of God, He never will make much of you! God deliver us from having our portion in this life, for, if we have, we are not among His people at all!

He whom God would use must be taught sympathy with God’s poor people. Hence we get these words of David, in the sixth verse, “I am brought very low.” Mr. Greatheart, though he must be strong to kill Giant Grim and any others of the giants that infest the Pilgrim path, must be a man who has gone that road himself if he is to be a leader of others. If the Lord means to bless you, my Brother, and to make you very useful in His Church, depend upon it, He will try you. Half, perhaps nine-tenths of the trials of God’s ministers are not sent to them on their own account. They are sent for the good of other people. Many a child of God who goes very smoothly to Heaven, does very little for others. But another of the Lord’s children who has all the ins and outs and changes of an experienced Believer’s life, has them only that he may be better fitted to help others! That he may be able to sit down and weep with them that weep, or to stand up and rejoice with them that rejoice.

So then, dear Brothers who have got into the cave, and you, my Sisters, who have deep spiritual exercises, I want to comfort you by showing you that this is God’s way of making something of you. He is digging you out! You are like an old ditch—you cannot hold any more—and God is digging you out to make more room for more Grace. That spade will cut sharply and dig up sod after sod, and throw it to one side. The very thing you would like to keep shall be cast away and you shall be hollowed out, and dug out, that the word of Elisha may be fulfilled, “Make this valley full of ditches. For thus says the Lord, You shall not see wind, neither shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water.” You are to be tried, my Friend, that God may be glorified in you!

Lastly, if God means to use you, you must get to be full of praise. Listen to what David says, “Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name: the righteous shall compass me about; for You shall deal bountifully with me.” May God give to my Brothers and Sisters here, who are being tried for their good and afflicted for their promotion, Grace to begin to praise Him! It is the singers that go before—they who can praise best shall be fit to lead others in the work. Do not set me to follow a gloomy leader. Oh, no, dear Sirs, we cannot work to the tune of “The Dead March in Saul”! Our soldiers would never have won Waterloo if that had been the music for the day of battle! No, no! Give us a rejoicer—“Sing unto the Lord who has triumphed gloriously; praise His great name again and again.” Draw the sword and strike home! If you are of a cheerful spirit, glad in the Lord and joyous after all your trials and afflictions, and if you can rejoice more because you have been brought so low, then God is making something of you and He will yet use you to lead His people to greater works of Grace!

-C.H. Spurgeon Sermon 2282 David's Prayer in the Cave(HT TGC)

Letter to a soon-to-be-published author | Culture Making

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:09:44 PDT

Letter to a soon-to-be-published author | Culture Making: "It is good to keep in mind Mark Twain's admittedly harsh dictum, 'Most books come into the world with all the fanfare of a stillborn child.' The truth is that unlike, say, your wedding day, there will be a great and utter lack of excitement about your book the day it is published. And the day after. And most days after that. Believe me. My book has done well, perhaps embarrassingly so, and the truth is it just is not that big a deal. Considering that 'doing well' in these latter days means that maybe 25,000 people read a book over the course of its first year—that would be 0.1% 0.01% of the American population—it's not surprising that it just doesn't rise to the level of a big event for anyone except the author. (The foregoing does not apply, at least not entirely, if you are Bill Clinton, Dan Brown, or Donald Miller. But you are not, so no worries!)" HT Justin Taylor Anyone else with other advice?

Mark Driscoll in the Washington Post

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:50:00 PDT

In an article entitled No 'Best Case' Way to Present God, but Many False Ways, Mark Driscoll has made his debut in the Post: "Christianity is not first and foremost about a sacred place to pilgrimage to, a philosophical system to ponder, a moral code to live, a religious tradition to honor, or an impersonal god to experience. Rather, Christianity is about a person who claimed to be the only God and said he would prove his unprecedented claim by living without sin, dying for sinners, and conquering death through resurrection . . ." Great to see the gospel in this paper!

Joni Eareckson Tada and Mark Stibbe on Raised With Christ

adrian.warnock@gmail.com (Adrian Warnock) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:03:00 PDT

Endorsements continue to come in for my forthcoming book, Raised With Christ, How The Resurrection Changes Everything. Here are two more which once again encouraged me no end:

“Finally, a new generation of readers has a clear and highly readable book on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Raised with Christ, Christians are in for a delightful surprise as they grasp anew all the benefits which flow from Jesus’ resurrection—what an awesome difference it can make in our lives, our churches, and our communities! Thank you, Adrian, for helping to open our eyes to all the glories and the blessings of Christ’s resurrection and the power, present and future, which proceeds from it.”
—Joni Eareckson Tada, Joni and Friends International Disability Center

“This is an excellent, ground-breaking book that fills a huge gap in our understanding and experience as Christians. It is high time the doctrine of the resurrection was put back on the map. Adrian has done us a great service in writing this timely book.”
—Mark Stibbe, Father’s House Trust, www.fathershousetrust.com